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.I




AKI




A TWENTIETH CENTURY
History and Biographical Record
OF
BRANCH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.


REV. HENRY P. COLLIN, M. A.
AUTHOR AND EDITOR.


ILLUSTRATED.
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
NEW YORK:: CHICAGO
1906




C
a


I




PREFACE.
The purpose of a preface is generally only to supplement the introductory
chapters. In the introductory chapter of this book the aim and character
of it as planned in the minds of the makers were set forth.
The editor and publishers have done their best to make their work
what they promised it should be, and they have given no small amount of
labor and monev to realize their plans. The editor believes that the volume
fairly fulfills the promises made, and approximates the ideal of a twentieth
century history and biographical record. It is thought that the work will
be one of value and interest to all former, present and future residents of
the county of Branch.
In the execution of every work, however, men find themselves subject always to certain limitations of space, time and ability.  Generally
no one becomes so conscious of how much more might have been done in
the doing of any work, and how much better it might have been done,
than he who has gone through with it. The editor is very sure that no one
will see as much that seems to be omitted, or so much lack of due proportion as he. But at the same time he feels that he may reasonably assume
that no one can judge as well what to omit where much must be omitted,
as one who has gone over the entire field, and has seen the variety of subjects and the immense amount of matter contained within it.
The writer of a local history is necessarily dependent to a large degree
upon other persons for material and for co-operation. It is a pleasure for
the editor to record here, on the one hand, the kindly willingness of the
people of the county to furnish material, and, on the other hand, the generous co-operation of the publishers in affording ways and means to bring
the material together and to assist in putting into form. In this mention
of co-operation on the part of the publishers, special acknowledgment must
be made of the assistance rendered by the general historian of The Lewis
Publishing Company. To him credit must be given for a large part of the
work of preparing the general history for the press, in the gathering of
material, in working out the details of arrangement, and also in the actual
composition of copy.
It is proper as a matter of historical record that mention be made of
those to whom the editor has been specially indebted for information and
assistance. The most fruitful sources of historical data are, of course, the
county papers.  Mr. Charles H. Newell, the proprietor of the Coldwater
Courier, has a file of county papers in the Couricr office, of earlier date and
more nearly continuous than any other file or collection in the county. Mr.




iv                            PREFACE
Newell has given us free access to these files, which begin with 814I. The
like courtesy has been shown us by Mr. Horace Kitchel of The Reporter,
Mr. John S. Evans of The Sun and The Star. in Coldwater, by Mr. C. W.
Owen of the Quincy Herald, Mr. C. H. Young of the Quincy News, Mr.
A. D. Shaffmaster of the Bronson Journal, Mr. Will L. Robinson of the
Union City Register-Weekly, and Mr. Easton of the Sherwood Register.
The official records of the county officers in the court house are in some
respects more valuable than newspaper files. To Mr. Henry E. Straight,
county clerk, Mr. Charles F. Carpenter, register of deeds, Mr. Hiram Bennett, county treasurer, Mr. W. Glenn Cowell, prosecuting attorney, Mr.
Charles Hamilton, county surveyor, Mr. James Swain, county commissioner of schools, and Mr. Daniel E. Weage, county drain commissioner, we
are indebted, not only for access to records in their charge, but also for
favors shown otherwise than as county officials.  The officers of the city
of Coldwater and of the several villages and townships of the county, have
generally been willing to furnish any data desired. To Mr. Calvin J. Thorpe,
secretary of the Pioneer Society of Branch County, Mr. Horris Wilson of
the Quincy Pioneer Society, and Miss Florence M. Holmes, librarian of the
Coldwater Free Public Library, our acknowledgments are due for kindness in furthering our quest for historic facts. It would be impracticable to
mention the names of the many men and women in all parts of the county,
from whom   information has been received that has been incorporated in
this volume. To all these the editor, on his own behalf and on that of The
Lewis Publishing Company as well, takes this opportunity to express sincere
thanks.
It is proper that we further mention that Mr. Fred G. Wahl, Mr. Henry
C. Bailey and Mr. Tom L. Robinson have assisted in writing up some of
the subjects of the general history. Mrs. Jennie C. Donley of Coldwater
took the photographic views from which nearly all the illustrations in the
history have been made.


4 I




TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
The County as a Subject of History..............................
CHAPTER     II.
The Creation and Survey of the County.........................    6
CHAPTER III.
Topographical Features of Branch County-The Drainage System..     6
CHAPTER IV.
The Indians and the Early Settlers' Life With Them.............. 24
CHAPTER V.
Number, Nature and Distribution of the County's People.......... 28
CHAPTER VI.
Routes  of  Immigration........................................ 33
CHAPTER VII.
Formation  of  Townships........................................  38
CHAPTER VIII.
Settlement  and   Beginnings.............4.........................  41
CHAPTER IX.
Settlement and Beginnings (Continued)........................... 49
CHAPTER X.
County Seat Contest...................................... 6o
CHAPTER XI.
Settlement and Beginnings (Continued)........................ 65
CHAPTER XII.
Settlement and Beginnings (Continued).......................... 78
CHAPTER XIII.
The  City  of  Coldwater........................................  93
CHAPTER XIV.
Branch  County's  Villages........................................  98




vi


CONTENTS


CHAPTER XV.
The Agricultural Industry-The Grange.........................
CHAPTER XVI.
Manufacturilng in Branch County.................................
CHAPTER XVII.
Branch County's Banks and Finance..............................
CHAPTER XVIII.
Railroads, Transportation and Communication.....................
CHAPTER XIX.
The County's Newspapers......................................
CHAPTER XX.
Education...................................................
CHAPTER XXI.
Education  (Continued).........................................
CHAPTER XXII.
The State Public School —Branch County Infirmary................
CHAPTER XXIII.
Libraries-Activity in Literature, Music, Art......................
CHAPTER XXIV.
Religion  and  Church  Organizations...............................


Io8
116


124


129
I38


I48
I57


'75
i8i
190o


CHAPTER XXV.
Political History of Branch County............................... 210


CHAPTER XXVI.
Courts and Lawyers..................1......................    214
CHAPTER XXVII.
The  M edical  Profession........................................  221
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Fraternities  and  Clubs.........................................  227
CHAPTER XXIX.
The Pioneer Society-Pioneer Record........................... 28
CHAPTER XXX.
The  County  in  the  Country's  Wars................................ 256
Lists of County, Township and Village Officials................... 297




INDI&X.


Abel, Moses T.-768.
Adams, Wales —quoted, 42; sawmill, 43; 210.
Adolph, Willard.-828.
Agriculture.-bo8-i13; effects of drainage,:20 et seq.
Agricultural Society.-Branch county, 115.
Air Line R. R.-I32; 78; 98.
Aldrich, Abram.-75; 8o.
Aldrich, Abram J.-14I; 143; i86; 674.
Algansee township.-39; settlement Of, 87-88;
officials Of, 300.
Alger, Isaac P.-94; 223.
Allen, Alonzo B.-374.
Allen, D-~C. & Co.-96.
Alumni-of Goldwater High School, i60-i64;
of Quincy High School, i65-i67; Of
Union City High School, i69-171; Of
Bronson High School, 172-173; Of
Sherwood High School, 174.
Ancient Order of United Workmen-228;'
230.
Anderson, J. H.-829.
Anderson, Mrs. Hattie.-5i6.
Andrews, William L.-i88.
Andrus, Nelson. H.-5I2.
Ann Arbor convention.-13.
Arnold, Samuel-73; Arnold's Corners, 73.
Art-Activity in, 184.
Austin, Edmund.-473.
Automobiles.-136.
Bailey, H. F.-I41.
Bailey, Willis C.-143; 144; i86.
Baker, Joshua.-.
Baldwin, Newton.-224.
Ball Bros.-96.
Banford, J. J.-852.
Banking and Finance.-124-128.
Baptist churches-i96 et seq.; at Coldwater,
196; Quincy, 197; Algansee, 198; Union City, 198; Bronson, 198; Girard,
199; Kinderhook, 199.
Bar Association of Branch Co~unty.-22o.
Barber, Julius 5.-94; 125; 335.
Barlow, Henry H.-218; 579.
Barnes, Walton J.-7I4.
Barnhart, Martin.-75.
Bassett, John.-41; 47.
Bassett, L. M. & Son.-p-6.
Batavia township.-39; early settlement, 46;
population in 1837, 46; topography, 47;.
first officials, 48; officials Of, 301.
Bater, Samuel.-47I.


Bates, Edwin R.-.33I.
Bates, Julius M.-455.
Battery A.-284-286.
Beech, John H.-223; 450.
Beardsley, Ezra E.-77I.
Beers, Calvin.-476.
Belote, John 5-37.
Bennett, Charles W.-145; 187; 390.
Bennett, Hirani.-12I.
Bennett, Ida D.-i87.
Bennett, Isaac-464.
Bennett, Isaiah W.-79.
Bennett, James K.-83.
Bennie, James.-46; 72; 73.
Benton, C. P.-214; 186; 210.
Berry, Enos G.-67; 101; 221.
Berry, Ezra.-67; 218.
Berry, Joseph.-67; 101.
Berry, Samuel H.-37; 67.
Bethel township.-4; early settlement, 44;
early roads, 44; topography, 45; POPuilation in 1837, 45; Snow Prairie settlement, 45; first officials, 46; officials
Of, 303.
Bidelman, Horatio N.-64o.
Black Hawk Mill.-5I; 53.
Blackman, Edson.-224; 603.
Blackman, J. Morehouse.-626.
Blackwell, George W.-535.
Blake, John R.-49i.
Bicycles.-I36.
Bingham, Lemuel, blacksmith.-5o.
Bolton, A. F.-5o; 54.
Booth, family of Gilead.-72.
Bostwick, E. E.-688.
Boundaries-Of Branch county, i; southern
houndary, history of, ii following;
northern  boundary   of Indiana, ii;
northern boundary of Ohio, 12; southern boundary delays statehood for
M~ichigan, 13; survey   of  southern
boundary, when begun, I4; latitude of
southern boundary, I4; Harris line,
13; Hendricks line, 14.
Bowen, Jerome.-217.
Bowen, Jerome K.-I46.
Bowen, M. S5-21i8.
Bowen, Willard J.-141; 217.
Bowers, L. M.-625.
Boynton, Stanley W.-458.
Bradley, Howard.-86.
Brainard, E. S. E.-87.




viii


INDEX


Branch -county-Subject of history, i; created and bounded, i; population, 2; 28 -32; objects of history Of, 4; creation
and survey of, 6-I5; Territorial Act
creating, i,.8; topography, Tr6-20;
drainage, 20-23; Indians Of, 24-27.
Branch County Savings Bank.-I26.
Branch, J. B.-96; 559.
Branch village-History Of, 51-54; laid out
by Elisha Warren, 52.
Bray, Byron W.-505.
Brinton, Albert N.-447.
Bronson, Jabe.-3; first settler, 41; 103; Io8.
Bronson, original name of Kalamazoo:.-io3.
Bronson Prairie.-4i; settlers in 1830. 42.
Bronson township-4;first settlement, 41;
population in i837, 44; first schools,
'5'.
Bronson village.-Nucleus Of, 42; history of,
I03-io6; manufacturing, ii6 et seq.;
schools, 17I et seq; library, i8i;
churches, ipo et seq.; officials of, 304.
Brooks, Loren R.-5oo.
Broughton,. John. —68; ii
Brown, Alvarado.-37.
Brown, Asahel.-87; 432.
Brown, Elisha J.-533.
Brown, J. Wesley.-434.
Buell family-In Union township, 8o.
Buell, Geo. W.-ioi.
Buell, Martin F.-ioi; 486.
Buell, Perry J.-85o.
Burdick, Geo,. E.-179; 586.
Burdick, James M.-37; 68.
Burlingame, Joel and Anson.-2
Burnett, Charles L.-766.
Burnett, Leander 5-548.
Burrows, Arthur.-748.
Burton, George A.-582.
Bushnell, William B.-624.
Business- Firms at Coldwater, 95-97; at
Union City, ioo-ioi; at Quincy, I03;
at Bronson, io6.
Butler township.-40; settlement Of, 76-77;
pioneers, 77; officials, 305.
California township-39; settlement of, 90 -92; officials Of, 306.
California village.-9i-92.
Calkins B. H. & Son. Co.-II7.
Calkins, Thomas N.-139.
Campbell, Hugh.-54.
Campbell, Milo D.-56; 219; 386.
Campbell, Oliver C.-2I2; 844.
Campbell, William J.-7o6.
Canals- At Union City, 98 (see Erie Canal).
Carey Mission.-25.
Carpenter, Charles F.-328.
Carter, George.-588.
Cary, Samuel H.-48.
Case, Almeron W. —85.
Cement-Manufacturers of, 120-123.
Census Records.-28-32; analysis of census
of I88o, 31.


Chain Lake Channel CO.-22.
Champion, Charles U.-822.
Champion, John R.-2i8; 821.
Chandler, Albert.-94; 96; 140; 184.
Chanute Cement & Clay Product Co., Brons0fl.-123.
Chapman, Charles W.-8ii.
Chase, Bishop Philander.-69 et seq.; site of
home, 71; 84; I09; 15I.
Chase, Enoch.-222.
Chase, H. H.-ioo.
Chauncey, M. E.-223.
Ch'erdavoine, Robert.-785.
Chicago, Road.-34-36; 129; early condition
Of, 42; in Coldwater township, so; and
village of Branch, 53; Quincy township, 65..Chiesman, W. B.-746.
Church, Edwin B.-410.
Churches.-i9o-2o9; (see Religion).
Circuit Court Commissioners-List Of, 298 -299.
Circuit Coiurts.-2I4.
Circuit judges-List Of, 297.
Civil War-Soldiers from Branch county in,
258-296.
Clark family-In Bronson, io6.
Clark, Israel W.-79.
Clark, Leonard C.-IO5.
Clark, Leonard D.-442.
Clark, Oliver J.-676.
Clarke, Edwin R.-Store, 95; library, 95, I83,
735.
Clawson, John.-79.
Clerks-Township, lists Of, 300-32I.
Clerks-Village, lists Of, 32I-326.
Cleveland, Augustus A.-875.
Cleveland, George W.-496.
Clizbe, S. H.-224.
Glubs-Woman's, of Coldwater, 188; Twentieth Century, 9f Coldwater, 188;
Fortnightly Musical, i88; New Century, Quincy, 235; Columbian, Quincy.
236; Nika, Quincy, 236; Chautauqua
Circle., 236; Woman's, Bronson, 236;
Tuesday, Union City, 237.
Coddington, Frederick M.-78I.
Coldwater-History of, 93-97; origin Of, 54
et seq.; first house, 55; platted by Tibbits and Hanchett, 55; Dr. W. B.
Sprague's History of, 56; citizens of
1835, 57; incorporated, 57; contests for
county seat, 6o et seq.; schools, I5I
et seq.; library, I82-I84; churches, i9o
et seq.; lawyers, 2I4-220; physicians,
22I-226.
Coldwater Bank.-I24.
Coldwater Lake.-i6; as a summer resort,
87.
Coldwater Light Guard.-256.
Coldwater National Bank.-I25.
Coldwater Prairie.-Why not first settled,
49; early settlers, 554; I09.
Coldwater Portland Cement Co.-123.




INDEX


ix


Coidwater Public Library.-182-184.
Coidwater River.-i8-i9.
Coldwater Township.-39; early settlement
and growth, 49 et seq.
Cole, Archie W.-541.
Cole. George H.-437.
Collin, Henry P.-878.
"'Company A."-257.
'Compulsory Education.-I56.
Conant, Sarah E.-56; 452.
Congregational Churches.-202 et seq.; at
Union City, 202; Algansee, 203; Gilead, 204; Ironqson, 204.
-Conklin, Charles P.-456.
Conklin, Fred J.-526.
Conover, Charles A.-96, 547.
'Conover Engraving & Printing CO.-II8.
'Conover, Jefferson S.-184, 545'.
Conover, William N.-551.
-Coombs.-Mills at Coldwater, 59.
Coombs, William A. —62i.
'Coon Pen.-Name of building used for county and public purposes, 62.
'Copeland, Arthur G.-503.
Corbin, Horace A.-ioo.
Corbus, Family.-In Girard, 74.
'Corbus, James G.-36; 65.
Cornish, John.-First settler of Quincy village, 66; his tavern, 67.
Cornwell, Charles T.-414.
'Coroners-List Of, 299.
Corson, John.-83.
Corwin, L. J-445.
County Clerks-List Of, 297.
County Couirts.-2I4.
'County School Commissioners-List of, 298.
County Seat.-First located, 51; at Masonville, 5r; at Branch, 52; history of
contest, 54; 6o-62.
'County Treasurers-List Of, 298.
Courier, The Coldwater.-14I.,Court House.-First in county, 52; located
at Coldwater, 6i; history of, 62-64;
names of building committee, 63.
'Courts and Lawyers.-214-220.
'Cox, Frank L.-575.
Crater, Andrew.-88.
Crater, Morris.-88.
'Crippen, L. D.-37; 94; I24.
'Crissy, Hiram. —83g.
Cross, Robert J.-54.
'Cross, William H.-76.
'Culp, John W.-1Ii.
'Culver, Abiathar.-83.
Culver, Oliver B.-567.
Cunningham, Daniel 5.-224.
Cutter, S-. S.-222-223.
Dall, Benedict.-5g9.
Daniels. Frank M.-577.
-Davis, Eher J.-764.
Davis, J. Harlan. —830.
Denham, Horace-48.Dexter, Thomas.-799.


Dickey, James E.-71I.
Dickey. James R.-382.
Dimond, Isaac M.-79.
Doolittle, Fred W.-33o.
Dorrance, Albert A. —96; 426.
Dorrance, A. J.-430.
Doubleday, Hiram. —82.
Doubleday, Harvey M.-356.
T)ouglas, Charles H,-568.
Douglas, jenny C.-568.
Drainage SyStem.-2o-23; value Of, 20; early
methods, 20; officials, 2i; in different
townships, 21-23; in Butler, 76.
Draper, Gluey W.-678.
Driggs, Alfred L.-43; builds sawmill, 43.
Dry Prairie. —8T.
Dufur, Ira.-796.
Dunkards.-207.
Dunks, F. J.-43o.
Dunlap, John.'-58o.
Dunn, Polly A.-65o.
"Dutch Settlernent."-89.
East Gilead.-73.
Easton, D. J.-i4o; 146; i86.
Eaton, Franklin.-474.
Eddy, Mary A.-184.
Education-History   of,  148-I74.   (See
Schools.)
Eldred, Joseph G.-858.
Electric Railroads.-133.
Elizabeth Township.-4o; changed to Bethel,
40.
Elting, Theron. —637.
Engel, Eugene.-837.
Ensley, Homer.-563.
Ensley, Jacob.-562.
Erie Cjanal.-When built, 33; importance to
Branch County settlement, 33 et Passun; 34.
Erie and Kalamazool R. R.-i29.
Etheridge, A. Munson.-622.
Etheridge, Kirkland B.-372.
Evangelical Lutheran Churches.-2o5.
Evans, John S-143; 144;y i86; 869.
Evans, Thomas P.-367.
Ewers, Dr. H. F.-132.
Exchange, Bank, Bronson.-128.
Exchange Bank of Crippen and Fisk.-I24.
Factories. (See Manufacturing.)
Fairs.-i I5.
Farmers' Institute Society, Branch County.II4-I15.
Farmers' Mu~tual Insurance Co.-128.
Farmers' National Bank of Union City.-127.
Farmers' and Merchants' Bank of Sherwood.
-128.
Farming. (See Agriculture.)~
Farrand, Joseph P.-753
Fellows, Burt M —8o4.
Fenner, Charles C.-4o6.
Fenner, Corydon M.L-498.
Ferguson, Benjamin R.-873.




x


INDEX


Field Notes, Surveyors'.-7; first 3f Branch
County, 7-9; original, where kept, 9;
described, i0; copy of, ii.
First National Bank of Quincy.-127.
Fisk, A. C.-37.
Fisk, Clintoni B.-i24.
Fisk, Samuel.-873.
Flandermeyer, herman H.-96; 814.
Follett, Thaddeus.-463.
Foote, Burnley.-76o.
Foresters, Independent Order of.-231.
Fort Wayne, Jackson and Saginaw R. R.I32.
Foster, J. N.-I4I.
Fox, Aaron O.-594.
Fox, David.-798.
Fox, John P.-620.
Fraser, Robert.-461.
Fraternities and Clubs.-227-2.37.
Frederick, H. E.-566.
Freeman, Jsaac.-45.
Free Methodist Chtirches.-i95.
Free Public Library of Bronson.-i8i.
Free-Will or Free Baptist Churches.-igg
et seq.
Friedrich, William H., Co.-ii9.
Fry, Fred P.-425.
Fuller, E. G.-I39; 215.
Gamble, E. F.-459.
Gardner, Amos M.-524.
Gardner Family, in Matteson.-83.
Gardner, Samuel.-36i.
Gas Light and Fuel Co., Coldwater.-ii9.
Gattschalk, William H.-846.
'Gazette, The Branch County.,-i4o.
Germans, ibn Branch County.-3I.
Gilbert, H. C.-I40
Gilead Township.-4o; Bishop Chase and,
69; early history, 69-73; population in
1837, 73; first schools, 151; officials
o f, 308.
Gillam, George F.-io4.
Girard Prairie.-74.
Girard Township.-39; early history, 73-76;
pioneers Of, 76; officials Of, 309.
Globensky Bros.-I20.
Gloyd, Cynthia.-I5I.
Goodwin, Justus.-79.
Goodwinsville.-79.
Gorman, Benjamin B.-59I.
Graduates. (See Alumni.)
Grand Army Posts.-233-235.
Grange, The-History of, 113-I14.
Granger, Adeline.-5I4.
Graves, Henry A.-103, 388.
Gray, Burr D.-73.
Gray, Charles W.-6oo.
Gray, John H.-i86.
Gray, J. M.-466
Gray, Per ry D.-521.
Green, B. F.-647.
Green, David N.-94; 239.
Green, Mrs. David N.-1Ii.


Greenamyer, John A.-552.
Green TownshiP.-38, 39.
Greenwood, George.-368.
Grove, Elij ah.-337.
Grove,., Theron.-6o4.
Grube, Howard A.-66o.
Grtiner, Anton.-847.
Gruner, Starr W.-53I.
Gruner, Ward C.-386.
Gunsaullus. Pyrl H.-703.
Hall, Charles H.-832.
Hall, Clark M.-834.
Hall, Willis. —66i.
Hall's Corners.-9i.
Halsted, L. D.-37; 56; 239; 589.
Ham-ilton, Charles.-417.
Hammani, Henry.-730.
Hammond Family.-8o.
Hanchett, Edward 5-75; 76.
Hanchett Family, in Algansee.-88.
Hanchett, Joseph.-54.
Hanchett, William.-222.
Hardenbrook, John.-44j4.
Harris, Charles J.-703.
Harris Line.-I3.
Harvesting (see Agriculture).-Pioneer har —
vesting machinery, 110
Hawks, Joseph S.-85.
Hawley, Hiram B.-762.
Hawley, Willard S.-487.
Haynes, Harvey.-37, 152, 177.
Hazen, Earl.-492.
Hazen, E. F.-Io7.
Hazenville.-107.
Hendricks, E. P., surveyor of southernboundary of Branch County.-I4.
Hendricks' Line.-I4.
Henry, Warren.-i96; 480.
Herald, Bronson.-I45.
Herald, The Quincy.-I44.
Hewelt, J. B.-462.
Hickory Corners,-89.
Highway Commissioners-Lists Of, 300-32I.
Hildebrand, Frederick.-454.
Hildebrand, Louie F.-455.
Hilton, Thomas A. —96; 6io.
Himebaugh Family.-in Noble, 89; Emanuel,.
2I2.
Hodunk.-76; 78; 8o.
Holbrook, Arthur G.-823.
Holbrook, David L.-557.
Holbrook, Silas A.-56; 2I5.
Hollenbeck, Russell B.-642.
Holmes, Cicero J.-853.
Holmes, Florence M.-i84.
Holmes, Jonathan and Samuel.-44; build'
grist mill, 44.
Holmes, Thomas.-43; 70.
Hotels, Early.-New York House, 46, 47;
Rose House, 42; Taylor House, 47;
Batavia House, 47; Dudley Tavern,.
48; Morse Tavern, 5o; Eagle Housein Coldwater, 57; Corbus House irk




INDEX


xi


Quincy, 65; Cornish's Hotel, 67; Berry
House in Quincy, 67; Judson House
in Bronson, 69; Uniofi City Ho~use,
79; "log tavern" in Sherwood, 8i; in
California township, 90; Quincy, i0o;
in Bronson, 105.
Houghtaling Family, at Quincy.-Io3.
Hughes, Edwin W.-682.
Hulse, John. —656.
Humphrey, Leonard F.-523 -Hungerford, Virgil U.-435.
Hurd Family. at Union City.-79.
Hurd, Mrs. C. E.-558.
Hurd, Theodore C., William P., Henry S.221; William P., 223.
Immigration.-Variations in, 30; routes of,
33-37; influenced hy Erie canal, 33;sources Of, 36; heginning Of, 41i- hy
Marshall road, 75;. tol Butler, 77'; to
Branch County at present', 112.
Indians of Branch County.-24-27; treaties
with, 25; villages, 26; trails in Branch
County, 26; on Coldwater prairie, 49;
on Girard prairie, 74; Indian trail in
Sherwoo-d, 8i; Indian trail in Matteson. 82; in Kinderhook, 84.
Infirmary, Branch County-History of, I79 -i8o.
jail, at Branch.-52; destroyed, 6i; jails at
Coldwater, 6i, 62.
James, Lemander.-65o.
Jardon, E. M.- 457.
Johnson, Adison P.-396.
Johnson Cooperage Co.-i 19.
Johnson, Ezra.-72o.
Johnson, Ira D.-363.
Johnson, John.-333.
Johnson, Jonathan.-848.
Johnson, Leon A.-i68; 831.
Johnson, Prosper C.-439.
Johnson, Rollin A.-346.
Jones, Clarence C. —48.
Joseph, Luicas.-ioi.
Journal, The Branch County.-i40.
Journal, The Bronson.-145.
Judd, Alfonso C.-595.
Kellor, Frances A.-i87.
Kellsy, Ira.-583.
Kelso, Robert.-488.
Kempster, Stephen W.-35o.
Kent, William A.-43; 215.
Kilbourn, Samuel L.-448.
Kinderhook Postoffice. —85.
Kinderhook Township.-40; settlement of,
84-85; pioneers, 84; officials Of, 311.
King, Hawkins A.-224.
King, Seth.-792.
Kinter, George.-574.
Kitchel, Horace.-38o.
Kitchel, Simon B. —42; i86; 2I8; 380.
Klock, Geo. W.-i88.


Knapp, Frank E.-i65; 470.
Knapp, Thomas C.-756.
Knapp, WellS.-To6.
Knauss, Henry D.-735.
Knauss, Samuel.-65I.
Knecht. John.-482.
Knights 01 l-ythlas.-232.
Knights and Ladies of the MaccabeeS.-228 -229; 230; 231; 232; 233.
Ladies' Lihrary Association of QuinCy.-182.
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern R. R.-~
130.
Lakes of Branch County.-i6; outlets, i8.
Lampman, Ambrose.-856.
Lampmnan, Henry 5-77.
Lampson, Boaz.-85.
Lancaster, Columbia.-I5I; 215.
Larzelere, Daniel.-747.
Lawrence, James H.-9go.
Lawyer, Justin.-2T4, 216.
Lawyers of Brarlh County.-215-22o; roll
of in I875, 216; in I895, 2I9; in 1906,
220.
Leckner, Wesley.-484.
Legg, Charles N.-2i8; history of Coldwater'
schools, 151, I57 8o4.
Leonard, D. P.-779.      I
Lewis Art Gallery.-i84; i88.
Lewis, Ed E.-842.
Lewis, Henry C.-45I.
Libraries.-igi-184.
Lime Lake.-T2o.
Lincoln Family, in Union townships.-o
Literature-Activity in, 184.
Littlefield, Darwin.-222.
Locke, A. LeRoy.-565.
Lockerhy, William H.-667.
Lockwood, Edward C.-4i8.
Lockwood, George.-77.
Lockwood Family, in Ovid.-86.
Lockwood, Herhert B.-612.
Long, James M.~-223.
Loomis Battery.-284-286.
Loring, Mrs. George E.-783.
Loveridge, H. C.-82o.
Loveridge, Noah P.-217; 818.
Lowry, Jefferson.-833.
Lowry, William T.-584.,
Luce, C'yrus G.-2I2, 327.
Lyons.-First name of Coldwater, 55.
Lytle, A. L.-io3.
Mack, Th omas W.-395.
Mack, Truman C.-452.
Mallow Family, in Noble. —89.
Mallow, George W.-732.
Mallow, William.-336.,
Mann, Jacob W.-74I.
MVann, Mark H.-6 2.
Mansell, George. —96; Edwin, 97.
Mansfield, Coldwater and Lake Michigan
R. R.-I33.
Mansfield., Pizarro.-855.




:xii


INDEX


Manufacturing.-Union City Iron Co., 98;
in Branch County, ii6-I23; Cement industry, I20-123.
7Marl.-I20.
Marquart, William.-478.
Marsh Family.-45.
Marsh, Francis E.-1o3; '224.
Marsh, Franklin D. ---4.
'Marsh, Lansing C.-224.
'Marsh, Loren.-26.
'Marshall and Coldwater R. R.-I33.
Marshall Road.-75.
Martin, George.-598.
Martin, Ira A.-556.
Martin, John G.-597.
Martin, Peter.-56; his sawmill, 58.
'Masonic Organizations.-227-228; 229; 230.
Masonville-History Of, 51.
Matteson, Amos.-83.
Matteson Township.-40; settlement of, 82 -84; pioneers Of, 84; officials Of, 312.
McCarger, A. T.-I47.
McCarty, William.-56; his house the oldest
in Coldwater, 56.
McCausey, Jo~seph W.-371.
McCrary, Alexander C.-643.
McCrary, Clay.-649.
McCrary, Mrs. Alexander -C.-646.
McCrary, Roy.-648.
McGowan, Jonas H.-I40; i86; 217; 212.
McKenzie Cereal Food and Milling Co.I20.
McIntyre, Alexander.-6i6.
McIntyre, John F.-7i6.
McLane, John H.-7o1.
McLean, Hector.-4i9.
McNall, Irving.-867.
McMurray, Hugh.-5I9.
Medical Pro~fession-History Of, 22I-226.
Medical Society, The Branch Couinty. —226.
Mennonites.-89; 206.
Meridian, for survey of Branch County.-8.
Merrifield, Marc A.-2i8, 63:5.
Merrill, Js.-632.
Methodist Episcopal Churches.-i90 et seq.;
at Coldwater, 19o; Quincy, 191; Bronson, 192; Sherwood, I93; Girard, 193;
Union City, 19.4; other churches, 194.
Michigan State Telephone Co.-I35.
Military History.-256-296.
Miller, Harvey D.-769.
Miller, Joseph.-494.
Miller, Willis A.-752.
Mills.-Adams' sawmill, 43; Driggs', 43;
Holmes' grist mill, 44~; Woodard mill,
47; Black Hawk, 51, 53; first at Coldwater, 58; Coombs' mills, 59; Bishop
Chase at Adams' mills, 69; Gilead
mill, 71I; first in Girard, 75; Hodunk,
76, 8o; Union City, 79; Crater's in
Algansee, 88; Wakeman's in Algansee,
88; in California, 92; at Coldwater,
9;Quincy, 102.   (See *Manuf~cturing.)


Milnes, Alfred.-212; 681.
Milnes Supply Company.-96.
Mintling, James B.-666.
Mockridge, Robert F.-94.
Modern Woodmen.-232.
Monlux, George.-9I.
Monroe, George.-727.
Montague, J. H.-7I7.
Moore, Bradley 0.-638.
Moore, W. G.-I41; i86.
Morgan, F. E.-2I8.
Morrill, Oliver.-426.
Morrison, Paschal P.-7778..
Morse, John -5o; 54.
Moseley, Augustus C.-728.
Mosher, J. D.-765.
Mowry, Henry P.-224; 671.
Music.-Activity in, 184.
Mystic Workers of the World.-.230.
Nationalities in Branch County.-31.
Neal, John N.-81 3.
Nesbitt, John 5-354.
Nettleton, V. L. and Company.-96.
Newberry, Frank D.-538.
Newberry, M\rs. Fannie E.-i87; 540.
Newberry, Peter M.-37.
Newell, Charles H.-I41; 483.
Newman, Stephien.-592.
News, The Quincy.-I45.
Newspapers-History of, in Branch County,
138-147.
New York House.-4i.
Nicholls, Ansell.-37.
Nichols, P. P.-i4o; 141; i86.
Noble Township.-4o; settlement of, 89-90;
officials Of, 313.
Northwest Territory.-Ordinance   of  1787
for government of, 12.
Norton, William P.-5o6.
Noyes, Orlando G.-56o.
Observer, The Coldwater.-I39.
Odd Fellows Organization.-228; 232.
Odren, Alex.-9i.
Officials of Branch County and Townships
and Villages.-297-326.
Ogden, Jame's 5-403.
Ohio.-Boundaries, source of trouble, I3.
Olds, Clarence L.-689.
Olds, Fred.-422.
Olds, Martin.-47; 36.
Olmstead, Benj amin.-48.
Olmstead, Moses.-45.
Olney, Henry.-786.
Orangeville. —80.
Order of Eastern Star.-23I; 233.
Ordinance Of 1787.-quoted, 12.
Ordinance Line.-I2, 13.
Osborn, Zelotes G.-211; 802.
Outwater, John E.-663.
Ovid TownshiP.-39; settlement of, 85-87;
officials Of, 314.
Owen, Charles W.-I4I, 144, I45 I6, 774.




INDEX


MITi


Palmer, Elmer E.-212, 710.
Paradine, Mrs. E. R. G.-46o.
Parker, Marcellus H. —64, 189, 413.
Parker, Richmond F.-722.
Parkhurst, John G.-218; 2I2; 339.
Parks, John D.-854.
Parley's Corners.-87.
Parrish, Kimble.-499.
Parsons, Alfred.-344.
Patrons of Husbandry (see Grange).
Paul, James B.-5o8.
Paul, Wilson S.-697.
Pearce, Edwin K.-585.
Peerless Portland Cement CO.-M2.
Phillips, John F.-393.
PhysicianS.-22I-226; list of, 225.
Piatt, Nathaniel.-684.
Pierce, Charles.-86o.
Pierce, Oren L.-563.
Pierson, Clara D.-i87.
Pioneer Society-History Of, 238-239.
Pioneers,- Alphabetical Record.-239-255.
Pitcher, David.-871.
Pixley, Augustus.-105.
Polish People of Branch County.-20, 32,
105.
Political History of Branch County.-21o2T1; See sketch of Isaac Bennett.
Pollock, Samuel. —82o.
Pomona Grange.-i14.
Pond, C. V. R.-iz44, i86.
Pond, Elihu B.-i4o, i86.
Pond, Jared.-2io.
Population.-In Branch County, increase and
distribution Of,' 28-32; influence of
Black Hawk war on, 29; nationalities,
3I; sources Of, 36; attracted to Girard
prairie, 74; of Bronson village, 105.
Porter, Philo.-48.
Postal Service.-I34 (see Postoffices).
Postoffices.-Bronson, 42; Prairie River', 43;
Quincy, 67; Goodwinsville, 79; Matteson, 83; Kinderhook, 85; P~arley's
Corners, 87; 'Algansee, 88; Hickory
Corners, 89; Union City io    Rural
Delivery, iity 14-135
Potawatomi Indians.-:24; treaties with, 25;
villages, 26; on Coldwater prairie, 49;
on Girard prairie, 74. (See Indians.)
Powers, D. C.-223.
Powers, Randall D. and Charles. —io6.
Prairie River Township.-39, 40.
Pratt Manufacturing Co.-u8.
Presbyterian ChurcheS.-200 et seo.; Coldwater, 200; Quincy, 201; California,
201.
Presidents.-Village, lists of, 32I-326.
Pridgeon, John, Jr.-362.
Primary School Fund.-.-48.
Probate Judges-List Of, 297.
Prosecuting Attorneys-List of, 297.
Protestant Episcopal ChurcheS-207-208.
Purdy, Fred.-772.
Purdy, Horace. ---87.


Quick, Edmund W.-4o8
Qulincy Tndependent Telephone Co.-I36.
Quincy State Bank.-127.
Quincy Townsh~ip.-39; early settlement, 65'
et seq.; first officers, 68; officials of,
3i6.
Quincy Village.-66; history of, ioi-io3;manufacturing, I17 et seq.; library,
182; schools, 164 et seq.; churches.,
190-209.
Railroads.-In the thirties, 34, 93, 98; underground, q9; history of railroads in,
Branch County,, 129-134.
Randall, Caleb D.-176, 216.
Randall, Dr. Alvah.-221.
Randall, Seth B.-654.
Ransford, Edward B.-825.
Ransom, Alvarado B —528.
Rate Bill-152, i58.
Rathburn, Charles D-.-827.
Rathburn, P. J.-836.
Regal Gasoline Engine Co.-ii18.
Regiments of, Branch County Soldiers (see'
under Soldiers).
Register, The Sherwood.-i46.
Register. The Union City.-I46.
Registers of Deeds-List Of, 298.
Religion and Churches.-i90o.2og; BishopChase at Adams' Mills, 70; Mennonites in Noble, 89; in Bronson village.
105; V. M. C. A., 237.
Reporter, The.-I42.
Republican, The.-140.
Republican. The Branch County.-i4o.
Reynolds Family, in Batavia Township.-47.
Reynolds, Frank B.-6i9.
Reynolds, Norman A.-617.
Rheubottom, F. C.-loo.
Rice, Samuel W.-353.
Richey, James.-4oo.
Roads.-Overland, 33 et seq; Chicago road'
(see), 34, 41; Indian road into Gilead,
72; Marshall road, 75; state, road, 78;
territorial road in Sherwood, 81;~
"Kalamazoo! trail," 82; state road in'
Matteson.
Robinson, Arthur E.-658&
Robinson, T. F.-146.
Robinson, W. L.-r46.
Roman Catholic Churches.-207.
Ronan, Michael. —659._
Root, Edward R.-123, 863.
Root, Roland.-5r, 8o, 211.
Rose House, in Bronson.-42.
Rose. L. A.-rio4, 105.
Rossman Family, in Butler.-77.
Royal Arcanuim-231.
Rudd, L. and Son, Bank.-I28.
Runyan, Henry. —6949.
Rural Free Delivery.-ii4, 134-135.
Russell, George A. —865.
Sager, Charles H. —39. Q




xiv


INDEX


Salisbury, Joseph N.-549.
Saisberry Family, in Ovid.-86.
Sanders, Abishi.-7:2.
Sanders, Levi. —877.
'Sanford, George R.-739.
Saunders, H. R.-7oo.
Sawdey, R. C. and W. S. —96.
Schaffmaster, Christopher.-377.
Scheidler, L. F.-755.
Schools (see Education).-First in Batavia,
48; at Branch, 52; in Quincy townlship, 69; in Algansee, 88; in Cai'Lfornia, 92; charactet of early schools,
148 et seq.; early schools in: Bronson, 151; Gilead, 151; Coldwater, 15I -et
seq.; "rate bill," I52; Union schools,
153; administrative officers, 153; consolidation of districts, I55; Coldwater
city schools, I57-i64; Quincy Schools,
164; Union City schools, i67; Bronson schools, 171; Sherwood schools,
173.
School Books in Early Use.-I5o.
School Reports.-From   various townships,
154; from Bronson, i72.
'School Taxes.-I52.
Schultz, Samuel. —8o3.
Sears, Clark C.-479.
Sears, Charles S.-665.
Sebring, John.-628.
Secor, John.-874.
Seely, Southerland M. —405.
Segur, M. S5-I03.
Sentinel, The Coldwater.-138; I3 et Passim.
Settlement and Beginnings.-4i et seq.; influence of Chicago road, 34, 49-59, 65 -77, 78-92.
Seymour, George H1-55o.
Seymour, Henry.-826.
Shaffmaster, A. D.-I46, 187.
Shaw. William E.-744.
Shedd, Louisa.-85I.
Shepard, Albert.-493.
Sherer, Samuel.-442.
Sherer, William.-1442.
Sheriffs-List Of, 298.
Sherman, Albert A.-8I2.
Sherwood Heading Co.-ii19.
Sherwood Township.-39; settlement of, 8i82; pioneers of, 8i; officials Of, 3I7.
Sherwood Village.-History of, 107; schools,
173 et seq.; churches, Igo et seq.
Shook, Jacob.-77, 214.
Shook's- Prairie.-76.
Shoudler, Hiram.-21.
Silo Tanks.-iI12.
Simmons, Reuben M.-8o6.
Sloman, Louis.-53o.
Skeels, F. L..-i86, 218.
Smead, Daniel.-46.
Smith, Abram L. —693.
Smith, Benjamin H.-75.
Smith, F. V.-94, i86.


Smith, George K.-223.
Smith, Marshall F.-415.
Smith, Orin L.-578.
Smith, Sarah A.-343.
Snider, William W.-738..
Snow Prairie- settled, 45.
Soldiers, Roster of.-ist Mich. Inf., 258 -260; 7th Mich. Jnf., 26i-262; gth Mich.
Jnf., 262-264; iith Mich. Tnf., 264-269;
I~th Mich. Inf., 269-270; i6th Mich.
Inf., 270-271; 7th Mich. Tnf., 271-272;
i9th Mich. Inf., 272-275; 28th Mich.
Inf., 275-276; ist Mich. Sharpshooters,
276-277; 4th Mich. Cay., 277-279; 5th
MVich. Cay., 279-280; 8th Mich. Cay.,
280-282; 9th Mich. Cay., 282-283; iith
Mich. Cay., 283-284; Battery A., 284 -286; Battery D, 286-288; Battery F,
289-2Q0; Battery G, 290-29I.  Other
regiments, 292-296.
Sorter, Del ivan.-39i.
Sorter, William C.-420.
Southern Michigan National Bank.-I25.
So-uthworth, Floyd E.-841.
Spanish-American War.-Branch County's
record in, 256-258.
Spore, Clarence B.-5i8.
Sprague, W. B.-37; history of Coldwater,
56, 2I0.
Sprout, DeWitt C.-468.
Stafford, Charles W.-724.
Staley, Frederick.-,630.
Stanton, Edward D.-823.
Stanton, John A.-558.
Stanton, William A.-365.
Star, The.-143.
Star,. The Michigan.-I39.
Starr, George.-707.
State Roads.-36. (See Roads.)
State Public School-History of, I75-180.
Stearns, George W.-675.
Stepper, John G.-338.
Stewart, Frederick W.-572..
Stiles, Luther.-88.
Stillman, H. B.-i4o, 222.
St. Joseph River.-I9, 78.
St. Mary's Parish.-462.
Stokes, Mary A.-35I.
Straight, Henry E.-22o, 731.
Stray, George J.-788.
Stuart, James, B.-5I.
'Studley, Jerome J.-Io7.
Styles, George.-2i8.
Sun. The.-143.
Sunday School Association, Branch County.
-209.
Supervisors-Lists Of, 300-321.
Survey of County.-6-I5; value of, 6; "rectangular system," 6; meridian and base
line, 6; "Field Notes," 7; beginning
Of, 7; survey of Chicago road, 36.
Surveyors, County-List of, 9; 299.
Swain, Charles E.-44o.
Swain, Frank.-5 i8.




INDEX


x V


Swain, James.-I55, 156, I73, 513.
Talbott, Leroy B.-553.
Tapn Frank T. —8oi.
Taylor, Leonar.57
Telegraph.-First in county, 130.
Telephones.-History of, I35-I36.
Thatcher, Reuben J.-573.
Thompson, David.-217.
Thompson, Roy. —607.
Thorpe, Calvin J.-I43. i44. i86, 187, ~211.
Tibbits, Allen.-54; settles in Goldwater, 55;
zeal in promoting village, 57.
Tibbits Opera House.-95.
Tift, David.-8-7.
Times, The Quincy.-145.
Toledo War.-I3.
Tomlinson, Alex E. —8i.
Tompkins, Charles A.-369.
Tompkins, Francis J.-55, 839.
Tompkins, James B.-75, 76.
Tompkins, James T. —679.
Tompkins, William A.-743.
Toole, John.-Pioneer teacher and mill proprietor, 5I (see Bronson).
Topography of Branch County.-i6-20.
Tower, Isaac.-384.
Tower, Willis H.-385.
Townships.-Four fractional, when surveyed,
14; drainage, 2I-23; formation Of, 38 -41; government and civil, 38; Green,
38; Coldwater, 39; Prairie River, 39
(see under township names).
Township Officers-Lists of,- 300-321.
Trails, Indian.-35 (see Indians).
Transportation.-By St. Joseph river, 78 (see
Chicago road); history of, in Branch
County, 129-I37.
Treasurers.-Township, lists Of, 300-32I.
Treasurers.-Village, lists Of, 321-326.
Treat, Samuel 1-423.
Treat, Samuel M.-86.
Tripp, David.-434.
Tripp, George.-85.
Truesdell, C. L.-103.
Tucker, Chester 5.-223.
Turner, G. H.-14I; i86.
Turner, John W.-217, 21I.
Turner, Nathaniel.-83.
Turner, Sarah M.-709.
Turner, Samuel R.-596.
Turner, Thomas J.-865.
Tuttle, George A.-46o.
Twadell. Rodney K.-685.
Tyler, Alphonso.-446.
Tyler, William M.-359.
Underground Railroad.-99.
Union City.-78; platted, 79; history, 98-ie -
manufacturing, I17 et seq.; schools,
167 et seq.; library, i8i; churches, i90
et seq.
Union City National Bank.-I26.
Union Schools-Origin of, 153; I72.


Union Township.-39; settlement Of, 78-81;
pioneers of, 8o; officials Of, 3i8.
Unitarian Churches.-2o6.
United Brethren Churches.-205.
Upson, Alonzo S5-125, 350.
Upson, Charles.-2I4, 216, 2i;2, 348.
Van Aken, George WV-114, 712.
Van Aken, M. J.-815.
Van Blarcum Family.-75.
Van Every, Chauncey 1VJ-358.
Van Nuys, J. H.-544.
Vanl Schoick, Rev. R. W.-187.
Van Slvck, William. —8io.
Villages of Branch County.-98-io7.
Vosburgh, Mortimer.-849.
Waggot, D. D.-145.
Walter, William.-564.
Wanar, William.-652.
Warner, C. D.-615.
Warner, E. A.-2i6.
Warner, Harvey.-At Village of Branch, 52,
53).
Warren, Elisha.-Plats Branch Village, 52;
sketch, 53.
Warren's Military Band.-io6.
Wars.-Branch County in the country's, 256 -296.
Warsabo, L. A.-224, 490.
Waterhouse Corners.-85.
Waterhouse, John.-85.
Waterman, David and Alonzo.-42.
Waters, Samuel.-4o9.
Waterworks.-In Coldwater, 94; in Union
ICity, i00; Quincy, 102.
Watkins, Edward M.-542.
Watkins, Ed W.-663.
Watson, Frank J.-634.
Watson, Joseph.-io6.
Watson, Robert. —83. 627.
Wattles, George C.-537.
Wesleyan Methodist Church at Coldwater.I92.
West, Charles P.-I39, I85.
West, Laura.-i86.
White, Dana P.-750.
White, Geo. M. —817.
Whitehead, Henry V.-87o.
Whitley, Henry C.-755.
Whitney, Willard.-6og.
Wilber, H-avens.-570.
Wilcox, Edward P.-5155.
Wilcox, Loring P.-704.
Wilkins, John H.-758.
Willbur, P. D.-6I4.
Williams, C. Ross.-5io.
Williams, E. H.-485.
Williams, Frank N.-397.
Williams, Harlow W.-468.
Williams, Mary M.-794.
Williams, Sheldon.-85.
WV\illis, George E.-670.
Willis, William. —602.




xvi


INDEX


Wilison, Horris.-Qulincy pioneer, 65.
Wilson, L. T. N.-2i6.
Wilson, Reuben and Daniel.-86.
Wilson, William.-224; 623.
Wing, Lucius M.-740.
Withington, Myron J.-7i8.
Wolverine Telephone Co.-I36.
Woman's Christian Temperance lUnion.-209.
Woman's Relief Corps.-Union City, 230.
Women's Clubs (see Clubs).
Wood, David H.-69i.
Woodcox, Cornelius H.-224.
Woodward, Horace J.-669.
Wooley, Celia Parker.-i87.


Wright, C. D.-2I8.
Yeatter, Sydney E.-789.
York Village.-Original name of Bronson,
40, 42.
Young, Charles H1-I45, 692.
Young, D. W.-Io3.
Young, Hiram.-6o8.
Young Men's Christian Association.-237.
Young, William F.-475.
Youngs, Dwight E.-86i.
Zimmerman, John D.-99.
Zimmerman, Lorenzo.-532.








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The location and number of every schoolhouse in the county is indicated by a square and a heavy-faced numeral.
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Pains have been taken to represent every highway as found in the county at the date of publication.




I*
I  _1~~ ~




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY.
CHAPTER I.
THE COUNTY AS A SUBJECT OF HISTORY.
"All parti-colored threads the weaver Time
Sets in his web, now trivial, now sublime,
All memories, all forebodings, hopes and fears,
Mountain and river, forest, prairie, sea,
A hill, a rock, a homestead, field, or tree,
The casual gleaiiings of unreckoned years,
'Fake goddess-shape at last and there is She."
— James Rutsscll Lozeell.
Branch County, Michigan, is a name having two distinct though closely
connected meanings. It denotes a certain definite portion of the earth's surface, and also the people inhabiting that portion.  This definite area is a
part of the territory of the "The State of Michigan," and is thereby also a
lpart of the domain of that great body politic known as " The United States
of \America." In its designation of the people inhabiting this area, the name
Branch county signifies that they are themselves an organized, political " body
corporate," with a certain distinct life of their own, and that at the same
time they are a part of " The People of the State of Michigan," and also of
that great republic of united states of which the State of Michigan is one.
In this volume the writers and publishers of it have undertaken to present ini printed form a history of Branch County. Michigan. as thus definel.
These sentences are being written in the year 1905 A. D., or in the fifth
year of the twentieth century of the Christian era.  We propose to look
at the life the people of this county have lived upon their land in the light
of the knowledge and thought of this Twentieth Christian Century.     We
shall attempt to compose their history, as nearly as we may, in accordance
with the principles and methods with which the Twentieth Century historian's
art portrays humanity's past.
The area now definitely known as Branch county was made definite, was
male into a county, and the name of " Branch " was given to it, by the Legis-!ative Council and Governor of the Territory oif Michigan, on the 29th
of October, 1829. The part of the act by which this was cone reads thus:
"That so much of the country as lies west of the line between ranges four
and five, west of the meridian, and east of the line between ranges eight
and nine west, and south of the line between townships four and five, south




2


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


of the base line, and north of the boundary-line between this Territory and
the State of Indiana, be and the same is hereby set off into a separate county,
and the name thereof shall be Branch."  As thus created, defined, and
named, this area has remained without change in its boundaries from the
above date to the present, and has been recognized as Branch County by all
the people and powers that be that have had anything to do with it. It has
thus had a continuous existence for seventy-six years. It is true. as will
be noted more particularly in later pages, that in the full political sense of
the term " county " the people residing on the area so named did not become
a complete, organized, separate county until March I, 1833, or until nearly
four years after the area had been made such geographically.
The second and more important part of what the word " county " denotes
in American speech and literature, is the people inhabiting its area as
organized into a civil social body or body politic. The census taken by the
State of Michigan in I904, one year ago, gave the population of Branch
County as 26,397.   The separate enumeration of the people of Branch
County as such was made in the first state census in I837. At least this is
the first such enumeration of which the records are known by the officials of
the counrty and state to be in existence. That census of I837 made known
the fact that Branch County as a distinct body politic consisted of 4,0I6
persons. During the 68 years from I837 to 1905, that body of 4,016 men,
women and children became 26,397.
The subject before us, both as writers and readers, is Branch County in
the twofold meaning of the name as thus described. In writing its history,
its people and their life will be the continuous and chief object of our
attention. We accept the generally recognized truth, that the life of people
is largely determined by the land upon which they live, by climate and the
other various factors of nature's environment. But the central object of
our conteniplation will be first, those 4,0I6 men, women and children who
were living the county's life in 1837, and then those who inherited it and
further developed it through the decades and generations following.  To
portray what this life has been in its manifold forms, to indicate the causes
of it, to trace the generative and formative forces at work in it, and to show
some of the facts and truths that will help the 26,000 people of the county
today in their efforts for even greater prosperity and welfare in the years
before them, this is the task we have undertaken. Among the matters thus
to be written of in this history are these: the physical, mental, moral and
religious character of those who began the communities of Coldwater, Quincy,
Union City and Bronson and of those who formed the sixteen organized townships of the county; their nationality, whether born in the United States
or in some foreign country; from what other portions of the United States
those who have moved into the county have come, and thus what ideas
and customs they have brought with them and made a part of the county's
life; the industries in which the people have engaged, the wealth that has been
accumulated, the kind of dwellings the inhabitants have built for themselves,
and the domestic conveniences they have had in them; the general conditions




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


3


as to health and sanitary care; the means of intercourse and transportation,
that is, roads, highways, railroads, vehicles, bicycles and automobiles, telegraphs and telephones; the kinds of persons who have been the teachers,
clergymen, physicians and lawyers of the county; the institutions and social
agencies through which education, intelligence, culture, music, painting,
morality, public spirit and religion have been promoted, that is, schools,
newspapers, fraternal, philanthropic and political societies, theaters and opera
houses, churches and Sunday schools; the divisions of the people among the
great political parties of the nation, party politics in the county, and the
administration of the various offices of the county, of its one city, and its
several villages and townships. The life of the county in these various forms
has embodied itself more largely in some individual men and women than
in others. Accordingly, it is part of the plan of this work to give large space
to the biographies and portraits of persons in whom the life of the county
has more largely and influentially expressed itself. We shall strive to make
our record as complete as space will permit. Absolute freedom from error
will be impossible, but we shall take great care to make the history and biographical sketches accurate in statement and truthful to life as it has been
lived by individual men and women and by the people of the county as a
whole.
The white inhabitants of Branch county's area, besides thus living their
own life within it among themselves, have also lived a life in mutual relations with the rest of mankind. They have been a part of larger wholes.
They have put elements into the larger life of these larger wholes, and have
received elements from them into its own life. A complete history of the
county's area and inhabitants must recognize this connection. The area of
the county, along with the peninsula of which it is a part, has been under
the jurisdiction successively of the kingdom of France, the kingdom of Great
Britain, and the republic of the United States. Indeed there is a still more
primary relation of this area of which a complete history must take note,
~namely, its natural relation as a part of the earth's surface to the peninsula
lying between Lakes Erie and Huron on the east and Lake Michigan on the
west. As an arena of the history of the people occupying it, beginning with
the family of " Jabe " Bronson in I828, it has had its animal life and its vegetation, or its fauna and its flora, its rainfall and other meteorological conditions, its surface with slopes and prairie-like portions, its land and its water,
its lakes and streams with the direction and movement of their waters, its
soil, its stone, its clay and marl, and its underlying and outcropping geological strata. All these natural factors have affected the life of the people
who have increased from one family to 26,000. But these factors and their
effect upon the people cannot be understood and historically exhibited without considering their relation to the large region to which this particular area
belongs.  The several sciences into which these natural features fall have
described and explained the corresponding phases of nature in this large
region. Even the history of a county, or of a township, must recognize the
influence of nature in it upon man's life in it, and must use what science




4


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


tells us are thc facts and truths of nature in the large region, in exhibiting the
facts and truths of nature in the lesser area. On this arena with its physical
condition and its previous political relations with France, England and the
United States, the 4,0o6 white inhabitants of Branch county in 1837 began
their relation with the new state of Michigan, which that year was admitted
as such into the Union. Since that time the inhabitants of the county as a
body politic have carried on their life as an organic part of the state of
Michigan, and through it also as an organic part of our great American
republic, while in numerous other ways than those strictly civil and political
the people of the county have entered into the life of the people of the commonwealth, of the nation and of the world, and have taken the life of these
larger realms into their own. The forms and the products of this continuous
interaction will be to many, perhaps, the more interesting part of our county's
historv.
These introductory thoughts indicate the scope of this work and our
aims in it. Stated briefly, these aims have been three fold: i. To show how
Branch county came into existence as a (lefinite area and what it has been as
such. 2. To portray what the life of the people within this area has been.
3. To make the vision of the past a pleasure and a recompense to those who
have done anything for the welfare and happiness of Branch county's people
and the world thus far, and an incentive and inspiration to all to live for this
welfare and happiness in even a higher degree in the future.
In preparing to write this history, it was natural that we should acquaint
ourselves with whatever history of the county mav have been composed by
previous writers. Anv such previous work would be sure to be of service in
presenting another and later picture of Branch county's life. Considerable
of a historical nature relating to the county has been written and printed during the last fifty years, and much too in the way of biography of persons who
have been residents in it. What has been thus done is itself material for our
history. Moreover, justice to preceding writers and honesty with our readers require that the work of those writers be recognized and that acknowl-'
edgment be made of its value and use. It is our purpose to give in another
place in this volume a complete bibliography of the county. In only two
instances, however, have a history of the county and biographies of its residents been printed in book form with contents extensive enough to be properly called a county history or a county biography. We make mention here
of these two works, inasmuch as the first one in particular comes into consideration in laying out the plan and the periods of the present historv. The
first one was entitled as follows: " History of Branch County, Michigan,
with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of its Prominent Men
and Pioneers."  This history was written by Mr. Crisfield Johnson, and was
published by Everts and Abbott of Philadelphia, in 1879. It is a medium
sized quarto volume of 347 pages. The second work referred to has the following title page: " Portrait and Biographical Album of Branch County,
Michigan, containing Full Page Portraits and Biographical Sketches of
Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County, Together with Por



HITSTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


5


traits and Biographllies of all the Governors of the State and the Presidentts
of the United States.  Chicago, Chapman Brothers, I888."  This volume
is a smaller sized q(uarto than the other, vbut contains 6,54 pages. Tlhe latter
part is devoted to Branch county and begins with page I8o, thus giving to
the county 474 pages.
The forner of thlese works was a real history of the county. Tlhe latter was a collection of brief biographies of "prominent and representative
citizens of the county,  364 in number, blut it contained no history proper
apart from the " biographical sketches." TJhe other volume compiled by Mr.
Johnson was a fairly full general history of the county as a whole, with a
particular history of its one city, its four villages, and its sixteen townships,
up to the (late of its publication, the year I879. Since then no such particular
historv of the conintv as a whole has been given to the public or attempted
until the present work was begun.
We now present the periodls into which the entire time of the county's
life may be conveniently dlivided by reason of events andl developments in
it. These periods will form the general frameNwork rwhich we shall use in
building up the present history.
I. Froml 1828 to 8,42; or, from the year of the first white settlement in
the countv at Bronson to the transfer of the county seat from the village of
Branch to Coldwater.
2. From 1842 to 18615 oir, from the location of the county seat in
Coldwater to the close of the Civil war.
3. From T865 to 18791; or, from the return home of Branch county's
soldiers in the Civil war to the publishing of Mr. Crisfield Johnson's history
of the county.
4. Froml 1879 to I9C6; or, from the publishing of Mr. Johnson's history
by Everts and Abbott to the publication of The Twrentieth Century History
of the County by The Lewis Pbllllishing Company of Chicago.




6


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


CHAPTER     II.
THE CREATION       ANDI SURVEY      OF THE COUNTY.
Let us now note precisely what and where Branch county is, its area,
and hoxw men came to define its boundaries with. the precision of civilized
custom and to make them permanent. We have already referred to the act
by which the county was created, and have quoted from it the exact language
in which its area was described and its boundaries established. The language
thus used by the legislative council of the territory of Michigan is that in
which the United States government describes and bounds the surveyed divisions of its public lands. It implied that already, previous to I829, the surveyors of the United States had been over the territory to be made into
Branch county, and had divided it into " ranges " of townships " west of the
meridian," and into "townships " "south of the base line."  These terms
assumed that these men had already measured and marked off this land into
portions six miles square and containing a certain number of acres.
This work of the United States surveyor must be done before people in
the domain of the United States can begin to live upon its land and form such
associations with each other as constitute a county. Only on condition of
this preliminary work having been done can definite individual ownership
exist, and those mutual rights and duties of men with each other be established,
which make an organic body such as a township or a county possible. The
legislative council of Michigan territory were able to declare where and what
the area of our county should be, because the United States measurers of
land had already laid their measuring chain upon the land out of which the
county was to be made. It was this fact that made it possible, for example,
for John Morse in 1830 and Robert H. Abbott in I83I to each become the
owner of "80 acres " now lying within the limits of the City of Coldwater.
In I796 congress enacted the law in accordance with which all the public
lands were to be surveyed. The system embodied in this act is called " The
Rectangular System." The original act has been repeatedly amended by congress, and the methods of making the surveys under it have been continually
modified and improved, but the system as such has been used through the
hundred years from 1796 to the present time. The entire territory of the
present state of Michigan has been surveyed and divided into townships in
accordance with this system and with reference to a certain " meridian " and
base line."
"The meridian " spoken of in the territorial act as determining the location of Branch county was a north and south line known in the United States
survey as "the principal meridian of the peninsula of Michigan."  It is a




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


7


line running due north from the mouth of the Auglaize river, which empties
into the Maumee near Defiance, Ohio. " The base line," or the east and
west line also mentioned in the act creating the county, is a line crossing
the principal meridian at a point 54 miles north of the southern boundary
of the state. It now forms the northern boundary of all the counties in the
second tier, or of the counties from Wayne on the east to Van Buren on
Lake Michigan, the tier next north of Branch. With this principal meridian
and this base line established, the surveyors of the general government began
to go over the public land of the peninsula of Michigan lying north of Indiana
and Ohio, with compass and chain, and to mark trees and set posts for the
boundaries of townships and sections and quarter-sections.  These surveyors knew, of course, no names of counties and townships as we know them
now, neither did they give names at all to townships or groups of townships as they surveyed them. They recorded and dated carefully day by
day their measurements and topographical notes in their note-books, thus
creating the original " Field Notes," which in Branch county and every
county today are of such primary and incalculable importance for titles,
deeds, mortgages and all transactions involving buying, selling and owning
of land. As they tramped over the surface of the country, measuring and
marking it off into portions each exactly six miles square, making a township, they gave no names to the townships, but merely numbered them in
their relation to meridian and base line, according to the ingenious but simple
system, the principles of which were struck in the Land Ordinance of I785, but
which appeared fairly well developed in the Congressional Act of I796.
Mr. Silas Farmer, in his " Michigan Book" of I90I, says: " The public surveys of the region including Michigan were begun in I815." In the
" Outline History of Michigan," contained in the Legislative Manual of I9o5,
the statement is made that " the survey of public lands began in 8i6." We
shall see that there is a sense in which each of these authorities is correct
as to the year in which the United States surveyors began laying the foundations of the white man's civilization on the public lands of the Michigan
peninsula. The earliest date appended to any part of their records or "field
notes " of their survey of what afterward became Branch county, is January
23, I825. It was thus ten years after the beginning of their work in the
Michigan country that the surveyor's chain was first laid down within the
limits of our county. The eastern boundary of Branch county was stated
in the creating act to be "the line between ranges four and five west of
the meridian." Its distance west from the meridian was accordingly twentyfour miles. The surveyors must necessarily start from the principal meridian in measuring off their townships, and work east and west from it. In
working westward from it towards our area, they must first lay out the
townships which are now Hillsdale county, as this is the first county west
of the meridian in the southern tier of counties, and indeed is the only
county between the meridian and Branch county. The exact location of the
townships destined to become Branch county would be dependent upon the
previous location of the townships to become Hillsdale county, and the




8


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


dependence of all these townships of both counties was dependent upon the
Michigan meridian.  This dependence was so close and so important that
a glance at the survey of Hillsdale's townships and at the history of the
meridian itself will be interesting and will make our own history more complete.
The Territorial Act of October 29, 1829, creating Branch county, at the
same time also created and set off all the counties touching it on its three
Michigan sides, namely, Hillsdale, Jackson, Calhoun, Kalamazoo and St.
Joseph. The meridian itself was made the eastern boundary of the county
to be called Hillsdale. This meridian has already been stated to be a line
starting from the mouth of the Auglaize river in Ohio and running due
north. -But how come it to start from that point?  Mr. Crisfield Johnson
in his History of Branch County, p. 29, has indicated the answer. In a
treaty made with the Indians November 17, 18o7, they ceded their rights
to certain land. The exact language of the treaty describing the western
boundary of this land was in part the following:  " To the mouth of the
great Au Glaize river; thence running due north until it intersects a parallel
of latitude, to be drawn from the outlet of Lake Huron, which forms the
river Sinclair."  Evidently the boundary line in this Indian treaty of I807
is the origin of the Michigan meridian, but when it was officially determined upon and proclaimed as such, or when the actual survey of it from
the mouth of the Auglaize was begun, the present writer has not yet with
certainty discovered.
However, as to when that part of the meridian lying within the state
of Michigan was actually run, the book of Field Notes of Hillsdale County
in the office of its county surveyor shows us with almost conclusive certainty.
The eastern boundary of all the townships in the easternmost range of Hillsdale county is identical with the principal meridian. All these townships
are in " range I west," that is, in the first range west of the meridian. The
present names of these townships from south to north are Wright, Pittsford,
Wheatland and Somerset. At the end of the field notes of the survey of
the " East Boundary " of Wright township, or T 8 S, R I W, in the Hillsdale County Book of Field Notes, is written the following: "Oct. 6, 1815,
Benj. Hough, D. S." The notes of the eastern boundaries of the other three
townships are subscribed in nearly the same manner. The notes of Pittsford,
or T 7 S, R I W, are subscribed thus: "Surveyed in 1815 by Benj.
Hough, D. S."; of Wheatland, "Oct. 6, I8I5.  Surveyed by Benj. Hough,
D. S."; and of Somerset, " Surveyed in 1815 by Benj. Hough, D. S." These
subscriptions or certifications, copied from the manuscript volume of Field
Notes in the office of the county surveyor of Hillsdale county, are in themselves almost decisive proof that all that part of the principal meridian of
Michigan forming the eastern boundary of Hillsdale county was run and
marked out in I8I15 and probably in the month of October. Quite likely
nothing more was done by the surveyors in the year 1815 than the running
of the principal meridian. This may be thought of as the beginning of the
public survey of the region, and in this sense the survey of the public lands








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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


of Michigan may be said to have begun in 18g5. In the stricter sense,
the survey did not begin until the surveyors actually began to lay off townsllips, and this probably did not commence until I816.
But while the eastern boundaries of Hillsdale's eastern range of townships were all run in I8i5, none of the other boundaries of those townships
nor any boundary of any other township was run until in 1823. Then in
1823, I8,24 and 18125 the country which now forms the area of Hillsdale
county was marked off by the United States surveyors into six-mile square
townships in ranges west of the meridian and south of the base line, and
(lesignated accordingly. In the Field Notes of Hillsdale County over the
(late, " Feb. 3, I825," and over the name, ' John Mullett, D. S.", stands a
note whicl shows that on that day the surveyors touched territory that is
now Branch county. That note is this:   i set post cor. T 5 & 6 S, Rs 4
& 5 W."   This was the post now marking the common corner of the two
townships in Hillsdale now known as Litchfield and Allen, and the two
in Branch, now known as Butler and Quincy.
We thus see that in working westward from the principal meridian, the
surveyors reached what was to become Branch county land on the 3d of
February, 1825, or a week or ten (lays before. We have already noted that
the earliest (late of a day's survey entered in the Branch County Book of
Field Notes was January 23, 1825. A photographic fac-simile of the page
on which this (late stands is inserted in this volume, it being perhaps a representation of thle oldest official document originating within our county.
The surveyor who signedl his name to these field notes and entered this
earliest date appears to have been William Brookfield. The latest date given
in the volume of Field Notes is June 12, 1820. The time during which
the United States surveyors were occupied in the survey of our county
lands was about four and a half years.
The men who, during these four and a half years of 1825 to 1829,
actually went over the land of Branch county as United States surveyors
were John Mullett, Robert Clarke, Jr., William  Brookfield, and Orange
Risdon.  The original "field notes " or records which they made of their
surveys are to the people of Branch county without question the most important documents in existence. A few statements as to the history of these
"notes" will be of interest to those who see the important things in a
county's life even though they may not be conspicuous. At the close of each
day, these men wrote off in small blank books the records of the lines they
had run, their direction. the exact distance measured, the posts they had
set, and the trees or other objects they had marked to indicate the location
of their lines. The original note books written out by these surveyors were
deposited with the land commissioner of the state after its organization.
They are now in the office of the commissioner in Lansing. In November,
1905, the present writer called at the rooms of the state land office in the
capitol at Lansing, and at his request the land commissioner, William H.
Rose, kindly put the original note books of Branch county as written up
by the United States surveyors into his hands for examination there. These




10


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


books are in general about four inches wide, six inches long, and about a
quarter of an inch thick, and contain about thirty leaves. Each book contains commonly the records of the survey of one township, that is, of the
lines which were run to form the boundaries of the township itself, and its
sections, and quarter-sections.  With an eager interest the writer took in
his hand the book containing the Field Notes of T 5 S, R 5 W, now
the township of Butler, the features of which may serve as an example of
the entire set. The book contains thirty-two leaves. On the first page is a
map of the township, with its sections numbered from I to 36, and with its
streams and some other topographical features indicated. Underneath the
map is written, " Recorded S. Morrison," which is understood to mean, that
the notes of this book have been copied into books of record in the United
States Land Office in Washington, and that the fact and the correctness of
the recorded copy were certified to by S. Morrison. The pages of this particular little book are not numbered. On the leaf following that having the
map, the notes, written in ink, begin. Apparently the notes were made
during the day or at the close of each day's work, and when a day's work
was done and the notes of it were written out, the date of the day was appended to them. The first date thus written is " Oct. 30," but the year is
not written; then follow notes and dates consecutively until "Nov. 7," implying that the surveyors worked nine days in succession in going through
the timbered lands and swamps and streams and openings of Butler township as they were in I825, one of which days must of course have been
Sunday. Thirteen dates in all are entered in the notes, the last being " Nov.
I3," all without the year. On the last page, however, stands this entry,
"Certified this 2Ist day of January, 1826. Robert Clark, Jr., Dep. Sur."
The " field notes " in these original small note books' of the U. S. deputy
surveyors were afterward copied into books of record in Washington, as was
illustrated above in the case of the original book of Robert Clark, Jr., containing the notes of Butler township. When the survey of the entire state
was completed, the original books themselves were given into the possession
of the state land commissioner in Lansing.  The survey was finished in
I857, and May I Ith of that year the originals were deposited with the
commissioner.
The records contained in these note books have been very important
in the life of the county from its beginning continuously. They are the
ultimate authority of the county surveyor in determining the boundaries of
townships and of farms owned and bought and sold. While these books
in Lansing were the only legal records of these surveys, the people of the
county were obliged to obtain certified copies of the records from Lansing
when needed. It would seem that this was done until 18,7I. At present
the county surveyor of Branch county has in his official possession in one
large book a copy of all the field notes contained in the small note books
as made by the U. S. surveyors in surveying the entire area of the county.
This book is the official " Field Notes " of the county. At the close of
the notes, on page 5791, stands the written certification of E. H. Parker,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


11


deputy commissioner in the land office at Lansing, with the date of March 22,
I871, that these notes are a correct and complete copy of the originals. There
exists only one other copy of these notes, it is believed, and this copy is
now in possession of Mr. Ianthus D. Miner, a resident of Coldwater.
Mr. Miner obtained this copy from Dr. John H. Bennett, who had it made
from the countv's book.
The act by which our county was created and its boundaries named
described its eastern and western boundaries, as we have seen, by lines between ' ranges," and its northern boundary by " the line between townships
4 and 5 south of the base line."  Its southern boundary, however, was
described in different terms, namely, "the boundary line between this territo.l, and the state of Indiana." The year of this act was I829, and it recognizes the boundary of Indiana as already established. The boundaries of
states are determined by Congress. The act authorizing the formation of
the state of Indiana and naming its boundaries was approved by the president April I9, 1816. The state by this act was to be bounded on the north
" by an east and west line drawn through a point ten miles north of the
southern extreme of Lake Michigan," and extending from that point on
Lake Michigan to the north and south line forming the western boundary
of Ohio. This is the first time that this line appears in any official acts of
the national or state governments. The people within the boundaries named
responded to the enabling act of Congress by electing representatives who
were to meet in convention at Corydon, June Io, I816i. The convention
was in session from June I to 29. It accepted the boundary proposed by
the enabling act, and December IIth of the same year the state of Indiana
was admitted into the Union with its northern land boundary a line drawn
as described, from a point on Lake Michigan straight east until it meets the
western boundary of Ohio extended northward.  This northern boundary
of Indiana, thus established in I816, remained unchanged from that time
on. It becanme consequently a line to be recognized by the U. S. surveyors
in their survey of the public lands and their laying out these lands into
townships from certain meridians and base lines. Some nine years before
any of the land now forming Branch county had been touched by the U. S.
surveyors this northern boundary of Indiana had been authoritatively proclaimed on paper, though the boundary was not actually run by surveyors
until 1827 and 18,28. Moreover, when the United States surveyors began
laying off the public lands of the Indiana country into rectangular townships,
they did it from another meridian and another base line, and when the year
i8i6 determined the northern boundary of the' state of Indiana, it determined also the southern limit of the country to be laid off into townships
from Michigan's meridian and base line. Hence, when in working south
from our base line in laying off their six-mile square townships, the surveyors came to the Indiana line, they had reached the limit of land to be
made into townships from the Michigan base line and meridian.
It is to be borne in mind that the U. S. survey of the land that became
Branch county was made after Indiana had become a state in I8 6, and




12          HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
while Michigan was a territory, and that the creation and naming of the
boundaries of our county was an act of our territorial authorities in 1829.
The southern boundaries of all the counties in Michigan's southern tier are
coincident of course with the boundary lines between the state and the two
states south of it, Indiana and Ohio. The history of these state lines is
the history in general of the county boundaries. We have given in brief
the history of the Indiana state line and of its particular connection with
Branch county. Branch is the easternmost of the four counties having the
Indiana line, a due east and west line, as their entire southern boundary.
Hillsdale county has about one mile of this line in its boundary, which then
follows the Indiana boundary south about two miles, when it reaches the
Ohio line at its starting point eastward.  But the northern boundary of
Ohio is not exactly a due east and west line, as a careful look at any accurate
map of Ohio and Michigan will disclose, and the same is true of course
of the southern boundary of Michigan and of all the counties bordering
upon Ohio. These state lines have a long, large and interesting history, and
this is especially true of the one between Ohio and Michigan. But Branch
county does not touch Ohio even at its corner, and it must suffice for a history of this county to merely indicate the movement in men's thought and
the chief events which took place in the course of the settlement of the Ohio
and Indiana state boundaries on the north.
People's thought relating to these boundary lines found its first formal
legislative expression in that great regulative document, " The Ordinance
of 1787 for the Government of the Northwest Territory."  Article 5 of this
ordinance named the eastern, southern and western boundaries of what became Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, and thein said: " If Congress shall find it
hereafter expedient, they shall have authority to establish one or two states
in that part of said territory which lies north of an east and west line drawn
through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan."  May 7, S8oo,
Congress made the eastern part of our peninsula a part of the Northwest
Territory along with what is now Ohio, while the western part was included
in Indiana territory. The country now forming Branch county belongs to
this western part along with what is now the state of Indiana. April 30,
I802, Congress passed an enabling act, according to which the people within
certain boundaries might form a state to be called Ohio. The northern
boundary of the new state was to be the east and west line of the Ordinance
of 1787, running east from the western boundary named for it. The western boundary named was what it is today, and as this line lies a short distance east of Branch county's territory, Ohio's boundary lines formed no
actual part of Branch county's boundaries that were to be. Uncertainty
arose in the minds of the Ohio people, when their convention came to consider the enabling act, as to where the line running due east from " the
southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan" would strike Lake Erie. Notwithstanding this uncertainty and a proviso adopted by the convention to
meet it, Congress admitted Ohio as a state, February I9, 1803, with the
due east and west line of the ordinance as its prescribed constitutional bound







HARRIS _LIE
ORDINANCE LINE


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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


13


ary. But the uncertainty remained, and immediately began to produce trouble
between the state and the people of the territory of Michigan.
The dispute over the exact location of this boundary line lasted from
18o3 to I837, the year in which Michigan was admitted to the Union. January 26 of that year the act of Congress admitting Michigan, with the consti-.
tution which had been adopted for it, was approved by Andrew Jackson as
president. That constitution declared definitely what the southern boundary
of Michigan should be, and the act of Congress settled the dispute which
had been troubling the people of Michigan for thirty-four years, in which
the people of Branch county had become involved along with the rest. Article
I of the constitution of our state describes its boundaries, and the portion
relating to the line between it and Ohio bears so many interesting marks
of its history that we quote it:  " Commencing at a point on the eastern
boundary line of the state of Illdiana, where a direct line drawn from the
southern extremity of Lake Michigan to the most northerly cape of the
Maumee bay shall intersect the same-said point being the northwest corner
of the state of Ohio, as established by the act of Congress, entitled ' An act
to establish the northern boundary of the state of Ohio, and to provide for
the admission of the state of Michigan into the Union upon the conditions
therein expressed,' approved June fifteenth, one thousand eight hundred and
thirty-six, thence with the said boundary line of the state of Ohio till it.
intersects the boundary line between the LUnited States and Canada in Lake
Erie."
This boundary line between the two states, as finally fixed, was not a
due east and west line, as we have already stated. It runs a little north of
east. Branch county's southern boundary has not been at all a part of that
state boundary line. Our entire southern boundary is a part of Indiana's
northern line, but this was clefined and laid out with a reference to the same
point from whilh the Ohio boundary line at first and finally was determined,
namely, " the southern extremity of Lake Michigan."  Moreover, Branch
county people in 1835 took part in the so-called Toledo War, which arose
in the controversy over that Ohio line.
We have already narrated the action of Congress and of the people of
Indiana, by which the northern boundary of Indiana as a state was established in I816, and made to be a line due east from Lake Michigan running
ten miles north of the east and west line of the Ordinance of 1787. Through
all the nearly thirty years from 1787 to I816, the people of the Michigan
peninsula had assume d that the Ordinance line east from the southern extreme of Lake Michigan was to be recognized as the boundary line of states
south of them.   In 1818, the authorities of Michigan territory protested
that Congress had no right to include in the state of Indiana the strip of
land ten miles wide north of that line. They continued( to insist upon their
just claims to this strip even up to the years of 18135 and I836, when the
people through their conventions were seeking admission as a state.  The
convention at Ann Arbor, December I4, 1836, finally agreed to the conditions set forth in the act of Congress for the admission of Michigan as a




14


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


state, namely, that Michigan should accept the boundaries claimed by Ohio
and Indiana and should receive the Upper Peninsula as a compensation therefor. The congressional act of admission soon followed, and from January
26, I837, the boundary lines therein laid down have been accepted without
serious question.
Thus we have seen that the southern boundary of our county as a
legally described line came into existence in I8.6, that that line was described with reference to a geographical point used in the Ordinance of I787,
and that it became the boundary of our county as it now is by, territorial act
in I829. But this line as the northern boundary of Indiana was not actually
run and marked off until I827 and 18.28. In the former year a bill was
passed by Congress providing for its being run and marked. The work
was begun October 8, I827, by Mr. E. P. Hendricks, under the authority of
the surveyor general of the United States. '
The four small townships of our county bordering on Indiana were not
laid off by the United States surveyors until 1828, and, as appears quite
plainly from the Field Notes of the county, not until after the Indiana
boundary had been run and marked by Mr. Hendricks. These four are townships 8 south, of ranges 5, 6, 7 and 8 west, or what afterward became California, Kinderhook, Gilead and Noble. The Notes show naturally that the
township of range 5, or California, was the first to be surveyed. Over the
date and name, " April 7, I828, Robert Clarke, Jun. D. S.," stands the following note of the east boundary of this township: "Intersected N. boundary of Indiana 30.89 west of o104th mile post. Set post." April i3th following, Mr. Clarke ran the western boundary of this township to the Indiana
line and set a post at the intersection of the two. " Snowed this day three
inches deep," he wrote as a beginning of our weather bureau records. April
23d he did the same for the western boundary of Kinderhook, or the eastern
boundary of Gilead; April 3oth, the same for the western boundary of Gilead;
and May 6th, I828, he ran and marked the western boundary of T 8 S.
R 8 W, or of Noble township, and set a post, which marked the southwest
corner of the county when it came into existence in I829, and which marks
it probably today.
The southern boundaries of these townships, or the southern boundary
of the county, pnay also be described in terms of latitude, if the boundary
between the two states has thus been determined and recorded, inasmuch as
the former boundaries ought to be identical with the latter one or the latter
ones. The 1906 edition of Lippincott's Gazetteer gives the north boundary
of Indiana as " the parallel of 41 degrees, 46 minutes, north," and the south
boundary of Michigan as " the parallel of 4-I degrees and 42 minutes north."
There seems to be a difference of four minutes between the latitude of the
north boundary of Indiana and that of the south boundary of Michigan,
though there is no difference among authorities as to the exact location of
the one line forming the two boundaries on the surface of the ground.
The exact courses of the line referred to in the Ordinance of I787, of
the Harris line run in I816 for the northern boundary of Ohio, and of the




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                         15
line named as the northern boundary of Indiana, and becoming the southern
boundary of Branch county, the exact courses of all these lines depended upon
the exact location of one point, namely, the point assumed to be the southern
bend or extreme of Lake Michigan. When this point was actually determined and marked by the United States surveyors I have not been able
definitely to ascertain. The first actual survey of a line from this point, of
which I know, was the one run in part in I815, and which was begun anew
and completed in 1816 and I817 by a Mr. Harris, in accordance with the
proviso of Ohio's state constitution. The point must have been established,
therefore, as early as the surveys of 1815 and I8I6, at any rate. In I820,
under the direction of President Monroe, a line was run and marked for
the northern boundary of Ohio in accordance with the act of Congress of
May 20, 1812, that is, due east from that point.




16


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


CHAPTER      III.
TOPO(RAPHICAL FEATURES OF BRANCH COUNTY-THE
DRAINAGE SYSTEM.
Branch county, situated as it is midway between Lake Michigan and
Lake Erie, occupies the highest position in the lower tier of counties.  Its
average elevation is between ten hundred and eleven hundred feet above sea
level.
Its surface structure is easily seen to be due to glacial action. In fact
Branch county is situated upon the crest of a moraine beginning near Saginaxw, Michigan, and extending soutthward into Indiana.   The soil, rocks,
hills, valleys and lakes all bear unmistakable evidence of a glacial origin.
There are no mountains in Branch county, and but few conspicuous elevations.  " \arner's hill," immediately sotith of the city olf Coldwater, is the
highest hill in Coldwater township, but it is a comparatively gentle slope
whose elevation is, perhaps, sixty feet.  Its crest extends almost east and
west and finally merges itself into the surrounding country about two and
one-half miles east of the state road running south of Coldwater. There
are notably two other hills in the northeastern portion of Algansee township
conspicuous for both height and slope.  They occur one directly after the
other, their elevation being about seventy feet and their slope making an
angle of about fifty degrees with the horizon. These are three of the more
noticeable hills in Branch county, but all of them will bear practically the
same description.
Branch county owes its beauty almost entirely to its many beautiful and
picturesque lakes.  In tracing out its system of lakes it is natural to start
with its largest, viz.: Coldwater Lake.
Coldwater Lake lies in the southeastern part of Ovid township in sections 26, 27, 34 and 35, and also sections 2 and 3 of Kinderhook township.  Its extreme length from north to south is about two and one-half
miles and its greatest width from east to west about two miles. An island
consisting of 8o acres lies in the southeastern portion of the lake and is
almost entirely within section 35.
There are three places along its shores where cottages have been built
for purposes of sunmmer resort. Sans Souci, designating the largest assembly
of cottages, is (lirectly opposite the island on the eastern shore.  Crvstal
Beach is next in size, and is located on the eastern shore near the nortihern
extremity of the lake. The third, Idlewild, is on the western shore facing
Crystal Beach and about one-half a mile from it.   The scenery at Cold



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


17


water lake is so picturesque and attractive that many resorters from other
parts of the county and from other regions spend a great part of the sumrer there.
The outlet of Coldwater lake starts. about one-fourth of a mile south of
Idlewild in section 27 of Ovid township and runs in a generally westerly
direction through that section. It just cuts across the northeastern corner
of section 28, and pursues a northerly course through the eastern portion of
section 21 into section I6, where it changes to a northwest course and enters
section 9'. In section 9' it again, runs straight west into section 8, where it
empties into the eastern end of a small lake. At the western end of the
lake it resumes its westerly course and keeps it as far as the southwest corner
of section 8. At this point it receives the waters of Little lake, Lake of the
Woods, and Bingham lake.
Bingham lake lies in the northwestern portion of section 3o and covers
about I oo acres. The water of Bingham lake empties north into a very
beautiful lake called Lake of the Woods. This lake lies mostly in section 19,
but it also occupies parts of sections 20, 17 and I8. It is about 300 acres in
extent. Its outlet is in the southeastern quarter of section I8. It flows
north and empties into Little lake, which is about equally divided between
sections. 7 and I8. Little lake empties northward into the outlet stream
of Coldwater lake at the point mentioned above.
This stream, which is called the Branch of the Coldwater river, now
flows north through sections 7 and 6 of Ovid township into section 3I of
Coldwater township, where it empties into the millpond at the Black Hawk
mills. From this millpond it flows north through section 30 into section I9,
where it takes a northeasterly course through the southeast portion of section 19 into section 20, emptying into the western side of South lake, which
lies just west of the city of Coldwater. Into this lake the other outlet of Coldwater lake also empties.
Returning now to Coldwater lake, we will speak of the two lakes, Mud
lake and Bartholomew lake, whose waters flow into it.
Long lake is situated almost entirely in section 23 of Ovid township,
lying diagonally across it. One peculiar feature of this lake is its great
depth. Of several people who have attempted to sound its depths each claims
to have been unable to reach bottom. The shore on almost all sides plunges
down almost perpendicularly. It is almost as if an earthquake had opened
up a great deep fissure which had afterward filled up with water. Long
lake occupies also small portions of sections 14 and 13. In the southwest
corner of the latter section Long lake receives the water of Mud lake, also
in section i3.
Between Mud lake and Bartholomew lake, a distance of perhaps half
a mile, there is a natural watershed, dividing the two chains of lakes forming the two sources of the two streams, the Coldwater river and its branch
which unite west of Coldwater. Some years ago a channel was cut through
this watershed, when it was found that the waters of Bartholomew and of
the lakes north of it would flow south into Mud lake. The channel at this




18              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
point was afterwards closed. An account of this channel is given elsewhere
in this work.
Bartholomew lake lies in the central portion of section 7 of Algansee
township and empties by a channel into Middle lake, lying for the most part
in sections 7 and 5 of Algansee township. A channel connects Middle lake
with Marble lake, a comparatively large body of water, about half the size
of Coldwater lake and located in sections 4 and 5 of Algansee township and
sections 32, 33, 28, 29, and 21 of Quincy township. Cedar Point on the
eastern shore of the lake in section 33 is the location of a summer resort
of increasing popularity. A small but exceedingly picturesque lake in the
northwestern corner of section 9 empties into Marble lake. This lake is also
very deep, no bottom having as yet been found, although it has been sounded
with more than 300 feet of line. It is called Hanchett lake.
Marble lake has two outlets, the one leaving the lake almost on the
north line of section 32 at the middle point, the other in the northeastern
quarter of section 29. The former flows northwest through the southwest
corner of section 30, where it turns to the northeast back into section 29
again. The latter flows west, uniting with the first branch in the northwest corner of section 29. From here the stream is called the Coldwater
river, and flows northwest through section 20 into section I9, where it pursues.a westerly course into section 24 of Coldwater township. Immediately
over the border line its course is changed to the southwest, running into
section 25.  From here the stream  runs approximately west through the
northwest part of section 26. It leaves this section, entering the southeast
corner of the city of Coldwater, through which it flows in a west-northwesterly direction.
The stream through the city alternately divides and unites four times,
finally entering South lake west of the city in two separate places. It is for
the most part shallow, deepening only where it has been dammed.
From South lake the water flows into a channel (natural, but dredged
out by the Wolverine Cement Co. in 1905 and I906,) running due north
into section I7, where it empties into North lake. From North lake through
what is practically a continuation of the same lake the current passes into
McCrea's lake and then into Randall's lake in section 5. From here through
what is known as " The Narrows " the current flows into Morrison's lake,
which occupies about one-half of section 32 of Girard township. Resorters
have also built a few cottages on the eastern edge of this lake, which are
known as Templar Beach.
At its northwestern portion Morrison's lake sends its water into an
outlet, which runs a short distance north, then makes a bend eastward and
with another northward turn expands into something of a lake, situated in
section 29. From this the Coldwater River again takes up its course as a
stream considerably larger than before it entered South lake. Its course is
a meandering one, its general direction being westerly through sections 29
and 30 of Girard township into sction 25 of Union township, where it flows
into the Hodunk millpond.  Pursuing a westerly course on the boundary




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


19


line of sections 24 and 25 it widens considerably in a northerly direction in
section 23. Soon after leaving the Hodunk millpond it receives the waters
of Hog creek, which serves as the outlet of Vincent lake in section 4 of
Girard township and also of a few minor lakes. In section, 23 the Coldwater
river narrows again and takes a northwesterly direction through sections 23
and 22 into section 15 of Union township; here it runs due north through
sections 15 and 1o to section 3, where it turns abruptly to the west into
section 4. Here it again turns to the north and then west into Union City,
where it receives the waters of another small stream from Calhoun county.
From here on the stream is known as the St. Joseph river.
The St. Joseph river now flows west through Union township into section
12 of Sherwood township. From here it pursues a generally southwest direction through Sherwood township into the northwest section of Matteson
township. After only about a mile in this township it leaves Branch and
enters St. Joseph county. In section 21 of Sherwood township the St. Joseph
receives the waters of the outlet of Sherwood lake and several minor lakes
near it. This stream also drains Haven lake and two smaller lakes and also
Blossom lake in sections 31 and 30.
To summarize, it is seen that the St. Joseph river has two sources, both
in Branch county and within a few miles of each other, viz.: Coldwater
lake through the branch of the Coldwater river, and Marble lake through
the Coldwater river; west of Coldwater both streams unite and continue their
way through the chain of lakes to Union City. This system takes in nearly
all the lakes of Branch county.  The remaining lakes empty into minor
streams and creeks.
South of Coldwater lake in Kinderhook township, between Silver lake
and Crooked lake, there is a natural watershed. As we have seen, the Coldwater lake system flows north. Silver lake of section 25, Kinderhook township, and Fish lake of section 14 of the same township empty southeast into
Indiana. Crooked lake of section 8, Pleasant lake of section 17, and Lavine
lake of sections I8 and 20 of Kinderhook township are distant from Silver
lake only by a mile or two on the other side of the divide and have Prairie
river flowing west as their outlet.
Matteson lake of section 23, Matteson township, empties west into
Little Swan creek.
The numerous marshes which accompany such an abundant supply of
lakes have been for the most part drained and turned into tillable land.
The rainfall supplying these lakes is between 60 and 70 inches annually, the
greater portion falling in the months of April, May and June.
The soil of Branch county is very fertile, and except in a few places
not stony.
The mineral wealth of Branch county, except for the marl occurring
in nearly all the lake bottoms, which, mixed with clay, is used in the manufacture of cement, is nil.
In general Branch county is a prairie pitted here and there by prehistoric




20


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


glacial action and these pits are now filled with water forming the beautiful
and extensive lake system we have described.
THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM.
In Branch county in the year of this writing there are in round numbers four hundred public drains, approximating a total length of one thousand
miles. The four townships of Algansee, Bronson, Bethel and Butler, which
have received the greatest benefits from1 this system, have had their land
valuations nearly doubled.  Since I898 an average of about $30,000 has
been expended each year on this department of public works.  Although
under the direction of a county drain commissioner, an officer elected each
two years by the board of supervisor's, these improivements are, in a very
important sense, not "public works."  The cost of every drain is assessed
entirely on the area benefited, not on the county or township, and the enterprise is thus one of concern and expense to the group of individuals who
receive the varying benefits. But in viewing the system as a whole, and its
effects on the county, the conclusion is easily and inevitably reached that the
drainage work done during the last fifty years has actually created wealth
to the aggregate of millions of dollars. One strikiing illustration will suffice. For years a large portion of the township of Bronson was impracticable for agriculture because of its low, swampy nature. About twenty years
ago a community of Polish people settled there, bought the swamp lands in
small lots, instituted a proper system olf drainage, and now own some of
the most productive farm lands in the county and have nearly doubled the
valuation of the township.
Drainage began in a limited way during pioneer times. The settlers in
the valleys of the many sluggish wateil courses were compelled to, ditch channels to carry off the water that otherwise would have stood for a large part
of the year on the arable land. The clearing away of the timber and brush
and the breaking up of the soil and consequent destruction of the grassy
turf that had become matted through centuries of growth, all contributed to
more effective drainage. To get rid of the excess of surface water was a
live question sixty and seventy years ago'. In fact, it demanded partial solution at once. But the means already indicated were soi far effective that the
greater portion of the lands became available at an early date, without any
general system of co-operation.
The first state law on the subject of drainage was passed in I8156. This
act created a drain commissioner for each township, who should have jurisdiction over all the drains entirely within his township; while one county
drain commissioner exercised supervision over the drains in which two or
more townships were concerned. This created an unwieldy system. Seventeen men, with varying views as to the usefulness and practicability of drainage work, and few if any possessed of the engineering skill needed in such
construction, formed a body without the concentrated ability needed in sci



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


21


entific drain-making. Nevertheless, the sum total of their work reclaimed
or benefited thousands of acres in the county.
In June, 1897, an act of the legislature took effect abolishing the office
of township drain commissioner, and put all the drains of the county under
the jurisdiction of the county drain commissioner. It further provided that
the new county commissioner should collate and systematize the drainage
records, which hitherto had been very imperfectly kept by the township coimmissioners. This task of recording, alone, has consumed a large part of the
commissioner's time, and it is due to the present commissioner, D. E. WVeage,
to state that the records and plats belonging to this branch of the county's
business are thoroughly well made and arranged. Mr. Weage has been commissioner the greater part of the time since the office was created, and it has
been under the new law that the county's drainage has, in the main, become
systematic and scientific.
It has been thought well to present a brief account of the important features of the drainage work in the various townships of the county. Butler
township, which is one of the four that have received greatest benefit from
the work, has forty-five public drains wholly or partly within its borders.
The land of this township is largely a clay subsoil, originally covered with
heavy timber, and hence lacking, over a great portion, in natural drainage.
More land has been reclaimed in this township than in any other. The most
important drain is known as the Warren Brook ditch, which crosses the
township from east to west, almost centrally ouver the area between Hog creek
and Tekonsha creek. This drain was constructed in the seventies. Another
drain. crossing the northeast corner of the township, from Hillsdale county
into Calhoun, will, when completed, reclaim five hundred acres and benefit
about fifteen hundred acres in Butler.
Girard township, whose most conspicuous feature is the beautiful and
fertile prairie in the center, has required as little artificial drainage as any
to. wnship in the county. There are about twelve public drains, the two most
important being a continuation of the Warren Brook and the Tekonsha
Creek, which come from Butler, the former finding an outlet in Hog creek.
Union township, though originally thickly wooded, has more natural
drainage than Butler. Its thirty public drains affect about five sections of its
area. The largest drains are Buell No. 10, in sections 19, 3o and 31; and
Union No. 36, in sections 2, 3, II, I3, 14, and 24, affecting a large area in
the northeast corner of the township.
Sherwood township is cut up with natural water courses, chiefly the St.
Joseph river, and consequently its eighteen public drains are comparatively
short. The Kilbourn, Blackwell and Fimple drains are the largest.
In Matteson township are twenty-five public drains, none of them extensive, No,. I6 and No,. 17 being the largest. Nevertheless, drainage has
added materially to the agricultural wealth of this township.  Along the
courses of several of these drains lie large areas of peat or muck lands, and
since they have become available for cultivation the owners have: engaged in




22


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


mint-raising, a crop that is becoming a strong asset in the agriculture of
southern Michigan, and which is best grown on the reclaimed swamp lands.
With an average yield an acre of such mint land as is found along drain No.
17 will produce sixty pounds of mint oil, for which the market price is three
dollars per pound, a large income from the land and labor expended.
Batavia township is crossed from northeast to southwest by the, swampy
valley of Mill creek.  The principal drainage wo!rk to be done in this
town is the straightening and dredging of this sluggish stream, some
work having already been done. Altogether Batavia has thirty-three drains,
the largest being county drain No. 5, in sections 6, 7, 17, 20.
In Coldwater township are twenty-three drains. The most important are
drain No. 15, Benton Pond and Williams No. 28. These three especially
concern the city of Coldwater. Benton Pond was constructed to take the
storm sewerage from the second ward, while No,. 15 and No. 28 were also
constructed mainly for the city. The city is at the bottom of a watershed
of about five square miles extending east into Quincy township. In freshet.
seasons the drainage from this area not infrequently spread over the prairie
and caused inundations in the city. The municipality therefore constructed
a drain along its eastern border to divert this water, in 190o4, and after it
had proved ineffective against a recurrence of the flood, the county took
charge of the drain and improved it and made it county drain No'. 15.
Quincy township has thirty-four drains, the largest being No. 8, which
was laid out in I86I, but did not become fully effective until two years ago,
when, after the expenditure of ten thousand dollars, it drained and reclaimed
a large amount of land in the township.
An interesting bit of history may be told in connection with Quincy
drainage. In I878 was formed the " Quincy Chaini Lake Channel. Company,"
the president of which was James Donovan of Quincy, and the secretary and
treasurer was R. W. Berry. These men and their associates proposed to
dredge olut a navigable channel connecting the chain of lakes in Quincy, Algansee and Ovid townships, so as to afford a continuous water way from
Marble lake to Coldwater lake; in other words, to connect the headwaters of
both branches of the Coldwater river, the east branch of that stream having
its origin in Marble lake, and the west branch rising from Co'ldwater lake.
The purpose of the channel company was to make a continuous water course
of some twenty miles' length, affording magnificent fishing and pleasure
resorts. The enterprise was begun with much popular enthusiasm and the
channel was actually dredged out and completed according to program.
About that time it was discovered that the surface of Marble lake was
eight inches higher than that oif Coldwater lake. It had previously been contended that the lake were of equal level, and that the connecting channel
would have no effect on the flow of the water though their natural outlets. But
as a matter of fact, Marble lake being the higher of the two, and the new
channel affording a freer escape for the waters: than the natural river bed, the
result would have been for Marble lake to empty its waters through the chain




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


23


of lakes and thence by way of the west branch of the Coldwater river, while
the east branch of the river would receive a greatly diminished supply and
might eventually become entirely dry.
As is known, the Quincy branch of the Coldwater supplied the W. A.
Coombs mills at Coldwater with power. As soon as he saw that the operations of the Channel Company would threaten his water supply, Mr. Coombs.
secured an injunction against Mr. Donovan and his associates preventing
them from diverting the waters of Marble lake from! its former outlet. The
courts upheld this injunction and the Channel Company was compelled to
fill up part of the channel, effectually preventing them from carrying out the
broad plan they had contemplated.
Algansee township has thirty-seven drains. Most important of these,
and the largest in Branch coulnty, is the Pridgeon and Warner drain, which
was completed in 1905 at a cost of twenty thousand dollars. This: ditch also
drains a large portion of California township.
In Ovid township are eighteen drains. The largest is the Betts drain,
which was dug in 9goI, its course lying in sections 6, 7, 8, 18, I9, 29, 30, 32.
All of section 29, as well as portions of several other sectionls, was long
known as " Grass Lake," and the land was sold again and again for taxes,
being totally unfit for use. The old drain No. 7, which passed through it,
did little to reclaim the land. Since the completion of the Betts drain practically all this submerged land has been reclaimed.
Bethel township has for years known the value of drains.  Elias C.
Tozier now deceased, was township drain commissioner for about twentyfive years,. laid out most of the drains during his term of service, and the
results of his careful and energetic work make his, name deserving of' mention in this connection. Bethel now has thirty-six drains, all of about equal
importance and size, running over from' one to, three sections.
Bronson township has thirty-two drains, the largest being county drain
No. Io, built in I86'I and running through sections I3, I4, I5,, I6, 2, 2I,
23 and 29.
Noble township has not required much artificial drainage.  There are
eleven drains, Blosser drain and Noble, drains No. 4 and Nol. 5 being the
largest.
In Gilead township a large acreage in the central portion had little value
until it was cleared and drained. Lang's drain, running thr'ough, this section from Pleasant lake, has lowered the waters to such an extent that at the
present time the north shore line of that lake has receded south of the state
line. Drain No. 39 is also a large drain. There are seventeen public ditches
in the township.
Kinderhook township has ten drains. Kinderhook No. 4, which is the
largest, passes from the center of the town out through the lakes into Gilead.
California township has fifteen drains, the most important being the
Pridgeon and Warner drain already mentioned in connection with Algansee.




24


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


CHAPTER     IV.
THE INDIANS AND THE EARLY SETTLERS' LIFE WITH THEM.
The first settlers of Branch county had Indians as their neighbors, and
for several years after settlement began there were more red men than
whites in the county.  In the work of development and civilization the
Indians had no part; in fact they were an adverse element which had to be
removed before white men could proceed to build homes, make farms and
lay the foundation of business and institutions. Happily for the history of
Branch county, the Indians were never hostile to the degree that was true of
Indians in other parts of the country, notably in the far west. The representatives of the government were able to conciliate them  and generally
treated them fairly, and therefore this history can recount no revengeful
outbreaks nor pitched battles between the two races. It seems necessary in a
general way to describe the people who lived here before the coming of the
whites, the manner of disposition of their lands and their removal to the
west, and what relations subsisted between the natives and the settlers.
The Indians whom the pioneers to Branch county encountered were in
nearly every case Potawatomis, an Algonquian tribe that originally were
found by the whites in the vicinity of Green Bay, Wisconsin. But about
I670, being harassed by hostile tribes, they were moving south, and by the
close of the seventeenth century had established themselves on Milwaukee
river, at Chicago, and on the St. Joseph river, mostly in territory that had
previously been held by the Miami. By the beginning of the nineteenth
century they were in possession of the country around the head of Lake
Michigan, from Milwaukee river in Wisconsin, to Grand river in Michigan,
extending southwest over a large part of Illinois, east across Michigan to
Lake Erie, and south in Indiana to the Wabash and as far down as Pine
creek. Within this territory they had about fifty villages. The principal
divisions were those of St. Joseph river, Michigan, Huron river, Michigan,
Wabash river, and the Potawatomis of the Prairie in Illinois and Wiscorsin.
The Potawatomi sided actively with the French down to the peace of
1763. They were prominent in the rising under Pontiac, and on the breaking out of the Revolution' in 1775 took arms against the United States, and
continued hostilities until the treaty of Greenville in 1795. They again took
up arms in the British interest in I8,12, and made final treaties of'. peace in
I8I5. As the settlements rapidly pressed upon them they sold their land by
piecemeal and removed beyond the Mississippi. Those who went west were
settled partly in western Iowa and partly in Kansas, the former, with whom




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


25


were identified many individuals of other tribes, being known as Prairie
Potawatomi, while the others were known as the Potawatomi of the Woods.
In 1846 they were all united on a reservation in southern Kansas. In I86I
a large part of the tribe took lands in severalty and became known as citizen
Potawatomis, but in I868 they again removed to a tract in the Indian Territory, where they now are. The others are still in Kansas, while a considerable body, part of the Prairie band, are still in Wisconsin, and another
band, the Potawatomi of the Huron, are in lower Michigan. According to
the census of I820 there were 3,400 Potawatomis in the United States. In
1884 those in the United States were reported to number 1,332, distributed
as follows:  Citizen Potawatomi in the Indian Territory, 550; in Kansas,
430; Prairie band in Wisconsin, 280; and Potawatomi of Huron, in Calhoun county, Mich., 72. A few besides these are scattered through their
ancient territory and at various other points. The numbers in the United
States in 1903, according to the official report were as follows:  Prairie
band in Kansas, 602; Potawatomi of Huron, 78; Citizen Potawatomi in
Oklahoma, 1,686.
The Indians of this tribe are described in the early notices as the " most
docile and affectionate toward the French of all the savages of the west."
They were also more friendly disposed toward Christianity, besides being
more humane and civilized than the other tribes. Their women were more
reserved than was usual among Indians, and showed some tendency toward
refinement in manners. As slaves were found among them when first visited
by the whites, it is probable they were in the habit of making slaves of their
captives rather than torturing and slaying them, though no positive statement on this point is on record. Polygamy was common when they were
visited by the early missionaries.
These were the people whom the first settlers in Branch county found
dwelling in small village groups or passing across the county over the Indian
trails. But even then they were living in the county merely by sufferance of
the government, for they no longer had legal claim to the land. The important treaty that affected Branch and other counties of southern Michigan
was the Chicago treaty of 1821, which was negotiated at Fort Dearborn
on the 29th of August by Governor Cass and Solomon Sibley with the Potawatomis, Chipewas and Ottawas, the first named being the tribe principally
interested and the others signing the instrument as auxiliaries or friends.
By this treaty the Indians ceded to the government a tract of land embracing
nearly eight thousand square miles, containing Branch county and all those
surrounding it, besides practically all of the country now designated as southwestern Michigan. As mentioned in the history of Coldwater township, five
small tracts were reserved from this cession, one of them being in the center
of Branch county.
On the Ig9th of September, 1827, a treaty was made at the Carey Mission
(Niles) by Gov. Cass. the object of which was tot gain the cession of a number of small Indian reservations (that in Branch county being of the number) " in order to consolidate some of the dispersed bands of the Potawatomi




26


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


tribe in the territory of Michigan, at a point removed from the road leading
from Detroit to Chicago, and as far as practicable from the settlements of
the whites." This last reservation was along the St. Joseph river near Niles.
A few years later this last foothold of the tribe in Michigan was signed
away, and the chiefs of the St. Joseph band of the Potawatomis agreed that
they and their people would remove from the country in I836. This was
the result of the second treaty of Chicago, signed on September 26, 1833.
There were Indians in Branch county during the greater part of the decade
of the thirties. They did not willingly leave their Michigan home. When
the commissioners escorted the bulk of the tribe to their new homes beyond
the Mississippi, many eluded the vigilance of the officers and remained
behind.  Some even returned after they had reached the western reservation. The efforts at collecting the Indians had to be repeated several times,
and as already mentioned, some were never taken away and their descendants are still to be found in certain localities of southern Michigan.
The Indian villages that were found in the county by the early settlers
are to be mentioned in connection with the story of settlement. There was
one on Coldwater prairie.  When Wales Adams came along the Chicago
trail in September, I830, and stopped over night at the Bolton-Morse tavern
on the east side of the prairie, he learned, to quote his own words, that
"a lodge of several hundred Potawatomi Indians was encamped about one
and a half miles in a northwest direction, to which place the travelers repaired. The Indians occupied their time in smoking, dancing and speechmaking alternately. They were discussing the subject of their removal beyond the Mississippi."  Girard prairie was also a favorite haunt of the Indians, and in historical times a small village existed in Kinderhook township.
The relations of the Indians and the settlers were generally amicable.
Then, as now, vagrancy was a notable characteristic of Indian nature, and it
was chiefly petty stealing and meddling that made the whites apprehensive
of such neighbors. Drunkenness was the source of most of the crime, and
this coupled with natural shiftlessness made the Indian a generally unwelcome though not dangerous visitor.
The presence of the Indians actuated the establishment of the first mercantile businesses in Branch county. Roland Root, the father of E. R. Root
of Coldwater, is said to have had a trading post on the banks of the Coldwater river west of present Coldwater, and there trafficked with both the
Indians and the whites.  Loren Marsh in I831 had established a trading
post in the eastern part of Coldwater township, and later moved to a location
west of the Coldwater river, where he carried on his trade with the Indians
over a large circuit.
So often in the course of this history will Indian trails of Branch county
be referred to as affecting settlement, that credit should be given at this
point for what was practically the only public improvement which mav be
said to have originated with the Indian. The early settlers were familiar
with several trails, which they used until straight roads could be laid




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                         27.
out, and in some cases the trail bed became the route and foundation of the
highway; the conspicuous example of this being the Chicago road.
As late as 1840 Indians were not uncommon in Branch county. They
caused the settlers much annoyance, and the latter at every opportunity urged
their removal from the country to which they had no longer any legal right.
The civil authorities finally co-operated with the military of the United
States, and a detachment of troops under Gen. Brady of Detroit was sent
to gather up and take away all the Indians who still remained in Branch
and surrounding counties. Even then some escaped the forced exile, but
with the departure of that band from the home of their ancestors the Indian
ceased to be a considerable factor in the life of Branch county.




28


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


CHAPTER     V.
NUMBER, NATURE AND DISTRIBUTION               OF THE COUNTY'S
PEOPLE.
The first enumeration of the people of Branch county as a county by
itself took place in I837. At least this is the year of the first census of
which there now remains any particular record. The number of white
men, women and children then making their home within the county's boundaries was 4,o16.  This census was taken by the state government a few
months after the admission of the state into the Union. No Indians were
included in this census, and no Indians not taxed have been included in any
census of the county taken either by the state or national government.
There was, however, one enumeration, and probably two, previous to
I837, of the people residing within our county's area. The year of the first
settlement of a white man in this area was 1828, the year before the county
was created and named. The first regular decennial census of the United
States after the white man had thus begun to live within our limits came in
I830. Branch was not yet separately organized as a county, but for all
judicial purposes was attached to St. Joseph county, and along with " Calhoun and Eaton, and all the country lying north of the county of Eaton,"
formed the township of Green. The population of St. Joseph county is given
in the census of 1830 by four subdivisions of the county, the second of which.
is " Green and Flowerfield." The total population of Green and Flowerfield
is given as IIo, 71 males and 39 females. Green and Flowerfield were the
westernmost of the four subdivisions of St. Joseph county, and the total of
IIo inhabitants was the smallest of the four, " Sherman" having 205, the
"Township of Brady " 391I, and "White Pigeon " 607. Within the boundaries of our Branch county itself there were, it can be said with certainty,
not a hundred people in the year I830, and probably not more than fifty.
But here in this census, we see at any rate at this time towards fifty people
living within our area, the fountain head or nucleus of all our history.
In I834 a census of the Territory of Michigan was taken by order
of the Legislative Council in preparation for the admission of the territory
as a state. The act provided that the enumeration be taken by the sheriffs
of the counties " between the second Monday of October and the first Monday of November," and that returns be made to the county clerks and to the
territorial secretary. The county had been organized for its own action separate from St. Joseph, March I, I833. William McCarty had been elected
sheriff in April. But there is no record now in the county clerk's office of
any census taken in this county in that year, nor are there any records of




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                          29
such census of this county in the state library or in the archives of the Department of State in Lansing. The total population of Michigan territory
by that census is known, but not that of Branch county.
In starting with the first enumeration of our county's inhabitants, and
making our first note of the increase of population, we have, therefore, to
think of the period of seven years from I830 to I837. Inferring the number to have been fifty in I83o, as we have done, 1837 shows the number to
have reached 4,016. All the counties adjoining us had in I837 a larger
population than we. Hillsdale to the east of us had 4,749; Calhoun on
the north, 7,959; and St. Joseph and Cass, with areas exactly equal to ours,
had 6,337 and 5,296. Today, according to the census of I904, our population; considerably exceeds that of St. Joseph and of Cass.
In 1840, three years after the first state census, another national census
was taken and in 18:45 the second state census. In I85o a new constitution
was adopted, which required the legislature to "provide by law for an enlumeration of the inhabitants in the year eighteen hundred and fifty-four and every
ten years thereafter."  Accordingly, from I850o on, a census of the county
has been taken every four and six years in alternation, the work being done
alternately by the national and by the state authorities. We present here in
one view the population of the county at the times of these several censuses
from 1837 to 1904:
1837........ 4,o016              1870.......26,227
1840........ 5,715                I8;74.. *  25,726
I845........ 9,070                88o.......27,941
i850........ I2,472              1884......1.   27,66I
1854.......15,68;6               1890..o......26,791
i86o........20,981               1894......26,207
1864.........22,458              1900........27,8 11
1904....,..26,397
Space will not permit us to direct attention with much particularity to
the facts which appear on the face of these figures, nor tot bring forward
facts and causes which lie behind them. We present only a few of the
more general and striking phases of the population during the seventy-four
years between 1830 and I904.
First, as to the first decade of 1830 to 1840. Inferring as we have
done from the census of 1830, that the county began with fifty inhabitants
in that year, we see I837 giving it 4,016, and 1840, 5,715. This was an
increase on the average of over five hundred people in each one of those first
ten years. Our knowledge of the persons who were living in the county in
I83I makes it certain that by the end of that year there were thirty or forty
families settled in it, and we may say that the fifty inhabitants of 1830 had
increased to 150 or 200. As to the points about which they were nearly
all settled, these were Bronson, Branch, Coldwater and Girard.
In May, 1832, the call for Michigan militia to aid in defending Chicago
in the " Black Hawk War" put a stop almost entirely to the coming of




30


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


people, which had been growing from I8,30 up to that time. People coming
from the east became afraid to settle where there were any Indians. About
the same time in 1832, cholera was brought from Quebec to Detroit and
Chicago. Fear of cholera combined with fear of Indians to prevent emigration to southern Michigan. After May many of the stages, which had
been doing a larger passenger business during the spring over the Chicago
road than ever before, were taken off. The check put upon immigration into
the county in I832 by these two causes was felt through the two years following. There was increase, but it was slow. With the opening of 1835,
however, the tide began to flow strong again along the Chicago road. A
goodly share of prospectors and of the occupants of the white-covered emigrant wagons were attracted by the lands of Branch county. In the spring
of 1836 the tide doubled its volume. It seemed to those already on the
ground as if the whole country was alive with emigrants. Speculation in
land and platted village lots, with visions of great profits, was a large factor
in the movement. The numbers coming continued to increase through 1836,
and with the opening of I837. In the early part of 1837 Dr. Isaac P. Alger
found thirty-three taverns on the Chicago road in Branch county in going
from Quincy to Sturgis. But in May and June of I8137 this tide of immigration and of business inflated by "wild cat " currency reached its height,
and then began rapidly to decline. By the latter part of autumn people had
stopped coming. The standstill of 1832 was repeated. But the people who
had been brought into the county by the three years from 1835 on, mostly
remained, and the state census of 1837 took them, and found them to be
4,o06, as we have seen. Probably more than three thousand of this number
came into the county during the three preceding years. The three following
years added only 1,699, according to the United States census of I840, which
made the population of the county 5,715.
We will next take a general view of the population of the county as
to numbers during the entire time of the county's life. We note in this
view, first, that the census of I88o0 stands out as the high-water mark of all
the census years between 1837 and 1904, that highest population being
27,94I. It will be natural now to note the movement during the forty-three
years preceding that year, and the twenty-four years subsequent to it.
From 1837 to 1870, or during the first thirty-three years, each census
showed an increase over the one immediately before it. But four years
later, or in 1874, the first decrease appears; this, however, is more than
overcome in the six years following, which brings us to the high-water
census of I88o. The rate of increase was very rapid from 1840 to the beginning of the Civil war in I86I. The four years of the war lowered the rate
of increase, but during the six years from 1864 to I870 the rate rose to
about what it was during the six years before the war.
As to the twenty-four years since I88o, it will be a true general statement to say that the population of the county in numbers has continued at
a standstill. The United States census, taken twenty years after 1880, made






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


31


a difference of only I30 between the population then, in I900, and that of
i88o, it being 130 less.
To understand the nature of the people, whose history we are writing,
we must give some attention to their nationality, to the communities from
which they came, to their occupations, and to their intelligence and moral
and religious ideals. Very few counties in Michigan, and, indeed, in any
western state, have had an American born and homogeneous population to
the degree which Branch has had all through its history. We use a few
facts from the census of I880 to illustrate this statement.
By that census there were no Indians and no Chinese in the county, and
only 65 colored persons. St. Joseph had'230 colored people and Cass 1,837.
In its entire population of 27,941, Branch had I,8o8 persons of foreign birth.
This was one in fifteen, or six per cent of the total. St. Joseph county had
in that year 2,554 foreign-born in its population, and its total was somewhat less than that of Branch. There is an interesting significance in the
several numbers of these 1,8o8 foreigners coming from  different foreign
countries. The number born in England and Wales was the largest; it was
481. This is quite a sprinkling of fresh, genuine Englishmen among the
inhabitants of the county, and those who have been residents of it have
been aware that they are a perceptibly distinct element of its life. Separate
from those who were born in England and Wales, the census of I88o made
enumerations of those who were lorn in Ireland, in Scotland, and in British
America or the Dominion of Canada. It is rather surprising perhaps that a
less number of persons had come into Branch county from Canada, just across
the Detroit and St. Clair rivers, than had come directly from old England
across the ocean, or than had come from Ireland alone. There were 276 of
Branch county's people who had been born in British America, while 330
had been born in Ireland, and 48I as we have noted were natives of England
and Wales.  Besides these there were 46 who had been born in the land
of Burns and Carnegie. Counting these all together as being in the large
sense British born, they make a total of 1,133, and become by far the largest
foreign-born ingredient in the county's population.  But in the bearing of
this fact on the homogeneous and American quality of the population as
a whole, it is to be noted that all these English speaking foreigners are nearer
than any other nationality to native born Americans.
Next in number to the British born component stood in I88o those born
in Germany. There were 479 of them, two less than the 48I born in England and Wales.   The larger portion of the Germans have always been
found in the city of Coldwater and its immediate vicinity.  Since I858 a
German Lutheran congregation have held services in the city in German.
Next to Coldwater city and township, Algansee is the region in which men
from the land of Luther and Lessing have settled. The numbers of foreignborn in the county in I88o from other countries were given as follows:
Born in Poland, 141; in France, 9; in Sweden and Norway, 7; and in Holland, 3. The Poles of I88o, with the 14 I who had been born in the Poland
of Europe, were settled almost entirely by themselves in the township of




32


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Bronson, south and west of the village. They have since then multiplied
rapidly, and have been spreading out from their locality in I88o. By their
industry and cheap mode of living they have saved money, have bought not
a little of the land upon which they began to labor for wages, and have been
steadily improving their condition in every respect. They are almost universally Roman Catholics, and now, in I906, form a large Roman Catholic
congregation with a church building in Bronson which is the largest in the
village. A Polish priest resides there and conducts the church services in the
Polish language and superintends a parish school inl a fine, large brick school
building, in which the teaching is in Polish. Otlr Polanders are gradually
becoming assimilated to our American life, but as yet they are noticeably
the most foreign and un-American portion of our county's population in
physique, in language and in religion.
With only I,8o08 foreign-born people in a population of 27,941, the mass
of Branch county people are seen at once to be American born. But the
different portions, the different states even, of the Union have always shown
distinctive qualities in their people. Michigan belongs to the first or perhaps
the second group of western states that were settled by migrations from the
eastern states. It remains to glance at the nativity of the American-born
portion of our county's people.
The census of I88o gave the following figures as to the nativity by certain states of the inhabitants of the county at that time: born in the state,
13,873; born in New York, 6,425; in Ohio, 2,706; in Pennsylvania, 828;
in Indiana, 790; in Vermont, 3oi; in Massachusetts, 2013; in New Jersey,
143 in Wisconsin, 83. It thus appears that: when the county had attained
its growth as to population, almost one-half of the people were Michigan
born. As to those born in other states, the figures confirm a fact generally
perceived and frequently commented upon by the people of the county, that
they are more largely from New York state than from any other. More
than 22 per cent of the population in I88o0, or nearly one in four, were born
in the Empire state. If we go back a decade to the census of I870, the fact
of New York state people leading those from all other states in the early
population of the county, grows more conspicuous. In that year 7,875 out
of a total of 26,227 were natives of New York. This is 30 per cent, or
*nearly one in three. The census of I86o made no note of the nativity of the
population by counties. The events and influences which caused this main
stream of the migrations from other states to flow from New York will be
set forth in a future chapiter, especially in the one treating of the Chicago
road.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


33


CHAPTER VI.
ROUTES OF IMMIGRATION.
THE ERIE CANAL.
In 1825 the Erie canal, after eight years in building, was opened to
traffic, and the waters of Lake Erie flowed across the state of New York
into the Hudson river. The dream of Henry Hudson in seeking a northwest
passage up the river that bears his name was realized after more than two
centuries, only instead of the spice-laden orient the new way led to the far
more desirable and potentially richer American west. The land-bound commerce of the Atlantic seaboard found, in this direction, outlet to the eager
west, and, borne along the same channel, the grain harvests of the inland
were brought to the markets of the world. It was no uncommon thing for
fifty ark-like boats, loaded with passengers and freight, to depart from
the eastern terminus of the Erie canal in a single day, passing to the west at
the rate of four miles an hour. While before the water was turned into the
"Big Ditch " the toilsome urging of creaking wagons had not carried a fraction of the commerce that passed along this waterway.
The Erie canal not only gave a tremendous impetus to westward expansion and development, but it changed its direction. Herein lies the significance of the canal in the history of southern Michigan, including Branch
county.
Before 1825 the trend of western migration had been down the Ohio
valley. The great water courses were fringed with settlements when the
inland country was still an unbroken wilderness. The regions bordering the
riverways and great lakes were populous before a tree had been felled for a
settler's cabin on the fertile prairies and woodlands of northern Indiana and
southern Michigan. In proof of this witness the admission of Indiana to
statehood ten years before the first settlers came to her northern tier of counties. Southern Michigan was aside from the current of emigration, and its
settlement was delayed while settlers were overrunning the country to the
south and the Illinois prairies.:                  OVERLAND ROADS.
There were no roads in southern Michigan even for several years after
the completion of the Erie canal. A map of the highways of travel in the
United States in the year 1825 shows a network of routes along the Ohio
valley,- but none north of the watershed into the great lakes which would
bring emigrants within many miles of Branch county.




34


HIST'ORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


The homeseekers who traveled across Lake Erie to its western end
would on their arrival at Detroit find one generally used road to the west.
That led southwest to Monroe, up the valley of the Maumee river past Defiance, Ohio, through Fort Wayne, Indiana, and thence northwesterly around
the lower end of Lake Michigan to Chicago or further west. Fort Wayne
was the converging point for several other roads leading from  different
points along the Ohio river. The great bulk of the pioneers who settled
the northern Indiana and southwest Michigan counties bordering on Lake
Michigan came by way of Fort Wayne. This accounts for the more cosmopolitan character of the population of that region than is found in Branch
county. Through Fort Wayne passed streams of emigrants not only from
the New England states and New York and Pennsylvania, but also from
Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas and Kentucky.
It should also be mentioned that a large number of emigrants, instead
i        of debarking at Detroit and taking the Fort Wayne route, made the entire
circuit of the lakes by way ':f Mackinac, not beginning their journey overland until they reached the lower end of Lake Michigan. But this route
also took them far from Branch county, which remained practically isolated
except as a chance settler might find his way here.
Railroads at that time had not become a factor in directing and assisting emigration. In 18130 only thirty-six miles of railway were in operation
in all the United States. Only two years before had the first mile of the
Baltimore and Ohio been built. The decade of the twenties was prolific of
railroad charters and plans, but only the beginnings were made of the railroad building which soon absorbed the energies of the nation. In fact, the
part of the railroad in southern Michigan was that of development rather
than settlement. When the first railroad penetrated Branch county its population was nearly fifteen thousand. The lands had been taken up, and the
4   pioneer period was practically over when the Southern Railroad began pushing west from Lake Erie.
CHICAGO ROAD.
Such was the situation for Branch county at the completion of the Erie
canal. The routes of travel were around the lakes to the north or through
Fort Wayne on the south, converging a hundred 'miles to the west, where
settlement was begun before Branch county had any inhabitants, except the
Indians and some wandering hunters. What reason is to be found for the
settlement, within a period of twenty.years, of fifteen thousand people in this
county? Pre-eminently above all other causes, the "Chicago Road."
While the stream of migration that poured forth from the western end
of the Erie canal would in time have overflowed all the peninsula between
Lake Erie and Lake Michigan, it was the Detroit and Chicago national road
that gave it direction and caused the rapid settlement of the southern tier of
counties. To this, institution more than any other except the character of the
settlers it brought, Branch county is indebted for the establishment of its




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


35


prosperity on the substantial basis which has endured more than two generations.
The famous thoroughfare which passes centrally through Branch county
from east to west may reasonably be called an overland extension of the Erie
canal. It was a national highway built to connect two important strategic
points, to afford rapid transportation of military supplies and armies from the
western terminus of the waterways at Detroit to Fort Dearborn on Lake
Michigan. Empowered by the constitution to establish post roads, the general government designed this road as an important section of the postal route
between the east and the west, and for the twenty years before the railroad
came the New York-Chicago mail was carried by stage over this road. But
its character as a government highway was almost lost sight of in the importance it attained as an emigrant route. The coming of the mail coach
never lost novelty or ceased to be the event of the day for the people dwelling
along the road, but the almost continuous line of settlers' wagons became one
of the commonplaces of life at that time and attracted little attention.
In accordance with congressional legislation for the construction of a
military and postal road between Detroit and Chicago, in 1825 the president
was authorized to appoint commissioners to survey and mark this road. In
1827 congress appropriated twenty thousand dollars for the construction of
the road. It was the original purpose to build the road in a straight line
between the designated termini, but the commissioners soon found that with
the money at hand they could hardly make a beginning of the undertaking
on that basis. The straight course had to be abandoned, and one was adopted
which, while presenting fewer engineering difficulties, was, historically, more
natural' and interesting.
Before civilization introduced scientific road-making, wild animals were
doubtless the markers and surveyors of roads. The narrow, deep-worn and
wavering path through the woods, indicating the route of the wild animal
between its lair and the spring where it quenched its thrist or the spot where
it sought its quarry, was the course which the Indian, and later the white
man, took in going through the woods or across the prairie. Thus animals
were the first road-makers, and blazed the way for their immediate successors, the roving Indians. The latter would naturally extend and connect the
trails into certain long avenues of travel across the country, which they would
follow in making their pilgrimages from one hunting ground to another or
for their war expeditions.
Several of these trails existed in Branch county long before white man
set his foot here. Most used of all was that one extending centrally across
the county from west to east. This was not only a favorite route pursued by
the Indians of southern Michigan, but since the war of 1812 the Indians
dwelling in Illinois had been accustomed to make their annual pilgrimages
along this route to Canada, where the British government paid them their
annuity earned by loyalty to that government in its war against the Americans. The Detroit-Chicago Indian trail, therefore, had historic importance
long before any marks of civilization had been made in Branch county.




36               HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
Accordingly, when the government surveyors who sought to carry. out
instructions and define a military road from Detroit to Fort Dearborn, found
that the appropriation for that purpose was far from adequate, they determined to follow the route that had been, surveyed and marked by the animals
and the Indians. Of course many of the windings of the original trail have
been corrected, either when the road was made or later. But the traveler
whose journey lies along this, thoroughfare may say with approximate fidelity
to history that the road is but an Indian trail enlarged and improved to a
modern highway.
The engineers who began the work of marking this road in I825 did not
"make" the road; they merely designated its course. As late as 1829 the
pioneers through this county called the road little better than an Indian trail.
It was planned that the road should be one hundred feet wide, but in the
actual process of construction it seemed most expedient only to cut off the
trees for that width and to clear the stumps and smooth the roadway for a
width seldom exceeding forty feet. From available data, it seems probable
that the Chicago road was still in process of construction through Branch
county as late as I832. For James G. Corbus in that year was a contractor
engaged in building a portion of the way on Bronson's prairie. And when
Martin Olds, the Batavia pioneer, came along this, road in 1834 the first
stream over which he found a bridge was the Coldwater, the bridge at
Masonville having just been completed before his arrival in June. Stages
had been running, however, since 1830, so that the road must have been
passable at that date or earlier.
It should be kept in mind that the Chicago road was a national highway,
was constructed and maintained by appropriations from  Congress. At a
later date the Michigan legislature provided for numerous "State roads,"
several of which were built through or in Branch county, and are still known
as "State roads." The third class, to which most of the roads in the county
belong, are those laid out by the township highway commissioners.  But
both state and township roads were maintained by local taxation.
SOURCES OF EARLY SETTLERS.
One of the most interesting themes of early Branch county history is
concerned with the sources which furnished the pioneer settlers. The same
study will indicate in a graphic manner the combined influence of the Erie
Canal and the Chicago Road in directing migration to this county. This
route was the most natural one for the people of New York and the New
England states to take in moving to the west. It is from New York state,
indeed, that we find the bulk of the early settlers of this county to have
come. While that state may not be called the first state home of all these
people, it will be found that in most cases the people of M~assachusetts, of
Vermont, or of Connecticut, made some point in New York the first stage
of their westward movement, in many instances spending several years there
before proceeding to Michigan.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


37


Samuel H. Berry, father of the Quincy pioneers among whom was the
late Dr. E. G. Berry, while a native of New Hampshire, moved from that.state to Pennsylvania, then to New York, and from there came to Brand
county, in I835. Saratoga county, New York, was the birthplace of Peter
M. Newberry, also of Quincy, who in 1836 started from New York with
the intention of settling in Ohio, but landing in Detroit came down the
Chicago road to Jonesville, and then on to Quincy township, where he was
one of the early settlers. Other pioneers of Quincy who came from New
York were Alvarado Brown, from Orleans county; John; S. Belote, from
Albany in 1835; B. F. Wheat, the banker, who came from Ontario county
to Lenawee county, Michigan, in 1836; Ansell Nicholls, who settled in
Quincy township in I836, was from Oswego county, New York; Chautauqua
county was the starting point of William P. Arnold, who located two miles
east of Coldwater along the Chicago road in 1833, and in 18,39 bought a
hundred acres in the present Quincy village.
The late Dr. W. B. Sprague of Coldwater came from Rochester to this
county in I835, and Syracuse was the birthplace of Alonzo Waterman, who
came to Bronson in 1832 and later to Coldwater and became noted as a miller,
merchant and successful business man. The Erie Canal was the route that
Lorenzo D. Halsted followed in coming to this county in 1836. He drove
a horse on the towpath from Albany to Buffalo, and from there worked
his way on a steamer to) Detroit, whence the Chicagol road finally guided him
to Coldwater.
Monroe county, New York, was the home of many who later became
well known in Branch county. James M. Burdick walked from there to
Buffalo in 18,30, took a steamer to Detroit, and by the roughly marked
Chicago trail reached Allen's in Hillsdale county, whence he came to
Quincy in 1836.    The well known horseman, Ablram    C. Fisk, who
settled on the Chicago road just east of Coldwater, was from Monroe county,
and in the next year the pioneer Harvey Haynes came from the same locality.
In 1835 came Lorenzo D. Crippen from Herkimer county, and began his
career as merchant, manufacturer and public-spirited citizen of Coldwater.
And in the next year James R. Wilcox, also of Coldwater township, came
from Cayuga county.
Many other instances of this community of origin might be set down
here, but it is sufficient to indicate the subject to the reader, who will find
abundant examples of the historical phenomenon on nearly every page of the
following narrative.
*




38


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


CHAPTER VII.
FORMATION OF TOWNSHIPS.
A map of Branch county shows sixteen civil townships blocked out four
square, and laid out on the lines of the original United States government
survey. Although the government surveyors blocked out the territory that
became Branch county by means of the range and township lines that designate the boundaries of the present civil townships, it was more than fifteen
years after the creation of Branch county before the townships were all
organized and named as we know them at present.. The civil townships and
the townships of government survey happen to correspond in Branch county;
but there is no necessary connection between the two, and in some other
counties one civil township is more than an area six miles square.  The
civil township is created for the convenience of government, and in Michigan
the legislature has almost invariably caused its boundaries to coincide with
those of the United States survey, as has been the case in this county. But
during the period of early settlement the population was not dense enough to
warrant a civil organization in each of the sixteen surveyed townships. So
it is that the map of Branch county underwent many changes up to 18,46.
There were townships of varying extent and form, and several whose
names are practically forgotten. It will be the purpose of the following
paragraphs to show how the county was divided from time to time and to
describe the process of township making until the boundaries were fixed as
at present.
It has been elsewhere related that Branch county, although created in
I829, did not obtain a separate county government until 1833, and that in
the meantime it was attached to St. Joseph county for judicial purposes.
The great area of adjoining country which for legal purposes became a part
of St. Joseph county was divided into townships, and the township of which
Branch county was first a part was known by the name of Green. Not only
did the " Town of Green?" comprise Branch county, but several other counties
as well, and a vast territory not yet laid out in county form.
In the first instance, then, Branch county was only part of a township.
As population increased, but before it was sufficient to warrant county organizaticn, Branch county's area was laid off into two townships. This act
was approved June 29, 1832, but was not to take effect until March I, I833.
In the meantime the legislature provided for the organization of county
government in Branch county, which was also to take effect on March i,
I833.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


39


Accordingly, on the date of the county's organization two townships
came into existence. All of the county east of a north and south line passing
through the center was called Coldwater township, from which eight townships have since been made. All the western half of the county was made
into a township named Prairie River.
Less than two months later, on April 23, 1833, the following section
of act of the legislature was approved:
" That the township of Prairie River in the county of Branch shall be
called Green, and by the name of Green shall hereafter be known and distinguished, any law to the contrary notwithstanding."
Notwithstanding the passage of this act which revived the name of
Green in such emphatic terms, the township continued to be known as Prairie
River.both in the supervisors' records beginning with the first meeting in
October, 18133, and also, as will be seen, in the later laws affecting the partition of that township.
March 7, I8134, was the first act in the process of division of these two
larger townships. By a law approved on that date the north tier of surveyed
townships, technically known as " townships 5 south, in ranges 5, 6, 7 and 8
west," was created a township by name of Girard. This reduced the area
of the other two townships, and made one long narrow township and two
relatively square ones.
Two years passed before the next change. By act approved March 23,
1836, three new civil townships were carved fronm the older ones. Coldwater
township was cut in two by the north and south line between ranges five and
six, and the east half was called Quincy, comprising the present townships
of Quincy, Algansee and California.
At the same time Prairie River was reduced by almost half. The
following is the law: " All that portion of the county of Branch designated
by the United States survey as townships six and seven south, of range
seven west, be and the same is hereby set off and organized into a separate
township by.the name of Batavia, and the first township meeting therein shall
be held at the dwelling house of William Reynolds, in said township."
Original Batavia was thus twice as large as now, and it so remained for
nearly a year.
Also in March, 1836, Girard was cut in half, and the two surveyed
townships on the west were set off by the name, of Sherwood. In 1837, the
year of Michigan's admission to the Union, Branch county had six townships-on the north were Girard and Sherwood, and from east, to west they
were Quincy, Coldwater, Batavia and Prairie River, all of rectangular shape
except Prairie River, from the bottom of which projected eastward the fractional township that soon became Gilead.
The act of the legislature approved March I I, 1837, gave five more
civil townships to Branch county. Sherwood was divided, and the east half
was called Union. The previous section of the same act organized the township of Ovid, bounding it so as to include the present Kinderhook. Ovid
bleing set off from Coldwater, the latter was accordingly left with its present




40               HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
boundaries and must be considered the first township in Branch county to be
reduced to the regular area of the government township.
At this date the southern half of Batavia township was set off under
the name of the " Township of Elizabeth." After two years the "Town of
Elizabeth " became the " Town of Bethel " by act of the legislature of 1838-39,
and as Bethel it has since been known to history.
The next section of this act of March  I, I837, brings into existence
the township of Gilead. Up to that date the members of Bishop Chase's
colony and the other settlers of fractional township eight in range seven
had been citizens of Prairie River township. Gilead was the first of the
four fractional townships to obtain separate town government, its rapid
settlement entitling it to this privilege as soon as any of the full townships.
With the approval of the act of March I I, 1837, the township of.Prairie
River ceased to be a name.  Originally comprising the west half of the
county, it had been reduced in size, first by the formation of Girard, then
Batavia, then Gilead, and now all that remained, in the range south of Sherwood, was given the name of Bronson.    The section providing for this
change is worth quoting for several historical points contained. It reads:
" All that portion of the county of Branch known as the township of Prairie
River, and the village in said township by the name of York, shall, on and
after the first Monday of April, next, be known and designated by the name
of Bronson."
The next act dealing with Branch county townships was approved March
6, I838. On that date Matteson township was formed from Bronson, while
in the northeast corner of the county the double area of Girard was halved
and the eastern part was named Butler.
After all these divisions Quincy remained the largest township in the
county. But on April 2, 1838, the Quincy as we know it to-day came into
existence, and the block of territory south of it to the state line was named
Algansee.
The county now had thirteen townships. It was nearly four years later,
on February I6, 1842, when Kinderhook was set off from Ovid. Noble was
named and permitted to form its own government apart from Bronson on
March 19, I845. Last of all the sixteen townships to come into being,
California was separated from Algansee on March 25, I846. It was not
until these respective dates, of course, that Ovid, Bronson and Algansee
assumed the area which each now has.
For the past sixty years there has been no further change of civil
boundaries if we except the formation, in I86I, of the City of Coldwater
within the area of Coldwater township. Three names that once designated
areas in this county have disappeared, namely, Green, Prairie River and
Elizabeth, and references to these names and the territory they represented
would be the only source of confusion to the present generation in reading
the records of the past.






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


41


CHAPTER VIII.
SETTLEMENT AND BEGINNINGS.
BRONSON.
The movement of settlers along the Chicago road began in the last
two years of the twenties. A large proportion, perhaps, of those who went
through this county were prospectors for homesteads; that is, they had no
definite locality in mind, but were merely on their way to a home in that
vague country called "the west," wlhich at the time lay anywhere between
the Alleghany and the Rocky MVountains. Some had in mind the prairies
of Illinois, but even they sometimes stopped before reaching that destination by reason of having found the land of their heart's desire along the
route. An illustration of this is presented in the case of a Batavia pioneer,
John Bassett. Starting from his home in New York state in 1835, he had
shipped his goods by canal and the lakes to Chicago, and he and faimly
came overland by wagon, his purpose being to settle in Illinois. But while
spending the night at the old " New York House " on the Chicago road, the
Bassetts discovered an old friend in the person of the wife of the landlord,
William Reynolds, and instead of resuming the journey the next morning,
were induced to locate a home in Branch county. Not only that, but two
other families traveling with the Bassetts also chose to settle here. It was
no easy matter to bring east the goods that had been shipped to Chicago, but
Mr. Bassett adhered to his determination, and, obtaining a homestead in
section 34, became one of the substantial citizens of Batavia.
The first spot along the road to attract the passing emigrants was the
burr-oak plain in the northeast quarter of what is now Bronson township.
In 1828 Jabe Bronson, a Connecticut shipwright who had turned pioneer, in
the course of his wandering through southern Michigan found the attractions of this place too strong to resist, and remained here long enough to
become identified with history as the first settler and the first official of
Branch county. There are no records to indicate the exact motives that
caused Mr. Bronson to locate where he did, and with such a character the
beauty of the country and its location along the Chicago road may have
fulfilled all the conditions that would satisfy his restless nature. The fact
that he made a tavern of his log house and accommodated there some of the
first emigrants who passed through the county is itself sufficient reason for
his location. He had spent the summer of 1827 in raising a crop in St.
Joseph county, and thus had time to pick out what he believed the most
eligible site for a home and place of business.




Ilr


42


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


By September, 1830, six families had settled on Bronson's Prairie.
This is on the authority of the late Wales Adams, who passed through that
locality at that date, and who named the heads of the families as follows:
Seth Dunham, who was then supervisor of Green township; Jabe Bronson,
who besides acting as landlord was the justice of the peace; John J. Richardson, constable and collector; Samuel Smith, who had come in I829 and
was by trade a cooper, although owning a farm and engaging in its duties
as nearly all the pioneers did; Jeremiah Tillotson, who had located there in
the spring of 1829 and become a competitor of Jabe Bronson as inn-keeper,
and whose position in the community is evidenced by his election as the first
supervisor of Prairie River township; and Samuel Haslet.
This community was the nucleus of Bronson village. Already in 18129
a postoffice had been established in the house of Jabe Bronson.  In I833
came David and Alonzo Waterman, and in part of the building which they
erected on the east side of the present village they placed a small stock of
such things as a pioneer community would buy, and thus inaugurated the
commercial side of the settlement. It seems that these men might well be
given the honor of founding the village of Bronson, for they made the
original plat of the village, to which they gave the name " York."  This
name was changed to Bronson by the same legislative act which gave the
name of the first settler to the township.
At this point it is not our purpose to give in detail the history of Bronson
village, but rather to indicate the extension of settlement with the Chicago
road as the central axis and directing force. Jabe Bronson moved away
about 1836. and his log tavern was occupied soon after by E. L. Rose, who
had come from Niagara county, New York, and who in 1838 built the well
known "Rose House," which stood on the north side of Chicago street. In
I837, on the south side of Chicago street, and a short distance west of Ruggles street. Mr. James Ruggles built a frame house in which he lived and
kept public house for sixteen years.
In the meanwhile many other historic settlements had been made along
the great road in Bronson town. To describe one of the most important of
them no quotation could be so apt as one drawn from the oft-quoted historical sketch prepared by Wales Adams for the Branch County Directory of
I870.
"They (Wales Adams and Willard Pierce) traveled-after stopping
at Bronson's prairie in September, I870', as above referred to-through the
counties of St. Joseph and Kalamazoo and saw many beautiful and unoccupied locations; but unaccustomed to agricultural pursuits and country life,
they knew not in what business to engage. After much reflection they concluded to retrace their steps. Accordingly, about the first of October, they
left Prairie Ronde in the morning, followed the trail through Nottawa and
reached the Chicago trail about an hour after sunset, five miles west of Bronson prairie and near where the Chicago road now crosses Prairie River."
Here he states that the road to Bronson was circuitous and difficult to follow-an interesting side light on the condition of the Chicago road at that




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


43


time. While debating whether to continue the journey to Bronson or to
remain without shelter in the wilderness, the tired travelers discovered the
camp of an emigrant party consisting of Resin Holmes and Thomas Holmes
with their families, who had come from  Marion county, Ohio, and were
on their way further west. Adams and his friend having been accommo(ated over night in their roadside quarters, "the next morning," to resume
Mr. Adams' narrative, " the parties examined the surrounding country, and
before night it was stipulated that Pierce and Adams should build a sawmill
where the Chicago trail at that time crossed Prairie river, and that the
Holmeses should settle in the immediate vicinity. Accordingly, in the course
of a few days, Pierce went on foot to Monroe, where the land office was then
located, entered the land, and returned by the way of Detroit; purchased the
mill irons and shipped them around the lakes to the mouth of the St. Joseph
river, and from thence up the river to Mottville. The following July (I83I)
the mill was in operation. Mr. Pierce became dissatisfied with the country
and with the business of making lumber, sold his interest in the sawmill to
William A. Kent, and returned east."
Interesting as is the story of origin of this settlement, there is little to
connect this place with the subsequent history of the township. The site
chosen for the mill (in the northwest corner of section 29), was in the dense
woods and low and swampy grotftd that did not attract settlers looking for
farms. The sawmill was an institution of great value to the settlers for
miles around, but the dam was considered a nuisance and after it was swept
away by high water no attempt was made to rebuild. " Adams Mills " was
the place at which Bishop Chase stopped over night and where he received
the information which led him to settle in Gilead. The Bishop mentions the
landlord Judson, who had come from New York state in the fall of 1831
and had established a tavern at this point mainly for the accommodation of
those employed at the mill. The Bishop also held services here, to which
all the settlers came.
At the Judson House wx~as established the Prairie River postoffice in
1832, with Judson as the first postmaster, followed by William A. Kent. The
office was discontinued on the completion of the Lake Shore Railroad through
this locality.
Yet another instance may be related of how one thing leads to another
in the settlement of a new country. In the winter of 1831-32 there arrived
at the Adams mill from the state of New York a man named Alfred L.
Driggs. Without independent means and seeking employment, he obtained
a place with Mr. Adams as sawyer in the mill. He was ambitious to build
and operate a mill on his own account, and assisted by Mr. Adams as security
he bought the necessary material at Detroit, he had it shipped to Mottville,
as Adams and Pierce had previously done, and from there was brought by
ox team and wagon to Branch county. The location selected for this enterprise was on Swan creek in the northeast corner of section I7, a short distance north of the present line of the Lake Shore Railroad. The mill was
huilt, and its operation gave another industry to Bronson township. In




44


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


June, I836, the property was sold to Jonathan and Samuel Holmes. These
men were from the state of New Hampshire. Samuel never became a resident of this county.  Jonathan was one of the best known of Bronson
pioneer citizens. In September, 1837, he brought his family to.his new location in this county, the mill in the meantime having been run by his brotherin-law, David Taggart. After much delay he finally completed and had
ready for operation in I839 the first grist mill in the township. For thirty
years the Holmes mill ground corn and wheat for settlers in all the surrounding country. As an institution in the development of the country its importance is clear. Early settlers everywhere have had to contend with that
paramount need of getting bread-stuff, and when it was necessary to go long
distances, over almost impassable roads, with a load of corn or wheat, be
obliged to wait at the mill several days and nights for their "turn," the
entire trip often consuming a week or more of time, it is easy to, comprehend
how essential such a mill as that just described was to rapid settlement.
By the census of 1837 Bronson township contained 635 inhabitants,
ranking second among the townships of the county. But it must be remembered that at this date Bronson township included the territory from which
have since been formed Matteson and Noble townships. With this modification the population is clearly not so concentrated as would otherwise be
supposed. Bronson's prairie, of course, was the central and largest group,
but as just indicated there were other centralizing points, and more important
still, there was a gradual extension of population over all the available territory. This extension can, only be stated in general terms. Ohly the "high
lights" of settlement can be portrayed in a work that must stop far short of
being encyclopedic and at the same time tedious.
BETHEL.
Since we have taken the Chicago road as the central theme in our narrative of the settlement and growth of Branch county, and having begun
with Bronson prairie as the chronological starting point of this narrative,
it will prove not uninteresting to pursue the subject in like manner, considering the townships through the center of the county successively from west
to east.
Going east from Bronson the Chicago road next enters the town of
Bethel, passing through the northwest corner.  Since so much emphasis
has been placed on routes of travel as factors in the development of this
county, it is preliminary to the following paragraphs toi state that Bethel
township had two other roads that influenced early settlement. One was the
old Indian road already mentioned, running from Adams mill along Prairie
river across the southwest corner of Bethel township. The other was the
state road, authorized by the legislature in March, 1836, and running centrally
across the county from north to south toward Fort Wayne, Indiana. This
road, however, was not immediately constructed, and did not become a
large factor in the very early settlement of the south part of the county.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


45


It runs along the eastern border of the town of Bethel, and when built became a route much traveled by immigrants.
As to the original topography of this township, it has been stated that
the timber lands and the burr-oak openings were about of equal extent, so
that its attractiveness to early settlers would compare favorably with that
of other townships. When the process of settlement was practically complete, the population of Bethel was equal to that of any of the townships
except those containing villages or cities. None the less, Bethel township received the smallest proportion of the early settlers of all the townships traversed by the Chicago road. This is shown by the figures of the census of
1837, which gave Bethel (or Elizabeth as it was still called) township only
177 inhabitants. An outline of Bethel beginnings may be briefly given.
The article by Wales Adams already quoted tells of Bethel's first settler.
"A Mr. Snow (Eleazer Snow) boarded with Mr. Tillotson (at Bronson in
18301), and was cultivating a patch of corn and potatoes without a fence,
about three miles east of Bronson, at a place now called ' Snow Prairie,.'"
This was the first improvement commenced in Bethel, and likewise gave to the
locality the name it has ever since borne. This first settler is thus honored
more by accident of time and circumstance rather than as a builder. He was
of the restless, wandering sort, and in the fall of 1831 sold out his claims and
improvements to Moses Olmstead, a man of sturdier mold. It was at the
latter's home that the first town meeting was held. Of his sons, Lyman Olmsead was for thirty years one of the substantial citizens of Bethel.
In the following years other accessions to the Snow Prairie settlement
were made, and it is one of the oldest distinct localities in the county.
The best farming land of the township lay in the southwest corner, and
it was there, along the Indian road above mentioned, that the strongest settlement was made. First of all are the names of the Freeman and Marsh families. They increase the list of strong pioneers that Onondaga county, New
York, gave to Branch county. Having entered land in the timbered region
of Lenawee county, Mr. Isaac Freeman, in the fall of 1834, started west
by the Erie Canal and Lake Erie to Detroit, and then overland to Ypsilanti.
There he met a man from Jackson Prairie, Indiana, who convinced him of
the far superior advantages of the burr-oak region over the timber lands
of Lenawee county. Determined to see this country before settling permanently on his first claim, Mr. Freeman came on west to Bronson township,
and then southeast along the road leading to Jackson prairie. The region
of Bethel and Gilead townships through which he passed fulfilled all his expectations, and he at once returned to Ypsilanti to, bring on his family and
his goods. The Marsh family, consisting of the mother and four sons,
Ebenezer, Daniel, Wallace and John, had accompanied Mr. Freeman on his
prospecting trip, and when all were once more united they moved into a
house on section 5 in Gilead township, half a mile south of the Bethel line.
Soon after Mr. Freeman bought land in section 30, of Bethel, and later in
section 32. This was the beginning of the community in southwest Bethel.
Others came soon after, among whom should be mentioned the Scotchman,




46


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


James Bennie, whose first experiences in Branch county were connected
with the Bishop Chase establishment, and who in 1836 located on the southeast quarter of section 31 in Bethel. About. the same time the families of McMillan, McWilliams and Olds located in this vicinity. Mrs. Margaret McMillan and sons, Stephen and James, bought land in sections 29 and 30, near
Prairie river, building their house on what was known as the Bronson road,
a short distance north of the section line. Philander Olds bought a small
plat of land in section 29, and had a cooper shop there several years. Ebenezer
Green and sons, Amos and Silas S., were other accessions to this settlement.
their land being on section 30.
A sudden illness was the cause that deprived the state of Illinois of a
party of settlers and gave them to north Bethel.  Daniel Smead, at the
head of his family of eleven persons, had halted for the night at the Taylor
Tavern, and while there was prostrated by a disease which precluded the
possibility of further progress. It was in the month of November, 1835, that
the party stopped there, and being compelled to spend the rest of the winter
there, the sons spent the time in prospecting about the surrounding country
and were so pleased that they determined to locate permanently instead of
continuing the journey to Illinois.  The father, on recovering from  his
illness, was brought to the same way of thinking, and early the next year
they entered a large tract of land in sections 3, 4 and 9, of Bethel township.
Two of the sons, Morgan L. and Lyman Smead, lived there nearly half a
century.
By the state road from Coldwater there came into the eastern sections
of the township the families of Heman Lake, Origen Bingham, Lemuel
Bingham, Adam Bower, Thomas Judson, Lyman Seymour, Timothy Colby,
Job Devol and Otis Davis, all being from Erie county, New York, and
coming to this county in I836. Most of them settled in section 25, about the
Bethel postoffice neighborhood, and all had their homes adjacent to the state
road.
It has been stated that at the census of 1837 there were I77 persons in
Bethel township. It is likely that the township officers elected at the first
town meeting, held in the spring of the same year, would fairly represent
the citizenship at that time, and for that reason their names are given, as
follows: Elijah Thomas, David M. Clark, Silas S. Green, Isaac Freeman,
David Cummings, Ebenezer Green, Daniel Smead, Moses Olmstead, Jr.,
Lauriston Smead, Stephen McMillan, Morgan Smead, Phillip Olmstead, Morgan Johnston, 0. Dickinson, Samuel Handy, James Thurston.
BATAVIA.
In October, I837, Batavia township had 357 inhabitants. When one
considers the position of this township both with reference to the Chicago
road which runs for four miles across its southeast corner, and to the village
of Branchl which lay close to the east line of Batavia, it will be possible to judge
beforehand about where this population of I837 was largely located. Topog

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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


47


raphy also played its part in the shaping of settlement. Mill creek running
from northeast to southwest gave a strip of low land. along its banks in the
central portion of the township.  Between this strip and the line of the
Chicago road was the oak-openings land, which seems to have been favored
most in the settlement.
In the northwest corner of section 25, on the north side of the Chicago
road, Timothy R. Wallace, in 1832, established the first public house in this
township. Five years later it was purchased by Leonard Taylor, a New
York state settler, and under his ten years' management became known far
and wide as the "Taylor House,' and still later as the " Batavia House."
During the twenty years before the coming of the railroad, thousands of emigrants must have stopped there, and in many ways it was a part of the
pioneer life.
Even more noted was the " NewYork House." a log tavern on section
33 on the south side of the Chicago road, built in 1833 by Jeremiah Tillotson,
the first supervisor of Prairie River township. About a year later the house
and the farm were sold to the Reynolds family, who had come from Genesee
county, Newv York. This family, so long identified with this portion of the
county, consisted of the father, Alpheus, and his sons, Alpheus, William,
Lewis, Jacob and John. The "New York House " had the distinction of
being a stage station. A stage station was not so important to the surrounding locality as a railroad station of later date, but many a village that
grew iup along the Chicago road dated its history from the time when the
stages began making their over-night halts at that point. And for a time it
seemed likely that the "New York House" would be the nucleus of a
village, for about a dozen houses were grouped around the station.  The
railroad was built, the stage coach ceased to arrive, and the community disintegrated. It is of interest that the first town meeting of Batavia was held
at this place, in I836.
The next important settlement was made at the east side of the township. In the southwest corner of section 24, Abel Olds settled in I834.
His brother, Martin Olds, one of the most prominent of the early settlers,
came in June of that year. He journeyed hither from Ohio, and passing
through Coldwater halted at the Wallace House already mentioned. Here
his family remained until he had completed his land entries, which were made
in the oak-openings of sections 13 and 14. His house was built at the
southwest corner of section 13. Martin Olds became the first supervisor
of this township, and was later probate judge of the county.
John H. Stephens, one of the early sheriffs of Branch county, also settled
on section 14 about a year after Mr. Olds, his farm being located along the
state road. Another neighbor of Mr. Olds was Allen Stoddard.
There was soon a settler on every section of the land south and east
of Mill creek.  The circumstances connected with the settlement of John
Bassett on section 34 have been recounted. In 1835 the first blacksmith
shop in the town was established in section 28, its proprietor being John
Woodruff. In the same section, on Mill creek, was located, in I836, the




48


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


first sawmill of the township, long known as the " Woodard Mill." It was
built by Alpheus, William and John Reynolds, but was later owned by
Samuel Woodard, hence its name. Here, too, was the site of a boom town,
"Lawtonville," whose location was described as beautiful and whose lots
were sold in the east to any credulous purchaser who was willing to take a
well executed village plat as evidence of a flourishing village.
In 1836 Benjamin Olmstead and Philo Porter located on section 27. The
latter served two terms as sheriff of the county. In 1838 another tavern was
opened along the road, in section 34, by Samuel H. Cary, a settler of that
year from Ithaca, New York. He also gave the name to Cary's Lake, and
when the government consented to the establishment of a postoffice in this
town in I840, he became first postmaster. On the building of the railroad
the office was moved and became the central institution of the little hamlet
since known as Batavia. The office was-kept in another of the Chicago road
hostelries, the " Dudley House," which had been built by Albert Dudlev.
That the sections just mentioned contained the bulk of the early population, finds additional proof in the fact that when, in I835, the citizens
decided they needed a school they built the first one in section 13. A year
later the site was changed to a location on the Chicago road in section 27.
The second district, organized in the winter of 1836-37, had its building on
section 25, the land being donated by Timothy R. Wallace.
The names of the first settlers already mentioned find repetition in the
record of the first town meeting of Batavia, held in April, I8136. The following are the men who were chosen at that meeting to act as officials of the
township: Alpheus Reynolds, Martin Olds, J. H. Stephens, Jabe Bronson
(who lived in Batavia after leaving Bronson), Samuel Woodard, L. Taylor,
Abel Olds, Morgan Smead, Shirlock Cook, Amasa Miller, T. R. Wallace,
James L. Young, Ira Gifford, George D. Babbet, Horace Field, John Bassett, John M. Chapin, Moses Olmstead, Benjamin Parker, John Woodruff.


I




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                          49
CHAPTER IX.
SETTLEMENT AND BEGINNINGS (CONTINUED).
COLDWATER TOWNSHIP.
When the census of 1837 was taken, Branch county had ten townships.
Of these Coldwater was by much the most populous; indeed, it contained
nearly a fourth of the entire population of the county. That ratio has. been
maintained practically throughout the subsequent seventy years. Approximately, a quarter of the entire population of Branch county now live in
Coldwater township, including Coldwater city.
Coldwater township did not receive the first settlers of Branch county.
This is a circumstance requiring some attempt at explanation. It might
have been an accident of history. But when we consider that the westbound emigrants saw the beautiful plain known as Coldwater Prairie before
they reached Bronson's Prairie, it is pertinent to ask why the nucleus of the
county's settlement was formed at Bronson, that Jabe Bronson's house was
the first civic center, rather than on Coldwater prairie.
Major Abraham Edwards, of Kalamazoo, who went along the Chicago
trail in August, 1828, stated that on the site of the village of Coldwater was
an Indian trading post kept by Beaubien and that on the prairie adjacent
was a large Indian settlement. The same traveler found Bronson settled on
his prairie, and both Hillsdale county on the east, and St. Joseph county
on the west had begun to be settled. But the existence of a large Indian
reserve in central Branch county and the presence of a number of Indians in
possession of one of the most eligible regions along the Chicago road, would
seem to be sufficient explanation of the fact that no settlement had yet been
attempted there.
At the Chicago treaty of August, 182I, the Indians of southern Michigan ceded to the government all their lands except five comparatively small
reservations, on which it was the policy of the government to collect the
various bands and retain them until the convenient season should arrive for
removing all the tribes to the west. The " Mick-ke-saw-be" reservation,.
which was one of the five, was located wholly in Branch county. It was six
miles square, and comprised the eastern two-thirds of what is now Coldwater
township, and the western one-third of the present Quincy township. However, in compliance with the request of the Indians, the west boundary of
the reserve was run sixty rods west of the appropriate section line in Coldwater township, and the same was true of the east boundary in Quincy
township.
Thus the greater part of the present Coldwater township was an Indian


I                                               I




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


reserve, until it was ceded to the United States by a treaty of September,
1827. Notwithstanding this treaty, the Indians did not at once quit their old
reserve in this county, and there can be no doubt that their presence acted as
a retarding influence on settlement for at least a year or so after the treaty
of 18.27.
But with a population of 960 in October, 18137, Coldwater township
must have been settled very rapidly between 1830 and that date. In the other
townships we have indicated the focal points of settlement and the general
directions of growth. In Coldwater township the prominent facts are concerned with the county seat at Branch and with the gradually overshadowing
importance of Coldwater village.  Therefore, the story of beginnings in
Coldwater township becomes the story of the origin of Coldwater City,
around which the rest of the township extends as a fringe to the central
commercial and social area.
A little more than seventy-five years ago, not a habitation nor institution of white man existed on the ground now covered by Coldwater city.
The Chicago trail, entering at the center of the east line of the township,
continued a distance of one mile over the gravelly drift ridges that were
once the east shore of a large lake, and then descended, at what is known as
the Fisk schoolhouse, to a plain of burr-oak openings, almost perfectly level,
and stretching to the west for a distance of over three miles until the trough
of the Coldwater river and the chain of marl lakes is reached. Along the trail
a small band of Indians still had their homes, and there was an Indian trading
post near the east side of the prairie, and another on the ground now occupied
by the cemetery. From the point where the trail came to the level, a ridge of
gentle ascent passed around the northwest, while to the southwest a more,
prominent acclivity, since known as the Warner hills, seemed to guard and
give direction to the little stream that wound at its northern base.
At this point, at the eastern edge of Coldwater prairie, there settled, in
I830, Abram F. Bolton and John Morse, on the east part of section 23. This
was " university land," and had not yet come into market, consequently these
men, and those who became their neighbors, were " squatters." They built a
log cabin of two rooms, which they opened to the use of the traveling public
as the first hotel in the vicinity. Here also was held the first town meeting of
Coldwater township, and the " Morse Tavern" belongs among the institutions of early Branch county. Another well known family that settled on
these university lands east of Coldwater were the Arnolds, who located there
in 1833, and who soon after became identified prominently with Quincy township.
But this was not the only event of that year of beginnings, I830. Lemuel Bingham put up his cabin near the house of the Indian trader, Phineas
Bonner, also near the east side of the prairie, and there established a blacksmith shop, at which many an emigrant's horses were shod and wagons
mended.
In another important event of that year, Mr. A. F. Bolton was concerned. Although, as stated, he had located' with Morse at the east end




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                          51
of the prairie when he brought his family here in I830, in 1829 he had been
over this ground and had purchased a tract of land on the east side of Coldwater river where the Chicago road crossed the stream. In the summer of
1830 the three commissioners appointed to locate the spot where the county
seat should stand when the county was organized came to transact their business in Branch county. Mr. Bolton at once became an interested party, and
explained convincingly the eligibility of his land for the purposes intended.
As one looks back from the present, it seems that the commissioners exercised
good judgment in locating the site of the future court house on the east bank
of Coldwater river near where the bridge is located; for it must be remembered that the village of Coldwater had not yet begun, and few spots along
the Chicago road, and in the central area of the county, offered more advantages than the one selected. But the commissioners had failed to be " sworn
in " before proceeding with the execution of their duties, and for that reason
their action in " sticking the stake " on Mr. Bolton's land was invalid. Had
their work been legal, the history of the Branch county seat and of Coldwater city might have been different.
This event leads us to the brief recital of the ephemeral existence of the
village of " Masonville," which long since became an empty name, and whose
site many years ago was absorbed in the growing city of Coldwater. Masonville was the name given, probably by Mr. Bolton, to the prospective village
that would inevitably grow up around the county seat. Furthermore, at the
spot now occupied by the cemetery, there had been for some years an Indian
trading post, and as early as I83I Roland Root and James B. Stuart were
engaged in merchandising there, principally with the Indians. About the
same time Mr. Bolton had procured the services of two carpenters, and just
east of the river, on his land, had a frame hotel constructed. The " Bolton
House," according to the authority of the late Dr. W. B. Sprague, was kept
for awhile by such well known men as Elisha Warren and Harvey Warner,
and in 1833 passed into the hands of James B. Stuart, who was a very popular landlord. Shortly after his death the hotel burned, and so far as known
that was the last page in the history of Masonville, which had once aspired
to be the county seat and commercial center of Branch county.
For the time being the western side of the township was in the lead.
In 1830 John Toole, the schoolmaster and pioneer of Bronson, had begun
the construction of a sawmill on the west branch of the Coldwater, on section 30, at the site of the historic Black Hawk mills. The work progressed
slowly, and during the same year Seth Dunham, John Allen and others took
a share in the enterprise. Toole became discouraged and left, but the others
had the mill in operation by the spring of I83I, Mr. Allen being in charge.
This was the first sawmill in the county, and from it the settlement at Coldwater obtained its lumber for several years.
VILLAGE OF BRANCH.
Half a mile north of this mill site the land rises rather abruptly from
the river and forms a well defined eminence. On this broad surface the




52               HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
three commissioners appointed under an act of March 4, 1831,I formally
located the county seat of Branch county. Mr. Bolton tried without effect
to prevail on them to accept the original but invalid location of Masonville.
No settlement or improvements, had been made on the spot thus designated
for the county seat; but no censure can attach to the commissioners on that
account. Nothing resembling a village had yet appeared in this vicinity;
and their choice not being circumscribed except in a general way, the commissioners selected what at that time must have seemed the most suitable
spot for the civic center of the county.
This action of the commissioners gave official cause for the existence of
the " village of Branch." There yet remained two years before the separate
organization of the county when this county seat should really become a place
for the transaction of county business; but men of judgment were on hand
to make the most of the opportunity thus presented. Elisha Warren and
others purchased all the land about the site, and at once laid out a village.
The fortunes of the village are soon told. A few of the old pioneers
lived there and were identified with the only years of prosperity the village
had. Seth Dunham, the first county treasurer and one of the proprietors
of the mill near by, was one. Another was Harvey Warner, who, born in
Warren county, New York, in I809, had come from Monroe county, that
state, by the Chicago road to Coldwater prairie in I830, and in I832 was
appointed the first postmaster, the office being located in Branch. A store
was opened in 1833 by E. T. Paxton, a distillery was put in operation about
I835, and a schoolhouse was erected that served not only its essential purpose but also for religious worship and was the first court house of Branch
county. In the summer of 1837, in accordance with previous action of the
board of supervisors, a jail was built, Branch county's prisoners up to that
time having been detained in the St. Joseph county jail.  Five hundred
dollars was the sum set aside for the construction of this building. It was
thirty feet square, built of hewn logs, and while the lower floor was utilized
as a jail, the upper part was used for court purposes. This was the only
public building that Branch county had until the construction of the first
court house of Coldwater.
The village of Branch was also the home of the first newspaper published
in the county, the Michigan Star, issued by County Clerk Charles P. West
for the first time in May, I837. At this time of speculation and "wild-cat"
business promotion preceding the great financial panic of 18137, several efforts
were made to establish in Branch a bank, along the lines of the old Coldwater Bank elsewhere described.  The principal mover in this enterprise,
which never succeeded, was Joel Burlingame, father of Hon. Anson Burlingame, the statesman and diplomatist. Four or five years of the latter's
youth were spent at his father's tavern in Branch, and he got his first acquaintance with men and affairs in the original county seat.
So far as authentic records go, the above may be considered a fair
description of the village of Branch in the high tide of its existence. O!ne
other institution is of pregnant importance to the succeeding narrative.






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                           53
As already stated, the water power of the west branch of the Coldwater
was the first utilized for mill purposes in the county. The same power was
used to turn the first grist mill in the county. The " Black Hawk " mills
have been an institution in Branch county almost from the beginning of its
history. One of the first physicians in. the county, a Dr. Hill, was the lromoter of the enterprise, and it is probable that Seth Dunham and others had
a part of the control, and, as Dr. Hill soon left, they must have become sole
proprietors. The mill was a small affair, located alongside the sawmill, and
the stones were about two feet in diameter, and the bolting cloth a sort of
gauzy cotton fabric. At that early day it was best known for the bad quality of flour it produced. The date of construction of this mill is usually
given as 1832.
But the important fact in connection with this mill was explained by
the late Judge Harvey Warner at a pioneers' meeting in 1884. While the
rush of settlement was at its height, about I836, several enterprising men,
among whom was Francis Smith, determined to establish a mill. " And
as the water power at Branch was better than that where C oombs' mill is
now situated, they proposed to Mr. Elisha Warren of Branch to buy the
half interest in his property at that place forr $75 and then build the mill there.
This offer Mr. Warren. would not accept, and on that account the mill was
located at Coldwater. This was the death blow to Branch; and this transaction was the turn in the tide that ended in the prosperity of Coldwater.
Otherwise what is now the city of Coldwater would have remained a beautiful broad field dotted with elegant farm houses."  Perhaps the importan'ce
of the mill transaction is overestimated in the quoted words.  But it is
certain that the proprietors of the village of Branch, by holding the land
at high price, did not encourage the formation of an industrial and business
center at that point, and this fact is to be kept in mind in considering the
waning importance of Branch and the growth of Coldwater.
The situation of the village of Branch off the line of Chicago road must
also be considered an adverse circumstance in its struggle to become the
center of the county. When we remember that1 mail stages began running
along this road from Tecumseh to Niles in 183o, and that travel increased
constantly from that date, it is evident that a position even a mile south
of the thoroughfare was a detriment to the fullest development of the village.
Concerning Elisha Warren, the founder of the village of Branch, Caleb
D. Randall, in a paper read before the Pioneers in December, 1884, gave
this sketch:
Born in Connecticut in 1795, and died in 1857, he married Caroline
Hanchett, daughter of Joseph Hanchett, and moved to this county in i831.
Mr. Warren settled at Branch, where he purchased five eighty-acre lots and
platted and established the village of Branch, where he secured the establishment of the county seat. In connection with the ten years' contest over
the county seat the name of Mr. Warren is intimately associated. After the
first location of the county seat (at Masonville) had failed, new commissioners were appointed in I83i, who located the county capital at Branch,




54


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


where the court house and jail-a cheap wooden building-was located on
the fine rise of ground just west of the present group of houses. From that
time until 1840 there was a contest for the removal to Coldwater, in which
Mr. Warren took an active part and fought his battle well. Mr. Warren
frequently visited Detroit, the then seat of the state government, to defend
his county site, and it was not till I8,40 when the legislature passed the definite
act of removal to Coldwater.  The question entered into politics.  T'he
county was canvassed for votes. Mr. Warren was able to carry the western
part of the county with him, and he had much merit on his side. First, the
county seat was already located at Branch; second, it was the geographical
center of the county; third, the site, by its high rolling ground, purer water,
drainage, etc., was better adapted to a village. But he had a hard battle
when we recall that against him were the Crippens, Spragues, Daugherty,
the Hayneses, Francis Smith, Cross, Chandler, and a host like them, young
vigorous men. It was not, after all, the merits of the case that decided the
issue. The population of Coldwater and the eastern part of the county increased the more rapidly, and so it had by I840 votes enough to secure commissioners favorable to the change, which was accomplished. Mr. Warren
remained and died at his post.
ORIGIN OF COLDWATER.
In the meanwhile Coldwater Prairie had become the seat of a thriving
population.  In October, I829, when the first lands of this vicinity were
offered for sale, two brothers, Robert J. and William H. Cross, obtained a
patent, signed by President Andrew Jackson, to three-fourths of section 22
in Coldwater township. The following year both these men came to this
land and built a flat-roofed log shanty on the north side of the Chicago road,
a few rods west of the present eastern limits of the city. The improvements
they made became proverbial with the people in the county and with travelers
who passed through this region. This land was sold in 1835 to James Fisk,
Rev. Francis Smith and William B. Sprague, and Robert J. Cross then went
to Illinois. His brother, William H., who held official position in the first
years of the county, was at one time in the mercantile business as a partner
with Silas A. Holbrook, and his later career was identified with St. Joseph
county, where he died in I886.
On section 15 John Morse purchased eighty acres, in I83o, and in January of the following year A. F. Bolton, Robert J. Cross and Robert H.
Abbott each purchased eighty acres of this section.
On section 2I, Joseph Hanchett, Jr., took up eighty acres in the fall
of 1830.  In 1831 entries were made on this section by Elisha Warren,
Audrain Abbott and Robert J. Cross.
Section 22 was entirely taken upi by Hugh Campbell and the Cross
brothers, their entries being dated in the fall of 1830, and by Allen Tibbits,
who entered the remaining eighty acres in June, I830. In February, 1831,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                         55
Campbell sold his eighty acres, in the northwest corner, to the Crosses.
Twenty acres of this had been plowed and sixteen apple trees set out.
These three sections comprised the area on which the village of Coldwater had its beginnings. The first entry on section I6, which was the public
school section, was not made until 1837. It is reasonable to suppose that the
men above mentioned were on the ground in I83I, and were the landed
proprietors most concerned in the inauguration of any village enterprise.
Hugh Campbell, whose eighty was located in the northwest corner of
section 22, built a log house on the north side of the Chicago road. This
was in I83o, and is accredited with being the first dwelling erected on the
original site of the village. It stood near the corner of what is now Hudson
and Chicago streets, about the site of the Y. M. C. A. building.
This was the approximate situation when the Rev. Allen Tibbits came
along the Chicago road to this spot in the autumn of I830. An itinerant
Methodist preacher, with headquarters at Plymouth, twenty-five miles west
of Detroit, he was at this time a young man of twenty-six years, having been
born in Lyols, New York, in 1804. The purpose of his visit to Coldwater
prairie in I830 was to find a permanent home, and when he returned in I831
he located, as above shown, eighty acres in the southwest quarter of section
22. In the meantime Hugh Campbell had moved from his residence, and in
his rough log cabin, which was without a floor, Mr. Tibbits made his first
home. About the same time, also, he must have purchased this Campbell
eighty (from the Crosses) in the northwest corner of section 22. From the
records alove given and from what follows, it is certain that, in the year
I831, the eighty acres in the northwest corner of section 22 was owned by
Mr. Tibbets, and the eighty adjoining that on the west, in the northeast corner of section 21, was owned by Mr. Joseph Hanchett.
Mr. Hanchett, who had arrived on the ground a few weeks before Mr.
Tibbits, also lived during the summer of 183I in the Campbell cabin. These
two men decided to establish a village on part of their land. To them belongs the. honor of being called the founders of Coldwater. Calling in the
services of James B. Tompkins, they platted a village. The original plat,
signed by James B. Tompkins, the surveyor' (whose son, of the same name,
died in Girard township in 1905), and dated July 29, I83I, is now in the
register of deeds office at Centerville, where it was filed for record December
i, I832. This plat was acknowledged by Allen Tibbits and Joseph Hanchett
on November 29,, 1832. From these facts it is proper to date the origin of
Coldwater on July 29, I83I, so that the city may in the year of this writing
celebrate its seventy-fifth anniversary.
The first name given to the village was "Lyons," assigned by Mr. Tibbits in honor of his birthplace at Lyons, New York. But in the following
year it was christened Coldwater, which was a translation of the Indian name
"Chuck-sew-ya-bish," by which the natives are said to have designated the
waters of the stream flowing south of the village.
The two eighty-acre lots owned respectively by Joseph Hanchett and
Allen Tibbits, as above stated, were both included in the act of incorporation




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


of the village. But only part of this land was surveyed into village lots at
first. The extent of the original village of Coldwater is easily stated. On the
west it was bounded by what is now Monroe street; on the east by what is now
Jefferson street. The north boundary was the section line, or, approximately,
Church street; while the south was what is now Washington street. This
area was divided into fifty-five numbered lots, each six rods wide by twelve
rods deep. The conspicuous features designated on the original plat were,
the Public Square, sixteen rods wide from east to west, and thirty rods long
from north to south; the Chicago street, one hundred feet wide, a width that
has been one of the chief charms of this broad avenue and a matter of pride
to citizens; the other streets named on the plat —Pearl and Church streets,
running east and west, and Hudson and Division streets, north and southwere each four rods wide.
The manuscript history of "The Origin of the City of Coldwater," by
the late Dr. William B. Sprague, describes the first twelve buildings erected
on this village plat and which were standing at the time the Doctor came to
Coldwater in 1835.
The filst was the log structure put up by Hugh Campbell, the location
of which has already been mentioned.
The second was more pretentious, a log residence, finished and occupied
by Mr. Joseph Hanchett in the fall of 1831. This stood on Lot 44, a little
north of the E. R. Clarke and Company building, and on what is now Monroe
street.
In 1832 John Wilson, a brother-in-law of Allen Tibbits, built for himself and family a frame residence on Lot 4I, on the north side of Chicago
street and next to the Loomis Battery Park. Mr. Wilson was a carpenter
and joiner by trade.
On the next lot east, where the Episcopal church now stands, William
McCarty in the same year built a frame house. This house is still standing,
externally intact, as part of the barn on the rear of the premises of Mrs.
Sarah E. Conant, next east of the Loomis Battery Park. We were assured
by Mr. L. D. Halsted early in the present year, I906, that this is the oldest
house in Coldwater ever used as a dwelling. It still shows so well what it
was originally that an illustration of it is given. Mr. McCarty used his
dwelling as a jail during his service as sheriff.
Where the Edwin R. Clarke Library building now stands, Peter Martin,
the first probate judge of Branch county, erected in I832 a frame dwelling.
Also in 1832, the first building used for store purposes was built. It
was a frame structure, and stood on the south side of Chicago street just
west of the public square, on part of the site now occupied by the Bovee
block. Silas A. Holbrook and Grover Hibbard had come here early in I832
from Tecumseh, and in this building the first Coldwater store was opened,
the attic being used for the residence of Mr. Holbrook and family.
On the north side of Chicago street, near Hudson, on the spot now
occupied by the Milo Campbell residence, Rev. Allen Tibbits erected a small




/:


The House occupied in 1833 in Coldwater by the first
Sheriff of the County, William McCarty, as home and jail;
now, 1905, the oldest building in Coldwater and part of a
barn.








HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                           57
frame house in I8&33. Up to that time he had continued to live in the log cabin
built by Hugh Campbell.
On the west side of Hudson street, a short distance south of Chicago,
Hiram and George Hayden, cabinet makers, put up two dwellings in I834.
On the northeast corner of their lot, that is, on Chicago street, they had
their shop.
* There is evidence in what has just been said, that the proprietors of
Coldwater village were very much in earnest in promoting the interests of
their village. Every encouragement was held out to the settlement of those
who would become factors of usefulness in the community. The good judgment of the founders is seen in the fact that all of the settlers just mentioned
became closely associated with the affairs of the village and county, excepting
only the Hayden brothers, one of whom soon (lied and the other moved to a
farm in the county.
The zeal with which Allen Tibbits undertook to build up Coldwater is
well shown in the case of the next settler. Matthew Brink, a blacksmith, had
located in the village of Branch. Early in I835 he was induced to move to
Coldwater by the gift of a lot in the village, on which he was to build his
home and have his shop. This lot was on the south side of Chicago street,
at the east edge of the village, near the present Jefferson street.
Dr. Sprague mentions three other buildings that were on the village plat
in I835. One was a plain frame house on the west side of Division and
between the square and Pearl street, about where the Baptist church stands.
On the east side of Hudson street, a little north of Pearl, was built the first
village schoolhouse, standing on a lot also donated by Mr. Tibbits. And on
the north side of Chicago street, just west of the public square, where the
Southern Michigan Hotel now stands, was a two-story frame structure still
in process of building. Edward Hanchett was building it'for a tavern. It
remained for John J. Curtis to finish it and open it to the public, as the "Eagle
1House."
Such was the pioneer Coldwater, seen at a time when it was still possible
to distinguish the individual units. In the men who were there in I835 lay
great possibilities for future development; but still more in the group of
settlers who came that year. In that list would be found such names as
Bradley Crippen and his four sons, Lorenzo D., Philo H., Benjamin and
Rev. Elliott M.; James Fisk, Thomas Dougherty, Rev. Francis Smith, Dr.
William B. Sprague, Dr. Darwin Littlefield, James Haynes and his sons
John T., Levi, Harvey and James.   These men, with those already mentioned, formed the bulk and sinews of the community and were the real
founders of the city of Coldwater.
The developments of the next few years are all important.  The detailed features of the growth of Coldwater cannot be noted. The strength of
its citizenship has been noted; it was a live, enterprising community, with
business and industrial promise. Alert and determined to make the most
of their opportunities, the citizens pressed on to the next step in civic
growth. In February, 1837, the legislature passed the act of incorporation


I                                                                                   a.




58


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


for the village of Coldwater, and when, pursuant to this act, the citizens
convened on the first Monday of May at the "Central Exchange," they chose
the following men to direct the affairs of the village during its first year:
Hon. Hiram Alden, then Branch county's representative in the legislature,
became village president; Hiram Shoudler, recorder; and William H. Cross,
Silas A. Holbrook, Joseph Hanchett, Reuben J. Champion, Harvey Warner and John J. Curtis, trustees.
So much for the civic community. It was still a pioneer village, barely
out of the first stages of individual activity. Organization of industry and
classification of pursuits had only begun. The tilling of the prairie soil was
a part of the work of nearly all. There were several physicians, whose range
of duties, however, covered most of the county, Dr. William H. Hanchett and
Dr. Hiram Alden being most prominent; there were several merchants, hotelkeepers, mechanics, and in 1837 came the first lawyer. Altogether, the basis
of village growth and prosperity was well laid.
Manufacturing received its first strong impulse at this time. It is not
an overstatement of the truth to say that this form of activity was the vital
element in Coldwater's subsequent growth. Up to that time Branch, with the
nearby "P'oka" or Black Hawk mills, had been the manufacturing center for
lumber and flour.
Of similar enterprises at Coldwater, the first is best described in the
words of Allen Tibbits:  "Joseph Hanchett and myself were the sole proprietors and builders of the first grist mill erected at Coldwater.  It consisted of a piece of an oak log some three feet long set firmly in the ground
with a hollow on the top and in the shape of a bowl, hacked and burnt
smoothly out for a nether millstone. It would hold a peck. For the upper
stone a large piece of timber made roughly in a pestle form was suspended
from a strong springpole above, and then we were ready for custom work
as well as our own. But how to obtain the corn to grind was another consideration, none could be furnished so early by the people-it had not yet
been grown; so we went to northern Indiana where the settlements along the
Vistula turnpike were more advanced, and this all here were obliged to do.
Our profits from this investment were not large, scarcely enough to pay for
outlays and labor, though our patronage was large." This mill, operated in
the summer of 1831, stood at the south front of Mr. Hanchett's log residence already described.
In I834 Peter Martin, the judge of probate, built a sawmill that stood
a trifle north from where Division street intersects Clay street, and the dam
occupied the line upon which Division street crosses the Coldwater river.
Traces of the old mill race may still be seen along the north bank of the
river. The pond, which spread over quite a large surface, was after about four
years considered to be a source of disease and was torn away by the people
as a nuisance. On the authority of Dr. Sprague, this property had passed into
the hands of L. D. and P. H. Crippen about 1835.
On a previous page, in connection with the history of the village of
Branch, has been mentioned the failure of an attempt to establish a mill




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                          59
there, and the significance of the event in the contest between Branch and
Coldwater. It is now proper to describe how that attempt which failed at
Branch resulted in the establishment of early Coldwater's chief manufacturing industry.
Early in 1836 the partners, Francis Smith, Thomas Dougherty and William B. Sprague, selected a site at the west end of Pearl street as the location
for their saw and grist mill. Work on the sawmill was begun the same season
and was finished some time in the fall. The flouring mill was commenced
quite early in the spring of 1837, and completed early in the following winter.
Samuel Etheridge, another pioneer citizen of Coldwater, was chief engineer,
architect and builder. The mills were built in accordance with the most modern standards of the time.
In 1838 the mills were sold to John J. Curtis and 01. B. Clark, from whom
they passed, in I84I, to L. D!. and P. H. Crippen. On the withdrawal of
P. H. Crippen in 1844 the firm became Crippen and Dougherty, and later
L. D. Crippen was sole owner. The mills were burnt in I8158, but rebuilt the
next year. James B. Crippen became owner, and then E. R. Clarke, and in
I869 William A. Coombs bought the plant, since which time his name has
been connected with the institution.




60               HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
CHAPTER X.
COUNTY SEAT CONTEST.
With this understanding of the growth of Coldwater village, the ability
of its citizenship and its material resources, we may now describe the final
stages of the county seat contest, which resulted in the complete loss of
prestige for the village of Branch and the transfer of all its power to the
rival village on the prairie.
As mentioned in the sketch of Elisha Warren, the citizens of Coldwater
never allowed the county seat to rest quietly with Branch. In the end the
question was settled by local option, and Coldwater, being able to summon
the greater political power to the support of her contention, won the county
seat.
An act of the legislature approved March I6, I840, declared that after
July 4, 1840, the seat of justice of the county of Branch was vacated and
that the same should be selected and fixed upon by "three commissioners to
be appointed by the governor by and with the advice of the senate." Of course
these commissioners could choose to allow the seat to remain with Branch,
and removal to another location was conditioned on a land site being donated
and all cost of court house and jail being secured by money or bond from the
interested parties. The entire transaction of removal should cause no expense
to attach either to the state or the county.
The commissioners were to make their selection, on or before the first
Monday in June, 184I. Whether the opposition to the change was still too
strong in the western part of the county, or whether the citizens of Coldwater were unable or unwilling to fulfill satisfactorily the conditions of the
bill, cannot be definitely stated, since neither the county nor newspaper records throw any light on the matter. Certain it is that the county seat was not
changed under the provisions of this bill of I840.
But on February 5, 1842, an act was approved declaring the seat of
justice vacated and to. be established in the " village of Coldwater;" provided,
that security should be given to the county commissioners for a sum equal to
the appraised value of the court house and jail at Branch; that at least threequarters of an acre of land in the village of Coldwater should be donated
for the county site; and that the persons interested in the removal should
furnish free temporary quarters for the holding of the terms of circuit court
until a court house could be erected. The ternms of the bill were to be complied with on or before March I, 1842.
By this act the selection of the site was to be determined by the three
county commissioners. (It should be stated that the system of county gov





The Old Court House, Coldwater, 1848-1887




~I
41
0:       X::




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


61


eminent by a board of township supervisors had been abolished in 1837 and
the county's affairs placed under the jurisdiction of a board of three county
commissioners. The office of county commissioner had been abolished in
1841 and a return made to the township supervisor system. Accordingly the
last important official acts of the Branch county commissioners was the selection of the new county seat.) The county commissioners at this time were
Hiram Shoudler, of Union, chairman of the board; Oliver D. Colvin, of
Kinderhook; and Hiram Gardner, of Matteson. Mr. Gardner had been chosen
the preceding autumn in place of Wales Adams of Bronson, and as stated in
the sketch of Mr. Elisha Warren, the election had largely hinged on the
county seat question.
The political issues involved had been settled, therefore, before the act
of the legislature passed, and there was no delay after the act had been approved, on February 5th. The issue of the Coldwater Sentinel of February
iith contained the following paragraph: "The requisitions of the bill which
has passed the present legislature to vacate the seat of justice and establish
the same at the village of Coldwater have been complied with ---the county
commissioners have performed their duty under the law; and the result of
their deliberations has been to drive the stake for the court house on a lot on
the southeast corner of the public square, taking land for the jail a little east
of the public square on land owned by Mr. James Shoecraft."
One other incident of the contest should be noted. It was provided that
the jail at Branch should be used for the confinement of prisoners until one
could be built at the new seat. Thus Branch retained a part of the county
seat until the event recorded by the Sentinel of June I6, 1843: "The old
court house and jail at Branch was destroyed by fire during the night of Sunday, the I Ith. The building had not been in use by the county except as a jail
since the removal of the county seat to this place. One room in the building
was occupied as an office by Dr. H. B. Stillman. The fire was evidently the
work of an incendiary, and circumstances having transpired to fasten suspicion on Lawson Woodward, a young man who had previously been confined
in the prison, he was arrested," etc. Thus ended the first county seat. It
has been asserted that the former prisoner was paid to burn the old building,
the motives being, apparently, to destroy Branch's last claim to the seat of
justice, and also perhaps to hasten the building of a jail at Coldwater. Until
a new jail was provided, Branch county prisoners were kept in St. Joseph
county.
Pursuant to the act for the removal of the seat of justice, the citizens
of Coldwater had guaranteed three hundred dollars toward the erection of a
county building, that sum representing the value of the structure at Branch.
In October, I843, the board of supervisors resolved to submit to the electors
a proposition to raise four hundred dollars in addition to this sum of three
hundred, with which to build a jail. But the people were not yet ready to vote
money for county buildings, and this resolution and similar ones were negatived. In the spring of 1846 a proposition to expend a thousand dollars,
besides the sum guaranteed by Coldwater, was approved by the votes of the




62


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


people. The jail was built in the summer of that year, and was accepted as
completed in January, I847. This old jail, which was built of heavy planking straight up and down, and riveted together, stood on the north side of
Pearl street and about midway between Hudson and Jefferson streets. It
was burned in April, I859, while Sheriff David N. Green was residing in
it. After the fire a barn that stood on the corner where the jail now stands
was converted into a lock-up, and five or six years later that, too, was burned.
A temporary wooden structure was then erected, and served as a jail until the
present brick jail was erected in I875. The present jail, which was built at
a cost of $18,358.70, was constructed under the direction of a building committee of which the late Cyrus G. Luce was chairman, the other two members being the late Judge David N. Green and William P. Arnold. Their
committee report was accepted by the hoard of supervisors on October I2,
I875 -COURT HOUSE.
More than six years elapsed from the time Coldwater became the county
seat before a court house was erected. The various permanent officials had
their quarters in hired rooms, while the courts were conducted in a rickety old
building that occupied the site of the brick residence erected by the late Dr.
J. H. Beach. During one of the presidential campaigns this building received
the name of "Coon Pen." It was well entitled to this name, and bore it long
after it was given up for court purposes.
The jail being the important public building, it was not until after that
had been provided that the supervisors turned their attention to the erection
of a court house. Resolutions were finally passed making the building of a
court house a proposition to be voted on by the people of the county at the
spring election of I847. The vote cast in favor of the building was 824, with
797 votes against it. It is a noteworthy coincidence that this majority of
27 by which the building of the first court house in Coldwater was assured,
was exactly duplicated forty years later, when the erection of the present
court house was decided upon, 27 being the decisive number in both instances,
although of course the total vote was much larger in 1887.
The old court house pictured on another page was accordingly erected
in I848, at a cost of five thousand dollars, being accepted by the supervisors
in the fall of that year and first occupied for public purposes in December.
The court house erected by the county in 1848 served for the home of
official business a generation of time, and then as the county developed there
came a time when the building became unsuited to be the seat of a flourishing
county like Branch. All this and more is recited in the preamble of a resolution offered for the consideration of the board of supervisors at their regular
October session of I885 by the committee on county poor and county property. This committee consisted of Elliston Warner, Jerome Corwin and C. C.
Van Vorst. After describing the unsuitableness of the court house for its
purposes, the lack of fire-proof offices for the keeping of the records, the
impossibility of repairing the court house so as to accommodate the business




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                           63
of the county, and calling the attention of the board to the cheapness of
labor and material as opportune for the erection of a new building, the committee resolved "that the question of raising by tax upon said county the
sum of $5o,ooo, one-third of the same to be raised in each of the years i886,
1887 and I888, for the purpose of building a new court house, be submitted
to the electors of Branch county at the next annual township meetings."
The resolution was adopted without a dissenting vote.
When the real decision of the question came before the people of the
county on April 5, i886, an adverse majority of 687 was rendered against
the proposition. Nothing more was done during that year, except to carry
on the agitation and call for plans of a proposed building.
At the January session of I887 Supervisor Warner offeroed another
resolution, which was adopted by the board, to submit the matter of raising
the required sum for the new court house to the people. Some of the supervisors had evidently been instructed by their constituents, for five votes were
recorded against the resolution. This motion, it should be noticed, provided
for the raising of the sum of fifty thousand dollars by loans instead of by tax,
such loans to be paid with interest in five annual instalments on the first of
February of the years i888, i889, i89o, I89.i, i892.
To safeguard the interests of the people another motion was then carried to the effect that "we as members of the board of supervisors pledge
ourselves individually and collectively that in no event shall the amount expended in the erection of the court house exceed the sum of fifty thousand
dollars."
The vote was taken in April, 1887. The people of the county were by
no means unanimous, the canvass of votes showing 2,79,1 for and 2,764 against
the proposition, so that the erection of a new court house was assured by a
bare majority of 27.
The construction of the court house was entrusted to a building committee of five, elected by the supervisors from their own number. As the
executive responsibility devolved on these men, it is proper that their names
should be given in the history of the building that is still in use for county
business. They were George W. Ellis, David B. Purinton, George Miller,
M. B. Wakeman, and J. H. Davis.
It should also be noted that the block of land on which the court house
and jail are now situated was squared off to its present proportions at this
time, when the board purchased a lot of land fronting on Pearl street for seven
rods and running north fifteen rods and three feet, "excepting a strip ten feet
by sixty feet out of the southwest corner."
To finance the building operations it was resolved that bonds of five hundred dollars each to the amount of forty thousand dollars should be issued,
dated July i, I887, with interest at five per cent, payable in four equal instalments on the first of March of each of the years i889, i89o, i89i, and i892.
There were two local bids for the bonds, that accepted coming from Mr.
George Starr and reading as follows: "I will give par and $425 with accrued
interest to the first day of any month within one year from the date of bonds,




64


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


for the court house bonds in lots of ten thousand dollars until the whole
amount of forty thousand dollars in said bonds are delivered to me."
The preliminary arrangements completed, the actual work of construction
was soon begun. The plans of Mr. M. H. Parker, a Coldwater architect, were
adopted, and at the June session of I887 the committee was authorized to let
the contract for the construction. In the following August the committee
was authorized to tear down the old building, and prbvision was made for the
accommodation of the various offices during the time of building, the clerk,
sheriff, treasurer and superintendent of the poor being quartered in the old
postoffice building, the register of deeds in another building, rooms in the
Masonic block being rented for the judge of probate, whil* the circuit court
sessions were held in Armory Hall.
Crocker and Hudnutt, of Big Rapids, Michigan, who were awarded the
building contract as the lowest bidder, rapidly pushed the work of construction, and since the summer of I888 the present court house has been in use
for the transaction of all county business. The building committee made its
final report on August I, I888, and a few days later the report was approved
and the building formally accepted as complete. At that time the committee
reported the total receipts for the building of the court house to be $52,098.99,
and the total disbursements as $50,131.34, leaving a balance to the people of
$1,976.65. Not only the financial management, but the entire transaction was
creditable to those officially concerned.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


65


CHAPTER XI.
SETTLEMENT AND BEGINNINGS (CONTINUED).
QUINCY.
The preceding pages have carried the narrative of settlement and beginnings along the Chicago road up to the last township traversed by that thoroughfare, namely, Quincy. One of the main propositions with which we
started this account of settlement was the remarkable influence of the Chicago
road. Nowhere is it more graphically illustrated than in the case of Quincy
township. According to the original land entries, the locations for the year
1830 were chosen on sections 12, 13, 14, the last two sections being bisected
by the road; the locations for 1832 were on section I5; those for 1833, on section I9.; and those for 1834, on sections 17, I8 and 2o-all being on or near
the road. Only one circumstance can qualify in any way the deductions to be
drawn from these facts-namely, that the best land for settlement lay along
the central area traversed by the Chicago road, the "prairies" and the Qak
openings being situated in this portion, while both the north and the south
si(les of the township were originally heavily timbered.
The first settler who came along the road into this township was Horris
Willson, who came from Detroit, where he had lived since 1825, his native
place being Batavia, New York. His land purchase, which was the first in
the township and was made in June, 1830, consisted of three hundred and
twenty acres in one body but lying in sections 12, 13 and 14. Being a
carpenter, with the assistance of a hired man, he constructed a house of hewn
logs on the north side of the Chicago road in section 14, and soon afterward
opened it to the public as a tavern. To quote the words of another, Mr. Willson "purchased the first land, built the first house, plowed the first furrow,
planted the first corn, sowed the first oats, and kept the first tavern in the
township of Quincy." He did not live long to enjoy the fruits of his pioneer
labors. Ellis Russell kept the tavern for his widow after his death. Mr.
Willson's daughter became the wife of Dr. E. G. Berry.
A pioneer whose connection with the township was longer and who became
one of the prominent men in the early history of the county was James G.
Corbus, who was born in Detroit in 1804, and came to Branch county in
June, I832. It has already been stated that he was a contractor during the
summer of that year on a portion of the Chicago road in Bronson township,
and it is possible that this work led him to locate in Branch county. Anyhow,
in the fall of that year, he purchased some land in section 13, and on taking up
his actual residence in I&833 he began the erection of the first frame house.




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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


When this was completed it was also opened for the accommodation of the
traveling public. This house was located on the north side of the Chicago
road and almost opposite the road since called Maple street. The house stood
for many years. In it was organized the first Sunday school and the first
temperance society of the township. It afforded shelter to many of the workmen engaged in the construction of the Lake Shore railroad, which destroyed
the importance of the Chicago road and at the same time took away the
patronage of the inn.  Mr. Corbus was the second treasurer of Branch
county.
As already stated, the year I8,32 showed a land entry on section 15, but
as this has particular reference to the village of Quincy, it will be well to
omit its consideration at present and speak first of the course of settlement in
the other portions of the township.
On the western side of the township, in section I9, Joseph L. Hartsough
entered land in I833, and in this same section Rice T. Arnold, the father
of William P. and Anselum, soon after purchased land. Henry Van Hyning
entered land in section 17 in 1834, and about the same time settlement began
in sections IS and 20. Not until I835; did the land entries reach beyond the
central belt of the township. In that year sections I and 2, on the north,
and section 30, showed entries, but by that time all of the two middle rows
of sections were entered in whole or in part.
Quincy township and village have shown the slow and steady growth that
marks the purely agricultural community. In the period of pioneer years
which we are now discussing, scarcely any occupation was followed except
farming. The population spread out over the thirty-six sections of the town,
and in time, by a process of natural selection, began grouping around the
civic center. Here settled at any early day some men of unusual personality
and strength of character, whose influence was exerted for village life, and
gradually there appeared such institutions as the church and school, the postoffice, the store, and representatives of the trades and the professions. The
point to be emphasized is, that for many years the community which became
Quincy village was the central settlement of Quincy township and without
the sharp distinctions which we have seen marked off the village of Coldwater so soon from the rest of the township. This natural growth and absence of rapid business changes may account in a measure for the appearance
of permanence, of continuity in life and institutions, and the wholesome civic
interest and pride, which impress themselves most definitely on one who
studies and observes the history of Quincy village.
On October I6, I832, the first land was entered in section 15, it being
in the southwest corner of the section, with its west boundary the main street
of Quincy village. The course of history, we might say the accidents of history, caused the locator of this land to be honored as the pioneer of Quincy
village, the man who made the first improvements which the thousands of
after generations would enjoy and carry on to greater development. This
pioneer was John Cornish, who was living in Girard township at the time he
made his land purchase at Quincy, being one of the pioneers of the former




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


township. He did not put up a log cabin and move his family to his new purchase until the fall of 1833. In the spring of 1834 he began the erection of
a frame house on the north side of the Chicago road and where Main street
now intersects that thoroughfare, this being the site of the present "Quincy
House."  As soon as this house was ready he opened it as a tavern. That
event marked a beginning. Travelers along the road, on reaching the beautiful prairie which surrounded this house, chose to stop there for entertainment. Being situated at the center of the township, the electors made the
Cornish tavern the place of their first township meeting. Mr. Cornish was
moderator at that meeting and was elected one of the justices of the peace.
He rented his tavern in the spring of 1836 to Pearson Anson, and soon after
sold the property to Joseph Berry, and then lived in his first log house until
he could move to a new home on a farm in the township.
But for the first year after the establishment of his tavern, Mr. Cornish
was practically alone so far as permanent neighbors were concerned. Other
parts of the county were attracting the majority of the immigrants. But in
I835, a year which gave hundreds of strong and able citizens to Branch
county, Quincy township and especially its central area received a great impulse in settlement.
In 1834 Joseph Berry, one of the several sons of Samuel Berry, the
family being originally Trom New Hampshire but at this time residents of
Chautautqua county, New York, had come to Branch county and spent the
summer at the Arnold home in east Coldwater township. His enthusiastic
descriptions of this region, recited again and again when he had returned
to his home in New York state, were sufficient to induce all the Berry family
to become pioneers. The father came out in the spring of I835 and after prospecting as far west as Illinois, in the summer purchased land in the northeast corner of section 2I and began building a frame house near the Chicago
road. In the same spring his son, Enos G., had come to Branch county, and
in the fall Joseph arrived with the household effects. Ezra, the youngest of
the boys, then fifteen years old, arrived about the same time, having driven
the two cows that belonged to the family the entire distance from New York
to Michigan.
The Berry home, which was located on the south side of the road about
three-quarters of a mile west of Main street, became a hotel, and the boy
Ezra assisted his father in its management. In 1836 the hotel was leased
to another party, and Mr. Samuel Berry built for his home a small house a
few rods east. This house is also of historic importance, for when the first
postoffice was established in this vicinity it was located at the Berry home, in
1837. Dr. Enos G. Berry was the first postmaster, and it is of well established
tradition that a bushel basket was the receptacle in which the mail was kept.
Ezra Berry, however, performed the active duties of the office, and was generally called upon to examine the contents of the basket.
The Berry family, father and sons, owned most of the land on which the
village of Quincy was afterwards built.  Samuel and Dr. E. G. were the
original purchasers of a large part of section 2I, and Joseph Berry bought of




68


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


John Cornish the southwest corner of section I5, and also owned a large part
of section 22. At the time now under consideration this part of the township had few evidences of village life. Dr. Berry was the physician for the
people of the vicinity, besides being postmaster. In 1835 Daniel Bagley had
arrived at the settlement. Buying an acre of ground from Mr. Cornish, he
put tp a frame house on the north side of the Chicago road and on the
south side a blacksmith shop, where he attended to the mechanical needs of
the community. This was located where Dally street now intersects Chicago
road. Consequently, a blacksmith shop, a postoffice, two hotels and a physician were the elements of village life that would'have been found here in I837.
But several other settlers had come in during 1836 and I837 who were
to take a prominent part in the affairs of this township. In 1835 John
Broughton, a native of Vermont, had come from Lorain county, Ohio, and
had located on the Chicago road just over the line in Coldwater township.
In the double log house which stood adjacent to the brick kiln (one of the
first brick-making establishments in the county), he kept a tavern for the
first year, but in 1836 moved to the Quincy settlement. On the north side of
the Chicago road, about opposite what is now Grove street, Silas Hamilton
(who was a settler of the fall of 1835) had begun the erection of a large
log house. This was still unfinished when Mr. Broughton bought the property, completed the building, and moved his fanily to the new home in
December, 1836. Just across the road from the Broughton home, the same
Mr. Hamilton had erected a little shanty to serve as his first shelter, and
here, about 1837, a cobbler named Thomas Valier had a shoe shop.
One other settler in 1836 deserves mention. James M. Burdick, who
came to Branch county and spent the year 1831 in the employ of Abraham F.
Bolton near Coldwater, and then lived in Hillsdale county for several years,
moved to Quincy township in the spring of 1836, locating on section 24,
which was his home during many years of worthy citizenship.
During all this time the area of the present Quincy township had not
been organized separately, and as we know, the first Quincy township comprised also what are now Algansee and California. Therefore, at the first
town meeting, which occurred in April, I836, some of the men who took
part were resident south of the present south line of the township.  But
almost all the officers chosen came from the settlers whose names have been
mentioned, the first official list of the township comprising the following:
Enos G. Berry, David W. Baker, John Cornish, James G. Corbus, Samuel
Beach, Samuel H. Berry, Luther Briggs, James Adams, Joseph T. Burnham,
Pearson Anson, James M. Burdick, Griswold Burnham, Conrad Rapp,
Thomas Wheeler, Joseph L. Hartsough.
In October, 1837, Quincy township, still comprising an area of two full
townships and one fractional, had 569 inhabitants. Just what per cent of
these lived in the present township of Quincy cannot be stated, but it is
certain that they were the great majority, and furthermore that thev lived
in the sections convenient to the Chicago, road. This concentration of population is further proved by the location of the first three schools of the town



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


69


ship. The first school house, of logs, was built in 1837 on land now owned
by the railroad in Quincy village; the second, built the same year, was in the
Hog Creek district," in the eastern part of the township; and the third, il
18,38, was at the west edge of section 20 on the Chicago road.
BISHOP CHASE AND GILEAD TOWNSHIP.
The Chicago road was the avenue by which Bishop Philander Chas,
came to Branch county. The story of his settlement in Gilead, apart from
the importance attaching to it as the historical beginning of Gilead township,
is of even more interest for the threads of fact concerning the county in
general and the conditions and customs of the time.
Bishop Philander Chase was born in Cornish, New Hampshire, in 1775,
graduated from Dartmouth College in 1795, studied for the ministry of the
Episcopal church, and in I819 was consecrated bishop of Ohio, the first
bishop of the Episcopal church west of the Alleghany mountains. He was
the founder of Kenyon College in Ohio, which is regarded as his greatest
achievement, but which was also the source of his greatest personal disappointment. For, being unable to carry out his plans for that institution because of the interference and persecution from his enemies, he felt it his duty
to resign the episcopate of the diocese and the presidency of the college,
which he did in September, 1831. On Easter day of 1832 he administered
holy communion for the last time in Ohio, and on the following morning set
out on horseback with a friend, Bezaleel Wells, with the intention of visiting
a son of the latter at Prairie Ronde in Kalamazoo county, Michigan. It was
also a half-expressed hope of the bishop to find in the course of his explora.
tions a region where he might found a home and build up the institutions
of the church and education in accordance with the plans which were still so
cherished by him.
Going to M\onroe and from there to Adrian and to the Chicago road, the
party came on through Jonesville, Coldwater and Bronson's prairie.  At
this point we may quote the bishop's own " Reminiscences," written in 1847,
only a few years before his death. " It was Friday night when they reached
a place called'Adams' Mills on one of the streams of the St. Joseph river.
'And who is this?' said the landlord of the log-cabin tavern to Mr. Wells,
in a low voice. ' Is he come out to purchase lands? ' He may purchase if he
finds some that suits him.' Mr. Judson, for that was the man's name, then
strode through the room and raising his voice, said aloud, as if still speaking
to Mr. Wells, ' Much more beautiful scenery and richer land are to be found
in this neighborhood than further west. And men would find it so if they
would only stop, go about and examine.' These words were meant for the
ear of the writer. He took them so and inquired, ' Where is this good land
you speak of? '  Within eight miles of this, to the southeast, there is a
charming, limpid lake, surrounded with rising burr-oak and prairie lands, interspersed with portions of lofty timber for building. The streams are of
clear and running water, and like the lake, abound in the finest kind of fish; and




70


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


what is quite an essential point, these lands are now open for market, and
(except some choice sugar-tree eighties already taken by persons from Indiana) may be entered by anyone going to White Pigeon where the land
office is kept.' 'Will you show me these lands if I stay with you a day or
two?' 'If I do not, Mr. Adams, the owner of the saw mill, will. I will
furnish him with a horse; and Thomas Holmes, who lives near us, shall go
along with you on foot with his rifle to kill game and keep off the wolves.'
"The next day was Saturday. Notice was given to the few settlers in
the neighborhood of these then solitary mills that divine service would be
celebrated and a sermon preached on the morrow. The day proved fine and
nearly all the inhabitants attended. This was the first time the prayer book
had ever been used for public worship in all the St. Joseph country.
"On Monday Mr. Judson's pony was made ready, and Mr. Adams and
Thomas Holmes were in waiting. The weather was mild and the streams
of water soon crossed.  The path we fell on was an old Indian trail
leading from northwest to southeast. On this trail we had traveled mostly
through grass land, thinly studded with trees, till the eight miles
spoken of by Mr. Judson were judged to have been finished; when, on the
left of us, we came in sight of a lake of pure water and sloping banks thinly
covered with trees, having grass under them all around. The lake itself was
of an irregular shape, and about a mile and a half long. It had a promontory
running into it, covered with trees of peculiar majestic shape, in the manner
of the finest rookeries in. England. * * * All things were like magic.
Such charming scenery seemed to rivet the beholder to the spot. This was
no wonder; for it was the first time that any such lands had ever met his eye.
" The remainder of the day was spent in riding round this charming
region, which the writer named ' Gilead;' a name it still bears. Before night
a family was discovered to have just moved on to these beautiful grounds;
a few logs had been rolled one upon the other, around a space of nine or ten
feet square, and a covering put over it, six feet high on one side and five
feet high on the other. In this was Mr. John Croy, his wife and three or
four children. *  *  *
" The writer soon after this went to the land office, thirty miles to the
west, and entered and paid for a farm in this charming land of Gilead, including the promontory, or ' English Rookery' just described. The price
was one dollar and a quarter per acre, and no more. As he returned from
White Pigeon he engaged a carpenter to find materials and draw them to the
newly named place, Gilead, sixteen miles, and put up and cover a framed
room for a ploughman and his family, fourteen feet square. The ploughman
was hired nearly at the same time to break up fifty acres of prairie turf-land.
All this was accomplished in a short time, so as to allow of a crop of sod
corn and potatoes the same year. This was very difficult to accomplish, having
little help in planting besides himself, for all the neighbors in the surrounding
settlements were called to bIear arms in the 'Sac War' then raging in the
state of Illinois, with the famous Black Hawk as its head."




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


71


After the planting was over the bishop went back to his family in Ohio,
and then returned to Gilead with his sons in July, I8132. They set to work
hewing timber and framing it for a house of five rooms, digging a cellar, and
making preparations for the arrival of the rest of the family. He also looked
out a proper place for a saw mill, which he selected on Prairie river at the
outlet of Island Pond on the east side of section 4, and purchased the adjacent
woodland. This was the first saw mill in the town, and the site continued to
be used until recently. The bishop says in his reminiscences: " The fenced
fields were enlarged, and every year produced more and more. The number
of horned cattle increased to more than one hundred. A mill was buit on
the stream, for the preparing of lumber to erect a schoolhouse; and all things
seemed to flourish and succeed beyond his fondest expectation."
The home of Bishop Chase while in Gilead was located on the west line
of section 91, at the site of the present residence of Mr. Ed Keeslar. When
preparing to erect his house a few years ago, Mr. Kesslar discovered the remains of the foundation of the Chase house. At one spot he found a depression that required several loads of earth to make solid, and at this point no
doubt was located the well or perhaps the cellar. As mentioned in the chapter on education, a schoolhouse was built, and this stood to the south of the
residence, and just west of where Mr. Kesslar's barn now stands.
The bishop remained in this place of " exile " as he felt it to be, for
three years. He attracted many other settlers to this township and his work
as a pioneer must not be underestimated, but so far as founding a church or
carrying out any other ambitious plans he may have cherished on coming
here, his success was little and the members of his church numbered only
a handful. Then in the spring of 1835 came his appointment as bishop of the
newly formed diocese of Illinois, and his acceptance preceded by only a few
months the removal of his home and active influence from Branch county.
He went to Illinois to look over the field of work, and on returning to Gilead
made preparations for a visit to England, where he spent the fall and winter
of I835 in soliciting subscriptions for his new work.
While in England the bishop received a letter from his wife in Gilead
which cannot fail to be of interest to those who prize the history of that portion of Branch county. This letter, containing so many side-lights on the
Gilead community, was dated December 23, 1835, and reads in part as follows:
" Last Saturday night we went to bed in apparent security, but about
twelve o'clock a slight noise, like the kindling of a fire in a stove, startled
me. I sprang from bed and throwing open the dining room door, saw the
flames had burst from the upper part of the chimney into the garret. A cry
of fire instantly assembled all the family. A tub of water was in the kitchen,
and three pailsful in as many seconds were thrown on the fire. It was, I saw,
in vain; the fire had seized the roof; and I bid them lose no time but throw
out as fast as possible. My first care was your sermon box, and then the box
of English letters, with your letters to myself from England, certificates
and three hundred dollars in money received for sales of cattle.




72'


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


" The most of our beds and clothing were saved. *  *  *  That we
saved so much is more to be wondered at than that the rest perished, when I
assure you that in the judgment of the family five minutes was the utmost
allowed us from the first alarm, until safety compelled us to abandon the
building. The west wind soon wrapped the back kitchen in flames, from
which they saved but one bag of flour. By tearing down the board flaming
fence the ruin was stayed, and the schoolhouse and milkhouse were preserved.
As soon as things were moved back near the well, we had our beds taken to
the schoolhouse, had a candle lighted, and tried to preserve our health by
wrapping tp in blankets. * * *
" With the help of Mr. Glass and sons, a partition has been nailed up
(in the schoolhouse), the floor laid double, two windows put in, and every
hour adds something to our comfort. * * * Bennie, the Scotchman, served
us faithfully; the other poor fellow, a Dutchman, who was hired for a few
days, on hearing the alarm, like most weak-minded persons, was so bewildered
that, instead of going down stairs, which were perfectly safe, he threw himself out of the window without even raising the sash. It is a wonder he did
not break his neck."
Until June, I836, the family lived in the schoolhouse (which remained
standing until 1877 and was used as a dwelling within the memory of many
now living). The bishop returned on the 28th of June, and a few days later
the family departed, by way of Chicago road, for the west. Thus ended the
Bishop Chase episode in Gilead history and the romantic settlement which
was the starting point of the township.
GILEAD TOWNSHI-P.
In a passage already quoted, Bishop Chase mentioned the Indian trail
which he followed southeast from Adams Mills (in section 29 of Bronson),
to Gilead lake. By noticing some of the settlers who followed the bishop
into Gilead, it will be seen that this trail was the important route that directed
the pioneers. Abishi Sanders, one of the prominent Gilead pioneers and the
first supervisor of that township, came along the Chicago road from Marion
county, Ohio, about the same time as the bishop, and on reaching Bronson's
prairie, turned aside and followed the trail into Gilead, where he entered two
hundred and forty acres of land in sections 8 and I8.
In one of her letters to the bishop Mrs. Chase mentions her neighbors,
the Booth family. Benjamin Booth started from Onondaga county, New
York, and came first to Oakland county, Michigan, whence he journeyed along
with another Gilead pioneer, William Purdy, both intent on finding a suitable place of settlement. Arriving at Bronson in the spring of I832, they heard
of Bishop Chase and decided to make him a visit. Delighted with the beautiful country about Lake Gilead, and especially with the burr-oak openings,
Mr. Booth entered land and built what was the second frame house in the
township, on the south shore of Gilead lake. Mr. Purdy likewise made settlement, being the first blacksmith of that community.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


73


In Mrs. Chase's letter describing the burning of the home, she mentions the faithfulness of Mr. Bennie, who was then in the employ of the
Chase establishment. This was James Bennie, who with his brother-in-law,
John MNcKinley-both names being familiar to Gilead citizens-had come
from Scotland, and after spending a few years in New York state came to
Gilead in 1833. Mr. MIcKinley made his first location, on section 8, while
Mr. Bennie soon moved into Bethel.
It is easy to see how settlers coming from the same locality in the east
would tend to settle down in adjacent communities at the end of their western migration. The necessary isolation of pioneer life would be overcome
to some extent by the grouping together of families who had been associated
in their old homes. This fact seems to find illustrationn the number oif
families which Onondaga county, New York, furnished to the early settlelent of Gilead. Included in the number are the well known names of Benjamin Booth. Francis Bull, the Marsh family-Wallace, Daniel, Ebenezer
anld John-and William Sweeting, all of whom came early and settled about
Lake Gilead, on sections 5, 6, 7, 8 and I8.
Thus the first Gilead community was formed on the high rolling land
about the lake. But in entering this part of the county, some followed the
Indian trail on across the low, marshy land to the east of the Cliase settlement, and locating near the east line of the township, formed the nucleus
of East Gilead. The first of these was Ezekiel Fuller, who settled near the
IKinderhook line. In 1836 came Benjamin S. Wilkins, who took up land in
section 13. And in the same year Samuel Arnold, from New York state,
located at the southeast corner of section  i. His name became distinctive
of the locality of " Arnold's Corners," now East Gilead.
By the census of October, I837, there were 184 persons in Gilead township. The greater number of these were at the original settlement, the Arnol(l's Corners community being just at the beginning of its growth.  A
postoffice had been located at the Chase home in I834, and in some other
(lirections progress was being made from the first stages of pioneer existence.
Included in this census, besides the families of those already named, were
probably Don C. Mather, who lived near the south side of the town and was
a millwright by trade: Burr. D. Gray, a carpenter and joiner, who built some
of the early houses of Gilead; Obed Dickinson, who, having stopped over
night at the old Taylor Tavern on the Chicago road, was induced to buy
landl in Bethel and Gilead, and who at this time had the largest log house in
the vicinitv; and Job Williams, whose three hundred acres of land were on
the north shore of Lake Gilead.
GIRARD TOWNSHIP.
As concerns fertility of soil, ease of cultivation and drainage, beautiful
Girard prairie, seventy-five years ago as to-day, was one of the garden spots
of Branch county. There is little doubt that at one time this level area was
the bed of a large lake, whose waters were hemmed in by the encircling hills






74


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


on all sides until finally a cleft was made for the outlet at the western end,
a short distance west of the Hodunk mills and the junction of the Coldwater
and Hog creek streams. When this shore line was torn apart, the waters
gradually escaped and left a beautifully level floor, soon to be overspread by
luxuriant vegetation, in which state it remained until the appearance of white
settlers.
Without conspicuous advantages of nature, Girard prairie would not
have been one of the first spots chosen for settlement in the county. It was
situated five or six miles north of the Chicago road. It was not in the line of
migration. Yet Girard's history is practically contemporaneous in its beginnings with that of Bronson and Coldwater townships. The excellence of the
locality for agricultural purposes offered attractions to home-seekers which
no other parts of the county could surpass, and thus it is that Girard was one
of the first townships to be organized.
By reference to the account of the civil organization of the townships,
it will be seen that when Girard was organized in I83.4 it contained the entire
north tier of townships; that in 1836 this long strip was cut in half and that
until 1838 Girard township comprised what is now Butler and Girard. Consequently, the census of October, I837, which gave 448 inhabitants to Girard,
included also the settlers in the present township of Butler. But with few
exceptions the families enumerated at that date lived in the central area olf
Girard township.
The Corbus family was the first and best known of Girard's pioneers.
Joseph C. and Richard'W. Corbus, leaving Detroit, their native home, came
along the Chicago road as far as Hillsdale county in I828i. In the following
spring Richard W. came to Girard prairie. The specific reasons that brought
him thither are not assigned, but it was good judgment that directed him to
choose that place for his home. He did not remain alone for long, and he
was only the first of a group of strong and worthy pioneers.
From a preceding chapter we know that an Indian village existed on
the prairie at this time. It consisted of about twenty huts and a large dance
house, and was located near the northwest corner of section 22. The Indians
were very friendly, were generous in sharing what they had, and in one of
the rough houses which was not then in use by an.Indian family, Mr. Corbus,
with his mother and niece, made his first home. He at once went to work
to build a log house of his own, on section 21, and in about six weeks after
his arrival it was completed and ready for occupancy. Richard, though the
first settler, remained only until 183I, when, having made an exchange of
property with his brother, he returned to Hillsdale county, while Joseph C.
continued the name and activity of the Corbus family in Girard. His brother
John also settled with him, but lived only a year or so. Joseph C. Corbus
was one of the most prominent of pioneers, and his name often figures in
township and county history.
Thus the first white settlement was located near where the village of
Girard has since grown up. This was the favorite locality, and was known
as the "east prairie," to distinguish it from the "west prairie" settlement,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


75


which was nearer the forks of the Coldwater river and Hog creek. Edward
S. Hanchett became a neighbor of Mr. Corbus in the fall of I830, locating
in section 22, and in July, 1831, section 15 received a noted settler in the
person of James B. Tompkins, the surveyor who.platted the village of Coldwater, who became the first supervisor of Girard township, and whose own
career and that of his descendants is identified most honorably with this
part of the county. His land was partly in section 15 and partly in section
22, being covered in part by the present village. John Cornish, the Quincy
pioneer heretofore mentioned, had come here about the same time, but was
not a permanent settler. W~illiam McCarty, the first sheriff of Branch county,
also settled on section I5 in I83I.
Another well known family that settled on the " east prairie " before
the census of I837 was taken was the Van Blarcums, consisting of the father,
William, and his sons, Joseph, John, Abram and William W. The first
entry of land in section. 6i was made in 1837 by Aura Smith, who had come
from Saratoga county, New York. He opened the first stock of goods in
the township and made the beginning of commercial enterprise for the village
of Girard.
The " west prairie " settlement was just as large and important, and
almost as early, as the one just described. On the west side of section 20
Henry Van Hyning had located in the latter part of 1813o, and in January,
183I, Martin Barnhart, whose name has already figured in other connections
with this narrative, located on the section to the north, section 17. Barnhart
was from Wavne county, New York, and from the same county was John
Parkinson, who settled on section I8, and was the first postmaster of this
portion of the county.
Section 20 was also the first home of Benjamin H. Smith, so well known
to the early annals of this township. A native of New Jersey, he came from
Wayne county, New York, to Michigan in'I829, and in I831 settled in Girara.
He was an associate of Abram Aldrich, Martin Barnhart, James B. Tompkins,
J. W. Mann and Lyman Fox in the first mill building in the township. Other
"west prairie" settlers were Samuel and James Craig, who came in the
spring of I83I and moved into the partially completed log house begun by
Mr. Van Hyning on section 20.
Abram and Asa Aldrich, whose names receive mention in connection
wilh other localities and other affairs, were settlers on section 19 in 1833,
and helped to increase the number of aggressive men who were bent on developing this part of the county.
In the line of public improvements the most important early event in
the history of Girard township was the establishment, in the summer of I831,
of what has ever since been known as the " Marshall road." This is the
thoroughfare that bisects the township from north to south, passing through
the village of Girard, and continuing on till it meets the Chicago road at
Coldwater.  Furnishing the route of immigration to the fertile Girard
prairie, as well as the means of ready communication with Coldwater and
the central Chicago road, the Marshall road proved a great boon to the devel.




76


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


opment and growth of this township. This road was surveyed by James B.
Tompkins, and was opened by the commissioners of highways, William H.
Cross and Edward S. Hanchett, all well known to the early history of the
county.
When the first township meeting was held, April 7, I834, Girard was,
as already mentioned, four times as large as now. Several items from the
record of that meeting throw light on the history of the township. The
first is that it was held in a schoolhouse, situated in the present Girard village. Furthermore, all of those who took official part. in the proceedings, with
one and perhaps two exceptions, were settlers in the area of present Girard
township and on the two "prairies." John Parkinson was the moderator
and Joseph C. Corbus the clerk. The others who were chosen for officers
were James B. Tdmpkins, Benjamin H. Smith, Justus Goodwin (from what
later became Union township), James G. Corbus, William Aldrich, Robert
Waldron, James McCarty, Stephen Hickox, Samuel Craig, Asa Aldrich,
James Craig, Martin Barnhart. It was resolved to hold the next town meeting at the house of " Mr. Aldrich, at the mill," which was the mill on the
site of Hodunk.
From the Girard prairie as the nucleus the settlement spread out over the
rest of the township, and by the end of the thirties every section had one or
more settlers. Some of the pioneers of this period who have not been mentioned were: Jabez Aldrich, Harris H. Aldrich, Hains Aldrich, Lyman Aldrich, Stephen Birdsall, D. B. Ogden, Israel Hoag, Samuel Estlow, William
Barker, David Stanton, John Strong, Allen Cobb, Christian Estlow, Chauncey Barnes, John Worden, John Moore, Backus Fox, Cornelius Van Aken,
John B. Mason, Jacob W. Mann, Lyman Fox, Robert Gorbal, Peter I. Mann.
Girard township has always retained its value and importance as an.
agricultural center. It was one of the first townships to have a grange organization, and some of the best known farmers of the county have had their
home in Girard.
BUTLER TOWNSHIP.
In marked contrast with the settlement of Girard was that of Butler.
The first settler came to Girard prairie in 1829; it was six years after that
before permanent settlers located in Butler. In Girard the first settlements
were in one locality. No conspicuous grouping of settlers can be observed
in Butler.  Girard prairie was beautifully level, comparatively free from
heavy timber, and had a natural drainage. Butler township, with the exception of " Shook's prairie" in sections 26 and 27, was densely wooded;
the topography such that large areas were under water or in a swampv condition, and, as elsewhere stated, Butler township has received incalculable benefits from the public drainage works.
Such natural conditions did not favor early settlement. And vet when
the era of settlement was completed and the population of the county had
assumed something like its present standard, Butler township had a few more
inhabitants than Girard. Its property valuation has increased to a remarkable extent since the introduction of scientific drainage.  The forests have




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


77


been cleared off and given place to fine farms. Some of the most productive
land in the township was formerly swamp and considered unfit for any industrial purpose.  The township is agricultural; a very small part of the
population is grouped in the two hamlets known as Butler and South Butler.
Several stave and heading and cooperage mills and saw mills have found
a natural field in this township at various periods of history. but aside from
this department of manufacture the industry of the township has been almost
entirely the tilling of the soil. With this general understanding of the town's
history as a whole, we may speak briefly of the period of beginnings and the
first settlers.
Wayne county, New York, furnished a majority of the pioneers of Butler township, which was given its name to commemorate the home town of
Butler, New York. From Wayne county came Caleb Wilcox, the first settler, who found a home in section 2 in the spring of 1836; he did not remain
long, but sold out to Charles C. Hayes and moved away.
The southeast corner of the township was favored with settlement about
the same time. In sections 26 and 27 settled Jacob Shook, whose name
figures in county history as one of the few county judges that Branch county
had. He was also prominent in township affairs. At the same time Robert
Wood settled in the same locality, buying land in sections 35 and 36. All
three of the men mentioned were from Wayne county, New York. George
Lockwood came to this part of the town in the fall of 1836 and for half a
century was a well known citizen.
Calhoun county on the north furnished not a few early settlers to Butler,
among these being the Rossman family, consisting of Isaac, the father, and
the sons, Thomas J., Solander and William, who had located in Calhoun
county about 1833, and all came to Butler township before I839.  From
the same county came Henry S. Lampman, another well known pioneer of
Butler, who was originally from Green county, New York, and who spent
several years in Calhoun county before removing to Butler in December, I836.
John T., Asa and Charles M. Wisner were active and influential in early
township and business affairs; Asa being the first township clerk and Charles
M. the first school teacher. David Lindsay, the first supervisor, who located on
section 15, opened the first store at what is now South Butler (then known
as Whig Center) in 1843.
The first town meeting was held at David Lindsay's house in April, I838.
There were only twenty voters in the town. Most of these received office,
and the names of those who were burdened with the official managment of
the town for the first year of its organized existence will be a fairly complete
record of the pioneer settlers. They were: John T. Wisner, southeast Butler; Jesse Bowen, sec. 36; Asa R. Wisner, sec. 24; Tyler McWhorter, sec.
35; David Lindsay, sec. 15; Jacob Shook, sees. 26 and 27; T. J. Rossman,
sec. I4; Charles M. Wisner, sec. 24; Solander Rossman, sees. 12 and 13;
Henry S. Lampman, sec. I4; Daniel Shook, sec. 26; Caleb Wilcox.




78              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
CHAPTER XII.
SETTLEMENT AND BEGINNINGS (CONTINUED).
UNION TOWNSHIP.
In October, 8,37, the number of persons residing in Union township
was 260. The town had already been organized with its present boundaries,
so those figures apply to the Union township as we now know it. The population has since increased more than ten times, and material development
has been even greater.
Though topographically one of the most attractive townships in the
county, Union was not easily accessible for several years after the heavy
stream of immigration began and the dense woods that covered its fertile
soil were here, as in Butler and elsewhere, an impediment to early settlement.
The abundant water power furnished by the St. Joseph and Coldwater rivers
had undoubtedly induced a considerable proportion of the first inhabitants to
locate in this town. The principal centers of settlement were at the junction
of the Coldwater with the St. Joseph ---Union City-at the junction of Hog
creek with Coldwater river-the Hodunk community-and the more open
country in the southwest part of the township.
The Chicago road could not influence settlement in this township to the
extent that was true of the townships previously described. The State road,
that follows an angling course from Hodunk to Union City, forming part of
the route from Kalamazoo to the state line, was not authorized. until 1837.
Communication with the central part of the county was by the haphazard
windings of Indian trails or blazed paths through the woods. The first
regular road into Union township was probably the state road that followed
the course of the old Washtenaw Indian trail, and was laid out in I834 from
Jackson to White Pigeon through Union City. This road and its predecessor,
the Indian trail, as well as the St. Joseph river, which was utilized for transportation to no inconsiderable extent in the early days, brought north Union
township in connection with Calhoun and other second-tier counties and many
of the earlier settlers came along that way. The building of the railroad,
in I870, along practically the same route strengthened the commercial connection with the towns and cities along that line.
It was at the confluence o'f the Coldwater and the St. Joseph rivers that
settlement was first made. Because of its accessibility by water this spot had
been conspicuous for many years. Perhaps the French missionaries of the
eighteenth century had penetrated this far, and it is reasonably certain that
French traders had a trading post at this point. A successor to these Indian






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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                         79
traders, John Clawson, was located at the mouth of the Coldwater about
1830, and it has been customary to grant him the honor of being the first
settler in Union township.
About 1831 Isaiah W. Bennett, a well known pioneer character and the
founder of the city of Jackson, and Jeremiah Marvin bought a large tract of
land about the forks of the two rivers. They understood the advantages
offered by the site for commercial and industrial development, and bought
the land with the intention no doubt of personally exploiting a village at this
point. Bennett did not locate here until I834. He kept the old Union City
House in I837, and later a store on the southwest corner of Broadway and
High streets.
In the meantime, in 1833, the first permanent settler had come to the
site of Union City. He purchased of Bennett and Marvin a large tract of
land, including the present site of the business section, and began the work
of improvement. According to his own notes, when he came here in May,
1833, with the exception of two settlers and a few settlers on Dry prairie
there were no persons between his location and Homer, all being "an unbroken wilderness, chiefly government land, and no road made nor even laid
out."
Let the historical notes of Mr. Goodwin carry the narrative a little
further: " Early in the fall of I834 J. Goodwin, having agreed to build and
sell a saw mill at Union to I. W. Bennett, commenced improving the water
power by making a race and building a saw mill.(the mill being located south
of the Coldwater road and about where the municipal power plant now
stands). In doing this work-or rather the first part of it-though from ten
to twenty men were at work, there was no woman at Union. * * *
About the first of December of that year a postoffice was established by the
name of Goodwinsville, and J. Goodwin appointed postmaster, who held that
office until I846."
In November, I833, Mr. Goodwin had sold to E. W. Morgan of Ann
Arbor 322 acres of land, and in 18.35 Mr. Morgan platted a village to which
the name Goodwinsville was given, the plat being recorded August 27, I835.
This was the first plat. In the spring of 1837 the "village of Union City "
w:Is platted on a "two hundred acre tract " that had been purchased by a
company of eastern men with the purpose of founding a village and developing the mill facilities of the place. The men most prominent in this transaction were Israel W. Clark and Isaac MI. Dimond, both of whom came here
in 1838 and with a large force of men began extensive improvements. The
water power was improved and both a saw and a grist mill built.  A store
was established by the company, in addition to one or two that had been conducted previously by individuals. The "company " store, which was kept
by John N. Stickney, was located on the northeast corner of Broadway and
High streets, opposite the hotel.
Other settlers during the pioneer period of Union City, were various
members of the well known Hurd family, some of whom lived over the line
in Calhoun county but whose interests were closely identified with Union




80


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


City-namely, Homer C. Hurd, Dr. William P. Hurd and Dr. Theodore
C. Hurd. Chester Hammond. originally from Chenangol county, New York,
located in Union City in 1836. His son, Charles G. Hammond, was agent
for the company that purchased the village site in January, 1837, and he
did as much to establish the town and further its interests as any other pioneer
citizen.
From this chief center, whose subsequent history will be recorded elsewhere, we turn to other portions of.the township. In the history of Girard
we have alluded to the prominence of the Aldrich family as settlers and
citizens on the west side of the prairie. Abram Aldrich, who had located and
purchased lands on Girard prairie in 1833, built his home just over the town
line in Union township, and became the first settler at what became known
as Orangeville and later as Hodunk. Here, near the confluence of the Coldwater and Hog creek, he built a saw mill. Lumber from this mill went into
buildings in many parts of the county. When James G. Corbus, the Quincy
pioneer, built his frame house in 1833, he obtained his lumber from this mill.
Several years later Mr. Aldrich built a grist mill, which was a story and a
half in height. It was the second grist mill in the county, and began grinding
in I8,37. Its product was superior to that turned out by the old Black Hawk
mill at Branch, and it drew a large patronage from  all over the county.
This mill was the predecessor of the present " Hodunk Roller Mills," a fivestory structure, which was erected by Roland Root in I847, after the first
mill had burned. Nearly sixty years of use have caused many changes in the
Hodunk mill. The old millstones have been removed, modern roller processes have been introduced, and the old-fashioned water wheel has given
place to the powerful turbine. The mill building is a striking witness of these
changes of more than half a century, for some of the old machinery is still
to be found on the floors, and the location of former mechanical parts and
their wear on the woodwork have not been entirely obliterated.
In the southwestern part of the township there settled beginning with
1836 a very prominent group of men, including Alpheus Saunders, Lewis
Hawley, David Kilbourn, Archibald and W. M. Mitchell. T'wo other names
that have been closely identified with this part of the township as well as
with Union City are those of Lincoln and Buell, Thomas B., Chauncev and
Justus Buell came to Union City in I836, their original home having been
Chenango county, New York. Thomas and Chauncey purchased land in section 30. Justice Buell came to the township with Charles A. Lincoln, who
was also from Chenango county and became a well known and useful citizen
in this county. He was a carpenter and helped build the first Union City
House and the Red Schoolhouse, and spent many years of his life on section
17. Caleb Lincoln, his brother, is also well remembered as one of Union's
pioneer citizens.
In April, I837, the first town meeting was held in the town of Union,
and the names of the official participants no doubt represent the principal
heads of families who were enumerated under the census of 1837. Chester
Hammond was moderator of the meeting, while Briant Bartlett was clerk,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


81


and the inspectors of election were Alpheus Saunders, Isaiah W. Bennett
and Lewis Hawley. Then the list of officers chosen for the succeeding year included, besides these, the following pioneers: Solomon Parsons, James Pendell. Henry Reaser, Rufus Hill, Thomas Buell, Henry W. Potter, Archibald
nM. Mitchell, Carpenter Chaffee, Gideon Smith, Chauncey Buell.
SHERWOOD TOWNSHIP.
The pioneer history of Sherwood township has more in common with
Calhoun county than with Branch. Here the influence of topography and
means of communication upon settlement is seen with peculiar emphasis. The north tier of sections in Sherwood belongs, topographically,
to " Dry Prairie," which is also a conspicuous feature of Athens township
in Calhoun county. From a reference already stated in the history of Union
township, it is known that Dry prairie was one of the early settled regions.
It had a considerable group of settlers as early as 1832, though nearly all
lived in Calhoun county.
This region of oak openings and arable land was not the only reason
for early settlement. The " territorial " road that pursues an angling course
from Union City westward along the northern part of this township into St.
Joseph county was laid out about I8134. An old Indian trail was its basis.
This was a much traveled route, and many emigrants along its course chose
homes in Sherwood township. Another important early road was that which
followed approximately along the northern bank of the St. Joseph river.
It was in the northern' sections of the town, therefore, that the first
settlers located. The first was Alexander E. Tomlinson, who in the spring
of 1832 left his home in " Sherwood Forest," England, and in the following
July arrived at Dry prairie. When this township was organized four years
later he was allowed to give it the name which suggested his English home.
In section 2, Mr. F. C. Watkins located a farm in 1835, and on the territorial road kept for eighteen years what was well known as the "log tavern."
The settlement increased rapidly and Sherwood had a considerable population
before its neighbor, Union, had fairly started. Among the names of early
pioneers may be mentioned Joseph D. Lane, Clement Russell, Robert Waldron, who came in 1833; Joseph Russell and William  Minor, in I834;
Thomas West, Geo. Moyer, Benjamin Blossom, in 1835; followed in the
next few years by John Giltner, Thomas Lee, John and Nahum Sargent,
David Keyes, David R. Cooley, Ira Palmer, and many others. I. D. Beall,
afterward so well known in the public affairs of his township, settled along
the St. Joseph road in section 30 in 1837.
All these settlers were north of the St. Joseph river, and the central
group was on Dry prairie.  John Onderdonk and Ephraim    Plank were
probably the only settlers living south of the river who were enumerated
in the census of October, 1837, at which time Sherwood township had 217
inhabitants. This number was only slightly less than the similar census
figures in Union. The latter township began to be settled at a later date,




82               HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
but grew more rapidly each succeeding decade, until in I870 it showed twice
as many inhabitants as Sherwood.
The first township meeting of Sherwood (with the government township of Union attached) was held in 1836. The records for the first years
have not been preserved, and no deductions can be drawn from the first civil
proceedings. The second, and perhaps the first, supervisor of the township
was the late Hiram Doubleday, conspicuously successful for many years in
Sherwood and Union as farmer, business man and public-spirited citizen.
He had come to Calhoun county in 18,32, and moved into Sherwood four
or five years later, purchasing land in sections 2 and 4.
The history of the village of Sherwood, which belongs to a later period,
is given in another part of this volume.
MATTESON TOWNSHIP.
In common with the other townships of the county, Matteson has been
"settled " for many years. Only its oldest residents can remember the time
when the land was not all taken up and farm houses and tilled fields were not
to be seen in every direction. With a knowledge of present conditions only,
the casual obseryer would with difficulty select any portion of the township
that is historically older than the rest; for the superficial aspects, the evidences of material development, are generally the same throughout the town.
The settlement of a country has often been compared to an overflood of
water. Like all similes, this cannot be applied too exactly. Settlement does
not proceed like a tide, covering all points in its course and in regular order
from the source. It is rather a selective process, much as a winged seed
is carried in the air miles from its parent stalk, finally lodges and germinates
and becomes a new source of plant life and its distribution. The pioneers
did not, on finding one section filled up, always pass to the next contiguous
one and thus always keep in close touch with the main nucleus. But rather,
as has been repeatedly illustrated in this history, considerations of soil, topography, communication and other grounds would induce one or more homeseekers to press on beyond a community that had already been established and
break out a place of habitation in some new locality, perhaps miles away
from other settlements. Such was true of Matteson township, and the history of its early settlement has some individual features that are interesting
and instructive.
Entering the western side of the township in section 18 was, at the time
the first white men knew this country, an Indian trail, often called the " Kalamazoo" trail. The course of this trail southeastwardly through Bronson
township and thence to the state line has elsewhere been alluded to, also its
prominence in connection with the settlement. This trail has been partly
preserved and adapted to modern conditions, for the angling road that passes
out of the township in section I8, toward Colon in St. Joseph county, follows
approximately this Indian trail, which originally continued its course south
of Matteson lake. About 1837 a state road was laid out over part of this


f




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                          83
trail, this being the well traveled highway leading west from Coldwater
through Matteson postoffice and out of the township and county by the
angling road just mentioned. Not only this state road but the Indian trail
played a large part in the early settlement of Matteson, and because of their
significance this brief description is an apposite preface to the pioneer settlement.
Along the Indian trail, in section I8 and adjoining portions of the township, lay a large area of oak openings, always attractive to the pioneers as
places of settlement. In the fall of 1834. Robert Watson, from western
Pennsylvania, was seeking a home in Michigan and, passing through this
region, chose to make his land entry on section 18& in the southwest quarter.
In September, I835, he brought his family from Pennsylvania to Detroit and
thence followed the Chicago road until he could branch off on the trail which
led him to his new location. He built a story-and-a-half log house near the
trail, along which during the first years of his residence it was a common sight
to see large-bands of Indians passing from one camp ground to another.
By the time Mr. Watson (who continued a resident of this township
until his death in the eighties) had arrived to begin actual residence, two
other settlers and families had come and taken up land on the same section.
These were Nathaniel Turner and Abiathiar Culver, both of whom were
identified closely with the upbuilding of the town and left descendants who
are well known in the county. They were from Ontario county, New York,
anl the date of their settlement in Matteson was in the fall of 1835, shortly
blefore the return of Mr. Watson. The three of them assisted each other in
establishing themselves according to pioneer fashion and in erecting their
first houses. Mr. Watson rendered especially valuable assistance, being
trained to the trades of millwright, cabinet-making and carpentering.
That was the beginning of settlement in the west part of the township. In the spring of I836 Amos Matteson, a native of Rhode Island but
lirectlv from Otsego county, New York, came to Branch county and settled
oin the west shore of the lake which now bears his name. A man of mature
years and with the natural worth and experience which made him influential
amopg his fellow citizens, it came about that when a name was sought for
the newly organized township his friends honored him by transferring the
name of its leading citizen to the town.
In the fall of I836 Mr. Matteson obtained a neighbor in the person of
Hiram Gardner, who settled about a mile north on section II. Mrs. Gardner was a daughter of Amos Matteson. The Gardner family has also been
prominent in the township from pioneer times to the present, both Hiram
and his son Amos having served as supervisor at different times.
On the east side of Matteson lake at this time there was another settler,
John Corson, whose family was long well known in that vicinity. In the
same neighborhood, but in section 13, James K. Bennett, of Ontario county,
New York, located in 1838. His log house about a quarter of a mile east
of the " corners " was doubtless the first structure in the settlement that has
since become dignified with the name of Matteson postoffice. His son, C. C.


I




84


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Bennett was the second postmaster at the "corners," the office having been
established at that point about I855. A saw mill, a store, blacksmith shop,
etc., have at various times given a business aspect to this spot, but it never
attained the dignity of a village and a few years ago, when rural free delivery
was extended over the county, even the postoffice was discontinued.
It will be noticed that the early settlers were mostly located along the
State road through the central part of the township, and until the inflow of
settlers became so great that little distinction as to location could be made the
population of the township was very noticeably concentrated along this road.
No statement as to the number of inhabitants in Matteson in 18137 can be
made, for at that time the township was a part of Bronson, which then had
635 population. Just what share of this number lived in Matteson cannot
be determined, but it was small, for when the town of Matteson was formally
organized in the spring of 1838 there were hardly enough active citizens to fill
the official positions.
The first township meeting was held in April, 1838, at the house of
Abiathar Culver, located, as we know, at the western side of the township.
Nearly all those who took part are familiar to the reader from the preceding
narrative. Amos Matteson was moderator of the meeting, with Robert Watson as clerk; John Corson, James Gillis and Hiram Gardner were inspectors
of election. Those elected, besides the ones just named, to fill the various
offices were, Joseph Rudd, Ephraim Cline, John Vaughan, Lazarus Everhart,
John Stailey, Charles F. Jackson, Ashley Turner (son of Nathaniel), Thomas
B. Watson, James L. Gillis, Abiathar Culver, Nelson Washburn.
KINDERHOOK TOWNSHIP.
With reference to the early history of Kinderhook township the following extract from a letter written by Mrs. Chase to, Bishop Chase on October
21. 1835, furnishes some interesting though not necessarily literally accurate
information: "How many thousands," she exclaims, "are flocking to this land
of promise, without a shelter or any provision for the coming season! The
Indian village Episcopiscon, six miles east, had not a white inhabitant when
you left this May; there are now more than forty families. And I hear from
Coldwater that sixty families often pass through in a single day bound west."
Many continued along the Indian trail that led Bishop Chase into Gilead,
and found advantageous sites for settlement in the region that later became
Kinderhook township. As Mrs. Chase said, settlement did not begin there
until 1835, but in that and the following year it is probable that more than
half the land of the township was taken up. The presence of the Indians in
the vicinity of the present Kinderhook postoffice, as also the large amount of
water and marshy surface which was a more marked feature of the town in
the early days than now, may have combined to retard settlement.
Some of those who entered land in this township in 18,35 were George
Tripp, Boaz Lampson, David Tift, Hiram Canwright, George Matthews,
Joshua Baker, Sherldon Williams, Joseph Hawks, Oliver Johnson, Jacob Hall,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


85


Hiram Baker. The sections adjacent to the old Indian village were most
favored by the pioneers. When George Tripp, whose name is one of the
most familiar among those of Kinderhook pioneers, arrived in I835 he found
only three settlers who had preceded him, namely, Joshua Baker, Sheldon Willianms and Boaz Lampson. Others came during that year, although it is hardly
possible that there were forty families here at the time Mrs. Chase wrote.
Of those who came the first year George Tripp became very prominent
in township affiairs and successful in private business. His brother David
came to the township in I836. In the same year came John Waterhouse, from
Oswego county, New York, and purchased the land where in time the hamlet
of Waterhouse Corners grew up, this afterward being changed to Kinderhook Postoffice.
Joseph S. Hawks, who was a native of Otsego county, New York, located his land on the banks of Silver lake, in sections Io and 15. Almeron
\V. Case, of Livingston county, New York, came in I837, locating in section
3, half a mile from the Corners. Others who belong among the prominent
pioneers, either assisting in the organization of the township or being identified
with its life through a long period, were William Chase, who came to the
township in I84I: O. B. Clark, who was an early settler but whose career
was mainly identified with the city of Coldwater; Oliver D. Colvin, and
others.
As elsewhere stated, Kinderhook was one of the last townships to be organized, the legislative act for that purpose being dated in February, 1842. The
township received its name from the birthplace of Martin Van Buren, then
presidential candidate, and not because any considerable proportion of the
settlers were of Holland extraction or were from Kinderhook, New York, or
vicinity.
The first town meeting was held in April, 1842, and the official list comprises in the main those who were foremost in the affairs of the township at
the time. Oliver D. Colvin was the first supervisor, and the other offices
were filled by George Tripp, Almeron W. Case, William Chase, Ira Bonner,
David Tripp, Ellery Patterson (who entered land in I84I), Isaac Eslow, John
D. Depue (a settler of I836), Arba L. Lampson, Bentley Reynolds, Lathrop
G. Fish, Hiram Canwright, John Waterhouse, Jr., John Bradley.
Kinderhook has always been an agricultural community. Aside from the
settlement at Kinderhook postoffice, which has experienced the usual business
activity and general importance of a rural center, and leaving out of consideration the several mills for the manufacture of lumber or flour which at
various times and in different locations have existed in the township, the
occupations of the people of Kinderhook have been essentially agricultural,
and the progressive men and the leading citizens have with few exceptions
been farmers.
OVID TOWNSHIP.
It is a remarkable fact, therefore one permitting repetition, that certain
townships of Branch county were settled within a year or so after the first




86               HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
land entry was made; by a "settled" condition would be meant that on nearly
every section in the town would be found one or more families, and that the
time of blazing pathways through the wilderness and groping about in uncertainty for homes was past.
This was true of Ovid township. Coldwater village was an ambitious
village, with an energetic though small population, and with several business enterprises, before the first permanent settlers had located in the wilderness to the south and become pioneers in what was organized by the legislature in March, I837, as Ovid township. But in I835, I836 and I837 such
a number of immigrants came in that when the census of October, i837, was
taken Ovid township (which then included the as yet unorganized town of
Kinderhook) contained 209 inhabitants.
The proximity of the villages of Coldwater and Branch no doubt had
some influence in directing this settlement, the more so from the fact that the
early settlements of Ovid were grouped in the northwestern corner of the
township, largly in the sections traversed by the Coldwater river. In this
part of the town Howard Bradley and Richard and Nelson Salsberry settled
about 1834, being the first settlers, and their land being located in sections
6 and 7. In 1835 several prominent men located in that vicinity, among the
best known being Uriah Lockwood and his son Henry, whose large landed
possessions were also in sections 6 and 7.
The others who entered land in I835 were William T. Green, Horatio
J. Olcott, Silas Hutchinson, Elisha Spencer, Alexander Marshall, Charles M.
Marshall, Isaac T. Dudley, Oliver Johnson, Moses Hawks, Charles Fox, Joel
L. Putnam, Reuben 'Wilson, William Bockes, John Wilson, Don A. Dewey
and Amos Hough.
The northwest corner of the township continued to receive the large
share of the immigrants.  In I836 Samuel M. Treat, a native of Oneida
county, New York, located in section 8 and with eighty acres of land as a
nucleus began a successful career which in time made him one of the large
land owners of Ovid. Henry Treat also located in this vicinity, as also Jared
G. Brooks and Stuart Davis. The south side of section 8 was the site of a
sawmill, built by Gardner Scofield during the early forties. Stephen Bates
was another early settler in this vicinity.
A little further east, sections 3, 4 and Io furnished homes to the well
known families of Baldridge, Smith and Willets. That the bulk of the first
settlers were in the northwest corner of the township is further indicated by
the fact that the first school of the town was established in section 6.
One of the best known later settlers was Dr. Daniel Wilson, whose
home for many years was in section 28. His father, Reuben Wilson, was one
of the earliest settlers in this portion of the township, much of his land being
in section 21. Dr. Wilson located permanently in this township in I839, and
became noted as a physician, farmer, sheriff of the county and in many ways
identified with public interests.
The part of the township lying east of Coldwater lake was also early
settled, the Quimby family being perhaps the best known.


"






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


87


One other locality should be mentioned-Parley's Corners, which at one
time had business activities almost sufficient to dignify it with the name of
village. Parley Stockwell, mentioned in the history of Coldwater township,
settled in the northeast corner of section i6 about 1842, and established an
asherv for the manufacture of potash. A little later a postoffice was established there, with Mr. Stockwell as postmaster. He usually kept the mail for
the community in one of his pockets. A schoolhouse was also built at this
point, a blacksmith shop and tavern opened. But little growth toward village proportions was made, and Ovid has always continued an agricultural
conmunitY. In recent years the attractions of Coldwater lake as a summer
resort and the building of numerous cottages around its shore have made it
a center for social life, but the business center for the people of the township
is at Coldwater.
ALGANSEE TOWNSHIP.
From the history of early settlement in Branch county certain conclusions might be deduced that would obtain almost with the force of laws. One
is that those portions of the county which bore the topographical definition of
"oak openings" were almost invariably the first spots to be taken in settlement. It would also seem true that where water power has been advantageously situated it has been made the object of enterprise on the part of one or
more of the earliest settlers. In the case of Algansee township we find very
pertinent illustration of these historical observations.
Algansee was one of the later townships. No settlements were made until
after 1835. The census of I837 did not name it, and the inhabitants then
residing within its present boundaries were included with those of Quincy
township. Algansee was set off from Quincy in April, I838, as already explained, but even then included, until March, 1846, what is now California.
When the first settlers came to this township they found its southwest
corner the only considerable area that was not densely timbered. It is not
surprising to find, therefore, that the resident landowners in the township in
1837 were mostly grouped on sections 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33. In the very
corner of the town, with his residence on the State road through section 3I,
we find in that year the pioneer and prominent citizen, Asahel Brown, who
had entered and purchased land here in 1836 and lived here in active usefulness until his death in IS74. He was town supervisor twenty-one years, a
member of the state constitutional convention of I85O and later of the state
senate, and easily the foremost citizen of his part of the county.
Near him, on section 33, lived E. S. E. Brainard, another pioneer name
that evokes many personal associations in that part of the county. He had
also come to the town in 1836, making the journey overland from Detroit
with ox team. He was prominent in the organization of the township, and
his name will frequently be found in the list of township officers.
Owning land in sections 28 and 29 was Horace Purdy, at whose house
was held the first township meeting in I838, in accordance with the act of
legislature.  Section 29. was also the home of David Tift, who on coming




88


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


to Branch county in I836 had first settled in Kinderhook but in the same year
located in Algansee, where he lived until his death in I859. His two sons
Roswald and Jerome B. were long residents of this part of the township.
Other settlers in the southwest corner of the township, according to the
census of I837, were Jesse Craft and James Nichols, on section 29; Isaac
George, whose land was in sections I9, 28 and 29; Thomas Pratt, who had
located on section 33 only a few weeks after his brother-in-law S. E. Brainard;
and Nathan Austin, on section 32.
The only other settlers in the township in 1837, so far as the records
show, were Leonard Nelson and Almon Nichols, on section 25; Ludovico Robbins, who owned a large tract of land in sections I5 and 22; and Morris Crater
and Luther Stiles.
The last two settlers deserve some special mention. Luther Stiles shares
with Ludovico Robbins the honor of being the first permanent settler of
Algansee, both arriving, though not as companions, on the same day. Morris
Crater came from Livingston county, New York, to this township in July,
18,36, his land entry being on section 13, while that of Stiles was in section 9,
bordering on Hanchett creek. In the fall of I8.36, Crater and Stiles began the
construction of the first sawmill in the township and completed it for
operation in the following February. This mill was located on the creek in
the east half of section 9, at the site so long utilized for mill purposes. Mr.
Stiles left the township in 1837 and Mr. Crater moved to Quincy a few years
later, but in establishing this mill they did an important pioneer work.
This was the status of settlement in Algansee in 1837. From that time
on population increased steadily and in time even the heavily timbered portions
were cleared and occupied and beginnings were made in the work of drainage
which, as explained elsewhere, was of first importance to the proper agricultural development of this township. Two of the prominent settlers of
I838 were Seth E. and Samuel B. Hanchett, both locating on section 9!. Andrew Crater located on section I5, and the settlement in the southwest corner
was increased by Daniel Bickford, whose land was in section 29. In this locality and in 1838 was taught the first school, a summer term by Miss Jane
Woodard. Jasper Underhill, the first town clerk, settled in section 3i about
this time.
Others who may have taken part in the first town meeting at the house
of Horace Purdy, in May, I838, were John Vanderhoof and Eli Gray, from
section 6; Barney Smith, on section I3; Abram Ackerson, on section 20; H.
Hildreth, section 25; Thomas Goodman, section 22; and Jesse Doyle, section 35.
In the vicinity of the Stiles-Crater original mill there in time grew up a
little center, consisting of the postoffice, school, several churches. It was the
home of the well remembered physician and public official, Dr. James A.
Williams, who located there in I8,54.
In the southern part of the township, in section 27, a steam sawmill was
built by the Wakemans in 1854, and in I878 a large grist mill was erected
at the same place by Eli and Mortimer B. Wakeman.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


89


NOBLE TOWNSHIP.
The fractional township of Noble was not set off from Bronson until the
legislative act of March, 1845, over nine years after the first settler had located within its borders. At the first township meeting, which was held at
the house of John Grove in section 9, in April, 1845, the following settlers
took official part: Ambrose Hale (two of the same name), E. W. Craig, William Butts, William Rippey, Sidney Marble, I. Driggs, Thomas Shane, Cyrus
Beardsley, Tared Fuller, Samuel S. Bushnell, William Shane, I. H. Foust,
J. H. Smith, William Milliman, Sidney S. Matthews, John Curtis, James
Anderson, David Foster, Levi M. Curtis, Andrews Watling, Walter W.
Smith, Moses Strong, I. D. Hart.
In this list of active citizens can undoubtedly be found the majority of
the first settlers and those most prominent in the time of beginnings for Noble
township.  The group of first settlers, who came in 1836, would comprise
the names of Walter W. Smith, on the northwest quarter of section Io'; William Rippey, William Butts (who was a blacksmith), and John Grove. In
the same year what has always been known as the "Dutch settlement" was
started in the northwest corner of the township by the settlement in section
6 of Daniel Himebaugh, a family name that has been conspicuous in southwest
Branch county from pioneer days to the present. Others of the Pennsylvania
I)utch stock followed, bringing with them their habits of simplicity and thriftiness and their Mennonite religion.  The Mennonite church on section 2
is the visible evidence of the faith which has bound this community together
in Noble township for many years.
David Foster was one of the settlers of 1837, locating half a mile east
of Hickory Corners.  Hickory Corners, while a well known landmark in
Noble township and with historical associations running back seventy years,
has never been a business center further than having been the location of
the postmaster's home at one time and of the schoolhouse. The name was
given and clung to this crossroads because at one time a group of hickory
trees stood there. Thomas Henderson was a settler there in 1836; also Ambrose Hale, the first supervisor of the township. Joseph Smith and his son
C. R. Smith were early settlers in the same locality, their land being in section 2. William Robinson settled on the same section in 1836. A settler
of 1841 in the oak openings east of the Corners was John H. Lane. John
Curtis, also mentioned as taking part in the first town meeting, had located
in the year preceding the meeting on section 2.
James Anderson, a native of Scotland, who settled in the southeast corner
of Noble in 1842, where the little lake still bears his name, was responsible for
the name that was given to the township. He was an active citizen of Noble
for about six years, and then moved to Coldwater and went into business.
Samuel S. Bushnell located on section II in 1838 and lived there until
his death in 1872. He and his son Ephraim B. were both active in township.
affairs. Section 5 was the pioneer home of Peter Mallow, one of the best
known of Noble's early settlers, who located there in 1840 and spent his life




90


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


in developing a home from the wilderness which he found. His sons William and George W. are still living in Noble and active in business and citizenship.
Until rural free delivery brought postal facilities to every home, Noble
township had a postoffice, located at different times with different residents in
the eastern part of the town. Further than this, there has been nothing in
the way of a center in the township, which from the first has been chiefly noted
for its agricultural possibilities and its thrifty farming class.
CALIFORNIA TOW NSHIP.
California township, which was not separately organized until March,
I846, began to be settled, nevertheless, about the same time as Algansee, Ovid
and Kinderhook, the adjoining towns. Although there is little distinctive in
the history of this town's settlement, some very interesting personalities and
worthy characters are found among the pioneers.
The late James H. Lawrence, whose death occurred in 1897, wrote and
published a number of reminiscences concerning his first experiences in California township, where he was one of the first settlers. In the latter part of
I835, in company with Samuel Beach and son William Beach, he traveled the
Chicago road as far as Coldwater, and from there came by trail as best they
could as far as Waterhouse Corners in Kinderhook township, where they
met the Kinderhook pioneers already known to the reader-Tripp, Waterhouse and Lampson.
Evidently the Beach-Lawrence party had determined beforehand on a location in the fractional township that later became California, for they continued on to their "destination," on section 4, where they commenced to build
a house "by felling the first tree cut by a white man in California township."
While engaged in this labor two other homeseekers already known to us,
Asahel Brown and Nathan Austin, paid them a brief visit, but did not remain in California, locating instead in the southwest corner of Algansee as
told on a former page. The log house was soon constructed and properly
chinked with mud and roofed over, and then, early in I8,36, Mr. Beach came
with his family and made his settlement permanent.
According to the description given by Mr. Lawrence, the isolation of
this family for a time was almost complete, and of course the same was true
of many other pioneer households in Branch county. Only rough and devious
Indian trails led from one part of the country to another, and not even these
could be relied upon since the white settlements were often situated without
regard to these primitive avenues of communication.
To quote a paragraph from Mr. Lawrence's narrative: "Ira Purdy was
the next settler, and the first one to build after us. He came early in the
spring of I836, and built a small log house on section 3. He too had to go
into the hotel business, and declares that some nights he kept as many as forty
people. The same spring we went to Quincy, ten miles north of us, to attend
town meeting, when Mr. Beach was elected a justice of the peace. Our route




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                          91
lay through an unbroken wilderness, and our only guide was section lines,
which were followed through swamps and marsh, brush and brakes."
Many settlers came during 1836, and it is noteworthy that most of them
settled in the northern part of the township-and about the site of the present
California village. Ira Cass, George Monlux and Alexander Odren, arrivals
of that year, were founders of families that have been well and favorably
known since. Alexander Odren, who died in this township in I888, aged
ninety-seven years, perhaps the oldest native of Michigan at the time, located
on section I and spent over fifty years there. Ira Cass was a well known pioneer character, about whom many anecdotes were told, and he had a large
family of four sons and six daughters. Israel R. Hall was another settler of
this year.
According to the census returns of I837 the resident land owners in California were located as follows: Samuel Beach lived on section 4. Israel R.
Hall had land in the same section and also in sections 3 and 9. Another
neighbor was Ira Purdy, in section 3. The Lawrences, comprising J. W., J.
W\., Jr., and James H., lived on section 5, but James H. soon became a resi(lent on section Io. George Monlux was on section 4, Ira Cass had his land
in sections 2 and 3, while in the northeast corner of the town were Alexander
Odren, on section I, John W. Harris, section I, and Theodore G. Holdeni,
whose extensive landed possessions were on sections I, 2 and I2. The other
settlers were Azam Purdy, a brother of Ira, on section 23; William Thompson, section I2; Stillman Elwell, section Io; and Jacob B. Brown and Jonathan
Hall, on section 6.
The two north tiers of sections also received most of the settlers of 1838.
Some of the settlers of that year were: On section I, Fowler Quimby and
Iidgeway Craft; section 12, Justus Leuse; section I, Joseph F. Reynolds
and John Vincent; section 8, Gilbert Gordinier; section 6, Asel Whitney and
Isaac Withey; on sections 15 and 21, James Craig; section I6, Rev. George
Bryant.
These were the-pioneers. By the time California township was organized the process of settlement was fairly complete, for not a section was without at least one landowner, and at the first town meeting sixty male voters
took part in the proceedings. Some of the pioneers above mentioned were
chosen to office, as will be seen in the list from supervisor down-George
Monlux, William Beach, Ira Purdy, Samuel Beach, George D. Avery, James
M. Hall, Robert Merrill, James Craig, Talcott Merwin, Isaac N. Miner,
Thomas H. Reynolds, Chauncey Miles, Cephas B. Dresser, Alexander Odren,
Jr., Andrew J. Critchfield, John C. Revnolds, Isaac Purdy, Hart Hazen,
Sereno Gillett, Ebenezer Adams, James Hall.
We have noticed that the first settlers formed a group on sections 3, 4,
9 and Io. At the crossroads corners of these sections, about 1846, Joseph Hall
opened a stock of goods and became the first merchant. From this circumstance this locality was long known by the name of "Hall's Corners," but the
present generation has been more familiar with the designation of "California"
village or postoffice. This place has gone through the usual stages of growth.






92               HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
A blacksmith shop was built near the store, J. W. Lawrence of pioneer fame
being the blacksmith, a carpenter furnished another kind of mechanical skill.
The first schoolhouse in the town had been located, about I838, on Ira Purdy's
farm, not far from the Corners, and in time it was moved to the northeast
corner of section 9, making another institution that promotes community life.
A postoffice was established there, the Presbyterian church had been located
there since 1840. Edward and Thomas Morrow erected a steam sawmill in
I867. With these institutions and industries California has long maintained
its quiet position as an inland village, having a population of I62 at the last
census. Cephas B. Dresser was the first lawyer with a home at that point,
and since then several professional men have been located there. Unfortunately, when the Fort Wayne and Jackson branch railroad was constructed
about 1870 California was left to one side, and the hamlet is three miles from
the State Line station. With a railroad California would doubtless have experienced similar growth to that of Sherwood in the opposite corner of the
county.


I




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County Court House and Jail, 1905




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                           93
CHAPTER XIII.
THE CITY OF COLDWATER.
The origin of Coldwater has been sketched on other pages; as the official center of the county and the principal business place and the only city,
it has necessarily occupied 'a large share of attention in the narrative. It
seems fitting, however, in the following paragraphs to set down in consecutive order such facts as will show the progress of the city from the village
state to the prosperous city which with proper pride can celebrate its existence
of three quarters of a century.
From the incorporation of Coldwater village in 1837 to the incorporation
of Coldwater city in I86I, there are few matters to chronicle more than the
steady growth which made a city government appropriate and necessary. As
elsewhere mentioned, the transfer of the county seat from Branch to the public square where it is now located was the event of pregnant importance for
the early development of Coldwater. The building of the mills along Coldwater river inaugurated the manufacturing which in I905 was represented by
34 firms.
In speaking of the growth of Coldwater one fact deserves prominence.
The city has maintained an even balance, a fair proportion between the various
institutions, industries and professional and commercial activities. Coldwater
is not a "factory town," and yet its annual aggregate of manufactured products is large. It is not pre-eminently a trade center, in the sense that the
daily retail transactions on Chicago street are the index of the city's prosperity.
Nor is it the home of retired wealth and latent capital, notwithstanding a,
million dollars of surplus and deposits in its three banks. Coldwater could
not be called a "county seat town," meaning that the court house was the hub
of its enterprise. In fact, Coldwater is all of these things, and yet in such
proportion that its welfare does not depend on any one class of enterprise.
Coldwater has never been "boomed," but has grown steadily and conservatively
since Allen Tibbits and Joseph Hanchett platted the first site seventy-five years
ago. Very few towns survive a genuine "boom," just as very few speculators
ever leave the stock market with a fortune-and for the same reason. The
business men of Coldwater would not welcome a flush of enterprise whose
after effects might prove disastrous to the stability of the city. For fifteen
years Coldwater and Branch cbounty have been doing business on the credit
side of the ledger, have ceased to be borrowers and become lenders, and this
is the kind of prosperity that is worth maintaining.
The courthouse was built in Coldwater in I848. About the same time
came the telegraph, and in I8501 the Lake Shore Railroad. These were the






(94


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


events of most importance during the history of the village. The stage coach
ceased as an institution, and the expectant postmaster ceased to listen for the
blast which announced the coming of the mail coach, and instead listened for
the whistle of the locomotive on the south side of the village. Another evidence of growth was the organization of the first regular fire protection service, in August, I856, when Excelsior Company No. I came into existence with
its manual engine and hose cart.
These improvements led the way for the formation of a city government
in I86I, by special charter from the legislature. The first mayor was the late
Albert Chandler, and his fellow officials comprised such well known names as
Robert F. Mockridge, John S. Youngs, Franklin D. Marsh, F. V. Smith, J. S.
Barber, Isaac P. Alger, E. W. Bovee, L. D. Crippen, David N. Green, E. A.
Knowlton. The principal city and village officers from 18137 to the present
will be found in the official lists.
The municipal improvements and institutions of Coldwater have come
into existence in keeping with its material wealth and the general spirit of
progress. By looking back it is possible to date the beginning of many improvements that now seem to be the very basis of comfort and security. We
recall the frequent admonitions of the editor of the Sentinel during the forties
that the citizens should give attention to the streets and sidewalks, which
were in an execrable condition, calling particular attention to the many mud
holes and lack of sidewalks on the business section of Chicago street. It is
the faculty and privilege of "practical optimism" while realizing the much
that remains to be accomplished that it vet delights in the present conditions
which form so happy a contrast with the past. Since the decade of the forties,
and in every subsequent decade, a constant change for the better has been
going on to affect the beauty and convenience of Coldwater's thoroughfares.
Some day the grateful citizens may erect a monument in honor of those whose
foresight and care provided for the planting of the thousands of shade trees
along the principal streets. The usefulness of the cement which is now manufactured in such large quantities in the county finds no better evidence than in
the miles of sidewalk which have taken the place of the old-time board or
gravel walk and to a large extent the brick walks.
The business section, which was the special object of attack on the part
of the Sentinel editor, now would certainly satisfy his ideals. About i9oo
Chicago street from the public square to Jackson street was substantially paved
with brick, and one or two of the intersecting streets, notably Monroe, were
paved for a short distance on either side. This paving has done as much as
anything else toward rendering the business section cleanly, convenient and
giving it a metropolitan appearance.
This anticipates the consecutive order of municipal progress. The most
valuable of all municipal works is water works. The proposition to build a
system of water works in Coldwater was submitted to the citizens on April
8, I890, and carried by a majority of 345 out of I, 99 votes cast. The first
cost of the plant was seventy thousand dollars, but improvements and extensions since that date have cost half as much more. Municipal ownership of




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


95


these and similar public utilities is fixed by principle and long custom in Coldwater, and so we find the water works and the electric lighting plant run in
conjunction. The city electric lighting plant was installed in I891I.
From the time of their establishment until I903 these plants were under
the control of an electric light and water works committee, but in the latter
year the legislature created a board of public works with supervision and
control over these utilities. The members of this board are appointed by the
mayor with the consent of the council, and are chosen outside of the council,
and after the first year one new member has been chosen each year for a term
of five years. The first board of public works, with varying lengths of term,
were A. A. Dorrance, J. M. Crocker, E. D. Luedders, A. A. Sherman, B. H.
Calkins.
Water works is a very essential factor in fire protection, but as already
stated, Coldwater had provisions in this line years before the water works were
established. In I866 the different companies were organized as " The Fire
Association of Coldwater,' and in 1872 this department of public service became " The City of Coldwater Steam Fire Engine Company," that being the
date of the purchase of the first steam fire engine. The department was organized on its present basis in the nineties, consisting of a chief and a number of firemen, all of whom are paid a salary, but only two are constantly on
duty at the fire station. James B. Smullen is at present chief of the department. The apparatus, consisting chiefly of engine, hose cart and hook and
ladder truck, is housed in the lower story of the city hall, on South Monroe
street, the second story of this building being used as council chamber and offices for the city officials:
Churches and schools are described on other pages, also the public library, which was instituted in i880, and the E. R. Clarke Library building,
erected in I886. A building, which, though built by private enterprise, is in
every sense a public institution, is the Tibbets Opera House. It was erected
by B. S. Tibbits, and was opened for the first performance.on September 2T,
1882, the " Maid of Arran " being given on that night. This beautiful little
playhouse on South Hanchett street has been a familiar center for meetings
and entertainments of many kinds through nearly a generation.
It remains to record briefly some of the more important and long established business concerns of Coldwater. The professions and the manufacturing interests are elsewhere described. No doubt the oldest mercantile concern of Coldwater is E. R. Clarke & Co., which was established in I850
by the late Edwin R. Clarke as a drug store. The store has always been conducted by the Clarke family, and has grown to be one of the best known establishments in Branch county, its location always having been on the northeast corner of Monroe and Chicago streets.
One who was familiar with the mercantile section of Coldwater thirty
years ago but who had in the meantime been away, would find on returning
at this time several of the familiar merchants and stores that he had once
known. Among these would be the Sloman clothing house. The drug house




96


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


formerly conducted by A. A. Dorrance would now be found in the hands of
his son, A. J. Dorrance. The Flandermeyer boot and shoe house was in business thirty-five years ago as well as to-day. The Woodward, Barber & Co.
of that time, general dealers, has since become the Woodward & Son dry
goods and furnishing store. Another outgrowth of this old firm is the
present department store of J. B. Branch & Company, which was organized
in I877. In I877 also was established the Conover Engraving and Printing
Company, by the late J. S. Conover. Charles A. Conover now conducts the
business, which covers an individual field in Coldwater and is one of the largest concerns of its kind in Southern Michigan.
T. A. Hilton, the clothier, is another business man who has been successfully engaged in merchandising on Chicago street for thirty years or
more. Mr. A. B. Walker, proprietor of the Coldwater steam laundry, has
been in that line of business since I888. The real estate firm of R. C. Sawdey & Son, which was founded by the late R. C. Sawdey over thirty-five
years ago and is now conducted by W. S. Sawdey, has a long and enviable
record in its line of business.
L. M. Bassett & Son are jewelers at 48 West Chicago St. in the
same building in which Mr. Bassett, the father, began business in I851.
The business of the Milnes Supply Company, 54-56 \V. Chicago St.,
was begun by Mr. Henry Milnes, the grandfather of Mr. Harry L. Milnes
of the present firm, in I863.
The hardware business of the Chandler family dates back to I84I,
when Hon. Albert Chandler began his long and active life as a resident
of Coldwater. The family has been represented in this business ever since,
the name being continued now in the firm of Chandler & Lee, 38 VW.
Chicago St. V. L. Nettleton & Co., at 49 W. Chicago St., continue the
hardware business begun by the father of Mr. Vernon L. in I866. Previous
to I889 there had been only three hardware stores in Coldwater. In that
year Kerr Bros. opened the fourth in the city's history, going into the fine
building which they erected and now occupy in 1891I. On Dec. 30, I889,
David C. Allen began to carry on the hardware business which had been
previously owned by John T. Starr. He continues the business at 9 W.
Chicago St., under the firm name of D. C. Allen & Co.
The planing mill of Ball Bros. has for years shaped the lumber for
the woodwork of many a building in the county.    Their business was
begun in I866 with the firm of Ball & Mauger. Lewis Hedgerton has a
record of thirty-four years' continuous work in the city as blacksmith and
horseshoer. He began in the stone shop on W. Chicago St. in I872, but
soon came to Hanchett St., where he now is with Mr. John M. Chadsey
as his partner. Plumbing is no unimportant item in the life of a modern
civilized community.  The firm  of Mansell & Kappler, plumbers, continue at 23 South Monroe St. the business begun by Mr. George Mansell
in I865, when he bought out the business of Mr. Wilder. Mr. Mansell
has been continuously in the plumbing business in Coldwater for over




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                          97
forty years. The first real modern plumbing in any house in the county was
that in the residence of Mr. Henry C. Lewis on E. Chicago St., which was
put in by Mr. Mansell in I864. The son, Mr. Edwin Mansell, now has his
father's place in the firm.




98               HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
CHAPTER XIV.
BRANCH COUNTY'S VILLAGES.
UNION CITY.
A brief summary of the conspicuous features of Union City's history
from the time of settlement, which has already been sketched, will be given
in this chapter, as also similar sketches of the other villages of the county.
Union City had splendid natural advantages, especially in the way of water
power for manufacturing purposes, and we already know that the site was
selected for this reason. That these resources were not developed and that
Union City did not become a place of first importance was due evidently
to the fact that during the greater part of the last century the village had
no transportation facilities.  It was the building of the Air Line Railroad in i870 that gave the village its greatest impulse, and since then it
has in large measure overcome the handicap which its sister villages of
Quincy and Bronson did not have.
During the thirties and forties, the people of the middle west were
about equally agitated and divided in opinion as to advisability between
ship canals and railroads. Union City declared in favor of canals. That
was not unnatural, because in the St. Joseph river the citizens thought they
had a natural water way that needed only a little dredging and straightening to become navigable from Lake Michigan to Union City, whence an
overland canal would connect with the Lake Erie watershed.   Both the
Michigan Central and Michigan Southern railroads were in process of construction at this time, but, absorbed in the canal project, Union City let
both pass her to the side. The hopes of a canal soon after died and thet
disappointed villagers had to wait twenty years before opportunity again
appeared. This time it was the railroad, the short line that was being constructed largely by private enterprise and popular subscription from Jackson to Niles. Union City became a station on this road, and when trains
began running over the line in 1870 the problem of transportation was
solved and the industrial and business development so long delayed could
now proceed without interruption.
Union City during her early days made no mean efforts to become a
manufacturing center. The "Union City Iron Company," which was incorporated in March, 18,47, was the most pretentious of these pioneer enterprises. Bog iron ore exists in many places in southern Michigan, Butler
and Union townships having large deposits in their lake beds, and the
company was formed to manufacture this ore into pig-iron. A blast fur

9




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


99


nace was built at Union City, and the smelting of the ore continued for
some years. Finally the plant was converted into a foundry for the manufacture of plows and other iron work.
Before the coming of the railroad, Union City was incorporated as a
village. The petition for incorporation was put before the board of supervisors in I865, when there were 545 inhabitants within the area proposed to
be incorporated.  In response to the petition the board incorporated the
"Village of Union City," and at the first election, held January 25, i866,
the following were the citizens chosen to direct village affairs: President,
Isaac Jones; Trustees, H. F. Ewers, J. D. Hawthorn, J. W. Smith, Caleb
Lincoln, Ansel Knowles, Richard Avery; Clerk, G. W. Buell; Treasurer,
C. A. Seymour; Assessors, E. Barber, Hiram Crissy; Street Commissioners,
C. E. Ewers, S. B. Simms, J. S. Rowell. Mr. Jones did not qualify anid
the vacancy was filled by the appointment of Dr. H. F. Ewers as president.
At the regular election held March 6, i866, the following officers were chosen
for the ensuing year: President, S. H. Nye; Trustees, A. P. West, J. C.
Leonard, H. F. Ewers, Solomon Parsons, A. B. Aiken, C. A. Whiting;
Clerk, C. W. Saunders; Treasurer, J. T. Leonard; Marshal, M. Morrill;
Assessors, Edwin Barber, Hiram Crissy; Street Commissioners, Sindal Morrill, Asa Hawley, J. S. Rowell.  The village was granted a new charter
by the state legislature March 23, I869, under which affairs were conducted until the passage by the state legislature in I895 of the blanket
charter now governing all villages in the State of Michigan.
Union City was a station on the " underground railroad " in the years
of anti-slavery agitation. The village was a hotbed of freedom. Many of
the citizens had pronounced views on the vital questions then disturbing the
country. But the foremost actor in the cause of anti-slavery when it came
to practical helpfulness was the late John Di. Zimmerman, blacksmith by
trade, a pioneer settler of 1838, and one of the strongest and most picturesque figures in the early history of the village.  He was the "station
master " for the " slave railroad," and many a time he would get up from
his bed at midnight to carry a slave to the next station at Marshall. He
was a man of deep religious and moral convictions, and never once did
he murmur at the hardships and actual dangers that this work put upon him.
In public improvements Union City is abreast of the'times. Naturally,
one of the first movements would be for efficient fire protection, which
resulted in the fire department. The bucket brigade system was superseded
when the village council voted an appropriation of fifteen hundred dollars
to buy a hand engine and complementary equipment. This apparatus was
installed in July, 1872, and on February 4, 1873, the fire company was
organized, consisting of 43 members. A new fire company, of 33 members,
was formed in January, 1875, and called the " St. Joseph Fire Company of
Union City." In I876 a lot was purchased on High street east of Broadway
and the two-story brick engine house was built at a cost of $2,150. This
building is still the fire department and municipal headquarters, the council
rooms being located on the second floor. A steam fire engine was purchased




100


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


in I886, but has been little used since the water works were built. The
Union City Fire Department now has twelve volunteer members, of which
the chief is W. H. Rowe, and their prompt and efficient service is all that
is needed to supplement the excellent mechanical equipment.
In 1894 the citizens of Union City voted to build and operate a water
works plant and also purchase the electric-light plant which had been theretofore operated as a private enterprise by Rheubottom  and Bond.  The
proposition provided for the issue of $25,000 of municipal bonds, $20,000
to build the water works and $5,000 for the! electric-light plant. In the
spring of I89.5 both plants were in operation by the city. The original cost
of the water works was $21,45o, and extensions have been made to new
portions of the village at various times since then. The water supply is
obtained from deep wells. The pumping station is in the same building
with the electric power house, and the two plants are run in conjunction.
The electric light plant was entirely remodeled in I9oo, a new equipment
of the best and latest electrical machinery being installed.  For this improvement additional bonds to the amount of $8,ooo were voted.
In describing Union City in I903, Mr. T. F. Robinson of the RegisterWeekly had this to say of some other features of the village, and the description is as true to-day as three years ago:
"The wide streets of the city are remarkably well looked after and
there are miles of handsome and durable cement sidewalks and cross-walks.
Two public parks are well cared for and they prove most convenient for
public assemblages in the summer time. In Monument Park stands a fine
soldiers' monument, flanked on either side by cannon which were contributed by the United States government. Thousands of beautiful shade trees
line every residence street, and citizens generally take great pride in the
appearance of their lawns and grounds.  The Union City Opera House
has been just recently remodeled by its new owner, Mr. N. E. Tower. The
Union City postoffice now occupies a new brick block on Hammond street,
and the interior was fitted up expressly for the purpose.  The outfit is
unexcelled in this section, and patrons feel correspondingly proud of it."
For a list of the important village officers, for a description of the
schools, the manufacturing and banking interests, the churches and societies.
the reader is referred to other chapters of this volume.  This sketch of
Union City may properly be concluded with brief notice of some of the
men who have for a number of years been connected with the mercantile
life of the village.
One of the first to be named would be F. C. Rheubottom, who entered
upon his career as manufacturer and merchant at Union City in I868.
H. H. Chase, the jeweler, made the beginning of a large business in 1867
and his is one of the few names of the present that were listed in the
old Branch County directory of I870. One of the long-time merchants now
deceased was Horace A. Corbin, who became the partner of Hiram Crissy
in a general store as long ago as I856, and was for about thirty years in
business. He died in I896. The associate of Mr. Corbin in the dry-goods




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


101


business during the later years was John B. Tucker, who died in I895 after
half a century of business activity in Union City.
In the death of George W. Buell in 1905 Union City lost a pioneer
business man, who was in mercantile business here during the sixties and
was a principal in the old Exchange Bank and in the organization of the
Union City National Bank, and in many ways was identified with the interests of his village.
Other business men of Union City are Martin F. Buell, now retired, but
for twenty-eight years, from  January, I871, station agent at this point.
Mortimer Vosburgh has also been in various positions here since 1871. Fred
C. Wilkins began the drug and book business here in I878. James R.
Corwin, who established a marble and granite business in I881; Samuel
Corbin, who began business as wool and grain buyer here before the completion of the railroad: Henry Seymour, who began the grocery business in
I877 and afterward became prominent in other lines as well as public
official; M. P. Maxon, whose career as merchant began in I88o; Chauncey
W. Saunders, now deceased, who began a retail shoe business in I8.58 and
who for years was influential in business and civil life, are names very
closelv associated with the business life of Union City.
QUINCY.
In time the settlement at the central portion of Quincy township developed into a village. The stores and mechanical and professional activities, already described during the first years, did not stop at the stage
which would make a country hamlet, as we have seen to be the case in more
than one such nucleus of settlement. No doubt the great impulse to growth
was given by the railroad, which was built through the site of Quincy in
I85o. It is said that, had not the enterprise of several citizens intervened
to prevent, Quincy would not have been made a station on the railroad,
but the station would have been located several miles east on the county
line. The location depended on the ability of Quincy to build a freight
house, and it was owing to the energy and zeal of the late Lucas Joseph,
whose career was so markedly identified at all times with the best interests
of this village, that the building was erected.
In I853 the old tavern on the site of the Quincy House, one or two
stores, the postoffice, and some professional and mechanical interests were
all that Quincy could claim in the direction of village growth. But in the
following three or four years a number of business and dwelling houses
were erected. In 1856 the village was platted, the plat being signed by
the owners of the site, being the well known names of Enos G. Berry,
Joseph Berry, John Broughton, William    Cole, John Sebring, William
Arnold, Cyrus Lusk, Christopher Conley, and Martin Hawley.
Two years later, when it is estimated there were four hundred people
on the village plat, the village was incorporated by the county board of
supervisors, on October 14, I858. At the first village election, which was




102


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


held in the following November, the following men were chosen to conduct
the affairs of the corporation:  Ebenezer Mudge, President; Moses A.
Hewett, Clerk; Cornelius Shear, Havens Wilbur, David C. Myers, John
Sebring, William  P. Arnold, Martin Hawley, Trustees; Alden Gregory,
Treasurer; Harlow W. Williams and Julius I. Gregory, Assessors; Allen
C. Culver, Marshal. The principal officers of the village for all the years
will be found in the official lists.
By 1870 Quincy had become a village of nine hundred population.
During the preceding decade its enterprise had been broadened in many
ways. A stave and heading factory had been established in I864, and was
one of the cornerstones of the village's subsequent growth. A sawmill had
been built in I855 and a flouring mill in i863.
An interesting contrast illustrating the growth of the village is found
in the character of the buildings. The first brick building was erected on
Chicago street in I855. The business section for a number of years has
been composed almost entirely of this class of buildings, and there are only
a comparatively few frame structures in use for business.  Furthermore,
the sidewalks are largely of cement or brick. The change from wooden
material to brick and stone has done more than anything else to alter the
outward appearance of villages and cities from the conditions of a generation past.
In the direction of public improvements Quincy has much to be proud
of. A special election on August 4, I89o, provided for the bonding of the
village to an amount not to exceed $6,o0o  to build an electric light plant.
In a short time the old kerosene street lamps, which were the cause of
frequent complaint to the council, disappeared in favor of electricity on the
streets and in many of the stores and private homes.
Only four years later Quincy made another step in municipal progress,
and this by far the most important in its results for the comfort and convenience of the citizens. There was a special election in the village, August
6, 1894, to vote on the council's resolution to raise not to exceed $I8,oo!
by bonds for constructing and maintaining water works. The proposition
was carried by a vote of 203 to II8, and the water works were built. The
water is pumped from driven wells adjacent to the power house in the
public park north of the depot. Both the water works and the electric light
plant are conducted by the city. Municipal ownership and operation of
purely public utilities seems to be a well established civic principle in Branch
County.
The fire department and council chambers are located in a two-story
brick building on Main street north of Chicago. The fire department, with
complete apparatus of hose cart, hook and ladder, truck and other appurtenances, with electric signal alarms, and with a disciplined force of volunteer firemen, had its origin in some very primitive means of fire protection
adopted by the village council over forty years ago. In January, I863, the
council authorized the purchase for village use of eight ladders, fire hooks
and other like equipment, and in I869 a hundred feet of hose was bought.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


103


The Quincy Union Fire Company was organized in January, I87I, but
their apparatus at first consisted only of "hooks, ladders and pails."  Soon
after a house was constructed for the storing of apparatus.  In 1873 a
second-hand engine, hose cart and hose were purchased from Adrian city,
and since then the apparatus has been added to in keeping with the growth
of the village.
Leaving for other chapters the mention of specific interests of Quincy,
this sketch may be concluded with the mention of the business men who
have longest been identified with the trade and other interests that center
about the intersection of Main and Chicago streets. D. W. Young, who
has recently retired, has been in the grocery business in Quincy for fortytwo years. The name Houghtaling is synonymous with the drug business
as well as with the public spirit that has been responsible for Quincy's
advancement.   C. H. Houghtaling has lived in Quincy and been connected with its mercantile affairs since 1864, and almost continuously since
I88I has been in business on his own account, the firm now being C. H.
Houghtaling and Son. G. J. Fillmore, proprietor of the Commercial Hotel,
which was formerly the Fayette House, is another who has, been identified
with the business affairs of Quincy for a number of years past.  H. A.
Graves, the present postmaster, who has lived here since i865, has been in
the grocery business nearly a quarter of a century. F. E. Marsh, former
postmaster, has lived in the village practically all his life. As stated in the
sketch of the First National Bank, C. L. Truesdell has been connected
with that institution over twenty years. Mr. M. S. Segur, who occupies the
position of cashier with the State Bank across the street, was in the mercantile business many years before entering the bank.
The oldest merchant in Quincy is A. L. Lytle, who has conducted a
general hardware store since I866, forty years. In the line of lumber and
building material and planing mill products, the name Salisbury has been
known for half a century. Thirty-five years ago J. B. Salisbury appears
in an old directory as proprietor of a sash, door and, blind factory and
steam sawmill, and the business is now conducted by his son J. N. Salisbury,
who has been a resident of Quinly since I856. Other business men are
J. B. Ganong, who engaged in the hardware business in Quincy in 1882 and
for some years has conducted a plumbing business and windmill and gasoline-engine retail house; also E. H. Kinyon, proprietor of a general store,
and C. N. Wilcox, the boot and shoe man.
THE VILLAGE OF BRONSON.
The Bronson in Branch county was not the first village in Michigan
to receive that name. In fact, it is probable that the name of the pioneer
Jabe Bronson would not have been perpetuated by the Branch county village had not another pioneer been deprived of a similar honor. Here are
the historical facts of the case:
In June, 1829, Titus Bronson, a native of Middlebury, Conn., came to
<*:*  *0f A:




104:


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


the site of the present Kalamazoo city and soon built a shanty, pre-empted
a large share of the plain on which the village was built, the hamlet being
called Bronson after its founder.  Mr. Bronson laid out the village and
set apart land for public uses, and for several years, when people spoke of
Bronson, they referred. to what we now know as Kalamazoo.  But in I836,
the legislature, at the instance of Bronson's enemies, it is alleged, changed
the name to Kalamazoo, and in the same year Titus Bronson moved away
to Illinois.
A year before Titus Bronson, the founder of Kalamazoo, settled at
that place, Jabe Bronson had located on Bronson's prairie. He was also
from Connecticut, and it is a reasonable inference that he was a relative
of Titus.  But as the first settler of this locality he fared better.  For
not only was the township named for him, but the village of York, as
it was first known, became and has since remained Bronson village. This
was done by an act of the legislature approved in I837, and reading as
follows:
"All that portion of the county of Branch, known as the township off
Prairie River, and the village in said township by the name of York, shall
* * * be known by the name of Bronson."
The village of Bronson has been the continuation of the early settlement begun on Bronson prairie in I828. An account of the beginnings of
this settlement has been given in a previous chapter. Though this Bronson
community was the first in the county to begin its life, that of Quincy
preceded it in becoming incorporated as a village. Quincy was incorporated
ill 1858. It was not until eight years later, I866, that the Bronson people
applied to the powers that be to become a village. In this same year of
I866, though a few months earlier, Union City had been incorporated, so
that of the four villages in the county Bronson stands third in the order
of their incorporation. Sherwood, the fourth, did not reach this status until 1887.
In I866 the law relating to the incorporation of villages was the legislative act of I157, which vested authority for it in the boards of supervisors of counties. At the October session of the board of supervisors of
Branch county, a, petition was presented to them asking that they incorporate the Village of Bronson. This petition is spoken of in the records
of the board in the county clerk's office as having been signed by George F.
Gillam, Henry Powers, L. A. Rose and fourteen others. October Io, I866,
the board granted unanimously the petition, and made the persons within
a certain tract of land a body corporate and politic under the name of the
" Village of Bronson."  The tract of land was just a mile square, and lay
in sections II, 12, 13, and 14. It was thus described: The south half of
the northeast quarter and the southeast quarter of section I, the south
half of the northwest quarter and the southwest quarter of section 12,
the north half of the northwest quarter of section 13, and the north half of
the northeast quarter of section I4. The area as then defined has remained




South Side Main Street, Bronson




11/_1 __;i  _;ill_-iil-_i 1I11I.1I1I




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


105


unchanged in its boundaries, and will be observed to stand upon any map
of it as a perfect square.
The act of incorporation ordered the first election to "be held in
that territory at the hotel in Bronson formerly kept by Marian Thompson,
on Monday, the 26th day of November next."  At that election officers were
chosen as follows: President, Warren Byrns; trustees, Cyrus J. Keyes,
Jason Shepard, Augustus Pixley, Lorenzo. A. Rose, Leonard C. Clark,
Henry Powers; corporation clerk, Andrew S. Parrish; treasurer, Joseph E.
Earl; marshal, Spellman Dennis; assessor, George Gillam; highway commissioner, Joseph E. Earl.
In I87I the village was reincorporated by an act of the state legislature, approved March 2. The first election under the new charter was ordered to be held " at the hotel on the corner of Matteson and Chicago streets
on the first Monday of March, 187I. By this new charter the marshal was
to be appointed by the trustees and was to hold office for one year.
The number of people who associated themselves together in I866 to
live as an incorporated village was 603. This was the number found by a
special census and reported, to the board of supervisors in the petition for incorporation. The volumes of the national census of 18,7o and of the state
census of 1874 do not give us the inhabitants of the village separate from
those of the township. Not until I88o do the census men seem to realize
that the village is distinct and important enough to be reported by itself.
But from I88o on we can give its population according to every census taken
by the state and by the general government. It is as follows: in I880, 826;
in 884, 823 i0089, 1,176; and in 1904, I,I07.
In the I4 years from i8.66 to i88o, the population increased from 6o'3 to 826,
or about 2o00. The next 14 years it was virtually stationary at about 850'.
But during the next six years from I894 to I900 it jumped from 864 to I,I76,
an increase of 312. The stationary period of the village from I88o on is a
part of the stationary period of the population of the county as a whole
from that year on, exhibited in a previous chapter. The local break and
large increase in the population of the village in I900 is doubtless due to
the establishment olf the Portland cement plant a mile northeast of it
in 1897. That year i900 was the high-water mark of its population in
the census years, the census of I904 showing a decrease of 69 in the four
years following I9oo.
A large number of Poles have settled in Bronson township, but only
a few have ever lived in the village. In I884 there were only 45 foreignborn persons in the village in a population of 823.  This was only a
little more than five per cent, or one in I8.
The more important events that have taken place in the life of Bronson
during the forty years of its corporate existence as a village are the following: The burning of the store of Powers & Gillam, Jan. 9, I867;
the erection of a fine brick business block on the south side of Chicago, street
next to Matteson street in 1867; the building of the Methodist Episcopal
church in 1871; the building of the first Roman Catholic church and the




106              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
organization of the Bronson Cornet Band in I877; the organization of the
Ladies' Library Association in i88o; the erection of Clark's opera house,
the establishment of the bank of L. M. Rudd & Son, and the great fire on
the north side of Chicago street in I884; the fire on Matteson street in
which the Hurleys perished in I886; the introduction of electric light in
this same year; the erection of the Congregational church in 1887; the
change of the Ladies' Library to the Bronson Public Library in I888; the
burning of J. Francis Ruggles' valuable collection of books and historical
material, and the erection of his present building on Chicago street in I889;
the organization of Warren's Military Band in 1892; the erection of the
new Roman Catholic church about this time, and later of St. Mary's School;
the establishment of the Portland cement plant and the beginning of Coward
Monroe's banking business in 1897; the erection of the fine new school
building in I901; and the organization of the Bronson Woman's Club
in 1903.
Mr. Wells Knappi has been a business man of Bronson for thirty-nine
years, having succeeded his father in the shoe business.  He came to a
farm in Coldwater township in I866 and to Bronson in September, I867,
where he opened a shoe store and has been in the same business on the same
spot continuously ever since, and his business career excels in continuous
length that of anyone in Bronson.
Joseph Watson, now postmaster and member of the firm of Watson
and Diavis, has been in the jewelry business for a quarter of a century.
George Robinson, the grocer, has been here fifteen years; Turner and Bushnell, furniture, succeeded Amasa Ruple & Son ten years ago. A. J. Ashbreck, the druggist, has been in business fifteen years. Charles Whitaker
has conducted his market 15 years. Randall D. Powers, dry goods and groceries, succeeded his father, Charles Powers, who was listed as a " general merchant" in the old directory of I870.   Werner Brothers, hardware and
carriages, have been located here fifteen years. The Clark family have been
identified with the commercial side of the village for many years. Milo
Clark built the principal hotel about I875. L. D. Clark was a merchant on
Matteson street about thirty-five years ago, and Eugene R. Clark, the drygoods merchant, began business in his father's store. Another son is Myron
Clark, also a merchant.
The library, the schools, the churches, the banks, the cement works and
other features of Bronson are described in the proper place on other pages.
Warren's Military Band, now the Bronson Band, was organized in
August, 18912. Mr. Fred L. Warren was the first leader and continued in
that capacity about seven years. William Henry Davis was also with the
band at the beginning and succeeded Mr. Warren as leader and is such at
the present time. There were thirteen members at the start, now there are
eighteen. There has been no break in the organization, and only one deaththat of Mr. Charles Knapp. The "Bronson Cornet Band" was an active
organization some years ago.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


107


SHERWOOD.
Sherwood village was born of the Air. Line Railroad.  E. F. Hazen
owned most of the land in section 28 on which the village has since been
built. The railroad was constructed and trains began running in I870. Almost coincident with that event Mr. Hazen and Manton E. Sawin platted a
village, whose original name was designated " Hazenville," in honor of its
founder.  This site was considered either so unpromising or so, inconsequential by the directory-makers of 1870 that no mention is to be found of
any such village.
Frank M. Warner is said to have been the first merchant opening a
grocery, in a building afterward used as a hotel. He was succeeded in I187I
by Jerome J. Studley, who was also postmaster. E. F. Hazen was the railroad agent at this point and also dealt in grain. The only important industry
in the place at this time was the steam planing mill, on the south side of the
village, its early proprietors being Sawin & Safford. There was also, a
steam sawmill north of the railroad.
From this state of beginnings SherwTood increased so that in I887 it was
incorporated. In the subsequent twenty years its improvement has been even
more marked. The wide streets, lined with luxuriant shade trees, the handsome public park, the cement walks-and the extent of these is a matter of
special pride-are the superficial aspects olf a well ordered and enterprising
village. The first village council convened March 3I, 1887, the principal officers in that first body being Robert Fraser, president, and Elgin Barton,
clerk. The principal officials of the village will be found on other pages.




108              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
CHAPTER XV.
THE AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY —THE GRANGE.
Agriculture as the basic industry of America is taken so much as a
matter of course, and in this history has been so considered in its smaller
application to Branch county, that specific statement of its importance would
be superfluous.  The first settlers in almost every instance were farmers.
Even when his ostensible occupation was in other lines, the pioneer usually
cultivated a patch of ground. We remember that this was true of Jabe
Bronson, the tavern-keeper and justice. It was true of all those who had
inns along the Chicago road; it was true of the earliest merchants and doctors. Specialization of industry did not arrive till after the county was well
settled, and ability to till the soil was the first requisite of the pioneer. With
all the building of factories and mills, the increase of trade, the growing
importance of mechanical pursuits, and the attraction of the professions,
agriculture yet remains the supreme industry of Branch county. Leaving
aside statistics concerning the industry, any abundance of which may be
found in agricultural reports and census returns, it will be the purpose of
this chapter to describe as far as possible the methods and circumstances of
early agriculture, and from the point of view of the past indicate the great
changes that have preceded modern agriculture.
The pioneer farmers of Branch county were probably as progressive
as those of any other part of the country at that time. They brought with
them from their homes in the older states the methods which prevailed there.
And as many of them came from the east, which was considered the, most
progressive section of the. country, they must have known the best methods
of farming which were practiced in their day.
But the first farmers of this county were confronted with a task such as
has been unknown in the settlement of the more western prairie states. The
obstacles to be overcome were great, the implements and means were primitive. The steel plow was not invented until after Branch county had been
substantially settled and improved.  Whereas the western prairie sod is
turned over for the first time by immense gang-plows, drawn by four or
five horses or even by a traction engine, the farmer of the twenties and
thirties had to depend on a, wooden moldboard shod with an iron share
roughly made at a local blacksmith shop. With this hint at pioneer conditions it is evident that agriculture has undergone development in as wonderful degree as any other phase of the county's history.
The pioneer farmer's first work, after a rude temporary shelter had
been provided, was to prepare a little spot of ground for the first crop. Those




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


109


who located on Coldwater, Girard and other well known prairies-and as
we know those were the favorite selections of the first settlers-were very
fortunate in this respect. Relieved of the necessity to clear off the trees,
they had only to turn over the sod. But even so the undertaking involved
labor that one man alone could hardly accomplish. The turf on the socalled prairies was very tough, and the ground in most places filled with a
net-work of wire-like roots. If the location was in the woods, it was necessary to girdle the trees, clearing away the underbrush and sweeping the surface with fire. The dead trunks of the trees were usually left standing the
first season, and the corn grew up among the aisles of the blasted forest.
Although the surface of the ground had been cleared, just beneath
there remained the roots of the former growth, and these, formed into
massive " stools," were for several years insuperable obstacles to easy farming. An ordinary plow team would have been useless among the stools and
grubs, and a common plow would have been quickly demolished. The plow
used was a massive construction of wood and iron, and was known as the
"bull plow." The share and coulter were of iron and made very heavy and
strong. The beam was long and of huge proportions to resist the enormous
strain brought upon it. Usually the weight of one of these ponderous bull
plows was about three hundred pounds. Six or seven yoke of oxen, and,
sometimes more, were required to pull this implement through the ground.
With such an equipment the ordinary roots were torn from the ground
like straws and subsequent cultivation was made easy. It usually took two
persons to do the plowing, a man to hold the plow and either a man or a boy
to drive the team. This process of " breaking " new land was made a regular business by some of the pioneers, just as threshing is at the present
time.
In a few years plows with iron moldboards were introduced, but as
they would not scour well in all kinds of soil they were not considered a
success at first. Besides, as the ground was full of roots, of new stumps
and standing trees, the wooden moldboard was less liable to break than one
of iron, so it was better adapted to the conditions than the iron one. The
cultivation was done with the hoe at first, then came the single-shovel plow,
which was in use for a number of years. Among the trees, stumps and roots
both the plowing and cultivation were tedious, laborious and disagreeable
work. This condition continued for a number of years until the stumps had
decayed sufficiently to make it possible to remove them.
The planting was likewise primitive. As the sod was turned over a
man followed about every third furrow, dug into the top of the furrow with
his foot or with a hoe and planted corn, covering it the same way. In some
instances the corn was dropped in the furrow very near the outside, so that
the edge of the next furrow when turned over would be directly over the
grain. The corn would then come through between the furrows.     In a
somewhat similar way Bishop Chase planted his first crop of potatoes in
Gilead in the summer of I832. Wheat was sown among the stumps and
trees. The grain was harrowed in with a wooden-toothed harrow. The




110


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


farmer who did not have even one of these rude implements would cut a
small tree, trim off part of the limbs so as to leave a bushy end, weight jt
with a log, and hitching his team to it would get about the same results as
from a tooth harrow.
In harvesting the corn, the stalk was not utilized as is done at the present day. The prevailing practice was to pull the ear from the stalk, husk
and all, haul the corn to a pile and then husk it. The husk was utilized for
feed, and as much of the grain as was not needed for home consumption
was hauled away to market. As soon as large crops of corn were grown
husking bees became the fashion. The corn was pulled from the stalk and
put in a pile, as when the farmer himself or he and his family did the husking. Then a number of neighbors assembled and everybody husked. This
was repeated at the home of each farmer until all had their crops husked.
Wheat was harvested with the cradle, such an implement as a reaper
or harvesting machine of any kind not then being dreamed of. Besides
the cradle the sickle also was in use at that time. But that was used only
in wheat that had blown down or grew among stumps and trees, making it
difficult and sometimes impossible to cradle. And for the first few years
that was a large portion of the crop. It was well that only a limited areal
could be sown, because had there been a greater acreage it doubtless would
not have been harvested. The work of harvesting with those old-time implements was extremely slow in comparison with the way it can be done with
our improved harvesting machinery. The inventions with which we at this
day are so familiar at that time, even in their crudest form, seemed far-off
and visionary. For instance, it was with the air of wonder that a twentieth
century newspaper would describe the achievement of a dirigible air-ship
that an issue of the Coldwater Sentinel of June, 1843, speaks of a new reaping machine invented by McCormick.    The reader can judge from the
description how crude that machine was when compared with those that will
be found in nearly every farmer's barn at this age. "The machine," reads
the article, "placed on small wheels, was moved by two horses around the
rye field where the exhibition took place, at a quick pace; making a clear
passage through the grain as it moved, about five feet wide. This it did
with a completeness which it is impossible for a cradle to accomplish. The
wheels of the machine kept in motion a saw, with edge and teeth not unlike
a reap-hook, which saws down the grain as it is bent and forced against
its edge by a revolving apparatus resembling a seine-reel. The grain falls
upon a bed or platform just behind the teeth, whence it is raked by hand."
The threshing was done either with a flail or the grain was tramped
out by horses. Both processes were very slow, the former being about as
slow as harvesting with the sickle. When horses were used a threshing floor
was made out of doors by smoothing the ground or beating it until it was
as solid as could be made. The horses were ridden by boys, while two men
worked the grain toward the center of the floor and threw out the straw.
In the early forties a machine came into use which threshed out the
grain and dispensed both with the use of the flail and the tramping of horses.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


11I


This machine consisted only of a cylinder and was operated by horse power.
When the threshing was done by any of these methods the grain had to
be separated from the chaff by fanning with a sheet, the wind blowing the
chaff away. There were no fanning mills then, but they were introduced
a few years later.  These mills were in the crudest form, but they were
considered a great improvement over the winnowing sheet.   All of this
labor had to he done in order that the farmer might produce a supply ofwheat sufficient to provide bread for his family and if possible a small surplus to sell.
Corn and wheat were the two leading crops then as they are now.
Other crops that were grown were oats, rye, potatoes, buckwheat and flax.
Oats were usually fed in the straw, only enough being threshed out for the
next year's seed. A patch of potatoes was planted on every farm for home
use, but there were very few, if any, grown for market. The crop being
a bulky one and the market so distant made the growing of potatoes as a
market crop impracticable. Flax was raised for home use, the product being
manufactured into linen for a part of the family's wearing apparel.
For many years the hay crop consisted of the native grasses. Many
farmers believed that the improved domestic grasses could not be grown
here, and it was some time before this prejudice was overcome.  When
the settlers were yet few in number the prairie grasses furnished an abundant
supply of hay for their live-stock. When the prairie lands were all taken
up each farmer on those lands set off a portion of his farm for meadow, but
this was sufficient only for the owner, and those who had settled in the
timber had to look elsewhere for a supply. There was an abundant growth
of grass on what were then known as wet prairies, which we now call marshes.
At first every settler could find a sufficient supply of this marsh grass near
his home if he had none on his farm. This hay had to be mowed by hand,
then thrown together and hauled from the marsh on a small sled drawn by
a yoke of oxen, or even at times had to be carried to firm ground "on a
pole," as was the expression used at the time. The ground was so soft that
a team of horses and a wagon could not be driven over it. Only a small bit
could be hauled out at a time in this way, and it took a number of these sled
loads to make a wagon load. The same method of making hay had to be
enmployed on all the wet prairies of those days.
With this view of the status of agriculture sixty years ago, it is not
difficult to realize the broad developments that have taken place since then.
Farming has become easier with every year. Its conditions and surroundings
are no longer those of the common laborer. Several things have contributed to this change. Some claim that the invention of labor-saving machinery and its general use has done more to elevate agriculture than any other
factor.  It certainly is not wide of the mark to measure the progress of
agriculture by the distance that separates the self-binder from the cradle.
Yet there are other factors. The working and hiring of help has. been
quite reformed from  the methods of forty years ago.  The progressive
farmer no longer depends on transient labor. Not many years ago, when




112


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


harvest time or other extra press of work arrived, the farmer would start
out into the surrounding country and hire by the day such men as were
available.  This is neither practicable nor possible now.  Improved machinery has done much to relieve the farmer of the necessity of hiring day
laborers. His policy now is to hire a man by the year, and often a man of
family, who will live on the farm and give it his entire attention.
Transportation has also effected many changes in farming methods. In
place of marketing by the bushel, the farmer now markets " on the hoof,"
that is, feeds his grain products to stock. And of recent years the farmers
do not hesitate to import stock cattle from distant ranges of the Dakotas or
the Southwest and feed them for market on grain raised in Branch county.
This in itself is one of the most important developments in Branch county
agriculture. In the words of a well known farmer, " Branch county is now
becoming a feeding ground for foreign stock and grain."
In a general upward trend of property values, land is the last thing to
appreciate. At a distance of ten years from the beginning of the present
era of remarkable prosperity, the farm lands of Branch county show only a
slight upward trend in value. But there is greater demand for land than
ever before, and as a rule it is passing into the hands of an immigrating
farmer class from Ohio and Northern Indiana, where farm lands are held
about twenty per cent higher than here. This direction of immigration will,
if it continues, prove a considerable factor in the next twenty-five years in
giving type and character to the population of the county.
In the matter of stock-raising one example will suffice. Branch county
has always been a sheep county. Wool was one of the first commodities to
be produced, and in an early day there were several woolen mills in the
county. Formerly each farmer had a few sheep among his other stock, but
no extensive sheep-feeding was done. As instanced above, sheep are now
being brought in from western ranges to be fed on Branch county farms,
and while the native sheep are still a large number it is more profitable tio
import the stock and only condition them for market in this county.
One of the conspicuous methods of caring for crops should be men'tioned. Within recent years progressive farmers have built silo plants for
the purpose of preserving the essential qualities of " roughening " or fodder
throughout the winter season. One of the first things to catch the atteption on many farms in the county is the silo plant, and often there are several
of them. In these huge cylindrical, air-tight tanks, built of " silo lumber,"
and some of the recent ones of cement, the green corn, stalk and all, after
being cut up by a special machine, is stored very much as vegetables are
canned. While in the reservoir it undergoes a slight fermentation process,
but with the exception of a small portion on the surface, which rots and
molds just as the top of a can of fruit often does, and which is thrown out
before the rest is used, the entire contents of the tank are preserved with
original sweetness and wholesomeness for feeding to stock during the severe
winter season. What an improvement this method is over the old one of




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


113


stacking the dry fodder in the late fall, when most of its essential qualities
had dried out, even one unfamiliar with agriculture can readily realize.
THEI GRANGE.
We have spoken of some of the factors which have worked for the uplift
and improvement of agriculture and its conditions. The leading organized
movement that has worked to this end is conceded to be the Grange, whose
basic purposes are educational, fraternal and the general improvement of
the farmer and his family and the conditions under which he works. The
Grange was the first fraternal organization to admit the wives and daughters on an equal basis in every way, and it has done more to educate farming
communities than any other movement.
The national Grange organization was commenced in 1867, but it was
the fall of 1873 before the movement had reached Branch county. High
tide was reached in 1875, when the county had seventeen granges. The
general name applicable to the organization as a whole is "Patrons of Husbandry," the " granges " being the subordinate branches, but the name grange
is the one generally used in referring to all departments of the organization.
The oldest grange in the county with a continuous existence from the
date of foundation to, the present time is Butler Grange No. 88, which was
organized October Io, I873. As will be seen from the number, Matteson
Grange No. 86 was organized some time previous, but is no longer existent.
The granges in, the state are numbered according to the order of their formation, and taking the granges of Branch county in the order of their age,
the eleven active granges as well as those no longer active are as follows:
Matteson No. 86 (defunct), Butler No. 88, Bronson No. 9I, Batavia No. 95,
Sherwood No. 96, Union No. 97, Athens No. 98; (whose members were mainly
from Branch county-now defunct), Kinderhook No. 135 (defunct), Girard
No. I36, Coldwater No. 137, Grove No. I38 (defunct), Bethel No. 148
(defunct), Quincy No. I52, Summit No. 2I7 (defunct), California No. 233
(defunct), North Algansee No. 234, Champion No. 26I (defunct), Gilead
No. 400, and Four Towns, which has been recently organized. How rapidly
these granges were organized during the first years of the movement may
be inferred from the fact that though Girard Grange No. 136 was organized
November 25, 1873, only a few weeks after Butler, there were six Branch
county granges that intervened, while its number was forty-eight removed
from Butler.
The grange meetings were at first held in some convenient schoolhouse,
but now nearly every grange in the county owns its own hall, which is dedicated to the use of the society and is seldom used for any other purpose.
The strength of the grange in this county, in point of membership, is between eight hundred and a thousand members. There is a regular system
of representation in the organization from the subordinate bodies through
the State and National bodies.  From the eleven subordinate granges in
this county three delegates are elected to the annual meeting of the State




114              HISTORY OIF BRANCH COUNTY
Grange, and Pomona Grange, which is the county grange, is entitled to one
delegate to the State Grange.  The masters of the State Grange are the
official delegates to the National Grange.
Branch County Pomona Grange No. 22, which is a connecting link
between the subordinate granges and the State Grange and which exercises
friendly and advisory oversight, but no official control, over the subordinate
bodies, was organized March 21, I878. The petitioners for its organization
were: George W. Van Aken, a pioneer granger, who was active in the
formation of the Girard Grange in I873; John G. Parkhurst and wife, Eli
Bidleman, Mr. and Mrs. H. B. George, Charles H. Austin, D. C. Fonda,
A. S. Archer, Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Pierce, William Joseph, Wallace E. Wright,
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Jones, Darwin Thompson, and John Bell.
The officers of Pomona Grange for I906 are: Master, Isaac E. Corless;
overseer, Belle Bailey; lecturer, Mrs. Lucy Corless; steward, A. L. Smith;
asst. steward, Frank Coward; treasurer, I. A. Martin; secretary, Asa W.
Ferguson; gatekeeper, I. A. Van Orsdal; pomona, Mrs. Elmer Warner;
flora, Mrs. Fred Locke; ceres, Theda Bailey; lady assistant steward, Mrs.
I. A. Martin.
A few words should be said about the work of the grange in general.
The grange was one of the most active forces behind pure-food legislation
in Michigan, and to its efforts-to give only one example-is due the fact
that oleomargarine must be labeled with its true name and not as butter.
The grange has more or less actively entered the field of commerce.  In
some counties " Grange Stores" have been established and successfully
conducted.
The grange claims to be the father of rural free delivery. Certainly
it has used its influence nowhere to better advantage, for free delivery in
the country is now conceded to be the greatest boon that has come to the
farmer. It has brought the farmer in touch with the world and more than
anything else has made obsolete the term "countryfied" as applied to the
tiller of the soil. And this is in direct line with the purposes of the grange,
as stated in a former paragraph.
When the grange first brought the matter before Congress, it was
objected that the " system would be too expensive," despite its great benefits.
Tentative experiments were made at rural delivery of mail about I894. In
I896 the annual report of the State Grange " hails with delight that the plan
is to be started in this state."  As is well known, the movement thus begun
has now spread all over the country and every farmer in Branch county can
have his daily paper with little if any more exertion than the citizen of the
village or city.
BRANCH COUNTY FARMERS' INSTITUTE SOCIETY.
This society, so closely identified with the interests of the agriculturist
that its history belongs to this chapter, was organized at Coldwater July 27,
1895, with thirty-two charter members. The constitution proposed by the
state board of agriculture was adopted, and the following were elected its






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                           115
first officers: L. M. Marsh, president; A. J. Aldrich, secretary-treasurer.
The executive committee was composed-of the president, the secretary and
A. L. Smith, E. E. Lewis, and A. M. Etheridge. The vice-presidents from
the various townships and wards were: Butler, T. P. Evans; Quincy,
A. M. Etheridge; Algansee, A. F. Archer; California, John Flynn; Kinderhook, A. C. Doerr; Ovid, E. C. Lockwood; Coldwater, Henry Straight;
Girard, A. L. Smith; Union, Byron W. Bray; Batavia, Edwin E. Lewis;
Bethel, Henry Fowler; Gilead, E. G. Luce; Noble, Ambrose Bushnell; Bronson, Richard Coward; Matteson, Amos Gardner; Sherwood, L. P. Wilcox;
Coldwater, first ward, Cyrus G. Luce; second ward, George W. Van Aken;
third ward, G. H. Turner; fourth ward, E. WV. Treat.
The society had a total membership in 1899 of 335, and it has maintained that strength, the membership in I9o6 being 332. The meeting of
February, I9o6, was the largest ever held, 3,731 persons attending the literary, musical and educative programs offered.
The officers for I9o6 are as follows: Abram L. Smith, president;
Henry E. Straight, secretary-treasurer; and vice-presidents: California, D.
T. Bascom; Kinderhook, A. C. Doerr; Gilead, W. J. Bucklin; Noble, A.
Bushnell; Algansee, L. G. Taylor; Ovid, Lafayette Scheidler; Bethel, Charles
Daniels; Bronson, Frank Coward; Bronson Village, T. A. Eberhard; Quincy,
M. D. Knauss; Quincy Village, A. L. Bowen; Coldwater, Robert Brewster;
first ward, M. E. Wattles; second ward, L. E. Lockwood; third ward, C. J.
Thorpe; fourth ward, E. W. Treat; Batavia, I. A. Martin; Matteson, Frank
Martin; Butler, F. M. Holmes; Girard, E. T. Waffle; Union, B. W. Bray;
Union City, D. D. Buell; Sherwood, J. S. Dunks; Sherwood Village, F. M.
Daniels.
BRANCH COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
This society, under whose auspices the county fairs have always been
conducted, was organized October 17, I85i. The first officers of the society
were James B. Tompkins, president; John Allen, vice-president; F. V. Smith,
secretary; and H. W. Wright, treasurer. Other well known men took part
in the work of organization, such as Asahel Brown, Alvarado Brown, E. B.
Pond, William P. Arnold, Darwin Wilson, John Root, Oliver Burdick, Jr.,
Emerson Marsh.
The first annual fair was held at Coldwater October 7, i8'52, only one
day being given to it and the premium list aggregating only two hundred
dollars. In I854 the session was extended to, three days. In the same year
the society purchased six acres on Grand street near the north edge of the
village, as a place for holding their exhibitions. This ground was sold in
i863, and the Agricultural Society and the Coldwater Agricultural and
Breeders' Association, which had been organized in i862, united in buying
twenty acres on the west side of Marshall street near the north side of the
village.  This is the ground now commonly referred to as "the old fair
grounds."  It was increased to thirty acres in 1878.
Fairs were held annually until after 1897, and the association did much
to promote agricultural and live-stock inte.rKest in the county.




116              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
CHAPTER XVI.
MANUFACTURING IN         BRANCH     COUNTY.
It would be interesting to know just how the population of Branch county
is classified among the various business activities, that is, the proportion of
the county's twenty-six thousand people engaged in each general class of
occupation. At best it would be possible only to approximate such a classification. But as regards the industrial and manufacturing situation, some
very interesting deductions may be drawn from the last report of the Michigan Bureau of Labor, giving the results of factory inspection made in this
county in April, I905.
In this report sixty-one firms and factories are named, thirty-four of
which are located at Coldwater, nine at Union City, eight at.Quincy, seven
at Bronson, two at Sherwood and one at Batavia. The whole number of
employes found at the time of inspection was I,173. This approximates
five per cent of the population of Branch county dependent on what are
officially designated as "factory" industries. Were the data at hand for
all the handicrafts and manufactories of the county, the proportion of those
engaged in industrial pursuits would be much larger, perhaps at least ten
per cent of the entire population.
Of the plants reported, thirty-four were located at Coldwater.  In
these twenty-three kinds of goods were made or handled. There were reported 712 employes, indicating that in a city of six thousand population
one person out of nine depends on these industries for means of livelihood.
This proportion is too small to place Coldwater among so-called "factory
towns," where the percentage of factory operatives is often twenty-five per
cent of the population; at the same time this form of activity is a considerable and distinct part of the city's general prosperity.
Of the manufacturing establishments named in the report, those which
extent of business or length of time established make worthy of mention in
this chapter are:
At Bronson:   The Bronson-Kalamazoo Portland Cement Company,
which was established in I897 and at the date of inspection had 6i employes.
(See elsewhere.)  The Bronson Basket factory, established in 1895; the
electric light plant, established in 1886; the William Friedrich Company
(see elsewhere).
A.t Coldwater:  Ball Brothers Planing Mill, established in I866 and
employing 14 hands at the time of inspection; the Coldwater Gas and Fuel
Company, organized in I86o, having 14 employes in 1905; W. A. Coombs
Milling Company, the early history of which is given elsewhere, and which






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


117


at its three establishments employs 36 men; the Conover Engraving and
Printing Company, established in I898 and employing nine persons; the City
Brewery, established in 1894; Charles W. Chapman, manufacturer of cigars,
established in I88o; Henry B. George, custom flour and feed grinding, established in I8801; Hellinburg & Son, turning and wood work, i6 employes,
and established in 1876; Johnson Cooperage Company, established in i868;
National Burial Device Company, 14 employes, established in I899; Pratt
Manufacturing Company (see elsewhere); A. J. Pierce, cigar manufacturer,
10 employes, established in I89o; Regal Gasoline Engine Company (see
elsewhere); William  H. Schmedlen, carriages, established in I883; Titus
Thurlow, iron castings, established in I868; Tappan Shoe Manufacturing
Company, with 86 employes, established in 1897; Wolverine Portland Cement Company (see elsewhere.)
At Quincy: Globensky Brothers, barrel manufacturers (see elsewhere);
Felix A. McKenzie, milling (see elsewhere); J. N. Salisbury, building material, established in I886; Wolverine Portland Cement Company, established in 1899 (see elsewhere).
At Sherwood:    J. N. French, lumber, with 22 employes, established
in 188I; Sherwood Heading Company (see elsewhere).
At Union City:   B. F. Green, general repairing, established in I870;
Peerless Portland Cement Company (see elsewhere).
SOME REPRESENTATIVE MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS.*
B. H. Calkins & Son Co., manufacturers of cooperage and cooperage
stock at Coldwater, was first organized in Butler township in I869, by
B. H. Calkins and his brother M. M. Calkins, and was known as Calkins,
Brothers. Owing to a lack of railroad facilities in that place the factory was
removed in 1874 to its present location. After locating in Coldwater, Mr.
L. B. Johnson, G. H. Taylor, and the banking firm of Bowen & McGowan
also entered into partnership. This arrangement existed until I877. During
all of the subsequent changes, Mr. B. H. Calkins has been at the head. Since
I897 Mr. M. D. Calkins has been a member of the firm, and up to June 23,
1905, the firm was known as B. H. Calkins & Son, at which time the company was incorporated under its present name, B. H. Calkins & Son Co.
The business has always been successful, although passing through five fires,
the last being M\arch 6, I9O0, at which time Mr. B. H. Calkins was severely
burned, and was forced to give up active business relations. He never recovered from the shock to the nervous system, and passed away October 15,
1905. Mr. M. D. Calkins, who has had charge of the business since March,
I9OI, is president and manager of the corporation, Miss Almera H. Calkins,
secretary and treasurer. This business has afforded a market to the farmers
for all kinds of timber, at good prices. The firm purchase each year from
* Letters asking for data were sent to all the larger manufacturing firms in the county
and information has been sought from other sources, but sufficient material for a sketch was
not obtained in every case.-EDITOR.




118              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
eight to ten thousand cords of timber, which means a yearly expenditure of
$30,000 in that line. They also pay out an equal amount for labor. The
firm enjoys a large trade in flour, cement, poultry, glass, fruit and pork
barrels. A great amount of the heading and staves manufactured is also
shipped to outside shops.
The Pratt Manufacturing Company was established in 1882 by J. F.
Pratt and Wellington Chase, who came to Coldwater from Homer, New
York, in that year. The business was started under the name of Pratt '&
Chase' and continued under that title until the death of Mr. Chase in 189o.
The business was established in a modest way in an old country tavern or
inn known as the Bolster House and located at the corner of Railroad and
Division streets. Changes and additions to the building were rapidly made
until within ten years the old tavern had almost entirely disappeared. In
I902 Mr. J. F. Pratt retired from the business, and a corporation was formed,
which took over the entire business and plant which had accumulated up
to that time. At present the buildings have about 8,0ooo feet of floor space,
and give steady employment the year round to about 125 men. The product,
which consists of children's sleds as the larger part, is sold through the entire
snow-belt of the United States. During the spring and summer months
this company manufactures a line of porch and lawn furniture, which is
shipped throughout the United States from ocean to ocean. The officers
of the company are H. B. Fisher, president; A. B. Schied, vice-president:
A. J. Pratt, secretary and treasurer.
The Regal Gasoline Engine Company, manufacturers of marine and
stationary engines, Coldwater, was incorporated in August, 190I. The present officers of the company are A. E. Robinson, president; H. D. Robinson,
vice-president; IH. R. Saunders, secretary and treasurer. All of the stock is
owned by these and Elmer J. Allen. They build a line of marine engines,
also some sizes of stationary engines, but give marine engines the most
attention. They employ 30 to 40 machinists. The output is sold principally on the eastern coast from Maine to Florida, on the western coast from
Seattle to San Diego. They also have many desirable agencies in New
England, middle states and extreme south. They have an excellent trade
with New Zealand, Australia, Fiji Islands, Italy, Belgium, and Finland.
The Regal Gasoline Engine Company started in rather a small way, but
has steadily increased in size.
The Conover Engraving and Printing Company was founded in 1877
by the late J. S. Conover. The beginning was a small one, the outfit consisting of a small hand lever printing press and some second-hand type from
the "hell-box" of a Quincy printing office, but under careful management
the business grew rapidly and in I88I the present building was purchased
and new machinery and material were added as fast as needed. Although
all classes of engraving and general commercial printing are done here, still
the Conover Engraving and Printing Company makes a specialty of labels
and show cards, as well as high-class color work. A leading feature is the
manufacture of cigar labels. The Conover establishment is a model engrav



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


119


ing and printing plant. The headquarters are in a substantial three-story
brick block on West Chicago street, the three floors being devoted to the
business. The printing equipment is one,of the best in this portion of the
state and, as can well be imagined, the patronage is very large.
The Johnson Cooperage Company was established in Coldwater in I868
by Mr. Chas. W. Johnson. The first plant was of necessity a small one,
but it has steadily grown until today the factory and yards cover over five
acres of ground. The company manufactures barrels, kegs, pails, etc. The
Johnson Cooperage Company was organized in its present form in 1894,
capitalized at $5,ooo000.
The Coldwater Gas Light and Fuel Company had its origin in I86o,
when A. W. Parkhurst, H. C. Lewis, J. G. Parkhurst, D. Si. Harrington and
Artemus Allen organized the Coldwater Gas Light Company, with a capital
stock of $25,000. The works were built in I86I, and extensions and improvements have taken place consistent with the growth of the business and
the city. Through the efforts of the late William A. Coombs the business
was reorganized in I895 as the Coldwater Gas Light and Fuel Company
with a capital stock of $40,0o00. It is estimated that there are a thousand
patrons of the company in Coldwater, where gas has been in general use for
fuel and light during nearly half a century. The present officers of the
company are: L. M. Wing, president; J. W. Thompson, vice-president;
Geo. C. Turner, secretary and superintendent; W. E. Moss, treasurer.
The Sherwood Heading Company, manufacturers of slack barrel and
keg heading, was organized and put in operation about the year 1883 by
Stafford & Ott, sold to H. Sayers & Son about I886, then to C. B. Wilcox
in I896, then to J. F. McIntyre & Company, April 15, 1903, and reorganized
January I, I906, under the name of Sherwood Heading Company, which
is the firm name now. They employ about fifteen men, on an average, and
turn and sell about one carload of heading per week, which is sold all over
the country, but principally in New York and Pittsburg, Pa.  They use
from five thousand to six thousand cords of bolts each year to get out this
amount of stock. The officers of the company are: J. F. McIntyre, president and general manager; Geo. H. Seymour, vice-president and treasurer;
Guv E. McIntyre, superintendent and secretary.
The William H. Friedrich Company, manufacturers of veneers at Bronson, whose plant was entirely burned June 3, I906, commenced operation in
Bronson in 1900oo by remodeling and installing an electric light plant which
then had about 450 lights. The village now has over three thousand lights
installed, which shows a lively increase for the size of the town. In I90I
the company added the coal business, which has been well patronized ever
since, and in' 1902 started the veneer mill, making a good home market
for high-grade logs and timber, which business has also increased every
year. In 1903 was added a saw mill, which also made a home market for
cheaper grades of timber, and with the combined industries the plant was
running day and night at the time it burned. They took measures to rebuild
at once.




120


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Globensky Brothers, at Quincy, are the successors in manufacturing of
the Quincy Stave and Heading Factory, which, as elsewhere stated, was
one of the first large industries in the village. It was established by H. L.
and E. G. Lownsberry and L. P. Alden in 1864, was for some time conducted under the firm name of H. L. Lownsberry & Company, and its manufactured product of staves and headings was very large, as many as fifty
persons often being employed. Globensky Brothers bought the plant about
I890, and after remodeling and refurnishing, began a general barrel, stave
and cooperage business.
The McKenzie Cereal Food and Milling Company is another Quincy
manufacturing plant that is historical as well as extensive in its present
business. The first flour mill was built in Quincy in I863, and it is from
this small mill, through a number of successors, that the present plant originated. Mr. F. A. McKenzie has been the energizing spirit since 1887, at
which time the business passed under control of the firm of McKenzie and
Hyslop. In 1894 Mr. McKenzie became sole proprietor, and in 1903 the
business was incorporated under the name as given above, Mr. McKenzie
owning most of the stock. The plant has been entirely rebuilt five times,
and its capacity increased accordingly. From ten to fifteen men are employed,
and the company has a warehouse in Erie, Penn., for the distribution of
their products, which consist of several special food preparations, besides
flour, buckwheat and mill feed.
THE PORTLAND CEMENT INDUSTRY.
Until a few years ago the natural products of Branch county were practically all confined to the agricultural class.  There are no coal deposits
beneath the surface, no certain supply of gas, no minerals. Brick has been
made here from an early day, there is a supply of building stone, but aside
from these the products of the county have been mainly those of the soil.
From the early days the settlers had known of the existence of marl,
more popularly called " merle " or " bog lime."  No doubt they had discovered it in sinking their wells. They also found that this marl would serve
as a substitute for quick-lime in making building mortar, and as lime, like
all other materials that had to be imported, was hard to get and expensive
to the first settlers, where a marl deposit was convenient they used the raw
material for plastering up the chinks of their log houses. In some localities
the marl was burned in kilns and thus reduced to quick-lime. It is said that,
scattered over the marl-producing area, many log houses are still standing
which were built with mortar of this kind, or even with the unburned marl
itself.
Lime lake on section 26 of Batavia township was named because of
the deposit of marl found along its shores. The manufacture of lime from
this deposit is proved by an advertisement that appeared in the Coldwater
Sentinel in November, 1843. In this paper it is stated that Hervev Miller
"has constantly on hand a quantity of lime at his kiln, five miles west of this




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


121


village on the, Chicago road.  It is manufactured from  the marl of the
marshes, and is as strong as the best stone lime."
But aside from this manufacture and use of the marl deposits, marl did
not become an article of commercial importance in Branch county until very
nearly the close of the last century. From the preceding paragraph it is evident that marl is not a recent " discovery " in this county, any stories to that
effect notwithstanding. But it was only ten years ago that the marl deposits
became the basis for the most valuable manufacturing interests which the
county possesses.
Marl and clay are the principal raw materials in the manufacture of
Portland  cement.  The existence of both in large quantities in  Branch
county makes this a field of great value for the production of cement. It is
hardly necessary to state the commercial uses to which Portland cement is
now put in the world's industries. It is only a few years since it began to
enter into engineering and architectural construction, and now it is being
used by the millions of barrels. Vast quantities will be used in constructing
the P'anama canal. Its use in steel construction is now thoroughly established. Cement blocks are being substituted for stone and brick in dwelling,
business and public edifices. Stone, brick and wood have been building materials through all the ages. The age of " steel construction" began some
years ago; and this history is being written at what is probably the beginning
of a " cement age," in which cement either alone cr in combination will be
employed in greater quantities than any other material.
Michigan now manufactures cement next in quantity to New Jersey,
although ten years ago this product was inconsiderable in this state and was
confined almost entirely to New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Branch
county can claim recognition as a pioneer in this manufacture. Not only had
the existence of marl beds been known for years, but experimentation and
prospecting had been done for several years before the first plant was actually
established.  Hiram  Bennett, of Quincy, after having visited the cement
works at South Bend and finding that marl was used in the manufacture of
cement, in I892 prospected in and around the lakes in the eastern part of
the county, and tried to induce capitalists to invest money in an enterprise
which would make use of the marl. But nothing was effected, and it remained for another village of the county to gain the first hnnor for beginning
the manufacture of cement from the marl beds.
The oldest cement manufactory in the county is at Union City. Not
only so, but it is claimed that it is the oldest successful Portland cement company in Michigan. The Peerless Portland Cement Company was organized
August 23, I896, incorporated under the laws of Michigan, with a capital
of $250,00', and first began the manufacture of cement in 1897. Important
changes in equipment and methods were made from time to time, and the
daily capacity is now  1,8oo barrels of the Peerless brand.  The plant is
located at Union City, and the company owns marl and clay lands within a
mile of the works and also at Spring Arbor. Mr. J. R. Patterson has been
manager of the company since I899.




122              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
A brief description of the process of manufacture at'this plant will
apply to cement manufacture in general throughout the county.    The
marl is dredged from the lakes and loaded on cars and hauled to the factory
by a railroad owned and operated by the company. There the marl is weighed
and dumped directly into a mixing machine, where water and the right
amount of clay are added. After a thorough mixing in this, it is dumped
into a pug mill, where the mixing process continues.  After a sufficient
pugging, the mass, then called "slurry," is run into a large vat, which is
furnished with mixing and stirring devices. As soon as one vat is filled and
thoroughly mixed, two samples are taken for analysis. If the composition
proves to be lacking in any respect the required ingredient is added and the
whole mass mixed, sampled and analyzed as before. This is repeated until
the correct chemical composition is obtained. The slurry is then elevated
and run into large cylinder tube mills half filled with flint pebbles. As these
mills revolve the slurry is ground to a fine silky paste. As the slurry leaves
the tube mills it is conveyed into large storage vats, where it is kept in constant motion by the aid of compressed air, thus avoiding all. settling and
assuring additional mixing. From these vats it is again elevated and passed
into a battery of rotary kilns. These rotaries at the Union City plant are
each seventy feet long. The slurry runs in at one end and in its progress
through the kiln is thoroughly dried and burned, dropping out at the other
end in the form of clinker. The fuel used is pulverized coal, which is ignited
and blown into the kiln at one end. After the clinker is passed through the
cooling machines, a steel conveyor delivers it into a set of very heavy steel
rolls, where it is reduced to the size of rice. Then it is conveyed to the
hoppers which feed the Griffin mills, by which it is ground to a fine powder.
These are the salient features of the manufacture. A cement plant is
a large institution, representing a great outlay of capital (it is said that the
first cost of a plant is at the minimum three hundred thousand dollars),
much executive aiblity, and a large supply of skilled and common labor.
When it is recalled that Branch county now has four of these plants within'
her area, all built within the last ten years, it is seen how large and important
has been the contribution of this industry to the permanent wealth and active
resources of the county. According to the state report for I905 there were
only thirteen plants in operation in the entire state of Michigan, the total
number of plants being seventeen. Thus Branch county has at least a, fourth
of the cement-producing equipment of the state of Michigan. From the same
report the total daily capacity of the seventeen plants was I9,200 barrels, and
of the four Branch county plants, 5,800, which is more than a fourth of the
combined capacity of Michigan cement industries.  The total number of
employes in these four industries is 458, taking the figures of the factory
inspector in 1905.
At Bronson village is the cement plant, the largest manufacturing industry in the western part of the county. Cement was first manufactured
at these works in 1897, and the capacity has been increased to 1,2o0 barrels
a day. The company owns about five hundred acres of low, wet land about






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


123


the works, and both the clay and the marl are obtained from the land. The
stratum of marl is found three feet below the surface, the top three feet
being peat, which is removed by dredging.
The Bronson plant was first operated as the " Bronson-Kalamazoo Portland Cement Company," but in 1905 it was made a part of the Chanute Cement and Clay Product Company, the Bronson plant being known as the
"Brongon Division" of the same. The officers in 1906 are:  President,
John F. Townsend, Akron, O.; vice-president and general manager, J. R.
Patterson, of Union City; treasurer, Henry Robinson; secretary, W. E.
Wheeler; Michigan agent, C. H. Powley, Bronson.
The history of the Coldwater Portland Cement Co., which was organized May 25, I898, and of its successor, the Michigan Portland Cement Co.,
which was organized June 30, 1898, is continued in the Wolverine Portland
Cement Company, which was organized early in 1902, with a capital stock
of $i,Ooo,ooo. This group of companies has had a somewhat varied financial history, but this has not prevented the steady production of cement under
the Wolverine brand. The first company planned, the Coldwater, was a
relatively modest affair, with a capital stock of $300,0ooo. Soon the plans
were enlarged, and the original company under the name of the American
Construction Company took the contract of preparing the plant, turning in
what it had done to the larger company, the Michigan Portland Cement
Company, which issued a million dollars of bonds, covering the plant and
the lands. In recapitalizing, $IOO in six per cent bonds was offered with
every $Ioo of stock for $Ioo cash. When, therefore, in the fall of I901,
interest failed to be paid on these bonds, foreclosure proceedings were begun,
and as a result -of the conference between the bondholders, who may be
taken to represent the subscribing public, and the other creditors, prominent
among which was the Construction Company, representing the promoters,
the present company, the Wolverine Portland Cement Company, was formed.
The Wolverine Company control and operate both the plant at Quincy
and that at Coldwater. The "Wolverine" brand of cement has been on
the market since I898, when the Coldwater plant was completed, and the
"Eclipse " brand since 1900, when the plant at Quincy was put in operation.
The present officers of the Wolverine Portland Cement Company are:
L. M. Wing, of Coldwater, president; Frank M. Rudd, of Bronson, Mich..,
vice-president; and E. R. Root, Coldwater, secretary and treasurer.




124


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


CHAPTER XVII.
BRANCH COUNTY BANKS AND FINANCE.
The history of banking in Branch county goes back to the days of
"wild-cat" currency and reckless speculation, which set in shortly after
Michigan was admitted to statehood. The old Coldwater Bank began its
existence in December, 1837, when it was organized under the provisions of
an act of the legislature passed in the preceding March. Some of the most
prominent men of that day were directly concerned in its organization, the
stockholders being Hanchett & Holbrook, William A. Kent, L. D. & P. H.
Crippen, James H. Hanchett, Robert Baker, R. J. Champion, William Reynolds, H. Cowles, Ed Sloan, B. Crippen, Lewis Goddard of Detroit, John J.
Curtis, Loren Marsh, John Conley, Martin Olds, Harvey Warner, Lot Whitcomb, J. S. Ware, Enoch Jones, L. Taylor and E. G. Fuller.
The bank was opened in a little one-story building on the north side of
Chicago street, east of Monroe, where Sloman's and Flandermeyer's stores
are located. L. D. Crippen was the first president. The directing spirits
of the institution, however, were two men from outside the county, Goddard
and Ware, whose business it was to organize banks and to manipulate the
clever financial schemes of that day. Their theories as to banking and
finance were so elaborate, yet so plausible, that the other stockholders and
directors submissively put away practical opinions and every-day business
methods and followed their lead almost without question. The bills of the
bank were issued to the amount allowed by law, with no specie in the vault
to redeem them. The two promoters soon after carried away with them
about fifty thousand dollars of these bills for the purpose of turning them
into cash and, as they said, "creating specie." They did dispose of most
of the bills, but they never returned with the proceeds to Coldwater, and
the honest pioneer stockholders who remained behind were left to pay the
incoming bills as best they could. The Crippens struggled hard to maintain the integrity of the institution, becoming personally responsible to the
amount of twenty thousand dollars, but without avail, for the bank failed
utterly within a year after it was founded.
Some time after this experience in "wild-cat" finance, Lorenzo D.
Crippen and Clinton B. Fisk opened the "Exchange Bank of Crippen and
Fisk." This bank, though without a hint of the methods of its predecessor,
had a very difficult career, for banking and finance were in a state of terrible
confusion owing to the lack of uniformity and inadequacy of the laws, both
state and national, that regulated such matters. Crippen and Fisk suspended
payment in 1857, during the financial panic of that year, but the proprietors




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


125


of the Exchange Bank settled with all their creditors in full and no stigma
attached to their failure. The following partnerships successively operated
the Exchange Bank after the suspension: Clinton B. Fisk and Henry C.
Lewis; H. C. Lewis, Alonzo F. Bidwell, and I. G. Miles; Lewis and (George
A.) Kellogg: Lewis and (George) Starr; Edwin R. Clarke and Starr; and
David B. Dennis and Starr.
Coldwater National Bank.
Dennis and Starr were succeeded by the Coldwater National Bank,
which with over forty years of continuous financial operation, not to mention its antecedents, is the oldest banking house in Branch county. It was
organized May 3o, I865, with a capital stock of $ioo,ooo. The first officers
and directors were: H. C. Lewis, president; D. B. Dennis, vice-president;
George Starr, cashier, who had begun with the Exchange Bank in 1856.
The directors were: H. C. Lewis, D. B. Dennis, George Starr, Artemus
Allen, Charles Upson, C. B. Jones, A. Waterman, David Thompson, D. R.
Cooley, C. G. Luce.
The Coldwater National Bank now has a capital and surplus of $135,000.
Its present officers and directors are: L. M. Wing, president; Z. G. Osborn,
vice-president; H. R. Saunders, cashier. Directors, Louis Sloman, H. R.
Saunders, K. R. Williams, F. W. Moore, John T. Starr, Z. G. Osborn,
L. M. Wing.
Southern Michigan National Bank.
The Southern Michigan National Bank of Coldwater has a history of
nearly thirty-five years of continuous and successful activity. A bank, when
prosperous, comes to be regarded by the people generally as an " institution "
and the personal character behind it seldom comes to light. None the less
the strength of the institution depends on the directors and officers who control
its affairs, -and the confidence of the people in the bank is only another way
of stating the reliability of the men responsible for its financial management.
Manv well known hien of Branch county have been identified with the Southern Michigan National Bank, and it is also noteworthy that some of the
original stockholders and officials are still connected with the active control.
The names of the original stockholders are: Caleb D. Randall, Julius
S. Barber, Cyrus G. Luce, Henry Safford, Lester E. Rose, Edwin R. Clarke,
John O. Pelton, David C. Powers, Luther F. Hale, Charles A. Spaulding,
Robert F. Mockridge, Simon B. Kitchel, Alonzo Waterman, Thomas W.
Dickinson, Hibbard F. Jones, Olivia Safford, Isaac Mains, Emeline Barber,
Thomas Smith, Noah P. Loveridge, Robert Reade, Daniel E. Dyer, D. C.
Smith, J. Sterling Smith, Lois Smith, Mary Rodman, Orlando Wilder.
The first board of directors were: Henry Safford, E. R. Clarke, J. S.
Barber, C. D. Randall, L. F. Hale, D. C. Powers, C. G. Luce. The present
directors are L. E. Rose, J. S. Barber, E. G. Luce, R. E. Clarke, M. D. Campbell, A. S. Upson.
The first executive officers are: C. D. Randall, president; C. G. Luce,




126              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
vice-president: Lester E. Rose, cashier; A. Sidney Upson, teller and bookkeeper. On the resignation of Mr. Randall, Mr. Rose became president, and
the recent death of C. G. Luce necessitated the only other change that has
occurred since the bank began business. The officers at present are: L. E.
Rose, president; J. S. Barber, vice-president; A. S. Upson, cashier.
In February, I872, the Southern Michigan National Bank was opened
for business in the Southern Michigan Hotel block, but since the fall of the
same year has been located in the building erected by the banking association at the southeast corner of Chicago and Monroe streets. The capital
stock is $165,000, and the surplus and undivided profits are $I45,000o.
The Branch County Savings, Bank.
The Branch County Savings Bank at Coldwater was organized December 9, I89o, with the following officers: President, B. S. Spofford; first
vice-president, F. L. Burdick; second vice-president, B. R. Moore; cashier,
C. T. Gilbert; directors, B. S. Spofford, B. R. Moore, N. A. Reynolds, C. T.
Gilbert, W. S. VanBlarcum, H. J. Woodward, F. L. Burdick, G. W. VanAken, R. G. Chandler. The bank proved a success from its inception, its
savings feature being particularly attractive to the small depositor-an important branch of the banking business too often overlooked by many banks.
A general banking business is conducted in all of its branches and the outside connections of the Branch County Savings Bank are extensive. The
present officers of the bank are B. S. Spofford, president; F. L. Burdick,
vice-president; M. W. Wimer, cashier. The directors are B. S. Spofford,
A. Milnes, J. W. McCausey, F. L. Burdick,, S. H. Clizbe, N. Baldwin, G. ~W.
VanAken, N. A. Reynolds, Harry P. Woodward. The capital and surplus
are $65,ooo.
Union City National Bank.
The building of the railroad through Union, City was, as told on other
pages, a powerful impetus to business and growth of all kinds. Further
proof of the statement is found in the fact that the villages oldest bank was
established about that time. The Union City National Bank was organized
under a charter, May 17, I87I, with the following officers:  President,
David R. Cooley; vice-president, Dr. Wm. P. Hurd; cashier, Ira W. Nash;
directors, S. P. Williams, I. WX. Clark, Ezra Bostwick, J. B. Tucker, H. H.
Hitchcock. Mr. Cooley was president for three years when he was succeeded
by Dr. W. P. Hurd, who filled the position in a satisfactory manner until
his death in I88I.  Mr. Ezra Bostwick succeeded to the office and was
president until his death in I895. Mr. J. W. McCausey, who had been
cashier of the institution since 1883, was then elected president, a position
which he still fills. The bank is situated in commodious quarters of its own
at the corner of Ellen street and Broadway, where steel vaults and safes of
modern construction afford safety to the funds of the institution. A general
banking business is, done, and that the bank possesses fully the confidence of
the public is evidenced by the large volume of business transacted. The






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


127


present officers are as follows: President, J. W. McCausey; vice-president,
Isaac Tower; cashier, J. S. Nesbitt; teller, L. F. Holcomb; directors, J. W.
McCausey, Isaac Tower, Mrs. C. E. Hurd, M. F. Buell, Henry Seymour,
Warren Baker, W. H. Tower.
Farmers National Bank of Union City.
The Farmers National Bank was incorporated October 4, I877, with
the following officers:  Thomas B. Buell, president; H. F. Ewers, vicepresident; H. T. Carpenter, cashier; T. B. Buell, R. F. Watkins, Rufus
Osborn, H. F. Ewers, H. T. Carpenter, D. R. Cooley, H. L. Bisbee, directors.
Thomas B. Buell continued as president until his death in I9oo, when he
was succeeded by his son D. D. Buell. Ever since its organization the bank
has been under the management of its cashier, H. T. Carpenter, whose long
record in the same position is not excelled in the history of Branch county
banking. The present officers are: D. D. Buell, president; J. P. Fox, vicepresident; H. T. Carpenter, cashier.  According to one of its latest statements, the Farmers National has a capital stock of $50,000, surplus and
undivided profits of nearly $I8,ooo, and deposits of nearly $20o,00o.
First National Bank of Quincy.
In April, 1877, the banking house of Lee and Hannan was established
in Quincy.  Four years later, in I88I, Mr. Charles R. Hannan organized
the First National Bank of Quincy, which now, at the close of its twentyfifth year, is the oldest bank of Quincy and one of the most successful in the
county. Its management has been solid and conservative throughout, and
it has the record of never having paid a cent of interest on deposits. Its
deposits in April, g9o6, were nearly one hundred thousand dollars.
Associated with Mr. Hannan in the establishment of this bank were
the first president, B. F. Wheat; the vice-president, John H. Jones, while
Mr. Hannan took the post of cashier. One instance of the solidity of the
bank is to be found in the length of service of the men now officers. Mr.
C. H. Winchester, the president, has been with the bank about fifteen years,
following Mr. Wheat; the vice-president, E. B. Church, has a record of
twenty years with the institution, while Mr. C. L. Truesdell, the cashier,
has stood regularly at his window for twenty-three years.
Quincy State Bank.
The Quincy State Bank was incorporated January 20, I899.     With
the exception of the office of vice-president, which for the first three years
was held by H. W. Whitmore, the principal officers and the directors have
remained the same to the present time. They are:  F. A. Roethlisberger,
president; N. H. Andrus, vice-president; M. S. Segur, cashier; directors,
S. M. Golden, N. H. Andrus, M. S. Segur, Harvey Chase, F. A. Roethlisberger. Charles Harphan was assistant cashier two years, L. T. Etheridge
for one year, and Pearl Power now holds that position.




128              HISTORY OF` BRANCH COUNTY
Sherwood.
The Farmers' and Merchants.' Bank at Sherwood was established in
1883. It is capitalized at $io,ooo. The president is, Henry Seymour and
the cashier George H. Seymour, who are the owners, of the institution.
Sketches of these business men wviii be found elsewhere in the vollume.
BRONsoNT BANKS.
The L. Rudd & Son private banking business, was begun in 1883.
Laurendus Rudd, the founder, who was born in New York in 1815, and died
in Bronson, December 27, I884,, came to Bronson in 1854 and was foremost
in business affairs until his death. His was, the first banking ho~use in, the
village. The firm are now the only bankers in the county who are members, of the American Banking Association. F. M. Rudd, the son, now car,ries on the principal interests in succession to his father and has also, enlarged
the scope of his business -efforts.
The Exchange Bank, also a private bank, was established in I897, the
original firm name being Coward & Monroe Brothers. In I902 Wallace
Monroe sold his interest', and the firm became Co ward & Monroe. Richard
Coward and William M\onroe are now the proprietors of this bank, which, has,
a capital Of $5o,ooo and large deposits and is, in a substantial condition. Mr.
Coward, who is of English, birth, has lived in, Branch cou nty since 1865.
FARMERS' MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY.
One of the oldest andl best known financial institutions of Branch country
is the Farmers Mutual Insurance Company of Branch County, which has
had a continuous and successful existence since the date of its founding,
January 2I, 1863. The mutual plan has always been strictly adhered to,
and the insurance reports issued from the state have always, given the company favorable mention, which is substantiated in the sworn statements of
busi:ness. The founders of the company are named in the -first official list,
namely: IPhilo Porter, president; John S.. Strong, secretary; and Asahel
Brown, Stuart Davis, Moses V. Calkins, George W. VanAken, E. WV. Phettiplace, directors.
The company has written policies for more than forty years. Its importance as an individual financial institution is shown in the erection, during
the year of this writing, 190o6, of a brick building on Divis~ion street opposite
the court house, which will be devoted to business offices for the company.






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


129


CHAPTER XVIII.
RAIL,ROADS, TRANSPORTATION           AND COMMUNICATION.
The laying out of the Chicago Road and the operation of the line of
stages from Detroit to Chicago had a tremendous importance in the development of southern Michigan. But the time came when the last coach rumbled along this thoroughfare, and the stage-coach era passed on beyond the
Mississippi river. Following it, as one phase of progress follows another,
came the railroad period. The very fact that the transition from one to the
other was a gradual process, covering some years, partly obscured the significance of the event even to its actual beholders, while to people who have
never lived out of hearing of the locomotive whistle, imagination affords a
dim idea of the epoch when the stage coach and the Conestoga wagon were
the only means of transportation.
Railroad building was extended westward in the wake of the great
emigration movement of the thirties and forties. Although the first railroad in the United States was not built until the decade of the twenties, each
year thereafter increased the railroad mileage by hundreds and then by
thousands of miles. Branch county was fortunate in being on the route
of westward extension which finally bound the east and the west by trunk
lines, and in 1850 was traversed by one of these lines and twenty years later
by a second.
It was not until I837 that the Michigan pioneer could make any part
of his journey in this state by rail. The Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad, the
oldest of the original companies which are now embraced under the name
of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, was incorporated in 1833, was
built between Toledo and Adrian, a distance of thirty-three miles, and opened
for traffic in 1837. The motive power was furnished by horses until a locomotive could be obtained. This road had many difficulties, and its owners
finally, in August, I849, leased it to the Michigan Southern.
In 1837 the then new state of Michigan launched out in a grand scheme
of internal improvements, providing for a loan of five million dollars (an
enormous sum-at that time) for the improvement of rivers, construction of
canals, and for three railroads-a Southern, a Central and a Northern Railroad. The Southern Railroad, it should be noticed, was planned to start
at Monroe, on Lake Erie, traverse the southern tier of counties, and terminate at St. Joseph on Lake Michigan. The Central was to cross the state
and terminate on Lake Michigan at a point further north. At the time these
roads were planned, Chicago was little more than a trading post, but long
before either of them was completed it became obvious that the value of each




1301             HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
road depended on having its western terminus in Chicago. The Central, after the state relinquished its control, was constructed rapidly and across the
prescribed route of the Southern through New Buffalo and along the southern shore of Lake Michigan, its arrival in Chicago anticipating that of the
Southern by several months.
In the meantime the state was proceeding with the construction of the
Southern Railroad also. The road was opened from Monroe to Petersburg,
eighteen miles, in 1839, to Adrian in I840, to Hudson in 1843, and to Hillsdale in I843, in all a distance off 66 miles. That was all of the Southern
Railroad built by the state. Michigan's experience in the construction of
great internal improvements was unfortunate, and in less than ten years it
seemed the part of wisdom to turn over such enterprises to private capital.
In 1846, accordingly, the state sold its Southern road to a company for five
hundred thousand dollars, to be paid in ten equal annual installments.
This was the status of the railroad question at the time when we may
begin to view it from  the standpoint of the people of Branch county.
Despite the constant agitation on the part of the citizens, the mass meetings, the memorials to the legislature, the western terminus of the railroad
remained at Hillsdale for nearly seven years. The inhabitant of Coldwater
who wished to go to Detroit must make the first twenty-two miles of the
journey by stage, and the trip was not at all tempting to one bent on a holiday
excursion. The railroad question was vital. Hardly an issue of the Coldwater Sentinel during the late forties did not contain an editorial of protest
against the delay. The progress of negotiations was followed in great detail,
and at a time when newspapers gave scant attention to matters of local interest this fact is significant of the importance that marked the building of the
railroad in contrast with all other affairs.
THE TELEGRAPH.
The villages of Branch county were placed in communication with the
world by means of the telegraph a year before the railroad came. In 1845
the first commercial use was made of the telegraph. Four years later its
wire threads were being carried across the continent, enabling the people of
Coldwater to know what had occurred in New York two hours before. "On
Tuesday, Nov. 6, 1849, the office of the Southern Michigan Telegraph line
in this village was put in operation."  But while marking this as an important day in the history of Coldwater, the editor of the Sentinel in the
same issue sagely comments that, despite material inventions and improvements, the disposition of men remains about the same. "We have witnessed," he says, "the anxiety of our citizens when the lumbering stage
coach was the only medium by which news was conveyed. We saw no less
anxiety when the stage coach gave place, in part, to the locomotive as it
rolled along its iron track. An increase of speed had increased their; expectations. And now, when they can talk by lightning, send their communications and receive answers in less than no time, they are more dissatisfied
than ever. There was more anxiety depicted on the countenances of the


"I   11.   -   - I - — Ill 1-1-11-...,-I-,,, —, I.-I-11.1-1 1 I           I




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


131


crowd in waiting Tuesday evening and Wednesday, while the election returns were coming in, than we ever saw manifested by a postoffice full of
politicians when they had waited patiently a week or ten days without any
intelligence. Lightning was too slow, and we were convinced that the more
mei have, the more they want."
THE FIRST RAILROAD.
But now the attention of the press and the people became concentrated
on the railroad situation. The rivalry between the Michigan Southern and
the Michigan Central was by this time intense, and each company was using
all the means in its power to prevent the other from reaching Chicago. As
already mentioned, the Michigan Central had been diverted southward from
its original course. The Southern people were fighting in the legislature
for the privilege likewise of diverging from the straight course across the
southern tier of counties and building a large part of their line across northern Indiana. The interest in this matter was not confined to the legislative
halls and railroad circles. In March, 1850, a mass meeting of citizens was
held in the Branch county court house, long series of preambles and resolutions were adopted, of which the main tenor was a protest against the
monopoly of the Michigan Central and an emphasizing of the uselessness
of constructing the Michigan Southern to a terminus within the state of
Michigan instead of to Chicago.
The agitation here and elsewhere bore fruit. Goaded to action by an
aroused constituency, the legislature in the closing days of its session of
1849'-50 passed a bill, two important features of which were that the Southern road should be extended from Hillsdale to Coldwater by the fall of I85I,
and requiring the road to strike the St. Joseph river before it should be
diverted from the state. The line was to be equipped with a heavy T-rail
instead of the strap rail, " so that trains may whiz along at thirty miles an
hour," to quote again from the Sentinel.
The railroad now became an immediate and definite prospect for Branch
county. By the latter part of October, I850, trains were running to Jonesville, with the grading between Coldwater and Jonesville nearly ready for
the track. On December 6, 1850, the eager readers of the Sentinel saw this
item: "We saw the locomotive come snorting through Quincy on Monday
last, with a load of iron; a somewhat unusual sight, but with all the noise
and confusion, an agreeable one."
The next issue contained the climax of the story. "What our citizens
have looked eagerly for during the last twelve years is at last accomplished,
and the Michigan Southern is finally completed to Coldwater. For the first
time, on Tuesday (December Io, 1850), the iron horse made his appearance
in this village. A freight train arrived at noon and commenced taking on a
load of flour at the depot. About 4:I5 a large number of our expectant
citizens witnessed the arrival of a passenger train from the east."  That
was a red letter day in the history of Coldwater. In the evening a ball was
held at the old Franklin House in honor of the event, and on the folldwing




182              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
Friday, when a train load of visitors from Adrian, Toledo and other points
along the line came to the Coldwater terminus, there was a second celebration and rejoicing, all the homes in the village were open to entertain
the strangers, and there was another dance in the evening. These social
giatulations, however, were mere incidental manifestations of the introduction of an epoch which closed the pioneer era of Branch county.
Construction work did not stop at Coldwater. By the middle of February, 1851, track had been laid to the county line, thus giving Bronson
communication by rail, and on March 13th a train ran through to Sturgis.
A year later, in March, 1852, the! road reached Chicago, and the distance
of two hundred and fifty miles between Toledo and Chicago was open to
traffic without the use of the stage for any portion of the way.
AIR LINE RAILROAD.
The Air Line branch of the Michigan Central, which enters the county
at Union City and crosses the county diagonally out through Sherwood
township, was projected almost entirely by local capital and enterprise, the
corporate name being the Michigan Air Line Railroad Company. The people of the counties of Cass, St. Joseph, Calhoun, Branch and Jackson were
the ones most vitally interested. In the latter part of the sixties the townships of Union and Sherwood were thoroughly canvassed for contributions
to the enterprise, the promoters sending a man of address and eloquence
all over this section to hold meetings and to use personal suasion in the
interest of the project. The following item from the first copy of the Union
City Independent, in October, 1867, indicates how local interest and financial support were worked up for this railroad.
" We understand that Dr. H. F. Ewers and E. Perry, Esq., are canvassing the townships of Union and Sherwood for stock subscriptions and
right of way for the railroad, and that thus far they have met with good
success. Nearly or quite enough stock has been taken east of Jackson to
prepare the road-bed for the iron, and we understand that on that portion
of the route, the contracts are to be let this fall."
Jackson county subscribed nearly two hundred thousand.dollars to the
undertaking, and the principal officers of the original organization were
citizens of Jackson. The line was opened to travel from Jackson to Homer
in the summer of I870, to Three Rivers in the autumn of the same year, and
was completed to Niles in February, 1871. Almost coincident with the
completion of the road it was leased to the Michigan Central Railroad Company, and soon became the property of that company. The Air Line has
been of special value in upbuilding Union City and was the foundation of
the village of Sherwood.
OTHER RAILROADS.
The Fort Wayne, Jackson and Saginaw Railroad, which crosses the
southeast corner of California township, was completed and opened for
traffic from  Jackson to Angola, Indiana, in January, I870, about the same






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


133


time the Michigan Air Line was constructed across the northwest corner
of the county.
The futility of forecast even in such a substantial matter as railroad
building is well illustrated in the Branch County Atlas published in 1872.
With this as his only guide we might conceive of a traveler planning to take
train at California postoffice and riding thence north through Coldwater and
Girard and leaving the county about the center of the north boundary. For
this is the designated route of the Mansfield, Coldwater and Lake Michigan
Railroad, over which, unfortunately, no train of cars ever ran through
Branch county. None the less, the map makers were not open to censure
on that account, for they merely indicated the line which it was confidently
believed at the time would soon be in operation, and which was even graded
and ready in some portions for the laying of the iron. And now, as one
unacquainted with this chapter of Branch county history rides over the
county, he would be puzzled in places to account for the grass-grown cuts
and ridges which are all that remain of the ambitious attempt.
The Mansfield, Coldwater and Lake Michigan Railroad was largely a
Coldwater project. The report of the state railroad commission for December, 1872, gave among the list of officers of the corporation the names of
H. C. Lewis as vice president (who soon after became president), David
B. Dennis, treasurer: Justin Lawyer, assistant secretary, and F. V. Smith,
register of transfers, all of Coldwater, and besides these the late Gen. J. G.
Parkhurst was a director. It was planned to build this road from Mansfield, Ohio. to Allegan, Michigan. In I875 eleven and a half miles were in
operation from Allegan to Monteith. and the official railroad map of 1875
shows it as a stump line projecting east of Monteith a few miles and under
lease for operation purposes by the Grand Rapids and Indiana. August 28,
I877, the road was sold under foreclosure of mortgage, the name then
changing to the Allegan and Southeastern R. R. Co. Its subsequent history
is not pertinent to present consideration.
Contemporaneous in origin and perhaps connected in other ways with
the above enterprise, was the Marshall and Coldwater Railroad. This road
was projected to run from Coldwater to Elm Hall in Gratiot county, and a
map of the time indicates its line as parallel to the Mansfield road as far as
Girard village, whence it goes directly north towards Marshall. "That part
of the line from Coldwater to the Peninsular Railroad, a distance of forty
miles, was, January I, 1873, substantially graded, bridged and tied."  Such
was the railroad commissioner's report, but no track was ever laid, and the
name and record of the corporation disappear from the reports after I873.
Nearly all the officials named were citizens of Marshall.
It is within the province of this history to record the status of electric
lines in the county. About three years ago the Toledo and Michigan Electric Railroad was " in course of construction" through the county, the
designated termini being Toledo and Elkhart. Along the highway between
Coldwater and Quincy for nearly the entire distance can now be seen the




134


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


grade that was made for this road.   But so far this construction is for
nothing, although it is expected that a new corporation will utilize the grade.
Furthermore, at the time of this writing, a company is in the field
acquiring right of way and other concessions along the route of the old Coldwater and Mansfield route from Coldwater to Battle Creek, with the intention of constructing an electric line that will cross the county at right angles
to the steam roads and furnish much-needed transportation between portions of the county that are now practically isolated.
It remans for a later historian to describe the improvements which
these proposed electric lines will accomplish.  No doubt many things that
are now novel or tentative will be obsolete or thoroughly founded twentyfive years from now.
POSTAL SERVICE.
One of the first improvements sought after actual home and shelter and
means of subsistence were provided was a postal service, such as all the
settlers had been familiar with in their former homes in the more settled
regions. We have seen how the government early made provision for the
establishment of a great post road from the east to' the west. But the actual
transportation and distribution of mail was a very uncertain matter for
many years, and depended largely on the provision that each community
could make for that purpose. The mail stage began running in the early
thirties along the Chicago road, and the various stations along that highway
were the distributing points from which mail was carried to the settlements
in the remote townships. Some convenient settler's cabin was selected as
the postoffice, and there the neighbors would gather to receive a chance letter
or hear the reading of a newspaper brought in by the last mail. Since the
establishment of a postoffice usually marked an important stage in the history
of a village or hamlet, the individual postoffices of the county have received
appropriate mention in connection with the account of the different localities.
Letters were a luxury in pioneer times. They were written on foolscap
paper and so folded that one side was left blank, so as to form its own
envelope, it being sealed with wax or a wafer.  This latter custom  was
followed for many years, and some of these sheets folded according to the
usual manner, with some of the wax of the seal still adhering to them. and
with the post-mark " Mic. T." showing that they were sent during the
territorial days, may be seen in some of the first miscellaneous files in the
county clerk's office.
Postal advantages were centralized formerly. To get one's mail it was
necessary to go where it was distributed, whether that was at the settler's
cabin above mentioned or at a permanent office fitted up for the purpose, as
is the case with larger places. The most striking change in postal service
was effected when mail matter began to be carried to the persons addressed
instead of those persons calling at a central place where the mail was kept.
Mail delivery marks a great step of progress, not so much in the case of the
cities, as in the country, where the system of rural free delivery has undoubt



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


1J35


edly effected more for the welfare and intelligence of the rural population
than any other factor of recent years.
In the history of the grange movement something has been said concerning the beginnings of rural delivery. The first routes were established
from the Coldwater postoffice in 90oI, and since that time the entire county
has received these facilities, there being sixteen carriers over as many routes,
with Coldwater city and each of the four villages as centers, with one or
more routes also from Batavia and Kinderhook.
TELEPHONE.
Communication by telephone is now in such general and familiar use
in the county that it is difficult to realize that this invention is modern.
There is probably not a person in Branch county who does not at least know
of the telephone, and in hundreds of homes and in nearly every business
house will be found one of these instruments. Every road has its line of
poles and strings of wire, binding together separate homes, communities,
villages and distant cities. Less than thiry years have sufficied to effect this
condition. Mr. A. Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, was successfully conducting experiments in the early seventies, but the first time
his invention was exhibited in a practical form to the general public was at
the centennial exposition at Philadelphia in 1876. A standard encyclopedia,
published in 1877, in describing this invention, speaks of it as " telegraphic
transmission of articulate sounds," and further goes on to state as the climax
of the wonderful discovery that "we may confidently expect that Mr. Bell
will give us the means of making voice and spoken words audible through
the electric wire to an ear hundreds of miles distant."
Branch county began using this invention in 1882.   The Coldwater
Republican of September I, 1882, states that "the labor of putting up a
line has commenced.  The central office will be located in the third story
of the F. V. Smith & Co.'s building. About forty instruments have been
ordered, and connection will also be made with Quincy and Union City."
How the invention was regarded is best told in an issue of the same paper
published in October, 1882. The telephones by that time were in operation,
and the writer declared that " a person standing at any telephone in the city
can converse with parties at the State School in an ordinary tone, and many
times can distinguish the voice of the speaker. It is certainly a wonderful
and useful instrument, and we hope to see our city connected this fall with
Union City and Quincy."
This was the beginning of telephone communication in Branch county.
The first telephones were operated by the original Bell company, but not
long after the system of which they were a part was formed under the separate name of the Michigan State Telephone Company, which is now virtually
a Michigan company, run by Michigan men and capital, and with long-distance connections.
lThe Michigan State Telephone Company now has 950 subscribers to




136              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
the Coldwater exchange; in I889 there were 39. The headquarters of the
company are in Detroit. The Quincy exchange of this company was opened
about 1.9I0, and that in Union City about fifteen years ago. In Quincy
there are about 6o subscribers, and in Union City 300 subscribers, two-thirds
of these being farmers. Three hundred of the Coldwater subscribers are
farners.  In Sherwood is an exchange with 75 subscribers, and at East
Gilead Mr. F. J. Conklin is a sub-licensee with 50 subscribers. An exchange
is also to he opened in Bronson.
The Wolverine Telephone Company was the first independent telephone
company in Branch county. It began operating in the county March 25,
1904. December 29, 1905, this line was consolidated with the Southern
Michigan Telephone Company. whose main office is at Burr Oak. and which
was formerly known as the Himebaugh line.
The Quincy Independent Telephone Company began operating May
15, 1904. Though a separate line, it works in connection with the Southern
Michigan Company, and service from one to the other of these lines over
the entire county is free. The establishment of these independent lines has
brought about reduction of rates from the older company and both lines
have been stimulated to offer better service. Besides these, there are three
or four farmers' private lines in the county, the best known being the Dollarhite line, working south of Quincy, with some eighty subscribers. Mr. John
Babcock, n1w of Quincy, was the original promoter of the independent lines
east of Coldwater. In 1902-3 he was living about four miles east of Quincy.
In 1903 hle and eight other farmers formed a line of their own. Mr. H. W.
Noble, Mr. A. L. Bowen and Mr. Samuel TN. Swan were associated with him
in the nianagement. The Quincy Independent Line now has 130 subscribers
in the village and 250 in the country about it.
PRESENT CONDITIONS.
One other aspect of communication deserves mention.   The rapid
progress in this department of human affairs is almost bewildering, and the
events fellow in such succession that at this time it is difficult to designate
each one with date and results. In June, I906, there were 107 automobiles
owned by citizens of Coldwater. a remarkable number considering the size
of the city and comparing favorably with the number in cities of twice tthe
size. There are also several machines in each of the villages.
In the year of this writing the automobile measures the highest development cf what may be termed " individual conveyance," that is, means of
transportation apart from the organized and systematic facilities furnished
by the railroad or steamship companies. Ten years ago the bicycle represented that highest development. Wagons and carriages drawn by horses,
which have been most depended on throughout the period of this history,
have not been superseded, but it remains a matter of interesting speculation
what the subsequent decades will bring about in this matter of communication. What roads have done in directing the settlement and upbuilding of


I ~  ~~-. ~I~.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                         137
this county has been described at length, and easy communication has been
emphasized as a dominant factor of our development. But with the improvement of roadways in keeping with the progress in means of conveyance, the
civilization of the next quarter century may be entirely rearranged.




138


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


CHAPTER XIX.
THE COUNTY'S NEWSPAPERS.
Something should be said concerning the general character and makeup of the early newspapers. An examination of newspaper files dated during
the forties and fifties and published in various parts of the country, leads one
to believe that there was little individuality in the pioneer press. A uniform
method was followed in arranging and selecting matter thought to be suitable for the public's reading. Cut off the title head and the place of publication, and it would require considerable search to discover the exact locality
where the paper was issued.
Of local news scarcely any is to be found in the papers of sixty years
ago. For that reason the historical investigator is usually disappointed so
far as large returns for his study of the files are concerned. Here and there,
lodged between an account of a political campaign in another state and a
continued story, may be found an item of value, like a bit of gold quartz
buried in worthless drift. Of the columns of personal mention and local
happenings, which are the real life of the modern newspaper, nothing can
be found in the early files in Branch county, which is no exception to the
rule in other counties. As a veteran Michigan editor says, the old-time
publisher would delightedly seize upon a letter from, Europe containing
news three months old, giving it several columns on his front page, while
matters of local concern would be disregarded entirely.
The most graphic illustration of these facts about the old-time newspaper is to, be seen in a description of the contents of the first number of the
Coldwater Sentinel, which was issued April I6, 1841, and which is no doubt
typical in form and content of three-fourths of the local newspapers published throughout the country in that week.
The first two columns of this old Sentinel are filled with advertisements
of medicine, of the magazine New World, the millwright Jeremiah Case
of Bronson, an insurance company, a list of letters, and some legal notices.
The third column begins with some selected poetry, and is filled out with
paragraphs of wit and humor. The fourth. fifth and sixth columns, half
of the front page, are devoted to foreign news, which is also continued in
the first column of the second page, followed by two columns of news from
the state legislature.  All the column rules of the two inside pages are
inverted in token of the death of President William Henry Harrison, which
occurred on April 4th. An account of this fills the remaining columns of
the second page. Page three is entirely filled with political news, legal
notices, advertisements, with a few miscellanies intermingled. On page four




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


139


begins the story. " The Banker's Daughter," and her interesting fate is told
in three and a half columns. The story, by the way, was clipped from a
London paper. The rest of the page contains advertisements of " household
magazines " and a certain brand of pills. In the entire sheet the only items
of local interest are a few advertisements inserted by business and professional men, and a brief account of the formation of a county medical society.
Michigan, Star.
The first newspaper published in Branch county was the Michigan Star,
by the Branch County Printing Company, the first number being issued at
the old county seat at Branch village in May, 1837. Charles P. West was
the first and only editor and publisher, for the career of the Star was ended
in less than a year, and it was the only paper that Branch village ever had.
Coldwater Observer.
The rivalry between Branch and Coldwater during the thirties is in no
way better illustrated than in the history of this paper. The Observer was
established to offset the advantage that accrued to Branch from having the
Star to advertise the county seat village to the world and thus focus attention upon its location.  Dr. Thomas N. Calkins and E. G. Fuller were
behind the enterprise, circulated the subscription paper, and when the paper
was started acted as editors and managers. How shrewdly they engineered
the enterprise to the detriment of its rival is shown by the fact that they
procured the foreman of the Star to act as publisher of the Observer. The
first number was issued July I8, 1837, and its appearance was an occasion
of rejoicing among the people of Coldwater. Dr. Calkins was soon called
to a higher place in journalism, becoming one of the editors of the Detroit
Free Press. Another physician, Dr. Bement, succeeded him, some time in
1838, and changed the paper to the Branch County Newzs. In the meantime
the old Michigan Star had discontinued, and the necessity for a paper in
Coldwater was no longer so great. The publication was soon suspended,
therefore.
The material remained, however, and two young men named Jocelyn
and Horton originated and gave a brief existence to the Branch County
Democrat.
Coldwzater Sentinel.
April 16, 1841, Mr. Albert Chandler, so long and prominently identified
with the newspaper and business interests of Branch county, published the
first number of the Coldwater Seintinel, announcing that he had bought the
Horton printing equipment, so that in a sense the Sentinel was a continuation of the first Coldwater paper.
The Sentinel had an existence of nearly twenty years, and its bound
volumes, which are preserved practically complete until 1854, contain the
most exact and detailed data on Branch county history of that period that
can be found anywhere. Various firm names appeared as publishers through




140


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


this time. Chandler and Haynes (John T.) were publishers in I844. In
1846 it became Chandler and Stillman, the latter being Dr. H. B. Stillman,
and in September of the same year the firm was Chandler and Waterman
(David). In I849 Elihu B. Pond became editor and proprietor. He was
one of the most forceful of early Branch county editors, and made his paper
a practical and decided influence.  He began what he called the "new
series" of the Sentinel, the issue of December 7, I849, being numbered as
Volume I, No. I. Inj June, I854, S. W. Driggs and H. C. Gilbert became
proprietors and conducted the Sentinel two years.  Barrett and Reynolds
conducted it two years longer, from the fall of I856, and it then passed into
the possession of Judge J. H. Gray, who soon sold the plant and it was removed to Port Huron, where it was used to print the Port Huron Pre.ss.
The Sentinel was the upholder of Democratic principles on all occasions.
Branch County Journal.
In the meantime Coldwater had another paper. B. F. Thompson established and issued the first number of the Branch County Journal on November 1, 185I. This was the first Whig paper in the county. In June, I852,
the proprietors became C. A. and B. F. Thompson, the former being the
father of B. F. March 8, 1853, E. J. Hard and H. B. Robinson became
proprietors, two years later Barnes and Way, and it then passed through
the hands of Bates Dewey and Clinton B. Fisk to E. B. Dewey, who moved
the plant to Elkhart about I856.
The Branch County Republican.
This paper, the first in Branch county to become the outspoken exponent
of Republican party principles, was established at Coldwater in the fall of
I857, by Messrs. Eddy and Gray. Judge J. H. Gray has already been mentioned in connection with the concluding history of the Sentinel. About a
year and a half after its establishment the Republican became the sole property of Judge Gray, who conducted it with his son Horace J. Gray, until
I861.
In the latter year F. B. Way bought the Rcpuiblican and changed the
name to the Branch County Gazette, although it was conducted loyally to
the Republican party and to the Union cause during the succeeding Civil
war.  During this period two well known men in county politics were
editors for a time, J. H. McGowan and C. P. Benton. The next event in
the history of the Gazette brings us to the consideration of
The Republican.
August 23, I866, Major D. J. Easton, later the founder of the Union
City Register, published the first number of the Republican at Coldwater.
In the following December Dr. P. P. Nichols, another well known newspaper man of the county, purchased an interest and became one of the editors
of the Repu4blican. Easton and Nichols sold out after a year to W. J. and




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


141


0. A. Bowen. The Republican was growing as the leading Republican
paper of the county, and in I868 the firm bought its only rival for the
patronage of that party, the Gazette, the history of which paper ends at that
time. W. J. Bowen continued as one of the proprietors of the Republican
for several years, and the firm at one time was Bowen, Rose and Skeels, the
latter being F. L. Skeels, the Coldwater lawyer.
In 1873 A. J. Aldrich and Company bought the Republican. Mr. A.
J. Aldrich, who was born in Girard township and whose grandfather built
the first mill on the site of Hodunk, is yet living in Coldwater. He was interested in the Republican as editor or proprietor until 1893. The enterprise
of the new firm was manifested in the issue, August 3, I875, of the first
number of the "Semi-Weekly Republican," the first newspaper in Branch
county to break away from the once-a-week issue. The paper was enlarged
on December 3, 1875. The Republican continued as the leading Republican
newspaper for many years, and for many reasons is the best known of former
Coldwater papers. It continued to hold a place in the field of active and
enterprising journalism  until 1897, when it was consolidated with the
Courier, and its history is practically a part of the following account of the
Courier.
The Courier.
The history of the Coldwater Courier dates from November 4, 1882,
when the first number, a large size folio, was issued with the names of W. G.
Moore and P. P. Nichols. Mr. Moore, who is still a resident of Coldwater,
was connected with this paper as city editor for about twenty years, until
he was succeeded by Mr. H. F. Bailey, the present city editor. In December, I885, the Courier became an eight-page paper, and at various times the
size of the page was changed to conform to. the needs of the publishers.
The next change of proprietorship to be noted from an examination
of the files occurred in November, I888, when J. N. Foster became the associate of Mr. Moore, the firm being known as Foster and Moore. September
28, I889, they announced the sale of the Courier to C. H. Newell and C. W.
Owen. M.r. Newell had been connected with the Wabash, Indiana, Plain
Dealer, and Mr. Owen came from Bronson, where he had been editor and
publisher of the Herald.  This partnership continued until September 27,
189go when Mr. Newell went to other fields, and Mr. Owen then conducted
the paper alone until April 2, 1892, when we again find over the editorial
column the names Newell and Owen. A little more than a year, and on
April 8, 1893, the Courier was published by Mr. Owen and Major G. H.
Turner. September I, i894, Mr. Newell took the place of Mr. Owen, and
for more than six years these gentlemen remained in partnership.  Since
February 22, 1901, Mr. C. H. Newell has been sole proprietor.
March 23, 1897, a consolidation was effected of two of Branch county's
well known journals. On that date Newell and Turner bought the Coldwater Republican, and three days later the issue appears with the title " The
Caurier and Republican."  Although generally known as simply the Caorier,




142


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


this combined title remained until April 30, 90o6, when the second part of
the heading was dropped.
Beginning with the issue of November 24, I899, the Courier and
Rcpublican was enlarged to twelve pages a week instead of ten, and was
issued in two parts-four pages on Tuesday and eight on Friday. On July
7, I902, the Courier became a daily paper, and was so continued through the
political campaign of that year until December ist, when the number of
weekly issues was reduced to three, or, to quote its own statement, it is
published " every other day."
The Reporter.
The Daily Reporter of Coldwater was founded as the result of a spontaneous interest in journalism combined with the means to gratify that
interest without the large outlay for plant and equipment needed by the
modern newspaper. The late Mr. S. B. Kitchel had for several years before
the establishment of the Reporter conducted a considerable plant to supply
the printing required for a very extensive system of advertising. A regular
force was employed in this department, and the machinery and type assortment were quite equal to the publishing of a periodical paper.
It was during the early winter of 1895-96 when, to avoid a shut-down
of the printing plant during the usually dull period in that department, it
was deemed expedient to start a daily paper. Accordingly on the I6th of
December, I895, the first number of the Daily Reporter appeared, with S. B.
Kitchel as publisher. At the time there was no intention to continue the
enterprise beyond the holiday season, when the business printing would
again make full demands on the establishment.  But the Daily Reporter
seemed to fill an important place in the city and county. The people were
pleased with the new journal, and the publisher was satisfied with his new
departure in business. So the Reporter continued to be issued daily, and
has maintained an uninterrupted record in this respect to the present time.
As a financial investment the Reporter was not a dividend-maker for several
years. In fact Mr. Kitchel is reported to have said, "I do not want any
money out of the Reporter. Keep the balance just enough on the right side
to be sure not to, lose money, and give the people all the news they will pay
for." The personal satisfaction he got in maintaining a daily paper in Coldwater was more important to its publisher than financial returns.
After the Daily Reporter had been in existence about a year a weekly
issue was established, and then on March 15, I898, the Semi-Weekly Reporter began its first volume. Mr. S. B. Kitchel continued in active control
of the paper until his death in July, I905, since which time his son Horace
has been publisher.
The mechanical equipment of the Reporter office is not excelled in
southern Michigan west of Detroit. To guard against delays the important
machinery has been duplicated, so that there are two engines, dynamos, two
folding machines, three job presses, a large cylinder press, and recently there
has been installed a Cox Duplex newspaper press with a capacity equal to
*




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


143


all the demand that many years of increase may make. All the regular newspaper composition is done by linotype, there being two of these machines
in the office. The foreman of the press room is Iarry XV. Barber, who has
been connected with this department in various capacities for ten years.
Of the city editors of the Reporter there should be named Charles
Segur, until recently with the Hudson Gazette; A. J. Aldrich, now retired;
Willis Bailey. now in the job printing business in Coldwater; Harry Bailey,
now city editor of the Courier; James J. Hudson, now with the Jackson
Citizen, and A. Riley Crittenden.
Of the general character of the Reporter as a newspaper and in its relations to the community, it may be stated that it has been conducted independently as to political and general affairs. It should also be said that its
columns have always been open to the individual citizen, and contributions
to its pages have come from a large number of local writers covering a wide
variety of topics.
The Sun and Star.
The Coldwater Sun is one of the papers of the county with a continuous
existence of a quarter of a century. It was established in I88I, its first
publisher being Mr. C. J. Thorpj still a resident of Coldwater. After Mr.
Thorp the principal management of the Suni passed into, the hands of Mr.
W. C. Bailey.
September 24, 1891, the Sun Publishing Co., was organized and incorporated, with a capital stock of five thousand dollars, all paid in. The
original stockholders were well known men of Branch county, the articles
of incorporation being signed by Gen. J. G. Parkhurst, Judge J. B. Shipman,
Rev. Henry Hughes, C. E. Barlow, A. E. Blackman, Gilbert Hoopengarner,
C. McKay, of Quincy; W. B. Downer, H. D. Pessell, of Quincy. The first
directors of the company were H. D. Pessell, president; C. E. Barlow, vice
president; J. G. Parkhurst, secretary and treasurer.  Mr. A. E. Blackman
was the principal stockholder, and two days after the organization of the
company the plant was leased to A. E. Blackman and Son, who published
the paper. In June, I892, H. C. Blackman, the son, and now of the Hillsdale Democrat, succeeded to the management of the paper. The next change
occurred June I4, 1892, when C. A. White became owner of most of the
st6ck and took the lease from Mr. Blackman. The next lessee of the plant
and publisher was Mr. H. A. Bates, who conducted the Sun. from April
26, 1894, until June 15, 1903.
On the latter date Mr. J. S. Evans came into control of the stock. The
Sun Publishing Company is still a corporation, but Mr. Evans is virtual
owner and has entire control of the management and policy of the paper.
The present directors of the company are J. S. Evans, president; Mrs.
Carrie E. Eigenherr, vice president; Nellie F. Evans, treasurer, and Robert
G. Evans, secretary.
On June 15, 1892, a number of Branch county citizens associated themselves under articles of incorporation as the Star Publishing Company. The




144


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


authorized capital was five thousand dollars, but only about a fourth of the
stock was issued. The incorporators comprised a long list of well known
names in Coldwater and vicinity, and the first directors were D. D. Pretty,
president; DeWitt C. Shaw, Rev. E. O. Smith, E. E. Bostwick, of Union
City, and Lancaster Coffman. These men founded the Coldwater Star as a
Prohibition newspaper. It has since remained the official organ of that
movement in Branch county, opposing the liquor business either through the
formation of public opinion or through political means or in whatever way
the fight is carried on.
Mr. W. C. Bailey was employed as the manager and editor of the Star,
at first on a salary basis, and later took the entire business management.
Mr. J. S. Evans was one of the original stockholders of the enterprise, had
acted as legal adviser of the company, and on July I2, I899, he took the
management of the paper. Mr. Evans has since published the Star, and
after acquiring control of the Sun, as above mentioned, he continued both
papers as independent publications until December, I10'5, when he joined the
two papers into the nature of a semi-weekly, issuing the Star on Monday
and the Sun on Thursday.
OTHER COLDWATER PAPERS.
Several other newspapers have had a more or less brief and influential
career in Coldwater. After the passing of the old Sentinel, the next Democratic organ in the county was the Democratic Union, published from I859
to I86I by J. L. Hackstaff. In 1864 the Coldwater Unioni Sentinel, Democratic but loyal to the Union, was established by F. V. Smith and W. G.
Moore, they purchasing the plant of the ephemeral Southern Michigan
Nezs, which had been published for a short time in I863 by T. G. Turner.
Smith and Moore continued the publication of the Sentinel until 1870, and
Gibson brothers were the publishers until the plant was burned and the paper
suspended.
In 1872 the old Coldwater Reporter was started, as an independent
paper, by the late J. S. Conover. It passed through several proprietorships,
Mr. C. J. Thorpe, now of Coldwater, having been connected with it from
1874 to 1876.
The Coldwater Weekly Press was established in October, 1877, by B. L.
Kingston and J. L. Dennis, and soon after was purchased by D. D. Waggot.
This was the first paper to attempt a daily issue, which continued from
January I, to March 15, 1878, when the usual custom was resumed.
Quincy Herald.
The Quincy Herald was first issued November 8, I878. It was published by the well known soldier and Quincy citizen, C. V. R. Pond, until
June, I884, at which time it passed to Mr. F. E. Kittredge, and on April 7,
1888, to Robert J. Stephens. Mr. Stephens conducted it little more than
two years, selling to J. C. Joiner on August 22, 1890. Mr. C. W. Owen,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


145


the present editor and publisher, bought the Herald of Mr. Joiner, October
r. I894.
The Herald has long been issued as a six-column quarto,, has been
issued continuously, and is a Quincy paper, devoted to the welfare and interests of that village. Complete files of the Herald are preserved in the
office, although not bound.
Quincy NSevs.
The Quincy News was established in 1889, as a weekly. Mr. C. H.
Young, the present editor and manager, has been directing head of the paper
since its establishment, and he was its founder. In the early part of I899 the
News was improved by being made a twice-a-week newspaper, and its eighth
volume as such is now being issued. At first it was published as a sixcolumn quarto, but is now a large seven-column folio.  The News Publishing Company is the name of the business corporation publishing the,Nezws. but as already said, Mr. Young has always been the leading spirit in
the management.   No important changes other than those named have
occurred to lengthen a historical account of the  \rNc"fs. As its history is
brief, so its career has been successful.
Quincy Times.
The above are the newspapers still in existence in Quincy. The first
paper of that village, however, was the Quincy Timnes, which was established September I I, I868, by R. W.. Lockhart. The "Times Company"
soon purchased it, Ebenezer Mudge becoming the editor, and his business
associates being S. Mowrey and I.. L. Briggs. Mr. A. C. Culver purchased
the Times March 25, I876. The Times was conducted until some time in
the eighties, when it yielded the field to its competitor.
The predecessor of the Quincy Herald was the "Greenbacker," which
was established in May, I878, by L. E. Jacobs. Its existence terminated in
October, and shortly after Mr. Pond obtained the material and began the
publication of the Herald.
The Literary Reporter was a monthly magazine, established in December, 1872, whose publisher was Mr. C. W. Bennett, now of Coldwater.
Bronson Herald.
The first paper published outside of Coldwater, except the Michigan
Star at Branch, was the Bronson herald, which was established in the fall
of I865 by T. Babcock and Company. It suspended publication in 1871 and
the proprietors moved the plant to Nebraska.
Bronson Journal.
The Bronson Journal was founded in I881 by Daniel D. Waggot. In
August, 1885, the well known Branch county newspaper man, C. W. Owen,
purchased the Journal of D. D. Waggot. In February, I886, Mr. Owen
consolidated his paper with the Bronson Independent, which had been estab



146


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


lished in 1884 by W. H. Wieand and N. Byron Ruggles, and the paper was
conducted as the Independent-Joqurnal for a few months by the firm of Owen
and Ruggles. In September, I886, Mr. Owen bought his partner's interest,
changing the name to the Bronson Journal. As such it has since been conducted. Mr. Owen sold the Journal in I889 to Lon E. Draper. In I894
Mr. Allan D. Shaffmaster, the present editor and proprietor, purchased
the paper of Mr. Draper.
SHERWOOD.
The first newspaper established in the village of Sherwood was the
Sherwood News. Its career began in 1884 under the direction of A. C.
Culver, although previous to this time Maj. D. J. Easton had issued a Sherwood edition of the Union City Register. Mr. Culver's News continued for
two years, and was succeeded by the Sherwood Press, published by Randall & Robinson. The Press was conducted until I895. Mr. E. S. Easton
established the Sherwood Register in I896 and it is still flourishing.  It is
a four-column, eight-page paper, with illustrated supplement each week, and
faithfully advances Sherwood's interests.
Union City Newspapers.
The history of newspapers in Union City is furnished by Mr. T. F.
Robinson, who himself has been connected with the newspaper interests
of that village for more than twenty years.
The first newspaper published in Union City was the Union City Independent, it making its appearance in six-column folio form, October 5,
T867. It was published weekly by A. H. Pattee, but was suspended in I868.
The Union City Independent was followed by the Union City Register,
which first made its appearance as a weekly publication in I869, the publishers being Major D. J. Easton and Jerome K. Bowen. Major Easton
soon became the sole proprietor, and he continued as such until the time of
his death, August 27, 190I. Major Easton was for many years a leading
spirit in the advancement of the material interests of the town. In his position as publisher of the sole paper here for an extended period, he had opportunities for doing good work in these lines, and these opportunities he did
not neglect. He was also a capable city official for years, and he was instrumental in securing for the place many of the modern improvements we
now enjoy. After his death the newspaper was continued for several months
by his son, Glenn S. Easton, until the sale of the property to F. A. Bement,
May I, 1902.
Randall and Robinson established the Union City Local here in August,
I885. In conjunction with this paper they also published the Sherwood
Press. the Tekonsha News and the Burlington Echo. A large business was
done until the plant was destroyed by fire in 1894, and then the subscription
list was sold to the Union City Register.
May I, I896, Tom F. Robinson commenced the publication of Robinsow's Weekly, and in I899 Will L. Robinson was taken into the business,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                        14:7
the firm name being Robinson Bros. They continued the publication of the
paper until it was merged with the Union City Register as the RegisterWceekly, the publisher being Frank A. Bement.
A. T. McCargar and Son purchased the plant and good will of the
Register-WT/eekly in Nrovember, 1902.  Mr. A. T. McCargar, the senior
member of the firm, came here from New York City, where he had been for
some years as president and treasurer of the Baldwin & Gleason Company,
engravers, lithographers and printers. Mr. Will L. Robinson, whose name
now appears as publisher, has had the management of the Register-Weekly
since November I, 1895. May I, I9o6, it was enlarged to a seven-column
quarto. On July 20, I9o6, it will be enlarged to twelve pages, of seven columns each.




148              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
CHAPTER XX.
EDUCATION.
"Schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged."
These words are found in the famous ordinance of I787 for the government
of the Northwest Territory including the region which is now Michigan.
A congressional act of 1804, also with reference to what is now Michigan,
reserved from sale section I6 of each township " for the support of schools."
These acts of the national government were passed before the territory of
Michigan was organized, and years before the surveys were made and the
boundaries defined for Branch county. But the educational system which
the people of this county have used has been provided by the state in so far
as the state has undertaken to control the scheme and machinery of education. A brief glance at the history of education in Michigan will be a
proper introduction to a more detailed account" of the educational affairs of
the county.
The national government took the first steps in providing for education in Michigan. The sixteenth section of each township granted for the
support of schools became, through the efforts of Gen. Isaac E. Crary, Michigan's first congressman, a principal source of the State Primary School
Fund, which is now a matter of pride to every citizen of the state. It was
a wise provision, based on the experience olf other states, that turned the
proceeds from the sale of school lands into a state fund instead of giving
them to the township in which the section was located. Where the latter
system prevailed serious inequalities resulted from the fact that the designated section was in many cases inferior land and when sold brought little
or nothing to the township treasury. And, also, the management of one
large central fund was more economical and subject to less risks than if the
money had been left in the many township treasuries. It is unnecessary to
go into the history of the Primary School Fund further than to say that
it has increased from year to year so that the per capita annual distribution
of interest therefrom has more than kept pace with the increase of school
population; so that while in 1845 the amount apportioned among the various
schools of Branch county aggregated $596, tle November, I9o5, distribution alone amounted to $17,563.50, or two dollars and seventy cents per
capita.
The school legislation of Michigan while a territory had little bearing
on the schools of Branch county, nor, in fact, on those in any other part
of the territory. But the legislature in 1827 provided that " every township
containing fifty inhabitants or householders should employ a schoolmaster


I




High School or Lincoln Building, Coldwater, 1905








HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


149


of good morals to teach children to read and write and to instruct them in
the English language as well as in arithmetic, orthography and decent behavior."  A department of education was also established, at whose head
was to be a superintendent of common schools appointed by the governor.
But very little was actually done in the way of public schools previous to
the state organization. The first schools in Branch county were the result
of voluntary effort on the part of the pioneers. The first settlers came, as
we know, largely fron the northeastern states, where education was fundamental and thoroughly a part of every-day life. It was natural, therefore,
that whenever half a dozen families within a circle of two or three miles
had secured a comfortable home shelter, the next business in order was to
organize a school. A site was selected, a log building erected, and some
person in the community who had had exceptional advantages in the east or
who professed an ability as pedagogue was employed to conduct the school.
And from each home a path was blazed through the forest trees by which the
children could find their wav to and from the schoolhouse.
The building of this first schoolhouse marked a stage in the history
of the community.   Almost without exception in this part of the middle
west the school was the first institution. It preceded the church, and sometimes the first town meeting was held there. It was the central point of the
conmmunity life. There the settlers met to vote and perform the civil business; there the questions that confront a new social organization were discussed and solved; there men and women met for social enjoyment, and
there they came together for religious worship. The schoolhouse was the
focal point of pioneer life, and its importance cannot be too strongly emphasized.
The early schoolhouses have often been described. Many were built of
logs, some of sawed lumber, while a few were of stone or brick. That the
log schoolhouse is something more than a tradition to men and women of
Branch county who are still in the prime of life, may be inferred from the
fact that as late as I868 the county superintendent of schools reported five
log schoolhouses in use.  In the following year he reported that all these
had disappeared but one.
While the exterior of the building varied, the interior furnishings were
about the same. Built at one end of the room was the mud and stick chimney, with the broad fire-place. To' keep the fire blazing briskly by a plentiful
supply of logs was the task of the older boys, while in the summer some of
the girls would often fill the bare hearth space with flowering plants. The
rough walls of the room were unadorned except as the individual taste of
a teacher might seek to relieve its dreariness; the floors were often of broad,
roughly hewn puncheons laid on the ground, or, if the building was of
frame, thick boards were spiked to ground sills, with wide cracks between
the boards affording an easy escape for pencils, jack-knives and other schoolboy impedimenta.
The seats were indeed primitive. They were nothing more than a split
log with the flat surface up, and resting on legs driven into holes on the




150


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


under side, or the timber for the seat might be a plank with some attempt at
smoothing the top surface. But there were no backs to these benches, and
the tired little bodies of pioneer children got no rest except by leaning forward; little attention was paid in those days to erectness of carriage. There
were no desks in the modern sense of the term. Around two or three sides
of the room was fixed a broad board, with a slant convenient for the writer,
and on this the pupils, or as many of them as this rough form of desk would
accommodate, did their writing and figuring. A piece of slate was used for
all calculations, and paper was only used for penmanship exercises.
Of school apparatus there was none.  In the report for I868 above
quoted the superintendent says a blackboard was the extent of equipment
in most schools, and the blackboard was introduced many years after the
pioneers' children had gone from the schools into actual life.  Graphite
pencils were also unknown.  A "pen knife" was then a necessary part
of the teacher's equipment; for he used that instrument in a way to suggest
the name, that is, to manufacture for each scholar a pen from a selected
goosequill. Paper was coarse and expensive, and the era of cheap woodpulp paper tablets did not begin until comparatively recently.
When the settlers came from the east many of them brought along
a few school books such as the parents had used, coming from every one
of the New England and middle Atlantic states, these books when brought
into the school by individual pupils formed a heterogeneous collection. Yet
from these the teacher was supposed to assign the lessons, and from a chaos
of texts to reduce uniformity. The difficulty was not so great as might
be imagined.  For the curriculum consisted of the three r's, "reading,
'riting and 'rithmetic," and so far as the instruction in these branches went
it might be obtained from almost any set of books. The one book that
seems to have an abiding place in every memory was the old blue-backed
Webster's Elementary Speller. This was the backbone of every school, and
far fromn being cast aside when school days were over it continued as the
basis for the spelling schools which young and old attended until within
the memory of men and women who are not yet past the prime of life.
And if we may trust the judgment of many, spelling was a more carefully
cultivated art in those days than at present, and the boys and girls of half a
century ago would be more than a match for the present generation of spellers.
A school inspector's report on Batavia township for 1838 names the
following books as most commonly used in the schools: The Elementary
Speller, Olney's Geography and Atlas, Daboll's Arithmetic, and Murray's
Grammar, and Murray's English Reader. To modern taste. these books
are dry and unattractive both in form and content. AWhat would a bov or
girl think of a reader without a single illustration and with such a title
page as this:-" The English Reader: or Pieces in Prose and Poetry, selected from the Best Writers, designed to assist young persons to read with:  Propriety and Effect; to Improve their Language and Sentiments, and to
inculcate some of the most important Principles of Piety and Virtue; with
a few preliminary observations on the Principles of Good Reading."  Such:




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


151


was the Murray English Reader, printed in 1818 and in common use among
the first schools of Branch county.
Such were, in general, the first schools in Branch county. Although no
efficient system of education was established until after Michigan became a
state, there were, as above noted, voluntary associations among the settlers
for holding school sessions in certain localities. The data is not available
for a complete sketch of the early schools, and no complete reports from
over the -county are to be found previous to I850.
The first school was taught in the locality of the first settlement. John
Toole, an immigrant of 1829, located in what is now Bronson township
and taught a small school there in the winter of 1829-30. There were at
that time probably not more than five or six families in all to contribute to
its support. Shortly after, perhaps in the next winter, a school was taught
on Bronson prairie by Columbia Lancaster, the versatile pioneer who could
be pedagogue, lawyer and doctor at will. School was held in a log building, probably the first erected for that purpose in the county. Mrs. David
Waterman was teacher of a summer school at the same place.    Cynthia
Gloyd is also named as one of the first teachers of the township.
In 1832 the well known Bishop Philander Chase, who did so much in
building up Episcopacy in the west, came to the county seeking a farm.
Delighted with the country about Gilead, he settled there with his family,
and built a school building in 1833. This house was twenty by thirty feet
and two stories high. The first teacher was the Bishop's nephew, Samuel
Chase. The old "seminary" building remained standing on section 9 for
over forty years, and became in time a dwelling, being used as such until
torn down. This Episcopal school was maintained for several years, and
the children of the first settlers were schooled there. Mrs. David N. Green
of Coldwater is probably the only surviving pupil of that school, she having
come to the settlement in 1838 and attended the school while Dudley Chase,
a son of the Bishop, was teacher.
The subject of the early schools of Coldwater has been very thoroughly
treated by Mr... C. N.  egg.  He says:  "The earliest settlers appear to
have combined to hire instruction for their children by tutors, and the children. the few there were, met in the cabins of the pioneers. Cynthia Gloyd,
a woman who later taught in the first schoolhouse, was engaged to teach
at different places prior to the erection of a schoolhouse. The first building for use as a schoolhouse was erected at the corner of where is now
Pearl and Hudson streets, and very near the present location of the residence
of Mr. Frank Treat. This was a frame one-room building and painted red.
It was called as long as it stood the " Red School House." It was built in
I834, but when it ceased to be used as a schoolhouse I have no means of
learning.  Cynthia Gloyd was probably the first person who taught here.
A man by the name of McWhorter also taught for some time. Mr. L. D.
Halsted recently related to me his recollections of this schoolhouse and the
man McWhorter. One circumstance which fixed in his mind the man was,
that in the winter of I836 he attended a singing class taught in the school



152


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


house, and McWhorter became angry because he was compelled to sweep
up the room after the sessions of the singing class. The late Harvey Haynes
also taught here in 1838. Here the children of the pioneers were taught the
rudiments of such an education as they were able to acquire. It is a fact
which should be borne in mind by this as well as subsequent generations that
the first task of the early pioneers of this city was to provide shelter and
food for their families, and the next was to provide shelter and teacher for
instruction of their children.
So much for the first schools and those originating while Michigan was
yet a territory. Under the first state constitution Rev. John D. Pierce was
appointed the first superintendent of public instruction. In accordance with
a vote of the legislature Mr. Pierce reported to that body in January, I837,
a code of school laws, which was adopted with but little change. The general plan of education thus established is the foundation upon which the.
present system has been built.
The township was the unit. Each township had three school inspectors,
whose duty it wa;s to organize school districts, to apportion the school moneys
to the districts; to examine teachers and grant certificates; and to appoint
one of their number to visit the schools twice a year and to, make an annual
report to the county clerk. These boards of inspectors continued to exercise
control over the schools of their respective townships until the county superintendency was established in I867.
Each district, however, had the control of its own school. A district
could vote a tax for buildings, not to exceed five hundred dollars in any
one year. Each district was required to hold school at least three months
each year. Each district had to assess a tax to the primary school fund
apportioned to the district, and if the teacher's wages exceeded the funds,
the board could assess a tax to meet the deficiency, but not to exceed ninety
dollars, the limit fixed by law. Also, the district could vote ten dollars a
year for a library.
It was soon found that this method of raising school revenues by district
taxation proved insufficient for the support of schools. To remedy this the
legislature passed, in 1843, the famous " rate bill " law, which provided that
the patrons of each school might raise the funds necessary to continue the
school through the term. The parents or guardians of the children were
assessed a tax in proportion to the time such children attended school. This
rate bill was made out by the teacher at the close of each term,, and the amount
distributed among the patrons. The law did not work well, for the poor
parents or those indifferent to education would send to school as long as the
public funds lasted, and when the rate bill set in would take their children
out. Primary education thus became a question of ability to pay for it, and
the fundamental principle of popular education was threatened.  Nevertheless, despite the inequality, the rate bill law was not repealed until I869.
Some idea of the working of this rate bill law may be gained by reference to
the township reports for I850. The report from Batavia shows that district
No. 8 raised $62.65 on the rate bill. Estimating the teacher's wages at the




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


153


then prevailing average of six dollars a month for a woman teacher and
thirteen for a man, it will be seen that this school was continued for several
months of the year from the proceeds of the rate bill, the children of the
poorer. parents probably being without instruction during this time. In the
same township district No. 2 raised by the same method $43.I4, and district No. I, $33. In Bronson township the four'districts raised $184.06 in
this way, and the six districts in California raised $217.
The original plan, as above outlined, contemplated only single districts,
with a single house, and but one teacher; and all references to teachers and
sites were in the singular number. But as the population increased it was seen
that expediency often demanded more than one teacher, and sometimes more
than one schoolhouse in the same district. The township board under these
conditions would have had no option but to sub-divide the district and provide for two or more separate schools in the original district. To maintain
several adjacent district schools, co-ordinate in work and rank, was evidently
at the expense of efficiency and economy. The laws were therefore amended
so as to permit a union of adjoining districts wherever the population was
sufficiently dense to admit of bringing a large number of children into one
system of graded sclools. without embracing too much territory to be thus
well accommodated.
This was the origin of the " union school " in Michigan. The true significance of the term had reference not so much to the uniting of the districts
as to the system of grading which resulted from. the union. The real meaning of a "union school " was therefore a graded school, located in the more
populous communities, with one central schoolhouse, having several different rooms and employing several different teachers.  No, such school was
established in Branch county until the decade of the fifties, and the organization of a union or graded school marked in important stage in the dlevelopment of educational institutions in each of the villages.
The general supervision and control of the schools of the county and
townships has been vested by the legislature in different bodies at various
times. The township board of inspectors established by the original laws
was changed, as noted above, by an act olf March 13, 1867. which created the
office of county superintendent of schools. Less than ten years later this act
was repealed, and on March 31, 1875, the law took effect transferring the
control once more to the township, and requiring the election in each township of one superintendent of schools and one school inspector. The township superintendent was required to examine teachers, grant certificates and
visit the schools of his township twice a year. He with the school inspector
and the township clerk constituted the board of school inspectors for each
township. This system endured for a number of years, until it was again
thought best to centralize the control of county schools in one office. June
19, 189I, the law still in effect was approved. This required that the board
of supervisors should appoint a county commissioner of schools who should
hold office until July i, 1893, at which time the commissioner regularly
elected by the voters at the election in April should begin his duties. At




154


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


the same meeting the supervisors were to appoint two school examiners, for
one and two year terms respectively, and the board should thereafter appoint
one examiner at each annual meeting. The county commissioner and the
two' examiners constitute the board of school examiners. The county commissioner has general oversight of the schools in the county, being required
to visit each school, and also advises with the board of school inspectors in
each township.
As soon as the machinery of education was set in operation by
the first state legislature; the various townships took measures to form districts and conform to the general scheme of education. The existing reports
and other school data do not suffice for a complete account of the status of
schools in I837, but it will be of interest to describe conditions as far as possible. For that year one report of the school inspector in Ovid township has
been found. In this it is stated that there was one district school in the
township, thirty-six children of school age and twenty-three who, attended
the sessions of the three months' term. The total amount raised in the district was eighteen dollars, which went to pay the teacher. This no doubt was
the first school in the township, but no further information is given concerning it. This also indicates an error in the History of 1879, in which it is
stated that Mr. Parley Stockwell, who came to the township as late as I842,
built the first schoolhouse and taught the second term of school that was held
therein. It is probable that Mr. Stockwell's school was the first in that part
of the township, that is, at Parley's Corners in section I6.
The only other report found for 1837 relates to Butler township. No
school had been kept there during the year but there were twenty children of
school age and five hundred dollars had been raised for a schoolhouse. This
school was built on Shook's Prairie, and during the winter of I838-39
Charles M. Wisner presided as the first teacher.
Batavia township reported in 1838 three district schools, with 29, 46
and 31 pupils respectively, and the total amount raised by taxation in the
township as ninety dollars. The record pertaining to the organization of two
of these districts will be found quoted in the former history, and from these
it is seen that the meeting for organization of district No. I took place in
Mav, I836, and that for the formation of No. 2, in December of the same
year.
Each township established one or more schools about this time. As is
well known, although the settlement of Branch county had hardly begun in
I830, in twenty years from that date the population had increased to' a stage
from which there has been only moderate changes to the present day. The
formation of schools kept pace with this increase of population. and it is
unfortunate that the records of this period of growth have not been preserved,
for at the time complete statistics are available the school population and
number of districts had reached very nearly the normal figures.
Thus the whole number of children included in the school census of
I905 was 6,505, while in 1855 the number was 6,359. While the school
population and the number of districts has remained about the same, the:,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


155


story of educational growth in fifty years is best told in a comparison of
the money expenditures. Whereas the Primary School interest apportioned
for the year 1855 totaled $3,383.23, or a little more than fifty cents to the
child, in 1905 the total distributed in the May and November apportionments was $2I,466.50, or two dollars and thirty cents to the child. While
population has remained stationary, wealth has increased enormously. The
county schools in 1855 raised nearly $3,500 by means of the rate bill, in addition to the $2,5oo raised by the mill tax. At the present time some of the
districts support their schools almost entirely through the income of the state
fund.
Fifty years ago a blackboard was the extent of apparatus in most
schools; now the schools in the majority of the 127 districts in the county
are supplied with dictionaries. globes, maps, and the scholars have access to
libraries which in themselves offer advantages unknown to' the children of
the former date.
As early as I868 the state superintendent of public instruction called
attention to the need of uniting rather than dividing districts. He showed
the waste and inefficiency of small districts, which condition continued because the people desired to have a schoolhouse "near by," a false estimate
being placed upon the value of a home school. Since then conditions have
materially changed. Roads are better, and with increased facilities of transportation the bounds of community life have been widened. The interests
of the people are more closely knit together, and old forms of individualism
are disappearing.
The movement which fifty years ago resulted in the formation of the
first " union schools " is now being extended to the rural schools. In line
with this direction of progress, the state legislature enacted a law which became effective September 17, 1903, permitting the transportation of pupils
to and from school at the expense of the districts concerned. This is perhaps the most important legislation of recent years affecting the rural schools.
As yet the people of Branch county have not taken advantage of recent legislation permitting the consolidation of school districts into larger districts
comprehending in some cases an entire township, with a central graded school
accessible, by means of public transportation, to all the pupils in the district.
As the county school commissioner, Mr. James Swain, has said in his report
for I9o5, " We have too many small schools, but many people seem to be
jealous of their rights and are very slow to see the benefit to be derived from
consolidation of schools."
One or two other statements from the county commissioner's report may
serve as a basis from which subsequent developments in educational affairs
may be reckoned. With reference to the study of agriculture in the rural
schools he says, " Agriculture is best taught by practical experiments, and
many schools have placed the book 'Agriculture for Beginners', in their library. which is a source of help and a guide for the boys and girls."  As to,
manual training, it "has received attention only in a limited way in the




156


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


rural schools. A few teachers feel that they have the time to devote at least
one hour each week to the subject."
Another subject that should be mentioned in a history of the Branch
county schools is that concerning compulsory education. Until I905 the law
vested the power to compel attendance in the township board, the chairman
of which was the executive officer to carry the law into effect. Practically,
it was optional with this board whether the law should be enforced, and at
best the board could require the child to attend school only four months of
sixteen days each, or sixty-four days in the entire year. That the plan was
defective is shown by the fact that in 1905 only 47 out of 127 districts in the
county attempted to enforce the law.
Beginning with the year I905-06 a new law became operative. Instead
of the enforcement of the law being left with each township, it is the duty
of the county commissioner of schools to see that its provisions are effective
in all districts throughout the entire school year. The executive or truant
officer is a deputy sheriff appointed by the sheriff and acting under the supervision of the county commissioner. All children between and including the
ages of seven and fifteen years are compelled to attend school so long as
schools are in session in their district, in other words, for the entire school
year. The only exception to this rule are children excused by physician's
certificate; or those in attendance at a private or parochial school in which
the same grade of work is done as in the public schools; or in case of children over fourteen years of age whose labor is necessary to the support of
the family, who may be excused from attendance with the unanimous consent
of the township board and the recommendation of the county commissioner.
As to the actual workings of the law during the first year it has been in
effect, County Commissioner Swain states that no difficulty has been experienced in enforcement except among the few foreign families in the county.
This is evidence of the strong sentiment for popular education in the county,
and it is no weak proof of the prosperity of the county which after three
quarters of a century of growth and development can afford to provide all
the means of primary education and require its children for the first sixteen
years of their lives to attend school an average of eight months in the year.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


157


CHAPTER XXI.
EDUCATION (CONTINUED).
COLDWATER CITY SCHOOLS.
With reference to the schools of Coldwater village and city, Mr. Legg,
whose article has been above quoted concerning the first Coldwater schoolhouse, continues thus: " The next schoolhouse was built on a part of the lot
No. 104 at the corner of Pearl and Clay streets on land largely owned by
Dr. I. C. Ives. A meeting was called at the ' Exchange' on June I, I839, at
which time a new district was formed designated as 'district No. II.' This
new district embraced all the territory north of Chicago street and for a
mile west of Marshall street and extending north two miles; also all the land
on section 21 lying south of Chicago street and west of Division street.
The officers of this new district were: Silas A. Holbrook, moderator; Orsemus B. Clark. director; Henry Lockwood, assessor. At a meeting called
and held eight days later, the district board was authorized to purchase a
part of the lot mentioned above as a school site and to raise money to construct a building. This was built in 1839. Mr. Halsted remembered the
building well, and Mrs. R. M. Wilder attended school in this building and
remembers seeing it being moved away years later. It is not probable that
this building was used as a schoolhouse longer than about ten years, as
about this time population began to increase very rapidly and more commodious quarters were soon dlemanded. This building then was the second for
school purposes. It evidently was of modest proportions, as its cost must
have been less than five hundred dollars. The district contained in I839 but
68 children of school age. In the following year the number increased to
93. It is probable that the late Hiram Shoudler taught here. A Mr. Etheridge also taught here, but whether it was the late Burt Etheridge who lived
here at that time, or Samuel Etheridge who was moderator of this district
in 1841, or a younger man, I have not been able to ascertain.
"The next school building in order of construction was the 'Old White
Schoolhouse' as called in later years, erected on the present site of the second ward building. After searching the files of the Sentinel, edited by the
late Albert Chandler, it appears that this building was erected in the summer of 1847. The dimensions were 30 by 60 feet, two stories high, and the
contract price of the construction was $1,200. During two or three years
prior to this time, notices of political meetings and other assemblages mentioned the ' White Schoolhouse' as the place of meeting. It is therefore evident that the schoolhouse on lot 104 at the corner of Pearl and Clay streets.;;.;;;:.I~.;~- ~~:   f  X



-1-58


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


was painted white. The records of St. Mark's church mention a meeting at
the ' White Schoolhouse,' where the society had heretofore held stated meetings, for the purpose of organizing a parish. This was in February, 1848,
and probably refers to the building on lot No. 104 rather than the new
building. There remain quite a number of the older people of the city who
attended school here and the names of Mrs., George Holbrook, John Murphy,
Mrs. D. H. Davis, Miss Hadley, L. R. Austin and others are remembered as
teachers in this building. The first county fair was held in this building and
on the adjoining grounds. It served the purposes of a schoolhouse for many
years anS was finally removed to the comer of Chicago and Hudson streets,
where it was occupied as a wagon shop until finally destroyed by fire.
" The next building erected for school purposes was the two-story brick
building on the present site of the third ward building. In recent years of
its existence it was commonly known as the 'Old Brick.' This was constructed in I848, the year following the building of the 'Old White,' but in
district II. The movement to consolidate the two, districts appears not to
have been carried into effect until several years later. This building continued in use for school purposes until torn down in 1887 to make room for
the present third ward building. In this building the late D. H. Davis taught
for several years while it remained the principal school of the city before the
erection of the Old High School. One of the teachers whom some may
recall was Miss Parthenia Havens. A man by the name of Gibson was principal at the time the Old High School building was afterwards constructed,
and was transferred to the new building as its first principal.  The late
George W. Stevens, as well as his wife, taught here for many years after
Gibson left."
Mr. Legg has referred to the movement to consolidate the two Coldwater districts. Some facts taken from Principal D. H. Davis's report to
the superintendent of public instruction, dated Jan. I6, I858, will show when
this consolidation took place and some other features of the schools at that
time. "Our union school," says Mr. Davis, " was organized in September,
I853. It embraces two school buildings, on sites distant from each other
one-half mile. The east site embraces two acres, the west one and a fourth
acres. The school has no apparatus or library. We have, however, a town
library of about four hundred and fifty volumes, to which the pupils have
access. The number of teachers at present employed is eight; the average
number of students the past year was about three hundred and fifty. The
number at present in attendance is about four hundred and fifty. After considerable experience I am of the opinion that the co-education of the sexes is
decidedly preferable to their being educated separately. *  *  *  The expenses of the school are, in part, met by a rate bill. Perhaps one-fifth of the
expenses are paid in this way. *  *  *  Our union school organization
has from the first encountered considerable opposition, and I am not prepared to say that the views and feelings of our citizens are as yet quite united
and harmonious in its favor."
"T he building about which cluster the memories of the school davs of




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


159


the early and older alumni," continues Mr. Legg, " was the first Union or
I-igh School so-called, erected in I86I on the site of the present high school
building.  It was dedicated by public exercises held in the auditorium on
Saturday evening, February I, 1862.   This was an imposing structure,
and contained thirteen rooms, as I remember, including the two recitation
rooms adjacent to the high school room so-called. The rooms were high,
the stairways were long, and by the time students attained the third floor
it was time to rest.
"This building was the home of most of the members oaf the Alumni
Association in their school days.  It was unfortunately constructed for
school purposes. being high and difficult to climb and dangerous perhaps to
descend. I am egotistical enough, however, to believe that few if any high
schools in the state have afforded better or more efficient instruction. January I9, I89o, in the later hours of the night, when the building fortunately
was unoccupied, it was completely destroyed by fire, including most of the
school records and books, and the books of the students."
May 5, T890. the city voted a new school building, only twenty adverse
votes being recorded against the proposition.  The large Lincoln school
building, which is one of the architectural features of the city, was accepted
as completed by the board of education on July 9, 1891I, and since that time
it has been in use throughout the school years. As large; as is this building,
it is crowded to full capacity, and in a short time additional room will have
to be provided either in the shape of a new high school building separate
from the grades or some other combination of facilities.
Of the ward schools, the fourth ward building was erected in I867 and
has beerf in continual use as a ward building since.  The present second
ward school was built in the summer of I883.
Of school life forty years ago. Mr. Legg says:  In those years athletics cut a slight figure. There was no base ball, foot ball nor field days for
the display of physical prowess.  Considerable attention was given to literary exercises and as I believe to the great advantage of the students. Two
literary societies in the high school alternated in giving Friday afternoon
exercises, and considerable rivalry existed between them. Charles S. WVarburton was, for a greater part of the time he was a student in the high
school, president of one of these societies until he left to complete his education at Evanston, Illinois.  He was a persistent fighter and debater-elements of his personal character which have been the key to his success in
after life.  He is now a resident of Springfield, Mass., a director of the
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., having charge and control of the
loans of that company, amounting to many millions of dollars. Among the
students of those days who were active in the literary societies were: R. F.
Tinkham, Frank Sherman, Cad White, Amos Jennings, W. V. \V. Davis,
Anna Chandler, Celia Parker, Franc Wendell, Eliza Benton, and others
equally active whom I do not now recall."
It was on June 30, I866, that the nucleus of the present Alumni Association was formed under the name of "The Reunion Society of the Cold





160


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


water High School."  The first officers elected were Charles N. Legg, president; R. F. Tinkham, vice president; Alice Adams, secretary; Nellie Diible, treasurer. All of these are living. Alice Adams later became the wife
of Prof. George E. Church, and Nellie Dibble the wife of Norton E. Champion. In addition to the officers a committee of arrangements was appointed
consisting of Miss Franc Wendell, Mr. Hastings, Laura A. Warren, and
George A. Coe, Jr. A committee on constitution and rules comprised C. M.
White, Charles T. Allen and Eliza Benton.
The alumni of the Coldwater high school from I8,68 to the present year
are as follows:
1868 —Eliza Benton, Chas. N. Legg, R. F. Tinkham.
I869-*Anna M. Chandler, Alice L. Rose (Mains), *Frank L. Sherman, ILibbie E. Townsend (Leland), Mary L. Wright (Meyers).
I87o-Florence J. Burns (Howd), Mary E. Burns (McLaughlin),
*Eliza Day, George L. Harding, Carrie L. Perry (Tolwne), Augusta E.
Rose (Burr), *Merritt Sherman, A. M. Stearns, *Pliny VNT. Titus, Homer
B. Walling.
I87 —  Kittie M. Cutter (Buggie), Milo, D. Campbell, M. L. Dakin
(Campbell).
1872-Celia Cohen, Byron S. Spofford, *Dora S. Titus.
1873-Eva M. Abbott. Frank R. Cook, *Allie E. Hudson (Drake),
Albert J. Norton, *Sarah E. Warne, Hattie E. Wright (Ingram).
I874-John WV. Barron. Lillian M. Burdick    (Galloway), Anna   S.
French  (Young), H. Clarence Loveridge, Eva L. Tinkham      (Seaman),
*Cora I. Townsend, Rose E. Wade (Dickinson), Andrew J. Whitehead.
1875 —Eva A. Ball (Martin), *Wallace A. Demarest, Jennie M. Dickinson (Bishop), Emma Kritchbaum    (Quay), Lillah M. Mockridge (Vanderhoof), Ella E. Murphey, *Henry C. Stafford, Belle Whittaker (Alexander).
1876-Belle J. Culver (Shinn), Lewis F. Culver, Birdie L. Cutter
(Pratt), Nellie L. Driggs, *Judson P. Etheridge, Nellie H. Ferguson
(Evans), Fred W. Fonda, Mary 0. Hyde, Flora Oakley (Jaynes), Alice C.
Perkins (Kerr), Ella V. Perkins (Taylor), Jessie D. Pope (Sawyer), Julius
Rodman, Dell Root (Howard). Maggie C. Upson (Clarke).
1877 —*Annnie IL. Alden (Sampson), Albert A. Allen, Lizzie M. Burnett, Clara E. Bushnell (Castle), Florence A. Cornell (Palmer), Mattie A.
Grinnell (Green), Hattie L. Grove (Wurtz), Allie Mansfield (Cunningham), C. Burdett Sawyer. Norton D. Walling, Etta A. Warne (Hathaway),
Edwin K. Whitehead, Lellah G. Woodward.
1878-Florence E. Buck, *Ida E. Burrows (Calkins), Frances E.
Chandler (Ellis), Ralph F. Clarke, L. Belle Coigshall (Barnard), *Hattie
E. Demarest (Schrontz), Laura M. Halsted (Dtnn), *Flora     T. Hyde,
Mary E. Ketcham (Crippen), Mary E. Lockwood (Lockwood), *Clara M.
Murphey, Ida L. Newton, Emma L. Perkins (Edgerton), Emma L. Purin*Deceased.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


161


ton (Howe), Fannie G. Shaw (Streeter), Belle Stevenson, William Streeter,
Mae C. Warren (Parker), *Herbert J. Williams, Harry P. Woodward.
I879-Floyd Bellamy, Henry Bradley, Della Buffham (Potter), *Mary
Burt (Schrontz), Mary Button (Johnson),. Lilla Carleton (Hatch), Sue
Everett (Cook), Della Filkins (Osband), *Mary Fonda (Beebe), Eva
Haynes (Snover), Ella Ludwig, *Belle Mansell, Willis Phinney, Maggie
Parkhurst (Morey), Fannie Rose, Ettie Twadell, M. J. Withington.
I88o —Mae Bradley, John S. Evans, Philip Gilbert, Sarah Hanburg
(Cody), *Rufie A. Jordan (Blake), Clarence Vincent.
I88I —Fanny Andrews (Goodjon), Edson P. Bradley, *Ethel Snyder,
John T. Starr, *Minnie Tinkham.
1882-*Mable Clarke (Worcester), Junol Edmonds (Conover), Nettie
Fisher (Baldwin), Warren French, Mary Gruner (Mitchell), Belle Kerr
(Cudner), Flora Moss (Jackson), Willis H. Osborn, Cora Styles (Humphrey), Carmi Smith, Blanche Vincent.
T883 —Elmer J. Allen, Mamie Booklass (Sayles), Cora Crippen (Kelly), J. Amanda Davis (VanNess), Adda Filkins (Breed), Clayton C. Johnson, Harry King, Eva Nye (Myers).
T884-Carrie Adams, Cora L. Allen, Flora Burr (Shaffmaster), Nina
Clark, Mary Crippen (Buttrick), Edith E. Holbrook, Cora Lee (Osborne),
Jessie F. Marshall (Woodward), Lizzie Orr, *Stella Rosenbaum, Linnie
Sanford  (Parker), Jennie Vincent (Nettleman), Laura     E. Whitley'
(M oore).
I885-Flora Barnes (Gallaher), Charles U. Champion, James Smith
Chandler, Ida Engle, Nettie E. Filkins, Georgia Fisher, *Orson Fonda,
Florence E. Munson (Nason), Minnie Painter (Howe), Mabel Randall,
*Mattie R. Robinson, Mary Whitten.
I886-Inez Bell, Aggie Brown (Wise), Eva Engle, Charles F. Howe,
George S. Lee, Maud Paddock (Lee), Lottie Rawson (Hawes), Elizabeth
Wallace (Cogshall).
1887-L. Dell Gripman, Arthur G. Holbrook, John T. Holbrook, Carrie V. Ingram  (George), Jennie M. Lind (Gripman), Will S. Lockwood,
Minnie A. Nivison, Jesse F. Orton, *Edwin M. Reynolds, Mabel Thorpe
(Jones).
T888-Anna M. Coombs (Moore), William      Smith Chandler, *Burr
Fairbanks, Ella L. Fisher, *Harriet Ives, *Sarah Ives, *Della Saxton, Mabel
Smith (Biery), Cora Taggart (Westfall), Maude B. Wheeler (Champion),
Eliza M. Young (Weaver).
I889-*Lena Amner (Gowdy), *Kate Bishop, Carl Brundage, Ralph
Drake, Lida Gillett (Bixler), Edwin D. Hoyt, Lola Paddock, Ida M. Roblee (Van Aken), Anna Seely, George C. Turner, Edward T. Waffle.
T89o-Clara M. Bennett, Maud E. Chestnut (Stebbins), Ruth H.
Crippen, David N. Gillett, W. Edwin Hodgman, Florence M. Holmles,
Nathaniel L. Holmes, *Michael E. Keely, *Maud L. Milnes (Burnell),
Edna L. Paddock, Helen L. Randall (Kidder), Harry W. Simons, Rose E.
Sweet (Smith).




162


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


1891-Mabel Aldrich (Griffin). William I. Aldrich, George W. Barron, Mary Esther Bowers (Olds), Nellie F. C. Bray (Bennett), Carrie E.
Eggleston, Maude Lucile Eggleston, Thomas Forman Ewing, Olive Blanch
Lind, William Henry Milnes, Frank Bernard Reynolds, Effie Lois Roberts
(Luedders), Byron Clement Thorpe, Cora Blanch Thorpe (Spotts), Lottie
E. Weldy, Myrtle Enola Woodcox (Stevens).
I892-Regena E. Bates (Corless), Hella B. Bixler (Lee), Harrison
WV. Brodhead, *Harriette E. Brown, Mary Louise Brown (Bingham), E. Virginia Ewing (Pitcher), Florence E. Hiatt, Bertha Hilton (Mason), Jessie
E. Ives, *Thomas B. Lee, Esther C. Paddock, Leroy Palmer, Edith Irene
Root (Calkins), *Charles   Coville  Shearer, Louise  Adelle  Spaulding
(Milnes), Georgiana L. Starr, *L. Dudley Stevens, Lizzie M. Stevens
(Campbell), Ralph R. Stoddard.
I893-Nathan E. Barlow, Nettie C. Bates, Everett D. Brodhead,
Charles J. Chubb, Dollie N. Cosper (Morey), Leon L. Goodnow, Floy Hungerford, F. Eola Kerr, Charles C. King, Fanny C. King (Malbone), Dora
Maxon, F. Maud Pratt, Jessie M. Styles (Cross), Mayme A. Williams
(Fletcher).
1894-Nellie M. Burk, Celia Belle Burns (Oxenham), Howard Brodhead, Jr., Kate Bernice Conover, Edna Adelle Cummings, *Clarence G.
Dickey, Harriet E. Estlow (Randolph), Harlow J. Evans, Lola Adelle Fairbanks, Mvrtle Elizabeth Filkins, Fred H. Harris, Minnie Chandler Hawks,
Albert Curriden Howe, Alva M. Hungerford, Horace Kitchel, *Clayton B.
Langwell, Cecelia Adeline Milnes (Turner), Myrtle K. Montague, Grace
Newberry (Kitchel), Elizabeth H. Paddock, Minnie E. Pollock (Brown),
Frank Ira Post, Nina Rosamond Spaulding (Turner), LaVerne W. Spring,
William J. Sweeney.
1895-Gertrude Anna Baxter (Brock), *Adelbert Guy Bender, *A1 -meda Maud Black, Ella Porter Bowen (Hudson), Marietta Burdette, Francis Xavier Busch, Grace Homan Dennis (Barlow), Eber Ward Farwell,
George W. R. Ferguson, Nellie Mae Hiatt, Volney R. Hungerford, Vanchie
Parks Moses, Bertha Louise Nixson, Beulah Grace Palmer (Manning), Mabel Julia Perry. Charles Milton Perry, Bertha V. Sitter (Bowerman), Evelyn
Fernica Squires, Clara Louise Thompson, Guy A. Thurston, Carl Yaple.
I896-Daisy Gathel Allen (Tift), Stanislaus J. Bounavicz, Josephine
M. Brown (Warner), Sarah Gertrude Chubb, Leon Bennett Clark, Elizabeth  Eugenie Compton, Louis Jerome Compton, Sarah       Belle DePue
(Straight), *Carlton Leroy Gorman, Emily E. Hungerford, Josie Margarite Keeley, Margaret Louise Maloney, Anna Marie Monroe (Thurston),
Mamie B. Nixon (Johnson), Grace Anna Smith (Vernon), Lena L. Teachout (Gruner), Orton Alonzo Turner, Nina Roxana Walker (Holz).
1897-Lyle D. Balcom. Burt E. Barlow, Clifford Allen Bishop, E. R.
Clarke, Jr., Jessie Ethel Corless, Joseph Thomas Deuser, Emery Jennings
Doerr. Rollin Lawrence Drake, Lela Etiza Dustman (Sherwood), Kittie
May Eligh, Claude D. Filkins, Hervey Canfield Fisk, Frank Willis French,
Rua Ethelind Greenamyer, Edith Hazel Holt (Mannerow), Blanche Hutch



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


163


ins, Verna Mae Kerr, Margaret Angella Lilly (Clare), Bertha Mae Morgan,
Clarence Lee Morrison, Max E. Neal, Carrie Mae Olmsted (Sweet), Carl
Byron Paddock, Alice Amanda Patterson (Goble), Myrtie E. Phillips (Burnett), Ella Belle Quimby (Bassett), J. Gordon Spofford, Eva Lena Spring
(Herrick), Iva Leona Thompson, Clara S. Warsabo (Haynes), Clark Wilson Williams.
I898-Maggie Lulu Anderson (Miller), Paul Barnhart, Nina Barron,
A. Frederick Bruehl, Mabel Burk, C. Elizabeth Coombs (Saunders), Alta
Lorene Coppin (Robbins), Merle Evelin Darrow, D. Duella Dickey, Esther
Clarina Dimond, Delsie Dorena Dubendorf (Cook), Roy Kerr Eldridge,
Mabel Arlean Ewing (McCracketl), *Mattie Maude Freeman, Lloyd C.
Greenamyer, B. Ione Gripman (Tripp), C. Vernon Hathaway, Flolra E. Hilton (Fellman), Edmund George Johnson, Agnes Anna Lilly, Robert E. Lee,
F. Edith Miner (Russell), Owen Bayard Parham, Ethelyn Gertrude Simons,
C. Steele Spofford. Myrtle Irene Thornton.
I899-Grace W. Barron, Marie Elizabeth Blye (Perine), Frederick
Starr Buggie, Carolyn M. Chubb (Baker), Harriett Bernice Cooley, Edith
Joyce Goodman, Jennie Berdenah Hickey, Louis Alton Hutchins, Nellie
Ethelyn Jones, Elsie AlMayda Long, Arthur George Lyon, Jessie Harriet
Paddock, Kathleen Pratt, Charlotte S. Ray, Harriette G. Yesner.
90oo0-Bertha M. Bassett, Mabel A. Black, Hugh Wallace Clarke,
Bertha R. Cook. Florence Rena Cooley, Lois Maude Cowell, Ralph Norton
Conklin, Frank Meek Hiatt, Louise Margaret Hoyt (Hamilton), Rachel E.
Ladd, Lewis Henry Osborn, Jessie M. Pollock, Ellatheda Spofford, Mabel
Ellen Smith, Leon Clarence Yapp.
1901-Jooel Martin Barnes, Archibald Lamont Chubb, Rolla Stuart Davis, Laura Edgerton Hughes, Josie Belle Molby, George Adelbert Morrison,
Mary Elizabeth Phinney, Winnie May Sawin, Ezra Collin Shoecraft, Marv
Julia Simons, *Charles Sumner Stuart, Jr., Fred George Wahl.
1902-Helen Louise Baldwin (Shoecraft), Mariet Margaret Buggie,
Jessie Helena Cameron, Mara Watrous Conolver, Louise Clizbe, Angeline
Marion Dean, Don Dewey, Herbert Eldridge, Grace Houghton Fuller, Carl
Henry Goordwin, Carrie Parham, Rolene Alta Root, Abishai J. Sanders,
Archie Sanders, Mabel Victoria Sinclair, Alice Eleanor Southworth, WMilIiam Stroh, Roland George Swaffield, Montie B. Taylor, Elmina Coe Thompson, J. Garfield Upp, Lena Elizabeth Weage, Mabel Yesner.
i903-Robert Russell Burdick, Glenn Danford Bradley, Flora May
Barnard, Anna Bishop, Alma Agnes Cooley, Bert Wilson Culver, Amy
Dimond, Edna May Evans, Robert George Evans, Perry William Flandermeyer, Do'rlesca Cordelia Howe, Mabelle Louise Holmes, Edith Alice Lennox, Olive Beatrice Lennox, Arthur Edward Legg, Mary May Macdonough
(Wahl), Harriet Pratt, Flora Elizabeth Root, Marie Beatrice Ronan, Rex
Cameron Starr, Alice Elizabeth Vincent, Sarah Caroline Worcester.
1904-Carrie Barnard, Rolene Chandler (Cummins), Guy Chiesman,
Reo Gripman, Ray Keeslar Immel, Lucile Jones, Satie Keep, Harry Kempster, Jessie Lawton, Ray Locke, Jessie Thurston, Myrtle White.




164:             HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
1905-Harriet N. Evans, Mabel Gripman, Wava Junk, Lou Kramer,
Ethel Kerr, Rachel MacGowan, Burr Osborn, Burt Pitcher, Philip Robinson,
Pearl Schrontz, Eleanor Stowell, George Wicker.
go6 —Norah Jane Carroll, Rena Marguerite Clark, Fern Anchore
Doerr, Harold Lewis George, Grace Leona Gray, Earl Ostrander Immel,
Grayson Thomas Kinney, Frank Gardner Legg, Ray Howland Lockwood,
Mary Grace Rawson, Harold Arthur Robinson, Isabelle Ellen Ronan, Mary
Merle Schmedlen, Constance Stratton, Ethel Leone Stroh, William Embry
White.
QUINCY SCHOOLS.
The first school held at the center of Quincy township and attended by
the children of persons now living in Quincy village was taught by Mrs.
Peter Newberrv at her home north of town.   Mrs. E. B. Church and
Jerome Clizbe are the only ones of her scholars still living. The first schoolhouse erected was of logs and stood on the site of the depot grounds. After
about four or five years the log house was torn down and a frame sclhoolhouse put up in its place. In a few years the district became so large that
one schoolhouse would not accommodate all the pupils, so a private school
was organized in 1844, with Mrs. Bundy as teacher. When the railroad
was built, in I850. the schoolhouse was moved to where the Methodist church
now stands, on West Chicago street. The Methodist church obtained this
site about 1854, and the schoolhouse was moved to Jefferson street. On
this occasion quite an argument arose as to whether the building should be
moved east or west, so the people who lived in the west part of the district
hitched their oxen to the west side of the building, and those in the east part
hitched their oxen to the east side. VWhen all were ready the spectators cried,
"Pull long! Pull strong! " and the building moved to the east, thus deciding the question.
The district had grown so large noew that the frame building and Mrs.
Bundy's select school would not accommodate all, and another select school
was organized, in I854, to accommodate the older pupils. This was taught
by a Mr. Watkins and was the first graded school in the district. Two years
later the district decided to build another schoolhouse. This building was of
brick, located on the corner of East Jefferson and Fulton streets, on the site
still occupied by the central school building. The old frame building which
had so long served the purposes of a school was sold to Jonas Culver, who
moved it away and converted it into a dwelling.
The Union school movement described on a previous page was now taken up by the people of Quincy.
In I869 the first brick building was remodeled. The front portion of the
present building was erected as an addition to the old structure. This addition stands to-day, but in I904 the part that had stood since I858 and in
which children and children's children and even grandchildren had learned
their first lessons, was torn down, and replaced by a large and convenient addition at a cost of about ten thousand dollars. Thus the school building in






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


use at the present writing is a combination of the old and the new in school
architecture, the front part, surmounted by the cupola, dating back to I869
and the south side of the building being only two years old.
The Quincy high school maintains the high standard of Michigan high
schools, is on the approved list of the State University and the State Normal.
and its influence as an institution is shown by the ties which bind its alumni
together and the pride the people in general manifest in the work of local
education. The superintendent of the schools is F. E. Knapp, and his assistants in the upper grades' work are Amelia Todd, Ethel Fox and Jennie
Burns. The board of education at this writing consists of these citizens:
K. B. Etheridge, president; W. H. Lockerby, secretary; F. A. McKenzie,
treasurer; A. L. Bowen and M. J. Rawson, trustees.
The Alumni Association of the Quincy high school was formed July
5, I884, its first officers being: Miss Gertie Dobson, president; Dr. Will
Marsh, vice president, and Samuel J. Gier, secretary and treasurer.  The
associations of early years have been renewed at each subsequent annual
meeting, and the ties that form the basis of sutch an organization are such that
the names of its members as they have been added from year to year are the
most important document in the school's history.
As compiled from the records of the Alumni Association, the classes
from 1876 to the present are:
1876-A. V. R. Pond; W. C. Marsh, a graduate of the University of
Michigan's medical department, practicing in Quincy a few years, and now
a prominent physician of Albion, Mich.; R. Upton Gay.
I88 —Carrie Clark, Cora Clizbe, Livonia Rogers, May Wilson, May
Collins, Adda Culver.
I882-Maude Joseph; Gertie Dobson, a teacher in Quincy schools for
a long time, later a department teacher in Mt. Pleasant (Mich.) Normal,
and now   studying medicine in Rush Medical College; Jessie E. Cook;
Howard J. Hill, formerly a dentist at Alma, Nebraska, where he has been
successful in business and has now given up practice.
1883 —Joie Golden, Elsie Babcock, Adda Archer, Cora E. Brown, Hubert Joseph.
T884-Blanche Daggett; Samuel J. Gier, now superintendent of the
Hillsdale city schools; John B. Daish, an attorney at Washington, D. C.;
Claude Larzelere. who graduated from the University of Michigan, took a
post-graduate course at Harvardl and is now head of the history department of Mt. Pleasant Normal.
I885-Rena S. Barber, the wiife of P'rof. Larzelere just mentioned;
Grace Markel, Orcelia Marshall, Grace M. Lytle, Ida M. Wilcox, Ella D.
Sweeney; Ida A. Macklem and Franc \I. Macklem, both teaching in the Elkhart schools.
I886-Rena B. Wright, Minnie M. Rathbun, Minnie M. Myers, Charles
L. Van Orsdal.
1887-Gertie Blackman, Florence Mann, Hattie Swan, Alberta Hoffman, Vieva Wilcox, Auta Pratt, Estella Sanderson, Orlo Dobson.




166              1ISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
I888-Lillian Bignell, the only graduate of that year, is now superintendent of the schools at Galesburg, Mich.
I889 —Justus G. Lawson, a prominent attorrney at Grand Rapids; J.
Harry Nichols, J. Whitney Watkins, Charles L. Wood.
I89I-Matie Decker. Phi Berry, Pearl Kinyon, Lena Berry, Ralph
Turner, Ed. Crevie.
1892-Jessie C. Mason, Alice C. Ethridge, Allen J. Talent, Azalia M.
Drake, Nettie M. Ball, Percy L. Freeman.
1893-Charles W. Morey, an electrical engineer in Chicago; Ethel
Noble, T. Howard Hyslop, Blanche Baker, Georgia M. Turner, Fred J.
Rathbun, Cora M. Blackman, Hattie L. Denham.
1894-Charles Harpham, now a member of the faculty olf the University of Michigan; Arthur Bellis. a graduate of the University of Michigan,
and now superintendent of schools at Birmingham, this state; James Bellis,
a teacher in a business college at Ypsilanti; Dr. J. M. Blackman, of Quincy;
W. G. Cowell, now prosecuting attorney of Branch county; Allie Day, Genevieve Allen, Fern Haysmer, Edith Haight.
T895-Charles A. D. Young, a government engineer on the Sault
canal; Will Moore. Fred Wilbur, Bert Herrick, Lewis Powel, Arthur Noble,
Ambrose Bailey, Pearl Herendeen, Rena Bowers, Minnie Bailey, Georgia
Marks, Myrtie Sanderson, Louie Kinyon.
I896-Orrin Bowen, the Bronson attorney; Lula R. Knapp, wife of
Volney Hungerford, superintendent of schools at Decatur, Michigan; Mary
E. Allen, Ward W. Allen, Maud Babcock, Clifford A. Bishop. Erma M.
Bogue, Cora M. Briggs, Lillian B. Culver, Julia E. Harpham, Ella Lashuay,
Mabel Noble, Arthur E. Rogers, Fannie E. Spaulding, Lucinda Spaulding.
1897-Mabel Luse, Lottie Safford, Ira Trimm, Lulu Wiser, Bertie
Mason, Ora Safford, Eva Vaughn. Mertie Strang, Frank Berry. Anna B.
Orcutt, Maud Thompson, Arthur Berry, Minnie Oliver, Jennie Oliver.
i898-Alice Houghtaling, Angelene Haynes, Henry W. Austin, Mabel
J. Belote, James W. Burns, Salla Spaulding, Joseph W. Barker, Carlotta E.
Dean, Laura E. Eldred, Grace M. Harpham, Everett E. Dorris, Grace
Bailey.
T89 —Ruby Kinyon. Grace Kinyon, Emma Barber, W. Albert Eldred,
Inis Herrick, Edith Hewitt, Edna Knapp, Otis Ransom, Essie Sharp, Vera
Thompson, Eliza Warner, Orson WVarner.
Ioo —Joel M. Barnes, now a special science student in the University
of Michigan; WValter Failor, an electrical engineer and superintendent of
an electric railway on the Pacific coast: Carl C. Sears, now practicing medicine at Ouincy; Millie Barnes, Maria Bradon, V. John Burns, Nellie Herendeen.
19o — Carl Gottschalk, a graduate in electrical engineering from  the
University of Michigan; Harold C. Jones, a special student in! chemistry at
the University; Ralph S. Andrews, bookkeeper for the WVolverine Portland
Cement Co. at Quincy; Kittie B. Iles, George R. Oxenham. Leona D. Barber, Ida M. Walter, Leora A. Walter, H. Iea Benge, Mable L. Etheridge.






g \ 1ill.::
4~?




Union City School Building




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


167


1902-Ray Whitmore, a graduate in medicine at the University of
Michigan; Grace B. Walsh. Carry M. Sheldon, Anna Oxenham, Everett
Benge.
1903-Harry    Farwell, a draftsman at Detroit; Edith M. Green,
formerly a Quincy teacher and now in the Ypsilanti Normal; Fred Boley,
an electrical engineer at South Bend; Elva Gage, Lena Wilmarth. Sarah
Safford, Louis Hoxie, Edith Walter, Ralph Keeler, Glenn Ransom.
1904 —Ralph McKenzie, Robert Sanderson, Ross D. Porter, Morean
Etheridge. Myrta Crater, Clara Stafford. Jessie Bovwerman, Jessie Robinson,
Wilhelmina Walsh. Roe Horning. Louie Knirk.
I905-Charles H. Walters, Edan M. Ransburg, Greta W. Forte, Ray
R. Brott, Mary E. Penoyer, Florence M. Dickerson, Charles H. Walters,
Lulu B. Brott, Jessie M. Aldrich, Rena A. Tompkins, Roy A. Boley, Nellie
M. Larzelere, Bernice V. Newberry, Harry E. Robinson.
The officers of the Alumni Association for 90o5-o6 were: Mrs. George
Houghtaling. president; Miss Jessie Aldrich,. vice president; Dr. Carl Sears,
secretary and treasurer.
UNION CITY SCHOOLS.
The first schoolhouse in Union City, built in 1837, a frame structure,
painted red and long known as " the red schoolhouse," is still standing upon
its original site at the corner of Ellen and Ann streets, having been for many
years in use as a dwelling. A little further down on Ellen street is the
handsome three-story brick and stone building that for the past thirty years
has been the central school building of the village. These two buildings
graphically illustrate the contrast between the educational facilities of the
first half of the nineteenth century and those of the present. The pioneer
equipment of schools described in an earlier part of this article on education
has been displaced by apparatus and methods in all respects in keeping with
the character of the buildings which now provide shelter for educational
work. The people of Union City are justly proud of their schools, and the
principal events in the progress of the educational institutions of the village
should be given at this point.
April 26, 1837, soon after the organization of the township of Union,
it was divided into four school districts, and that the assistance rendered
by the state at this early date was not large will be plainly seen when we
state that the apportionment of school moneys to all the schools in the
township in 1838 was only $51.38. School District No. 2 included Union
City, and the first teacher to have charge here after the organzation of the
districts was Miss Ellen E. Hammond, daughter of Deacon Chester Hammond. This was a summer school and was taught in t838. The teachers
immediately following Miss Hlammond were Henry Hammond and Miss
Sarah Sargent, although it is creditably related that Miss Sargent was really
the first teacher in Union City, she giving instruction during the winter of
1836-37, before the organization of districts.  Certain it is, however, that.31




168              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
Miss Sargent taught a school during the winter of 1839-40 in the office of
Justus Goodwin, on the county line.
The first schoolhouse was built in Union City in 1837, and the building
was also used by the Methodist and Congregational societies on alternate
Sundays. At about this time schools were also established in the rural districts surrounding Union City, and among the first was the one in the ILincoln
district, south of town, where in the summer of 1838 a school was taught
in a chamber of Caleb Lincoln's house, the school building being erected
the following year.
The real development of the Union City schools began, however, with
the erection of the present handsome school building on Ellen street. The
town had grown so rapidly in population that in the early seventies it became
evident that there must be additional room and facilities for the accommodation of the rapidly growing number of pupils.  Accordingly the present
building was completed in 1877 at a cost of about $25,0oo. It is a remarkably elegant and substantial building of stone and brick, three stories high.
and the improvements made upon it each year have served to make it a
model of convenience and utility. It has a fine public hall, a completely
equipped laboratory, a well-selected library, and all the modern equipments
and accessories, including water and electric lights upon every floor.
Excellent work is done in the lower grades and the high school is considered among the very best in this portion of the state. There are seven
regular courses of study and such is their thoroughness and completeness
that the high school has for years been on the approved list of the University
of Michigan, graduates therefrom being admitted direct to the university
without examination.
The graduates of the Union City High School during the different
years from the first class in I880 to the class of I906 are named in following' paragraphs. It seems just, however, to single out certain names from
the various classes and mention the position which has been attained by the
person in each case since he left the high school to begin the battle of life.
Of the class of I88o, C. E. Wisner is now a resident of Toledo and
engaged in land development in the south. E. L. Moseley is an entomologist
who has gained considerable prominence in his profession. W. H. Brumfield is at the head of a signal service bureau in the west. Of the class of
1884, WAalter Groesbeck is a patent attorney at Washington, D. C.; G. H.
Seymour is head of the banking business in Sherwood, and Delia Page is a
teacher of deaf mutes in West Superior, Wisconsin.
Two well known representatives of the class of i886 are Leon A. Johnson, present supervisor of Union township, and C. H. Lowell, connected
with the Farmers National Bank of Union City. From the class of 1887
should be mentioned Edward Guernsey, a foreign buyer for Marshall Field
and Company; and Mrs. Jennie (Walker) Spore, whoi is the sole founder
and manager of the Union City Creamery, an enterprise which she has built
up by her own business judgment and energy. From the class of 1888,






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


169


Herbert Johnson is a successful music teacher of Battle Creek, and Walter
Lowell is in charge of a sugar plantation in the Hawaiian Islands.
In the class of I889 were Carolyn L. Willard, now a well known concert pianist, associated with Madame Bloomfield Zeisler of Chicago; and
Edwin Hayden, who fills the chair of sociology in the University of Missouri. Ray Burlingame of the class of I890 is a druggist at Dowagiac. Of
those who went out in 1892, R. W. Coddington is asuperintendent of schools
in Michigan, and Jessie Willard is a doctor of osteopathy in Chicago. Lulu
Palmer, of 1893, is a teacher in one of the Wisconsin state normals.  Of
T894, Leo Warren is superintendent oif schools in North St. Paul, Minn.;
Hubert Bell is superintendent of schools at Boyne City, Mich., and E. M.
Chauncey is a physician at Girard. George Gaw, of the class of 1895, is
cashier in an Ypsilanti bank, and his classmate, Ralph Morrill, is a physician
in Lincoln, Neb., and on the faculty of a medical college in that city. Clayton Crandall and Carrie, of the class of I896, are high school teachers, and
many other of the graduates fill similar positions throughout this and adjoining states. Of the class of 1897, Arthur Barnes is superintendent of
schools at Olivet and F. W. Ackerman is principal of the Union City schools,
Leo L. Eddy is superintendent of the schools at Sherwood, and N. P. Olmsted is a minister. George Barnes, from the class of I898, gained the high
scholastic honor of a Rhodes scholarship at Oxford, England, and is now
attending that university. H. H. Willard, of I899, is on, the faculty of the
school of pharmacy of the University of Michigan, and A. H. Tower of the
same class is a doctor at Centerville.
The graduates for the different years are:
j88o-Elbert L. Page, A. Harshman Harrison. George E. Willitts, C.
Edward Wisner, Lorenzo D. Cochrane, E-dward L. Moseley, Willard H.
Brumfield, William H. Bauer, Robert H. Baker, John D. H. Wallace, Jay
P. Lee, Norris A. Cole, Ward C. Walker, Elma Lynn.
I88I —Ida Southerland, Jennie Rowe, M. Ross Graham, Warren D.
Converse.
I883-Nettie Doty.
I884-Myra McDonald, Walter Groesbeck, Erta Tuthill, George H.
Seymour, Jennie Corbin, John Bishop, Edward Stafford, Doane Smith,
Lydia Race, Eva Lester, Delia Page, Lida Nesbitt.
I88.5-Nellie Giltner, Nellie Lathrop, Rose Swartout, Sabrie Van Vleet,
Hattie Johnson, Verona Smith, Lura Laverty.
I886-Leon A. Johnson, Minnie Van Camp, Cora D. Fulton, Charles
H. Burton, Minnie Eddy, Jennie Chase, Charles H. Lowell.
I88g7-Edith Underwood, Hattie Blake, Nathan Rowe, Jessie Peck,
Nanette Jeffery, Edward Guernsey, Stella Buell, Isaac J. Margeson, Fred
Stafford, Bertha Sawin, Frank Cain, Robert McDonald, Jennie Walker.
i888-Herbert Johnson, Mary Stevens, Walter Lowell, Wylie Hubbard, Fred M. Hodge, Nettie Lee, Habey Haas, Mae Swartout, Ophelia Van
Vleet, Maude Hubbard. Mattie Stratton, Nellie Thompson.




170


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


T889-Frances Russell, Carrie L. Willard, Edwini Hayden, Clarence
Brace, Millie Simmons.
18o9-E. May Thompson, Laurene Corbin, Mertis Wellman. Byrdie
Gaw, Ray Burlingame, Claude Whitney, Daisy Buell, Georgia Smythe, Felia
Matthews.
i89I-L. Belle Watkins, Fred J. French, Frances C. Wilkins. Nellie
Clark, Alta McCrary, V. D. Lee, Isabella Maxon, Myrtie Mitchell, Hannah
Russell, Emma Merritt, Lois French.
T892-Ralph Waldo Coddington, Fred Hammond, Earl Hubbard,
Thomas Cain. May Burlingame, Frank S. Mann, Edna Peck, Fannie Bailey,
May I. Lowell, Jessie Willard, Sophia Page, Ella Gillett.
1893-Jessie Banford. Grace Smith, Grace Drumm, Mae Lee, Libbie
Fitzgerald, Serenol B. Clark, Albert Miller, Lizzie Peck, Lulu Palmer, Earl
Hayner.
T894-Hattie Wells, Georgia Bassett, Anna Melody, Leo Warren,
Chauncey, Lina Merrill.
I 89.5-Nettie Stevens, Ethel Kilbourn, Clara Page, Bertha Greenfield,
Myrta Bartlett, Edna Case, George Gaw, Ralph Morrill, Lizzie Norton.
i8oQ6-Elmer Wilson, Winfred Pierce, Harry Kimball, Ora Hayner,
Carrie Hurd. Miles Rider. Harry Wilcox, Frank Buell, Clayton Crandall.
1897 —John L. Moore, Lillie Mitchell, Coral Johnson, J. C. Studley,
Kittie Bell, Jennie Smith, Thomas Buell, Arthur Barnes, Simeon Bole,
George Howard, Minnie Smith, Clarence Reynolds, J. Carl Gaw, John
Truax, F. Ella Kilboum, F. W. Ackerman, Marcella Burns, Roy McEwen,
G. E. Ackerman, Carrie Saunders, Ethel Burnham, N. Perl Olmsted, Carle
Smith, Nellie Strong, Henry Wells, Leo. L. Eddy, Alice Pierce.
898 —George Barnes, Gertrude Travis, Bertha Simons, Blaine Brown,
Carrie Ward, Victor Crandall, Hettie Smith, Flora Banford, Lester Crandall,
Earl Fuller, James Melody, Daisy Matteson, Beryl Knauss, Floyd Davis,
Veva Bole, Grace Gaw. Lena Fox.
899 —Levi A. Geer, Cora E. Seymour, Hobart H. Willard, Ethel M.
Kimball, Lottie Bell, Nellie M. Spencer, Leland H. Tower, J. Morris Smith,
William H. Bruening, Fred H. Hass, Jessie R. Morrill, Bessie F. Hubbard.
Igoo-Clara L. Buell, Ora L. Smith, Fred S. Dunks, Erta B. Kimball,
Mertie M. Hass, Harry M. Simmons, Courtney B. Aiken, Henrietta M.
Knauss, Ervin A. Warsop.
1901-Mary L. Dibble, Grace R. Dunks, Daisy L. Eberhardt, Lura V.
Eitniear, Nellie E. French, Jesse N. Hayner, William H. Melody, Nina E.
Palmer, Amy Mortina Sweet, H. Harris Ward, Sherman Wilson.
1902-Dean S. Johnson, Ernest E. Baird, Mildred N. Wood, Elcy T.
McCausey, Dean E. Shannon, Zella E. Merrifield, (. Belle Fisk, Lula Libhart,
Dorr D. Buell, Hilda M. Bruening, Pauline G. Hawley, Claude L. Bullock,
Maude E. Grill. Maiorie Buell, Viva A. Spore.
1903-Bennett H. Ackerman, Franklin F'. Holbrook, Iza S. Holbrook,
Claude W. Johnson, Howard I. Ludwig, Homer R. Mallow, Harland A.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


171


Johnson, Viletta B. Lorejoy, Jessie Wheeler, Roy S. Wheeler, Jesse C. Kimball, John C. Corbin, Roy G. Newman, Louise L. Lux.
T904-Mary L. McCausey, Mary Copeland, Glynn Buell, Hazel Bowen,
Burr Collyer, Bessie Corbin, Thomas McCausey, May Clifford, Ray Warren,
David Church, Lucia Drake.
190o-P'etra Lundteigen, Edith V. Smith, Charlotte P. Carr, Aimee
Palmer, Maude A. Knauss, Hazel V. ~TWhitney, Ethel F. Pullman, Eva D.
Lux, Ethel A. Johnson, Lynn E. WTood, Gladys Brown, Aaron W. Poole,
Frank R. Corwin, Deo R. Parsons.
ig96-Harry Clifford, Matt Corwin, Margaret Stitt, Don Nichols,
Bessie Kilbourn. Emma Boyer, Carma Libhart, Vivian Baker.
BRONSON VILLAGE SCHOOLS.
The first school in the county, taught by Columbia Lancaster at Bronson Prairie in the winter of 1830-31, has already been spoken of. This and
several other schools, supported in a private way by several families cooperating in carrying them on, preceded the first public school on the prairie
in the township, and this first public school was the beginning of what has
become " the Public Schools of Bronson."
The "Bronson Public Schools," as a pamphlet, published for I905-o6
bv the Board of Education, is entitled, are not schools in several buildings,
nor are they schools free to pupils residing in the village only. They are
schools in one building, and this building is the schoolhouse of a school district, including, besides the village, territory from one to, two miles beyond it
in all directions. The district bears today the designation, " District No. I,"
the number indicating that it was the first district organized in the township.
The schools carried on in this one building of the district are, the high school,
the grammar or intermediate school and the primary school, the latter being
more commnly spoken of as " grades " or " departmients."  The time of the
entire course is twelve years, four years being given to each department.
Graduates of the high school may be admitted to any of the Michigan State
Normal colleges without examination.
This District No'. I was certainly organized some time before 1839,
probably in I837. Its first school, the first public school of the township,
was taught in a building on the ground where the Werner Bros. building
now stands on Matteson street, south of Chicago street. Among the early
teachers in this building were Miss Salona Pixley and Miss Maria Taggart.
Mr. Loring Grant Jones, still living in the village, remembers attending
school in this building. Later a schoolhouse was built a considerable distance
to the east on a corner of the Chicago road and the road running south on the
eastern boundary of the village. Here Miss Mary Ann Clark taught for a
time.  Mr. Jones remembers as other teachers also, Mr. Mitchell, Mr.
" Dick " Daughertv and Mr. Homer Wright, a brother of Mr. P. P. Wright.
Population on the prairie increased and when the village stage arrived
a union school was established. The report of the director on this union




172


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


school is illustrative not only of this particular school but in general of the
status of most village schools at the time.         The state superintendent of
public instruction, in 1857, asked information concerning each of the union
schools then in the state, and Jason Shepard, then director of the Bronson
school district, in his reply dated January 13, I858, gave the following categorical answers to the series of questions:
Ist. Our school was established on the 4th of the present month. (January, 1858.)
2nd. The size of the site is one acre of land.
3rd. The schoolhouse is 33 by 43 feet on the ground, two stories high, rooms 12 feet
in the clear, with recitation rooms in each story. Cost of the house, $2,500.
4th. The apparatus is small, consisting only of Mitchell's Outline Maps, costing $II.oo.
Number of volumes in library, 125.
5th. At present, there is but one department to our school; but on the first of April
it is expected another will be added, in which the higher branches will be taught.
6th. We have one male and one female teacher-a gentleman and his lady-at a salary
of $50 per month, for both.
7th. The average number of scholars in attendance is one hundred.
8th. The course of studies embraces Primary Geography, Philosophy, Algebra, Geometry and Astronomy.
9th. There have no students been fitted for higher schools.
Ioth. As far as I am acquainted the co-education of the sexes is advisable and I cannot but recommend it.
IIth. The expenses of our school are at present met by rate-bill, but I think after our
next annual meeting it will be free to scholars of our district.
I2th. The cost of this system of schools I think no greater than that of the single
district, while the advantages for advancement are much greater.
Our school and schoolhouse, although new and just commenced, has an influence among
us that no one would be willing to part with. It has created a spirit of energy never felt
among us before as well as a desire for advancement among parents and children. Where indifference has hitherto prevailed among our citizens, it is now asked, what shall be, and who
will be first in, our next enterprise.
We hope to give a good account of our school as time advances, and that our reports
hereafter may compare favorably with other schools.
Yours truly,                JASON SHEPARD, Director.
The building described was of frame, and in 1878 a brick addition,
two stories high, was constructed in front of the old building.
The Bronson school officers at the time of this writing are:         William
Scribner, president of Board of Education; William            Bushnell, secretary;
Jacob F. Werner, treasurer; Warren Boughton, James Davis, trustees.            The
teaching force are:    Frank E. Robinson, superintendent; Miss Bertha Robinson, principal: Miss Iles, assistant principal; Miss Mernie Bailey. eighth
grade; Miss Lucinda Bowen, second and third grades; Miss Della Osborn,
third grade; Miss Florence Anderson, primary.
The following paragraphs name the graduates who in the years since
I887 have gone from the high school:
I887 —Elison Weldon.
i888-Claire     Russell, Guella    Boughton    (Parlham), Edwin      Pbwers,
Florence Van Every.
89 ---  Edwin Moffit.
891I-Cora Washburn        (Chapman), Nellie Hamilton.
1892-Della     Wait    (Butler),   Nellie  Ellis   (Paul), Grace     Douglas
(Deane), Gula Albertson (Werner), Josie Jump, Anna Harris.




Bronson Public School




I:~
If:f




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                         173'
I893-Hattie Randall (Faust), Rose Jump (Staymen), Nan Hoskins
(Rider), Gussie Van Fleet (Davis). Cora Ticknor, Burt Corey, Emma Russell (Coon), Ora Cockle (Clark), Grace Jones (Howe), Myrtle Van Anken,
Rose Parham (Pfaff), Frank Douglas.
1895-George Davis, Burt Walker, HToward Horton.
1897-Mabel Earle, Lora Quear (Tinkham), Mabel Perrin, Christie
Shaffmaster, Gertrude Baxter, Emma Wait, Gertie Bush (Chapman), Ina
Fox.
I898-Estelle Blass.
89gg —Loa Secor (Lindsey), Ethel Turner (Gibbs), Glenn Green,
Ethel Latta, Fred Baxter, Margaret Cunningham.
T9oo-Eva Jones, Cornelius I ane, Peter Greenwald.
T9oi-Clara Squier, Stella Keyes (Nash), Clifford Carpenter, George,
Holcomb, Rose Davis.
1902-Theda Bailey, Audra Spitz, Josephine Burnell.
90o3-Vera Himebaugh     (Flanders). Jeanette Holmes, Ina   Clark,
Goldie Bush, Julia Tisdel, Cicero Holmes, Maude Stevenson, Oral Clark,
Clyde Bushnell.
iqo4-Elwood Bushnell, Maude Taggart, Maude Hurford, Myra Ruggles, Lola Perrin. Willie Cook.
19o5-Cass Scribner..
igo6-Hazel Branyan, Edith DeWitt, Gatha Dorn, Kathryn Himebaugh, Myrtle White, Joy Shaffmaster, Clesson Bushnell, Charles Rich,
Harold Bennett Clark.
SHERWOOD.
Sherwood's first school was the district school located on the angling
road west of the present village. With increase of population following the
establishment of the village in the seventies a school was established within
the village. In the late eighties the schools were graded and placed upon
a good standing by Mr. James Swain, now county commissioner of schools,
at that time superintendent of the Sherwood schools. In I894 the Sherwood
College buildings were purchased and devoted to village school purposes.
The structures are substantial and modern and occupy a commanding site.
There are now the regular twelve grades,, with four teachers, those for
I906-o7 being Ray Locke. superintendent; Bessie Cogswell, grammar
grades: Ethel Monteith, intermediate, and Bernice Willer, primary. The
board of education consists of J. W. Finch, Dr. C. E. Nelthorpe, Frank
Swain, Charles Hall and Dr. R. Fraser. The schools are on the approved
list of a large number of colleges, graduates being admitted to these without
examination.
The Sherwood High School has an alumni association of sixty members, which holds annual reunions. The graduates since 1892 are named
as follows:
1892 —May (Jackson) Stickney, J. A. Annis.
1893- Nellie (Thayer) Bower, Guy Thurston.
1893
0.nv NA^ '&,A




174


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


1894-Edna R. Locke, Amos Cross.
I895-Harry Wilcox, Wave (Locke) Wright, Frank French, Mamie
(Banker) Hill.
T896-Grace Smith, Daisy (Collins) Clark, Florence Crocker, Hattie
Blossonm.
I897-Frank Thors, Edw. Mowry, Jennie (Runyan) Lampman, Bernice Sargent, Adrian Sturgis, Nellie (Mowrv) Cline, Leo R. French, Inez
(Quinlan) French, Etta Mowry.
1898-Maamie (I-Iazen) Chipman, Gertie    (Bartlett) Collins, Effie
(Alger) Jones, Ray Hall.
I899-Glenn Cline, Clayton Selby, Josie Mowry, Robert Osborn, Guy
I. IMowry, Nina Thurston.
90oo-Lou (Sturgis) French, Earl Taylor, Ed. Sargent, Carson Fraser,
Vern French, Ernest Cole, Margaret Kidney, Glenn Sipes, Blanche (Nelson)
Bennett, Hazel Strickland, Hubert Thornton, Susie Davis.
190 —Ray E. Locke.
1902-Beulah Gwin, Gertrude Robinson, Myrtle Robinson, Eva Leatherlerry.
I903-Blanch I. French, George E. Ladyman, Jesse E. Thornton.
I904-No graduates.
190.5 —Iloyd Warren, Lulu Smith, Katie Eddy, Bertha Mitchell.
Tg96-Alice Wattles, Lena Spencer.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


175


CHAPTER XXII.
THE STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL.
In 1836 a company of charitably inclined ladies of Detroit organized
the Protestant Orphan Asylum of that city. Governor Henry P. Baldwin
was for some years a trustee of that institution and became considerably
interested in its work. Following his election as governor in I868 Governor
Baldwin made a trip to all the state institutions and many of those of a
public and private charitable nature in the various counties, and thoroughly
informed himself of conditions which he would meet in the performance of
his official duties. So impressed was he that a thorough and radical change
should be made in certain lines that he dwelt upon them at length in his
inaugural message and recommended that a commission be appointed to give
to them a thorough investigation and report to the legislature of 1871. The
commission appointed in accord with this resolution consisted of Hon. C. I.
Walker, of Detroit, and Hon. F. H. Rankin, of Flint.
Iargely because of his connection with the orphan asylum above mentioned Governor Baldwin was in position to see the child problem both
from a humane and public policy, and his message, which became the general instructions of the commission, set up that problem clearly. A short
quotation from the report of the commission will describe dependent child
life as they found it in the county houses, the only home provided up to
that time.
"Think of their surroundings: the raving of the maniac; the frightful
contortions of the epileptic; the driveling and senseless sputtering of the
idiot; the garrulous temper of the decrepit, neglected old age; the peevishness of the infirm; the accumulated filth of all these; then add the moral
degeneracy of such as from idleness and dissipation seek a refuge from
honest toil and you have a faint outline of the surroundings of these little
boys and girls. This is home to them. Here their first and most enduring
impressions of life are made. And is it any wonder that so large a percentage go from such surroundings to lives of idleness and crime and thus
to propagate and perpetuate a pauper, dependent and depraved class for
public support and maintenance?"
The commission found two hundred and twelve dependent children of
sound mind and sound bodies in the county poor houses and strongly supported Governor Baldwin's recommendation that they be taken from these
institutions and made wards of the state. They suggested three plans:
"Ist. Placed by indenture directly in families; or




176.             lISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
"2d. Placed in orphan asylums at the expense of the state; or
' 3d. Committed to an institution like the State Primary School at
Munson, Massachusetts."
When the report of this commission reached the legislature in 187I it
was referred to a joint committee from both houses, of which the late Hon.
C. D. Randall, of Coldwater, then state senator from this district, was chairnan. As its work progressed various members of the committee took up
the questions presented and Mr. Randall was assigned to the child problem.
All three of the plans suggested by the commission had adherents. ' Bills
were introduced in the legislature and referred to the joint committee, favoring each.  The Michigan Orphan Asylum,, at Adrian, largely under the
management of Aunt Laura Haviland, as she was generally known, was very
persistent in its advocacy of the second of these plans.
It was most provident that the whole problem wrent into, the hands of
a man like Mr. Randall, who was then in the height of his successful business career, and that that gentleman gave to it the best of his business ability.
Analyzing each proposition in turn, he formed the following conclusions:
The first plan would doubtless have proved a failure, as Mr. Randall argued,
for several reasons. Families would seldom receive children directly from
the poor houses.  Many of these children have been neglected and need
certain training before they can be successfully placed in homes.  Unless
carefully watched after being placed in homes, no matter how carefully the
homes are selected, great injustice to the children must often result."  His
study of the orphan asylum plans as they have been worked out in New
York and California, under the contract system, turned Mr. Randall against
that plan. When he secured statistics of the general lack of success in active
life by institutionally raised children he could not be won to that plan by the
persistent Adrian lobbyists or anyone else. The special institution referred
to in the third plan was more on the line of what the industrial schools of
this state have since become, except that it was for both dependent and depraved children. Their union in one institution at once became a menace to
the better class. From a union of all these Mr. Randall finally evolved a
plan which he presented to the committee in two short sections:
" Ist.  The state assumes guardianship of all dependent children of
sound mind and body between ten and sixteen years of age.
"2d. There shall be a state public school for these children connected
with the common school system, to be their temporary educational home until
they can be placed in family homes, the state to supervise them  during
minority."
Mr. Randall's ideas were unanimously endorsed by the joint committee,
and he was instructed to draft a bill which he introduced on February 22.
It passed both houses and was signed by Governor Bagley on April 17, T87I,
and created the State Public School on substantially the same lines it has
always followed-the first state institution of its kind in the world. After
an experience of thirty-four years the greatest change from Mr. Randall's
original plan is the reduction of the age limit at each end. Everyone believes






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


177


the admission of the babies is a good thing, but whether the limit should
have been cut below sixteen years is a debatable problem.
As soon as the bill was passed Mr. Randall began a campaign to secure
the institution for Coldwater. Jackson, Flint, Albion, Holly,. Adrian, Brooklyn, Northville, Grand Haven, Plymouth, St. Johns, Lansing, North Lansing, Portland, Jonesville and Monroe also came out with bids for its location.
The late Hon. Harvey Haynes proposed to Mr. Randall toi take equal chances
and offer the board of location the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars if
the school should be located here.  On April I9, 1872, John J. Bagley
(afterward governor), secretary of the commission, wrote Mr. Randall, in
behalf of the commission, offering to locate here if the city would donate the
Haynes tract and seven acres east of it, in all twenty-seven acres, and give
bonds to pay into the treasury of the institution five thousand dollars per
vear for five years. It took a lot of hard work, but the funds were secured
and the offer accepted.
The State Board of Corrections and Charities was another outgrowth of
Governor Baldwin's message and the commission above referred to. By
its provisions the Governor appointed an agent of this board in each county
of the state. Among his duties this officer is to constantly search for suitable
homes for dependent children in his county, and is the legal guardian of
children from the State Public School during their indenture into homes
in his county. The legislature has since provided for a state agent who
travels from county to county assisting county agents and inspiring them to
do good work. The work of the school has been to reduce the per capita of
dependent children of the state to a very large extent, while the population
has more than doubled. The institution opened in 1874. During that year
one hundred and thirteen boys and forty-seven girls were received and cared
for, a total of one hundred and sixty. During the school year of I903-04
there were ninety-eight boys and eighty-one girls received, a total of one
hundred and seventy-nine. The total number of boys received up to the close
of the year 1903-04 was three thousand five hundred and forty-two, and the
total number of girls one thousand nine hundred and thirty-eight; total
number of children, five thousand four hundred and eighty to the close of
that fiscal year, which is the last published report of the institution.
From a table in the last monthly report of the clerk of the institution
to the board the following figures will be of interest, showing the disposition
of all children since the school opened.
Received since school opened in May, I874.............       5790
In families on indenture first of the month.................  9
In families on indenture became operative during month......  2
In families on trial...5......0..........................  50
Placed in families and residence unknown for over a year....  10
Total from whom reports are to be obtained........... 207
I                No7$




n I;


178


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Remaining in the institution at this date...................  172
Total present wards of the school..........................  379
Returned to counties by order of the board..................  749
Died in families and in school........................   227
Adopted by proceedings in the probate courts..............  687
Have become of legal age................................  360
Girls married.................................   i86
Have  been  restored  to  parents.........................   589
Have become self-supporting............................  613
Total......................................5790


579~


Of the children received up to the last published report 5,i90 have been
white, 269 colored and 21 Indian; 1,289 were American born, I,067 foreign
born and 3,I24 nationality unknown; 384 were orphans, I,069 half orphans,
2,667 both parents living, 360 unknown parentage.  The average time of
residence at the school for all children has been 4.05 months. The success
of the plan is evidenced by the fact that of all the children indentured into
homes 3,017 have had to be indentured but once, and 800 were successfully
placed at the second trial. When it is remembered that misfits as to; disposition are more conducive to lack of success both as to the home and the child
than any other cause, this record is remarkable. Of the 854 children visited
in homes by the state agent in the year previous to his last report he summarized 524 as "doing well," 223 as " doing fairly well" and only 36 as
"doing poorly," and this was only five per cent of those visited.
While the maintenance of children in orphan asylums costs other states
from fifty to one hundred dollars per year for each child, the large number
who are successfully indentured into good homes by the " Michigan plan"
as it is generally known, has reduced the average expense to the state per
child from year to year to less than twenty-eight dollars, and the " Michigan
plan " places children in that best of all places for their successful growth to
the ideal manhood and womanhood, the homes of its people.
There are several things which have been factors in the success of the
State Public School. Among them has been the careful and efficient management of its various superintendents.  In turn they have been Zelotus
Truesdell, Lyman P. Alden, John N. Foster, Wesley Sears, Chancy F. Newkirk, W. H. Wieand, A. N. Woodruff, A. J. Murray. John B. Montgomery.
The latter gentleman has held the position since December 15, I897. The
present board of control are Governor Fred M. W\arner, ex-officio,; Frank
M. Stewart, Hillsdale; John D. Shull, Tecumseh; and Norman A. Reynolds,
Coldwater.
Of course, there have been changes since the school started.  The
original plot of twenty-seven acres has gradually expanded to one hundred
and sixty acres. The buildings now include a fine administration building,
chapel and dining room, a commodious school building, nine cottages, hospital, power house, barns, laundry, etc. The last invoice of state property at




i~ S xrS~F^ l~^ r ~^~*~ " ~- **-". *................  -.0;-~,   ~~ ~~  i;   ~:  ~;;   ~~~  ~ ~:.  ~   ~.....,. ~...........,.......




Branch County Infirmary




HISTOY OF BRANCH COUNTY


179


the institution placed the buildings at $15,II I; the steam heating plant, etc.,
at $25,000; the land at $26,00o, and the whole outfit at $259,950.
Among the recent changes is the admision of babies, which has now
been done for nearly five years, at first only in a limited way, but of late
taking all that have come.  The experiment has been entirely successful.
Instead rof these waifs being promiscuously given away and drifting to no
one knows where, thev are now carefully cared for and their interests
properly guarded. Children of these institutions have no taint upon them,
they are simply dependent. Many of them have gone out to win positions of
trust and honor, and several are leading citizens in various state circles.
THE BRANCH COUNTY INFIRMARY for dependent people, after an existence of nearly forty years, stands today as a monument to the wisdom
and sagacity of the state legislators of the early sixties, who enacted the
laws providing for its establishment and maintenance.
Michigan has long been noted for her charitable institutions, but probably no public institution has been productive of more genuine good than this
Branch county infirmary for the poor and distressed people of our county.
The institution is located just north of the city on the Marshall road.
A fine farm of one hundred and forty acres admirably managed provides a
goodly share of the table supplies, while supporting a fine herd of Jersey and
Durham cattle from which is obtained the large amount of milk and butter
necessary in an institution of this kind. Mr. George E. Burdick, the keeper,
manages to turn over to, the treasurer frozm six to twelve hundred dollars each
year, for products taken from the farm. The main building is a large threestory brick structure of forty rooms and admirably constructed for the purpose intended. The arrangements are convenient and grounds beautiful.
The main building contains the superintendent's office and keeper's
private apartments. On the first floor are the inmates' dining-rooms, pantries,
sitting rooms, one large kitchen, supplied with large range and steam cookers.
One large room with six beds is expressly for the old ladies that are not
able to go to the second floors; second and third floors are arranged as dormatories, while the basement is utilized as store rooms for the large amount of
needed supplies.  At convenient points upon the grounds are the hospital,
power house, laundry, vegetable cellar and many other buildings necessary
for the management of an institution of this kind.
The law provides for the admission of inmates to the institution on the
certificate of one of the superintendents of the poor, to be issued only to
dependent people who have no one to care for them. Since the establishment
of the infirmary in I86o over two thousand persons have been received and
cared for: there are, on an average, forty inmates. A physician is hired by
the year, Dr. Legg, of Coldwater, being the present physician. The inmates
are well looked after, comfortably clothed and fed on good wholesome food.
All beds throughout the institution are iron with good springs and mattresses and plenty of bedding. Those that are able to work are furnished
with such employment as he or she is able to perform.




180              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
The main building and hospitals are heated by steam. An electric lighting plant has just been installed, which adds to the convenience and safety;
also three fire escapes on the main building.
The laundry is thoroughly equipped with all modern machinery. The
plant has its own water works and sewerage, and every attention is paid to
sanitary measures.
Devotional exercises are conducted once a month by the W. C. T. U.
and are looked forward to with a great deal of interest by the inmates. The
holidays are always observed in due form. The infirmary is in direct charge
of a board of superintendents. The present board are B. F. Rolph, Coldwater; D. W. Dodge, Union City, and Dr. E. Blackman, of Quincy. The
keeper and matron, Mr. and Mrs. George E. Burdick, have complete management and have as assistants in their work two engineers, one farm; hand
and two cooks. Institutions of this kind are being looked after more carefully than in the past, their development and management are increasing
year by year, so that they are now ranking with state and other large institutions of the day.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


181


CHAPTER XXIII.
LIBRARIES-ACTIVITY IN LITERATURE, MUSIC, ART.
The library movement in this county may be said to have had its practical beginning in connection with the schools, there being provisions for the
establishment of school libraries in the first school legislation. The pioneer
conception of a school library was, like most things of that time, primitive
and crude. It is related that the citizens of one district in the county set
aside five dollars to " establish " a library and an equal amount for the purchase of a suitable case in which to keep the books. Only ten dollars each
year, in fact, could by law be set aside for a library. This was, of course,
strictly a school library, and as such a part of school apparatus; it would
hardly come under the consideration of this chapter.
Later the law was enacted providing that a township might tax itself to
maintain a township library. Union City has a township library which as
yet provides all the library facilities to be found in that village except the
school libraries. In some villages of the state the township library is in a
flourishing condition, but as a rule the township library does not fill the place
that the makers of the law proposed.
BRONSON.
Bronson has a township library which has become, largely through the
efforts of the ladies of the village, an institution worthy of the name. " The
Free Public Library of Bronson" had its beginning in a " Ladies' Library
Association," of which, in the catalogue of I9OI, the following are named
as members: Mrs. Mary Powers Gillam (nee Shepard), Mrs. Nellie Corey,
Mrs. Warren Byrns, Mrs. J. Decatur Driggs (nee Flanders), and Mrs. E. C.
Stevens and others. The association was begun about I88o, and a reorganization and change of name occurred in 1888. Mrs. Corey was the first
librarian. In I9OI a catalogue was printed, with an ordinary sized octavo
page of seventy-two pages. Previous to this the catalogue was printed on
both sides of large cards about 12 by I6 inches. The number of volumes
in the Bronson library in I901 was about 28oo. The library is located in the
town hall of Bronson township, and, as stated, is a township and not a village
library. It is open every Saturday from 2 to 5 p. m., and also in the evening.
Mr. Frank Keyes, Miss Louise Stevens, Miss Helen Powers, Mrs. Mary Akers
have been librarians, and the librarian since April I, I9OI, has been Mrs.
Josephine (Burell) Green. The board of trustees in I9OI were Henry P.
Mowry, John R. Bonnev. Vinton H. Shaw, Clinton Himebaugh, John D.
Schurtz, Nathaniel L. Hiolmes.




182


HISTORY OF BRANCH COU.NTY


LADIES' LIBRARY ASSOCIATION OF QUINCY.
About eight years ago Miss Frey, a teacher in the public schools, suggested the idea which was worked out and resulted in the organization of
the Ladies' Library Association. In January, 1898, the ladies of the village
held a social at which each one contributed one volume for the nucleus of the
library, and since then the members, who now number about seventy-five,
have contributed an annual due of fifty cents, and besides have given entertainments of various kinds to raise revenue. A small amount is also, derived
from the five-cent fee charged each outsider who takes a book.
There is no question of the success of the association's efforts.  In
almost every case the numerous Carnegie and other public libraries of the
country have started from the nucleus established by a local association similar to that in Quincy, and the work now being done by the ladies of Quincy
will bear fruit through all the future years. The library now contains 750
volumes, mostly fiction. Room for the books was first furnished by Mr.
W. H. Lockerby, they were next kept for a time in rented quarters, until the
State Bank donated a room in the rear of their building, where the collection
is now located.
Mrs. M. S. Segur has been president of the association since its inception.  Mrs. Rodney Twadell was the first vice president, Mrs. Charles
Houghtaling being her successor and the present occupant of the office. Mrs.
Walton Barnes is secretary, and Mrs. W. H. Lockerby treasurer. The first
librarian was Mrs. E. C. Dove, then Mrs. R. D. Rawson, and Mrs. Segur at
present acts in that capacity.
COIDWATER PUBLIC LIBRARY.
The history of the Coldwater Library, which as an object of civic pride
deserves to rank first among the city's institutions since few cities of the size
anywhere in the country have larger and better equipped libraries, illustrates
a praiseworthy combination of associate enterprise, of individual liberality
and municipal public spirit.
The history of the Coldwater library goes back forty years, to an effort
of the ladies of the city to, conduct a lecture course. Money for this purpose
was raised to the amount of five hundred dollars by a series oif home entertainments. The public lecture movement having by that time lost favor, the
lecture association, in 1869, resolved itself into a Ladies' Library Association.
The charter members of this association were: Margaret L. Powers, Marietta K. Loveridge, Georgiana L. Cutter, Emeline Barber, Mary A. Wade,
Mariet Smith, Harriet D. Morgan, Mary C. Champion, Mary Shipman,
Alma Lewis, Alice C. Randall, Lizzie P. Woodward, Ardessa Crippen, Helen
I. Lanphere, Harriet I. Mockridge, Olivia Safford, Josephine P. McGowan,
Adeline M. Wing. Sallie G. Nichols. Mary A. Rose, Ann Van Valkenburgh.
These may be considered the founders of the public library in Coldwater.
Besides the money which had accumulated from the lecture movement,
the city was canvassed for subscriptions to annual memberships in the library




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


183


association, and twenty-three life memberships were also' sold at thirty dollars
each. This gave the association an original capital of twelve hundred and
fifty dollars.
Fifteen hundred dollars were expended during the first year for books,
and by the end of 1870 there were twelve hundred volumes in the library.
The first library quarters were the parlors of the late Dr. Beach's home on
East Chicago street, which he donated to the association. In 1874 he presented the association with a building in the rear of his dwelling and a fiveyear lease on the ground. Several hundred dollars were spent in making the
building convenient for its purpose. Thus, by I880, the Ladies' Library Association of Coldwater was in a flourishing condition, having a library'of
two thousand volumes, a steady membership and having been untaxed by
rent and other heavy expenses.
Besides the ladies' library, there was a school library of about a thousand
volumes. This had accumulated in regular course from school tax devoted
to that purpose, and the books were kept in the schoolhouses.
Tn March, I880, the Coldwater city council, in accordance with an act
of the legislature providing that public libraries might be organized and
maintained by townships and municipalities, adopted a resolution providing
for the establishment of a city library, the same to be free to, all citizens,
and to be in charge of a library board of nine citizens, who, were
to have complete control of the library.   The act of the city council
was part of the general plan for a combination and enlargement of the city's
library facilities. The legislature passed a special law allowing the school
library to be transferred to the city library, and the Ladies' Association also
transferred their property and privileges to the public library, thereby losing
their existence through integration with a larger institution. The coinsolidation of the two libraries was effected, and when the first library board took
charge the history of the present library began.
There was an excellent nucleus of books, but otherwise the growth of
the library to its present proportio'ns has taken place since the creatio'n of the
public library in I88o. Almost at the beginning of its existence the board
procured the fine site on East Chicago street just east of the public square,
but there were no funds with which to erect a suitable building, and a special appropriation of public credit for that purpose was out of the question.
The library had outgrown its quarters, and its usefulness was seriously impaired. In March. I885, the number o'f volumes had increased to' 5,688, and
the value of the institution depended on the kind of building that should
shelter it.
The public spirit of a successful business man could find no better expression and monument than in such a structure as the Edwin R. Clarke Library
Building. The late Edwin R. Clarke came to Coldwater in 1850, so that he
belongs among the pioneers, and in that year established the drug business
on the corner of Chicago and Monroe streets which, at the same location, has
been increased and has been successfully conducted to the present time. Mr.
Clarke's ability and success as a merchant were equalled by his interest in his




184              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
city. He did not give recklessly without thought of results; but exercised
the same care in that direction which had made his business prosperous.
With mature forethought, therefore, he offered to build a home for the
Coldwater public library, and at the same time submitted plans of the building which he proposed to erect.  His generous offer was accepted.  The
building was begun in the summer of I886, and on December 29, I886, the
formal presentation and dedication were celebrated in the Tibbits opera
house. It is proper to quote the words with which Mr. Clarke presented the
building to the city: " When I first came to Michigan," he said, " the country was new. The people generally were in moderate circumstances, and
books and reading matter were not plentiful.  I well remember the great
privilege it seemed and the kindness I felt it to, be when some of those early
settlers gave me access to, and the use of, their limited collection of books.
Recollections of those early days and the desire to express the friendship I
feel toward a community in which I have lived so long, induced me to offer
to build for you a library building."
The library is supported by the fines which formerly went to the school
library and also a half-mill tax on city property. From six thousand volumes
in I885 the main library floor is now overcrowded with sixteen thousand
volumes, and there are hundreds of documents and other material stored in
the lecture room on the second floor. The moist notable single addition was
the private library of the late H. C. Lewis. Among the three thousand volumes of the collection are many costly and valuable works on art. Mr. Lewis
was also a connoisseur in fine bindings, and the examples which he gathered
at much cost of money and effort are also, preserved in the library.
Miss Mary A. Eddy, who had been for some time librarian of the Ladies' Association, was appointed librarian of the public library July 6, I88I..
She was succeeded by Miss Florence M. Holmes, who has held the position
of librarian since 1895. The usefulness of the library to the public has been
largely due to their capable and intelligent direction. The board of directors
at this writing are the following: Z. G. Osborn, president; C. U. Champion,
vice president; H. H. Barlow, secretary; and Mrs. G. Van Valkenburgh, M.
W. Wimer, Mrs. Margaret U. Clarke, Mrs. Alma M. Cunningham, William Wilson and Elmer E. Palmer.
ACTIVITY IN LITERATURE, ART AND MUSIC.
An institution that for a number of years did much to foster an interest and taste in the best works of art was the Lewis Art Gallery, which
was established by the late H. C. Lewis some time during the sixties. The
collection had been gathered during the sojourn of Mr. Lewis and his wife
abroad, especially in Italy, and consisted of a number of originals and copies
of well known works of the ancient and modern schools. To afford proper
quarters for this collection Mr. Lewis erected, just west of his residence, a
gallery, which is the south portion of the present Y. M. C. A. building; and
when the collection continued to grow, he built an addition, forty by forty
feet, on the north side of the first gallery. Some time after the death of Mr.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


185


Lewis the collection of paintings was removed to Ann Arbor, having been
bequeathed to tie State University.  The Lewis Art Gallery building was
afterwards remodeled to some extent and has since served as the home of
the Y. M. C. A.
WRITERS, ARTISTS AND MUSICAL ORGANIZATIONS.
The number of individuals belonging to Branch county who have been
original producers in the fields of literature and the fine arts cannot be said
to be large. And yet comparison with other communities might reveal it as
a fact, that in proportion to its population its number of producers in these
fields is as high as the average in our state or in the entire country. There
are not many Branch county people who have written books, or painted fine
pictures, or composed music, or chiseled works of sculpture, or designed
artistic structures as architects. The large cities with their wealth and social
stimulus and culture draw to themselves the talented and ambitious individuals. Branch county has only one city, and that with a population only
a little more than 6,0oo. The county has no college, while Hillsdale on the
east of it has Hillsdale College, Calhoun on the north has Albion College.
and Kalamazoo cornering on the northwest has its Kalamazoo College. The
three counties, Branch, St. Joseph, and Cass, so similar in many respects, as
we have noted, are alike also in. this, that no one of them has the scholarship
and culture of a college within its borders.
The classes of persons in every community who are naturally most inclined to write out their thoughts and have them printed for others to read
are its editors, ministers, lawyers, physicians and teachers. Besides these,
every American community as large as a county is likely to have individuals
in it who make writing for the reading world a part of their work. Branch
county has persons in it belonging to every one of these classes, whose writing has been printed and has gone into the reading matter of the people of the
county or of a wider public.
Of course the class who give the most reading matter to the public are
the editors of the newspapers. From the very beginning Branch county has
had men among the editors of its papers, who, besides giving to the people
a large and well arranged amount of local news, have done strong, thoughtful, and effective editorial writing, men too whose work has something of
real literary quality in it. The names of most of these editorial writers have
been mentioned already in treating of the press of the county, but a sketch of
its literary activities requires allusion at least also here to the editors as a class,
if not some particular mention of persons.
First in the list of editors who have done large and influential work in
the county in putting their thought into language stands the name of Albert
Chandler. For eight years from April 6, I84I, he wrote something every
week in the Coldwater Sentinel that the people of the county read. To record the beginning, however, of this kind of literary production in the county requires that we go back four years farther to the year 1837 and into the
extinct little village of Branchl. There Charles P. West put his own editorials




186


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


into the Michigan Star with now and then a brighter and keener article from
the pen of his sister. Miss Laura West. Between I850 and I86o Elihu B.
Pond, 11. B. Stillman, Seth W. Driggs, Col. H. C. Gilbert, Judge John H.
Gray, and his son, John H. Gray, Jr., sent from Coldwater week by week
the product of their pens, a product exhibiting no low literary quality. Durii;g the next decade, I86o to I'870, Coldwater still continued to do almost the
entire editorial writing done in the county. The men who did it were: Jonas
H. McGowan, C. P. Benton, F. V. Smith, W. G. Moore, Major David J.
Easton, P. P. Nichols, andI Frank L. Skeels.
The man who ranks as the Nestor of Branch county editors, both by
reason of his long service and the large amount and high character of his
work, is Abram J. Aldrich. Beginning with the weekly in I873 and going on
from  1875 with a semi-weekly, for twenty years continuously he put his
thought week by week upon the pages of his paper. Behind his thought was
the scholarship of a university graduate, a wide range of reading, and high
moral ideals. His thought had substance, insight, breadth and moral earnestness, and his language had vigor and aptness of phrase. The following
extract from his editorial in the first number of the Setmi-Weekly Republican,
issued August 3, I875, is typical of the man and his paper, and is an historical example of the kind of literature produced by a Branch county man
and read by Branch county people for twenty years. The editorial was headed, "Independent Journalism," and contained the following:  " We hear
more about independent journalism in these days than ever before. It is said
that one with God is a majority. True. But oftentimes that one who imagines himself on God's side may be mistaken; and, at all events, he most generally finds the majority of voters against him when it comes to an election.; * * At this time in our political history we are attaining the point
where but two parties exist. While the editor must choose the fold to which
lie shall belong, it is not his duty to blindly accept the following of any person who may for the nonce be the recognized party leader. The Republican
has always been and still continues, the advocate of Republican principles."
In the years following 1870, besides by Mr. Aldrich, editorial writing has
been done in Coldwater by Jefferson S. Conover, Calvin J. Thorpe, Henry C.
Bailey and his son, Willis C. Bailey, S. H. Egabroad, Frederic Martin
Townsend, Major George H. Turner, Charles S. Newell, John S. Evans,
Simon B. Kitchel and his son, Horace Kitchel. The writings of C. J. Thorpe
were characterized by scholarship, scientific ideas and literary form; those
of Major Turner by historical and classical allusion and by rhetorical and
even poetical style. About 1870 the villages of the county too began creating a good quality of literary product in their local papers. In I869 David
J. Easton left the sanctum of the Republican in Coldwater and set up that of
the Register in Union City, where he went on to the end of his long and influential editorial career. In 1878 Colonel Cornelius VanRennselaer Pond
began printing his vigorous English in the Quincy Herald. In I880 the
Bronson Journal began. Mr. C. W. Owen was at one time editor of that




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


187


paper; later he did editorial work in Coldwater, and afterwards he made the
Quincy Herald the medium of his ideas.
In addition to the strictly editorial literature contained in the press of
the county, its editors have always opened their columns} generously to others.
The papers of the county during the past forty years thus show on their pages
sermons of resident ministers, and well written articles on varied subjects
by the thinking, educated men and women of the county.    Two persons
especially have done a large amount of this work in the county papers during the past fifteen years, Mr. C. J. Thorpe and Mr. Charles W. Bennett,
the former on economic and philological subjects, the latter on geological and
theological.
Besides the literary product that has thus been printed week by week
upon the pages of its papers, books have been written by some of the natives
and residents of the county.  We name the following in this connection:
Mrs. Fannie E. Newberry, Mrs. Celia Parker Woolley, Miss Ida Dandridge
Bennett, Mr. Allen Dyer Shaffmaster, Rev. Robert W. Van Schoick, D. D.,
Mrs. Clara Dillingham Pierson, and Miss Frances Alice Kellor.
Mrs. Newberry, Miss Bennett, and Mr. Schaffmaster have resided in
tie county for years, and these, with Dr. Van Schoick, wrote their books
while residents of the county. The parents of Mrs. Woolley have been residents of the county continuously since I848. Though she herself was born
in Toledo, O., nearly all her early life was spent in Coldwater and her education was received there. Mrs. Pierson and Miss Kellor were born in Coldwater and there grew to adult years.
In the Coldwater SemiIt-eekly Republican of April 4, I8,76, there is
printed upon the first page a story with this heading:  " Written for the
Republicanl. ' A Lordly Soul,' by Fannie E. Newberry." In I891i Mrs. Newberry began putting her work into book form. Since then she has written the
following fifteen volumes:  "The Impress of a Gentlewoman," "Brian's
Home," "Comrades," "Transplanted," "The Odd One," " Sara: A Princess," "All Aboard," "House of Hollister," "Everyday Honor," "The
Wrestler of Philippi," " Strange Conditions," "A Son's Victory," " Bubbles,"
"Not for Profit," "Joyce's Investment."
Miss Ida Bennett has been writing regularly for several magazines since
18915. Among them are: The 4Womzan's IHome Companion, Amnerican Homes
and Garde'ns, Indoors and' Out, Tozcn and Country, La;dies' Home Journal,
and Suburbanl Life. In 18913 she wrote " The Flower Garden, A Handbook
of Practical Garden Lore," which was published by McClure, Phillips & Co.,
of New York, as a book of 282 pages with numerous illustrations.
Mr. Shaffmaster's home is in Bronson, where he is editor of the Bronson Journal. In I904 he prepared for the press " Hunting in the Land of
Hiawatha, or the Hunting Trips of an Editor."  It made a volume of 220
pages with 40 illustrations as published by M. A. Donohue & Co. of Chicago.
Rev. Dr. Van Schoick while a resident of Coldwater attended the
World's Fourth Sunday School Convention in Jerusalem in I904. In con



188


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


nection with his journey he wrote articles or letters, which were first printed
in the Coldwater Reporter and afterward published in book form by Eaton &
Mains, making a book of 253 pages with 25 illustrations.
Branch county people have noted with interest and with allowable pride
the work that has been done and the books that have been written by Mrs.
Woolley in Chicago, Mrs. Pierson in Stanton, Mich., and Miss Kellor in
New York City, and they may claim some share of influence in originating
and developing the abilities which have already wrought such results. As to
their literary productions we record the following: Mrs. Woolley wrote in
1897 "Rachel Armstrong, or Love and Theology," in I889 "A Girl Graduate," in I892 " Roger Hunt." Mrs. Pierson since I897 has written and published through E. P. Dutton & Co. of New' York, ten volumes: " Among the
Meadow People," " Among the Forest People," " Among the Farmyard People," "Among the Pond People," "Among the Night People," " Notebook
of an Adopted Mother," "Dooryard Stories," " Tales of a Poultry Farm,"
"Three Little Millers," and the " Millers of Pencroft."  Miss Kellor wrote
in I9OI "Experimental Sociology, Descriptive and Analytical," which was
published by the Macmillan Company, and in I904. " Out of Work, a Study
of Employment Agencies," published by G. P. Putnams' Sons.
Early in I876 there was in Coldwater "The Woman's Club," which
studied especially United States history in preparation for the interests and
observances of the Centennial year. In I892 and I893, largely through the
suggestion and direction of the librarian of the Coldwater Public Library,
Miss Mary A. Eddy, the Columbian Woman's Club was organized, dividing
itself into several " circles." This club has continued its existence and connected itself with the Michigan Federation.
The Twentieth Century Club of Coldwater was organized and incorporated April 20, I892. Its object was stated to be " intellectual, scientific and
esthetic culture." The membership has been composed of men and women
and has been limited to forty in number. It has regularly held its meetings
every two weeks in each year between Oct. I and June 15. The presidents
of the club have been: Caleb D. Randall, George H. Turner, ex-Governor
Cyrus G. Luce, and Milton W. Wimer. In Batavia township the Bay
View Reading Club has been active for more than ten years;
The fortnightly Musical Club of Coldwater is a strong organization of
the women of the city. The choirs of the several churches with their organists have done much to promote musical culture everywhere in the county.
George W. Klock has been an organist and teacher of music in Coldwater
for more than twenty-five years. For a still longer time Dr. William L. Andrews was a choir leader in the city, and by his enthusiasm and unselfish devotion to musical work probably did more than any other one man in the
county in creating a popular interest in music.
The Lewis Art Gallery, already spoken of, left some of its works in
Coldwater and thus has continued somewhat to help maintain an interest in
painting and sculpture. Coldwater has no sculptural nor architectural monument to its soldiers of the Civil war. In this regard Quincy and Union City




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


1.89


excel the county seat, each having erected a worthy monument to its heroes
of I861-65. The most imposing building in the county is the county courthouse. One of Coldwater's own citizens was the architect of this edifice,
Mr. Marcellus H. Parker. Mr. Parker also designed the main building and
five cottages of the State Public School, the Lewis Art Gallery, the Baptist church, and the Edwin R. Clarke Public Library building.
A,




190              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
CHAPTER XXIV.
RELIGION AND CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS.
Religion and its institutions and organizations have been a prominent
part of mankind's life everywhere in historic time. The religion of the
people of the United States is, of course, in general the Christian religion in
distinction from Mohammedanism and Buddhism. Of the three great forms
of Christianity, the Roman, the Greek and the Protestant, dnly the two, the
Roman and the Protestant, have entered in any organized form into! the life
of the people of Branch county.
Religious feeling and thought express themselves most conspicuously
in church organizations and church activity.  We shall endeavor to give
a brief account of the church organizations in the county in which the
Protestant and Roman Catholic belief of its people has been embodied. Protestantism in its history has differentiated itself into its well known denominations, having in every region their local churches, in one or both senses of
the word church, that is, a social organization only, or a social organization
and a building in which it carries on its activities. We shall group together
all the churches in the county connected with each denomination, following
mainly the chronological order in their treatment.
There have always been in the churches of the county the forms of
church activity common in the several denominations throughout the world.
Every seventh day, Sunday oir Saturday, has been a day for gathering of
men, w(omen and children in their church buildings for their various exercises
of "worship," or " divine service," and for Sunday-schools in which the
Bible and Christian life and history have been studied and taught. One or
more evenings of the week have been used for prayer and conference meetings, for improvement in church music, for study of the Bible and Christianity and for social fellowship. The church buildings have thus been centers
in which a large amount of associative activity has been carried on, producing
a large amount of thought, feeling, determination, and action of the kind commonly spoken of as religious, moral, ethical and spiritual.  At the same
time all this activity and all these forms of life have been essentially social,
and have exerted a continuous and powerful influence in many ways upon the
life of the people of our county.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCHES.
The first denomination to begin an organized church life in the courty
was the Methodist Episcopal. In Allen Tibbits' log house in Coldwater, June
I9, I832, Rev. E. H. Pilcher, of the Tecumseh circuit, organized the first


I




F) ~JICILBIET )S()D IS   1 '


Coldwater, built 1836-38








HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


191


Methodist class in Branch county, its charter membership being Allen Tibbits, who was also the local preacher; Caroline M. Tibbits, his wife; Joseph
Hanchett and wife Nancy, and Amelia Harrison.   These, the founders of
Coldwater village, were likewise the founders of Methodism in the county.
Allen Tibbits preached the first sermon in his log house in the month of
July following.  Early Methodism in Coldwater was represented by such
well known families as the Crippens, Dr. W. B. Sprague, Dr. D. Liltlefield,
Thomas Daugherty, James Fisk and Rev. Francis Smith..The class was a mission until 1836, when it became a self-supporting
circuit, and in June, 1838, the first church building, a wooden structure, and
standing on the site of the present Methodist church on North Marshall
street, was dedicated. This served as the church home for thirty years and is
illustrated on another page. January 26, I869, Rev. F. M. Eddy dedicated
the present brick church, which, with an addition constructed in 1878, has
served the Methodist congregation until the present time. The building as
first constructed cost $25,000. In I878 the pipe organ was installed, this
being the gift of Alonzo Waterman and his daughters, Mrs. Mary C. Fenn
and Miss Allie A. Waterman.
Beginning with the Rev. Allen Tibbits, some of the best known pastors
who have served this church were: William Sprague, Peter Sabin, in 1836;
Benjamin Sabin, I. Cogshall, in I875-6, and in more recent years J. Q. Buell,
A. P. Moors, D. F. Barnes, D. D., H. M. Joy, W. A. Hunsberger, James
Hamilton, rWm. Denman, A. M. Goold, W. L. Barth, W. I. Cogshall, WVm.
P. French, L. E. Lennox, and F. M. Chapman, D. D.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, OUINCY.
The first Methodist class at Quincy was formed in 1836 at the home of
the pioneer, John Broug-hton. He and his wife, Bartholomew Hewitt and
wife, Rev. James Clizbe and wife, and Dr. Berry composed the members of
this class.  The ministers were supplied from the Coldwater charge until
I843, and after that they came from the Litchfield circuit. Rev. B. N. Sheldon, whose widow was the author of the historical paper from which these
facts are taken, was the first resident minister at Quincy, coming about I853.
It was through his efforts that the first church edifice was erected and dedicated on January I, 1855. In the summer of I869 the church was entirely
rebuilt and refurnished, at a cost of between three and four thousand dollars, and largely by the efforts of the late H-Iiram Bennett all the church
indebtedness was cleared off by 1874. Repairs have subsequently been made
to the structure, but the present building practically has seen nearly forty
years of service. The brick parsonage was built on Jefferson street about
I888, at a cost oif about fifteen hundred dollars, the land for the site being
donated by Enoch Myres.
The pastors from the time of Rev. Sheldon to. the present have been:
L. W. Earl, S. C. Woodard, William Doust, W. W. Johnson, A. Coplin,
T. J. Conden, N. M. Steele, David Thomas, Isaac Bennett, James N. Dayton, WXilliam Paddock, G. S. Barnes, Thomas Lyon, G. L. Haight, C. C.
A\S0..; 3-Ni —




192


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Olds, A. M. Fitch, N. I. Bray, Louis Grosenbaugh, E. L. Kellog, D. C.
Reihl, W. H. Thompson, E. A. Armstrong, W. H. Parsons, F. M. Taylor,
G. S. Robinson, and P. A. Buell, who came to the charge in the fall of 1905.
The board of trustees at this writing are: M. J. Rawson, L. C. Failor,
H. P. Norton, E. C. Foster, H. W. Noble; and the board of stewards, Mrs.
C. H. Halleck, Mrs. M. J. Rawson, Mrs. N. C. Herendeen, Mrs. H. P.
Norton, Mrs Dora Barber, W. H. Shipway, E. A. Dorris, and J. R. Smith.
The membership now numbers about two' hundred and thirty.
The Algansee M. E. church is a part of the Quincy charge. Its membership is about one hundred, and their nice brick church, which was the
first and only building, was constructed about thirty-five years ago. The following compose the board of trustees: R. D). Reynolds, Fred Wilbur, Purl
Hard, A. D. Ransom, Elmer Hoffman, Omer Winchell, L. W. Zeller. The
board of stewards: M. A. Griswold, H. B. Walbridge, C. C. Foster, Emory
Waterbury.
WESLEYAN METHIODIST CHURCH.
There is no definite information concerning the bringing of the first
musical instruments to Branch county, especially such as piano and organ,
although the date of their introduction would measure another step in general progress. But in the history of the Wesleyan branch of the Methodist
church at Coldwater may be deduced the conclusion that at the time of its
founding instrumental music was becoming more or less firmly fixed in
favor. In I850 a small number of the Methodists in Coldwater withdrew
from the church because the majority insisted that the bass viol be used to
supplement the vocal music. This schism resulted in the formation of the
Wesleyan church, whose first services were held in an old schoolhouse a
mile and a half south of the village, the charter members, among whom; was
the late James Fisk, numbering only six persons. For a number of years
services were conducted in a schoolhouse, until the erection at the corner of
North Hudson and Church streets of a modest frame church, which several
years ago was remodeled. The membership has always been small, but has
maintained its organization and the regular church activities. At the legal
incorporation of the church in Nov., I86I, the following persons signed the
articles of association, their names constituting the bulk of the early membership: S. B. Smith, Salmon Chapman, John P. Bradley, Aaron Burritt,
C. B. F. Bennett, William C. Woodward, D. J. Smith, Olive Bullock, E.
Paine, Fanny Chapman, James Fisk, Silas Burton, C. Coffman.
BRONSON.
The first Methodist class was formed at Bronson in 1836, but died out,
and the present organization dates from 1857. Mrs. Phurna Isabell Bartlett
nee Wing, who came to Bronson about 1844, says that the first minister of
the village within her remembrance was a Presbyterian, named Patch, living
in Orland. The first Methodist minister in her recollection was Rev. Ercanbrack, who was in charge of the Coldwater church in the early forties. Rev.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


193


Sabin, named in connection with the Coldwater church, also preached in
Bronson.  Rev. James N. Dayton, besides preaching, taught the union
school. The meetings at first were held in the old " white schoolhouse " in
the east of the village on the street leading to the cemetery, south of Chicago
street and on the east side of the road, then called the ' quarter line road."
A Sunday-school was maintained in this schoolhouse at the time olf Mrs.
Bartlett's coming, and she recalls that Mary Ann Vance was her teacher.
Rev. John Clubine instituted the present Methodist society at Bronson
in 1857. It was a station of the Burr Oak charge until i866. The oldest
book of records in possession of Rev. C. L. Keene, present pastor of the M.
E. church at Bronson, and the oldest record of the church of which he
knows, begins with "Dec. 22, I866," as its earliest date. The first entry is
that of " Minutes of the first quarterly conference for Bronson circuit  *
* * held at Snow Prairie, Dec. 22, I866, Rev. Isaac Taylor in the chair."
The parts of the circuit mentioned are Snow Prairie, Matteson, North Gilead,
Bronson and Gilead. The following apportionment for the pastor's salary would
seem to indicate the relative strength and membership of the " societies of
the circuit."  They were as follows: Gilead, $2.20; Snow Prairie, $2.00;
North Gilead, $I.70; Bronson, $1.25; Matteson, $.85. In February, 1867,
the "Shaw Schoolhouse Class" was added, and in September following
Strong's Island was added. In September, i869, Gilead, Noble Center, East
Gilead, Snow Prairie and Kinderhook were set off as Gilead circuit.
The Bronson society held its meetings in a schoolhouse or public hall
until the erection of the present brick building in 187T.
SHERWOOD.
The first Methodist class in Sherwood township was organized in 1838,
with Mr. and Mrs. Lyman Studley, Mr. and Mrs. John Onderdonk and Mr.
and Mrs. Ryan Williams as charter members. The frame church building
was erected about 1858. The pastors since 1877 have been: 0. S. Paddock,
J. W. Buell, John Klose, S. George, C. C. Dawkins, M. H. Mott, W. J.
Tarrant, William Barth, D. D. Martin, J. T. Iddings, G. D. Lee, E. A. Armstrong, L. A. Sevitts, J. C. Upton, J. G. Ruoff, \alter Burnett, Russell
Bready, A. W. Mumford, J. W. Gosling, W. H. Parsons, Quinton Walker,
E. A. Baldwin, F. H. Larabee.
GIRARD.
The Methodists were early in the field in Girard, meetings being held
in the home of John Cornish while he was still a resident of that township.
Allen Tibbits preached here and in a schoolhouse. The church was organized in 1840, the first board of trustees being the following settlers: Lyman
Fox, Mason Chase, Joseph C. Corbus, John Parkinson, Lyman Aldrich, Benjamin H. Smith, John Worden. The first house of worship was put up in
1844, this was repaired in 1848, and the present brick church bears the date
of 1876. Rev. Isaac Bennett preached at Girard in the sixties.




194              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
UNION CITY.
In almost every locality the Methodists were the pioneers in church
work in Branch county. At Union City they organized a short time before
the Congregaticnalists, their first class being held in the winter of I836-37.
Isaiah Bennett and family and Mrs. Carpenter Chaffee are named among
the first members. Coldwater supplied some of the first preachers. Revs.
Sabin, Tibbits and Crippen being named in this connection. Some time in
the forties a frame church was erected, and this gave place about twenty years
ago to the handsome brick church, of modern design and proportions.
OTHER METHODIST SOCIETIES.
The circuit of which Girard was a part during the forties comprised
appointments at East Girard, West Girard, Bronson, Clizbe's (now Quincy),
Brooks schoolhouse, Branch, Day's, and Union. There was a Methodist
society on Shook's prairie in Butler township as early as 1838, the Shook
and XVisner families being prominent in this organization.
~A Methodist class was formed in Kinderhook in the winter of I836-37,
being a part of the Coldwater circuit at first and later of Gilead.
The church at Snow Prairie was organized in 1857, the class consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Warburton, Mr. and Mrs. John Dingman and
Mrs. William Lamo!reaux. The frame church on section I6 was erected in
1863, the first trustees being: John Reynolds, Lucius Williams, John Bassett, Charles Brook, Charles Warburton, Nicholas G. Ellis, Ebenezer McMillan, Collins Fenner and Moses M. Olmstead.
The Methodists in Gilead township outnumbered the followers of
Bishop Chase even while that divine was endeavoring to build up an organization and school in the locality. This is alleged as one reason why the
bishop became discouraged with Gilead and went to Illinois. In May, 1836,
a short time before the departure of the Chase family for Illinois, a Methodist class was formed at the house of Benjamin Booth, his wife and a Mrs.
Jones being the only ones present, but the next meeting being attended by
the Williams, Bogardus and Smith families, and E. B. Williams becoming
the first class leader. The class belonged to various circuits for thirty years,
and in 1869 the Gilead circuit was set off, as elsewhere stated. The church
building on section 8 was dedicated in August, 1862, and the first board of
trustees were the following:  Daniel Marsh, Elisha B. Williams, Samuel
Booth, John Feller, Edward M. Williams, Don C. Mather, Horace C. Williams.
The active Methodist societies, with regular preaching, now in Branch
county are as follows: Coldwater, Quincy, Bronson, Union City and Sherwood are the five Methodist churches in the one city and the four villages of
the county. Some particular account of these has been given. We take
occasion here to state that in our endeavor to gather information concerning
the religious societies of the county, a letter was sent to the pastor of every
active church. Where no response was made, we have not been able to give






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


195


as much information as we otherwise might have done. Besides the five
Methodist Episcopal churches just mentioned, the others in the county are
the following, taking them by townships and beginning with Butler: South
Butler or Butler Center, and Herricksville or North Butler; these both have
church buildings, the present pastor being Rev. B. Silverthorne.  Girard
has one society with a church building, as already noted, with two classes
besides, one at Hodunk and one in the Cornell district.  The pastor in
charge is Rev. J. F. Bowerman. There are no societies in the townships of
Union and Sherwood, Coldwater, Quincy and Bronson other than those in
the city and villages. Matteson, Batavia, Ovid, and California have never
had any organized Methodist churches. In Algansee, the Algansee or Fishers society has a good brick building. Kinderhook has one society with a
building at its center. In Gilead there are two, South Gilead and North
Gilead, each with a building. Noble has one society with a building erected
near the townhouse in 1903. In all there are thirteen Methodist Episcopal
church buildings in the county.
FREE METHODIST CHURCH OF SHERWOOD.
[The following sketch has been furnished for publication in this work.]
Rev. John Ellison was the instrument in the hands of God to raise up
the first Free Methodist class in this place and in the spring of I866 a church
was erected-the first Free Methodist church in the state of Michigan. The
following September the annual conference was held in the new church and
it was dedicated to God's service by Rev. Joseph Travers. Twenty-six names
were on the first enrollment, but time, death and distance have done their
work and Bro. John Coward is the only charter member left in the church.
Rev. B. T. Roberts, the father of Free Methodism, and Rev. E. T. Hart
rendered faithful service as district elders in those pioneer days. The first
ministers sent to this work were D. W. Bishop and B. R. Jones, the boy
preacher, as he was then called. Following these were: Bro. Gitchel, Charles
Cusick, T. C. Frink, Bro. Forbs, Bro. Billings, Bro. Marshall, L. Lezenring,
Mi. D. Baldwin, G. R. Tompkins, Bro. Baxter, George Thompson, N. R.
Woods, J. Baker, E. Bradfield, W. S. McDivett, G. W. C. Smith, A. Bradfield, P. S. Shoemaker, C. H. Jerome, D. J. Vanantwerp, I. L. King, R. L.
Scamerhorn, C. M. Miller. The names of charter members are:    George
Moer' and wife, William Davis and wife, Peter Rumsey and wife, Bro.
Newton and wife and sister, John Tomlinson and wife, Bro. Maston and wife
and daughters, Orpha, Marette and Mirtie, C. Hauganbaugh and wife and
daughter Martha, Mi. J. Drook and S. Drook, John Coward, Aliva V. Moyer,
Waid Bond, Ann Waugh. Sister Bartlett.
Besides the Sherwood church, there are also four other Free Methodist
societies in the county, one in the city of Coldwater on Perkins street, another in the southwestern part of Quincy township, a third in Algansee, and
the fourth in Bethel. The Coldwater society has this year, I906, built a new
house of worship. Rev. John R. Poet ministers at present to all four of
these churches. All have church buildings.




196


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


BAPTIST CHURCHES.
Coldwater.
The histoTry of the Baptist church of Coldwater has been carefully compiled from the church records by Mr. A. R. Burroughs in response to a request from the editor of this work. The beginnings of the church involve
so many pioneer names and circumstances of early days that it is deemed best
to quote some of the first records.
"At a meeting of several brethren of the Baptist denomination held at
the house of Hiram Alden in said village on the evening of December 31,
1834," is the initial statement of one minute, " it was resolved to circulate an
article among the Baptists of the vicinity for the purpose of organizing a
Baptist society. The signatures to this article tell us the pioneer Baptists
who resided in the vicinity of Coldwater village in that early year, 1835, and
who became the nucleus of the first church. They are: Chauncey Strong,
Nathan Strong, William D. Strong, George W. Arnold, Hiram Alden, Parley Stockwell, Ann Logan, Matilda Alden, Prudence Arnold, Eunice Strong,
Sally Strong, Sarah Strong, Betsey Strong, Sarah Sheldon, Nathan H.
Strong.
The first conference of these persons for the purpose of forming a
church was held in the village schoolhouse January 17, 1835, and on February IIth a council assembled at the house oif Mr. Alden, consisting of elders and official members from other churches, who examined credentials of
prospective members of the local society and concluded with the following
resolutions: " That we recognize the above-named brethren and sisters as a
regular Baptist church, and that Bro,. Powell preach on the occasion and
that the moderator present the hand of fellowship."
The church has continued from its organization until the present time.
At first it had no settled pastor, but was supplied a part of the time by Rev.
E. Loomis of the Baptist Home Missionary Society. Rev. Reuben Graham
was the first settled pastor, from Oct., I835, to Sept., I837. From this time
until July, I842, Rev. John Southworth, Rev. Mallory and Rev. W. B.
Brown served as pastors.
The following is a list of the pastors who, have since served the church,
with period of their several pastorates:
Rev. James Davis, Dec., I842-July, 1844.
Rev. J. A. Keyes, Nov., 1844-Aug., 845.
Rev. Oliver Comstock, Oct., 1845-June, I848.
Rev. Anson P. Tucker, Nov., I848-May, I850.
Rev. F. 0. Marsh, Oct., 850o-Oct., I853.
Rev. E. J. Covey, Dec., I853-June, 1856.
Rev. A. A. Ellis, Jan., I857-April, i858.
Rev. Edwin Eaton, June, 858 —April, 1866.
Rev. E. Curtis, Sept., I866-Sept. I868.
Rev. N. Pierce, Oct., I868-Dec., 1870.
Rev. W. T. Lowry, August, I871 —July  881.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


197


Rev. J. H. Donelly, Feb., I882-May, 1884.
Rev. J. H. Groff, Sept., 188.4-Nov., T885.
Rev. J. P. Phillips, Feb., I886-Feb., 1890.
Rev. F. Otheman Smith, July, i890-Feb., 1894.
Rev. Benjamin Otto, August, I894-Feb., 1897.
Rev. Chas. F. Vreeland, March, I897-March, 1900.
Rev. Ira D. Hall, July, Igoo-May, 1902.
Rev. M. A. Graybiel, July, 1902-Continues.
From the time of organization up to the present time the church has
been served by twenty-three pastors, on an average of three years to each
pastorate.
December 20th, 1843, the church voted to, build a house of worship.
and soon thereafter a frame building was erected on the lot where the Old
Bank Building now stands (Chicago and Monroe streets). Here the church
worshipped until the winter of 1852-53, when the lot was sold and the building moved to the northwest corner of Monroe and Pearl streets.
The present church edifice on the northwest corner of Pearl and Division streets was erected during the pastorate of Rev. Edwin Eaton, 1863,
and was dedicated free from debt in August, I865, and was enlarged during the pastorate of Rev. Otheman Smith. The original cost oof the church
was $25,000o and the extension between three and four thousand. A pipe
organ costing $2,500, built in the church during the pastorate of Rev. W. T.
Lowry in 1876, and a fine bell have been added to the church building since
its erection. During the first year of the pastorate of Rev. M. A. Graybiel the church made purchase of a fine house and property, northeast corner
of Division and Washington streets, costing, with improvements, $3,750, to
he used as a church parsonage. During the years 1905-6 the church by gift
of individual members placed eight memorial windows in the audience room
at a cost of $I,ooo.
The present officers of the church are: Everett F. Collins, clerk; W. H.
Simons, treasurer: H. C. Simons, C. T. Yapp, H. B. George, E. A. Dunton,
Dr. George Ferguson, N. A. Angell, deacons; WA. H. Simons, Eli Ball, Dr.
F. G. Legg, Clarence T. Yapp, Thomas A. Hilton, Zelotes G. Osborn,
trustees.
From the best information to be obtained, the Sabbath-school was organized during the pastorate of Rev. J. A. Keyes in 1845. The present
superintendent is Henry B. George.
Quiincy.
The persons composing the meeting for organization of a Baptist society, held in the schoolhouse in Hog Creek district of Quincy township June
27, I846, represented in the main the colre of the Baptist adherents in that
township at that day. They were: Alfred Wilmarth, George Boon, Marcus
Muckey.. VW. Pratt. Simon Gager, Francis Ransom, Ansel Nichols, Samuel
Etheridgce, Sillman Hedge, Mrs. T. H. Wilmarth, Mary Boon, Almira
Brown, Lucetta H. Pratt, Rebecca Gager, Chloe Ransom, Susan Nichols,
Brown,.-iet H. Pra*tt, a-Xv




198


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Cynthia M. Etheridge, Aseneth Nichols, Sally Muckey, Mrs. Asa Bowen.
A council in August of the same year recognized them as, a church, and attached it to the Hillsdale association. In September, I855, forty members
were dismissed to form the Second Algansee Baptist church.
The first meetings were held in the Hog Creek church, soon the schoolhouse in Quincy village became the place of worship, this alternating with
the Mudge schoolhouse until the erection of a house of worship, which was
completed in the spring of 1854.
Algansee.
As mentioned in the sketch of the Quincy church, in I855 a division of
its membership occurred and about forty persons living mainly in Algansee
township formed what was known as " the Second Algansee Baptist church."
The First Baptist church of Algansee was formed in 1854, their meetings,
during their existence of twelve years, being held in the Wakeman schoolhouse. The Second church was recognized by a council on March 13, 1856.
and the charter members were as follows: Francis D. Ransom, Phares Chittenden, Jason L. Ransom, John H. Ransom, John Ransom, Zebina G. Trim,
Joel Campbell, David Hillman, John C. Perring, Benjamin Bishop, Amos
Hough, Peter Leighton, Nathan Leighton, Spencer Cory, John Cory, Henry
xW. Waterbury, James A. Ransom, William W. Potter, David Robb, and
Sisters C. Ranson, L. Chittenden, C. Ransom, H. Ransom, U. Trim, M.
Campbell, H. Hillman, L. Perring, L. Bishop, L. Bishop, O. Hough, S.
Jordan, L. Fisher, 0. Cory, S. A. Barber, J. A. Ransom, Margaret Hillman,
M. Hoxie, L. Robb. The church building, on the south line of section 2,
was erected in I868.
Untion City.
The pastor of the Baptist church at Union City, Rev. H. Z. Davis, has
furnished the following facts concerning the history of his church. The
first Baptist church of Union City was organized May 14, 1870, was recognized by a council on October 13, 187o, and was received into the St. Joseph
Valley Association, May 13, I87I. The church met for business meetings
and worship in a hall, and later at Mr. Barrett's home, until the present
frame house oif worship was erected and dedicated on February 24, I886,
the church being located on the south side of the village.
The charter members of this church were: Lucius Blosson, Alma
Blosson. Ira Lake, Clark C. Lake, Zeruch Lake, Charlotte Prentiss, Mary
Johnson. The successive pastors who have served the congregation have
been: William Pack, Samuel A. Cole, S. G. Brundage, J. H. Ainsworth,
\Villiam Haas, B. Ashton, T. E. Hauser, E. D. Way, H. Z. Davis.
Bronson.
The Baptist church of Bronson was organized in 1857 at a meeting
held in the house in which Mr. C. M. Van Every now (May, I906) lives.
This house was built in 1839 by Alonzo Waterman, afterwards of Coldwater.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                        199
The original members were: Wildman Bennett, Ann Bennett, David M.
Johnson, Jane Johnson, N. O. Brown, Mrs. M. J. Brown, S. H. Collins, Mrs.
F. Collins, Bro. O. Oliver, Sister E. Allen, Bro. J. Boughman, Sister A.
Boughman, Sister Beesmer, Sister J. A. Carr, Sister S. Earle, Dr. WI. Byrns,
Sister Atwater.
Meetings were conducted from I857 to 1864 under Licentiate A. J.
Hunt, Elder J. Southworth and Elder Pease. The building of the house of
worship was commenced in the spring of I86i, but on account of limited
means was not opened for worship until January 22, 1864. The building is
still standing as first put up forty years ago. Rev: J. Kelley followed Rev.
Pease, remaining until Feb. I8, I865, and in March, I865, Elder Phillip
Rowden became pastor. A pipe organ was purchased in 1878. Rev. James
H. Gagnier, the present pastor, began his work with the church June I, I9o4.
In the northwestern part of Bronson township is an organized Baptist
society known as the Shawtown Baptist church. It holds its meetings in
the schoolhouse of district No}. 7.
There are thus eight regular Baptist organizations in the county. About
1875 there was a Baptist society in Ovid township. It was disbanded aboiut
I895, though the church building, a brick structure, is still standing and is
known as " the Lockwood church."
Girard.
The First Baptist church of Girard was organized at the house of William Van Blarcum in Girard, June 8, 1859, the charter members, who had
previously been connected with churches at Coldwater and Tekonsha, being as follows: William Van Blarcum, E. M. Waldo, George B. Johnson,
Amasa R. Day, E. T. Todd, Mary Smith, Harriet C. Day, Sarah Burr,
Mary Van Blarcum, Matilda B. Waldo, Alvina Todd, Eunice L. Burr, Mary
Olney.
The first regular house of worship was the old district schoolhouse, which
had been purchased and donated to the society by William Van Blarcunm and
remodeled for church purposes!. The building of the present church was
begun in 1876, but it was not finished until several years later. Rev. E. R.
Clark closed his pastorate of two years March 31, I880. October I, I880,
Rev. S. A. Cole began serving the church and continued until Aug. I, I884.
Kindcrhlook.
The only other regular Baptist society in the county with a building of
its own is that of Kinderhook. It was organized Oct. 25, 1856. From that
time to the present it has continued to be an active church organization, never long without a pastor preaching regularly. Rev. Charles A. Cutler its
latest minister, resigned in I905.
FREE-WILL OR FREE BAPTIST CHURCHES.
One of the earliest societies of this denomination was formed at Girard,
May io, I849. The thirteen original members were: L. Y. Limbocker,






200              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
Diadama Limbocker, John Loring, N. M. Millard, Cynthia Millard, Charles
Lane, Henry Aurend, Matilda Aurend, Alexander Ladow, John Smart, Anna Cutler, Mary E. Cutler. The congregation erected a building in Girard
village, on Marshal street, just north of the regular Baptist church, in I856.
West Kinderhook.
Rev. E. W. Hughes, pastor of the Free-Will Baptist church at West
Kinderhook, states that the society was formed March Io, I850, by J. H.
Miner and Elder Hadler. The first members have all passed away. The
church was incorporated in I882, and also in that year the brick church which
is now the house of worship was constructed. The present membership is
about forty-five.
Belthel.
The Free-Will Baptist church of Bethel was organized August 28,
1853. For many years the meetings were held in the Butcher schoolhouse in
section I, but in I903 a house of worship was erected in the same locality by
the congregation. Among the earliest members of this church were: Orrin
B. and Martha   S. Cummings, James and Abigail Thurston, Arwin, Peleg
C. and Mercy Bates, Alanson and Ann Harris, Hiram Olmstead, Mrs. Mary
Carmer.
Bata-nia.
A more complete record of the Batavia church has been furnished the
editor by Mrs. E. C. Mintline, clerk of the church. The church originated
in a series of meetings held in the old brick schoolhouse near Batavia station
by Rev. Lura Mains. A council which met in the schoolhouse Feb. 28, I88o,
organized a church with six charter members, namely, Myron Draper,
Augusta Draper, Dewitt Draper, William Westerman, W. R. Card, Emily
Card. W. R. Card is the only charter member remaining. Other names
added to the membership the next day were: Anna G. Shay, David T. Perrin, Betsey Perrin, Alonzo Olmstead, Christina Olmstead. A plot of ground
from the John Sheneman farm was purchased in I88o and in the autumn of
the following year the neat little church building was completed. Sabbathschool was conducted from the first and in 1884 the Woman's Missionary
Auxiliary was formed. The church property is now valued at $I,500, and
the members are about thirty in number.
Some of the prominent members past and present who have been identified with this church are: George Barnard, Elizabeth Gray, E. D. Harkness, for twenty-three years officially connected with the church; C. H. Austin, treasurer for the past twenty-three years; Mrs. E. M. Jordan, Mrs. John
Sheneman, Asa Russell, and others.
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCtES.
The First Presbyterian church, of Coldwater originated in pioneer times,
and the names of well known first settlers are included in its meeting for or

0




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


201


ganization. This meeting was held in the village schoolhouse Sept. 30, 1837,
Rev. P. W. Warriner preached the sermon, and the charter members constituting the first church were: Luther and Clarissa Stiles, James and Abigail
Smith, Edmond and Catherine Sloan, E. G. Fuller, Ambrose and Eliza Grow,
Mrs. Alexander Reynolds, Mary Ann Reynolds, Sophronia Reynolds, Mrs.
Amaty Cruson, Mary Smith, James Smith, Jr., Lydia Smith.    Prominent
among the members who were soon added were Silas A. Holbrook, William H. Cross, and Alexander Revnolds.
During the first few years the meetings were held in the schoolhouses
on Hudson street or on Clay street, and also in the temporary court-house
room in the " Coon Pen" building, elsewhere described. A church organization according to legal form was effected at a meeting in the " Coon Pen,"
Aug. 9, I843, and about the same time the building of a church was undertaken. The edifice, which was of frame, was dedicated in the fall of 1844,
under the pastorate of S. C. Hickok. This served as the church home until
the sixties. Both the Methodist and Baptist congregations had erected fine
churches, and the Presbyterians built one still larger. The first plans were
laid in 1864, but it was not until Oct. 12, I869, that the present brick building was dedicated.
Revs. Warriner, Charles AW. Girney and Louis Mills were the principal
pastors during the early years of the church. Rev. S. C. Hickok served from
T844 to I847. Following him were Elihu P. Marvin, O. W. Mather, R. S.
Goodman, from 1853 to I86o: Horace C. Hovey, G. L. Foster, WV. C. Porter, J. Gordon Jones, from April, 1872, to, October, 1878; H. P. Collin,
Dec., I878, to March 31, 1905. Rev. Willis L. Gelston, the present pastor,
began his work in Sept., I905.
Qiincy.
The First Presbyterian church of Quincy was organized Feb. 27, 1857,
the following persons associating themselves into an organization:  William N. Carter, Julia Carter, Marcia Potter, Mrs. J. W. Chapin. William
Hughes, Jeremiah B. Whelan, Elijah Leland. Mrs. William Hughes, Mrs.
J. B. Whelan and Mrs. Withington were soon added to the original membership. The society was small during its first years and had difficulty in maintaining its organization.  The church building was not constructed until
I869. Since that time it has carried the usual church activities with but few
interruptions.
California.
California township has been a center oif Presbyterian activity from an
early day. At a meeting for organization of a Presbyterian church, held in
the schoolhoruse at Hall's Corners, April I, 1840, the following well known
pioneers associated themselves to form a church: Joseph W. Lawrence, Sr.,
Sybil Lawrence, Thomas Pratt, Alma Pratt, Joseph W. Lawrence, Jr., Susan
N. Lawrence, Ezra S. E. Brainard, Walter H. Lathrop, Emeline Lathrop,
Mrs. Lucy Robbins. Their building, which is located at California post



202              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
office, was completed and dedicated in 1871, at a cost of about twenty-five
hundred dollars.
The United Presbyterians and the Reformed Presbyterians also gained
a foothold in California township. A society of the former denomination
was organized June I6, 1865, some of its original members being William
C. Thompson, Alexander Thompson, Thomas Hall, John S. Patterson, William Stewart, Oscar Jameson, Alexander Vance.
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES.
Union City.
The First Congregational church of Union City, Branch county, Michigan, was organized March 7th, I837. The meeting was conducted by Rev.
Calvin Clark of Homer. The following sixteen persons having letters of
dismission and recommendation from other churches, and two on confession
of their faith, entered into covenant: Chester Hammond, Fanny Hammond,
Ellen E. Hammond, Alpheus Saunders, Lucina Saunders, Lewis Hawley,
Charlotte Hawley, David Kilbourn, Clarinda Kilbourn, Justus B. Buell, Emeline Buell, Thomlas B. Buell, Charles A. Lincoln, Chares H. Coates, Esther
Maxfield, Sarah Jane Hurd, Mary Ann Saunders, Charlotte Bernard.
March I6th, 1839, the church became connected with the Marshall
Presbytery on the "Plan of Union of i8oi."    At the formation of the
Marshall Conference of Congregational Churches in Union City, January
I3th, 184T, the church united with that body. In November, 1837, Rev.
Charles W. Gurney, a Presbyterian minister, was employed to labor in the
ministry of the Gospel with this church, which he continued to, do until June,
1839. In the following October Rev. Elijah Buck, also a Presbyterian minister, was employed, and continued his labors until September, I840. The
ministry of Rev. L. Smith Hobart commenced on the Sabbath, the first day
of November, 184o. The services were held in the district schoolhouse,
which was the usual place of public worship. After the completion of a
pastorate of eight years, he was dismissed by the advice of a council, November 2nd, I848.
The first house of worship occupied by the church was erected on High
street. This was dedicated December 24th, 1840. It, was furnished with a
suitable bell in May, I843, enlarged in I850, and sold in I869.
Rev. Henry C. Morse commenced his ministry with the church Nov.
5th, 1848. His work closed in March, I853. Rev. Adam S. Kedzie followed
in the ministry without interval. His work ended in the month of September,
I854. Rev. Joseph S. Edwards was engaged in November, I854, and continued his work about six months. In December, I855, Rev. Reuben Hatch
commenced his labors with the church and remained until April, I859,. During this period the enterprise of building the present brick church edifice was
undertaken. Rev. Serene W. Streeter commenced his ministry here in November, 1859.  He was installed as pastor by an ecclesiastical council






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


203


in February, 1863.  In November, I8691, he was dismissed by a council,
closing his ministry of ten years.
The present brick church edifice was dedicated February 5th, i862.
The ministry of Rev. Emory G. Chaddock began January 25th, 1870. During this year the church edifice was reseated, the gallery raised and extended,
thus adding accommodations for a much larger audience. Mr. Chaddock
was dismissed by the advice of a council December I8th, I873. On the second of April, 1872, the records and papers of the church were wlholly consumed by fire. The chapel in the rear of the church edifice was built by
Ieacon David R. Cooley, and completed October 30th, 1873, at a cost of
$850, including the furnishings.
Rev. Warren F. Day commenced his ministry with this church February Ist, 1874, and closed it October I2th, 1877. The pastorate of Rev. Helmuth H. Van Auken began December 30oth, I877, and continued until February 22nd, 1885. During this time the present chapel was enlarged and
repairs were made in the main building. The organ was purchased and the
alcove built for it at the rear of the pulpit.
Dr. Horatio, N. Burton entered upon his labors as pastor April 3rd,
1885, and continued with the church until January I4th, I888, when he resigned on account of failing health. During his pastorate the church building was repaired, painted and frescoed at a cost of $I,500. The Order of
Deaconesses was instituted in I886.
Rev. James R. Knodell was called to the church as its pastor, beginning
his work March i8th, 1888, and contninuing until September 27th, 1891.
Rev. Harlow S. Mills, having been called to the pastorate of the church,
commenced his labors November Ist, 1891, and continued until September
27th, I896. February 7th, 1897, Rev. Joseph A. Barnes began his work
as pastor of the church, continuing his labors until June 24th, I90o.
For a number of years the Church Helpers had been accumulating a
fund for the purchase of a parsonage. In I899 Mr. Thomas B. Buell presented the church with a deed of property and a sum of money toward the
same object. In October, I900, an additional gift was made by Mrs. Sarah.
Case in memory of her mother, Mrs. Thomas Buell. The union of these
funds and gifts enabled the church to acquire the large and beautiful residence near the, church which is to be known as the Buell parsonage.
Rev. David L. Holbrook, the present pastor, entered upon his work
November 4th, I900. The church was incorporated January I, I90o.
A lgansec.
The First Congregational church of Algansee was organized Aug. 26,
T886, by Rev. E. D. Curtis of Grand Rapids, who preached the sermon, and
Rev. J. R. Preston, who, gave the right hand of fellowship to the following
charter members: M. B    Wakeman, Mrs. Abigail Wakeman, R. D. Tift,
Mrs. Rosana Tift, Miss Lizzie Tift. H. W. Hungerford, Mrs. Sophia Hungerford, Miss Mary G. Hungerford, Mrs. Lettie Braman, Mrs. Theresa
Cleveland, Mrs. Maria Pridgeon, Mrs. Anna C. Webber, Miss Lizzie Duggs,.._::;. _:... 6...;..pt.....w i,;Yn- ~ ~




204:


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Miss Lillie Draper. Meetings were held in the schoolhouse until a suitable
church building was erected and dedicated January II, I903, at an expense
of $2,500.
The church has been served by the following named pastors: Revs. J.
R. Preston, E. A. Childs, F. W. Brown, J. R. Edgerton, A. A. Luce, N. D.
Lanpere, C. E. Groves, Winslow, John Gordon, Herbert A. Kern, Wilfred Frost, George Brown, Perry D. Gray, who is now in his third year.
Gilead.
One of the oldest Congregational societies in the county was
that formed at John McKinley's residence in northwest Gilead township,
Dec. 25, I847. Those forming the society, while subscribing to the Congregational form of government, adhered to the Presbyterian " confession of
faith and doctrine."  The actual organization of the society occurred at
Emerson Marsh's house, and the first members were: Emerson, Maria and
Martha E. Marsh, George W., Francis C., Mary and Rebecca Bull, William  S. and Sarah W. Evans, Jason and Polly    R. Harris, John, Jeanette and Margaret McKinley, Stephen and Margaret McMillan. Emeline, Caroline and Polly Ried, Katherine and Deborah Freeman, Betsey,
Clarissa and Electa Smith, Richard C. Dickinson, Walter 0. Richards, Elizabeth Hale, Eunice Fuller, Hannah Gaines.
The church withdrew from its Presbyterian connection in 1876-77 and
became a purely Congregational society. About I864, in conjunction with
the Methodists of Gilead, this society built the union church, which stands
near Lake Gilead on section 5. Rev. J. R. Bonney acted as pastor of this
church from I88I to 1885.
Besides the foregoing there are also four other Congregational societies
in the county, known as the Matteson, Bethel, North Batavia and Kinderhook Congregational churches. All of these have church buildings.  The
Matteson church was organized March 9, I889, by Rev. J. IM. Sutherland in
Bennett's Hall, east of the store at the head of Matteson Lake. Albert A..Luce was chairman of the meeting at which the church was organized.
Bronson.
The Congregational church at Bronson was organized in a meeting at
Rose's Hall, May 7, 1868.   Five ladies constituted the charter membership, their names being Mrs. Isabella Waite, Mrs. Mary Shepard, Mrs. Harriet Nott, Mrs. Harriet Fellows, Mrs. Cornelia Babcock. The legal society
was not organized until March 21, I870, when Christopher G. Babcock. F.
A. Waite, George F. Gillam, Reuben M. Roberts and Jason Shepard were
elected trustees. Of these trusteees Mr. Babcock was made treasurer and
Mr. Waite clerk.
The names of the ministers who have been pastors of the church are
the following: John Randolph Bonney, from Feb., i868, to June, 1878;
Frank B. Olds, Sept. 26, 1878, to the spring of I879; J. R. Bonney again in
188o; John M. Sutherland, May, 1887; G. F. Holcombe; Albert E. Seibert,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


205


Sept. 5, 1890, to Oct. 30, 1892; Henry A. Decker, Sept. 12, 1893, to, March
12, 1895; Charles H. Seaver. June I, I895; Frank H. Lockwood, Jan.,
1897; David G. Blair, Nov. I. 1898, to May 29, 904; William W. Schumaker, Aug. 5, I904. to Sept. 24, T905; Henry Park Collin, Nov. 19, i905,
who is the present pastor.
In 1872, during the first pastorate of Mr. Bonney, a frame chapel was
erected. This was used as the church building until 1887, when, during
the pastorate of Mr. Sutherland, a building of brick was put up on the south
side of Chicago street between Matteson and Walker streets, which is the
society's present church building. This house has thus been in use by the
church nineteen years.
Rev. J. R. Bonney, as is shown by-the foregoing list of pastors, has
served this church through two periods, the first of ten years and the second
of six, or sixteen years out of the entire thirty-eight of its life. No minister
has ever labored so long in the western part of the county as has Mr. Bonney. He was ordained in the county in 1863, in connection with his preaching in a schoolhotuse in Matteson township. At the present writing, July,
T906, he and his wife are residing in Bronson, passing their later years
respected and beloved by the village community and by many in all parts of
the county.
In 1893 the church reported 102 resident members. From an examination of the reports of several years. this would seem to be its largest membership. For I906 its resident membership is given as 86. The membership
and activity oif the church have been lessening for several years, aid probably at no time since the erection of the present house of worship in 1887
has the church been so low in numbers, in activity, and in financial ability.
UNITED BRETHREN.
A church of the United Brethren in Christ was organized by R. T.
Martin in the Block schoolhouse in Bethel township in 1849, with a charter membership of forty-five. The first church house was dedicated August
2. T869, by Bishop J. Weaver. The second church was dedicated in I8Q9 by
Rev. Wesley Tilley. The building cost about two thousand dollars. The
present membership is 43, the officials being: Frank Lampman,, N. Piatt,
W. Nagle, A. McEndarffer, William' Ammerman, trustees; Frank Lampman, leader, and George Lobdell, steward, and 0. S. Martin, superintendent
of Sunday-school. The names of the successive pastors are: Revs. R. T.
Martin, J. J. Johnston, Redman, A. Zeever, J. Woldorf, D. Bender, J. W.
Hill, George Crawford, Kester, J. Brown, J. Tedrow, Hight. J. W.
Martin, Swank, Hopkins, Kneep, E. E. Rhodes.
EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCHES.
St. Paul's Lutheran church at Coldwater had its origin in services held
in I858 by Rev. Speichard of Hillsdale. Organization followed in I86o,
the charter members being: L. Erb, F. W. Flandermeyer, H. H. Flander



206


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


meyer, L Denner, F. Korff, G. Meyer, Mr. Nehring, H. Lingle, G. Wahl.
The property and church building were purchased in 1863. Until I877 the
congregation was supplied with a minister from, Hillsdale, but in 1878 became a separate charge, under Rev. F. Haueser. The parsonage was built
in I88o and the school in I882. Rev. Haueser was succeeded in 1884 by
Rev. M. Toewe; he by Rev. A. Roeder in I891, who remained until T903.
In I904 Rev. C. J. Homan came to the vacancy.
ZION CHURCH OF THE EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION.
This society at East Gilead was organized in I860 by Rev. R. Sneilly
with the following charter members: C. S. Brown and family, Jacob Doer
and family, Josiah Snyder and family. C. S. Brown was class leader until
I865, when he entered the ministry. In t866 the present church edifice was
erected. The present minister is Warren Brown.
THE UNITARIANS.
Unity church at Sherwood was organized in 1878, and the society was
incorporated Feb. 3, I894. The first church building was erected in I881,
and the present structure in I892.  The charter members of this church,
which is now in a flourishing condition, are the following named: John F.
Williams, Sol F. Downs, John F. McTntyre, Menton E. Sawin, Leverett R.
Daniels, Ryan Williams, Edward Carswell, Spencer Bennett, Judson H.
Watkins, William T. Smith, Chas. W. Eisenmann, Homer J. Craft. G. B.
Williams, Mrs. M. Williams, Mrs. A. Williams, John Studley, Dr. Robt.
Fraser, Mrs. Dr. Robt. Fraser, Samuel Cline, Mrs. Samuel Cline, Mrs. A.
L. Williams, Mrs. Laura E. Turrell, Mrs. Isabell Salisbury, Catherine Renew, Mrs. Rebecca Bennett, Nora Moyer, Mrs. Ada Fish, Orpha A. Canfield, Andrew Renew, Mrs. Jennie E. Case, Wm. Wriggleworth, Dwight
Coddington, R. M. Barton, Isaac C. Maltby, S. S. Kilburn, A. C. Bell, E.
E. Coddington, Wallace Kilburn, Geo. D. Fish, H. H. Cross, Geo. W. Blackwell, H. W. Locke, James Gwin, Esther A. Rumsey, Emma Hazen, Louisa
Hinkle, Geo. Sexton, Thomas Lockard, Susan Tinney, Ann Waugh, Elver
Gwinn, Alta Gwinn, Mrs. J. Maltby, Mrs. Miller, Jacob Mound, Mrs. S.
M. Kilburn, Vine Bennett, Melinda Wriggleworth, James Tilletson, R. R.
Jones, J. B. Olney, Mrs. Elvira Kilbumrn, Mrs. M. E. Bell, Amasa L. Hills,
Holton Kilburn, Clark Canfield, Ida S. Daniels, C. Sanderson. J. F. Tilletson, Lucretia St. Clair, Ella Frye, Mrs. J. Worts, Celinda A. Sawin, Edwin
Tinney, Jasper T. Davis, Sarah Mastin, Melvin Gwinn.
The ministers who have served the Unitarians at Sherwood are: Rev.
M. V. Rorks, Rev. Ida C. Hultin, Rev. F. M. Aunks, Rev. Henry Vassema,
Rev. Andrews, Rev. F. W. Hayes, Rev. E. H. Barrett, Rev. B. A. Hills.
MENNONITES AND DUNKARDS.
In Noble township is an organization known as Mennonites, the exact
name of which is the "Mennonite Brethren in Christ." This denomination,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


207


to which the Mennonites of Noble belong, was formed by a union of two simliar bodies at Jamestown, Ohio, Dec. 27, I883. According to the book of
discipline, " it is) not allowed to introduce either musical instruments or
choirs into our public worship;" no member shall be permitted to have his
life insured; baptism is by immersion only; they recommend and practice
feet washing. this rite being observed in connection with communion, which
is observed every three months. The officers of the Noble church at this
writing (January, I906) are: Rev. William H. Moore, minister; William
Smith, superintendent of the Sunday-school; John Teachout, class. leader;
Menno Good, deacon.
Another similar organization, namely, the Dunkards, hold meetings in
the Mennonite church in Noble every two weeks.
ROM^AN CATHOLIC CHURCHES.
St. Charles Roman Catholic church at Coldwater was organized in
1849. A small frame church was erected in 8i56 on the present church site
on Harrison street near Clay. This building was destroyed by incendiaries
in June, I859. A brick building was erected in 186o, and this was remodeled a few years ago. The brick parsonage was built in 1867, and the St.
Stanislaus chapel was constructed about three years ago at the time of the
remodeling.  Rev. Father C. Korst was pastor of this parish about thirty
years. Father Dennis A. Hayes is the present pastor.
Bronson.
Father Koirst, of Coldwater, also organized St. Mary's Roman Catholic
church at Bronson in the eighties. Father Korst was the first priest officiating at Bronson. After him came Father Crowe, who built the present brick
church and the parsonage. His successors have been Father Roskie, Father
Meziskie, Father Hewelt, who built the schoolhouse in 90oo at a cost of four
thousand dollars. Father Hewelt left in April, I906, and the present pastor
is Father Maruszczyk.
PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCHES.
The pioneer of the Episcopal form  of religious worship in Branch
county was, of course, Bishop Chase, who conducted the first Episcopal service in the county at the location then known as Adams Mills, in west
Bronson township, in 1832. The history of his settlement in Gilead, described elsewhere, should be read in connection with the history of the
Protestant Episcopal church in this county.
St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal church at Coldwater had its origin
at a meeting February 9, 1848, "at the White schoolhouse" in Coldwater,
where legal incorporation was effected and the following persons chosen as
wardens and vestrymen: Joseph H. Moss, Richard Greenwood, wardens;
Luman Howe, E. G. Fuller, L. D. Crippen, James Pierson and George A.
Coe, vestrymen. Services with the Episcopal liturgy were held in Cold



208


HISTORY OIF BRANCH COUNTY


water before this time, and for some years after the organization the place of
worship was the schoolhouses and the court house.  In 1859 a site was
purchased on Hanchett street and a building attempted, but failed through
a defective title. Several years later a frame building was constructed at
another site on Hanchett street, the church being consecrated April 14, 1863.
A rectory was built on East Chicago street at the present church site in I870.
During the following decade plans were laid for a new building and in I88o
the corner stone of the present edifice was laid, and September 29, I886, the
church was consecrated. Extensive improvements were made in 1895, including a new organ.
The rectors of the church and the years in which they began their
service are as follows: George Willard, 1848; Gardner M. Skinner, 1855;
Henry Safford, I86o; Joseph Wood., 1863; J. Wainright Ray, 1866; George
P. Schetky, D. D., I869; Henry Safford, I870; Herbert J. Cook, I875;
Henry Hughes, i886; Herbert So.werby, 1895.
Union Cit'y.
Grace Episcopal Church, which no longer maintains regular services,
was organized at the home of Dr. H. F. Ewers, Dec. 23, I864, with eighteen
charter members. The present frame church building on Ellen street was
erected in I865, the first rector being Rev. George Verner.
In the foregoing we have given some account of all the church organizations in the county connected with the Roman Catholic Church and with
the larger and longer existing denominations of Protestantism.  Other religious beliefs than those held by the bodies described, have been held by
people in the county all through its history. The numbers holding these beliefs have been relatively small. The names of these beliefs, or, rather, of
the people holding them, are these: Disciples or Christians, Seventh Day
Adventists, Spiritualists, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints, Christian Scientists, the Church' of God, and Dowieites.
The Disciples or Christians have had for a number of years a society
in Quincy, and they have also there a small church building.
The Seventh Day Adventists have had organizations, in Coldwater,
Quincy and Bronson.
The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are sometimes called Mormons, but they are entirely disconnected in their organization from the Utah Mormon Church. They have an organized society or
"branch" in the county, and a church building which is located on section
19 of Quincy township on the north side of the Chicago road. The " branch "
was organized in 1864 in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Bradford Corliss, who
were then residing in southwest Quincy. The building was not erected until
about 1895. Mr. Corliss, who now resides in Coldwater, has been for twenty-five years president of the branch, which is known as "the Co'ldwater
Branch of the Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan District."  Rev.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                        209
S. W. L. Scoitt, residing in Coldwater, is an active missionary of this religious denomination.
From an early day in the life of the county to the present time there
have always been somne Spiritualists among its people, the numbers varying
with the decades. At times they have been numerous enough to, have one or
more organizations. At one time in Coldwater they were strong enough to
erect a fine, substantial brick structure for their meetings. This house is
still standing on the southeast corner of Pearl and Division streets, though
for the past forty years it has been owned and occupied as a private residence.
In January, I9o6, the First Church of Christ, Scientist,.of Coldwater,
was organized.  For some years before, however, the Chrisitan Scientists
had held their regular meetings in the city.
The inclination on the part of the churches of the county to co-operate
with each other in various ways for the religious and moral welfare of the
people has grown steadily through all the years of its history. This has
been exemplified in inter-denominational activity in Sunday schools, in Christian Endeavor Unions, in Young Men's Christian Associations, and in union
meetings held on special days, such as Thanksgiving Day and at other times.
March 2, 1887, The Branch County Sunday School Association was
organized in Coldwater, or, more correctly, revived, for there had been such
an organization years before, though it had ceased its activity for about ten
vears. The first president was Rev. J. P. Philips, pastor of the Baptist
church of Coldwater. Rev. Henry P. Collins was elected secretary at the
time, and has served as such for nineteen years.
For several years the Branch County Christian Endeavor Union held
its conventions annually, but none has been held since I903.
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Branch County has been
in existence for years, and is carrying on its work as actively as ever. In
I9C5, in connection with the Coldwater Union, it invited the State Association to hold its annual convention at the county seat of the county. The
invitation was accepted, and June 5 and 6, I906, the Thirty-second Annual
Convention of the Michigan Woman's Christian Union was held in Coldwater.


I::;:




210              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
CHAPTER XXV.
POLITICAL HISTORY OF BRANCH            COUNTY.
Previous to the year I841, records of the doings of the political parties
in Branch county have not been preserved, but in Augusit of that year conventions were held by both the Democratic and Whig parties. August 20 the
Democratic convention was held at the court holuse in Coldwater, and the
following delegates were elected to the state convention, to be held in
Marshall, September I: Chas. G. Hammond, John T. Haynes and Enos G.
Berry. Wales Adams, Albert Chandler and Hiram Shotdler were elected
delegates to the senatorial convention to, be held at Albion August 29. According to a call printed in the Coldwater Sentinel of August 20, a Whig
convention was held August 21, for the purpose of electing delegates to a
like convention, but the subsequent issues of the paper contain no account
of such a convention being held.  The Democratic convention nominated
John G. Barry for governor and the Whigs nominated Philo C. Fuller.
The Democratic nominees for state senators were Edward A. Warner, of
Branch, and Henry Hewitt, of Calhoun.   Enos G. Berry was nominated
for representative. At the election the following November the county gave
Barry a majority of 355.
At the general election held in November, 1844, the county was carried
by the Democrats by about 240 majority, electing Wales Adams, representative; Anselum  Arnold, sheriff; John T. Haynes, treasurer; Corydon P.
Benton, clerk, and Jared Pond. register.
In the fall of 1845 Branch county gave the Democrats a majority of
347 for Alpheus Felch, candidate for governor, but for the first time in the
history of the county the Whigs elected a portion of their ticket. George A.
Coe, of Coldwater, Whig nominee for state senator, defeated Ephraim  B.
Danforth by 78 votes, and William B. Sprague, a Whig, was elected representative by a majority of 32 votes. At this election James G. Bimey, afterwards famous as an Abolitionist, received 8i votes for governor on the
Abolition ticket.
At the November election in 1846 the Democrats elected their entire
ticket by majorities ranging from 50 to 300, and! in the fall of 1847 the
Demociratic ticket from  governor down received majorities ranging from
301 to 378, with the exception of Enos G. Berry, who was defeated by Geo.
A. Coe for the state senate by a majority of 18 votes.
Again in the general election of November, I848, the Democrats were
generally victorious, giving 420 majority for Cass and Butler, nominees
for president and vice president. But the WVhigs made still further inroads




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


211


upon the local Democratic ticket by electing Geo. A. Coe representative by
a majority of 17, James Pierson sheriff by 12 majority and Hiram Rathbum
Alden treasurer by 13 majority.
In November, 1849, the Democrats gave John S. Barry, their nominee
for governor, a majority of 379, but Roland Root, a Whig, was elected representative by a majority of 53 over Henry C. Gilbert.
In November, i850, the whole Democratic ticket was elected, with the
exception of one representative, by majorities ranging from 8 to 600. Jared
Pond was defeated by S. L. Lawrence, a Whig. In this election the Free
Soilers united with the Whigs upon several candidates.
The election held in the fall of I8&51 appears to have been very tame, as
only a governor and lieutenant governor were to be elected. The result
was that Branch gave Robert McClelland, the Democratic candidate, a majority of 231. At this election only I,I25 votes were cast.
The campaign of I852 was an exciting one. Party feelings ran high
and mass meetings were held by both the Democrats and Whigs. The Democrats gathered in front of the old court house on Monday, October II, and
listened to addresses by Gen. Lewis Cass, Senator Felch and Gov. McClelland,
and it was claimed that fully four thousand were in attendance. The Whigs,
being in the minority, did not gather in crowds as great as the Democrats,
but they were enthusiastic for their ticket, which was headed by Gen. Winfield Scott for president, while the I)emocrats were hurrahing for Franklin
Pierce, who received a majority of 303 votes in the county. The Democrats
elected their entire county ticket by majorities of 250 to 350.
During the summer of I854 the Republican party was organized at
Jackson, Michigan, and at the fall election it administered to the Democratic
party the first defeat ever known by that organization in Branch county.
Kinsley S. Bingham, Republican candidate for governor, received a majority
o'f 734 in the county, and Daniel Wilson, Republican, defeated Ebenezer
Butterworth, Democrat, for the office of sheriff, by a majority of 58,. For
county clerk Eben O. Leach was elected over Albert Chandler and Curtis
Young was elected register of deeds over Joseph C. Leonard. For county
treasurer Hiran Shoudler defeated Wales Adams, and John W. Turner defeated John G. Parkhurst for the office of prosecuting attorney.
This election was followed by an almost unbroken series of Republican
majorities until November, 1878, when the Greenback party, which had lately
become quite a pomwer, united with the Democrats on most of their candidates and went into the campaign of 1878 under the name of Nationals. The
Republican ticket was again successful with the following exceptions: William H. Donaldson, National, defeated Zelotes G. Osborn, Republican, and
Arthur Crippen, Democrat, by a plurality of 153; for representative, C. J.
Thorpe, National, was elected over James R. Wilson, Republican, and John
Taggart. Democrat, by a plurality of 224. The balance of the Republican
county ticket was elected by majorities ranging from 68 to 606. At this
election John B. Shipman, who was on both Democratic and National tickets,
was elected circuit judge over David B. Thompson, Republican, and Riley,




21,2             HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
Democrat, by a plurality of 875. Branch county gave him a majolrity of
only I6 votes, the remainder coming from St. Joseph, county. Jonas I. McGowan, of Coldwater, was elected toi congress from this district, Branch
county giving him a majority of 383 over Upton, Democrat, and Dawson,
National.
In November, I88o, the Republicans were entirely successful, electing
everything by majorities ranging from 929 to 1722. Charles Upson was
elected to congress, Branch giving him a majority of I I88.
In November, I882, the Greenback party was popular throughout the
state, electing Begole by about 800 majority, but Branch stood almost solidly
for the Republican ticket, electing everything excepting sheriff and representative in the second district. Oliver C. Camnpbell, Greenback, was elected
sheriff over Geo. W. Van Aken, Republican, by 46 votes, and Emanuel Himebaugh, a Greenback, was elected representative: over Richard Coward, Republican, by 17 votes. With these two exceptions the Republican majorities
ranged from 143 to 1223.
The campaign of I884 was closely contested, but the, Republicans were
again successful in the main, losing only sheriff and prosecuting attorney.
Campbell was re-elected sheriff by a majority of 495, and John R. Champion,
Greenback, defeated Marc A. Merrifield, Republican, for prosecuting attorney by a majority of 27 votes. In this campaign the votes on the presidential ticket were as follows:  James G. Blaine, Republican, 367I; Grover
Cleveland, Democrat, I315; Benjamin F. Butler, Greenback, 1644; John St.
John, Prohibition, 419.
The official canvass of the votes. cast Noivember 2, I886, shows: a clean
sweep for the Republicans. Cyrus G. Luce for governor headed the Republican ticket and received in Branch county a plurality of 758 votes over Geo.
L. Yaple, Democrat, and Samuel Dickie, Prohibitionist.
In September, 1888, President Cleveland appointed Gen. John G. Parkhurst minister to Belgium.
In November the county gave a solid Republican majoirity, honoring
Gov. Luce by a plurality of 1284 over Wellington Burt, Democrat. Alfred
Milnes, of Coldwater, was elected to the state senate by a plurality of I380
over Lane, Democrat.
The Democrats were successful in the state in the fall of I89o, electing
E. B. Winans governor, but Branch county stood firmly by its long-time Republican majority, giving J. M. Turner, Republican, a plurality of 962 over
Winans, and elected their entire county ticket with the exception) of prosecuting attorney, in which William H. Compton, Republican, was defeated by
Elmer E. Palmer, Democrat, who won by a majority of 672. For state
senator Oliver C. Campbell, Democrat, was elected by a plurality of 73. The
opposing candidate was Alfred Milnes, Republican, who received 2716, and
Edward E. Bostwick, Prohibitionist.  The Republican majorities on the
balance of the ticket varied from! 84 to, 1401.
The presidential election of Itg92 found Branch solid for the Republican
ticket, giving every candidate a plurality, which on the presidential ticket


I
c I




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY             '           213
was 1124. The election of two years. later, in 1894, was a repetition of
1892, the Republicans electing everything by increased pluralities.
In the spring of 1895 Alfred Milnes was elected to the national house
of representatives to succeed J. C. Burrows, who went to the senate. In
this contest Mr. Milnes defeated Calvin J. Thorpe, who was the candidate
of the Democratic, Silver and Prohibition parties, his majority being about
1400.
The famous silver campaign of I896 proved a disaster for the Republicans. After many years of almost unbroken control of the political affairs
of the county, they were totally routed by Bryan and his followers. The
entire silver ticket was elected by pluralities of from i6I to 368, the latter
being A. M. Todd's plurality over Alfred Milnes for congressman. Bryan
carried the county by a plurality of 377. Two years later the Republicans
regained some of their lost prestige by electing about half of their county
ticket, and giving a majority of I05 for their candidate for governor, Hazen
S. Pingree.
In 19oo the silver party, again headed by \Villiam Jennings Bryan for
president, were overwhelmingly defeated by the Republicans, who carried the
county for every candidate on their ticket. McKinley polled 88o more votes
than Bryan and the: Republican candidates on the same ticket averaged about
the same number.
In I902 the party opposed to the Republicans again assumed its old
name and the campaign was once more between the Republicans and the
Democrats, in which the latter were more overwhelmingly defeated than
was the silver party in I9oo. The county ticket elected was entirely Repubilcan by a majority of over iooo.
The election on November 8, I904, was the most decisive defeat the
Democrats ever suffered in Branch county. The Republican ticket, headed by
Roosevelt for president, carried the county by largely increased majorities.  Roosevelt received 2837 more votes than did Parker, the Democratic candidate, and the Republican county ticket was elected by majorities varying from 1799 to 2159.


F:~:!:::::-~-,a
"r;;



214              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
CHAPTER XXVI.
COURTS AND LAWYERS.
Until Michigan became a state the judicial circuit embracing Branch
county covered the entire Michigan Territory, that is, there was only one
judicial circuit, and the circuit judge held sessions in all the organized counties.  "At a session of the Circuit Court of the! Territory of Michigan,
holden in and for the county of Branch," is the record for the first circuit
court held in this county after it was separately organized from St. Joseph
county.
In I836 Michigan was divided into judicial circuits each presided over
by a circuit judge.  By the act approved July 26, 1836, the third judicial circuit was organized.  The original counties embraced in this circuit
were Branch, St. Joseph, Cass, Berrien, Kalamazoo, Allegan, Calhoun, Kent,
and all the country attached to any one of these for judicial purposes.
Branch county continued a part of the third circuit until I851. An act
approved April 8th, of that year, created the second circuit of Branch, St.
Joseph, Cass and Berrien counties.
On March 6, I869, the second circuit was divided, Berrien and Cass
being constituted one circuit and retaining the name olf second circuit, while
Branch and St. Joseph were organized as the fifteenth judicial circuit, and as
such it has remained to, the present time. The late Judge Charles Upson was
the first judge of this circuit, serving from 1870 to 1876.
The first constitution of Michigan provided for a county court, intermediate between the justice courts and the circuit court. The first session
of the Branch county court was held in Coldwater, March I, I847, Jacob
Shook being present as setond judge, with C. P. Benton, clerk. In consequence of the abolition of this branch of judiciary by the second constitution,
the county court adjourned sine die December 31, I851, Justin Lawyer being
the last judge.
For several years after the organization of a county government the
legal business of the county was transacted by lawyers whose homes were in
other counties of the state. The profession of law during the early days wras
an itinerant one. The court moved about from! county seat to county seat
over an immense area comprising the judicial circuit, and with the court trav
eled the attorneys. They traveled by stage coach or horseback according to
choice or convenience, and the arrival of the court and its attorneys was an
event to; be looked forward to by the villagers of the county seat.
Thus, in October, 1833, no, little stir and excitement was caused in the
little village of Branch when the first session of the circuit court was begun.






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


215


The court, which opened on the 2Ist day of the month, was presided over
by William A. Fletcher, who was president judge, of the judicial circuit of the
territory of Michigan. Associate judges were Silas A. Holbrook, for many
years a well known business man of Coldwater, and William! A. Kent.
In the minutes of this session is, this sentence, " Ordered that Neal McGaffey be prosecuting attorney the present term."  Mr. McGaffey may be
considered one of the first, if not the first, lawyer who practiced before a
court of record in Branch county. But he was not a resident of this county.
His home was at White Pigeon, where he lived and died. St. Joseph county,
as already mentioned, was for several years the civil and judicial center for
a large region, which has since been divided into separate counties, including
Branch county. Therefore it was natural that the first lawyers who located
in this part of the state would settle in St. Joseph county where their professional interests were centered.
But the oldest attorney of this part of the state, was Columbia Lancaster,
whose name is mentioned amlong the attorneys of thel April term of I835 as
having business in the Branch county session of the circuit court. Columbia Lancaster was born in Connecticut in I80o3, came to White Pigeon in
1830, and on the location of the county seat at Centerville became the first
resident of that place. He is said to have taught the second school in Branch
county, and in addition to being a lawyer and school teacher was a mighty
hunter. He later moved to Washington Territory.
The attorneys mentioned alongside the name of C. Lancaster were
Marcus Lane and George W. Jewett (or Jewit, as it was spelled in the
records). Marcus Lane came from his home at Ypsilanti to! practice in
Branch county. On coming to Michigan he had located for practice at Ann
Arbor, in 1826. George W. Jewett lived at Ann Arbor, but afterward moved
to Niles, where he died.
At the October term  Df circuit court in 1835 Henry I. Backus sought
a license to practice law in the territory of Michigan. Thereupon the judge
appointed the attorneys Jewett, Lancaster and Lane a committee to examine the qualifications of Mr. Backus, who had previously practiced in the
state of Connecticut, and on examination the committee found the applicant
duly qualified, whereupon he was admitted to practice. Mr. Backus was the
first attorney admitted to practice in Branch county.  Although admitted
here, there is no proof that he was ai resident lawyer in the county.
In 1837 there came to Coldwater Ezbon G. Fuller who, according to all
accepted reports and proofs, was the first resident lawyer of Branch county,
although not the first attorney to represent clients in court here.  Dying
January 14, 1892, at Marysville, California, where he had resided since I878,
Judge E. G. Fuller was at the time of his death nearly eighty-two years old,
forty years of which had been passed as a member of the bar of Branch
county. He was appointed prosecuting attorney soon after his admission
to practice, and later held the office of judge of probate. His practice fell off
in later years, nor did he make much effort to keep up with the profession,




216              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
but gave much of his time to his farm and the abstract business, until he
moved to California.
In the first number' of the Coldkzater Sentinel, dated April, 184I, are the
professional cards of E. A. Warner, E. G. Fuller and George A. Coe. These
constituted the Branch county bar at that date. The first named had located
in Coldwater about I838. He died about 1845, while still young. George
A. Coe had begun his professional career in Coldwater, and during the thirty
years before his death in I869 he attained unusual prominence. Besides holding various local offices he was a member of both branches of the legislature,
and in 1854 and I856 was lieutenant governor of the state.
The calendar of the Branch county court in 1847 contains the following attorneys who appeared in cases tried in that year: H. C. Gilbert, W.
Brown, Louis T. N. Wilson, E. G. Fuller, George A. Croe, Justin Lawyer,
Justus Goodwin, E. G. Parsons, D. Darwin Hughes, A. Piatt, E. J. Hard,
John Root, C. B. Dresser, A. French and J. W. Gilbert.
Of these, L. T. N. Wilson studied his law in the office of Mr. Coe at
Coldwater.  He was identified with Coldwater until his death, April 26,
1887.
The name of Justin Lawyer, above mentioned with the attorneys of
I847, will long be honored in Coldwater not so much for his connection with
the law as for his relation with business and public affairs. He did not practice long, but turned his attention to banking and other interests.  " The
public had confidence in his ability to do things thoroughly and well," is
the most impressive tribute to his life and character. He was connected with
several public enterprises, among them the city water works, of which he
was superintendent at the time of his death, March I3, 1894.
Passing over almost a generation of time, to the year 1875, we find
many changes in the personnel of the county bar. The roll of Branch county
attorneys in 1875, as given in a court calendar of that year, is as follows:
(The names are mentioned in order of seniority) Ezbon G. Fuller, Charles
Upson, David B. Dennis, Caleb D. Randall, David Thompson, John W.
Turner, John R. Champion, W. J. Bowen, Franklin E. Morgan, J. H. McGowan, J. B. Shipman, Noiah P. Loveridge, Justin Lawyer, J. G. Parkhurst,
F. L. Skeels, C. N. Legg, C. E. Thornton, H. H. Barlow, C. D. Wright, S.
B. Kitchel, all of Coldwater. Ezra Berry was from Quincy, while Union
City was represented by Jerome Bowen, M. A. Merrifield and George Styles.
Judge Charles Upson (see sketch), who died September 5, 1885, at the
age of sixty-four, was once referred to in the early sixties as "the leading
attorney of soluthwestern Michigan."  He was well versed in the common
and statute law, was energetic in all that he did, and had the respect of the
entire bar of Branch county.
Caleb D. Randall, who died September i, 1903, was for many years
influential in business and the law. He was born in Cayuga county, New
York, in I83I, a son of Dr. Alvah Randall, the pioneer physician of Bronson,
who has been mentioned elsewhere. Studying law, he began practice about
I855, but did very little active legal work after the war. He was successful






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                         217
as a pension claim agent, and in 1870 was elected to the state senate. He
took part in the organization of the Southern Michigan National Bank, and
for some years before as well as subsequent to that time he gave little attention to legal practice.  Although noted for his business conservatism, he
suffered severe reverses and had to relinquish most of his interests.  His
work in education and the charities, and his zeal in all matters affecting the
public interest are attested in various places in this history.
David Thompson was another pioneer lawyer who prepared for his
profession in Cbldwater. He was associated with Charles Upson during the
early sixties, and in 1864 was elected judge of probate, and later served as
circuit judge to fill a vacancy. Judge Thompson has been characterized as
a most kindly man, of easy approach, with little shrewdness and no closeness
in financial matters. His easy going methods prevented himi from accumulating money, but he was always a respected figure in the community. He
became a clerk under the government at Washington, and died at Coldwater,
February 19, I896.
All the old settlers as well as the members of the bar knew and liked
John W. Turner, whose most prominent characteristics were a jovial, genial
nature, a natural eloquence, and a poetic temperament that sometimes manifested itself in verse. Quick at repartee and relying more on the inspiration
of the occasion than attention to details, he was noted, during his early
career, as a strong advocate before a jury. He died at the age of seventy
years, August i. 1888.
Willard J. Bowen, who is also deceased, was a graduate in law from the
University of Michigan, a member of the same class with Franklin E. Morgan. His praictice was limited, for he soon directed his attention to other
matters, for awhile doing a business in prosecuting war claims, and later
hecame a member of the banking firm of Rose, Bowen & Rose. Eventually
he went to Texas, where he had a career in business and politics, and where
he died.
Terome Bowen, who, as elsewhere related, was at one time connected
with the Coldwater Republican, was practicing law during the seventies in
Union City, and from there went to Manistee.
T. H. McGowan, who died in Washington, where he lived after serving
as a representative from his Michigan district, was a self-made, college-bred
lawyer. A poor, hard-working college boy, he yet had the popular qualities
and the ability to mingle with his fellows to such a degree that he was received into the societies of wealth of the university. In practice he was noted
for his ability in cross examination, and could direct a fire of questions with
such rapidity as has seldom been equaled. He was successful in his profession, and stood high in the community because of his clean, pure record.
The death of Noah P. Loveridge on June 26, I9oo, took away another
of the lawyers who had come to Coldwater during the sixties. He had a successful practice from the start, and was associated for a number of years
with Tudge J. B. Shipman. He stood high in public affairs, and, like his
associate, held the office of judge of the fifteenth judicial circuit.


'LY




218              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
One by one the county bar of 1875 has been diminished by death. Ezra
Berry, the Quincy attorney at that time, and since deceased, was a member
of the well known pioneer family of that village. He had been admitted to
the bar in I846, and a large part of his business career was spent in other
affairs.
C. D. Wright was a Coldwater boy, who was admitted to, the bar there,
and later went west to Los Angeles, where he acquired a competence mainly
by successful investment, and died in that city. F. L. Skeels, who, was an
active member of the profession for some years, and is now deceased, was a
Yale graduate, which was an uncommon distinction for the lawyer of that
time. IHe served four years as prosecuting attorney of the county.
Only recently, and while this work has been in process of compilation,
two others whose names appear in the above roll have passed away, namely,
S. B. Kitchel and Gen. J. G. Parkhurst, whose careers are sketched elsewhere.
Two other early lawyers might be mentioned. One was M. S. Bowen,
who came during the sixties, and remained only a few years. His best remembered characteristic was his fondness for the legal quibble, and he often
clouded the judgment of both judge and jury with a shower of technicalities and whimsical objections. The other character was E. S. Jennings, the
"tramp lawyer," who wais possessed of a facile and persuasive eloquence. It
is said that this enabled him to, borrow a large sum of money from a dozen
or more persons about the same time. He then went to Nebraska, where he
invested in land, became prosperous, and, to his credit let it be said, met all
his obligations in full.
In the roll of 1875 may be found the oldest members of the present bar.
Since the death of Gen.. Parkhurst, John R. Champion is the oldest lawyer
in the county. He has been here since before the war. At one time he, was
considered one of the able criminal lawyers of the county, but in later years
had a general practice.
Time has also dealt kindly with Franklin E. Morgan, who was one of
the early graduates from the University of Michigan law department, and
who camel here in I863. Although a member of the bar for forty years, until
his retirement in January, 1904, he was never in active court practice. He
had an office business, largely in real estate and loans, and represented. outside
capital and some estates in Coldwater. -When local capital became sufficient
to meet all the demands, his business in that direction, which had been quite
remunerative, declined, and thereafter until his retirement he carried,on an
office law practice.
Judge John B. Shipman, whose career is sketched on another page, is
still a leader of the Branch county bar, with over forty years of active practice behind him, part of which time he was circuit judge.
Others whose names are mentioned elsewhere are the well known attorneys Charles N. Legg, H. H. Barlow, both of C'oldwater, and M. A. Merrifield and George Styles of Union City.
A study of the careers of Branch county's legal profession would seem
to indicate that business and the law have generally gone hand in hand, or


A




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


219


that a ready transfer of activity has been possible from one to the other. It
was one of the observations of the Hon. James Bryce, author of the "Atmerican Conmmoiiwleallth," on' the occasion of his recent visit to this. country, that
the lawyers in this country were turning more and more of their attention to
general forms of business and devoting themselves less exclusively to their
profession. In a county the size of Branch the special departments of the law
have of course never furnished enough business for one man, and the practice has been what is termed " general."  A few have developed aptitude as
pleaders, or in criminal prosecution, or in consultation practice.
As one comes down the consecutive decades since the pioneer courts
were held in Branch county he finds an increasing per cent. of college
trained lawyers. And the requirements for graduation at the ordinary law
school of forty years ago have been raised from, time to time, so that the
preparation for the legal profession has been broadened and diversified to
keep pace with the enlarged arena which is now occupied by the law. The
home-schooled aspirant of sixty years ago would read a few volumes in the
office of one whom he chose to, call his " preceptor," and would then go before a committee of local attorneys appointed by the circuit court, as was the
case with the first lawyer admitted to, practice in Branch county. The members of this committee, though practical lawyers, not often possessed ability
as examiners, and the questions asked of the applicant seldom touched the
depths of law' and were often irrelevant.
But at Ann Arbor, even fifty years ago, the law student after completing his courses was put through a six days' test of oral examination, conducted by such eminent men as Judge Campbell, Judge Cooley, Judge I. C.
Walker, Judge E. C. Walker.of Detroit, and Judge Stacey of Tecumseh.
After successfully passing this battery of questioners it was likely that the
applicant would ever afterward have a high respect for the dignity of his
profession and be well qualified for its duties.
Passing along two decades from the roll of 1875, it will be interesting
to notice a similar list of Branch county attorneys for the' year I895. They
areAt Coldwater: D. B. Dennis, C. D. Randall, J. R. Champion, F. E.
Morgan, J. B. Shipman, N. P. Loveridge. J. G. Parkhurst, H. C. Clark, H.
H. Barlow. S. B. Kitchel, N. A. Reynolds, C. N. Legg, William H. Compton, M. D. Campbell, F. D. Newberry, D. M. Wells, J. S. Evans, H. C.
Loveridge, Melvin E. Peters, L. F. Humphrey, E. E. Palmer, C. C. Johnson, C. U. Champion, A. L. Locke, C. F. Howe, E. H. Loveridge, E. E. Killinger, B. C. Thorpe, Leroy Palmer.
From Quincy the following: W. H. Lockerby, A. L. Kinney, E. D.
Lockerbv.
And from Union City: M. A. Merrifield, George Styles.
The changes in the personnel during twenty years had been many, but
the roll for I895 almost represents the present membership of the bar, as will
be seen by reference to the roll of attorneys for I906, herewith given:
J. G. Parkhurst (deceased); John R. Champion, Coldwater, Franklin




220              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
E. Morgan, Coldwater; John B. Shipman, Coldwater; Henry C. Clark, Coldwater; HI. H. Barlolw, Coldwater; Norman! A. Reynolds, Coldwater; Charles
N. Legg, Coldwater; Milo D. Campbell, Coldwater; Frank D. Newberry,
Coldwater; John S. Evans, Coldwater; Henry C. Loveridge, Coldwater;
Leonard F. Humphrey, Coldwater; Elmer E. Palmer, Coldwater; Clayton
C. Johnson, Coldwater; Charles U. Champion, Coldwater; Charles F. Howe,
Coldwater; Ernest H. Loveridge, Coldwater; Leroy Palmer, Coldwater;
Frank B. Reynolds, Coldwater; Mark S. Andrews, Coldwater; William H.
Lockerby, Quincy; M. A. Merrifield, Union City; George Styles, Union
City; Milo Thompson, Bronson; A. L. Locke, Bronson; H. T. Barton, Union
City; W. Glenn Cowell, Quincy; A. Riley Crittendon, Coldwater; Perry J.
Ashdown, Union City; Bert. E. Barlow, Coldwater; O. M. Bowen, Bronson;
W. Edwin Hodgman, Coldwater.
According to the records, the members of the bar of Branch County met
at the home of Hon. C. D. Randall, February 2, I903, for the purpose of reorganizing the Bar Association for Branch County. Pres. C. D. Randall of
the old association was in the chair, and in the absence of Secreta!ry Champion, F. B. Reynolds was secretary pro tern. A committee on articles of
association reported as follows: " Whereas, the records containing the constitution and proceedings of the original association have been lost, said association having been in existence nearly half a century and many of the
members thereof having been among the most eminent lawyers. of the state;
therefore, for the purpose of continuing and perpetuating said Bar Association, we report for your consideration the following form of constitution, etc."
This gives the past history of the association, although it seems that the
committee was in error as to; the time the old association had existed, a quarter ocf a century being nearer the correct time than half a century. Only two
elections have been held up to the time of this writing, and the same officers
were chosen at both meetings, namely: Gen. J. G. Parkhurst, president;
H. H. Barlow, vice president; Wallace E. Wright, secretary, the county
clerk being by provision of the constitution secretary of the association, and
the present secretary therefore being Henry E. Straight; F. B. Reynolds,
treasurer; E. E. Palmer, C. U. Champion and Mark S. Andrews, executive
committee.
The association has been called together several times toi pass resolutions
on the death of prominent members. October 5th following the organization, they met on the occasion of the death of Caleb D. Randall; in January
1905, on the death of William H. Compton; in August, I905, after the death
of Simon B. Kitchel, and in May, I906, when the president, Gen. Parkhurst,
passed away.






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


221


CHAPTER XXVII.
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.
A chapter on the medical profession of Branch county must of course
be largely biographical. It is in the men who have practiced medicine in the
county that the chief interest centers. Therefore this chapter may be confined
to an orderly mention of the members of the profession past and present and
a brief description of some of the contrasted conditions that distinguish medical practices of pioneer times from that of the present.
The pioneer doctor had a wide and varied sphere of activity. The settlers were comparatively few and were scattered here and there over a large
area:. The practice coming from half the county no more than justified one
physician in devoting all his time to, professional duties. Thus Dr. Alvah
Randall, the pioneer physician of Bronson, who, settled in that township in
I835, was the only doctor in a country covered by a radius of ten miles from
his home. When the pioneers of Gilead needed a physician they sent for Dr.
Randall, who came over the new-made and rough roads that led through the
woods and across the marshes to the cabins of Gilead. And the same was
true in the other surrounding townships.
On the other side of the county, in Quincy, Dr. Enos G. Berry filled a
similar and contemporary position. He had come toi the township in 1835,
at the age o'f twenty-two'. A former biography says of him, " He visited the
poor and' destitute without charge, and took no mortgages or other securities
of those unable to' pay, but gave them such time as their circumstances required; and, with other duties, continued the practice of medicine for about
thirty years."  This character of generosity and sympathy is the crowning
tribute to the pioneer doctors. Compared with, present day standards, their
skill and knowledge was small. But of largeness of heart and of the old quality of loving-kindness they had an abundance that rendered their m1inistrations in sickness and trouble effectual where greater skill would not have
availed.
In the north part of the county, at Union City, the pioneer work in medicine was done by the Hurd brothers, o'f whom there were, during the thirties and forties, three whose practice covered a large territory in Branch and
Calhoun counties. Theodore C. and William P. Hurd, the latter locating
at Union City in I840 and the former some time previous, were men of high
professional standards and with natural inclination for their work. Shortly
after the death of Theodore C. Hurd' in I845 another brother, Henry S.,
located in Union City.
All these physicians lived in the "saddle-bag" period. They traveled




222


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


about on horseback, with their saddle-bags filled with medicine-principally
quinine and calomel-and a few surgical appliances then in use. There were
no telephones to use in calling the doctor, and a horseback rider galloping to
town became the accepted signal to all the neighbors, along the route that
some one was ill at the rider's home and the latter was " going for the doctoir." In reaching his patient the physician often had a long ride, in, the very
early days over a way marked by blazed trees, with toilsome detours around
swamps or in order to cross a stream swollen by recent rains. Add the many
hardships imposed by darkness and storm and bitter cold, and it is easy to
point the contrast between conditions of practice sixty years ago' and now.
Another point alluded to by a well known riember of the profession in
Branch county is that there was very little "office practice" among the early
doctors. The numerous "chronic" afflictions that are familiar by name if
not by personal experience to people of this age were hardly apprehended at
that time. Chills and fevers brought on by the miasmas of the swamps or
new-plowed soil were regularly expected each year in the " sickly season."
The remedies were quinine and calomel, given in such quantities as would
appall our physicians in modern practice. Not one grain of these drugs is
given now where forty were prescribed less. than half a century ago'. Though
their duties of diagnosis and prescription were thus comparatively light, the
doctors generally visited the patients in their homes, and few made any
effort to maintain a regularly appointed office and definite office hours.
Turning now to the center o'f the county, at Coldwater we find the field
of medical practice covered at an early date, the representatives o'f the profession being continuous from  1830. Dr. William Henry is said to have
been the first, while contemporaneous with part of his career in Coldwater
was Dr. Enoch Chase, a man of considerable prominence, though he remained in this county only until 1834.
One of the familiar streets in Coldwater that intersects Chicago street
is Hanchett street, so named in honor of the pioneer doctor, William Hanchett, who came to Coldwater in 18,32. For nearly twenty years he remained
at the head of the profession in the county. In I846 he associated with himself in practice his nephew, Dr. S. S. Cutter, another well known physician.
who died about I882. These men were not alone active in their profession,
but a perusal of these pages and of former historical works on Branch county will show their names mentioned in connection with numerous undertakings of importance.  They erected the first high-grade hotel structure in
Coldwater, the old Franklin Hotlse, which was afterward burned and which
stood where the Arlington is now located, at the corner of Chicago and Hanchett streets. Dr. Hanchett practiced here until the middle of the century,
when he moved out west and died in Oregon.
The careers of all these early physicians have been sketched in the History of 1879, and it is only necessary to recall the names of some of them.
These were: Dr. Darwin Iittlefield, whose name will be! mentioned later in
connection with the first organized movement for the advancement of the
medical profession in Branch county, as also; the name of Dr. H. B. Stillman,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                         223
whose signature as county clerk is to be found o!n many records in the court
house. In the same connection will he found the name of Dr. Mathew Gill.
The shuttle of time is continually removing the old and replacing with
the new, and so we find that the greater number of the physicians who were
in active practice at the time of the publication of the former history of the
county are now dead or retired, and a new generation has succeeded them.
Dr. S. S. Cutter was one of the first to pass away after the appearance of
the former history. His career was intimately identified with Coldwater.
He was the first mayor after its incorporation as a city; he was a member
of the special commission appointed to investigate the state charitable institution, and one of the results of the recommendations of that commislsion was
the establishment oif the State Public School in Coldwater; he took a prominent part in local education, and his activity belonged to the general history
of the city rather than to any one particular chapter.
Another physician who has passed away was Chester S. Tucker, who left
his extensive property interests, acquired in practice and business, to the
Home Missionary Society of the Presbyterian Church.. Dr. D. C. Powers,
who died November 4, 1887, was also versatile in his interests. He came to
Coildwater before the war, served in, the army as a surgeon, was at one time
mayor of the city, was a director of the Southern Michigan Nationall Bank,
and gave considerable time to matters of public welfare. On February 24,
IQ02, death claimed Dr. James M. Long, who. had been in Coldwater since
T86I, and was ranked along with the others just mentioned. Of the same
group was Dr. George K. Smith, who, had begun his practice in Coldwater in
1852, and after an absence of some years and activity in other lines,, he resumed practice in 1869.
When in his prime the late Isaac P. Alger was one oif the leading physicians of Branch county. Dying at his home in Coldwater, April I8, I904, he
was then in his eighty-fourth year, and was a Branch county pioneer by virtue of over sixty years' residence within the county. He studied medicine
with Drs. Hanchett and Stillman at CoGldwater, beginning his practice in the
forties. He was one of the first students of Rush Medical College of Chicago. Dr. Alger was noted for his public spirit, and his interest in pioneer affairs and the history of his county continued till his death.
Along with the names of Dr. S. S. Cutter and Dr. Alger as physicians
of the pioneer period stands that of John H. Beach, who began practice in
Coldwater in I849 and continued until his death in 1878. As already indicated, the practice of the early physicians was of a general nature, and there
were no specialists in the county until very recently. But Dr. Beach, while
having a general practice, excelled as a surgeon, and that at a time when the
science of surgery had hardly begun to develop. He served as a regimental
surgeon during the war, and after his return to Coldwater his skill as a! surgeon was in constant demand both at home and in various parts of the state.
The decade of the eighties saw the passing of the pioneer doctor of
Union City, William P. Hurd, who died October o1, I88I.   Others were
Dr. Thomas Cody, of Batavia, who died April 12, 1882; Dr. M. E. Chaun-...;~~-~;~ -~




224              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
cey, who was the first physician of Girard, beginning practice there in I843,
and died May 7, 1884; Israel Wheeler, of Gilead, who died October 4, I887,
aged seventy-four.
During the nineties there passed away Charles Reading, of Quincy,
July 2, i891, at the age of eighty-six; Jesse L. Cady, act Coldwater, June 2I,
1892; Edward Twiss, at Union City, May 12, 1895, aged seventy; Thomas
W. Watkins, at Quincy, June 28, I896; Dennis W. Rogers, at Union City,
January 24, I898; Timothy Baker, at Union City, February 20, I8988, aged
eighty-one years; Dorr Fitzgerald, who had been in Union City since the
seventies, on August 27, I898, aged seventy-eight; and Jay Wright, at Union
City, May 3, 1899.
October 24, I897, ended the remarkable career oif William B. Spragtue,
after living one hundred years, seven months; and twenty-six days. Graduating from the medical college at Fairfield, New York, in 1826, in the spring
of I835 he came to Coldwater in company with Bradley Crippen, Philo, H.
Crippen, L. D. Crippen, James Fiske and Rev. Francis Smith. He was in
active practice only a few years, but he early became connected with public
affairs, being an associate judge of the circuit court in 1836, was also judge
of probate and a member of the legislature. He was in all respects a pioneer,
and as author of articles on pioneer life, among others " The Origin of the
City of Coldwater," he contributed much to the permanent historical knowledge of the county.
Lansing C. Marsh, who began practice in Coldwater in I853, died in
Coldwater October 14, I900, at the mature age of seventy-nine. Dr. Cornelius H. Woodcox, who first practiced in Gilead and later resided in Coldwater, died April 21, 1903, and on January 4, 1904, Coldwater lost Dr.
Daniel S. Cunningham. November I2, I904, Quincy lost Francis E. Marsh,
who had practiced there for over twenty-five years, and was seventy years
old at the time of his death. Less than a year later, on March 28, 1905, occurred the death of Hawkins A. King at Quincy, at the age of seventy-six.
He had also been connected with the medical profession of tha;t village a
number of years. The most recent loss by death to, the medical profession
of the county was Dr. Eva J. Outwater, who died at Bronson January 9,
90o6.
The older physicians have nearly all gone, and there are only a, few
whose careers in the county go back twenty-five years. In Coldwater the
group olf older physicians would include Stephen H. Clizbe, who has been
practicing in the county since I870 and in Coldwater for twenty-seven years;
L. A. Warsabo, who hasi been in the city about the same length of time, and
William Wilson and Newton Baldwin. In Quincy Dr. Edson Blackman has
been in practice about thirty years. Dr. Henry P. Mowry has been registered at Bronson since 1883.
In January, Igoo, the new law went into effect requiring the registration of all physicians practiciing in the county to, be made with the county
clerk. In the book kept for that purpose will be found the names of the
practitioners residing in the county at that time as well as subsequent regis





HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


225


trations. From this record the names of those registered for practice in the
different localities of the county have been compiled.
In the city of Colldwater the physicians in order of registry are as fo1 -lows:
Newton R. Baldwin, L. A. Warsabo, E. T. Gamble, Othello Waters,
Thomas J. Turner, David H. Wood, Daniel D. Cunningham, James M.
Long, George Ferguson, George D. Slocum, \Villiam Wilson, A. G. Holbrook, Frank G. Legge, Samuel Schultz, Dana G. Cook, Isaac P. Alger,
Cornelius H. Woodcox, Lansing C. Marsh (who dlied in I90g), Howard A.
Grube, F. W. Stewart, Dresser B. Vincent, George V. Voorhees, Stephen H.
Clizbe (who moved tot Coldwater in 1902), James B. Reece, John D. Buskirk (since removed), Dwight C. Crawford, E. E. Schwartz (osteopath),
Williaml W. Swett, James M. Cushman; recent certificates filed are those of
L. B. Hawes (osteopath), Eudora V. Hallam, Edward R. Williams, Sadie
L. Olmsted, E. S. Samm, James C. Valentine.
Those registering from Union City were:
Arthur S. Cornell (since removed), William C. Henderson, Silas B.
Frankhauser (since removed), Edward H. Hurd (a nephew of the pioneer
doctor, W. P. Hurd), Cora B. Cornell (since removed), A. Dorothea Payne
(removed), J. P. Jones and Estelle Jones, who, registered in 1904.
At Kinderhook those registered were Wilbur A. Griffith (now in Coldwater), Lafayette Scheidler, Fred H. Harris.
At Girard were G. S. Gillet (who removed to! Union City), Frank B.
Marshall (removed), Edwin M. Chauncey, Ernest E. Hancock.
Matteson was represented by Morgan Shafer, who died December 30,
I901.
Batavia furnishes the name of George A. McMasters to the record.
At Bethel were William H. Baldwin (since removed to, Quincy), and
John W. Martin.
From the village of Sherwood were registered Robert Fraser, Charles
E. Nelthrope. and, in 1904, Clyde A. Leonard, and, in 1905, F. W. Clements.
South Butler is the registered address of J. D. Bennett.
The names from Bronson are Seymour M. Cornell, Levi Sanders;, Pyrl
Gunsaullus, John E. Outwater, Henry P. Mowry, Eva J. Outwater, and, in
1904, Samuel Turner, and, in I906, W. P. Mowry.
At Quincy, Edson Blackman, J. M. Blackman, Henry W. Whitmore,
Charles S. Sears, James J. Williams, Francis E. Marsh, and, in I905, Carl S.
Sears.
East Gilead was represented by Francis Rupright.
California town furnishes the name of Ezra J. Ayers.
Though the present century has been termed the age of conventions
and associations, in which almost every pursuit or profession has become a
nucleus of affiliation of those having that common interest, yet organization
for professional advancement and social benefits was tried in Branch county
by members of the medical profession as long as sixty-five years ago.
One of the few items of local interest in the first issue of the Cold



226              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
water Sentinel, dated April I6, I841, records a meeting of the physicians
and surgeons of Branch county held at the court house in the village of
Branch to organize the " Branch County Medical Society."   Those who
took part in this organization were: Darwin Littlefield, Mathew Gill, Henry
B. Stillman, Lofus I-Tyatt and William P. Hurd. Dr. Littlefield was elected
president, Dr. Hyatt vice president, Dr. Gill secretary, Dr. Stillman treasurer, leaving Dr. Hurd as the only unofficial member. The annual meeting
of this society was set for May, and so far as known the meetings were held
for a few years. But eventually the society became moribund, and for many
years its activity was intermittent if there was any at all.
Some four or five years ago' a complete reorganization of medical societies took place. Each county in the state of Michigan noxw has. an official
county medical society, membership in which is open tor all physicians of the
county upon payment of the membership fee of two dollars a year. By virtue
of his membership in the county society each physician is a member of the
Michigan State Medical. Society.  By the system  of representaition each
county society is entitled to send two delegates to, the annual session of the
state society. The election of these delegates to the state body is at present
the only official activity of the Branch County Medical Society, and the organization may be called active only so far as to comply with the regulations affecting a subordinate body of the state society. TIere is an annual
election of officers. and those serving at the present writing, May, go96, are
Dr. S. H. Clizbe, president, and Dr. S. Schultz, secretary and treasurer. The
highest representative organization in American medicine is the Americah
Medical Association. Its membership is. made up of members of the various
state societies and, therefore, of the county societies. So it is seen that membership in the county society is the first degree that must be taken before any
higher organization may be reached.






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


227


CHAPTER XXVIII.
FRATERNITIES AND         CLUBS.
Tyre Lodge No. 18. F. & A. M., the oldest fraternal organization in
Coldwater, was organized April I, 1847, with the following as charter
members: John T. Haynes, Amos Bacon, Henry Buell, Samuel P. Noyes,
Ichabod Davis. James Shoecraft, Myall P. Comstock, Elisha Warren, Bradley Crippen, William Keyes, Samuel Etheridge, Ira: Bronson, Levi Daggett.
The lodge now has a membership of three hundred and thirty-five, and the
present officers are: W. M., George H. Phinney; S. W., G. C. Kleindinst;
J. W., H. A. Close; Treasurer, W. E. Hodgeman; Secretary, C. D. Sutton;
S. D., C. J. Moore; J. D., M. J. Van Aken; Stewards, F. C. Faulkerson,
John Ball.
Jacobs Conmmandery No. io, K. T., Coldwater, was organized March 3,
T86o, in response to a petition signed by Sir Knights F. T. Eddy, Wales
Adamls, N. L. Southworth, A. G. Rose, J. A. Rose, C. H. Putnam, R. H.
Drake, Artemas Allen, S L. Dart, Lyman Sleeper, who' were the charter
members. Its present officers are: C. E. Wise, E. C.; A. E. Pearce, Gen.;
F. J. Dart, C. G.: H. B. George, Prel.; E. A. Brown, S. W.; F. D. Atwater,
J. W.; H. A. Close, Treas.; B. F. Rolph, Rec.; G. E. Kleindinst, St'd B.;
L. E. Lockwood, Sw. B.; Charles G. Moore, War.; A. R. Grove, Sent. The
commandery now has a membership of one hundred and forty-six.        The
membership in I86o was 21, in I870 was 70, in I880 was 74, in I890 was
96, in 900oo was IIo.
Temple Chapter No. 21, R. A. M., Coldwater, was chartered November o   8, 858, with the following members: J. H. Beech, Artemas Allen, S.
L. Dart, R. H. Drake, J. B. Stevenson, E. Mather, A. McCrea, E. Perry, I.evi
Dygatt, L. N. Southworth, Wales Adams, Daniel Burns. The present officers
are: C. D. Sutton, K. P.: H. A. Close, K.; C. E. Wise, S.; B. L. Van Aken,
Treas.; B. M. Fellows, Secy.; W. H. Simons, C. H.; B. F. Rolph, P. S.;
E. A. Brown, R. A. C.; O. Waters, M. 3 V.; L. E. Lockwood, M. 2 V.; F. R.
Fiske, M. i V.; A. R. Groves, Sent.
Mount Moriah Council No. 31, Royal and Select Masons, was formed
in November, I859, under a dispensation granted by the T. I. P. G. of the
state of Michigan, its first officers being as follows: T. I. G. M., S. L. Dart;
D. I. G. M., M. Mansfield; P. C. of W., R. H. Drake; C. of G., J. B. Steven*The data concerning lodges and societies was sought by letters and in some cases
personal requests. The precise information could not be obtained in every instance, and
a number of excellent organizations are not noticed because no replies were made to the
requests.




228              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
son; G. S., D. Bovee; Recorder. F. T. Eddy; Treasurer, A. Allen.
Coldwater has, the honor of having the oldest Eastern Star Chapter in
the state, it being Number I.
Sherwood' Lodge No. 428, F. & A. M., was organized August I6, 1897,
with these charter members: W. B. Chiesman, W. E. Hanna, H. J. Fonner,
G. H. Seymour, C. B. Wilcox, Henry Runyan, C. E. Swain, A. R. Klose,
H. J. Klose, Daniel McCarty, L. P. Wilcox, Frank Thomns, E. W. Watkins,
J. F. McIntyre, Robert Fraser. The present officers are: W. M., R. Fraser;
S. NV., F. W. Clement; J. W., E. H. Warner; Treas., Fred Hass; Secretary,
H. Runyan; S. D., Daniel McCarty; J. D., F. Tillotson; Stewards, Irving
Evert, Wim. Wrigglesworth; Tyler, L. P. Lovejoy.
Centennial Rebekah Lodge No. 22, at Coldwater, was instituted March
30, 1876 (hence the name), with the following charter members: W'. H.
and Mary Allen, Alfred and Lucina Milnes (Mr., Milnes being the first noble
grand), R. D. and Eliza J. Jefferds, William and Sarah Sawyer, L. M. and
M. J. Grey, L. B. and Laura A. Gibbs, Charles and Etta Johnson, Fred and
Mrs. Chaffer, J. P. and R. A. Flynn, Robert and Louisa Willis, Leroy and
Laura Butler, William! and Hattie M. Hurst, R. C. Sawdey, Mary J. Barnes,
Josie Henderson.  The present officers are:  Sarah Withington, N. G.;
Charlotte Clement, V. G.; Ida Mix, Rec. Sec.; Hattie Sherwood, Fin. Sec.;
Lizzie Smith, Treas. Starting with a membership of 27, the lodge now has
I65 members in good standing.
The Odd Fellows are one of the oldest fraternities in Coldwater, the
other three branches, from which no: data were furnished, being Coldwater
Lodge No. 3I, I. O. O. F., Canton Milnes No. 2, P. M. of I. O. O. F., and
Encampment No. 86.
Lodge No. 62, A. O. U. W., of Coldwater, was instituted March 3,
879,, with the following charter members: J. Clark Pierce, David B. Purinton, William B. Keller, Henry A. Wolcott, James; R. Dickey, George B.
Tompkins. Howard Broadhead, Lewis A. Peckhami, Samuel R. Luxmore,
Warren A. Blye, Frank A. Fisk, L. H. Edgerton, A. D. Snyder, A. WX. Buckley, Albert Johnson, La'sing M. Gray, Cyrus H. Burghardt, Charles VW.
Fairbanks, George W. Lee. Alonzo J. Munyon, Isaac E. Ives, John J. Lewis,
Allen Vanderhoof, George H. Turner, Mortimer L. Knowles, David B.
Hurst, William H. Stevens, Isaac Vanderhoof, Oscar W. Lee, Robert Watson,
Henry Gage, Frederick W. Flandermeyer, Jerome S. Wolcott, Jefferson S.
Conover, Earnest D. Lenders, Levi M. Reynolds.
Excelsior Tent No. o14, K. O. T. M., Coldwater, was organized November 23, Io03, with the following as charter members: William H. Allen,
George Clegg, F. J. Dart, Henry W. Driskell, Perry W. Ellinger, Frank
Finch, Arthur Fonda, George Faust, Dr. B. R. Ferguson, Fred W. Fish, Wilber French, Lewis H. Fellers, Dr. E. F. Gamble, George M. Howe, Seymour
Kleindinst. Gerry Kleindinst, Clarence E. King, F. E. Lyon, G. A. Jewell,
C. E. Jewell, John T. Pickhaver, A. A. Steller, James R. Stewart, Peter
Sandt, C. L. Sawyer, Fred S. Sisco, John Soderquist, Samuel Stone, Dr.
Samuel Schultz, E. H. Williams.  The present officers are:  Past Cbm





HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


229


mander, G. E. Kleindinst; Commander, William    T. Stansell; Lieutenant
Commander. S. H. Kleindinst; Record Keeper, L. H. Fellers; Finance
Keeper, George Clegg; Chaplain, Charles Knapp; Master-at-Arms. H. W.
Driskell; First Master of Guards, Peter Parshall; Second Master of Guards,
L. Wr. Burch; Sentinel, George M. Howe; Picket, George Faust. The tent
has a membership of 3I.
Coldwater Hive No. 138, L. O. T. M., was organized February 13, 1892,
with the following as charter members:  Myra Barron, Locelia Bingham,
Cora E. Brown, Mary E. Bracket, Mary L. Broughton, Ida J. Close, Mary S.
Chapman, Rose B. Carpenter, Mary E. Crippen, Minnie J. Cook, Anna L.
Gowdy, Jennie E. Green, Vurbia M. Kleindinst, May Kleindinst, Mary A.
Maynard, Caroline McCartyv   Luella J. Robinson, Mary E. Smith, Celia
Swaffield, Belle Schmedlen, Katie, C. Turrill. Lutie M. Twist, Kittie F. Warsabo, Hattie A. Wells, Ella A. Yapp. The present officers are: Past Commander, Sophronia Huested; Commander, Mary E. Crippen; Lieutenant
Commander, Lutie M. Twist; Record Keeper. Cora E. Brown; Finance
Keeper, Mary A. Maynard; Chaplain, Dora Kinsman; Sergeant, Minnie
Grundy; Mistress-at-Arms, Katie Jackson; Sentinel, Josephine Jepson;
Picket, Nettie Ouackenbush.
Union City Chapter No. 53, R. A. M., was formed under dispensation
in T867, and the first meeting was held on July 25, with the following memlbers, also their title of office:  Edwin Perry, H. P.; Rodney Simons, K.;
W. H. Kerr, S.; Albert Ferris, C. of H.; A. B. Aiken, P. S    S.;  Rogers,
R. A. C.; Ira Hitchcock. M. of 3 V.; 0. A. Cogswell, M. of 2 V.; J. D.
Spoor, MI. of I V.; and Edwin Johnson, making ten members in all. A. B.
Aiken was also, acting secretary. Of this list of members one is still living,
Rodney Simons, who resides at Athens, and when Athens chapter was instituted he withdrew from Union City chapter to join in forming the new
chapter at that place, and is at the present timle holding the office of King
in Athens chapter.  At the first meeting U. D. eleven petitions were presented. Two of the petitioners at that time are living, Burr Osborn and C.
D. Leach. This chapter was granted a charter at the following session of
Grand Chapter on January 8, i868. Up to this time twelve members had
been added, making a nmembership at the time the charter was granted of
twentv-two.
As the present time the chapter has a nice room well furnished, and
the chapter is in a flourishing condition, sixty-five members, with the following officers:  Charles E. Day, H. P.; J. S. Nesbitt, K.; C. H. Lowell,
S.; J. AV. Martin, C. of H.; W. M. Hatch, P. S.; B. W. Bray, R. A.
C.; L. I). Wilcox, M. of 3 V.; H. W. Rowe, M. of 2 V.; W. H. Barrett, M. of I V.; M. F. Buell, Treas.; H. J. Fonner, Sec.; G. W. Blackwell,
Sent.
Union City Council No. 37. R. & S. M., was organized February 9,
1871. It now has a membership of seventy-eight, and its present officers are:
Leon A. Johnson, T. I. M.; J. W. Martin, D. M.; J. H. Anderson, P. C.
W.; L. D. WVilcox, Treas.; F. H. Whiting, Rec.; H. J. Tanner, C. of G.;




230              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
J. S. Nesbitt, C. of C.; C. E. Doy, Stew.; George Blackwell, Sent.
St. Joseph Tent No. 93, K.. T. M., Union City, was organized in
April, I883, with the following as charter members: George E. Smith,
Martin F. Buell, William H. Bond, A. M. Lester, H. H. Rowe, D. J. Easton,
E. H. Hurd, J. J. Banfolrd, Charles Johnson, Marcellus Morrell. M. P.
Maxon, Caleb Padgham, E. S. Bronson, G. W. Miller, I. D. McLaflin,
H. G. Fisk, A. L. Saunders,, C. H. Spring, P. R. Shuler, M. D. Slocum,
C. A. Zimmerman. The present officers are: Past Commander, P. J. Ashdown; Commander, A. C. Krieble; Record Keeper, W. H. Rowe; Finance
Keeper, \V. E. Rupright.  The present membership is one hundred and
eighty-nine.
Corbin Post No. 25, W. R. C., Union City, was organized November 7,
1884, with the following charter members: Emily Youngs, Josephine Buell,
Hattie Harsh, Elsie Perry, Alice Rowe, Lorane Burnett, Lucy Simmons,
Carrie Seymour, Belle Merrill, Margaret Shuler, Sarah White, Fidelia
Wilderk, Bell Van Duser. Mary Burnett, Ida Hopkins, Sarahi Cosier, Addie
Wells, Adalaid Crandall, Sarah Davis, Lillie Corbin, Sofia Banfoird, Jane
Palmer, Martha Mains, Emma Zimmerman, Jennie Palmer, Ellen Ryder. The
present officers are:  President, Sarah C. Kindig; Junior Vice President,
Jane Dennison; Secretary, Josephine Buell; Treasurer, Kate E. Parker;
Chaplain, Althea Stewart; Conductor, Sarah Eberhard; Assistant Conductor, Roda O'Rork; Guard. Jane Palmer; Assistant Guard, Ellen Gifford;
Pat. Inst., Lucy Simmons; Press Cor., Ada Crandall. The present membership is twenty-eight.
Union Lodge No. 28, F. & A. M., Union City, was organized September 14, 1848, and worked under a dispensation until January Io, I849,
when a charter was granted. There are at present one hundred and forty-six
members of the lodge. The present officers are: Perry J. Buell, W. M.;
James W. Martin, S. W.; Fred R. Whitney, J. W.; Charles H. Lowell,
Treasurer; John D. Flewelling, Secretary; Frank W. Ackerman, S. D.;
Charles 0. Johnson, J. D.; George V. Blackwell, Tyler; John D. Parks,
Stephen E. Lee, Stewards.
Quincy Lodge No. 276, Mystic Workers of the World, was organized
April 12, 1900, with the following as charter members: Egbert Palmateer,
Edwin Mudge, George E. Walters,,Wi 1is Hall, George S. Thompson,
Charles Harpham, Carl Stahl, Ernest H. Page, C. Henry McCarty, Myron
B. Hoxie. The present officers are: Edwin Mudge, Prefect; Frank Sellers,
Monitor; Edmund Lane, Secretary; Willis Hall, Banker; Rilla Mtucigc,
Marshal; Lucy Sellers, Warder; David Gary, Sentinel; Enos Spencer,
Chaplain. The lodge now has fifty-nine members.
Hewitt Lodge No. 95, D. of H., A. 01. U. W., Union City, was organized March 21, I902, with the following as charter members: Belle Stitt,
Della Bradner, Edna Griffin, Alice M. Eddy, John R. Eddy, Chloe L. Watkins, E. W. Watkins, William Henderson, John D. Flewelling, Nina E.
Barney, Iva Brininstool, Nettie Krieble, E. Caroline Hurd, E. H. Hurd,
Emma Hatch, Henry A. Hatch. The present officers are: Past Chief of


I6




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


231


Honor, Mrs. Chloe L. Watkins; Chief of Honor, Mrs. Edna E. Griffin; Lady
of Honor, Mrs. Fredericka Bruening; Chief of Ceremonies, Mrs. Alice M.
Eddy; Recorder, Mrs. Sadie Morris; Financier, Miss Hilda M. Bruening;
Receiver, Mrs. Mary Kinyon; Usher, Mrs. Iva Brininstool; Inner Watch,
Mrs. Mary Ward; Outer Watch, Mrs. Sophia Tyler; Medical Examiner,
Mrs. Estelle Jones; Organist, Mrs. Sadie Morris. The present membership
is thirty-six.
Bound to Win Hive No. 481, L. 0. T. M., Union City, war; organized
April 25, I894, with the following as charter members:  L. Addie Buell,
Sarah E. Rheubottom, Melissa J. Harris, Emma C. Robinson, Inez Kent,
Alice Rex, Eliza L. Jacobs, Ellen Gifford, Rebecca Mann, Gertrude Newman, Nan E. Rheubottom, Alice Miller, Jennie Hubbard, Amelia Carpenter,
Flora Wilder, Rae Turner Snyder, Adaline Corwin, Lola Corwin, Mary
Rupright, Alice Rowe, Eva J. Dufur, Caroline Hurd.     The hive has a
present membership off ninety-eight, and the following are its officers: Past
Commander, Mrs. Alice Rowe; Commander, Mrs. Kate Richards; Lieutenant Commander, Mrs. Jennie Odren; Record Keeper, Mrs. Nellie Merritt;
Finance, Keeper, Mrs. Dollie Rupright; Chaplain, Mrs. Nora Billings; Physician, M. Estelle Jones; Sergeant, Mrs. Flora Wilder; Mistress-ait-Arms,
Mrs. Lena Tinney; Sentinel, Mrs. Cora Hackett; Pickett, Mrs. Edith Bassett; Pianist, Mrs. Florence Boynton.
Union Chapter No. I93, 0. E. S., Union City, was organized September
21, 1896, with twenty-nine members. The chapter at present has a membership of one hundred and sixty-seven, and those now filling official positions are: Mrs. Minerva Anderson, W. M.; Leon A. Johnson, W. P.; Mrs.
Byrd Buell, A. M.; Mrs. Katherine Richards, Sec.; Mrs. Zae Martin, Treas.;
Mrs. Lola Corwin, Cond.; Mrs. Hattie Day, A. Cond.; Mrs. Emma Wemple,
Chap.; Mrs. Bertha Wilcox, Marl.; Mrs. Annetta Barrett, Organist; Mrs.
Ada Merrifield, Adah; Mrs. Francis Hawley, Ruth; Mrs. Altha Whitney,
Esther; Mrs. Mary Hayner, Martha; Mrs. Francis Morrill, Electa,; Mrs.
Rosena Hughes, Warder.; Mr. -G. XW. Blackwell, Sentinel.
Select Council No. 1719, Royal Arcanum, Union City, was organized
November 14, 1900, with charter members: F. A. Allen, H. AW. Bradner,
L. D. Blair, J. D. Barnard, Wim. Cain, A. Cuyler, C. E. Day, E. E. Dennison, Chas. Defoe, Enos Cox, G. S. Easton, W. C. Henderson, J. F. Hartford, L. L. Johnson, C. H. Lowell, J. D. Mills, A. C. McLouth, G. W. Page,
W. L. Robinson, O. E. Roe, B. Rathburn, Harry Rowe, T. P. Riley, E. D.
Smith, W. D. Sawdey, F. J. Sullivan, A. E. Ward, W. Wheeler, C. H.
Woodruff, A. H. Fox, C. B. Spore, O. Burnstein, L. D. Wilcox, F. E.
Johnson, C. C. Boyer. The present officers: Regent, J. G. Wetmore; Sec.,
E. J. Worden, Paist Regent, Wi. L. Robinson; Vice Regent, M. Jones;
Chaplain, L. D. Wilcox; Guide, Harry Bingham.; Collector, Chas. Lake;
Trustees, M. D. Krieble, Chas. Smith, D. C. Collar.
Union City Court No. 4515, Independent Order of Foresters, was organized July 28, I9o4, with charter members: Harlow Van Patten, E. D.
Smith, Ed. Ladd, Clifford Leilous, C. S. Worden, T. Hoyt, H. Miller, Dell
0,0* 0. t.VA




232


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Bell, Bert Miller; Dell Jacokes, Jos. Smith:, Jno. Evans, Deo Bigford, Henry
Chambers, Jos. Uhlman. The present officers are:  Chief Ranger, Charles
Oliver; Physician, Dr. J. H. Anderson;.Cor. Sec., J. H. O'Dell; Fin. Sec.,
Charles Oliver.
Union Camp No. 8589, Moder      Woodmen of America, Union City,
was organized August 27, I90o, with charter members: G. S. Easton, Geo.
Merritt, WV. H. Barrett, M. J. Rowley, Geol. H. Bovee, Chas. Wright, W. J.
Cox, Stephen Cummings, C. M. Talbot, M. H. Hands, J. F. Hartford, A.
B. Manwarren, Geo. Rayment, Wim. Short, H. J. Barton, Fred Yanger. The
present officers: Venerable Counsel, W. H. Barrett; Clerk, Chas. Stone;
Directors, H. G. Sweet, M. Drumm, Clark McDonald, Will Wilder.
Quincy Lodge No. 201. Knights of Pythias, was organized October
28, I897, the charter members being: G. D. Babcock, J. C. White. C. H.
Young, Clinton Joseph, G. J. Fillmore, W. C. Haight, E. D. Lockerby, C.
H. Halleck, S. S. Clark, Charles Leiving, Charles Morey, G. W. Barker,
Orrin Vills, F. E. Powers, C. W. Owen, Burley Shoemaker, Charles Stepper, S. D. Caldwell, E. M. Hephner, J. C. Joiner, L. L. King, H. W. Farwell, A. T. Mallory, C. C. Jones, G. F. Trott, C. F. Crouch, A. M. Griffin.
The lodge membership is now one hundred and twenty, and only two deaths
have occurred since organization.  In I904 Castle Hall was completed on
North Main street, at a cost of four thousand dollars, a two-story building.
with the upper floor devoted to lodge and club rooms. The present officers
are: A. L. Massey, Chancellor Commander; Cliffolrd Bishop, Vice Chancellor; S. W. Ford, Prelate; J. N. Salisbury, Keeper of Records and Seals;
Bert Kinyon, Master of Finance; Ralph Andrus, Master of Exchequer;
John Burns, Master-at-Arms; D. WV. App Master of Work; John Drake,
Inner Guard; Will Houghtaling, Outer Guard.
Quincy Lodge Noi. I86, Daughters of Rebekah, was organized January
6, I892, with the following as charter members: Cretia Livingston, Mary
Belle Dove, Mrs. H. E. Rathbone, John Livingston, Elmer Dove, Frank
White, Thomas Lennon, T. Rathbone. Those now\v filling official positions
are Clara Parkinson, N. G.; Henrietta Herendeen, V. G.; Emily Nichols,
Secy.; Joseph Stevens, F. Secy.; Anna Bennett, Treas.
Rathbun Lodge No. I67, I. 0. 0. F., at Quincy, was organized August
t5, 187I. The secretary was unable to obtain the names of the charter members. The present officers are: Charles H. Chase, N. G.; Jay Kinnebrook,
V. G.; J. Stevens, Secretary.
Conrad Hive No:. 428, L.. O. T. M., of Quincy, was organized November 13, I893, with the following charter members: Martha Lisk, Mary
Fay, Malinda Blackman, Ida Harmon. May Fay, Carrie WXright, Caroline
Sillick, Kittie Harmon, Azalia Hunt, Laura Drake, Cornelia Pope, Rachel
Millens, Martha De Wolf, Henrietta Herendeen. Sarah Canel, Luella Rhodes,
Hettie Clizbe, Gertie Powers, Nellie Allen, Mira Houghtaling, Rose Pease,
Flora Foster, Ida-Van Levvan, Laura Babcock, Mary Porter, Malinda Chase.
At the present time the membership numbers over eighty, and the following
is the list o'f the officers for the present term: Commander, Belle Qumer;




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


233


Past Commander, Lovonia Boweman; Lieutenant Commander, Nettie Thompson; Record Keeper, Kate Wiser; Finance Keeper, Mary Campbell; Chaplain, Martha De Wold; Mistress-at-Arms, Irene Ford; Sergeant, Minnie
Roth; Sentinel, Nettie Baker; Picket, Ella White; Pianist, Amanda Van
Orthwick; Captain, Emma Knapp.
Garland Tent No. 6I8, K. O. T. M., Sherwood, was organized February 26, I89I. Charter members: W. B. Chiesman, A. R. Culver, W. S.
Beman, C. E. Swain, J. F. McIntyre, W. H. Fonner, C. E. Nelthorpe, F. B.
Megley, C. Beard, S. Bennett. G. 0. Huntley, W. M. Wrigglesworth, E. A.
Lewis, A. E. Travis, H. Smlith, E. B. Howard. Present officers:  Henry
Runyan, P. C.; F. Tillotson, C.; C. Beard, L. C.; L. L. Eddy, R. K.; W. B.
Chiesman, R. K.; Henry Runyan, Chaplain; C. E. Nelthorlpe, Physician; D.
E. Beard, Sergeant; Wmi. Carroll, M. of A.: Win. Mullinger, First M. of
G.; A. Gehring, Second M. of G.; Fred Batherick, Sentinel; Henry Kidney,
Picket. Present membership, fifty-eight.
Sherwood Forest Chapter No. 223, Order of Eastern Star, Sherwood,
organized September 2, 1898.  Charter members:   Alice R. Klose, Anna
Fonner, Harriet Swain, Hester Runyan, Serro Jones, Mary Swain, Jennie
Runyan, Marian Watkins, Harriet Jones, Maggie Leckner, Grace Watkins, Belle Chiesman, L. Maud Wilcox, Sarah A. Thorns, Henry Runyan,
C. B. Wilcox, Walter Chiesman, Edward Watkins, Reuben Jones, Chas. E.
Swain.  Present officers:  Selna Evert, W. M.; Chas. Nelthorpe, W. P.;
Maude Wilcox, A. M.; Waive Wright, Sec.; Alice Klose, Treas.; Lou
French, Conductress; Gertrude Jones, Asst. Cond.; Carrie Klose, Adah;
Laura Lampman, Ruth; Margretta French, Esther; Louisa Nelthorpe,
Martha; LaVase Laird, Electa; Amy' Lovejoy, Chaplain; Abbie Vanderhoof, Warder; Lucious Lovejoy, Sentinel; Elizabeth Swain, Marshal; Lois
Kilbourn, Organist.
Lown Hive No. 262, L. O. T. M., Sherwood, was organized December
io, i8Qi. The charter members are:    Ellen Disbro, Sophia Lewis, Lena
Fonner, Abbie Henry, Hester Runyan, Phenie Johnson, Estella Jones, Edith
Turner, Lela Pearson, Rose Beman, Dora Harrison, Libbie Nelson, Lulu
Wilcoix, Cora Dufur, Elda Huntley, Ella Tillotson, Rebecca Bennett, Maggie Crocker. Helen Travers, Julia Spencer, Matie Beach, Ada M. Fish,
Lavina Nelthorpe, Josie Culver, Addie Beard. Present officers are: Corn.,
Cora Dufur; P. Corn., Addie Beard: F. K., Josephine Thornton; R. K.,
Eliza Swain; Chap., Amy Lovejoy; Seargt., Elizabeth Swain; M. at A.,
Mary Smith; Sent., Addie DuBois; Picket, Jennie Osborn.
The C. O. Loomis Post No. 2, G. A. R., was the second Grand Army
post to be established in Michigan. Moreover, it is now the oldest in continuous existence, owing to the lapse of Post No. i, which was the first Coldwater post. Loomis Post was organized January 22, 1876, with the following charter members: Dan W. Sawyer, B. F. Clark, D. C. Myers, W. H.
Thurber, Thomas Lennon, C. D. Skinner, E. A. Turner, George W. Rathbun, F. M. Rustine, J. C. Nichols, William Wilson, A. M. Turner, H. H.
Hunt and Hiram Rustine.    Present membership:  Isaac Bargarow, Finly




234


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


D. Burlingham,, Jeramire Becker, Joseph Barker, E. C. Chace, J. S. Cleveland, 0. D. Curtis, Wim. M. Corey, Wm. Craps, G. Wr. Dye, M. M. Dichenson, Ambrose Davids, Alford Dodge, Olny Draper, K. B. Edthrige, Dexter
Edthrige, Wm. H. Emons, Wm. H. Eldrid, Ely T. Hoyt, James Haines,
Leroy Holkom, Lewis C. Failor, Levy Fish, John C. Illes, Andy Janon
(colored gentleman), Thomas Lennon, Charles W. Lake, Edward McNitt,
Silvester McNitt, John McGinnes, Henry Nichols, C. V. R. Pond, Thos.
Ryan, Frank M. Rustine, George N. Runyon, L. D. Reynolds, Steven
Rodgers, George Steward, William H. Thurber, Andrew Turner, A. Turpening, Harry J. Wood, David Wood, Wm. Wimer, Sanford Wood,
J. Q. Mickle, G. Q. Rice, Chas. Potter, Albert Wariner, Wmi. G. Whitney,
John Waggoner, Tim Tallent, C. W. Owen, Sisney Smith, Alonzo Fox,
Wm. Herrick, Hiram Wiser.
Butterworth Post No. o09, G. A. R., which was organized at Coldwater March 9, I883, after the first post had lapsed, has the surviving
membership named as follows: Geo. S. Allen, R. B. Amsden, J. C. Andrews, John W. Arnold, Thos. M. Alexander, Philander Alden, Daniel
Bradley, Aaron Bagley, Jeff M. Burns, C. H. Brown, D. A. Bolster, Joseph
Brandle, A. E. Buck, E. J. Brown, Rensalaer Brown, H. H. Benson,
Darius Belknapp, Charles WV. Bennett, Samuel Bates, W. A. Blye, David
Bender, John Button, A. B. Cleveland, Wm. N. Conover, Geo. W. Clement,
Chas. D. Cluff, Edwin Collar, Patrick Cavanaugh, James C. Clark, John
M. Crocker, Peleg 0. Carmen, Otis M. Clement, Edward Casebeer. L. A.
Dillingham, Geo. Dingman, James Doris, Daniel E. Declute, Alden F.
Drake, L. S. Daniels, John C. Dubendorf, Leonard Dean, Geo. H. Eggleston, Frank Eaton, Henry Firth, Henry E. Frederick, J. A. Fetterly, Steuben
Filkins, John Fitzpatrick, David Fox, Thomas W. Fegles, Harvey Freeman,
iVm. W. Fennoi, Solomon Good, Wm. H. Harris, Lewis L. Hawley, P. W.
Hilliar, Andrew J. Haws, Julius Herriff, David S. Harris, Henry Ide, WlVm.
S. Joles, Frank Jones, Jas. E. Jones, Geo. W. Knapp, Chas. Keyes, E. E.
Lewis, Willet F. Lumbard, Jas. M. Lind, H. A. Lane, David R. P. Larow,
Chas. A. Lee, S. M. Lutes, Geo. F. Lipps, Jas. McQueen, Frank D. Newberry,
O. G. Noyes, Michael Nagle, Win. Newman, L. M. Nye, Jacob Nodell, Geo.
F. Nivison, Alfred Milnes, Samuel Misenar, Clark Mosier, I. D. Miner,
Edgar P. Moses, Allen Morse, L. H. Mowers, Henry Miller, Philip Pitcher,
Richmond F. Parker, David Pitcher, Andrew Pender, Byron D. Paddock,
Lewis E. Pierce, A. J. Potter, John N. Parker, Daniel G. Parker, Geo.
Phelps, A. J. Parsons, H. 0. Purdy, Thos. S. Osborn, John O'Mara, Clark
Sherman, Ezra Stahl, Henry Stahl, Wmi. H. Sanford, Andrew Sitter, H. C.
Simons, Hezekiah Sweet, T. G. Sheldon, Wm. Steward, Edward Stone,
Wm. J. Smalley, John G. Stepper, Edgar Sears, Chas. A. Smith, N. A.
Reynolds, B. K. Robbins, Thomas W. Rhodes, Benj. F. Rolfe, James A.
Rickard, Harmon Timerson, Wm. M. Tyler, Samuel I. Treat, Chas. A.
Tompkins, Wm. C. Taylor, Geo. H. Turner, S. M. Teachout, James B.
Tuckey, C. R. Thompson, David H. Thompson, AV. Vangilder, L. M. Wing,
W. B. Warford, Jed Wilcox, L. C. Waldren, Thos. C. Whitelock, Chas.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


235


Wilson, Geo. W. Whitehead, David W. Weldy, Samuel M. Williams, Milan
Wheeler, Henry G. Wadsworth, Gratton H. Wagoner.
Kilbourn Post No. 36I, G. A. R., Sherwood, was organized August
3I, I886. Charter members: Emory Blossom, S. L. Kilbourn, Jno. Studlev, H. Runyan, J. W. Ott, J. H. Watkins, Jno. Banker, J. Henry, Ed. Nash,
W. T. Davis, Edw. Tenney, Chas. Hall, S. Cathorn, Chas. Shelhart, J. M.
Locke, W. C. Thornton, A. J. Snyder, C. Canfield, Robt. Kimber, Henry
Jones, Nathaniel Jones, Bert Howe.   The present officers:  Commander,
J. M. Locke; S. V. Com., Julius Henry; J. V. Corn., A. J. Snyder, Surgeon,
Peter Vanderhoof; Chap., Chas. Shelhart; O. D., H. Runyan; Adj., H. Runyan; Q. M., L. Zimmerman; O. G., L. P. Lovejoy; S: M., J. H. Watkins;
Guard, E. W. Watkins.
Corbin Post No. 88, Grand Army of the Republic, Union City, was organized October i6, I882. Its charter members were:   A. E. Ripley, C.
M. Hall. M. F. Buell, D. E. Youngs, D. L. Merrill, D. J. Easton, M. A.
Merrifield, S. D. Buell, A. J. Ackley, R. M. Simlmons, A. H. Wilder, E.
Brumfield, B. F. Haymaker, J. C. Bushong, N. P. Olmsted, D. F. Austin,
L. L. Harsh, G. W. Palmer, J. J. Banford, John Van Blarcom, J. H. Hamma,
E. McDonald, C. A. Zimmerman, Geot. Haymaker. The present officers are:
Commander, Ira B. Buell; S. V. Corn., Henry Seymour, J. V. Colm., Geo.
Thayer; Officer Day, J. D. Parks; Quartermnaster, M. F. Buell; Chaplain,
A. J. Ackley; Officer Guard, Jonathan Olney; Adjutant, M. E. Blair; Q. M.
S., R. M. Simmons.
The New Century Club of Quincy. This club was organized in 1898,
and in 19oo was federated with the State Federation of Women's Clubs.
The constitution limits the membership to thirty active and seven associate
members. The original members of the club were as follows: Mrs. W\. J.
Barnes, Mrs. I. L. Bishop, Miss Jennie Burns, Mrs. C. D. Burwell, Mrs.
W. D. Campbell, Mrs. E. J. Clizbe, Mrs. W. H. Lockerby, Mrs. Laura
Sweeney, Miss Maria Warner-all of whom are still active members of the
club.  The other charter members were:    Jessica Hopkins, Belle Pratt,
Mary Y. Marsh, Eva Felton, P. L. T'wadell, Elsie Mellen, Belle Dove, M.
L. Woods, Maude Ackerson, Lenna Sweeney, Lena Anderson, Hattie WVilliams, Mrs. Mitterling, Sarah Dickerson, F. C. Brickley. The present active
membership, besides the charter members just mentio'ned, are Mrs. J. M.
Blackman, Mrs. Maud Barnes. Miss Barber, Miss Fox, Miss Frances W.
Hill, Mrs. C. C. Jones, Miss \Mabel Jones, Miss Ruby Kinyon, Mrs. T. S.
Lampman, 'Mrs. B. C. Mellen, Mrs. F. McKinstry, Mrs. R. D. Rawson,
Mrs. M. S. Segur, Mrs. J. R. Smith, Mrs. S. M. Turner, Miss Todd, Mrs. G.
W. Woodworth, Miss Pierce, Mrs. F. E. Knapp, Mrs. Goldsbury, Mrs. Burr.
The officers for the year I905-06 were: Mrs. WV. H. Lockerby, President;
Mrs. I-aura Sweeney, Vice President; Mrs. J. M. Blackman, Secretary;
Mrs. R. D. Rawson, Treasurer. The ex-presidents of the club are Miss Jessica Hopkins, Mrs. M. S. Segur, Mrs. I. L. Bishop and Mrs. E. J. Clizbe.
The delegate to the state federation for I906 is Miss Mabel Jones, with
Mrs. J. M. Blackman as alternate.




236


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


The Columbian Club of Quincy. This literary club was organized in
1902. Its active membership is limited to, twenty-five, with five associates.
The active members at this writing are: Mrs. Henry Williams, Mrs. C. C.
Jones, Mrs. Henry Nichols, Mrs. G. J. Fillmore, Mrs. Floyd Newberry,
Mrs. Herbert Joseph, Mrs. Yost, Mrs. George Dunphy, Mrs. A. C. Leiving,
Mrs. Arza Hoffman, Miss Lea Benge, Mrs. J. D. Van Orthlwick, Mrs. Frank
McKinstry, Mrs. Greening, Mrs. J. C. Bennett, Mrs. W. H. Martin, Mrs.
Mary Spaulding. Mrs. Will Knapp, Mrs. S. W. Boynton, Miss Mazie Field,
Miss Elva Gage, Mrs. Harry Paddock, Miss Millie Barnes, Miss Buell, Mrs.
Fred Finch.  The associate members are Mrs. A. A. Squier, Mrs. F. E.
Knapp, Mrs. A. L. Bowen, Mrs. John Babcock, Mrs. D. W. App. The
officers for I906-07 are: Mrs. Mary Spaulding, Presidenft; Miss Lea Benge,
Vice President; Miss Buell, Secretary; Miss Elva Gage, Assistant Secretary.
The Nika Club, for literary and social purposes, was organized in
Quincy. February 22, I898, with the following charter members:      Mrs.
Joe Condra, Mrs. Gertie Powers, Mrs. Rilla Greening, Mrs. Ruby Ryan,
Mrs. Jessie Hanna, deceased March 19, I898,, Mrs. Lula Ramsdell, Mrs.
Lillian Runyan, Miss Julia Dayton, Mrs. Hattie Williams, Mrs. Werner, Mrs. Louise Haight, Mrs. Winnie White, Mrs. Blanch Turner, Mrs.
Nora Burch, Mrs. Iva Hemorth, Mrs. Rose Wagner, Mrs. Benge, Mrs.
Lena Jones.  The present officers of the Nika Club are:   President, AMrs.
Kate Wiser; Vice President, Mrs,. M. D. Greening; Secretary and Treasurer, Mrs. Felger; Assistant Secy. and Treas., Mrs. Nellie Comstock. The
members are: Mrs. Arza Hoffman, Mrs. J. C'. White, Mrs. W. Iles, Mrs.
C. H. Felger, Mrs. F. E. Powers, Mrs. C. C. Jones, Mrs. E. A. Runyan,
Mrs. L. H. Ryan, Mrs. J. M. Blackman, Mrs. Geo. Burdick, Mrs. A. W.
Lawton, Mrs. F. M. McKinstry, Mrs. Bert Josephl, Mrs. C. F. Crouch. Mrs.
F. C. Herworth, Mrs. H. J. Williams, Mrs. R. D. Wiser, Mrs. M. D. Greening. Mrs. Geo. Comstock, Mrs. Chas. Burger, Mrs. E. E. Lytle, Mrs. H. C.
Ramsdell. Mrs. L. O. Burch, Mrs. B. F. Kinyon, Mrs. C. D. Burwell. Mrs.
Ward Allen, Mrs. E. E. Widner, Mrs. R. D. Rawson. Mrs. Max Glazer,
Mrs. W. C. Haight.
In 1891-94 there was a Chautauqua circle in Bronson. Mr. Waldo, M.
Morrison was president of the circle, and Mrs. Lou R. Whitaker secretary.
There were eight members: Mrs. Della Teller, Mrs. Nellie Rudd, Mrs, Gussie Davis, Miss Sadie Sanderson, Miss Mae Moos, Miss Grace Rose, Miss
Louise Stevens, Mrs. W\aldo M. Morrison, Mrs. Lou Draper, Miss Nellie
Fulkerson.
The Woman's Club of Bronson was organized in I903, and in the following year was federated with the state association.   The officers for
1905-o6 were: Ex-President, Ellen C. Card: President, Melissa, Rudd Fisk;
Vice President, Cora B. Scribner; Secretary and Treasurer, Lou Bennett
Whitaker; Corresponding Secretary. Augusta Van Fleet Davis. The members: Maria Taggart Bushnell, Ellen C. Card, Melissa Rudd Fisk, Nellie
Brown Powers, Adaline Phillips Selby, Lucinda Bowen, Augusta Van Feet
Davis, Essie R. Hurford, Clara Norton P'errin, Cora B. Scribner, Lou Ben



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


237


nett Whitaker, Gertrude Baxter, Alice Park Mowry, Flora Burr Shaffmaster. Honorary member, Grace Van Alstine Taylor.
The Tuesday Club of Union City, a literary and social organization
among the ladies of the village, was organized in I898, with the following
charter members: Mrs. Chas. H. Lolwell, Mrs. Arthur Fenno, Mrs. Leon
A. Johnson, Miss Nannette H. Jeffrey, Mrs. E. H. Page, Mrs. Edgar Doty,
Mrs. H. T. Carpenter, Mrs. N. E. Tower, Mrs. Wm. E. Bell, Mrs. G. K.
Whiting, Miss N. Sophia Page, Mrs. Arthur S. Cornell, Mrs. Frank C.
Boise, Dr. Cora B. Cornell, Mrs. Mildred S. Stanton, Miss Ellen Crissy,
Miss Edna J. Peck, Mrs. E. H. Hurd, Mrs. J. E. Saxton, Dr. A. Dorothy
Payne. The present officers: President, Mrs. F. C. Boise; Vice President,
Miss Harriet Young; Secretary, Miss Carrie Hurd; Treasurer, Mrs. Claude
Graham.
COLDWATER Y. M. C. A.
The Young Men's Christian Association of Coldwater has had a continuous and increasingly prosperous existence of more than twenty years.
The articles of association are dated June 9, I885, and were signed by C. J.
Vanderhoof, C. H. Macumber. F. I. Sprague, W\. C. Bailey, G. W. Collins,
T. A. Hilton, C. S. Vincent, H. P. WVoodward, AV. S. Mansell, R. E. Clarke.
The first officers were L. D. Fiske, president; C. J. Vanderhooif, Vice President; C. F. Ruggles, Secretary; R. E. Clarke, Treasurer; W. E. Flynn,
General Secretary.
Mr. R. E. Clarke and Mr. H. P. Woodward, Nwhose names appear
among the organizers, continued as active members of the board of directors
from the (late of organization until the summer of 9Io6, a period of twentyone years.
The first quarters of the association were in the Old Bank building,
Monroe and Chicago streets. In April, 1892, the second floor of the White
block was rented. The Lewis Art collection having been moved from, Coldwater to Ann Arbor, the vacant gallery building was donated by Mrs. Alma
Lewis Dennis, widow of the late H. C. Lewis, for the use of the association.  Several thousand dollars were expended in converting the building
to its new purposes, and in December, I896, the association moved to its
permanent quarters at the corner of Hudson and Chicago streets, where
the building, grounds and general equipment give the association a home
that compares favorably with that of any Y. M. C. A. in southern Michigan.
The present membership is about two hundred, and the officers last
elected are: Frank I. Post, President; F. B. Reynolds, Vice President; L.
A. Hutchins, Recording Secretary; C. M. Perry, Treasurer; S. Raymond
Gould, General Secretary.




238              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
CHAPTER XXIX.
THE PIONEER SOCIETY.
"The object of this society shall be the collecting and preserving of
historical, biographical or other information in relation to Branch County."
This is the purpose, as stated in Article 3 of the Constitution, of the Pioneer
Society of Branch County, which was founded August I6, I878. Founded
with this high purpose, and with the possibilities of a broad and beneficent
activity resulting from long associations and the common experiences of pioneer life, it is to be regretted that this society has not had a continuous and
prosperous career. The last meeting of the society was held in I9OI. That
there is a living interest in all matters comprehended in the language of the
above article, and that this interest is general throughout the county, not
alone among the oldest citizens but also among the present generation, the
existence of this history is ample proof. For without that " reverence for the
past and a desire to maintain every sort of connection with it," which an
English observer has declared to be a great and growing force among the
educated people of America, the publication of a historical work of these
dimensions could not have been undertaken. But as yet this general interest has not been focused and converted into a permanent and effective force
wielded by a single organization.
With these observations on the present condition of the pioneer movement, the history of the Pioneer Society may be sketched in some detail.
The meeting for organization on the date above mentioned was held in the
house of Harvey Warner, with another well known pioneer, E. G. Fuller, as
chairman, and T. C. Etheridge as secretary. The first set of officers elected
for the ensuing year were as follows:
Harvey Warner, president; Harvey Haynes, recording secretary; T. C.
Etheridge, corresponding secretary; S. M. Treat, treasurer; Henry Lockwood, Albert Chandler and Mrs. H. Warner, executive committee.
Vice Presidents-Algansee, F. D. Ransom; Batavia, Martin P. Olds;
Bethel, Nelson Card; Bronson, Wales Adams; Butler, Milo White; California, James H. Lawrence; Coldwater township, Origen F. Bingham; Coldwater City, J. D. W. Fisk, I. P. Alger, Allen Tibbits, John H. Bennett;
Gilead, Samuel Booth; Girard, James B. Tompkins; Kinderhook, George
Tripp; Matteson, William McCarty; Noble, Walter W. Smith; Ovid, Stewart Davis; Quincy, W. P. Arnold; Sherwood, Isaac D. Beall; Union, Hiram
Doubleday.
Besides these already mentioned there were Roland Root and wife, L.






0  0   Si:di
CE:i
0 1,j
~r




Entrance to New Cemetery, Coldwater




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                         229
D. Halsted and wife, C. H. Williams and wife, and James R. Wilcox and
wife, whose names appear as constitutional members.
It is worthy of note, as showing how the advance guard of life's procession is being constantly cut down by time, that only two or three of these
original members are now living. Perhaps the last one to be gathered in the
fullness of time was L. D. Halsted, who passed away April 5, 1906.
For the first twelve years after its formation the society was flourishing,
and its mid-winter meetings were well attended. In 1884 a new constitution
and by-laws were adopted. The definition of what constitutes a pioneer underwent several changes during the history of the society. At one time anyone who had resided in Michigan and Branch county for thirty years was
eligible to membership, while with this constitution the requirement was reduced to twenty-five years residence in the state and residence in the county
at time of being received into the society.
Between January 13, 1892, and the month of December, I896, no, meeting is recorded. At the same time the death roll was increasing, and thenceforward hardly a month passed without the death of one who had come to
the county as a pioneer. Another lapse in regular meetings occurred between March 17, I897, and February I9,, I9OI, and in May of the same year
the assembling of the pioneers at the home of Judge David N. Green, then
president of the society, was the last meeting of the Pioneer Society of Branch
county.
The officers elected at the meeting of February I9., I9OI, and, because
their successors have not been elected, still the de facto officers of the society,
were: President, David N. Green (since deceased); vice-president, George
W. Van Aken; secretary, Calvin J. Thorpe; executive committee, Albert A.
Dorrance, Anthony R. Brown and D. W. Benton.
PIONEER RECORD.
[These brief biographical records of pioneers have been compiled from various available sources and will serve to supplement the preceding historical chapters and the biographical sketches that follow.]
Allen, John B.-Born in England, March 13, 1834; came to Bethel,
Branch county, in I842.
Allen, Gabriel-Born June 28, 8;39, died Feb. 26, 1904. Brother of
foregoing. Came with parents to Bethel township.
Allen, George Henry-Born in Bethel township, April 7, I844; living
in Coldwater.
Aldrich, William-Born Wayne county, N. Y., July 26, 181, and
died in Coldwater Nov. 26, I8,77. Came to Girard township in 1832.
Aldrich, Abram J.-Born in Girard township, Feb. 3, 1843; living in
Coldwater. At one time proprietor of Coldwater Republican.
Alger, Isaac P.-Born in Lisbon, N. Y., Aug. 28, I820, and died at
Coldwater April 18, I9o4. Came to Quincy township in I833.




240


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Alger, William-Born in Richland township, Vermont, July, 1816, died
in I893 in Matteson township. Early settler in Butler township. Brother
of Dr. Isaac P. Alger.
Arnold, William P.-Born Clarendon, Vermont, August 23, I8o6, and
died................  Came to Branch county in I833.
Allen, John-Born in Sudbury, Rutland county, Vt., April 29, I8OI;
died in Coldwater township, Sept. 29, I891. Came to Coldwater township
in I843.
Alden, Isaac-Born in Oswego county, N. Y., January 8, 1813; died
in Coldwater, Feb. 7, I892. Came to Coldwater township in I850.
Alden, Mrs. Mary A. (wife of Isaac Alden)-Born in Groton, N. Y.,
Nov. I, I819; died...............   Daughter of David and Abigail
Hopkins; married Mr. Alden March  81, 1845, in Jonesville, Mich.
Adams, Wales-Born Medway, Mass., March 2, 1804; died...........    Came to Branch county, in September, I830'.
Allen, Alonzo B.-Born in Pittsford, Vt., July 11, 1829; living in
Coldwater township. Came to Branch county in I843.
Arnold, Samuel-Born in Middletown, Conn., Feb. 201, I8oo,; died in
Gilead township September 30, 1878; came to Kinderhook township in
1836, and to Gilead in I837.
Arnold, Mrs. Catherine S.-Born March 20, 1805; married Samuel
Arnold in 1831.
Ackerman, John D.-Born Cortland county, N. Y., June, I825; died
at  Union  City,................
Anderson, John-Born in Aberdeenshire. Scotland; died Feb. 12, 1852,
in Gilead township. Came to Gilead township in 1837.
Anderson, James-Born March 18, 1817, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland;
died.........    Came to Noble township in 1842, to Coldwater
in 1848.
Austin, Charles H.-Born Perrysburg, Ohio, May io, 1838; living in
Batavia. Came to Batavia in I847.
Arnold, John W.-Born in Gilead township December i3, 1840; living
in Chicago.
Ashton, James-Born in Yorkshire, England, September 2     1821.
Came to Quincy township in I842.
Ayres, Ezra J.-Born Oct. 17, I839, in Jay township, Essex county,
N. Y., came to California township in I87I. Physician.
Abbott, William H.-Born at Dearborn, Mich., July 8, 1826; died at
Coldwater, Nov. i6, I894. Came to Coldwater in i838.
Bronson, Jabe-Born in Connecticut, and died in Batavia township.
First settler in Branch county, in I828.
Babcock, Christopher G.-Born in Portage county, Ohio, in 1837; living
in Bronson. Came to Gilead township in 1861.
Beech, John H.-Born in Orleans county, N. Y., Sept. 24, 1819; died
October 17, 1878. Came to Coldwater in 185O; a physician.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


241


Babcock, George P.-Born in Camden, Oneida county, N. Y., January
i8, 1815; died in 1874 in Quincy. Came to Quincy township in I835.
Blackman, Dr. Edson-Born in Morenci, Michigan, Nov. 22, 18.39; living in Quincy, where he located in 1876.
Bailey, Henry C. —Born in Barre, Orleans county, N. Y., January 22,
1832; living in Coldwater. Came to Branch county in 1852.
Brown, Alvarado-Born in Herkimer county, N. Y., January 15, I809g.
Came to Branch county in 1840.
Baldrige, Niles-Born in Meadville, Erie county, Penn., Nov. 6, I839;
died July 25, 1879, in Ovid township. Came to Ovid township in 1847.
Booth, Samuel-Born in Onondaga county, N. Y., Feb. 22, 18;8; died
in Coldwater, Feb. J3, 1892. Came to Gilead township in I8132.
Bartholomew, Jehial-Born in Diryden, N. Y.; died in 1875 in Algansee township. Came to Algansee township in I844.
Bingham, Origen S.-Born January 25, 1824, at Shelburne Falls,
Mass.; died in I892. Came to Branch county in Oct., 1831.
Bingham, Mrs. Phebe (Worden)-Born June 4, 1829, at Delhi, N. Y.
Caime to Batavia in November, I835.
Bassett, Johnl-Born March 20, 1793, Martha's Vineyard, Mass.; died
April 27, 1874, in Batavia township. Came to Batavia in I835.
Bassett, Adam-Son of John. Born in Andes, Delaware Co., N. Y.,
March I, T823; died March 30, I887, in Batavia township. Came to Batavia
with his father.
Blodget, Uri-Born in Ontario county, N. Y., March 2, 18.2I; died at
Coldwater in I9o6. Came to Coldwater in 1849.
Beal, I. D.-Born in Rutland county, Vt., May 21, 1812; deceased.
Came to Sherwood township in I837.
Buell, Thomas B.-Born in New York state in I8I5. Came to Union
City in I836.
Bates, Alfred S.-Born in township of Starkey, Yates county, N. Y.,
August 30, I819; died in Kinderhook, Dec. 26, I893. Came to Kinderhook
in 1848.
Burton, Parley G.-Born July 26, 1815, in Monroe county, N. Y.
Came to Girard in I847.
Bidelman, Horatio N.-Born in Orleans county, N. Y., July 4, I836;
living in Coldwater. Came to Quincy in I855.
Bagley, Aaron —Born in Orange county, Vermont, December 29,, I79I.
Settled at village of Branch in May, I836.
Bagley, Mrs. Elizabeth-Born in Lancaster county, Penn., March 22,
1814. Came to Batavia township in June, 1834.
Bennett, Hon. John H., M. D.-Born at Chenango, Broome county, N.
Y., December 6, I826; died in Batavia, July 31, I891I. Came to Quincy
township in I839. Came to Coldwater May IO, I864.
Burdick, James M.-Bom in Livingston county, N. Y. Came to Branch
county and settled in Quincy township in 1836.




242              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
Barnhart, Martin-Born in Wayne county, N. Y. Came to Girard
township in January, 183I.
Bennett, Nathaniel-Born near Adrain, Mich., in I832; died in I886.
Came to Bethel township in I847.
Brinton, Albert N.-Born Salisbury, Conn., Nov. i, 1827; living in
Coldwater. Came to Quincy in May, I860.
Baggerly, Reuben A.-Born in Ontario county, N. Y., June 17, 1819.
Came to Ouincy, April 20, I854.
Bickford, Daniel-Came to Algansee township in I8137.
Bickford, Jonathan K.-Born in Canada; died in Algansee township,
May, 1882. Came to Algansee about I836.
Bickford, Stephen T.-Born at Bellevue, Ohio, Dec. I6, I823; died in
Algansee May 31, I906. Came to Algansee in I834.
Bickford, Ira P.-Born in Algansee township March 12, 1844.
Brown, Anthony R.-Born in New York state in 1827. Came to Branch
county in I838.
Benton, Edward W.-Born in New York state in I824. Came to Branch
county in I846.
Belote, John S.-Born in Albany, N. Y., Nov. 24, 1813; died in Quincy
August 6, I888. Came to Quincy township in 1835.
Bostwick. Ezra-Born in Onondaga county, N. Y., Feb. 27, I826.
Came to Union township in 1835.
Brainard, S. E.-Born in Madison county, N. Y. Came to Algansee
township in I836.
Berry, Enos G.-Born in New Hampshire, Sept. 5, 1814; died in January, I877. Came to Quincy in 1835. (See index.)
Brown, Asahel-Born in Stafford, Monmouth county, N. J., April 9,
I8o3; died in Algansee township, June 8, 1874. Came to Algansee in 1836.
Burbank, Dwight L.-Born in Suffield, Conn., March 8, 1829. Came
to Butler township in I850.
Bushnell, Samuel S.-Born July 21, 1799, in Vermont; died July 21,
1872. Came to Noble township in I836.
Bushnell, Ephraim B.-Born in Monroe county, N. Y., October 12,
1825. Came to Noble township with father in I8i38.
Bowers, Charles E.-Born March 28, I826; settled in Butler township in I847.
Bennett, James K.-Born in Vermont in I809. Came to Matteson township September I9, 1838.
Bennett, Christopher Columbus-Born in Hopewell, Ontario county,
N. Y., Sept. 3, I830; living in Matteson township. Came with parents to
Matteson in I838.
Ball, Thaddeus-Born in Oneida county, N. Y., Oct. 29, i8I3; died in
Quincy township Oct. 14, I897. Came to Quincy in I840.
Bennett, Hiram H.-Born in Chemung county, N. Y., Aug. Io, I815;
died in Butler township in I897. Came to Butler in 1845.


w




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


243


Bingham, Seymour L.-Born in: I8IO; died in California state, June
25, 1894. Came to Coldwater in I831.
Ballou, John and Jemima, his wife-Came into Matteson township
about 1840; neither now living.
Bowers, John-Ninety years of age in 1906; lives in Batavia township
with his son.
Bachelder, Nathaniel-Came into Branch county in 1846.
Bachelder, Mrs. Julia Etta (Ferguson)-Born in Chatham, N. Y., Oct.
26, I819; died in Orange, Cal., July 5, I906. Came with her husband to
Branch county in 1846.
Barnhart, Mahlon Budd-Came into Union township in I8134.
Crippen, Philo H.-Born in Penfield, Monroe county, N. Y., March 15,
80o9. Came to Coldwater in I835.
Culp, Nicholas-Born near Gettysburg, Penn.; died in September, 1873,
in Coldwater. Came to Coldwater'township in I844.
Culp, John W.-Born in Newfane, Niagara county, N. Y., May 8, I832;
living in Coldwater. Came to Branch county in 1839.
Culver, Eli-Born in Hector, Tompkins county, N. Y., Feb. 4, i8I6.
Came to Algansee township in 1839.
Crater, Andrew-Born in Hunterdon county, N. J., June 28, I8, 3.
Came to Algansee township in spring of I837.
Card, Silas N.-Born in Binghampton county, Vt., June 25, 1812; died
June 19, 1897. Came to Branch county in I836.
Clizbe, James-Born in Steuben county, N. Y., Feb. 8, 1813; died in
Quincy March 24, 1895. Came to Quincy township in I835. Planted many
of the shade trees on streets of Quincy village.
Coddington, Chester S., Reuben and Luther-All came from Ithaca,
N. Y., to Sherwood township.
Cornwell, Charles Titus-Came to Coldwater in I849.
Crawford, Moses-Born in Governeur, St. Lawrence county, N. Y.,
Oct. 25, I8i28; still living; came to Bronson April 20, 1848.
Clark, Jabez-Came to Bronson in Dec., 1836.
Clark, Leonard D.-Son of Jabez Clark, born in Norwalk, 0.; came
with parents to Bronson in 1836; died in May, 9go5.
Clark, Milo-Second son of Jabez; born Nov. 14, I82I; died Jan. 6,
1885; came with parents to Bronson in 1836.
Crawford, Amira Jane (Clark)-Born in Norwalk, O., June I5, 1835;
came with parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jabez Clark, to Bronson in Dec., 1836;
died April I, I904.
Canfield, Numan Born in New York April II, I8oo. Came to Bethel
township in 1844.
Canfield, Chester Numan-Born in New York; living in Bethel. Came
to Bethel with father in I844.
Chandler, Robert G.-Born in Detroit, Dec. 21, 1838; living in Coldwater. Came to Coldwater in 1845.
*;;i,,;. l;;.,  *  1;;  L~-~:  * ~-~; -  *0- *- f




244


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Cheney, Alfred-Born in Nasby, Northamptonshire, England, July 5,
1839; living in Kinderhook. Came to Branch county in I85I.
Clark, Israel W.-Born in Connecticut Farms, New Jersey, Sept. 29,
I803. Came to Union City in I8,38.
Clark, Timothy-Born in Broadalbin, N. Y., March 30, 1819'. Came
to Coldwater in 1848, and an early settler of Kinderhook.
Clarke, Edwin R.-Bom in Byron, N. Y., March 22, 1828. Came to
Coldwater in I85o. Donor of Clarke Library building in Coldwater.
Coffman, Christopher-Born in Lancaster county, Penn., October, I805;
deceased. Came to Branch county in 1852.
Coffman, Lancaster-Born March 17, 1831, in Mahoning county, Ohio.
Came to Ovid township in I853.
Compton, William H.-Born in Gasport, Niagara county, N. Y., in
1841; died in 1904. Came to Bronson with parents in I845.
Cornell, Daniel S.-Born in Niagara county, N. Y., May 20, 1815;
died in Girard Oct. 15, I889. Came to Girard in I836.
Cornell, Job K. Born in New York; died Aug. 3, 18176, in Union township. Came to Union township in spring of I835.
Cornell, Chauncey J.-Born in Milan, Ohio, August 21, 1833; living in
Coldwater. Came with parents to Union township in 1835.
Corson, John-Born in Oneida county, N. Y.; died in I855 in Matteson township. Came to Matteson in I836.
Corson, Lafferd W.-Born in Hopewell township, Ontario county, N.
Y., April 23, 1822. Came with parents to Matteson in I836.
Cory, Israel-Born in Morris county, N. J., May 6, 1814; living in
Coldwater. Came to Branch county in I865.
Crippen, Bradley-Born in Herkimer county, N. Y., Sept. 25, 1783;
died in I8.55 in Coldwater. Came to Coldwater township in I835.
Chandler, Albert-Born in Sempronius, N. Y., Sept. 23, i814; died in
1905 in Coldwater. Came to, Coldwater in I84I.
Crippen, L. D.-Born in Fairfield, N. Y., Aug. 29, I806; died April
20, 1864. Came to Coldwater in June, I835.
Crippen, Mrs. Ruth (Haynes)-Born in Ulster county, N. Y., July
31, I809; died in Coldwater, May 15, I890. Came to Coldwater in June,
1835.
Culver, A. C.-Born in Wayne county, N. Y., Aug. 29, 1823. Came to
Quincy in Nov., I847.
Clizbe, Dr. Stephen H.-Born in Girard township, January 24, 1845;
living in Coldwater. (See index.)
Chauncey, Dr. Moses E.-Born in Saratoga county, N. Y., Nov. i5,
I809,; died May 7, I884. Came to Girard village in 1843.
Croy, John-Came to Gilead early in spring of 183I; moved in 1838
to Steuben county, Ind.; died in Iowva in 1875. First settler of Gilead
township.
Craig, Samuel-Born in County Armagh, Ireland, February 22, i795;
died March 2, I847. Came to Girard March 28, I831.




.  1 I   I-    - 7 -7 m ---


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


945


Craig, Eliza-Born in Ireland May 25, 1795; died in Girard on Dec.
22, 1878.
Craig, Samuel-Born Sept. 4, 1831; died January 2, I856. First white
child born in Girard township.
Chase, William-Born in Otsego county, N. Y., Nov. I2, 1815. Came
to Kinderhook in 184I.
Case, Almeron W\.-Born in Livingston county, N. Y., Feb. 6, i8o8;
died in Kinderhook township in November, 1877. Came to Kinderhook in
I837.
Chase, Chauncey-Born in Monroe county, N. Y., September 19, I8,28.
Came to Noble township in 1846.
Calkins, Moses V.-Born in Danby, Vt., May 31, 1814. Came to Butler township in I852; moved to Coldwater in I874.
Calkin, Barzillia H.-Born in Newburg, Ohio, March 20, 1840o died in
Coldwater, in 90o6. Came with father to Butler township in 1848.
Cline, Ephraim-Born in Binghamton, N. Y., Nov. 12, 18I2; died in
Matteson township in 1874. Came to Matteson township about I835.
Denison, Samuel M.-Born in Livonia, N. Y., March 20, I814; died
in Coldwater Nov. 20, I894. Came to Coldwater in 1838.
Doubleday, Hiram-Born in Washington county, N. Y., Feb. 20, I8o2;
deceased. Came to Sherwood township in 1836.
Dougherty, Thomas-Born in Washington county, N. Y., February,
800o; deceased January i5, I888. Came to Coldwater Sept. 10, I835.
Davis, David H.-Born in Chautauqua county, N. Y., July 27, I817;
died March 26, 1902. Came to Coldwater in 1856 to take charge of public
schools.
Davis, Ichabod-Came to Ovid township in 1836; died there in September, I849.
Davis, Stuart-Born Feb. 14, I8o8,'in Steuben, Oneida county, N. Y.;
deceased September 4, 188I. Came to Ovid township in I836.
Davis, Emery —Born in Dover, Dutchess county, N. Y., June 6, 18I7.
Came to Ovid township in 1854.
Dunks, Daniel S.-Born January 21, I8Io, in East Bloomfield, Ontario
county, N. Y.: died in Sherwood township, April 2I, I877. Came to Union
township in 1838.
Dickerson, Mrs. Emma F.-Born in Ruggles, Ashland county, Ohio,
Sept. I6, I847; died May 22, I9o06. Came with parents to Quincy township in i85 i.
Doerr, Jacob-Born in Germany, May 17, 1824; died June 6, 1906.
Came to Gilead township in I849.
Davis, Oris-Born in Oneida county, N. Y., Nov. 27, I8,I2; died in
Coldwater township April Io,, 1894. Came to Branch county in 1836.
Dennis, Mrs. David B. (Alden)-Born in New York, June 5, 1826;
died in Coldwater May 8, 1895. Came to Coldwater with father, Hiram
Alden, in September, 1834.,.. - a-,~ ~v0, _,:q ~-i-'e -'g  `,




246


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Dunks, Mrs. Elmira-Nearly ninety years old, I906; has lived on a
farm near Union City seventy years.
Davis, Ezekiel-Born in Holland, N. Y., July 12, 1827. Came to Bronson in 1843 and bought a farm in Noble township; returned to New York
in I845; came back to Bronson in 1865, where he is still living.
Ewers, Dr. H. F.-Born in Onondaga county, N. Y., Feb. 24, I830,;
deceased. Came to Union City in 18I54.
Ent, Silas-Born in Essex county, N. J., Nov. 20, I 820I. Came to
Kinderhook in 1842.
Easton, David J.-Born in Castile, Wyoming county, N. Y., June 5,
1842. Came with parents to Algansee township in 1846.
Edwards, Thomas-Born in Schoharie county, N. Y., January 22, 1813.
Came to Butler township in 1840.
Ellis, Willard T.-Born in Geneseo, Livingston county, N. Y., August
I6, I830. Came to California township in 1844.
Ensley, Jacob-Born in Lenawee county, Mich., May 22, I835. Came
to Batavia township in I835.
Fisk, Abram C.-Born in Monroe county, N. Y., Feb. I9, 1815; deceased at Coldwater Sept. 27, 1897. Came to Coldwater Sept. 7, 1835.
Fetterby, Nathan-Born June, I827, in Herkimer county, N. Y. Came
to Coldwater in 1843.
Faust, Daniel-Born in Columbia county, Penn., June 27, I81I9. Came
to Noble township in 1836.
Fisk, James-Born in New Hampshire in 1787; died in Coldwater township August 12, 1870. Came to Coldwater township in I835.
Fisk, Joseph D. W.-Born in Penfield, Monroe county, N. Y., Sept. 24,
1829; deceased at Coldwater Nov. 30, 1893. Came to Branch county with
parents in 1835.
Ford, Daniel R.-Born in Rutland county, Vermont, Dec. I6, 1814.
Came to Butler township in 1836.
Fonda, Charles Ira-Born in Rushville township, Yates county, N. Y.,
Feb. 12, 1831; living in Coldwater. Came to Batavia township with parents,
June 13,:1837.
Ferguson, Benjamin Roberts-Born July 12, i8i8, at Ryders Mills,
Chatham, Columbia Co., N. Y. Came to Ovid township in I846; still living
in Coldwater.
Ferguson, Juliaett (Bachelder)-Sister of foregoing; born Oct. 26,
I819, at same place as her brother; came with her husband, Nathaniel Bachelder, to Ovid township in I846; died in Orange, California, July 5, 1906.
Ferguson, Dr. George-Brother of preceding, born at same place, Feb.
I, I827; came to Ovid township in I854.
Ferguson, Stephen-Brother of preceding, born at same place, July 22,
1832; came to Ovid township in I854 where he is still living.
Fonda, David-Came from Rushville, Yates Co., N. Y., with his family to Batavia township, June 13, 1837.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                       247
Fisk, James Edwin-Came into Matteson township about I835.
Gilbert, William S.-Born in Warren, Vt., Nov. 23, 1809; deceased in
Coldwater Sept. I, I890. Came to Coldwater Sept. II, I836.
Gallup, F. T.-Born in Canada, March I I, 1823; came to Algansee
township in I853.
Green, David-Born in Queenstown, N. Y., Jan. 5, I8802; died in June,
I884. Came to Gilead township in 1841.
Green, E. C. S. —Born in Tyre, Seneca county, N.-Y., Sept. I6, I825;
died in Gilead Aug. lo, 1897. Came to Gilead township with parents in
I841.
Green, David Nathaniel-Born in Tyre township, Seneca county, N. Y.,
Sept. 9, I823; died Sept. 15, I902; came with his father to Gilead in I84I.
Gardner, Hiram-Born in Burlington, Otsego county, N. Y., Dec. 12,
I805. Came to Matteson township in I836.
Gardner, Amos-Born in Otsego county, N. Y., March 18, 1833; living in Matteson township. Came to Matteson in 1836.
Gardner, Elisha T.-Born in Washington county, N. Y., Nov. 7, 1814;
died June 7, I878. Came to Noble township in I854.
Gwin, Jalin R.-Born in Richland county, Ohio, Jan. 17, I816. Came
to Sherwood township in 185I.
George, Henry-Born in township of Remsen, Oneida county, N. Y.,
Oct. 26, 1809; died April 14, I86o, in Ovid township. Came to Ovid in
1838.
George, Henry B.-Born in Lenawee county, Mich., Oct. 9, 1838; living in Coldwater. Came to Ovid with parents in 1838.
Gibbs, Luman-Born in Scotland in 179I1; died in 1848. Came to Kinderhook township in 1842.
Gibbs, Luman B.-Born in Pulaski, Jackson county, Mich., April 9,
1840. Came to Kinderhook in 1842.
Gordinier, William 1-.-Born in New York state in I8IO; died in
Algansee townslip February 13, 1892. Came to California township in I837.
Gray, Darwin L.-Born in Franklin county, Mass.; (lied in Algansee
Mav I, 1897. Came to Branch county in 1836.
Giltner, John F.-Born in Lehigh county, Penn., Aug. 13, 18i34. Came
to Sherwood township in 1836.
Gilbert, John T.-Born in Mansfield, Conn., March I9, I8o06; died at
Coldwater, March 20o, 189I. Came to Coldwater in i86o.
Golden, William-Born in township of Wilton, Saratoga county, N. Y.,
in I804; died June, 1883, in Quincy township. Came to Quincy in I849.
Golden, Samuel M.-Born in Huron county, Ohio, Jan. 18. 1841.
Came to Quincy with father in 1849.
Gorbal, James —Born in Suffolk, England, Jan. 3, 1815. Came to Girard
township in 1836.
Goodwin, Seth-Born in New York state, in 1796; died in Matteson
township Oct. I2, I859. Came to Matteson about 1836.


I




'248             HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
Goodwin, Charles H.-Born in Matteson township April I, I8154.
Graham, L. L.-Born in St. Joseph, Mich., in 1838. Came to Gilead
township in 1843.
Green, Alexander R.-Born in Ellicott, N. Y., in 1835; living in Gilead
township. Came to Gilead with parents in 1841.
Green, James H.-Born in Mercer county, Penn., Feb. I4, 1813; died
Feb. 6, I884, in Bronson township. Came to Bronson in 1843.
Greenwood, Richard-Born near Rochdale at Plumpton, Lancashire,
England, Dec. I8. I8o9; died in Coldwater, April I, I877. Came to Coldwater about 1842.
Grove, Archibald R.-Born in Batavia township, March 17, I839.
Goodman, Cleophas T.-Born in New York state Aug. 21, 1815; died
in Algansee, Jan. 29, 1895. Came to Branch county in I837.
Gordinier, facob-Came from Herkimer county, N. Y., in November,
I841, to Gilead township. He is still living in Bronson.
Green, Silas Seeley-Born. Jan. 21, I804; came into, Bethel township in
I835.
Haynes, Harvey-Born in Ulster county, N. Y., Jan. 24, I817. Came
in 1836 to Coldw-ater township with father, James Haynes.
Holmes, Jonathan-Born in Peterborough, N. H., June 8, I807. Came
to Bronson township in I8.36.
Hawks, Joseph S.-Born in Otsego county, N. Y., April I9, I8I4; died
in Kinderhook, Oct. 5, 1874. Came to Kinderhook about I837.
Hadley, Hiram H.-Born in Addison, Vt., June 14, 18101. Came to
Batavia township Nov. 20, I837.
Harmon, William P.-Born in Ontario county, N. Y., Sept. I, 18,24;
died Feb. 4, 1892, in Quincy township. Came to Quincy in I8,55.
Hall, Thomas-Born in Washington county, N. Y., Jan. 12,     814.
Came to California township in 1844.
Haviland, John B.-Born in Danville, Vt., Oct. 28, I816.  Came to
Sherwood township in 1836.
Hiesrodt, Edwin-Born in Orleans county, N. Y., Oct. 30, I821. Came
to Ovid township in I844.
Holmes, Cicero J.-Born in Bronson township, Nov. 13, I844.
Hubbard, Horatio N.-Born in Chenango county, N. Y.; died in Batavia township, June i, 1882. Came to Batavia in July, 1838.
Huyck, Henry F.-Born in Saratoga county, N. Y., March I8, I818.
Came to Kinderhook township in I844.
Heiry, Warren-Born July 6, I819; came into Sherwood township in
I851I, where he is still living.
Halsted, Lorenzo Dow-Born in Tompkins county, N. Y., July 20,
I820; died in Coldwater, April 5, I906. Came to Coldwater Sept. Io, I836.
Jones, John H.-Born in Hopewell, N. Y.. April 27, I828; died in
Quincy, March 19, I895. Came to Quincy township about I835.






f --- v


HISTORY OF' BRANCH COUNTY


249


Joseph, Lawrence-Born in Tompkins county, N. Y., April 27, 1825;
came to Quincy township in 185I.
Joseph, Lucas-Born in Northampton county, Penn., Oct. I4, I817.
Came to Quincy township in March, 1839.
Joseph, William-Bor   n i Tompkins county, N. Y., June 26, I828; died
at Quincy, April 30, 1880. Came to Quincy about I85o.
Jacobs, Lysander-Born in Chautauqua township, Chautauqua county,
N. Y., Jan. 28, 1825; married Miss Amelia Hull in 1853, and came to Union
township in that year; died June 27, 19o6.
Jones, Loring Grant-Born in Lester, Livingston county, N. Y., Sept.
7, 1828; came to Bronson in I836; still living there.
Jones. Joseph Thompson-Born Sept. 7, 1822, in Monroe county, N. Y.;
married Miss Sally Briggs April 2, I845; came to Quincy township, where
he is still living, May 2, I846.
Keagle, Thomas H.-Born near Plymouth, England, Feb. 3, I836.
Came with parents to Quincy township in I843.
Kellsy, Ira-Born in Wyoming county, N. Y., Nov. 7, I823. Came to
Ovid township in 1848.
Kerns, Levi-Born in Mahoning county, 0., Feb. 17, 1824; died in
Ovid township Feb. 15, i888. Came to, Branch county in 1852.
Kelly, James —Came from Marion Co., O., in I833 into Gilead township where he lived three years; died in Steuben Co., Ind., about I870.
Kennedy, Charles Decatur-Born in Cumberland Co., Penn., Feb. 19,
1834; still living in Butler township. Came into Butler with his father,
George Kennedy, in 1849.
Kerns, Levi- Born Mahoning Co., O., Feb. I7, I824; died Feb. 15,
888,, in Ovid township; came to Branch county in 1852.
Kellsy, Ira-Born in Wyoming Co., N. Y., Nov. 7, 1823. Came to
Branch county in I848.
Knowlton, Ephraiml A.-Born in Essex county, Mass., Dec. 25, 1813;
died in Coldwater March I4, I893. Came to Coldwater in i856 and established planing mill and sash factory.
Keeslar, Joseph-Born in Madison county, N. Y., April 6, 1825. Came
to Gilead township in 1838, with father, Peter Keeslar.
Lampman, Henry S.-Born in Greene county, N. Y., Feb. 22, I8io.
Came to Butler township as pioneer in 1836.
Lockwood. Henry-Born in Ulster county, N. Y., Nov. I, 1812, died
May 29, 1891, in Ovid township, where he was the oldest pioneer.
Lawrence, James H.-Born in Livingston county, N. Y., in 1815; died
April io, I897. Came to California township in 1835, one of the first settlers.
Leonard, Joseph C.-Born in Chenango county, N. Y., August ii,
18I7; died at Union City December 28, I893. Came to Union City in 1842.
Lee, Stephen B.-Born in Ontario county, N. Y., Dec. 22, 1819. Came
to Union township in I85I.
i~~1..;.::;~,,_.:_ I_.~;..;i;* _  ~~ ~~~ ~1 ~~~~ ~-;;;;




250


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Lewis, Henry C.-Born in Orleans county, N. Y., May 5, I820; died
in Coldwater, in August, 1884. Came to Coldwater in the forties.
Lincoln, George W.-Born near Penn Yan, N. Y., Aug. 17, 1819. Came
to Branch county in 1838 and resided in Union township. His father, Caleb
Lincoln, was an early settler of Union City, where he died in I884.
Lockwood, Ennis J.-Born in Ulster county, N. Y., May 14, 1834, came
to Ovid township with father, Uriah Lockwood, in 1836.
McCarty, James A.-Born in Detroit, Dec. II, 1814; died in Coldwater,
Sept. I6, I893. Came to Girard township with parents in 183i and to Coldwater in I833.
Mann, Peter I.-Born in Schoharie, N. Y., Feb. 17, 1815; died at Girard, Jan. 8, I1897. Came to Branch county in 1836.
Martin, Ira-Born in Jefferson county, N. Y., in 18,27; died in Batavia
township May I, I897. Came to Batavia in 1843.
Marsh, Emerson-Born in New York; died at Coldwater, January 26,
I892. Came to Branch county in I838. Marsh's Corners, between Gilead
and Bethel townships, named after him.
Moore, Henry N.-Born in Penfield, N. Y., Sept. 27, I816; died at
Coldwater, June 13, I891. Came to Coldwater township in I837 and settled permanently in 18:44.
Murphey, James-Born in Cayuga county, N. Y., March 4, 1819; died
in Coldwater township May 2, I892. Came to Batavia township in early
forties.
Mallow, Peter-Born in Alsace, Nov. 10, I815. Settled in Noble township about I840.
Mason, William B.-Born in Monroe county, N. Y., January      19,
I8.20. Came to Branch county with his father, Octavius Mason, in 1840.
McCrarv, Alexander C.-Born in Tompkins county, N. Y., March 9,
I8I5. Came to Sherwood township in I848, and later to Union township.
Mills, Adolphus-Was born in Matteson township Feb. 201, I848.
Monroe, Jesse-Born in Cayuga county, N. Y., March, 1821. Came
to Matteson township in 1843.
Monroe, Seth-Born in Cayuga county, N. Y., Aug. 4, 1827. Came
to Bronson township in I852.
Moore, Sharod-Born in New York in I808. Settled in Bethel township in I844.
Morrill, Ichabod P.-Born in Sandusky county, 0., March I8, 1836.
Came to Gilead township in 1852 and was later resident of Noble.
Mosley, Thomas-Born in Pittsfield, Mass., Aug. 17, I794; died at
Union City, Oct. I8, I8615. Came to Union City in I84I.
Meredith, Jesse-Born in Summit county, Penn., April 5, I812. Came
to Matteson township in I850.
Mowry, William P.-Died Sept. 24, I905; came into Ovid township
in 1845.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                        251
McMechan, William-Born Jan. 5, I8o5, in Bann Bridge, County Down,
Ireland; died Nov. I9, 1887; came to Union City in the spring of 1846.
Mosely, William Augustus-Born inl Westfield, Mass., Jan. 4, I815;
died in Minneapolis, Minn., in I898.
Mitchell, Mrs. Sophronia (Hawley)-Born in Clifton Springs, N. Y.,
Oct. 27, I81I; died in Union City, April 23, I906; came with her husband,
Archibald Mitchell, to Union City in I836.
Morrison, Jonathan-Came from Penfield, N. Y., about 1846, and settled on the farm in Girard on the east side of Morrison Lake.
Morrell, Jeremiah-Born in Vermont and came into Union township
in the spring of 1837.
Newberry, Peter M.-Born in Saratoga county, N. Y., Dec. 14, I8IO;
died in Quincy, April 23, I895. Came to Quincy township in I837.
Nivison, Nathan-Born in Buffalo, N. Y., in i8io; died in Algansee
township, Dec. I9, i886. Came to Algansee in I853.
Noyes, Austin-Born in Chenango county, N. Y., Jan. II, I816,. Came
to Batavia township in I844.
Nicholls, Ansel-Born in Essex county, N. Y., May I4, 1804. Came
to Quincy township in I836.
Noyes, Gates Peter-Born Feb. 25, I8,8; died May 7, 19o6; came
Sept. 18, 1843, with his wife, Mrs. Elizabeth (Southworth) Noyes, to the
farm in Batavia township, where he died.
Olmsted, Nirum P.-Born in Calhoun county, Mich., July I8, 1839.
Came in 18401 to Union township with father, G. P. Olmstead.
Parker, Samuel D.-Born in Erie county, 0., Nov. I, I8:i7; died Feb.
I8, 1895. Came to Branch county in I833.
Perry, Edwin R.-Born in Franklin county, N. Y., July 9, I8iIo; (lied
in Union City, Feb. 22, I894. Came to Union City in I85I.
Phillips, Daniel C.-Born in Onondaga county, N. Y., May 26, 1820;
died in Algansee township Dec. 31, 1893. Came to Gilead with parents in
1838.
Porter, Philo-Born in Genesee county, N. Y., April 26, 1813; died at
Coldwater Dec. 201, I89o. Came to Batavia township in 1836.
Paddock, Alfred-Born in Columbia county, N. Y., Dec. I6, 1823.
Came to Girard township in 1853.
Paddock, Ephraim J.-Born in Wayne county, N. Y., March 3, 1822.
Came to Branch county with his father, Ira Paddock, in 1836.
Palmateer, Franklin-Born in New York in 1838. Came to Branch
county with father, John Palmateer, in 1846.
Parrish, Asa-Born at Honeoye Falls, N. Y., March 4, I8II; died at
Coldwater Nov. I8, I885. Came to Coldwater in I8136, and was connected
with early milling and built the first furnace for manufacture of iron work.
Andrew S. Parrish, of Coldwater, was a son.
Parsons, Solomon-Born in Chenango county, N. Y., Oct. 15, i8Io.
Came to the vicinity of Union City late in 1836.,-i —* ---ii




252             HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
Paul, David-Born in New York, April I6, I8I9. Came to California
township in I844.
Pierce, Henry-Born in St. Johnsbury, Vt., Dec. 5, I808. Settled in
Girard township in I839.
Polhamus, Albert-Born in New York, Jan. 8, 1823. Settled in Quincy
township in I850.
Pratt, Jacob Franklin-Born in Cortland county, N. Y., May 8, I8291;
still living in Coldwater. Came to Coldwater in 1852.
Purinton, David B.-Born in Cortland county, N. Y., May 8, I829.
Came to Coldwater in I848.
Pixley, Augustus-Born in East Bloomfield, N. Y., Oct. 18, 1822; died
in Bronson, Nov. 27, I905. Came to Bronson Feb. 9, I843.
Ruggles, James-Born in Toronto, Can., April 22, I803; died in Bronson, March I6, I891. Came to Branch village in 1835 and to Bronson in
1837.
Rose, Lorenzo A.-Born in Niagara county, N. Y., Oct. 25, 18,22; died
at Bronson March 13, 1893. Came with parents to Bronson in I835.
Rowell, A. S.-Born in Penfield, N. Y., Sept. 25, I812; died at Coldwater, May 9, 1893. Came to Coldwater about 1843.
Rogers, Dr. Dennis W.-Born in Jerusalem, N. Y., Feb. 25, 1826;
died at Union City, Jan. 24, I898. Came to Branch county in I859.
Reynolds, Francis-Born in Jefferson county, N. Y., April IO, 1822.
Came to Matteson township in 1844.
Richardson, Elias-Born in Bronson township in I830o, son of John
G. Richardson.
Roberts, John-Born in Niagara county, N. Y., March 14, I8I81. Came
to Coldwater township with father, Francis Roberts, in I836.
Root, Roland-( See sketch of E. R. Root).
Root, John-Born in Onondaga county, N. Y., Aug. I8, 1823; died at
Coldwater, March 23, I866. Came to Coldwater in I844.
Rowell, Jared M.-Born in New York; died in Union City, Jan. I3,
I874. Came to Sherwood township in 1844.
Rumsey, John —Born in Marion county, 0., March 8, I822. Came to
Matteson township in I846.
Russell, George-Born in Claremont, N. H., Oct. 9, I805. Came to
Branch county in I844 and settled in Girard township, in I846.
Russell, Jonathan T.-Born in Sherwood township Sept. 15, I836, son
of Joseph Russell, who came to the county in I834.
Ransom, Francis D.-Born in Onondaga county, N. Y., Jan. 5, I8i6.
Came to Algansee township in I837.
Reid, William-Came from Batavia, N. Y., to Bethel township in October, I837.
Shoecraft, Barnabas B.-Born in Monroe county, N. Y., May I9, I8i8;
died in Coldwater township, Jan. 5, I895. Came to the county in I854.






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


253


Southworth, J. B.-A pioneer of the county, died in Coldwater township May I6, 1892.
Sager, George-Born in Wayne county, N. Y., May 2, 1824. Came to
Bronson township about I840.
Sebring, John-Born in Wayne county, N. Y., April 10, 1824. Came
to Quincy in I854 and was connected with the first saw mill of the village.
Shaw, William E.-Born in Ovid township, Nov. 27, 1846.
Sheneman, John-Born in Wayne county, Penn., in I8oo; died in Batavia township July 29, 1875. Came to Batavia township in I843.
Shumway, Alfred-Born in Wayne county, N. Y., July 12, I8I8; died
April 26, 1874. Came to this county in 1849.
Sisco, Henry-Born at Troy, Vt., Sept. 28, I80o. Came to section 22,
Union township, in I836.
Smith, Benjamin H.-Born in New Jersey, April 14, I8981; died in
Girard township Sept. 22, I879. Came to Branch county in 18,33 and was
associated with Abram Aldrich in the first mill at Hodunk.
Smith, Abram L.-Son of preceding, born in this county Oct. 21, 1838.
Sorter, William C.-Born in Steuben county, N. Y., Jan. 3, I837.
Came to Ovid township with father Jacob S. in 1838.
Stanton, Edward D.-Born Cayuga county, N. Y., Aug. Io, I833.
Came with father, John Stanton, to Sherwood township in June, I836.
Strong, Myron W.-Born in Allegany county, N. Y., Sept. 3o, I829.
Came to Kinderhook township with his father Calvin Strong in I838.
Stockwell, Parley-Born in Mass., Dec., 1803; died at Coldwater January 8, I89o.
Smith, Walter W.-Born in Vermont. Settled permanently in Noble
township in 1842.
Sanders, Abishai —Came into Gilead in I83.I
Swan, Levi-Came from New London township, Huron county, 0.,
to Quincy township in April, I849.
Sheneman, John Harrison-Came with his parents, John and Catharine Kenter Sheneman, Oct. 14, 1844, to, the place now occupied by him
in Batavia township near the station.
Streeter, Cornelius-Born Oct. 12, 1823, in Sterling, Cayuga county,
N. Y.; died in Algansee township May 10, 1906; came into Quincy township in I850.
Taggart, David-Born July 9, 80o9; died July 22, 1900; he came to
Bronson township with his wife, Mrs. Sarah (Perry) Taggart, in the fall
of 1836. Their children as follows were all born before I8,50:
Taggart, John-Born Jan. 20, 1840, in Brofison township on what
is known as the Secor farm; he has lived longer in the township than
any other man in it at present (1906'), having lived in it continuously since
his birth except two years in the army.
Taggart, Frederick William-Born Feb., 1842; died in July, 1862, in
Camp Douglas in Chicago.




254              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
Taggart, Benjamin Perry-Born Aug., 1844; still living in Bronson
township.
Taggart, George David-Lives in Linneus, Linn Co., Mo.
Taggart, Henry C.-Born May 14, 1848; lives in same place as preceding.
Taggart, Sarah Maria-Born May 17, I850; now Mrs. William Bushnell and living in Bronson.
Taylor, Leonard-Born in Monroe county, N. Y., April 13, 1829.
Came with father, Leonard Taylor, to Batavia township in 18135, his father
being proprietor of the Taylor Tavern on the Chicago road.
Tift, David-Born in Allegany county, N. Y.; died in Algansee township in February, I859. Came to Branch county in I837, settling in Algansee in the following year.  Was father of Roswell D., Albert J. and
Jerome B.
Tilton, George W.-Born in Herkimer county, N. Y., March 2, I812.
Settled on section 15, Matteson township, in I841.
Tripp, George-Born in Otsego county, N. Y., April Iol, I8:09; was at
the time of his death, Sept. I, I889, the oldest settler of Kinderhook.
Came to Kinderhook in 1836.
Tucker, John B.-Born in Connecticut September 28, I8II; died at
Union City, July I, 18915. Located in Union City during the forties.
Treat, Samuel-Born in Oneida county, N. Y., March 13, I876. Came
to Ovid township in 1837.
Turner, Ashley-Born in Ontario county, N. Y., Feb. 5, I813. Came
to Matteson township with father, Nathaniel, in I835.
Van Orthwick, A. A.-Born Seneca county, N. Y., Dec. 19, 1829.
Came to Branch county in 1852.
Whitehead, Reuben-Came into Coldwater township from Penfield, N.
Y., in I836.
Williams, Ryan-Came into the township of Sherwood in I833.
Warren, John G.-Came to Coldwater in I835 with his wife, Lois P.
(Howland) Warren; died in I869. They were both charter members of
the Methodist church of Coldwater, and later withdrew to form the Wesleyan
church.
Wing, Jason Ward-Came to Bronson township in I844.
Wheat, Benjamin F.-Born Ontario county, N. Y., August I8, I817;
died in Quincy Oct. 27, I894. Came to Quincy in 1852.
Williams, George Q.-Born in Essex county, N. Y., Aug. 27, 1828;
died at Coldwater, Jan. 15, I894. Came to Quincy with his father Alpheus
Williams in I836. Edward was another son of Alpheus.
Williams, Clark H.-Born in New Paltz, N. Y., April 23, 1813; died
in Coldwater township April 17, I897. Came to Coldwater in March, I836.
Woodard, Bernetty-Died in Ovid township October 22, 1897, aged
187 ae


r




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


255


one hundred and two years. Her death occurred within a few hours of that
of Dr. W. B. Sprague, the other noted centenarian of Branch county.
Wilson, Daniel L.-Born in Penfield, N. Y., Jan. 9, I813; died in
Coldwater township, Dec. 4, I889. Came to Coldwater township in I837.
Waggott, Robert-Born in Somersetshire, England, Sept. I, 1828.
Came to Coldwater township in I84I.
Weatherwax, Joseph A.-Born in Orleans county, N. Y., July 5, I822.
Settled in Butler township in 18501.
Wilcox, Newcomb-Bom      in Ontario county, N. Y., Nov. 3, 1803.
Came to Branch county in 1837, becoming a well known pioneer of Sherwood township.
Wilson, James R.-Born in Yates county, N. Y., Jan. 12, I836. Came
to Ovid township in I836, with father, Reuben Wilson.
Woods, Dr. Richard-Born in Bradford county, Penn., April 24, I835;
died in Quincy township Dec. 4, I88o!.
Wright, Charles S.-Born in Connecticut, April 7, I8'32.  Came to
Ovid township in I847.
Waterman, Alonzo-Born near Syracuse, N. Y., April io, I8o0. Came
to Bronson in 1832.
Warner, Harvey-Born in Warren county, N. Y., April 5, I809'. Came
to Coldwater township in I831.
Whitcomb, Luke H.-Born at Brandon, Vt., Feb. 6, I808. Came to
Coldwater in July, I836.
Young, Seth C.-Born in Cayuga county, N. Y., June 3, I808. Came
to Bethel township in the thirties, later locating in Bronson township.
i  0




256


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


CHAPTER XXX.
THE COUNTY IN THE COUNTRY'S WARS.
The military record of Branch county during the Civil war was remarkable. If any county of the Union offered the flower of its manhood to the
cause with greater unanimity oif numbers and devotion of patriotism, it would
be difficult to name it. For four years the interests and resources of Branch
county were directed to the preservation of the Union. It will always be a
matter of lasting pride and a part of the permanent historical record of the
county that the patriotism of the citizens was manifested in such splendid
manner. The names of those who enlisted from this county to! fight on the
battlefields of the south deserve space in every history that shall ever be written of the county, and for this reason the individual records of Branch county
soldiers in the Civil war are appended in full to this chapter.
While this record describes in detail the performance of the companies.
and regiments and individuals from Branch county, it should not be forgotten that those who staid at home had an equally important work to perform. There were the indigent families of absent soldiers to be cared for.
Thousands of dollars, not to mention the more valuable personal attention
and assistance, were turned toward this work. Here as everywhere over the
country the women organized to carry on their work of practical helpfulness. Their committees visited and carried the necessities and comforts of
life to the sick and poor at home; sent their generous contributions of food
and home-made delicacies to the soldiers' hospitals in the field; made clothing for those fighting at the front; and in the hundreds of ways that cannot
be described here gave evidence of patriotism as necessary to the winning
of the war as that displayed by the soldiers on the field.
In the period of time with which the history of Branch county deals, the
Civil war is, of course, the pre-eminent military event. The Revolution was
fifty years old at the time the county began to be settled. Some of the survivors of the war of I812 settled in the county, but aside froim this the county had no connection with the second war with the mother country. The
war with Mexico in I846 made comparatively small demand on the volunteer
forces of the country, and no organization and probably no individuals from
Branch county participated in that war.
Branch county's connection with the Spanish-American war and its
sequence in the Philippines is a matter of individual mention with the exception of the part taken by the " Coldwater Light Guard."  This organization, which was formed in August, I87I, of forty-one members and was
mustered into the state militia in that year, is the best known military com



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                         257
pany in Branch county outside of those that originated in Civil war times.
The first commissioned officers were: George H. Turner, captain; A. E.
Stowell, first lieutenant; C. H. DeClute, second lieutenant. In November,
1877, this became the basis of the civil organization known as the Coldwater
Light Guard Association, whose first officers were F. D. Newberry, C. N.
Legg and Alonzo Thompson.     "Armory Hall" on Hanchett street was
constructed by this association. The association is one of the most popular
and strongest societies in the county, the military purpose which is the basis and essential purpose of the organization being supplemented by the social comradeship which is characteristic of the fraternal societies.
When war against Spain was declared in April, I898, the Light Guard
tendered their services to the United States and were organized as Company
A of the Thirty-second Michigan Infantry. They were sent south, but like
the majority of Michigan regiments in that war, did not reach the field of
actual hostilities. Their period of service away from home was six months.
The old Coldwater Light Guard is now Company A of the Second Regiment of the Michigan National Guard. Besides the legal corporation representing the company, and the Reunion Association of the Spanish War
soldiers, there is also "The Coldwater Light Guard Veterans' Association,"
which was organized April 8, I905, with the following officers: Edwin R.
Root, president; T. A. Hilton, vice president; Mark S. Andrews, secretary
and treasurer. All who have been at any time members of the Light Guard
Company or Company A, are eligible to membership.
At its last reunion, in May, I9o6, Company A voted all Spanish-American veterans in this section members of its association. The officers of the
association elected at this reunion were: Jay Van Aken, president; Frank
L. Earley, vice president; James B. Smullen, secretary and treasurer; Mark
S. Andrews, historian.
Company A, Thirty-second Michigan Infantry, U. S. V., mustered into
United States service at Island Lake, Michigan, May 12, 1898, for the
Spanish-American war of 1898:


Company Officers.
Capt., Frank D. Newberry,
ist Lieut., Ed. D. Legg,
2nd Lieut., Fred E. Ferguson.
Sergeants.
Ist, Charles Culp,
Q. M., James B. Smullen,
Frank B. Reynolds, color sergt.,
Robert Rattray, Jr.,
Frank L. Earley,
Fred G. Barber.
Corporals.
Origin L. Bingham,
Norman C. Kimbal,
Ambrose M. Talmage,
Guy A. Thurston,
Charles S. Stuart,
Guy T. Keene,
Mark S.. Andrews,


George S. Craw,
Oscar C. Dubendorf,
Hal S. Legg,
Bert Herrick,
William H. King.
Musicians.
Ralph J. Andrews,
Clarence H. Barrett.
Artificer.
William H. Stockwell.
Wagoner.
Judson S. Lockwood.
Privates.
Akenhead, Leo F.; Ambrose, J. C. P.;
Burr, Charles; Barlow, Burt E.; Barlow,
Nathan (transferred to Division Hospital);
Betts, William W.; Bidwell, Fred; Bolton,
James; Bowen, Orrin M.; Bowersox, Her-.'. ~i-l.-;
—.. -lil: 1.-i-(i








268


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


bert S.; Brooks, Frank; Bender, Jay H.;
Burns, Edward A.; Champion, A. Sidney;
Cole, Bert W.; Cosper, Lee; Cox, Grant S.;
Davenport, Don P.; Drake, Ned C.; Dunn,
George A.; Eligh, Loren R.; Fisk, Caleb B.;
Fisk, Hervey C.; Foote, J. B. (transferred to
Division Hospital); Fuller, Ernest E.; Gardner, Elton G.; Goble, Arthur G.; Grundy,
Samuel J.; Hadley, Cornelius M.; Hilliar,
Lynn L.; Holland, Austin; Hoyt, William
T.; Jerome, Horace; Kelley, Frank A.; Kennedy, James F.; Lindsey, Frank E.; Langdon,
Ruben H.; Magle, George; Martin, Albert
R.; Marvin, William  W.; Mason, William
B.; Miner, Wesley A.; Mason, Laverne E.;
Nachbauer, Andrew A.; Nichols, Frank A.;
Nichols, Frederick S.; Niveson, George E.;
Olmstead, Ensign; Otis, Stephen A.; Pal

mer, Wilber C.; Peppiatt, Frederick J.;
Preston, Frederick S.; Rolph, Benjamin E.;
Saunders, Fred B.; Saxton, L. Glenn; Shoecraft, James R.; Short, Charles W.; Shank,
John B.; Shank, Herman L.; Silverthorn,
Levi A.; Simmons, Charles F.; Skinner,
William N.; Smith, Timothy E.; Smith, H.
Eugene; Smith, James T.; Snyder, Harry
A.; Stahowiak, Martin C.; Stettler, Verney
R.; Stoddard, Ralph R.; Stygles, Coaly L.;
Teachout, George I.; Teller, Lynn R.; Teller,
Ray E.; Thompson, Dell; Tompkins, George;
Treat, Burkella J.; Turner, William H.; Underwood, Paul G.; Van Aken, Jay H.; Vielhaber, William D.; Voorhees, Fred; Wallace,
Edward C.; Wattles, Rich D.; Wilcox, Fred
A.; Williams, Elto L.; Wing, Sigmund.


BRANCH COUNTY'S SOLDIERS IN THE CIVIL WAR.
The Three Months' Regiment of First Michigan Infantry organized
immediately after the fall of Fort Sumpter, mustered in at Fort Wayne, Detroit, was the first regiment to reach Washington from west of the Alle7
ghenies. Its only engagement was at Bull Run, July 21, I861. The regiment was mustered out August 7, I86I.


MEMBERS      OF   THE   FIRST    INFANTRY (THREE MONTHS) FROM
BRANCH COUNTY.
Company C.
Ebenezer Butterworth, capt.; enl. May I,
I86I; captured at battle of Bull Run, Va.,
July 21, I86I; died in rebel hospital, of
wounds. Aug. 17, I86i.
Charles E. Eggleston, ISt lieut.; enl. May I,
I86I; must. out Aug. 7, I86I.
George H. Eggleston, 2d lieut.; enl. May I,
I86I; must. out Aug. 7, i86i.
Charles B. Lincoln, Ist sergt.; enl. May i,
i86I; must. out Aug. 7, i86I.
Samuel N. Andrews, 2d sergt.; enl. May I,
I86I: must. out Aug. 7, i86i.
George Rhodes, 3d sergt.; enl. May I, I86I;
captured at battle of Bull Run, Va., July
2I, I86I; confined in Libby prison; must.
out May 20, 1862.
Charles P. Whitcomb, 4th sergt.; enl. May I,
i86i; captured at battle of Bull Run, Va.,
July 21, I86I; confined in Libby prison;
must. out May 20, I862.
Joseph H. Crup, Ist corp.; enl. May I, I86I;
must. out Aug. 7, I86I.
Curtis S. Mills, 2d corp.; enl. May I, I86I;
must. out Aug. 7, I86I.
Albert R. Potter, 3d corp.; enl. May I, i86i;
must. out Aug. 7, 186I.
Sylvester B. Wright, 4th corp.; enl. May I,
i86I; must. out Aug. 7, I86I.
Nelson Abbott, musician; enl. May I, I86I;
must. out Aug. 7, I86i.


Silas L. Parker, musician; enl. May I, I86I;
must. out Aug. 7, I86I.
PRIVATES.
Henry C. Adams, enl. May I, I86I; must.
out Aug. 7, i86i.
Benjamin F. Archer, enl. May I, I86I; must.
out Aug. 7, i86i.
George W. Abbott, enl. May I, I86I; must.
out Aug. 7, I86i.
Albert C. Allen, enl. May I, i86i; must.
out Aug. 7, I86I.
Henry Abbott, enl. May I, I86I; must. out
Aug. 7, i86I.
Lorenzo F. Brown, enl. May I, I86I; must.
out Aug. 7, i86i.
William L. Burritt, enl. May I, i86i; must.
out Aug. 7, I86i.
Henry Butler, enl. May I, i86i; must. out
Aug. 7, i86I.
Peter Budawa, enl. May I, I86I; must. out
Aug. 7, i86i.
Martin Burleson, enl. May I, i86i; must. out
Aug. 7, i86I.
Charles Bickford, enl. May I, i86i; must.
out Aug. 7, i86i.
Aaron Bagley, enl. May I, i86i; must. out
Aug. 7, i86i.
James Bennett, enl. May I, I86I; must. out
Aug. 7, i86i.
William H. Bryon, enl. May I, i86I; must.
out Aug. 7, I86i.
Jonas P. Brown, enl. May I, i86i; must.
out Aug. 7, i86i.






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


259


Chas. Brinkerhoof, en]. May i, i86i; wounded at Bull Run, Va., July 21, i86i.
Chauncey S. Blivin, eni. May i, i86i; must.
ou-t Aug. 7, i861.
Thomas Blivin, enl. May i, i86r; must, out
Aug. 7, i86i.
Daniel B. Campbell, enl. May i, i861; must.
out Aug. 7, i86i.
Hamilton Collier, enl. May i, i86i; must, out
Aug. 7, i86i.
Edward Catlin, enl. May i, i86i; must. out
Aug. 7, 186i.
Edxvard Craft, enl. May i, i86i; mutt out
Aug. 7, i86i.
Lester B. Callahan, enl. May i, i86i; must.
out Aug. 7, i86i.
George Conger, enl. May i, i86i; must. out
Aug. 7, i86i.
Geo. D. Drury, enl. May i, i86i; taken
prisoner at battle of Bull Run, Va., and
confined in Libby prison; must. out May
20, i1862.
Martin Damim, enl. May i, i86i; must. out
Aug. 7, i(86i.
Gilbert Declute, enl. May 1, i86i; must. out
Aug. 7, i86i.
Lafayette Finch, enl. May i, i86i; must. out
Aug. 7, i86i.
Smith W. Fisk, enl. May i, i86i; must. out
Aug. 7, i86i.
David Fox, eufl. May i, i86i; must. out Aug.
7, i 86 i.
Isaiah Fox, enl. May i, 1861; must. out Aug.
7, i86i.
Irving S. Graham, enl. May i, i86i; must.
out Aug. 7, i86i.
Edward Gavitt, enl. May i, i86i; must. out
Aug. 7, i86i.
Charles Holmes, eni. May i, i86i; must. out
Aug. 7, i86i.
Daniel M. Holmes, enl. May i, 1,861; must.
out Aug. 7, i861.
William Heuise, enl. May i, i86i; must. out
Aug. 7, i86i.
Leander C. Handy, enl. May i, i86i: must.
out Aug. 7, i86i.
Solomon Holben, enl. May i, i86i; must. out
Aug. 7, i86i.
Charles C. Harvey, enl. May i, i86i; taken
prisoner at battle of Bull Run, Va., July
2 1, 1861; confined in Libby prison; must.
out May 20, 1862.
James D. C. Harvey, enl. May x, i86i; must.
out Aug. 7, i86i.


Smith H. Hastings, enl. May i, i86i; must.
out Aug. 7, i86i.
Edward Hewitt, enl. May i, i86i; must. out
Aug. 7, 186s.
Benj. J. Knappen, en-l. May i, i861; must.
out Aug. 7, i86i.
Edward Knappen, enl. May i, i86i; must.
out Aug. 7, i86i.
Edward B. Kirby, enl. May ', 1861; must.
out Aug. 7, i86i.
Edward Lewis, enl. May i, i86i; must. out
Aug. 7, i86i.
Franklin Minzey, enl. MVay i, i86i; must.
out Aug. 7, i86i.
John S. Mlossman, enl. May i, i86i;I must.
out Aug. 7, i86i.
Squire W. Mellendy, enl. May i, 1861; must.
out Aug. 7, i86i.
Wilson Meddaugh, enl. May i, i86i; must.
out Aug. 7, i861.
Joseph MNcKinne, enl. May i, i86i; must. out
Aug. 7, 186i.
John Olmstead, enI. May i, i86s; must. out
Aug. 7, i861.
Philo P. 'Peckham, en]. May i, i861; must.
out Aug. 7, i86i.
Horace L. Perkins, enl. May 1, 186i; must.
out Aug. 7, i861.
Franklin Roberts, enl. May i, i86i; must.
out Aug. 7, i86i.
Calvin D. Strong, enl. May i, 1861; must.
out Aug. 7, i86i.
Joirn D. S-mails, enl. May i, 186i; taken
prisoner at battle of Bull Run, July 21,
i86i; confined in ILibby prison; must. oux
May 20, 1862.
John Sullivan, enl. May i, i861i; must. out
Aug. 7, 186i.
Cady Smith, eni. May i, i86i; must. out,
Au~g. 7, i86i.
Squire S. Skeels, enl. May i, 1861; must.
out Aug. 7, i86i.
Baxter Strong, enl. May i, i86i; must. out
Aug. 7, i86i.
Ross A. Warner, enl. May i, i86i; must. out
Aug. 7, 1 861i.
Robert Williams, enl. May i, i86i; must. out
Aug. 7, i86i.
George Wright, eni. May i, i86i; must. out
Aug. 7, i 86ri.
Ralston Walker, enl. May i, i86i; taken
prisoner at battle of Bull Run, Va., July
21, 1861; confined in Libby prison; must.
out May 20, 1862.


After the muster-ouit of the Three Month-s' men, the First regiment was
reorganized as a three years' regimient. The regiment proceeded to, Washington in September, i86i; wvas. on guard duty during the fall and winter;
in the Pen-insular campaign against Richmond in I&6-2, fighiting at Mechanicsville, Gaines Mill, and Malvern Hill; later at Gainesville and second Bull
Run; at Antietam, in September, i 862, and at Fredericksburg in December. In i863 engaged at Chancellorsville and at Gettysburg. In i864, at




260


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Alsop's Farm, Spottsylvania, North Anna, Jericho Mills, Cold Harbor; and
in the engagements centering about and including Petersburg and the conclusion of the Virginia campaign at Appomattox Court House. Was discharged at Jackson, Michigan, July I2, I865.


MEMBERS      OF   THE    FIRST   INFANTRY (THREE YEARS) FROM
BRANCH COUNTY.
Abram S. Kirkland, 2d lieut.; enl. May 30,
t863; ist lieut. (as sergt.), July 15, 1863;
must. out with regiment, July 9, 1865.
George H. Eggleston, ist lieut.; enl. Aug.
17, I86I; res. March 28, I863.
Alexander Black, Co. E; disch. at Washington, D. C., Jan. 23, I863.
William H. Barnham, Co. E; accidentally
killed, Oct. I8, 1862.
Henry C. Babcock, Co. E.
William F. Braddock, Co. E; must. out July
9, I865.
Robert W. Baker, Co. C; disch.
John N. Bunker, Co. E; died of disease,
Washington, D. C., July 13, I863.
Joseph D. Bennett, Co. E; disch. to re-enl.
as veteran, Feb. 17, I864.
James Corey, Co. E; died of disease at Annapolis, Md., March 7, I862.
Edward Curtis, Co. E; must. out July 9,
1865.
Daniel Cook, Co. E; disch. at Fort Schuyler,
Jan. 23, 1863.
John Clarke, Co. E; disch. at expiration of
service, Oct. 1o, 1864.
Ira S. Chappell, Co. E; disch. to re-enl. as
veteran, Dec. 25, I863; must. out July 9,
I865.
James G. Depue, Co. E; died in action at
Bull Run, Va., Aug. 30, 1862.
Theodore Davis, Co. E; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 9, I864.
Crayton D. Eldred, Co. E; disch.
Jared Evans, Co. E; died of disease in
Washington, D. C., May 3, 1864.
Beech N. Fisk, Co. E; disch. at expiration of
service, Sept. I6, 1864.
David Fox, Co. E; disch. at expiration of.service, Oct. 30, I864; was in battles of
Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville.
George Hillman, Co. E; died in action at
Bull Run, Aug. 30, i862.
Francis E. Hadley, Co. E; disch. by order,
Dec. 15, I862.
Amos Hunt, Co. C; disch. for disability,
April o0, 1863.
Abram S. Kirkland, Co. E; disch. to re-enl.
as veteran, Feb. 17, 1864; must. out July
9, I865.
James Lauver, Co. E; disch. May I, I862.
Simeon P. Miles, Co. C; died in action at
Bull Run, Va., Aug. 30, I862.
James M. Vane, Co. E; died of disease in
Richmond, Jan. 15, I864.


William  J. Moody, Co. E; must. out July
9, i865.
Martin J. Miney, Co. E; disch. to re-enl. as
veteran, Feb. 17, I864.
Oscar Nash, Co. A; disch. to re-enl. as
veteran, Feb. 17, I864.
Ludovic Nye, Co. E; disch. Sept. 8, I862.
George F. Niverson, Co. E; disch. at Potomac Creek, Jan. 3, 1863.
Theodore E. Oliver, Co. C; disch. Nov. 17,
I862.
Henry C. Odell, Co. D; disch. to re-enl. as
veteran, Dec. 25, I863.
Byron Potter, Co. E; killed in action at
Bull Run, Aug. 30, I862.
Ansel J. Potter, Co. E; died of disease,
Washington, D. C., Aug. 20, I863.
James E. Perry, Co. E; disch.
David C. Reynolds, Co. E; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 9, I864.
Hazelton Saunders, Co. E; disch. Jan. 21,
1862.
Hiram Sweet, Co. E; died in action at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863.
James C. Smith, Co. E; disch. for disability,
Feb. 9, I863.
George H. Skinner, Co. E; disch. Jan. 3,
I863.
Nehemiah Spencer, Co. E; disch. to re-enl.
as veteran, Dec. 25, 1863.
C. A. Tompkins, Co. E; disch. at expiration
of service, Oct. 30, 1864.
George F. Trumbull, Co. E; disch. Nov. 17,
I862.
Burnet A. Tucker, Co. E; died of wounds in
Washington, D. C., Sept. 10, 1862.
Horace M. Withington, Co. E; died in action
at Bull Run, Aug. 30, I862.
Emmet R. Wood, Co. E; died in action at
Bull Run, Aug. 30, I862.
Eugene Wilson, Co. E; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 9, 1864.
Jefferson Woods, Co. E; disch. to re-enl. as
veteran, Dec. 25, I863; must. out July 9,
I865.
Willard Whitney, Co. E; disch. to re-enl. as
veteran, Feb. 17, 1864; must. out July 9,
i865.
William Whalen, Co. E; disch. to re-enl. as
veteran, Feb. 17, I864.
Levi Webb, Co. B; died of disease at Burr
Oak, Mich., Feb. 17, I865.
Henry E. Whitney, Co. E; died of disease
at Washington, D. C., Ja'n. 2, 1863.
Leonard Whitmoyer, Co. B; must. out July
9, i865..                    i
David Williams, Co. C; discharged for disability, Nov. I, 1862.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


261


The Seventh Michigan Infantry, organized in summer of I86i, and
sent to Virginia, participated at Ball's Bluff, and in I862 was in the siege
of Yorktown, the battle of Fair Oaks, and in the " Seven Days' Fight," culminating at Malvern Hill; in second Bull Run, South Mountain and Antietam, and foremost in the action at Fredericksburg; was at Chancellorsville and in the Gettysburg campaign; in I864 was in the Wilderness, at
Spottsylvania Court House, at Cold Harbor, and other actions about Richmond; and was in the siege of Petersburg and constantly fighting almost to
the day of Lee's surrender. The regiment was disbanded at Jackson, Michigan, July 7, I865.


MEMBERS OF THE SEVENTH INFANTRY FROM BRANCH COUNTY.
Jeremiah Buys, Co. K; died of disease at
Alexandria, Va., Dec. 15, 1862.
Hezekiah Brooks, Co. K; must. out July 5,
i865.
William H. Burns, Co. K; died of wounds at
Antietam, Md., Sept. 17, i862.
David Blanchard, Co. K; disch. for disability,
June Io, 1865.
Albert A. Blanchard, Co. K; must. out July
5, i865.
Horace Calhoun, Co. I; died of wounds at
White Oak Swamp, June 30, 1862.
Chauncey G. Cole, Co. I; must. out July 5,
I865.
Nelson W. Clark, Co. K; disch. by order,
July 21, I865.
Daniel Clouse, Co. K; must. out July 5,
i865.
Alonzo Converse, Co. K; must. out July 5,
1865.
Madison J. Eggleston, Co. K; must. out July
5, 1865.
Lewis Fry, Co. K; disch. by order, June
24, 1865.
Samuel Fry, Co. I; disch. by order, July 31,
i865.
John B. Ford, Co. K; missing in action, Aug.
25, I864.
Fred H. Gould, Co. I; died of disease near
Yorktown, Va., May I3, 1862.
Alonzo Glass, Co. I; died of wounds at
South Anna River, Va., June I, 1864.
John Green, Co. K; must. out July 5, 1865.
Charles R. Green, Co. K; disch. to re-enl. as
vet., Dec. I8, I863.
Oliver Green. Co. K; missing in action,
June 2, 1864.
Lorenzo Gates, Co. K; died of wounds Sept.
25, 1862.
Lorenzo C. Hurd, Co. K; disch. for disability, Nov. 24, 1862.
Edwin E. Howard, Co. C; disch. for disability, Nov. I, I861.
Onias Hopkins, Jr., Co. K; disch. May,
1863.
James Hopkins, Co. I: missing at Cold Harbor, Va., June 9, I864.


Nathaniel Hopkins, Co. K; transferred to
Vet. Res. Corps, April o1, 1864.
Daniel Holbrook, Co. K; missing at Hatcher's Run, Va., Oct. 28, 1864.
William J. Leary, Co. I; died of wounds at
Fair Oaks, Va., May 3I, 1862.
William Latta, Co. K; died of disease at
Washington, Nov. 8, I862.
David S. Meddaugh, Co. K; disch. Dec. 25,
i86i.
John Monroe, Co. K; died at Andersonville,
Ga., Sept. 5, 1864.
Mahlon Meyer, Co. I; died of disease in summler, I862.
Thomas Miller, Co. K; missing at Hatcher's
Run, Oct. 28, 1864.
Darius Monroe, Co. K; disch. by order, May
31: i865.
Truman E. Mason, Co. K; disch. to enl. in
U. S. Cav., Oct. 21, 1862.
Walter Nichols, Co. K; disch. to re-eul. as
vet., Dec. I8, I863.
James Pepper, Jr., Co. K; must. out July 5,
i865.
George Pedler, Co. K; must. out July 5,
i865.
Joseph Pullman, Co. K; disch. by order, Jan.
I3, I865.
William  Queer, Co. K; must. out July 5,
I865.
Hiram   Refner, Co. B; must. out July 5,
I865.
Henry Rogers, Co. K; died of disease at
Windmill Point, Va., Jan. 7, I863.
Clark Reynolds, Co. C; died in action at
Antietam, Md., Sept. 17, 1862.
Justin Shaply, Co. K; died Jan. 29, i862.
Andrew J. Silliway, Co. I; died of disease
at Washington, D. C., July I, 1864.
Edbert Schemerhorn, Co. K; disch. May 25,
i865.
James Sheffield, Co. K; must. out July 5,
I865.
Thomas Silliway, Co. K; must. out July 5,
i865.
Levi R. Tuttle, Co. K; disch. at expiration of
service, Aug. 22, 1864.
John Taggott, Co. K; must. out July 5,
i865.


-"






262


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


William  B. Valade, Co. D; missing at  Stacey F. Weatherby, Co. K; disch. by order,
Hatcher's Run. Va., Oct. 28, 1864.     July 21, 1865.
Zachary Wells, Co. I; must. out July 5, I865.
The Ninth Infantry, raised in 186I, was sent to Kentucky in October;
was stationed at Fort Donelson, Nashville, Murfreesboro, a portion of the
regiment being captured at Murfreesboro; participated at Stone River and
Chickamauga. In December, I863, the regiment re-enlisted as a veteran organization. In I864 was in all the operations of the Army of the Cumberland in Georgia and Tennessee, returning from      Atlanta to Chattanooga,
and then to Nashville, where it was mustered out September 15, I865.


MEMBERS OF THE NINTH INFANTRY
FROM BRANCH COUNTY.
John G. Parkhurst, Coldwater, lieut.-col.;
enl. Sept. Io, 1861; captured at Murfreesboro', Tenn., July 13, 1862; released Dec.
3, 1862; col., Feb. 6, I863; brevt. brig.-gen.,
May 22, 1865; must. out Nov. Io, I865.
Mortimer Mansfield, Coldwater, Ist lieut.;
enl. Oct. 12, I86I; capt., Jan. 7, 1862; captured at Murfreesboro', Tenn., July 13,
I862; released Aug. 8, I862; must. out
Sept. 15, I865.
William A. Hull, Coldwater, 2d lieut.; enl.
Oct. 12, I86I; Ist lieut., Feb. 8, I862; captured at Murfreesboro', July 13, I862; released Dec. 3, 1862; capt., April 9, 1863;
resigned Aug. 22, I864, to enter gunboat
service.
Charles W. Bennett, Quincy, 2d lieut.; enl.
Jan. I7, I863; capt. in U. S. colored troops,
Oct. 26, 1863; brevet major, Oct., 1865;
must. out June 14, I866.
Rev. Joseph Wood, chaplain; enl. Feb. I9,
1864; not mustered.
Robert Eberhard, Co. G; disch. by order,
Sept. 28, I865.
Thomas A. Eberhard, Co. G; must. out Sept.
15s I865.
Charles E. Gregg, Co. E; must. out Sept.
I5, I865.
George Gregg, Co. E; must. out Sept. 15,
i865.
Isaac Gould, Co. F; must. out Sept. I5,
i865.
Dennis Blacken, Co. G; must. out Sept. 15,
I865.
Joseph F. Hill, Co. B; must. out Sept. I5,
i865.
William Hassett, Co. D; must. out Sept. I5,
i865.
Henry Nessey, Co. D; must. out June 20,
I865.
Parker Howes, Co. D; must. out June 20,
I865.
Henry Hungerford, Co. D; must. out Jan.
21, i865.
John S. Haines, Co. D; must. out June 20,
I865.
Puches Hilliar, Co. G; disch. to enl. as veteran, Dec. 7, 1863.


Marion A. Howard, Co. H; must. out Sept.
15, I865.
Charles Jordon, Co. G; died of disease at
West Point, Ky., Dec. I, I86I.
John W. Klotz, Co. D; must. out Sept. I5,
i865.
Henry C. Kenyon, Co. G; must. out Sept.
I5, I865.
William Krapohl, Co. G; must. out Sept. 15,
i865.
John P. Kidney, Co. G; must. out Sept. I5,
I865; came from 4th Inf.
Frank Lester, Co. C; must. out Sept. I5,
I865.
Fred. Lautz, Co. G; must. out Sept. 15,
i865.
Fred. Lipstaff, Co. G; disch. by order, June
20, I865.
Charles P. Lake, Co. K; must. out Sept. 15,
i865.
Henry Lake, Co. K; disch. by order, Sept.
28, I865.
Fred. Miller, Co. H; died of disease at Coldwater, Mich., Feb. I4, I864.
George Mathews, Co. B; must. out Sept. 15,
I865.
Francis McGurk, Co. G; must. out Sept. 15,
I865.
Alex McIntyre, Co. G; disch. by order, June
20, I865.
Daniel R. McKay, Co. G; disch. by order,
June 20, I865.
Henry Melvin, Co. G; disch. by order, June
20, I865.
Alvin Marks, Co. I; must. out Sept. 15, I865.
George H. Newell, N. C. S.; must. out Sept.
15, i865.
Lewis H. Nathans, Co. B; must. out Sept.
15, i865.
Thomas L. Nixon, Co. H; must. out Sept.
15, I865.
Andrew Nupher. Co. G; disch. to enl. as
veteran, Dec. 7, 1863.
Dewitt Pierce, Co. C; must. out Sept. 15,
i865.
Addison J. Peckham, Co. G; must. out Sept.
i5, i865.
Daniel G. Parker, Co. G; must. out Sept. 15,
i865.






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


263


Joseph E. Penner, Co. H; died of disease at
White Pigeon, Mich., Dec. 7, i86i.
Riley Pierce, Co. H; must. out Sept. 15,
I865.
Henry Robinson, Co. K; must. out Sept. 15,
1865.
Jeremiah Rhodes, Co. G; must. out Sept. 15,
i865.
John Ross, Co. G; must. out Sept. I5, 1865.
Charles E. Rhodes, Co. F; must. out Sept.
15, 1865.
David Rodgers, Co. F; must. out Sept. 15,
1865.
Simon Ream, Co. B; must. out Sept. 15,
1865.
George Rogers, Co. B; must. out Sept. 15,
1865.
Adams Reed, Co. B; must. out Sept. I5,
1865.
Barnard L. Rider, Co. K; died of disease at
Nashville, Tenn, May 24, 1865.
James Reynolds, Co. G; died of disease at
Murfreesboro', Tenn., July 13, 1862.
William J. Sternbaugh, Go. G; died of disease at Nashville, Tenn., June 13, 1865.
Barlow  Smith, Co. G; disch. to enlist as
veteran, Dec. 7, 1863.
Charles F. Smith, Co. A; must. out Sept. I5,
1865.
Armonus Springsteen, Co. E; must. out Sept.
15, 1865.
Rudolph Stickler, Co. F; must. out Sept.
15, I865.
Bernard Schlieting, Co. G; disch. Jan. I6,
I865, for pro. in 45th Wis. Vols.
James F. Schemerhorn, Co. G; disch. to enlist as veteran, Dec. 7, 1863.
Levi Sprague, Co. G; must. out Sept. 15,
i865.
Benj. F. Safford, Co. I; disch. by order,
June 20, 1865.
Calvin D. Smith, Co. I; disch. by order, June
20, 1865.
Alex. Tracy, Co. I; must. out Sept. 15, 1865.
Thaddeus Vining, Co. I; disch. by order,
Sept. 28, I865.
Michael Unrah, Co. B; died of disease at
Galien, Mich., Sept., 1862.
B. E. Williams, Co. G; died of disease, June
I, 1864.
Henry Wiser, Co. G; died of disease at
Chattanooga, Tenn., June 3, 1864.
John Winsey, Co. G; died of disease at
Louisville, Ky., Dec. 12, I864.
Henry C. Westfall, Co. B; must. out Sept.
15, i865.
Ira M. Ware, Co. F; must. out Sept. 15,
i865.
Wm. H. Withington, Co. G; must. out Sept.
I5, I865.
Isaac Widemer, Co. G; must. out Sept. I5,
I865.
Carlos Whitmore, Co. G; must. out Sept.
15, I865.


Steward Wilcox, Co. K; disch. by order,
June 20, 1865.
Dyer Wood, Co. K; disch. by order, May
15, i865.
Lanson C. Wilder, Co. K; disch. by order,
June 20. 1865.
Charles H. Yates, Co. G; must. out Sept. 15,
1865.
James Allen, Co. F; must. out Sept. I5,
1865.
Samuel E. Acker, Co. G; disch. March 14,
1865, for promotion in U. S. C. T.
Henry Bennett, Co. B; must. out Sept. 15,
I865.
Peter Bohn, Co. G; must. out Sept. 15, 1865.
Dwight G. Bolster, Co. G; must. out Sept.
15, i865.
Henry Bordenas, Co. G; must. out Sept. 15,
1865.
Charles W. Bennett, Co. G; in battles Stone
River, Chickamauga, Nashville, etc.: promoted. (See officers.)
Jackson Brown, Co. G; disch. by order, Sept.
28, 1865.
Howard Bradley, Co. G; disch. for disability,
Sept. 24, i862.
William E. Bennett, Co. K; must. out Sept.
15, 1865.
Eli Bowen, Co. K; must. out Sept. 15, I865.
Oren Bowen, Co. K; disch. by order, Sept.
25, 1865.
James Barnes, Co. G; disch. for disability,
Sept. 20, I862.
Winton B. Brooks, Co. K; must. out Sept.
15, I865.
Charles W. Babbitt, Co. K; must. out Sept.
15, I865.
Reuben S. Babbitt, Co. K; disch. by order,
May I2, I865.
James Callaghan, Co. B; must. out Sept. I5,
1865.
Nelson 0. Caroyl, Co. B; must. out Sept. I5,
1865.
Lebannah E. Corder, Co. B; must. out. Sept.
I5, I865.
William Cannady, Co. B; must. out Sept. 15,
i865.
Lester 0. Chapman, Co. G; must. out Sept.
15, i865.
Charles Conrad, Co. G; died of disease at
Coldwater, Mich., Aug. 15, i862.
Stillman Crandall, Co. I; must. out Sept. 15,
i865.
Wm. A. Clark, Co. D; died of disease at
Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 29, I862.
Henry Crippen, Co. I; must. out Sept. 15,
I865.
Herbert B. Davis, Co. G; died of disease
April I, 1864, at Chattanooga, Tenn.
Isaac Doughty, Co. B; must. out Sept. 15,
I865.
Wiillam J. Dyer, Co. D; disch. by order,
Sept. 29, 1865.




264


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Melvin Dickinson, Co. C; disch. by order,
Sept. 9, 1865.
Francis Duning, Co. F; must. out Sept. I5,
I865.
Andrew Demarest, Co. G; must. out Sept.
15, 1865; disch. to enlist as veteran, Dec.
7, I863.
George W. Demarest, Co. G: must. out Sept.
I5, I865.


Henry J. Dufres, Co. G; disch. by order,
Feb. IO, I865.
Lafayette Davis, Co. H; must. out Sept. 15,
1865.
James D. Edwards, Co. C; must. out Sept.
I5, I865.
William  Eberhard, Co. G; must. out Sept.
15, i865.


The Eleventh Michigan Infantry, to which Branch county contributed
Companies B and H, and most of Company D, was organized in I86I and
sent to Kentucky in December of that year. The first severe engagement
was Stone River; iil I863 at Chickamauga; was foremost in the charge up
Missionary Ridge; soon after with General Sherman in the Atlanta campaign and battles up to the capture of that city. Was mustered out at Sturgis, Sept. 13, 1864, but reorganized March I8, I865, and was in Tennessee
mainly on guard duty until middle of September. The regiment was disbanded at Jackson, Mich., Sept. 23, 1865.


MEMBERS OF ELEVENTH INFANTRY
(OLD ORGANIZATION) FROM
BRANCH COUNTY.
Melvin Mudge. Quincy, capt., Co. B; enl.
Aug. 24, I861; lieut.-col., Jan. 7, 1863;
must. out at end of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Charles Moase, Bronson, capt., Co. G; enl.
Aug. 24, I86I; res. Feb. 14, 1862; reappointed Feb. 14, 1862; res. Nov. 14, 1862.
John L. Hackstaff, Coldwater, capt., Co. H;
enl. Aug. 24, I86i; res. March ii, 1862.
Jerome Bowen, Quincy, 1st lieut., Co. B; enl.
Aug. 24, I861; res. Nov. 26, 1862.
Samuel C. Mills, Coldwater, 1st lieut., Co.
H; enl. Aug. 24, I86I; res. June 24, 1862.
Miles Warren, Quincy, 2d lieut., Co. H; enl.
Aug. 24, I861; res. Feb. 8, 1862.
Theo. P. Kessler, Bronson. 2d lieut., Co. H;
enl. Aug. 24, i861; res. Feb. 12, I862.
Leonidas E. Mills, Coldwater, 2d lieut., Co.
H; enl. Aug. 24, I86I; res. June 23, 1862.
Francis M. Bissell, Quincy, 2d lieut., Co. B;
enl. Feb. 19, 1862; ist lieut., Nov. 26, 1862;
capt., Jan. 7, 1863; disch. for disability,
June 4, I864.
Linus T. Squire, Quincy, 2d lieut., June 24,
1862; ISt lieut., Jan. I, I863; adjt., Aug.
3, 1863; must. out at end of service, Sept.
30, 1864.
Edward W. Catlin, Algansee, 2d lieut.; enl.
March 12, 1862; 1st lieut., Dec. Io, I862;
capt., Jan. 13, I864; died of wounds received Aug. 7, 1864, near Atlanta, Ga.
Benj. F. Hart, Bronson, 1st lieut., Co. D; ernl.
Jan. 9, T864; must. out Sept. 30, 1864.
Chauncey E. Koon, Allen, 2d lieut., Co. B;


H; enl. Aug. 3, I863; must. out at end of
service, Sept. 30, I864.
Henry C. Adams, Coldwater, 2d lieut.; enl.
March I, I865; must. out Sept. 16, I865.
Irving S. Graham, Quincy, 2d lieut.; enl.
June I, I865; must. out Sept. I6, 1865.
Frank H. Lane, Bronson, capt.; enl. Jan.
7, 1863; dismissed July 13, 1864.
Herman C. Adams, Co. B; disch. by order
to Vet. Res. Corps, Aug. i, I863.
Jesse Belcher, Co. B; trans. to i6th Micli.
Inf., Sept. 20, i86i.
Augustus Barjerow, Co. B; disch. to enlist
in regular service, Nov. 25, 1862.
Henry C. Bennett, Co. B; disch. for disability, June 4, 1862.
Levi Busley, Co. B; disch. for disability, July
I, 1862.
Oliver Busley, Co. B; died in action at
Stone River, Dec. 31, 1862.
Nathaniel E. Burch, Co. B; died of disease at
Bardstown, Ky., Feb. II, I862.
Marcius J. Bissell, Co. B; died of disease at
Bardstown, Ky., March i6, 1862.
Jerry M. Burleson, Co. B; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, I864.
Joseph A. Bowen, Co. B; discharged by order, May 31, I865.
Ozro A. Bowen, Co. B; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, I864.
Andrew Clark, Co. B; died of disease at
Belmont Furnace, Ky., April i8, 1862.
Thomas Clark, Co. B; disch. for disability,
Sept. 15, 1862.
Christopher Conly, Co. B; disch. for disability, Occt. I8, 1862.


enl. Nov. 26, 1862; Ist lieut., Jan. 7, I863;  Wm... Cummings; died of wounds at Chatcapt., Jan. 17, 1864; must. out at end of     tanooga, Tenn., Nov. 25, I863.
service, Sept. 30, 1864.                    William Clemens, Co. B; trans. to Vet. Res.
James C. Cushman, Bronson, ist lieut., Co.      Corps, Nov. i, 1863.: ~~,ii —;  ~; ~-:;;; ~~;:: ~                -




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


265


George W. Catlin, Co. B; trans. to I6th Mich.
Inf., Sept. 20, i86I.
John F. Cole, Co. B; disch. at expiration of
service, Sept. 30, i864.
Lyran L. Cole, Co. B; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, I864.
James B. Daggett, Co. B; trans. to I6th Mich.
Inf., Sept. 20, I86I.
Eugene Debois, Co. B; disch. for disability,
Nov. 20, I862.
Henry S. Danks, Co. B; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, I864.
Melvin T. Edmonds, Co. B; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
William H. Emens, Co. B; disch. for disability, April 19, I863.
Wilbur S. Harding, Co. B; disch. for disability, May 14, 1863.
Samuel Hedge, Co. B; died of disease at
Nashville, Tenn., Jan. 28, 1863.
Edwin J. Hull, Co. B; disch. for minority,
Sept. o0, I862.
Andrew J. Hawse, Co. B; disch. for minority,
Sept. 10, 1862.
Daniel Haynes, Co. B; died Jan. 2, I863, of
wounds received at Stone River.'
William  W. Johnson, Co. B; died Dec. 31,
i862.
Francis Jerome, Co. B; disch. for disability,
Feb. II, 1863.
William Kerr; died of disease, at Murfreesboro, Tenn., Feb. 13, 1863.
Adelbert E. Lockwood, Co. B; disch. for disability June 4, i862.
John McGinnis, Co. B; disch. for disability.
Levi McGinnis, Co. B; died at Murfreesboro',
Feb. 4, 1863, of wounds.
Edward C. McDonald, Co. B; disch. for disability, Oct. 4, 1862.
Halsey Miller, Co. B; disch. at expiration of
service, Sept. 30, 1864
Fred. Maltman, Co. B; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Orrin P. Nichols, Co. B; died in action at
Stone River, Dec. 31, 1862.
Derry Nichols, Co. B; disch. at expiration of
service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Milo D. Niles, Co. B; disch. at expiration of
service, Sept. 30, I864.
Joseph W. Perkins, Co. B; died of disease at
Bardstown, Ky., Feb. 8, I862.
Charles V. Patterson, Co. B; died at Kingston, Ga., of wounds, Aug. 24, I864.
James Pierce, Co. B; died of disease at Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 21, 1862.
Halsey E. Philips, Co. B; disch. for disability.
Ogden B. Philips, Co. B; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, I864.
Menzo Philips, Co. B; disch. at expiration
of service, Dec. 9, I864.
Thomas C. Poynes, Co. B; disch. for disability, Dec. 2, I862.
Edward Poynes, Co. B; disch. for disability
March 9, I863.


Edwin Poynes, Co. B; disch. at expiration of
service; Sept. 30, I864.
Aaron J. Parsons, Co. B; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Charles A. Reed, Co. B; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, I864.
George N. R. Runyon, Co. B; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, I864.
William I. Rogers, Co. B; trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps.
Ansel, Rich, Co. B; taken prisoner at Chickamauga; died at Andersonville, Ga.
Roseo Somes, Co. B; disch. for disability,
June 4, I862.
David Sidley, Co. B; disch. for disability,
July i, 1862.
George Slayton, Co. B; disch. to enlist in
regular service, Nov. 25, I862.
Peter L. Schwartz, Co. B; disch, to enlist in
regular service, Nov. 25, 1862.
George Schwartz, Co. B; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, I864.
Martin Schwartz, Co. B; died at Litchfield,
Mich., Feb. 5, 1864.
James Sweezey, Co. B; disch, at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Melvin Shear, Co. B; disch, at expiration of
service, Sept. 30, 1864.
John G. Scripture, Co. B; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, I864.
Joseph T. Tindall, Co. B; disch. for disability, Oct. 28, I862.
William H. Tindall, Co. B; died at Murfreesboro', of wounds.
George W. Taylor, Co. B; trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps.
Jonathan S. Tindall, Co. B; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
George Turpin, Co. B; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, I864.
George Upton, Co. B; died of disease at
Nashville, Tenn., May 23, I862.
Geo. W. Van Valkenberg, Co. B; died at
Annapolis, Md., Feb. 5, 1863.
James M. Van Camp, Co. B; disch. by order,
Jan. 31, I863.
Tracy Vaughn; trans. to i6th Mich. Inf.,
Sept. 20, i86i.
Jasher Williams, Co. B; died of disease at
Bardstown, Ky., March 22, 1862.
John C.   Veller, Co. B; disch. for disability,
Aug. Io, I862.
John Welch, Co. B; disch. for disability,
April 17, 1863.
Washington Whitney, Co. B; disch. by order,
May 29, i865.
William A. Wheeler, Co. B; was in battle
of Stone River; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps;
disch. in 1864.
Andrew Bair, Co. C; disch. for disability,
Dec. 9, I86i.
Hubbard F. Buffum, Co. D; disch. for disability, June 28, I862.






266


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Henry Burleson, Co. D.
David G. Burleson, Co. D; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Samuel A. Clark, Co. D; died of disease,
April i, I862.
Jesse J. Christy, Co. D; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
John W. Coe, Co. D; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, i864.
George Chandler, Co. C; disch. for disability,
Feb. I3, I862.
Henry C. Cady, Co. C; trans. to Medical
Department, April i, 1862.
Jehiel Driggs, Co. D; disch. for disability,
May I9, 1862.
A. M. Dusenberry, Co. D; died of disease,
Feb. 16, 1862.
Oliver Evarts, Co. D; died of disease at
Nashville, Tenn., March 28, 1863.
Lyman Evans, Co. D; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Charles W. Eggleston, Co. D; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
James Ensign, Co. A; missing in action at
Chickamauga, Sept. I, 1863.
William H. Edwards, Co. D; disch. for disability, Aug. 14, 1862.
George W. Griffin, Co. D; disch. for disability, March 6, I863.
Anson T. Gilbert, Co. D; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
John George, Co. D; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
John A. Gary, Co. C; died of wounds at
Atlanta, Ga., Aug. 7, 1864.
John Henigan, Co. D; died of disease, March
28, I862.
Richard M. Hines, Co. D; died of disease,
Jan. 25, 1862.
John Henderson, Co. D; disch. for disability,
June o1, I862.
Daniel W. Holbrook, Co. A; disch. for disability, Oct. 28, 1863.
Harry N. Hamilton, Co. D; disch. for disability, Dec. 4, 1863.
Charles Hamilton, Co. D; trans. to Vet.
Res. Corps, Feb. I, 1864.
William L. Hoxie, Co. D; died in action
at Davis' Cross-Roads, Ga., Sept. II, 1863.
Charles D. Hamner, Co. D; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Wellington Henderson, Co. D; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Henry E. Hallrewer, Co. D; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, I864.
Jacob E. Kenbarger, Co. D; disch. by order,
May 29, I865.
Wnm. H. T. Kellum, Co. D; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Melvin J. Lyon, Cb. D; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Samuel W. Loring, Co. D; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Charles W. Leigh, Co. A; disch. by order.


Gordon Lynch, Co. C; disch. for minority,
Nov. 6, i86i.
Thomas McLaughlin, Co. D; disch. for disability, Oct. 30, I862.
Jerome Milliman, Co. D; disch. for disability.
William  H. Melville, Co. C; trans. to Vet.
Res. Corps, March 15, I864.
Harmon Otto, Co. D; disch. at expiration of
service, Sept. 30, I864.
Henry Patten, Co. C; disch. at expiration of
service, Sept. 30, I864.
John W. Purdy, Co. D; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Charles E. Purdy, Co. D; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, I864.
Jacob Peeler, Co. D; trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps, Dec. Io, 8I63.
John W. Quayle, Co. D; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Clarkson Robinson, Co. D; disch. for disability, Oct. 30, 1862.
George L. Smith, Co. D; disch. for disability,
Feb. 20, 1862.
Stephen Shippy, Co. D; died of disease, Feb.
8, I862,
Daniel A. Shippy, Co. D; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
David R. Smith, Co. D; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Homer C. Smith, Co. D; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Joseph Tubbs, Co. D; discharged for disability, June 20, I862.
William Tice, Co. D; disch. for disability,
Feb. 28, 1863.
Charles A. Wilber, Co. D; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Wallace Wilber, Co. D; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, I864.
Ephraim Warden, Co. D; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, I864.
John H. Alsdorf, Co, H; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, I864.
Mathew Adams, Co. H; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Solomon B. Alsdorf, Co. H; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
William Black, Co. H; died of disease, Feb.
19, I862.
Franklin Bennett, Co. H; died of disease at
Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 25, I862.
George Blair, Co. H; disch, for disability,
May 14, i862.
Eugene Barton, Co. H; disch. by civil authority, Sept. 27, i86i.
William Burroughs, Co. H; disch, for disability, July, 1863.
William Brown, Co. H; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Alfred G. Brown, Co. H; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
John Bennett, Co. H; disch. at expiration of
service, Sept. 30, 1864.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


267


Stephen Burleson, Co. H; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Chester Bates, Co. H; disch. at expiration of
service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Alphonzo Bush, Co. H; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
William Chamberlain, Co. H; died in action
at Stone River, Tenn., Dec. 31, i86i.
George W. Carleton, Co. H; died of disease,
May 12, 1862.
Henry Crull, Co. H; died of disease, Feb. 9,
I862.
Hiram Cusic, Co. H; died of disease at Nashville, Tenn., Aug. o1, I863.
Aretus Corwin, Co. H; disch. for disability,
June 26, 1862.
Horace Crull, Co. H; disch. for disability,
April 9, i862.
Richard Chamberlain, Co. H; disch. for disability, April 29, I862.
Abel Coon, Co. H; disch. at expiration of
service, Sept. 30, 1864.
William J. Dates, Co. H; died of disease,
March 22, I862.
Orlando Derry, Co. H; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, I864.
Seth L. Dusenberry, Co. H; disch. at expiration of service. Sept. 30, 1864.
Benj. Eastman, Co. H; died near Atlanta,
Ga., of wounds, Aug. 7, 1864.
John Franklin, Co. H; disch. to enl. in regular service, Dec. 8, 1862.
William W. Fell, Co. H; disch. for disability,
Jan. 26, 1864.
Edwin S. Franklin, Co. H; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, I864.
George Franklin, Co. H; disch. by order,
Sept. I, I863.
Walter M. Graves, Co. H; died near at Atlanta, Ga., of wounds, Aug. 7, 1864.
William  H. Gould, Co. H; died of disease,
Feb. 2, I862.
James H. Griffin, Co. H; died of disease, Jan.
28, I862.
Chauncey B. Green, Co. H; died in action at
Stone River, Dec. 31, 1863.
George W. Geyer, Co. H; died in action at
Stone River, Dec. 31, 1863.
Edwin A. Green, Co. H: disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
George S. Griffin, Co. H; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
John Green, Co. H; disch. for disability,
Sept. I6, i86I.
Stillman Hedge, Co. H; died of disease at
Annapolis, Md.
Edwin Higgins, Co. H; disch. for disability.
Solomon Haynes, Co. H; disch. for disability, Nov. 9, 1863.
Albert Hewes, Co. H; disch. at expiration of
service, Sept. 30, 1864.
James M. Harris, Co. H; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, 1864.


Albert E. Knappen, Co. H; died of disease at
Louisville, Ky., May I6, I862.
Edward S. Knappen, Co. H; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
John Kesler, Co. H; disch. to enl. in regular
service, Dec. 8, 1862.
Anthony Leversoe, Co. H; died of disease at
Bardstown, Ky., Feb. Io, I862.
Marvin Malleson, Co. H; died of disease at
Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 24, I862.
Fay Mead, Co. H; died at Chattanooga,
Tenn., of wounds, Jan. 27, 1864.
Robert Machin, Co. H; died at Chattanooga,
Tenn., of wounds.
Wm. Harrison iMudge, Co. H; disch, for disability, Aug. 24, I862.
James Martin, Co. H; disch. at expiration of
service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Newton Mitchell, Co. H; disch. at expiration of service. Sept. 30, I864.
George S. McKnight, Co. H; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, I864.
Dennis Myswick, Co. H; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
John E. Nichols, Co. H; disch. for disability,
Aug. 9, I862.
Warren H. Newburg, Co. H; died of disease
at Nashville, Tenn., June 30, 1863.
William Portors, Co. H; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Samuel Phelps, Co. H; disch. for disability,
June 23, I862.
William P. Reynolds, Co. H; disch. at expiration of service, May 3, 1865.
Lorenzo D. Reynolds, Co. H; disch. for disability, March 14, 1863.
Irving A. Sheldon, Co. H; died of disease at
Murfreesboro', Tenn., Jan. I8, 1863.
Franklin Stearns, Co. H; died of disease,
March IO, 1863.
Edwin H. Seabury, Co. H; disch. for disability, July 7, 1864.
Anthony Stevenson, Co. H; died of disease
at Bardstown, Ky., Feb. Io, I862.
Abram Stowell. Co. H; trans. to Andrews'
Battery.
Abram E. Stowell, Co. H; trans. to Battery
F, Ist Lt. Art., Oct. 20, i86i.
Grove M. Tyler, Co. H; died of disease,
March IO, 1862.
Charles O. Twist, Co. H; disch. for disability,
June 28, i86i.
Alson A. Tifft, Co. H; disch. for disability,
Nov. 21, 1863.
Andrew M. Turner, Co. H; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Edward A. Turner, Co. H; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Zibina G. Trim, Co. H; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, I864.
Joseph Turner, Co. H; died of disease at
White Pigeon, Dec. 7, i86i.
~Harvey Vanderhoff, Co. H; died at Murfreesboro', Tenn., Feb. 4, I863, of wounds.::;; ';




268


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Harvey E. Warren, Co. H; died of disease
at Bardstown, Ky., Feb. 2, I862.
Warren Wilcox, Co. H; died of disease at
Bardstown, Ky., Jan. 15, I86I.
Wm. L. Wheeler, Co. H; died of disease at
White Pigeon, Mich., Nov. 9, i861.
Aaron O. Wood, Co. H; disch. for disability,
May 25, 1862.
Charles Whitehead, Co. H; disch. for disability, June 26, 1862.
Samuel E. Warren, Co. H; disch. for disability, June 29, I862.
Johnson Willson, Co. H; disch. for disability,
Oct. 21, I862.
Charles Webb, Co. H; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Charles Wilson, Co. H; disch. at expiration
of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Stephen V. Warren, Co. H; trans. to Vet.
Res. Corps, Sept. I, I863.
MEMBERS OF THE ELEVENTH INFANTRY (NEW ORGANIZATION)
FROM BRANCH COUNTY.
Samuel A. Arnold, Co. A; died of disease at
Chattanooga, Tenn., March 24, 1865.
Adam E. Akenhead, Co. B; must. out Sept.
16, I865.
Giles A. Bixler, Co. A; must. out Sept. 16,
1865.
Laurenberg B. Brown, Co. B; must. out Sept.
I6, 1865.
David H. Brennan, Co. B; must. out Sept.
I6, I865.
John Babb, Co. B; must. out Sept. 16, 1865.
Joseph A. Bowen, Co. B; must. out May 26,
i865.
George W. Burdick, Co. B; must. out Sept.
30, I865.
Lafayette Barton, Co. B; must. out Sept. 30,
I865.
Obadiah Blass, Co. F; died of disease at
Nashville, Tenn., April I, 1865.
Henry E. Burnside, Co. F; must. out Sept.
14, i865.
Joseph B. Badger, Co. F; must. out May 16,
I865.
Alvah J. Belote, Co. I; must. out Sept. I4,
I865.
Israel L. Bullock, Co. I; must. out Sept. 16,
I865.
Edwin Bundy, Co. I; must. out Sept. 16, I865.
Benj. F. Barber, Co. I; must. out Sept. 16,
I865.
Herman Crawford, Co. B; died of disease at
Chattanooga, Tenn., April 17, 1865.
Fred B. Cutler, Co. B; died of disease at
Jackson, Mich., May 24, 1865.
Augustus F. Clark, Co. B; must. out Sept. I6,
1865.
Charles N. Carpenter, Co. A; must. out Sept.
I6, 1865.
Frank Cockley, Co. F; must. out Sept. 16;
I865.                               j.  Ij


Jonas C. Cheney, Co. F; must out Sept. I6,
1865.
William L. Craft, Co. I; must. out Sept. I6,
I865.
James A. Corey, Co. I; must. out Sept. I6,
I865.
Obadiah Davis, Co. F; died of disease at Cincinnati, Ohio, July 8, 1865.
Manly Dunham, Co. B; must. out Sept. i6,
1865.
Harvey Dubois, Co. B; must. out Sept. I6,
1865.
Michael Dunn, Co. D; must. out Sept. i6,
I865.
Henry C. David, Co. I; must. out Sept. I6,
I865.
Charles Davis, Co. F; must. out Aug. 29,
I865.
Charles W. Eggleston, Co. F; must. out Sept.
I6, I865.
William H. Francis, Co. F; must. out May
I8, I865.
Joseph Failing, Co. B; died of disease at
Chattanooga, Tenn., April 24, I865.
Francis Graham, Co. A; must. out Sept. i6,
I865.
Charles Greenman, Co. F; died of disease
at Nashville, Tenn., April 12, 1865.
Thomas Gunthrop, Co. F; must. out Sept.
14, i865.
John A. Gregg, Co. F; must. out Sept. i6,
1865.
Augustus Gorham, Co. I; must. out Sept. I6,
I865.
Sherebriah Hayward, Co. B; died of disease
at Jackson, Mich., May 24, 1865.
Norman F. Henry, Co. B; died of disease at
Chattanooga, May I, i865.
Anthony K. Hower, Co. B; must. out Sept.
i6, I865.
Elmer E. Hibbard, Co. B; must. out Sept.
I6, I865.
John S. Houston, Co. F; died of disease at
Nashville, Tenn., April 4, I865.
Edward A. Houghtaling, Co. F; must. out
Sept. I6, I865.
Francis M. Hadley, Co. F; must. out Sept.
16, 1865.
James Harrington, Co. E; must. out Sept.
I6, I865.
Alonzo Howe, Co. I; must. out Sept. I6, 1865.
George D. Harding, Co. I; must. out Sept.
16, 1865.
James W. Harris, Co. K; must. out Sept. I6,
I865.
Harlow M. Holcomb, Co. K; must. out July
26, I865.
Joseph Jenkins, Co. F; died of disease at
Nashville, Tenn., June 6, I865.
Jacob E. Kenbarger, Co. D; disch, by order,
June 20, I865.
Daniel Keeler, Co. B; must. out Sept. I6,
1865.






 --- —— ~-~~-~~t~~i ---~;- ~~-1~- -~-~~:-~;~-~~ - I-~~ ~~;- ~~ ~:~ - ~






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


269


Norris Kellan, Co. F; must. out Sept. I6,
I865.
Benj. P. Lyons, Co. B; must. out Sept. i6,
1865.
Joel Loomis, Co. B; must. out Sept. I6, I865.
Eber Loomis, Co. B; must. out Sept. I6, I865.
Charles Lewis, Co. B; must. out Sept. I6,
I865.
Charles H. Lindsley, Co. I; must. out Sept.
I6, I865.
John E. Mills, Co. B; must. out Sept. I6,
1865.
Lester Miller, Co. B; must. out Sept. I6,
I865.
Joseph L. Milligan, Co. B; must. out Sept.
I6, 1865.
Walter Marshall, Co. B; must. out Sept. I6,
I865.
Zenas Niles, Co. B; died of disease at Nashville, Tenn., April 8, I865.
Gilbert S. Norton, Co. I; must. out Sept. 25,
I865.
Wm. H. Needham, Co. I; must. out Oct. I4,
I865.
Byron Rustine, Co. I; must. out Sept. I6,
1865.
Hiram Rustine, Co. I; must. out Sept. 30,
i865.
Horace J. Robinson, Co. I; died of disease at
Chattanooga, Tenn., May I, I865.
Emmons Russell, Co. C; died of disease at
Naslville, Tenn., May 30, I865.
Albert Richmond, Co. C; must. out Sept. I6,
I865.
Jerome Ralph, Co. B; must. out Sept. I6,
I865.
Charles H. Robinson, Co. B; must. out Sept.
I6, I865.
Solomon W. Robinson, Co. B; must. out
Sept. I6, i865.
Lucien E. Rowe, Co. B; must. out Sept. I6,
I865.
Orlando H. Richardson, Co. B; died of disease at Chattanooga, May I, I865.
William A. Sweetland, Co. B; must. out
Sept. i6, 1865.
John H. Stockwell, Co. B; must. out Sept.
I6, I865.
David A. Steel, Co. B; must. out Sept. I6,
I865.
George W. Sexton, Co. B; must. out Sept.
I6, 1865.
James N. Sorter, Co. B; must. out Sept. I6,
I865.


Andrew Sorter, Co. B; must. out Sept. I6,
I865.
Paul Shiffler, Co. B; must. out Sept. I6, I865.
Charles Stuart, Co. C; must. out July 12,
i865.
William Studley, Co. C; must. out Sept. 16,
i865.
Andrew Sitters, Co. C; must. out Sept. i6,
I865.
Joseph H. Shippy, Co. C; must. out Sept. 30,
i865.
John Smith, Co. E; must. out Sept. I6, I865.
George E. Sherman, Co. I; must. out Sept.
i6, 1865.
John G. Skinner, Co. I; must. out Sept. I6,
1865.
Zebedee Swan, Co. I; must. out Sept. 28,
I865.
George Turpin, Co. I; must. out Sept. I6,
1865.
Martin Vanderhoff, Co. B; must. out Sept.
I6, 1865.
Kilborn Voorhees, Co. B; must. out Sept. I6,
I865.
Jacob A. Vanorys, Co. H; must. out Sept.
I6, I865.
Abraham Vancuran, Co. H; must. out Sept.
i6, i865.
Daniel Wolf, Co. B; died of disease at Cleveland, Ohio, May 29, 1865.
Almon L. Wright, Co. B; died of disease at
Nashville, Tenn., June 27, 1865.
W. Whitney, Co. B; must. out June i6, i865.
Henry W. Waterbury, Co. B; must. out Sept.
I6, i865.
Henry C. Williams, Co. B; must. out Aug. I,
1865.
Wilson Wyland. Co. C; must. out Sept. I6,
i865.
J. W. Walls, Co. E; must. out May 15, I865.
Andrew E. Wilbur, Co. F; must. out Sept.
I6, I865.
Calvin C. Weaver, Co. F; must. out Aug. 12,
i865.
Amos Whitman, Co. I; must. out Sept. i6,
1865.
Storrs Wilbur, Co. I; must. out Sept. I6,
i865.
John Weaver, Co. I; must. out Aug. 7, I865.
William  H. Weller, Co. I; must. out Sept.
T6, I865.
Martin H. Williams, Co. I; must. out Sept.
I6, 1865.


The Fifteenth Michigan Infantry, raised at Monroe and containing 54
men from Branch county, left camp in March, I862, for the western campaigns, participated at Pittsburg Landing in April, 862; at Corinth; in the
siege of Vicksburg; was in Sherman's Atlanta campaign, and also in the
march to the sea and through the Carolinas; was discharged at Detroit,
Sept. i, I865.
*t...                 w; 0




270


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


MEMBERS OF THE FIFTEENTH INFANTRY FROM BRANCH COUNTY.
Rufus Kibbee, surgeon; enl. April 9, I862;
res. Oct. 3, I862.
Benjamin Archer, Co. A; died in action at
Shiloh, Tenn., April 6, I862.
Chauncey Ames, Co. F; must. out Aug. I3,
I865.
John Brower, Co. A; disch. Sept. 8, I862.
Lewis F. Bassett, Co. A; died near Atlanta,
Ga., June 17, I865.
Abner R. Beebe, Co. A; disch. by order, July
o1, I865.
Henry Ballard, Co. B; must. out Aug. 13.
Oscar Bloss, Co. E; disch. by order, Sept.
I, I865.
Daniel S. Burdick, Co. H; must. out Aug. 13,
I865.
Jacob Beam, Co. K; must. out Aug. 13, I865.
George Babcock, Co. K; must. out Aug. 13,
i865.
George W. Clark, Co. A; disch. by order,
Aug. 5, i865.
Martin Cass. Co. G; must. out Aug. 13, 1865.
Horace E. Dalton, Co. A; disch. by order,
Nov. I8, I865.
George W. Fenton, Co. A; disch, for disability, June I4, I862.
Samuel Fry, Co. A; disch. by order, Oct.
I8, 1863.
Edwin J. Fields, Co. A; must. out Aug. 13,
i865.
David Fox, Co. K; must out. Aug. I3, I865.
Samuel A. Grice, Co. H; disch. by order,
May 31, I865.
Miner S. Hoyt, Co. A; died of disease at
Corinth, Miss., May 25, 1862.
Lewis W. Hilton, Co. H; must. out Aug. I3,
i865.
James Holliday, Co. K; must. out Aug. I3,
I865.
Henry Hudson, Co. C; must. out Aug. 13,
I865.
Watslip Kahout, Co. H; must. out Aug. 13,
I865.
Wm. H. Lamberton, Co. H; must. out Aug.
13. I865.
Wesley Morse, Co. A; disch. for disability,
Nov. 26, 1862.
Charles McClure, Co. A; disch. to re-enl. in
Vet. Res. Corps, Feb. 18, I864.
Wilson McClure, Co. A; must. out Aug. 13,
I865.


Simon Mathews, Co. H; must. out Aug. 13,
i865.
Edgar Osburn, Co. K; must. out Aug. I3,
i865.
David Perrin, Co. I; must. out Aug. 13, 1865.
Charles Richey, Co. I; must. out Aug. 13,
I865.
David Rich, Co. K; must. out Aug. 13, I865.
Nelson Richardson, Co. A; disch. for disability, Feb. 28, 1863.
Elijah Ransome, Co. H; must. out Aug. 13,
I865.
David Shook, Co. A; disch. for disability,
March 4, I863.
Edwin J. Start, Co. A; died of disease at
Shiloh, Tenn., June 13, I862.
Edward Sawdey, Co. C; died of disease at
Camp Denison, Ohio, March 8, I865.
Charles Sheldon, Co. G; must. out Aug. 13,
I865.
Amos Stokes, Co. H; must. out Aug. 13, I865.
Sylvester E. Spencer, Co. H; must. out Aug.
13, 1865.
Henry J. Smith, Co. K; must. out Aug. 13,
i865.
John W. Stafford, Co. K; must. out Aug. 13,
I865.
Thomas Shalon, Co. K'; disch. for disability,
June 25, r8-.
James Thornton, Co. H; must. out Aug. I3,
i865.
Jacob H. Terry, Co. K; must. out Aug. 13,
i865.
Charles Thompson, Co. K; must. out Aug.
13, i865.
John Watson, Co. A; died of disease near
Camp Stevenson, Ala., Dec. 15, I863.
Isaac Walburn, Co. A; must. out Aug. 13,
I865.
Thomas C. Winters, Co. A; disch. for disability, Nov. 7, i862.
Joseph Woods, Co. B; must. out Aug. 13,
i865.
Niles Whipple, Co. K; must. out Aug. 13,
I865.
John Warfield, Co. K; disch. by order, May
30, I865.
Charles Wilkinson, Co. K; disch. for disability, June 5, I865.
George S. Warner, Co. K; must. out Aug.
13, I865.


The Sixteenth Michigan Infantry, which contained a small number of
men from Branch, was in the Virginia campaigns, its most important engagements being Malvern Hill. second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg,
the Wilderness and siege of Petersburg. Was disbanded at Jackson, Mich.,
July 25, I865.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


271


MEMBERS OF' THE        SIXTEENTH      INFANTRY FROM BRANCH COUNTY.
Earl M. Aikin, Co. E; died of disease in the
field in Virginia, June 14, i865.
Levi Beecher, Co. E; must. out July 8, 1865.
George W. Catlin, Co. C; died of disease
near Sharpsburg, Va., Oct. 26, 1862.
John W. Croft. Co. I; disch. by order June
I6, I865.
William  Dillon, Co. A; must. out July 8,
I865.
Leonard Dean, Co. E; must. out July 8, I865.
Levi Dicey, Co. E; must. out July 8, 1865.
Evelin Earl, Co. E; must. out July 8, i865.
John C. Geedy, Co. E; must. out July 8, 1865.
Benj. F. Hanford, Co. C; must. out July 8,
i865.


Adam Hower, Co. G; must. out July 8, I865.
Robert Herot, Co. G; must. out July 8, 1865.
Abram Mosier, Co. C.
Alonzo Meyers, Co. C; died of disease at
Davis hosp., N. Y., May 21, I865.
Jesse Mann, Co. H; must. out July 8, I865.
James H. Nye, Co. G; must. out July 8, I865.
Lawrence M. Nye, Co. H; must. out July 8,
I865.
Joseph Rounge, Co. G; disch. by order, June
I3, i865.
Joseph Webb, Co. C; must. out July 8, I865.
John H. Warren, Co. F; must. out July 8,
s865.
Silliman Woodard, Co. F; died of disease at
City Point, Va., April 21, I865.


The Seventeenth Michigan Infantry, which was the first regiment to
leave the state in response to the president's call for "three hundred thousand more" in July, I862, left Detroit in August, I862, for Washington.
Participated at South Mountain and Antietam; in March, I863, was sent
west to Kentucky;,was on duty in the Mississippi valley until March, I864,
when it joined Grant's army in Virginia, and engaged in the Wilderness
battles, at Spottsylvania, and the siege and final assault on Petersburg.
Took part in the grand review and was mustered out at Washington June 3,
I865.


MEMBERS OF THE SEVENTEENTH
INFANTRY FROM BRANCH
COUNTY.
Henry B. Androus, Coldwater, capt., Co. C;
enl. June 17, 1862; captured at Spottsylvania, Va., May I2, 1864; escaped, Jan. 6,
1865; must. out with regt., June 3, I865.
Charles A. Edmonds, Quincy; pro. to capt.,
Co. H, Tune 17, 1862, from Ist lieut., Bat.
A., Ist Lt. Art., May 28, I86I; wounded in
action at South Mountain, Sept. 14, I862;
honorably disch. for wounds, Jan. I6, 1863.
Benjamin F. Clark, Quincy; 2d lieut., Co. I;
enl. June I7, I862; wounded in battle of
South Mountain, Sept. 14, 1862; honorably
disch. for wounds, Jan. I6, 1863.
Daniel Holway, Coldwater; 2d lieut., Co. C;
enl. Feb. 24, I863; pro. to Ist lieut., Sept.
I9, I863; pro. to capt., Jan. 6, I865; bvt.maj., April 2, I865; must. out with reg.,
June 3, i865.
Josiah Billingsby, Coldwater; 2d lieut.; enl.
July 4, 1863; pro. to Ist lieut., Oct. I9,
I863; killed in a skirmish near Knoxville,
Tenn., Nov. 20, I863.
Joseph Bailey, Co. C; died in action at Spottsylvania, Va., May I2, I864.
Charles Barber, Co. H; must. out June 3,
1865.
John Cory, Co. H; must. out June 3, I865.
Charles R. Cory, Co. H; must. out June 3,
1865.


Lyman L. Colby, Co. H; must. out June 3,
I865.
Jesse D. Critchfield, Co. H; disch. for disability, Feb. 4, I863.
Richard C. Chamberlain, Co. C; disch. for
disability, Jan. 5, I863.
Burr Clark, Co. C; must. out by order, June
17, I865.
George M. Dalley, Co. H; died in action at
Spottsylvania, Va., May I2, I864.
John F. Evans, Co. G; died of disease at
Washington, D. C., Feb. 22, 1863.
Milo Greenfield, Co. C; must. out June 3,
I865.
Frisbie Hutchinson, Co. C; disch. by order,
June Io, 1865.
James Heller, Co. H; died in action at South
Mountain, Md., Sept. 14, I862.
Andrew J. Hawse, Co. H; disch. for disability, Dec. 29, I862.
Samuel Harmon, Co. H; disch. for disability,
Feb. 6, I863.
Daniel Heller, Co. H; must. out June 3,
I865.
Moses E. Laughlin, Co. H; taken prisoner in
action at Knoxville, Tenn.; died at Andersonville, Aug. 17, 1864.
William Hilltan, Co. H; missing in action
at Knoxville, Tenn., Nov. 29, I863.
Leonard E. Minor, Co. C; died Dec. 26,
I862, of wounds, at Antietam.:-i. ~_Lil_




272


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Alfred Milnes, Co. C; disch. for disability,
June 3, I865.
Henry McNall, Co. A; disch. for disability,
March 4, 1865.
James K. P. Meddaugh, Co. H; disch. by order, June 5, i865.
John Nepass, Co. H; must. out June 3, 1865.
George Otis, Co. H; disch. for disability,
Feb. 4, I863.
John Petch, Co. C; died in action at Spottsylvania, May I2, 1864.
David S. Piatt, Co. C; died of disease at
Frederickville, Md., Dec. 12, 1862.
Charles F. Potter, Co. H; must. out June 3,
I865.
David Rapp, Co. C; must. out June 3, I865.
Charles Rapp, Co. C; dishonorably disch. by
order, July 15, I865.
Andrew P. Smith, Co. E; died at Andersonville, Ga.
William Sprague, Co. G; trans. to 2d Mich.
Inf.
Henry E. Sisson, Co. H; must. out June 3,
I865.


Alfred J. Teachout, Co. C; disch. for disability, Jan. I, 1863.
Julius M. Tompkins, Co. C; died in action at
Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, I864.
Anson M. Vicory, Co. C; disch. by order,
Feb. 23, 1863.
Wallace Weller, Co. C; trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps, Feb. I5, I864.
Charles Weller, Co. C; must. out June 3,
I865.
Paris C. Whiting, Co. C; must. out June 3,
i865.
William S. Wood, Co. C; must. out June 3,
I865.
George Whitten, Co. C; trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps, May 15, I864.
Garrett C. Whitesides, Co. H; trans. to Vet.
Res. Corps, Feb. 15, 1864.
Aaron V. Waterbury, Co. H; killed by explosion of steamer "Sultana," on Mississippi River, April 28, I865.
Ellis W. Yates, Co. B; died of disease at
Camp Nelson, Ky., March 30, 1864.


The Nineteenth Regiment of Infantry, raised in summer of I862, is of
special interest to Branch county.     Companies C and H       were entirely from
Branch county, besides fifty or sixty men scattered through the other companies.   The commanding officer was Colonel Henry C. Gilbert, of Coldwater, who died from     wounds received in action.    The regiment left for the
front in September, I862, was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland; was
captured in the desperate battle at Franklin, in March, I863; regiment was
reorganized at Camp Chase, Ohio, and was again in the field by June, I863:
in I864 started on the Georgia campaign with Sherman, took part in the siege
and capture of Atlanta, and thence marched to the sea; it engaged in the
Carolina campaign until the surrender of Johnston, and was mustered out
at Washington June o1, I865.
MEMBERS OF THE NINETEENTH IN-              Timothy G. Turner, Coldwater; ist lieut. and
FANTRY FROM BRANCH COUNTY.                 q.-m.; enl. Nov. I8, 1862; res. May 25, 1864.
Henry C. Gilbert, Coldwater; col.; enl. Aug.  James A. Shoecraft, Coldwater; 2d lieut.;
8, i862; died at Chattanooga,'May 24, 1864,  enl. July 28, 1862; Ist lieut., May I, 1863;
of wounds received in action at Resaca,    wounded at Thompson's Station, Tenn.,
Ga., May I5, 1864.                         March 5, I863; res. Jan. II, 1864.
Isaac Coggeshall, Coldwater; chaplain; enl.  Lucius Phetteplace, Coldwater; 2d lieut.; enl.
Aug. 5, i862; res. Sept. 6, 1863.          May I, i863; capt.. Oct. 28, 1863; must. out
Hamlet B. Adams, Coldwater; Ist lieut. and   June 10, 1865, with regt.
adjt.; enl. Aug. 14, 1862; pro. to capt.,  William  M. Norris, Coldwater; 2d lieut.;
May I, 1863; must. out July 5, I865.       enl. Dec. I, 1863; capt., Oct. 28, 1864; res.
Charles P. Lincoln, Coldwater; capt., Co. C;  Nov. 4, 1864.
enl. July 28, 1862; res. April 26, 1864.  Lucien B. Barnhart, Union; 2d lieut.; enl.
George H. White, Coldwater; capt., Co. H;    Jan. 23, 1864; ISt lieut., Oct. 28, 1864; capt.,
enl. July 28, 1862.                        Jan. II, I865; must. out June I, I865, with
Smith W. Fisk, Coldwater; ist lieut.; enl.   regt.
July 28, 1862; res. Jan. 31, 1863.       William  L. Tyler, Batavia; ist lieut.; enl.
Lucius M. Wing, Coldwater; 2d lieut.; enl.   Oct. 28, 1864; capt., Jan. 15, I865; must. out
July 28, 1862; pro. to ISt lieut., May I,  June o1, I865, with regt.
I863; q.-m., May 25, 1864; must. out June  George A. Russell, Girard; ist lieut., Co. C.;
IO, 1865, with regt.                       enl. Oct. 28, 1864; capt., May 8, I865; must.::::; ~;:;~;~;:~-;-~-:~~~~;-;;::~;~;-~-




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


273


out June Io, with regt.; in all the battles
in which the regiment took part, Thompson's Station, Atlanta, Savannah, Bentonville, etc.
Joseph M. Alexander, Coldwater; 2d lieut.;
enl. May 25, I864; ISt lieut. and adjt., June,
I865; must. out June 10, I865, with regt.
John J. Morsman; 2d lieut.; must. out June
10, I865, with regt.
Hamilton S. Miles; 2d lieut.; must. out June
IO, I865, with regt.
Henry Butler; 2d lieut.; must. out June Io,
I865, with regt.
Company C.
Asa Alexander, disch. for disability, July 30,
1863.
IHenry Austin, died of disease at Danville,
Ky., Jan. 5, I863.
Alonzo Berry, died of disease at Nicholasville. Ky., Dec. 27, I862.
Chauncey L. Brown, died of disease at Lexington, Ky., Feb. 9, 1863.
Franklin M. Barnes, must. out June 10, I865.
Samuel Bates, must. out June o1, 1865.
George W. Brown, must. out June Io, I865.
IHenrv Butler, must out June Io, I865.
Alfred Beddell, must. out June Io, I865.
Harris A. Burke, must. out July 5, I865.
J. C. L. Baughman, disch. for disability, May
13, I865.
William H. Bryan, disch. for disability, May
9, I865.
Jacob Doff Bary, disch. for disability, May 7,
I863.
Aaron Buffum, disch. for wounds, July 27,
i863.
Charles W. Bray, trans. to Ioth Mich. Inf.
John Corey, trans. to Vet. Res. Corps, May
I, 1864.
Hebides Culver, trans. to Vet. Res. Corps.
Arthur B. Chevois, disch. for disability, May
13, I865.
Samuel Colsin, must. out May 20, 1865.
Don A. Cole, must. out June IO, I865.
Thomas Colan, must. out June 10, 1865.
Charles H. Demorest, must. out June I0,
i865.
John Demorest, died of disease at Camp
Chase, Ohio, May 9, I863.
Charles S. Davis, disch. for disability, Jan.
5, I863.
Benj. V. Draper, disch. for disability, April
10, 1863.
Joseph R. Dickinson, disch. for disability,
May 22, 1863.
Thomas J. Evans, must. out June Io, 1865.
William Finch, must. out June Io, I865.
E. R. French, disch. for disability, Oct. 24,
T863.
William H. Fonda, trans. to Vet. Res. Corps,
April Io; disch. July I5, 1865.
Giles G. Gordon, disch. for disability, July 8,
1864.


Erastus R. Green, died in action at Thompson's Station, Tenn., March 5, I863.
Orson Gage, must. out June Io, I865.
Stephen Gilbert, must. out June o1, 1865.
Stephen L. Hawley, must. out June IO, I865.
Henry Halleck, must. out June IO, I865.
Julius Herriff, must. out May 27, I865.
Freeman Havens, trans. to Vet. Res. Corps,
April 26, 1864.
Amos L. Hervey, died at Columbia, Tenn.,
March 8, I863, of wounds.
Edward Hewitt, must, out June 8, I865.
Geo. W. Hewitt, disch. for disability, May
II, I863.
George W. Jackson, must. out June IO, I865.
David Johns, disch. for disability, Dec. Io,
1862.
Hiram   G. June, died at Nashville, Tenn.,
March Io, 1863, of wounds.
Charles Kirk, died of disease at Chattanooga,
Tenn., Jan. 30, I865.
Augustus Lord, must. out June Io, I865.
Charles Lindsey, disch. for disability, Oct.
I3, 1863.
Thomas Munyon, died of disease at Gravel
Point, Ohio, Oct. 5, 1862.
George Miller, must. out June Io, I865.
Hamilton S. Miles, must. out June io, I865.
George J. F. Miller, must. out June Io, 1865.
Daniel J. Massey, must. out June IO, 1865.
Erasmus R. Moore, disch. for disability, Aug.
6, 1864.
Noble N. Marks, trans. to Vet. Res. Corps,
Nov. I, I863.
John Phineas, died of disease at Nashville,
Tenn., March 12, I863.
Joseph Polite, disch. for wounds, Aug. I9,
I863.
Erastus W. Page, died of wounds, July 20,
1864.
William L. Parker. died of wounds at Resaca,
Ga., May 25, 1864.
Charles J. Pope, trans. to Vet. Res. Corps,
March 15, 1864; disch. July 5, i865.
Eleazur Post, must. out June o1, 1865.
John Post, disch. Nov., I863.
Andrew Pender, must. out June o1, i865.
Philip Pitcher, must. out June lo, I865.
Leander Stevens, must. out June Io, I865.
Ora B. Stevens, must. out June Io, I865.
George D. Sinclair, died of disease at Atlanta,
Ga., July 18, 1864.
Calvin D. Strong, died of disease at Coldwater, Mich., Sept. 5, 1864.
Mark H. Smith, died of disease at Danville,
Ky.. Jan. 10, 1863.
Ery W. Taylor, disch. for wounds.
George Tottingham, died at Thompson's Station, Tenn., March 5, I863, of wounds.
Newell W. Thomas, must. out June Io, 1865.
Edward H. Tullman, must. out June o1, 1865.
Cyrus J. Titus, must. out June IO, 1865.
Daniel S. Vanblarcom, must. out June Io,
I865.




274:


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Martin Vanblarcom, must. out June 10, I865.
George W. Whitehead, must. out June 30,
i865.
Edward C. Wilcox, must. out June Io, I865.
Jedediah Wilcox, must. out June Io, I865.
Charles H. West, died at Resaca, Ga., May
I6, 1864, of wounds.
George W. Worden, died July 20, I864.
Benjamin Wilcox, disch. for disability, Feb.
i, 1863.
Robert Williams, trans. to loth Mich. Inf.
Sergt. Whaley, died of disease at Nicholasville, Ky., Jan. Io, I863.
John Zwener, must. out June Io, 1865.
John B. Van Orman, disch. for disability,
May 6, 1863.
William R. Van Orman, disch. for disability,
June I7, 1863.
Company H.
Walter J. Allen, died of disease at Camp
Chase, Ohio, March, 1863.
Heman Batterson, died in action at Thompson's Station, Tenn., March 5, I863.
Elisha J. Brown, must. out June Io, I865.
Delos Bates, must. out June IO, I865.
James H. Baker, disch. for disability, March,
i863.
Francis F. Carle, disch. for disability, Feb.
4, 863.
Frank Cirn, disch. for disability, July 6, 1863.
Alanson Curtis, disch. for disability, Sept. 4,
I863.
D. V. B. Cushman, must. out June o1, 1865.
Calvin Cummings, must. out June 1o, I865.
Edward B. Cook, must out June Io, 1865.
Alfred Cheney, must. out June Io, I865.
Henry   R. Canfield, disch. for promotion,
Nov. I, I864.
Charles S. Davis, disch. for disability, Jan 5,
I863.
William Denue, died in action at Thompson's
Station, Tenn., March 5, I863.
Alonzo Dickerson, trans. to Vet. Res. Corps.
Amos Darwin, must. out June Io, 1865.
William Ellis, must. out June o1, I865.
Jonathan Edwards, died of disease at Annapolis, Md., April 12, i863.
Jefferson J. Eastman, must. out June Io,
I865.
Martin Elliott, disch. for disability May I6,
1863.
Francis Fuller, disch for disability, July 13,
I863.
Benjamin Fuller. died of disease at Chattanooga, Tenn., July 2, 1864.
Jesse W. Fetterly, died of disease at Jeffersonville. Oct. 8, I864.
John E. Fetterly, must. out June 10, I865.
Joseph A. Fetterly, must. out June 10, I865.
George W. Fetterly, must. out June 10, I865.
Terrence T. Goodwin, disch. for promotion,
Dec. 2, I863.
William F. Gillett, must. out June 10, 1865.
James E. Gibbs, must. out June Io, I865.


William Green, must. out June To, 1865.
Timothy Hurley, disch. for disability, Aug.
8, 1864.
Philo P. Henderson, trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps, Dec. 15, 1863.
Barnard Hawley, must. out June Io, I.865.
Charles F. Housman, must. out June 3, I865.
Henry Harmen, must. out June 15, 1865.
L. O. Halsted, died in action at Thompson's
Station, of wounds, March 5, i863.
Charles Jordan, must. out June o1, I865.
William A. Jordan, must. out June o1, 1865.
Charles Kirk, died of disease at Chattanooga,
Tenn., Jan. 30, i865.
Harrison H. Kendig, must. out June o1, 1865.
Robert Kelso, must. out June o1, 1865.
Reuben Lyter, must. out June o1, 1865.
Wilson S. Lylly, must. out June 10, I865.
Harlan P. Lawrence, disch. for disability,
January, I863.
Marion R. Morritt, disch, for disability, July
7, 1863.
Edward V. Monroe, must. out June Io, 1865.
Horatio A. Moody, must. out June o1, I865.
John J. Morseman, must. out June IO, 1865.
Thomas Mathews, died of disease at Danville, Ky., Nov. 24, 1862.
Joseph Morgan, trans. to Vet. Res. Corps,
Nov. i, I863.
E. N. Nulendy, died of disease at Annapolis,
Md., March, 1863.
Enoch Olney, disch. for disability, Oct. 4,
I864.
Thomas E. Pierce, must. out June 26, I865.
Nelson C. Peckham, must. out June o1, 1865.
John Paul, must. out June 10, 1865.
Mannoah Roshon, must. out June Io, 1865.
Harrison Rockafellow, must. out June 10,
1865.
McKenzie Sumner, disch. for promotion, Dec.
2, 1863.
Henry Sanford, Sr., must. out June 10, I865.
Henry Sanford, Jr., must. out June Io, I865.
Francis Sanford, must. out June Io, 1865.
Thomas G. Sumner, must. out June To, 1865.
Samuel S. Smith, disch. for disability, Nov.,
I862.
Luke Stellings, disch. for disability, Oct. 26,
I865.
Robert Stewart, must. out June o1, I865.
Melville W. Simmons, must. out June 10,
1865.
George W. Shay, must. out June o1, I865.
Stephen Taylor, died of disease at Atlanta,
Ga., Sept. 20, I864.
Q. H. Thompson, disch. for disability, July 7,
1863.
Marcus L. Thornton, must. out June TO, I865.
Peter Thornton, must. out June 1o, I865.
Alvah Vanderhoof, must. out June 1o, I865.
David Vanderhoof, must. out June 1o, 1865.
Daniel S. Warren, died of disease at Knoxville, Tenn., Aug. 25, I863.


~~,:. ~.Ii- ~~~ ~~; ~ —I




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


275


William Wilson, died of disease at Nashville,
Tenn., March, 1863.
David G. Williams, disch. for disability, May
15, I863.
V. N. Willard, disch. for disability, June
3. 1863.
Martello W. Wells, died of disease at Camp
Denison, Ohio, Nov. 25, 1862.
George M. White, must. out June Io, I865.
John R. Winsley, must. out June o1, 1865.
Lewis C. Waldron, must. out June 10, I865.
William Broukey, Co. I; must. out June 1o,
1865.
Herman Boughton, Co. G; died of disease at
Annapolis, Md., April 13, I863.
Chauncey L. Brown, Co. G; died of disease
at Lexington, Ky., Feb. 9, 1863.
George Benedict, N. C. S., died of disease at
Nashville, Tenn., March 5, 1863.
Jeremiah Brink, Co. G; must. out June Io,
I865.
Jabez Carlisle, Co. E; trans. to Ioth Mich.
Inf.
Joseph Coalcliff, Co. G; died of disease at
Annapolis, Md., April 12, 1863.
Homer Carter, Co. G; disch. for disability,
July 7, I863.
Jacob Ecthleman, Co. E; trans. to Ioth Mich.
Inf.
Carlton Gates, Co. G; disch. Jan. 5, 1863.
John Hunter, Co. I; must. out May 23, I865.
Jacob Kreiger, Co. I; must. out June 15,
1865.
Henry Kratz, Co. I; must. out May Io, I865.
August Kreiger, Co. I; must. out June Io,
I865.
William P. Kidney, Co. I; must. out June
Io. I865.
Michael Le Graff, Co. I; must. out June Io,
1865.
William Lindley, Co. G; died of disease at
Lexington, Ky., Feb. I9, I863.
Fletcher E. Marsh, N. C. S., disch. for promotion.
Addison P. Moore, Co. G; must. out June
Io, I865.
Elijah Miers, Co. I; must. out June Io, I865.


Daniel A. Miller, Co. I; disch. for disability,
Nov. 2, I864.
Robert Miller, Co. I; must. out June Io,
1865.
August Morlock, Co. I; must. out June Io,
i865.
Charles McCane, Co. I; must. out June IO,
1865.
Fred. Meyer, Co. I; must. out June Io, i865.
Edward Newton, Co. I; must. out June Io,
I865.
Nicholas Nester, Co. I; must. out July 13,. 865.
George W. Olds, Co. D; died of disease in
Nashville, Tenn.
Henry A. Potter, Co. G; disch. for disability.
William L. Parker, Co. G.
Richmond F. Parker, mus.; was in battles of
Resaca, Cassville, Dallas, Atlanta, Kenesaw, Averysboro', and Bentonville; disch.
June 10, I865.
Hiram F. Penland, Co. I; disch. June 30,
i865.
Charles E. Reynolds, Co. I; must. out June
o1, I865.
Charles Ripley, Co. I; must. out June Io,
i865.
Edward P. Shaw, Co. G; died of disease at
Cincinnati, O., Oct. 8, 1862.
Abner Sherwin, Co. G; died of disease at
Lexington, Ky., Feb. 19, I863.
Benjamin K. Secor, Co. G; died of disease,
April, 1863.
William W. Swain, Co. E; trans. to Ioth
Mich. Inf.
Albert Stimson, Co. I; must. out June Io,
I865.
Fred. Seifer, Co. I; must. out June io, i865.
Andrew Slanker, Co. I; must. out June 10,
I865.
Ansel Stone, Co. I; must. out July 2, I865.
Michael Welch, Co. I; must. out June 1o,
I865.
William Watson, Co. G; disch. for disability,
Jan. I9, I863.
Albert A. Webster, Co. I; dwisch. for disability, Jan. I9, I863.


The Twenty-eighth Infantry was organized in 1864, reached Kentucky
in October of that year, participated in the defense of Nashville against
Hood; early in 1865 was ordered east, and finally was sent into the Carolinas, where it co-operated in the campaign against Johnston until his surrender. It continued on duty in the Carolinas until June 5, I866, when it
was mustered out.    The officers and privates from   Branch county were:
David B. Purinton, Coldwater, capt.; enl.  Frank Plogert, Coldwater, Ist lieut.; enl.
Aug. I5, I864; bvt.-maj., March 13, I865;  Aug. 15, I864; capt., Sept. 12, I865; must.
tn'1st. out June 5, i866, with regiment.   out June 5, i866, with regiment.
George W. Bowker, Coldwater, ist lieut.;   Chauncey H. De Clute, Coldwater, 2d lieut.;
enl. Aug. 15, I864; capt. April Ii, i865;  enl. Aug. 15, 1864; Ist lieut., March 28,
must. out June 5, i866, with regiment.    1865; must. out June 5, i866, with regiment.




HISTORY OF BRANCHCOUNTY


Harlow E. McCarey, Coldwater, 2d lieut.;
enl. Aug. 15, i864; ist lieut., May 8, i865;
must. out June 5, i865, with 'regiment.
Company C.
Reville M. Amidon, must. out by order, May
3 1, i865.
Monroe C. Beadle, must. out Sept. 7, i865.
Dewitt C. Beadle, must. out by order, May
26, i 865.
Henry Beanis, must. Out Sept. 13, i865.
John Beanis, must. out June.5, r866.
James A. Bellinger, must. out June.5, i866.
Wellington Bennett, must. out June.5, i866..
Charles E. Bogart, must. out June 5, i866.
George Brightman, must. out June 7, i865.
James A. Barns, must. out June 5,i866.
Andrew Bair, must. out June 12, i865..David C. Coffman, died of disease at Jeffersonville, Trd., Feb. 2, i865.
Eugene Canwright, must. out May i8, i865.
Cortlandt Chapman, must. out June 5, i866.
George Chapman, must. out June.5, i866.
Jamnes Chapman, must. Out June.5, i866.
Robert Chivers, must. out June 5, i866.
Wilson B. Chronester, must. out June i,
i865.
Frank Curn, must. out May 2, i865.
Horace A. Crall, must. out May 2, 1865.
Reuben Cole, must. out May i8, 1865.
Orlando Cornell, must. out June.5, i866.
Perry C. Clermont, disch. for disability, Aug.
31, 1865.
Charles D. Cluff, must. out June 8, i865.
Mortimer F. Davis, must. out MVy 17, 1865.
Oscar I. Davis, disch. for disability, June 4,
i866.
Peter G. Dehn, must. out June 5, 1866.
George H. Devens, must. out June 7, i865.
Philip Funde, must. out June 9, i866.
Henry Firth, must. out June 5, i866.
Oscar W. Frazer, must. out June 9, i866.
John Gamby, disch. at end of service, Feb. 6,
i866.
Judson B. Gibbs, must. out May 3, i866.
William Goodenough, must. out by order,
May io, i866.
Reuben 1. Grove, must. out June 5, i866.
C. W. Kimmelmenn, must. out Feb. 26, i866..
Win. Hungerford, must. out by order, April
25, ir866.
Eras~tus, Jennings, must. out June 26, i86,5.
Jacob Keller, must. out May i8, i865.
Sii~phen Ladon, died of disease at Nashville,
Jan.:20, i865.
Alex. Lamond, must. out June 5, i866.
Charles Lattin, must. out June 5, I866.
John Libbart, must. out July 26, i865.


Samuel H. Lossing, must. out June 5, i866.
'Alonzo McLaughlin, must. out June 5, i866.
Charles W. M~orse, must. out June 5, i866.
John C. Meegan, died of disease at Shelby,
N. C., June:23, i865.
Alfred A. Norton, must. out June~ 5, 1866.
Wilson Norton. "must, out July '16, 1865.
Willis S. Norton, must. out July 26, 1865.
Daniel Pratt, must. out by order, May 17,
i865.
Charles E. Perry, must. out by order, May
26, 1865.
John H. Rainon, must. out by order, May 3,
I866.
Daniel S. Robinson, must. out June 8, i865.
James MV. Rawson, must. out June 27, 1865.
Hezekiah Sweet, disch. for- disability, July
14, 1 865.
James E. Sprung, must. out June 5, i866.
Peter Sheeler, must. out June 5, i866.
James A. Shelden, must. out Sept. 12, i865.
William I. Smalley, must out. June 5, 1866.
Charles A. Woodward, must. out May 12,
i865.
Henry B. Winslow, must. out June 2, i865.
George W. Wiley, must. out MVay 27, i865.
Hosea Bushnell, Co. K;; must. out July i,
i865.
Win. G. Chamberlain, Co. I; must. out July
i, i 865.
George Dustine, Co. I; died of disease at
Louisville, Ky., Nov. 10, 1864.
Dustin Dockham, Co. K; must. out July i,
i865.
James Eggleston, Co. K; must.. out May,
i865.
William W. Fenno,, Co. H; must. out Junt5, 1866.
Russell Humiston, Co. I; died of disease at
Nashville, Tenn., June 9, i865.
John W. Hudson, Co. I; must. out June 5,
i866.
Franklin Hamlin, Co. I; must. out June 8,
1865.
Israel Hammond, Co,. I; must. out May 26,
i865.
John S. Lovejoy, Co. K; must. olut May,
i863.
Luther Gray, Co. I; must. out June ig, i865.
Abram A. Smith, Co. I; must. out May 3r,
i865.
Marshall M. Smith.' Co., I; disch. for disaebility, Dec. 21, I865.
William W. Stratton, Co. I; disch. for disability, March 7, i866.
Marcellus K. Whets,~I, Co. I; disch. for disability, June 5, i865.


Thne First Michigan Sharpshooters was, not completely organized until
August, iS63; the regiment was on guard duty at Chiicago. till March, i864,
~then joined the'Army of the Potomac, participating in the Wilderness battles,
Spottsylvania, and in the series of' operationsl about Petersburg, this regi



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


277


ment being the first to enter that city when evacuated; the regiment was
disbanded at Jackson, Mich., August 7, I865.


MEMBERS      OF   THE    FIRST   SHARPSHOOTERS FROM BRANCH
COUNTY.
Henry S. Fish, Coldwater, Ist lieut., Hall's
S. S.; enl. Aug. I9, I864; trans. to Ist
Mich. S. S.; must. out July 28, 1865.
Robert F. Bradley, Co. H; disch. for disability, Sept. 5, 1864.
James L. Burns, Co. H; must. out July 28,
I865.
Jeremiah Burcher, Co. H; died of disease in
ISt Division hospital, June 13, 1865.
Alvin H. Barber, Co. H; died of disease in
Chicago, Ill., Oct. I5, 1863.
Daniel H. Conklin, Co. H; must. out July
28, i865.
Joseph H. Conklin, Co. H; must. out June
22, 1865.
Stephen H. Conklin, Co. H; must. out July
28, I865.
Reuben Cornell, Co. H; must. out July 28,
1865.
Henry Crag, Co. H; must. out July 28,
i865.
William H. Dupuy, Co. H; must. out July
28, I865.
Charles Durfey, Co. H; died in Andersonville prison, Sept. 3, I864.
William H. Durfey, Co. H; missing in action near Petersburg, Va., June 17, I864.
Andrew J. Ellis, Co. H; must. out May I5,
I865.


Derrick Hauken, Co. H; must. out July 28,
I865.
Joshua C. Hedglen, Co. B; must. out Aug.
I7, i865.
George Haulterbrand, Co. H; died of disease
in Chicago, Ill., June 3, I864.
John Kelley, Co. H; missing in action near
Petersburg, Va., June 17, 1864.
Hugh Kennedy, Co. H; must. out June Io,
I865.
Thomas McLaughlin, Co. -; disch. for disability, June, 1864.
Lewis Priest, Co. H; must. out July 17, I865.
William Ross, Co. H; missing in action near
Petersburg, Va., June 17, I865.
John Rainbow, Co. H; must. out July 28,
i865.
George W. Sackett, Co. H; must. out July I,
1865.
Jacob Sackett, Co. H; must. out July 28,
1865.
Benjamin F. Smith, Co. H; must. out July.
I865.
Henry Smith, Co. H; committed       suicide
while on guard, Sept. 5, 1863.
William H. Stebbins, Co. I; must. out June
I, I865.
George Tanner, Co. C; must. out July 28,
1865.
Andrew West, Co. H; must. out July 28,
i865.


The Fourth Michigan Cavalry Regiment was mustered in at Detroit,
August 29t, 1862; was sent to Kentucky, where it fought Morgan; participated at Murfreesboro and other severe service in Tennessee; was with
Sherman in his Georgia campaign, but after the capture of Atlanta returned
to Tennessee in pursuit of Hood; was engaged in Tennessee and Alabama.
taking part in the capture of Selma, and was at Macon, Georgia, when news
of the surrender came; it was this cavalry regiment that had the honor of
capturing Jefferson Davis.


MEMBERS OF THE FOURTH CAVALRY FROM BRANCH COUNTY.
Barber N. Sheldon, Quincy, capt.; enl. Aug.
13, I862; maj., Aug. 23, 1863; wounded in
action at Kingston, Ga., May I8, I864; bvt.
lieut.-ccl., March 13, I865; must. out July
2, I865.
Daniel Duesler, Quincy, Ist lieut.; enl. Aug.
13, I862; capt., Feb. I, 1863; hon. disch. for
disability, June 27, 1863.
Julius M. Carter, Ovid, 2d lieut.; enl. Aug.
13, I862; Ist lieut., Dec. 24, 1862; wounded
in action at Kingston, Ga., May I8, I864;
capt., July 9, I864; bvt. maj., March


13, I865; hon. disch. for disability, May I7,
I865.
Henry D. Fields, Bronson, 2d lieut.; enl.
Aug. 13, 1862; res. March i, 1863.
Jeremiah Duesler, Coldwater, 2d lieut.; enl.
Feb. I8, 1863; res. April 21, 1864.
Henry A. Potter, Ovid, 2d. lieut.; enl. Feb.
I6, 1863; Ist lieut., March 31, 1863; capt..
Aug. I, I864; must. out July I, I865, with
regiment.
Alfred Purinton, Coldwater, 2d lieut.; enl.
Aug. I, I864; Ist lieut., May o1, I865;
must. out July I, I865, with regiment.
Lorenzo J. Southwell, Ovid, 2d lieut.; enl.


i........:I_.-,;,-;~--;-DI~ii -:~-;;-~~:1~-;-ii;i:l;;~~



278                  HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
Dec. 1o, 1864; must. out July I, 1865, with  James G. O'Brien, must, out July I, 1865.
regiment.                                  Joseph Perrin, must. out July i, I865.
Company G.                   Lewis Perrine, disch. for disability, May 4,
Benj. F. Archer, must. out July i, 1865.       I863.
Wm. G. Beebe, disch. for disability.         Elias H. Prout, died of disease at MurfreesPhineas Burkholder, disch. for disability.    boro, Tenn., Feb. 27, I863.
Wm. Burdick, trans. to Vet. Res. Corps,      William H. Prout, died of disease at NashSept. 30, I863.                             ville, Tenn., March Io, I863.
Matthew  N. Burdick, trans. to Vet. Res.     William  H. Palmeter, must, out July i,
Corps, May 15, 1864.                         i865.
Lewis R. Bridge, disch. by order, July 6,    Samuel Ruff, must. out July i, 1865.
i865.                                      Cary Reed, must. out July i, i865.
Mathew   Brayton, died of disease at Mur-    Franklin Roundy, must. out July i, i865.
freesboro, Tenn., June 24, 1863.           James Swarthout, died of disease at MurMilton Beesmer, died of disease at Nashville,  freesboro, Tenn., Jan. 23, I863.
Tenn., March i, I863.                      Robert T. Smith, died of disease at MurWm. H. Bradford, must. out July i, 1863.       freesboro, Tenn., July Io, I863.
Wm. H. Burt, must. out July I, 1863.         John Skinner, disch. for disability, Feb. 6,
Wm. E. Bradley, disch. for disability, Dec.    1863.
22, 1862.                                  John A. Skinner, must. out July I, i865.
John Browers, disch. by order, June 19, 1865.  William Swarthout, must. out July i, 1865.
John Cavanaugh, disch. by order, July 14,    John Sullivan, must. out July i, 1865.
i865.                                      Philetus Siggins, must. out July I, I865.
Martin Cass, disch. folr disability, March 8,  Albert Stickney, disch. for disability, Feb.
1863.                                        i6, I863.
Charles Carter, died of disease at Murfrees-  Elias H. Scales, disch. for disability, March
boro, Tenn., Feb. 8, 1863.                   3, 1863.
Ira L. Canfield, died of disease at Nashville,  William H. Thompson, disch. for disability,
Tenn., Dec. 25, 1862.                        April i8, 1863.
Henry Cusick, died of disease at Louisville,  William  Trask, disch. for disability, Dec.
Ky., Feb. 7, I864.                           28, 1862.
Wm. Casselman, trans. to Vet. Res. Corps,    George H. Trask, must. out July i, i865.
April 30, I864.                            Jacob N. Trask, must. out July i, 1865.
Aaron M. Chase, trans. to Vet. Res. Corps,   George W. Van Sickle, must. out July i,
March 15, I864.                              i865.
Martin Cloonan, must. out July I, I865.      George Whaley, died of disease at Danville,
Jeremiah Craig, must. out July I, i865.        Ky., Oct. 25, 1862.
Winfield Day, died of disease at Quincy,     William Wood, disch. for disability, May 5,
Mich., May 20, 1863.                         1863.
Wm. Dobson, died of disease at Bridgeport,   Elisha C. Williams, disch. for disability Feb.
Ala., Nov. 17, 1863.                         3, i863.
Gamalia   Dickinson, disch. for disability,  Oliver M. Wentworth, disch. for disability
Sept. i6, 1863.                              March 27, i863.
John Daggett, disch. for disability, April Ii,  W.R. Wentworth, must. out July i, i865.
1863.                                      Henry Woodmaster, must. out July i, 1865.
Howard Gaffney, died of disease at Spring-   Henry Woodmaster, Must. out July T, i865.
field, Ky., Nov. 5, i865.                  Daniel H. Bush, Co. A; trans. to Vet. Res.
field, Ky., Nov. 5, I865.                      ume Arin ^    r^->
Edwin E. Hungerford, died of disease at          orpsAprl 30, i863.
Murfreesboro, Tenn., Feb. 17, 86.          Benona Burch, Co. I; died at Dallas, Ga.,
Murfreesboro, Tenn., Feb. I7, I863.          May 27, i864, of wounds.
George W. Jones, died of disease at Mur-                1864, of wounds
freesboro, Tenn., June 8, 1863.            Ambrose Burleson, Co. I; died at Noonday
Warren Leland, disch. for disability, Jan. I2,  Creek, Ga., June 20, 1864, of wounds.
John Bailey, Co. M; died in Andersonville
865.                        Jlprison, July 3, i864.
Whitfield Lampman, must. out July I, 1865.      rison July 3, 1864.
Charles M. Magden, died of disease at Nash-  Henry Cosier, Co. I; disch. for disability,
ville, Tenn., Jan I8,1863.                   June 8, 1863.
William H. Mayden, died ot aisease at Nash- Zenas B. Cheney, N. C. S.; disch. by order,
ville, Tenn., Jan. 21, 1864.                 Nov. I6, 1863.
Francis Maguire, must. out July I, i865.     Aaron B. Fowell, Co. I; disch. for disabilGeorge Myres, must. out July i, 1865.          ity, Jan. 12, I864.
John C. Nichols, must. out July i, 1865.     Solomon Fosmith, Co. I; must. out July I,
Henry Norton, disch. for disability, Nov.,    1865.
1862.                                      William Filkins, Co. K; must. out Aug. 15,
Joseph Odren, disch. by order.                 i865.




HISTORY OIF BRANCH COUNTY


J. V. T. Gauthouse, Co. I; missing in action
at Selma, Ala., April 2, 1865.
Henry S. Hewitt, Co. I; died of disease at
Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 19, I862.
Charles W. Hartwell, Co. I; disch. by order,
July 21, I865.
Jerome B. Heth, Co. I; must. out July I,
I865.
Martin Hecathorn, Co. I; must. out July I,
I865.
Orlando Hawley, Co. I; died at Lavergne,
Tenn., Dec. 29, 1862, of wounds.
James Ogden, Co. A; trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps, April 22, 1864.
James Pope, Co. I; disch. for disability,
Sept. 15, I862.


Thomas Reeves, Co. K; died of disease at
Nashville, April 23, 1864.
William Simpson, Co. I; must. out July I,
i865.
Ira C. Stockwell, Co. C; must. out July i,
I865.
Elbert Terril, Co. I; trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps, May I, 1864.
O. F. Underhill, Co. I; trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps, July I, I863.
Pembroke Vandemark, Co. D; must. out
Aug. 15, I865.
John H. Williams, Co. I; disch. for disability, Feb. 15, I865.
Edward H. Wood, Co. A; trans. to Vet.
Res. Corps, Nov. I, I863.


The Fifth Michigan Cavalry Regiment, mustered in August 30, 1862,
proceeded to Washington in December, and from that time to the close of
hostilities was constantly in the most wearing service in the Virginias, during
the latter part of the war being part of Sheridan's famous forces. The regiment was mustered out at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, June 22, 1865.


MEMBERS OF THE FIFTH MICHIGAN
CAVALRY FROM BRANCH
COUNTY.
Andrew D. Hall, Quincy, 2d lieut.; enl. Aug.
14, I862; res. June 5, 1863.
Smith H. Hastings, Coldwater, Ist lieut.; enl.
Aug. 14, 1862; capt., Jan. 10, 1863; wounded at Trevillian Station, Va., June 12, I864;
major, Aug. 9, 1864; lieut.-col., Nov. Io,
1864; col., Dec. 17, 1864; must. out June
22, 1865.
Madison N. Bibbins, Coldwater, 2d lieut.;
enl. March 4, I864; Ist lieut., Aug. Io,
I864; capt., Feb. I, I865; must. out June 22,
I865, with regiment.
Amos Bingham, Quincy, 2d lieut.; enl. Oct.
27, I864; Ist lieut., Feb. I, 1865; must. out
June 22, 1865, with regiment.
William H. Hunt, Coldwater, 2d lieut. (as
sergt.); must. out June 22, 1865, with regiment.
Henry M. Fox, Coldwater, 2d lieut. (as
sergt.); must. out June 22, 1865, with regiment.
Company    l.
William Andrews, must. out June I9, 1865.
John Adams, disch. by order, July 7, 1865.
William H. Black, died of disease at Washington, D. C., Aug. 13, 1864.
Levi Busley, missing in action at Richmond,
Va., March 2, 1864.
Amos Bingham, disch. for promotion.
Thomas Bingham, disch. by order.
Henry Baines, must. out June 19, 1865.
Matthew B. Burger, disch. for disability,
March 3, i865.
Nathan C. Canfield, died of disease at Detroit, Diec. 3, 1862.


Charles C. Craft, killed by guerrillas in skirmish at Berryville, Va., Aug. I9, 1864.
Peleg Canner, disch. for disability, May 23,
1863.
Orrin D. Curtis, disch. by order, June 26,
i865.
Sylvester T. Chase, must. out June I9, 1865.
Parmenio Casey, must. out June 19, 1865.
Peter M. Dubendorf, trans. to 7th Mich. Cav.
Charles A. Ford, must. out June 19, I865.
Henry M. Fox, must. out June I9, i865.
James A. Furgeson, must. out June 19, I865.
Isaiah Fox, killed in skirmish by guerrillas
at Berryville, Va., Aug.  I9, I864.
John H. Gripman, died in Andersonville
prison, April 8, I864.
Charles H. Goodrich, trans. to 7th Mich. Cav.
Arnold Goodman, disch. for disability, May
15, i865.
David Gibbins, must. out June I9, I865.
Charles M. Hobbs, must. out June I9, I865.
William H. Hunt, must. out June ig, I865.
Seymour H. Hogle, disch. for disability, Feb.
28. 1863.
William H. Harkness, died of disease at Annapolis, Md., Aug. 2, 1863.
Fernando A. Jones, must. out June 19, I865.
Stephen Keyser, disch. by order, Sept. I,
I863.
Fluette King, trans. to 7th Mich. Cav.
Charles Little, died in prison at Richmond,
Va., April 28, I864.
Spencer Leigh, trans. to 7th Mich. Cav.
Zelotes Mather, died of disease at Frederick,
Md., Aug. 9i, 1863.
Calvin McCreery, died in action at Hawes'
Shop, Va., May 28. I864.
William Milliman, trans. to 7thi Mich. Cav.
William Marshall, trans. to 7th Mich. Cav.




280


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Jonas H. McGowan, disch. for disability,
Dec. 4, I862.
James Mills, must. out June 19, I865.
John R. Morey, captured in Dahlgren's raid
around Richmond, Va.; must. out June I9,
I865.
William Nivison, trans. to Vet. Res. Corps,
March 31, 1864.
Robert B. Nivison, must. out June 19, 1865.
Nesbit J. Nevel, must. out June 19, 1865.
Edward S. Ogden, died in prison at Andersonville, Ga., Sept. 27, 1864.
Isaac C. O(sburn, killed in skirmish by guerrillas at Berryville, Va., Aug. 19, I864.
Samuel I. Osburn, disch. by order, May 27,
I865.
Ephraim Oviatt, must. out June 19, 1865.
John H. Pratt, must. out June I9, 1865.
Ezra Post, must. out June 19, I865.
P. M. Reynolds, must. out June 19, I865.
John A. Snyder, died in prison at Andersonville, Ga., Sept. 27, 1864.
Squire E. Skeels, killed in skirmish by guerrillas at Berryville, Va., Aug. I9, I864.
Howard Simons, must. out July 24, I865.
Wm. F. Teachout, disch. by order, Aug. ii,
I865.
Horace M. Tifft, missing in action at Richmond, Va.
Albert I. Tifft, must. out June 19, 1865.
Dexter B. Taylor, must. out June 19, I865.
Charles Thompson, must. out June 19, I865.
Orim Van Gilder, trans. to 7th Mich. Cav.
M. L. Vicory, killed in action at Smithfield,
Va., Aug. 29, 1864.
Hiram Vaukying, disch. for disability, Jan.
15, I864.
Win. S. Van Gieson, disch. by order, July
5, 1865.
Samuel K. Vanderker, must. out July 13,
I865.


Francis M. Wright, died of disease at Baltimore, Md., Sept: IO, I864.
Jarvis Watkins, died in action at Toledo
Tavern, Va., May 6, I864.
William H. Watkins, must. out June I9,
I865.
Vincent Watkins, must. out June 19, I865.
George White, killed in skirmish by guerrillas at Berryville, Va., Aug. 19, I864.
H. C. Worthington, killed in skirmish by
guerrillas at Berryville, Va., Aug. 19, 1864.
Milo Beard, Co. I; trans. to ISt Mich. Cav.
James Cobb, Co. I; trans. to 7th Mich. Cav.
Edward Carr, Co. C; trans. to 7th Mich. Cav.
John Dennis, Co. G; trans. to Ist Mich. Cav.
Elisha Demorest, Co. I; trans. to 7th Mich.
Cav.
Jasper Eldred, Co. I; trans. to 7th Mich.
Cav.
Edward Fox, Co. G; trans. to 1st Mich. Cav.
Michael Kanouse, Co. C; trans. to 7th Mich.
Cav.
Moses Kanouse, Co. C; trans. to 7th Mich.
Cav.
Isaac Lake, Co. B; disch. by order, June 26,
i865.
Charles H. Osterhout, Co. K; trans. to 7th
Mich. Cav.
Charles Prentiss, Co. G; trans. to ist Mich.
Cav.
James J. Pendill, Co. G; trans. to ISt Mich.
Cav.
Lucius Stray, Co. G; trans. to 1st Mich Cav.
Minard 0. Van Gilder, Co. L; trans. to 7th
Mich. Cav.
Colbert Van Gieson, Co. L; trans. to 7th
Mich. Cav.
George 0. Van Gieson, Co. L; trans. to 7th
Mich. Cav.


The Eighth Michigan Cavalry, which took the field in May, 1863, was
for some months principally opposed to the Confederate leaders, Morgan
and Wheeler, and in I864 joined Sherman's Atlanta campaign; thence it
returned to Tennessee in pursuit of Hood, participating at Franklin and
Nashville; it was mustered out at Nashville, September 22, I865.


OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS OF THE
EIGHTH CAVALRY FROM 'BRANCH
COUNTY.
Henry L. Sellick, Quincy, 2d lieut.; enl. Nov.
I, I862; capt., Aug. 31, I863; res. Oct. 27,
I864.
Elijah J. Devens, Coldwater, capt.; enl. Nov.
I, 1862; res. April 8, 1864.
Smedley Wilkinson, Quincy, Ist lieut.; enl.
Nov. i, 1862; res. Jan. 1o, 1864.
David Noteman, Coldwater, Ist lieut.; enl.
Nov. I, 1862; res. June 21, 1864.
Walter Bu'rritt, Coldwater, 2d lieut.; enl.
Nov. i, 1862; res. Jan. 4, 1864.


Charles 0. Twist, Coldwater, 2d lieut.; enl.
Aug. 31, I863; res. Sept. 14, 1864.
Henry M. Burton, 2d lieut.; enl. May 2,
I864; res. May 17, I865.
Horace Woodbridge, Coldwater, 2d lieut.;
enl. Jan. 8, I865; hon. disch. July 20, I865,
on consolidation with Ith Cav.
Norman L. Otis, Union City; chaplain; hon.
disch. Sept. 22, 1865, with regiment:
Benjamin C. Barnes, Co. I; must. out Sept.
22, I865.
George Bates, Co. C; must. out Sept. 22,
I865.


~1 --- —^:w~-~-~-~ -; --- —-~~~^ -:; -~:~; -. ~ ~ - -~: ~~-: ~~::: ~:: ~;:; `;~;




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


281


William Ball, Co. B; disch. by order, June
I8, I865.
Jacob Baker, Co. H; must out Oct. 9, I865.
Francis Beedle, Co. M; died of disease at
Annapolis, Md., May 3, I864.
Cassius Burritt, Co. M; must. out Sept. I9,
I865.
Hiram Blackmer, Co. B; trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps, May I, 1864.
William Beecher, Co. B; trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps, Jan. 15, 1864.
William Buffington, Co. I; must. out Sept.
22, 1865.
Walter Besemer, Co. B; disch. by order,
July 20, 1865.
David W. Burring, Co. M; must. out Sept.
29, I865.
Aretus Corwin, Co. M; disch. for disability,
March 20, 1865.
Jeremiah Coleman, Co. B; died of disease at
Knoxville, Tenn., Nov. 27, I863.
John H. Chivois, Co. E; must. out Sept. 22,.1865.
James C. Church, Co. B; trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps, Jan. 15, I864.
Benj. F. Clark, Co. B; must. out June Io,
I865.
Stephen Combs, Co. B; disch. June 12, I865.
Alexander Fisk, Co. B; died of disease, I864.
George Franklin, Co. M; trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps, Nov. I, I863.
William Filson, Co. B; died of disease at
Camp Nelson, Ky., Dec. I6, I863.
Lewis R. Foot, Co. B; killed by explosion of
steamer on Mississippi River, April 15.
I865.
William J. Foster, Co. C; must. out Sept. 22,
I865.
George Garboll, Col. C; must. out Sept. 22,
I865.
Francis Hadley, Co. M; disch. for disability,
April 28, I864.
Enos B. Hadley, Co. M; must. out May 22,
I865.
Julius Houghtaling, Co. L; must. out Sept.
22, 1865.
Horace W. Hunt, Co. B; must. out May I5,
i865.
Peter W. Hughes, Co. M; disch. for disability.
Vernon C. Howe, Co. M; disch. for disability, Nov. 24, I864.
Julius Henry, Co. C; must. out Sept. 22,
I865.
Edwin J. Hall, Co. B; disch. by order, Sept.
7, I865.
Francis Jerome, Co. B; missing in raid on
Macon, Ga., Aug. 3, I864.
James Kubeck, Co. C; must. out Sept. 22,
I865.
Jonathan Lossing, Co. B; died in Andersonville prison, March 29, I864.
Thomas J. Lossing, Co. B; must. out June
I3, 1865.


Erastus J. Lewis, Co. C; must. out Sept. 22,
I865.
John M. Landon, Co. C; must. out Oct. I,
1865.
James Lowrer, Co. M; disch. for disability,
March 20, I865.
William McKinney, Co. C; must. out Sept.
22, 1865.
Edward C. McDaniels, Co. B; disch. June 6,
I865.
David Musselman, Co. H; must. out Sept. 22,
I865.
Reuben T. Mathews, Co. M.
Anson W. Merritt, Co. E; must. out Sept. 22,
I865.
Hienry C. Norton, Co. B; killed by explosion
of steamer, April 15, 1865.
Mortimer J. Nash, Co. C; must. out Sept.
22, 1865.
William Newman, Co. C; must. out Sept. 22,
i865.
Edgar T. Ormsby, Co. M; disch. for disability, Oct. 13, I864.
John B. Parkinson, Co. B; disch. for disability, Oct. I9, 1863.
Henry N. Perrine, Co. B.
William  Powers, Co. C; must. out Sept.
22, I865.
Eliphalet Page, Co. B; disch. by order Sept.
7, I865.
J. A. Rustine, Co. B; died of disease at
Knoxville, Tenn., March 2I, I864.
John W. Rogers, Co. B; must. out June IO,
I865.
Elias Rose, Co. B; must. out Sept. 22, 1865.
L. B. Robbins, Co. B; must. out June Io,
I865.
John Smith, Co. B; died of disease at Lexington, Ky., April IO, I864.
George Smith. Co. B; missing in action at
Henryville, Tenn., Nov. 23, I863.
Samuel Spencer, Co. B; died of disease at
Camp Nelson, Ky., Dec. I6, I863.
Charles Sutherland, Co. C; must. out Sept.
22, 1865.
Erwin Splitstone, Co. A; died of disease at
Pulaski, Tenn., Nov. I8, 1864.
Charles G. Seabury, Co. B; must. out June
I5, I865.
Cyrus H. Spafford, Co. I; must. out Sept.
22, i865.
Calvin E. Seamons, Co. D; must. out Sept.
22, i865.
David A. Varnum, Co. B; must. out Sept. 22,
I865.
Ammon O. Wood, Co. M; died at Andersonville prison, Sept. 8, 1864.
Oliver M. Wentworth, Co. C; trans. to Vet.
Res. Corps, Aug., 1864.
John Weller, Co. B; trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps, May i, I864.
Charles Wright, Co. B; trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps, Jan. I5, I864.
Sanford E. Wood, Co. B; discharged..;1. -.I__- - i




282


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Manly C. White, Co. B; disch. by order,   Jonathan Wilson, Co. M; disch. for disaJune 15, 1865.                            bility, April 2, 1865.
Lewis C. Wheeler, Co. C; must. out Sept. 22,  William J. Young, Co. C; must. out Sept.
1865.                                     22, 1865.
O. H. Woodworth, Co. M; disch. for promo-  Charles A. Zimmerman, Co. G; must. out
tion, Sept. 13, 1864.                     Oct. o1, I865.
Seth Whitten, Co. M; disch. for disability,
Feb. I8, 1865.
The Ninth Michigan Cavalry was organized with rendezvous at Coldwater and left there for Kentucky in May, 1863; it was in service in Kentucky and Tennessee and north of the Ohio against Morgan and co-operating with the main movements of the Union forces, and in July, 1864, joined
Sherman's army in the operations about Atlanta; after the fall of the city it
marched to the sea, and was in numerous battles and skirmishes in the Carolinas until the conclusion of the war. It was mustered out July 21, 1865.


MEMBERS OF THE NINTH CAVALRY
FROM BRANCH COUNTY.
Jonas H. McGowan, Coldwater, capt.; enl.
Nov. 3, 1862; res. Jan. 27, I864.
Otis H. Gillam, Coldwater, capt.; enl. Nov. 3,
1862; res. March II, I864.
Smith W. Fisk, Coldwater, Ist lieut.; enl.
Nov. 3, 1862; wounded in a skirmish with
Morgan's raiders at Salineville, O., July 26,
1863; disch. for disability Nov. 5, I863.
John D. Smails, California, 2d lieut.; enl.
Dec. 29, 1863; ISt lieut., March I5, 1864;
must. out July 21, 1865, with regiment.
Charles H. Smith, Girard, 2d lieut.; enl.
March 27, 1863; ist lieut., Jan. 17, 1864;
capt., Aug. 19, 1865; must. out July 21,
1865, with regiment.
Benton T. Russell, Coldwater, 2d lieut.; enl.
as sergt., Feb. 27, I865; must. out July 2I,
I865, with regiment.
George W. Howard, 2d lieut.; enl. as sergt.,
Oct. 26, 1864; must. out July 21, I865,
with regiment.
Alfred K. Miller, Coldwater, 2d lieut.; enl.
as sergt., June 27, I865; must. out July 21,
1865, with regiment.
Milton Allen, Co. C; died of disease at Nashville, Tenn., Aug. 2, I864.
Samuel Allman, Co. B; must. out June 12,
i865.
Alexander Black, Co. K.; killed in action at
Stone Mountain, Ga., Oct. 2, I864.
James Ballard, Co. D; died of disease at
Camp Nelson, Ky., April 23, I864.
Lyman Bates, Co. K; died of disease at
Knoxville, Tenn., Jan. I9, I864.
Ashael L. Baird, Co. G; disch. for disability,
Feb. 23, 1864.
George R. Bennett, Co. K; disch. for disability, March I6, I864.
Warren E. Bills, Co. B; must. out July 21,
i865.
Benjamin F. Belden, Co. A; must. out July
21, I865.


George W. Bartram, Co. K; must. out June
21, i865.
Warren A. Blye, Co. I; disch. for disability,
June I, 1865.
Stanley Bidwell, Co. I; disch. for disability,
June i, 1865.
George Blair, Co. I; must. out June 12,
I865.
Zebulon Birch, Co. I; must. out July 21,
I865.
Peter B. Case, Co. I; died of disease at
Camp Nelson, Ky., May I4, 1864.
Rice W. Chapman, Co. I; must. out July 21,
I865.
Louis Creer, Co. I; must. out July 21, 1865.
Collins W. Cutter, Co. L; must. out Aug. 14,
i865.
Charles Degalier, Co. B; died of disease at
Knoxville, Tenn., March 13, I864.
Benjamin Duck, Co. L; trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps, Jan. I5.
Wm. R. Dunn, Co. I; missing in action,
March 12, I865.
Charles Drake, Co. I; disch. for disability,
April, 1863.
Jeremiah Depue, Co. I; must. out July 21,
i865.
Alphonzo Dawson, Co. K; must. out July
21, 1865.
John Dawson, Co. K; must. out July 21,
i865.
William Danton, Co. H; must. out July 21,
i865.
Albert E. Evans, Co. K; must. out June 7,
1865.
Daniel Francis, Co. H; must. out July 21,
i865.
David Franklin. Co. G.
Philip Fonda, Co. I; disch. for disability,
Feb. 29, 1864.
John Fisher, Co. I; disch. for disability, Dec.
17, 1863.
James Fitzgerald, N. C. S.; must. out July
21, I865.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


283


Jackson Gillam, Co. I; died of disease at
Knoxville, Tenn., Dec., 1863.
Henry G. Goode, Co. B; must. out July 21,
I865.
Hiram   Hulse, Co. I; died of disease at
Knoxville, Tenn., Dec., 1863.
William A. Harkins, Co. B; must. out July
21, I865.
Eugene Hillard, Co. E; must. out July 21,
i865.
John A. Holmes, Co. E; must. out July 2I,
I865.
George F. Hartzell, Co. L; must. out July
21, I865.
William  S. Hopkins, Co. K; must. out July
21, I865.
John Hiverly, Co. K; must. out July 2I,
i865.
Francis M. Jones, Co. B; must. out July 21,
I865.
Ira G. Kinne. Co. I; must. out July 21, 1865.
Oliver Lapier, Co. B; must. out July 21,
I865.
Francis La Bonte, Co. F; must. out July 2I,
i865.
Robert G. Long, Co. I; must. out July 21,
I865.
Martin Lockwood, Co. I; must. out July 21,
1865.
Fred Miller, Co. D; disch. for disability.
John T. Merriss, Co. I; disch. for disability.
E. D. McGowan, Co. I; disch. by order, July
25, I864.
George Moon, Co. I; missing in action.
John E. McCarty, Co. L; must. out July 21,
i865.
Alfred K. Miller, Co. L; must. out July 21,
1865.
John McPhail, Co. E; must. out May 29,
i865.
William H. Moore, Co. E; must. out June
12, I865.
Elias Michael, Co. I; must. out July 21,
I865.
David F. Misener, Co. I; must. out July 5,
i865.
Nelson R. Nye, Co. E; must. out July 21,
I865.
David Nelson, Co. I; must. out July 21, I865.
Henry I. Ogden, Co. I; must. out June 12,
i865.


Isaac W. Pierce, Co. E; hust. out June 12,
i865.
William H. Rose, Co. I; must. out July 21,
i865.
Joseph Robinson, Co. E; must. out June 12,
i865.
Henry Rynder, Co. F; trans. to IIth Mich.
Batt., May 8, 1863.
William Rowley, Co. F; trans. to IIth Mich.
Batt., May 8, 1863.
W. W. Scott, Co. K; died of disease at Covington, Ky., July 26, I864.
James Stubbs, Co. L; died in Andersonville
prison, July 15, I864.
Thomas Sudboro, Co. L; trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps, Jan. I5, I864.
Erastus L. Smith, Co. I; trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps, Jan. 15, I864.
Samuel S. Smith, Co. K; trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps, Jan. I5, i864.
Jacob Shirnerly, Co. I; trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps, Jan. I5, 1864.
John A. Smith, Co. A; must. out July 21,
i865.
George Selleck, Co. E; must. out July 21,
I865.
Luther W. Smith, Co. K; must. out July 2I,
i865.
Jephtha Simpson, Co. K; must. out July 21,
I865.
James D. Studley, Co. I; must. out July 2I,
I865.
Jesse Taft, Co. I; must. out July 21, 1865.
Hazel Tyrrell, Co. K; must. out July 21,
I865.
George W. Thayer, Co. H; died of disease
at Knoxville, Tenn., July 6, 1864.
George W. Thayer, Co. B; must. out July 21,
i865.
John Uhlm, Co. I; must. out July 21, i865.
F. Vanderhoof, Co. G; died of disease at
Nashville, Tenn., April, 1864.
John H. Wells, Co. F; disch. for disability,
June 14, I865.
Benjamin Wilkins, Co. K; must. out July
21, I865.
Benj. F. Wilder, Co. I; must. out Jan. 23,
I865.
Aug. Wentworth, Co. I; must. out July 21,
i865.


The Eleventh Regiment of Michigan Cavalry left Kalamazoo, its rendezvous, in December, 1863, served six months' scout duty in Kentucky,
and in September, 186.4, was sent into Virginia, and saw the rest of its service in Virginia, east Tennessee and North Carolina, being part of the commnand of General Stoneman.   This regiment was consolidated with the
Eighth Michigan Calvary in July, I865, and was mustered out as members
of the latter in the following September.




284


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


MEMBERS OF THE ELEVENTH CAVALRY FROM BRANCH COUNTY.
Abram E. Stowell, Coldwater, ist lieut.; er4.
Aug. i, I863; res. Nov. 14, I865.
Martin S. Perkins, Coldwater, 2d lieut.; enl.
Aug. I, 1863; res. June I8, 1865.
Edwin R. Bovee, Co. M.
William E. Burtless, Co. M.
Edward Bates, Co. M; trans. to 8th Mich.
Cav.
David Blass, Co. M; trans. to 8th Mich. Cav.
Charles S. Dunn, Co. A; disch. by order,
July 12, 1865.
William  J. Foster, Co. M; trans. to 8th
Mich. Cav.
Thomas B. Fulcher, Co. M; disch. by order,
Aug. o1, I865.
Otto Gould, Co. M; disch. by order, July
12, i865.
George Garboll, Co. M; trans. to 8th Mich.
Cav.
John W. Hulburt, Co. M; trans. to 8th Mich.
Cav.
Thomas Howe, Co. M; disch. by order, Aug.
IO, I865.
Julius Henry, Co. M; trans. to 8th Mich.
Cav.
James Kubeck, Co. M; trans. to 8th Mich.
Cav.
George H. Kimball, Co. M; disch. by order,
July 12, I865.


James Loomis, Co. M; must. out Sept. T1,
1865.
Erastus J. Lewis, Co. M; trans. to 8th Mich.
Cav.
John M. Landon, Co. M; trans. to 8th Mich.
Cav.
James C. Mosher, Co. L; disch. for promotion.
Mortimer J. Nash, Co. M; trans. to 8th
Mich. Cav.
William Newman, Co. M; trans. to 8th Mich.
Cav.
William Powers, Co. M; trans. to 8th Mich.
'Cav.
Wesley Preston, Co. M; trans. to 8th Mich.
Cav.
Charles Sutherland, Co. M; trans. to 8th
Mich. Cav.
David Sidler, Co. M; trans. to 8th Mich.
Cav.
H. C. Thompson, Co. M; must. out June 12,
i865.
Lewis C. Wheeler, Co. M; trans. to 8th
Mich. Cav.
Oliver M. Wentworth, Co. M; trans. to 8th
Mich. Cav.
William  J. Young, Co. M; trans. to 8th
Mich. Cav.
Charles Zimmerman, Co. A; trans. to 8th
Mich. Cav.


Battery A, First Light Artillery, famed throughout Branch county as
the " Loomis Battery," whose annual reunions are occasions attracting more
than casual interest, the Loomis Battery Park with its memorial tablets and
cannon being a conspicuous feature of the Coldwater public square, was
organized soon after the commencement of the war in I86I. Its nucleus was
an artillery company that had existed in the village of Coldwater for some
time before the war. The enlistment at first was for three months, but it
was soon announced that the battery would not be received except for a
period of three years. Some returned to their homes, but the battery was
soon recruited to full strength. Cyrus O. Loomis was elected captain, hence
the popular name of the organization. The record of this battery is given
on the large memorial tablet in the public square of Coldwater. Suffice it
here to state that the battery saw its first action in West Virginia at Rich
Mountain; was then transferred to the campaigns in Kentucky and Tennessee, its experience culminating in the fierce struggle at Chickamauga.
The battery remained about Chattanooga until the close of the war, being
mustered out July 28, I865.


MEMBERS OF BATTERY A FROM
BRANCH COUNTY.
Cyrus O. Loomis, Coldwater, capt.; enl. May
28, 1861; col., Oct. 8, 1862; bvt. brig.-gen.,
June 20, I865; must. out July 29, 1865.
Otis H. Gillam, Coldwater, Ist lieut.; enl.
May 28, I86I; res. March 8, 1862.


Roland Root, Coldwater, 2d lieut.; enl. May
28, I86I; ist lieut., Oct. 6, 1861; res. Nov.
17, 1862.
Robert G. Chandler, Coldwater, 2d lieut.;
enl. May 28, 1861; ISt lieut. Oct. 6, 1861;
res. Nov. 24, 1862.
George W. Van Pelt, Coldwater, 2d lieut.;




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


285


enl. Oct. 6, I86I; Ist lieut., Nov. 24, 1862;
killed in action at Chickamauga, Tenn.,
Sept. I9, I863.
Almerick W. Wilbur, Quincy, 2d lieut.; enl.
Nov. 24, 1862; ISt lieut., Sept. 21, 1863;
capt., Sept. 5, 1864; must. out July 28,
I865, with battery.,
John M. Tilton, Coldwater, 2d lieut.; enl.
Sept. 21, 1863; Ist lieut., Sept. 6, 1864;
res. March 6, 1865.
John W. Streeter, Union City, 2d lieut.; enl.
Sept. 6, 1864; Ist Iieut., May 25, 1865;
must. out July 28, I865, with battery.
William R. Peet, Coldwater, 2d lieut.; must.
out July 28, 1865, with battery.
Hezekiah E. Burchard, disch. to enlist as
vet., Feb. II, 1864.
William H. Bush, disch. at end of service,
May 31, 1864.
Robert J. Bradley, disch. for disability, March
25, I863.
John Botemar, disch. at end of service, May
31, I864.
Orrin A. Barber.
Admiral B. Burch, disch. at end of service,
May 31, I864.
Edward M. Brown, disch. at end of service,
May 31, 1864.
Lafayette M. Burleson, disch. at end of service, May 31, 1864.
Levi Beard, must. out July 28, I865.
Joseph Billingsly, died in rebel prison.
Aaron R. Burroughs, must. out July 28, I865.
James B. Burtless, must. out July 28, I865.
Peter Berdama, died of disease at Chattanooga, Tenn., June 26, I864.
James Barnes, disch. at end of service, Sept.
30, 1864.
Charles Barnes, must. out July 28, 1864.
Martin Buell, disch. at end of service, May
31, I864.
Edgar H. Bargduff, must out July 28, I865.
Thomas Baird, must. out July 28, I865.
Jeremiah V. H. Cudner, must. out July 28,
i865.
William R. Card, disch. by order, May 22,
I865.
Edward P. Clark.
Augustus A. Cudner, must. out July 28, I865.
Jesse Culver, must. out July 28, 1865.
Harvey Crawford, must. out July 28, I865.
Contarini Crawford. must. out July 28, I865.
Don P. Cushman, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 20, 1864.
Wilbur B. Crawford, disch. by order, May
30, i865.
Simon L. Culver. must. out July 28, I865.
Asa B. Cornell, disch. at end of service, Sept.
30, I864.
Cornelius Claus, disch. at end of service,
May 31, 1864.
Ransom Cory, must. out July 28, I865.
Bradley Crippen, disch. at end of service,
Oct. 29, I864.


William J. Culp, must. out July 28, 1865.
Lester Carson, disch. for disability, May I6,
I863.
Wnm. Dubendorf, disch. for disability, Oct.
21, 1862.
Sela R. Day, disch. at end of service, May
31, 1864.
John Dillon, died at Stone River, Tenn., Jan.
6, 1863, of wounds.
Daniel Demarest, died in Andersonville
prison, June 17, I864.
Edward F. Davis. must. out July 28, 1865.
Wm. H. Eldred, died of disease at Nashville,
Tenn., Aug. I, I863.
Edward E. Ellis, must. out July 28, I865.
Martin V. Elliott, must. out July 28, 1865.
George L. Freemyer, must. out July 28, I865.
Bradley C. Farman, must. out July 28, I865.
Samuel W. Finney, disch. for disability, May
22, i865.
John Golden, disch. at end of service, May
31, 1864.
Marcus A. Gage, died at Stone River, Tenn.,
Jan. 13, 1863, of wounds.
Andrew Grosse, disch. at end of service, May
31, 1864.
Warren J. Gould, disch, at end of service,
Sept. 30, 1864.
Luman B. Gibbs, disch. at end of service,
May 31, I864.
Isaac Groesbeck, died in action at Chickamauga, Tenn., Sept. I9, 1863.
Archibald Grove, disch. at end of service,
June 13, 1864.
John Gackler.
Andrew J. Hanna, disch. at end of service,
May 31, I864.
Thomas J. Harris, must. out July 28, i865.
James Haynes, disch. at end of service, May
3I, 1864.
James B. Haggerty, died of disease, Jan. 13,
I863.
John Heller, died at Champlin Hills, Ohio,
Oct. 8, 1862, of wounds.
Sheldon Havens, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 30, 1864.
Charles E. Hastings, disch. March 31, I863.
Joseph R. Harris, disch. at end of service,
May 31, 1864.
Clinton A. Hutchinson, must. out July 28,
i865.
Wm. H. Haynes, died at Chattanooga, Tenn.,
May 2I, 1864.
Alonzo C. Hayden, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 30, 1864.
Bruce G. Hawley, disch. at end of service,
May 3I, I864.
Charles E. Judd, must. out July 28, i865.
Henry H. Kellogg, disch. at end of service,
May 31, 1864.
Martin Kelly,.must. out July 28, i865.
John W. Kennedy, must. out July 28, I865.
Charles A. Lee, must. out July 28, 1865... ~.....~~r                  I,- l1   ~  ~  L  --- ~  -  ~




286


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Stillman E. Lawrence, must. out July 28,
I865.
Francis J. Lewis, disch. for disability, April
9, I863.
William Lynde, must. out July 28, I865.
Abijah P. Lyke, must. out July 28, I865.
Clark Miller, must. out July 28, I865.
Jerome Mather.
Leander A. McCrea, disch. at end of service,
May 31, 1864.
John A. Mosher, disch. at end of service,
May 31, 1864.
John H. Munion, disch. at end of service
Sept. 30, 1864.
Peter Montavon, must. out July 28, I865.
James P. McCarty, died in action at Chickamauga, Tenn., Sept. 19, 1863.
John J. Martin, must. out July 28, 1865.
David C. Nichols, died at Stone River, Jan.
13, 1863, of wounds.
Jared Nichols.
Bernard O'Rourke, trans. to Vet. Res. Corps,
May 15, 1864.
Silas Patten, disch. for disability, Dec. I3,
I865.
William Peet, must. out July 28, i865.
Cornelius J. Patten, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 30, I864.
William J. Pattison, disch. for promotion.
William A. Post. must. out July 28, i865.
Lewis C. Richardson, must. out July 28, I865.
Robert Roulstone, must. out July 28, I865.


Thomas A. Robinson, must. out July 28,
1865.
Henry M. Rapright, must. out July 28, 1865.
Linus H. Stevens, must. out July 28, 1865.
George W. Smith.
John W. Streeter.
Watson Spencer, disch. at end of service,
May 31, I864.
Myron H. Smith, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 30, 1864.
Samuel J. Smith, must. out July 28, I865.
Charles F. Smith, must. out July 28, 1865.
Charles K. Stevens, must. out July 28, I865.
Sylvanus Titus, disch. for disability, March
I8, 1863.
Sylvester Taylor, must. out July 28, I865.
Lucius M. Tousley, must. out July 28, I865.
Asa G. Van Blarcom, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 30, 1864.
Ira C. Van Aken, must. out July 28, I865.
Henry Vosburg, must. out July 28, I865.
Edward M. Vanderhoof, must. out July 28,
I865.
Henry Wells, disch. at end of service, May
31, I864.
Alva H. Wilder, must. out July 28, I865.
George W. Webb, must. out July 28, I865.
William H. Webb, must. out July 28, I865.
James A. West, must. out July 28, I865.
Webster N. Wilbur, must. out July 28, I865.
Henry Wheeler, disch. by order, June 9, i8o5.
Lorenzo Winegard.


Battery D, or the Fourth Michigan Battery, also known as Church's
Battery, to which Branch county furnished three-fourths of the members,
was organized during the first months of the war, and proceeded to the
scene of hostilities in Kentucky in December, I86I; it took part in the battle
of Corinth, Stone River, and Chickamauga, and the campaigns centering
about Nashville, Murfreesboro and Chattanooga, and also fought at Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. It remained in Tennessee until July,
1865, and soon after was sent home and discharged.


MEMBERS OF BATTERY D FROM
BRANCH COUNTY.
Josiah W. Church, Coldwater, Ist lieut.;
enl. Sept. i, 1861; capt., Aug. 2, 1862;
major, March 14, 1864; res. March 14,
1864, for disability.
James M. Beadle, Union City, 2d lieut.; enl.
Sept. 2, I86i; res. June 20, 1862.
Henry B. Corbin, Union City, 2d lieut.; enl.
Sept. io, 1861; ist lieut., June 20, 1862;
capt., March 23, 1864; must. out at end of
service, Feb. 8, 1865.
Edward S. Wheat, Quincy, ist lieut.; enl.
June 20, 1862; must. out at end of service,
Feb. 8, i865.
Daniel W. Sawyer, Quincy, 2d lieut.; enl.
Aug. 2, 1862; Ist lieut., March 23, 1864;
must. out at end of service,' Jan. 31, I865.
Jesse B. Fuller, Coldwater, 2d lieut.; enl.


Sept. 24, 1862; capt., Feb. 8, 1865; must.
out Aug. 3, I865, with battery.
Solomon E. Lawrence, Union City, 2d lieut.;
enl. March 23, 1864; ist lieut., Feb. 8, i865.
res. June 21, 1865.
Samuel A. Blodgett, 2d lieut.; enl. Feb. 8,
1865; Ist lieut., June 21, I865; must. out
Aug. 3, 1865, with battery.
George W. Annis, 2d lieut.; enl. Feb. 8,
1865; must. out Aug. 3, 1865, with battery.
Albert J. Baldwin, 2d lieut.; enl. June 21,
1865; must. out Aug. 3, I865, with battery.
George Seymour, Ist lieut.; enl. Jan. 31,
I865; must. out Aug. 3, i865, with battery.
Edward F. Allen, died of disease at Nashville, Tenn.. April 25, I865.
Leonard Austin, disch. for disability, May
27, 1862.
Myron Austin, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.


_,I-~~~~~ ~-x.~~




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


287


George E. Aiken, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Henry C. Adams, disch. for disability, May
27, I862.
Benjamin F. Barber, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 17, 1864.
William H. Beck, must. out at end of service, Sept. 17, 1864.
Harvey Barry, disch. for disability, Oct. 28,
i862.
William H. Buell, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 17, I864.
Sidney Buell, trans. to Vet. Res. Corps, April
30, 1864.
Charles Burnett, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Erastus Barber, died of disease at White
Pigeon, Mich., Dec. 11, 186I.
Henry Barry, died of disease at Triune,
Tenn., April 15, 1863.
Leander Burnett, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
Jerry Baker, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Dewitt C. Beach, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Lafayette Bartlett, died of disease at IMurfreesboro, Tenn., April I, 1865.
Martin F. Brower, died of disease at St.
Louis, Mo., Dec. IO, I861.
Frank C. Beck, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
Harvey Bills, disch. for disability, Aug. I,
i862.
Albert J. Baldwin, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Ira B. Buell, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
Manly Bucknell, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Chauncey H. Bailey, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Arthur E. Bartlett, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Henry J. Burton, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Aaron Bagley, Jr., must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Austin Burnett, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
Henry Beem, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Charles W. Champney, trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps, April 30, 1864.
John Chivois, disch. for disability, April
28, 1862.
John H. Chivois, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 17, I864.
William Colburn, disch. at end of service,
Nov. 2, 1864.
Jeremiah A. Church, disch. for disability,
July 9, 1863.
Robert Crawford, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
John C. Corbin, died of disease at Chattanooga, Tenn., Sept. 25, 1863.
Ira Crandall, disch. by order, June 30, 1865.
John A. Calhoun, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
William  M. Corey, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Stephen W. Chapman, must. out Aug. 3,
i865.
John Chard, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
Gilbert D. Clute, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
George W. Chaffee, disch. Feb. 28, I863.
Ansel J. Davis, disch. at end of service, Sept.
17, 1864.
Eber L. Dodge, disch. for disability, July 30,
I862.
Albert Durfee, disch. at end of service, Sept.
17, 1864.


George B. Davis, died of disease at Murfreesboro, Tenn., March 27, 1865.
Clinton Dewey, died of disease at Nashville,
Tenn., March I9, 1864.
Marvin M. Denison, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
William J. Davis, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Lyman J. Dane, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Oscar N. Denison, disch. for disability, July
23, 1863.
Francis Fry, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
Lewis Gardiner, died of disease at Gallatin,
Tenn., Jan. 7, 1863.
George W. Gates, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Hiram T. Grant, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Judson Guernsey, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Benjamin Hess, disch. at end of service,
Sept. I7, 1864.
Norman S. Hawes, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 17, 1864.
Horace Hall, disch. for disability, April 25,
i863.
Ashael Hill, disch. for disability, Dec. 4,
1862.
Abner Hillman, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
John Henry, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
Andrew J. Hawes, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
Elias Hively, disch. for disability, July II,
I862.
James M. Holiday, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 17, 1864.
James A. Harding, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 17, 1864.
Henry Harmon, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Henry Hecatharm, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Leonard Hulbert, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
George Haymaker, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 17, 1864.
Frank Haymaker, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Levi B. Halsted, disch. for disability, April
28, 1862.
Wells Harrison, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
Lewis E. Jacobs.
Henry J. Jones, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
Nathaniel Jones, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
Varney B. Jones, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Samuel Killmena.
Ansel Knowles, disch. for disability, Aug.
27, 1862.
Peter J. Kidney, died of disease at Monterey,
Tenn., May I3, 1862.
Alonzo C. Kimball, disch. by order, June 17,
i865.
Josiah Kimball, must. out Aug. 3, i865.
Samuel Kilburn, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 17, 1864.
George W. Kilburn, died of disease at Corinth, Miss., June 23, I862.
William H. Kellogg, trans. to Vet. Res.
Corps, April Io, I864.
Caleb H. Lincoln, died of disease at Nashville, Tenn., Jan. 4, I864.
Wm. H. Lincoln, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Cornelius D. Leech, must, out Aug. 3, I865.
Riley Layhm, must. out Aug. 3, I865.._ I-.,..i.-,,.1~-,.~~~-~ ~




288


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Henry W. Lock, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
William Loucks, must. out Aug. 3, i865.
Frank'Lilley, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
James M. Lock, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
David W. Moore, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 17, 1864.
Horace Maxon, disch. for disability, July iI,
1862.
Jesse L. Maxon, disch. for disability, May 13,
i862.
Jesse R. Mathews, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Byron L. Mitchell, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
George V. Meseroll, disch. at end of service,
Sept. I7, 1864.
Estes McDonald, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 17, 1864.
William A. Morley, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 17, 1864.
John T. Morford, must. out Aug. 3, i865.
William H. Morford. must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Cornelius J. Myers, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Marcellus Morrell, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
John W. Norton, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 17, I864.
Charles Norton, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Samuel H. Nichols. must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Michael O'Rourke, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Milton Ormsby, disch.
Harvey L. Ormsby, died of disease at Paducah, Ky., July 2, i862.
Edgar T. Ormsby.
Albert Olmstead, died of disease at Camp
Halleck, Tenn., April 27, I862.
Porter Olmstead, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 17, I864.
Patrick O'Rourke, disch. by order, May 24,
1865.
George Olmstead, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Laman Olmstead.
Jarvis Petch, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Albert Pinkerton, must. out by order, June
30, i865.
Henry A. Peters, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
Joseph Polite, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
William Roblyer, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 17, I864.
Angusa Rhode, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
Mason F. Rowe, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Charles M. Richards, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
Henry Runyan, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
William W. Swayne, must. out Aug. 3, i865.
Martin Swayne, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
George M. Sims, died of disease at Louisville, Ky.
Henry Seymour, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 17, I864.
Albert Shelmire, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 17, I864.


William H. Studley, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 17, I864.
Charles W. Stafford, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Daniel B. Saunders, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
Andrew Shafer, disch. for disability, Dec. I,
I86i.
Joseph M. Snyder, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
George W. Swift, died of disease at Camp
Gilbert. Ky., Jan. 20, I862.
Carlisle Smith, must. out Aug. 3, i865.
George H. Shelt, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
David R. Spencer, must. out Aug. 3, i865.
John Stahlnecker, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
George Seymour, must. out at end of service, Sept. 17, 1864.
John Studley, must. out at end of service,
Sept. 17, I864.
Isaiah Swift.
William Sutton, died of disease at Gallatin,. Tenn., Dec. 22, i862.
Caleb Simmons, died of disease at Cincinnati, Ohio, July 15, i862.
Ethan D. Starks, died of disease at Gallatin,
Tenn., Dec. 24, i862.
Augustus F. Taylor, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 17, I864.
Albert D. Tyler, disch. for disability, July
II, 1862.
Joseph Taylor, died of disease at Murfreesboro, Tenn., July I6, I864.
John Taylor, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
William  Taylor, must. out Aug. 3, i865.
Charles T. Torrey, must. out Aug. 3, 1865.
Edwin A. Tenney, must. out Aug. 3, i865.
Charles Van Vliet, died at Chattanooga,
Tenn., Oct. 28, I863, of wounds.
John P. West, disch. for disability, Feb. 13,
1863.
George E. Wolcott, disch. at end of service,
Sept. 17, I864.
Loren M. Waldo, disch. for disability, July
28, i862.
Joseph M. Wisner.
Herman Wedemann, disch. at end of service, Sept. 17, 1864.
George Warren, disch. for disability, Sept.
9, i863.
Storrs Wilbur, disch. at end of service, Sept.
17, 1864.
Martin V. Wright, disch. for disability, April
28, I862.
Albert D. Wetherby, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Hiram C. Wilber, must. out Aug. 3, i865.
John H. Wilber, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Asa H. Wilber, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
Thomas C. Winters, must. out Aug. 3, I865.
David Wetherell, must. out Aug. 3, I865.


Battery F, First Michigan Light Artillery, also known as the Sixth
Michigan Battery, was organized at Coldwater in October, 1861, and left
for Louisville, Kentucky, in March, i862; was in Kentucky till the latter




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


289


part of I863, when it was sent to Knoxville, Tennessee, and thence to join
Sherman's movement toward Atlanta; after the capture of Atlanta, the
battery followed Hood back into Tennessee, and in December, 1864, participated in the decisive engagement at Nashville. Early in I865 the battery
was transferred to Washington, and saw service along the coast and in
North Carolina until the war closed.  It was mustered out at Jackson,
Michigan, July i, I865.


MEMBERS OF BATTERY F FROM
BRANCH COUNTY.
John S. Andrews, Coldwater, capt.; enl.
Oct. 15, I861; res. Dec. 5, 1862.
Luther F. Hale, Coldwater, 1st lieut.; enl.
Oct. 15, I86i; capt., Dec. 5, 1862; maj.,
Sept. I, 1863; lieut.-col., March 14, 1864;
res. Nov. 17, 1864.
George B. Tyler, Coldwater, 1st lieut.; enl.
Oct. I5, i86i; killed in action, June 29,
1862, at Henderson, Ky., by guerrillas.
Byron D. Paddock, Coldwater, 2d lieut.; enl.
July I, 1862; ist lieut., Dec. 5, 1862; capt.,
Sept. i, 1863; must. out at end of service,
April 6, I865.
George Holbrook, Coldwater, 2d lieut.; enl.
Sept. I, 1862; ist lieut., Sept. 2, I863; must.
out at end of service, Jan. o1, I865.
William  H. Brown, Coldwater, 2d lieut.;
enl. Dec. 5, 1862; res. March 15, 1864.
Marshall M. Miller, Coldwater, 2d lieut.;
enl. March 15, I864; ist lieut., Jan. I9,
I865; wounded in action at Marietta, Ga.,
June 27, 1864; must. out July I, I865, with
battery.
George Hawley, Coldwater, 2d lieut.; enl.
Sept. 2, 1863; ist lieut., Jan. 10, I865; capt.,
April 6, I865, must. out July I, I865, with
battery.
John Hughes, Coldwater, 2d lieut.; enl. as
sergt., April 6. 1865; must. out July I, I865,
with battery.
John B. Allen, must. out July I, I865.
Hiram B. Avery, disch. for disability, May
15, I862.
Joseph Badger, disch. for disability, June 12,
i862.
MIanderville  Bates,  disch.  for  disability,
March 2, I863.
Charles Brayton, must. out July I, I865.
Daniel Burleson.
Joseph Bedell, died of disease at Quincy,
Mich., March I5, I865.
Charles Bridge, died of disease at Glasgow, Ky., Nov. 17, I863.
Gideon S. Baker.
George O. Bush.
Martin L. Burleson, must. out July I, I865.
Samuel Butcher, must. out July I, 1865.
William H. Brown.
David H. Carter, must. out July I, 1865.
Albert Cummings, disch. for disability, Sept.
27, I862.


Levi Coup, disch. at end of service, Jan. 14,
I865.
Francis C. Corneille, must. out July I, I865.
Charles D. Christian.
Levi Cory.
George W. Clark, disch. for disability, June
12, I862.
Watson R. Cole, disch. by order, June 7,
i865.
James D. Cole, disch. for pro. to I2th U. S.
Col. Heavy Art.
Harvey Dart, died of disease at Bowling
Green, Ky., Jan. 29, 1863.
Ambrose David, disch. atend of service, Jan.
28, I865.
Leman Dibble, disch. at end of service, April
28, I865.
Calvin J. Dart, disch. at end of service, April
I9, 1865.
Harvey Darwin, must. out July I, I865.
Isaac C. Estlow, must. out July I, 1865.
John G. Gould, must. out July I, I865.
Webster Goodrich, disch. for disability, Sept.
24, 1862.
Isaac Grundy, must. out July I, I865.
John Graham, must. out at end of service,
Jan. 14, I865.
Henry A. Hutson.
George H. Hawley, disch. to re-enl. as vet.,
Feb. 20, 1864.
William E. Holmes, disch. for disability,
June 12, 1862.
Joseph J. Hartwell, must. out July I, 1865.
John Hughes, must. out July I, I865.
George Holbrake.
James M. Hulbert, must. out July I, 1865.
William H. Howe, disch. for disability, Feb.
20, 1863.
Michael Holweg, must. out July I, 1865.
Marquis L. Hayner, disch. to take com'sn in
i2th U. S. Col. H. Art.
Frederick Keeler.
Joseph Lapointe.
Leverett Lee, must. out July I, 1865.
Willard Lease, must. out July I, 1865.
Gideon Lease, disch. at end of service, Jan.
28, I865.
Marshall M. Miller, disch. to re-enl. as vet.,
Feb. 20, I864.
Joseph McKinney, must. out July i, 1865.
David C. Myers, must. out by order, Jan.
27, 1865.


''I     "                     l —  -   -;-;,-;-             I        I




290


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


George W. Misner, disch. for disability, June
12, 1862.
Nathan Morse, disch. for disability, May 15,
1862.
Peleg S. Manchester, died of disease at Louisville, Ky., Jan. 19, i865.
Asher M. Miller, disch. for disability, Nov.
26, 1862.
Philo P. Miller, disch. for disability, Feb.
26, 1863.
William W. Misner, must. out July I, i865.
James H. McCauley, disch. at end of service,
Jan. 28, 1865.
Sanford H. McCauley, disch. at end of service, Aug. I9, I865.
James McCrea, disch. at end of service,
Jan. 28, I865.
Isaac McCrea, disch. at end of service, Jan.
28, I865.
John W. McGinnis, disch. at end of service,
Jan. 28, 1865.
Samuel B. McCourtee, disch. to re-enl. as
vet., Feb. 20, 1864.
Sylvester W. McNitt, must. out July I, i865.
Winm. N. Millard.
James Morrill, must. out July I, i865.
Wesley J. Nichols, must. out July i, 1865.
William H. Pratt, disch. at end of service,
Jan. 28, 1865.
Gideon Pease.
Eben Palmeter, disch. for disability, Jan. 28,
1864.
Joseph Palmeter, disch. by order, May ii,
1864.
James T. Porter, disch. at end of service,
Jan. 28, 1865.
Benson W. Paddock, disch. for disability,
Nov. 18, 1862.


Cyrus W. Parker, must. out July i, 1865.
Sherman B. Ransom, disch. to accept com'sn
in 12 U. S. Col. H. Art.
James M. Ransom, disch. for disability, May
I5, i862.
Andrew J. Shook, disch. at end of service,
Jan. 28, i865.
Almiron L. Sharp, died of disease at Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 28, I864.
Stephen D. Sherman, disch. for disability,
Nov. 18, 1862.
Abram E. Stowell, disch. for disability, OcT.
14, 1862.
Truman A. Smith, disch. at end of service,
Jan. 28, i865.
Samuel L. Stowell, disch. at end of service,
Jan. 28, 1865.
William Taft, disch. by order, July i, 1865.
Harrison Taylor, disch. at end of service,
Jan. 28, 1865.
David S. Thompson.
Rowland F. Underhill, disch. for disability,
March ii, 1863.
Abner T. Van Vorst, disch. for disability,
Oct. 3, I863.
Nicholas Van Alstine, must. out July i, 1865.
Amos Vanderpoel, must. out July i, 1865.
Samuel Wright, must. out July i, 1865.
Isaac H. White, disch. at end of service,
Jan. 28, 1865.
William H. White.
Abram L. Webb, disch. for disability April
28, /862.
David E. Wedge, disch. for disability, April
28, 1862.
Carlton Wakefield, must. out July i, i865.


Battery G, Michigan Artillery, was also largely made up of Branch
county men, and was mustered into service at Kalamazoo, January i6, 1862.
Its first service was in Kentucky and along the Ohio river into West Virginia.   It was then a part of Sherman's forces operating in northern Mississippi, and with Grant about Vicksburg, rendering specially valuable service
in the movement against Jackson. It later was sent to Louisiana and along
the Texas coast, and finally took part in the siege and capture of Mobile.          It
was mustered out of service at Jackson, Michigan, August 6, 1865.
MEMBERS OF BATTERY G FROM George L. Stillman, Coldwater, 2d lieut.;
BRANCH     COUNTY.                  enl. Feb. 15, 1863; ist. lieut., Sept., I863:
must. out Aug. 6, 1865, with battery.
Charles H. Lanphere,  Coldwater, capt.; enl.  Edwin E. Lewis, Coldwater, 2d lieut.; enl.
Oct. 3, 186I; res. Sept. I, 1863.           June 6, 1862; ist. lieut., April 19, 1864;
Albin T. Lanphere, Coldwater,' ist lieut.;    capt., Jan. 7, 1865; must. out Aug. 6, i865,
enl. Oct. 3, 1861; res. June 5, 1862.       with battery.
James H. Burdick, Coldwater, 2d lieut.; enl. Elliott M. Burdick, Coldwater, 2 lieut.; enl.
Oct. 3, 1861; capt., Sept. i, 1863; must. out  April 19, 1864; must. out Aug. 6, 1865;
at end of service, Jan: 17, I865.           with battery.
Robert M. Wilder, Coldwater, 2d lieut.; enl. Theodore F. Garvin, Coldwater, 2d lieut.;
Oct. 3, 1861; ist. lieut., Oct. 22, 1862;   enl. as sergt., April 6, 1865; must. out Aug.
res. May 3, 1863.                           6, 1865, with battery.: ~-~  1  "..:liTslsnp




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


291


George H. Abbott, disch. at end of service,
March, 4, 865.
Robert H. Abbott, disch. for disability, June
I6, 1863.
Philander L. Alden, must. out Aug. 6, 1865.
Elijah C. Branch, disch. for disability, Nov.
4, 1862.
Clinton J. Ball, died of disease at Fort
Gaines, Ala., Nov. 25, 1864.
George Busler, died of disease, April 25,
I862.
Hiram L. Brace, trans. to Vet. Res. Corps,
April o1, I864.
Aaron Barnes, must. out Aug. 6, 1865.
Nathaniel R. Barnes, must. out Aug. 6, I865.
George N. Brown, must. out Aug. 6, 1865.
Archibald D. Cooper, must. out Aug. 6, I865.
George W. Clark, must. out Aug. 6, i865.
Daniel J. Cook, must. out Aug. 6, I865.
Francis L. Cain, must. out Aug. 6, i865.
Ezra S. Corey, disch. at end of service, Jan.
28, I865.
Edgar A. Craft, disch. to enl. in regular
service, Nov. 25, I862.
Stephen B. Campbell, disch. for disability,
July 15, I862.
Daniel' B. Campbell, disch. for disability,
April, I862.
Reuben Cornell, disch. for disability, April
II, 1862:
Daniel Douglass, must. out Aug. 6, 1865.
William Dillen, disch. at end of service, Jan.
28, 1865.
Benjamin F. Dumont, disch. at end of service, Jan. 28, 1865.
Austin Engle, disch. for disability, March
4, i864.
Jeremiah Ferguson, trans. to Vet. Res. Corps,
March 5, I864.
William S. Gibson, trans. to Vet. Res. Corps,
Sept. 25, 1864.
Charles M. Gay, must. out Aug. 6, I865.
Lyman J. Goodell, must. out Aug. 6, I865.
Daniel J. Gibson, trans. to Vet. Res. Corps,
Sept. 25, I864.
Moses A. Hewett, trans. to Vet. Res. Corps,
April Io, I864.
Daniel Higgins, disch. for disability, March
I, 1862.
George W. Harris, disch. by sentence of
G. C. M., Sept. 6, I862.
Tobias Haynes, died of disease at Pass
Cavallo, Texas, June 7, I864.
Edwin R. Hause, died of disease at New
Orleans, July 21, 1865.
Francis Harvey, disch. at end of service,
Jan. 28, 1865.
James D. C. Harvey, died of disease near
Perkie's Plantation, La., May 31, I863.
William Hurst, must. out Aug. 6, I865.
Albert Johnson, must. out Aug. 6, I865.


Elias Johnson, must. out Aug. 6, I865.
Benjamin Knickerbocker, disch. for disability, Aug. o1, 1863.
Frederick Knickerbocker, disch. at end of
service, Jan. 28, i865.
Philander Knapp, must. out Aug. 6, 1865.
Somers Leland, disch. for disability, June
i6, 1863.
Sidney Leland, disch. at end of service, Jan.
28, i865.
Henry Lindenburg, must. out Aug. 6, I865.
Thaddeus E. Lawrence, died at Paducah,
Ky., Feb. 9, 1863, of wounds.
James A. Mason, must. out Aug. 6, I865.
Charles R. Moore, must. out Aug. 6, 1865.
Charles Huffman, must. out Aug. 6, i865.
Emanuel G. Miller, must. out Aug. 6, i865.
John W. McDonald, died at Paducah, Ky.,
Jan. I8, I863, of wounds.
Morgan Marquette, died of disease at Cumberland Gap, Tenn., Aug. 3, I862.
Benjaman S. Osburn.
Cortlandt Olds, disch. for disability, Oct. 20,
I864.
John Osterman, died of disease near Vicksburg, Tenn., July I, I863.
Samuel A. Peterson, must. out Aug. 6, I865.
Edwin Palmeter, disch. for disability.
Henry Patterson, disch. to enter U. S. Navy,
Aug. 25, I865.
William E. Page, disch. at end of service,
Feb. 12, I865.
John Ray, disch. at end of service, Jan. 28,
1865.
Jacob Raupp, must. out Aug. 6, I865.
Elijah Smith, disch. for disability, Feb., I863.
Peter Snooks, disch. at end of service, Jan.
28, 1865.
William Snooks.
Fred. Schnoerstine, disch. to enlist in regular service, Nov. 25, I862.
Frederick Schmidt, disch. at end of service,
Jan. 28, 1865.
Fayette N. Swift, disch. at end of service,
Jan. 28, 1865.
Seymour Straight, died of disease at Young's
Point, La., March 3, I863.
Samuel Smith, disch. for disability, Aug. I9,
1862.
Chester L. Stephens, must. out Aug. 6, 1865.
Smith Taylor, disch. for disability, Aug. 27,
I862.
William H. Thurber, disch. for disability,
Aug. 28, I862.
Lyman Thurber, disch. for disability, Nov.
26, I862.
John J. Vickory, disch. for wounds, April 17,
1863.
Aaron Van Antwerp, must. out Aug. 6, I865.
Sylvester B. Wright, disch. at end of service, Jan. 17, 1865.




292


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Branch county furnished a small quota of soldiers to each of various
others regiments and batteries besides those already given.  Their record
follows:


SECOND INFANTRY.
John Q. Adams, Co. B; died at Washington,
D. C., June Io, 1864, of wounds.
Feron Anderson, Co. B; died of wounds,
July I8, 1864.
Fletcher Alford, Co. G; disch. at expiration
of service, July 12, I864.
Wesley Banfield, Co. B; missing in action
near Petersburg, Va., Sept. 30, I864.
Robert A. Belton, Co. B; died at Portsmouth Grove, R. I., June 17, 1864, of
wounds.
William J. Baldwin, Co. A; must. out July
28, 1865.
Mandeville Bates, Co. D; must. out July 28,
i865.
Edward E. Gibson, Co. D; disch. for disability, Sept. 30, 1864.
Andrew Granger, Co. A; must. out Aug. 8,
I865.
Ludlow A. Hollenbeck, Co. A; disch. for disability, Aug. I6, I864.
Elijah Hammond, Co. B; must. out July 28,
i865.
Charles J. Moore, Co. H; must. out July 28,
I865.
George McKewn, Co. H; died in hospital,
ISt Div., 9th A. C., July 25, 1864.
Ralph Truax, Co. D; must. out May 12,
i865.
James Upton, Co. B; must. out Aug. 2, I865.
THIRD INFANTRY.
Anderson Brown, Co. G; missing in action,
Jan. 4, 1864.
Sidney J. Burlington, Co. F; trans. to 5th
Inf., June Io, I864.
FOURTH INFANTRY.
David H. Wood, Quincy, 2d lieut.; enl. July
26, I864; Ist lieut., Oct. 24, 1865; must.
out May 26, I866, with regiment.
Amos Aldrich, Co. E; died of disease at
San Antonio, Texas, Feb. 8, i866.
Charles Brownell, Co. E; must. out Aug. 21,
i865.
Henry E. Beale, Co. C; disch. at expiration
of service, Jan. 29, I864.
Samuel B. Corbus, Co. E; must. out May
26, i866.
Canfield A. Fisk, Co. C; disch. at expiration
of service, June 29, I864.
William H. Holcomb, Co. B; died of wounds
at Washington, D. C., Feb., I863.
John A. Homer, Co. C; disch. for disability,
April 28, I863.
Thomas Jones, Co. E; must. out May 26,
i866.
John Kinney, Co. C; disch. for disability,
Feb. 8, 1863.


John P. Kidney, Co. C; disch. at expiration
of service, June 29, 1864.
Joseph Price, Co. C; died of wounds received in action, July 31, 1862.
Jacob Roupp, Co. C; disch. at expiration of
service, Oct. I, I863.
Cessna Smith, Co. E; must. out Aug. 21,
1865.
Andrew J. Tindall, Co. E; died of disease at
Murfreesboro, Tenn., Jan. I, I865.
Oren Vangilder, Co. I; disch. to enl. in regular service, Dec. 24, 1862.
Charles Wademan, Co. C; disch. at expiration of service, June 29, 1864.
George Williams, Co. C; died at New York
City, Aug. 10, I862.
Jerome B. Youngs, Co. C; trans. to Vet.
Res. Corps, Jan. 15, I864.
SIXTH INFANTRY.
George W. Barry, Co. K; disch. by order,
July 24, i865.
Charles W. Hewitt, Co. C; disch. to re-enl.
as vet., Feb. I, 1864.
Joseph W. Ralph, Co. C; must. out Aug. 20,
I865.
Lorenzo P. Van Slyke, Co. I; must. out Aug.
20, i865.
Benjamin Wheaton, Co. I; disch. by order,
Sept. 2, 1865.
Roman S. Whipple, Co. K; disch. by order,
July 24, i865.
TENTH INFANTRY.
Charles W. Bray, Co. K; must. out July I9,
i865.
Jabez Carlisle, Co. A; must. out July I9,
I865.
Joseph Echtinaw, Co. A; must. out July I9,
I865.
John Huffman, Co. G; must. out July I9,
i865.
TWELFTH INFANTRY.
William Buck, Co. C; disch. by order, Oct.
12, I865.
Robert Cosgrove, Co. B; disch. by G. C. M.,
Dec. 14, I865.
Albert L. Gibson, Co. H; must. out Feb. 15,
I866.
Lewis Hause, Co. B; died of disease at Duvall's Bluff, Ark., Aug. I, I864.
Nathan A. Johnson, Co. B; died of disease
at Little Rock, Ark., July 15, 1864.
Patrick Keeley, Co. D; must. out Feb. 15,
i866.
Thomas McEvoy, Co. E; disch. by order,
Oct. 13, I865.
William H. Savage, Co. A; disch. at expiration of service, Sept. 9, 1865.
Daniel Tice, Co. B; must. out Feb. I5, i866.








HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


293


THIRTEENTH INFANTRY.
Abel E. Barber, Co. E; disch. by order, June
8, I865.
Stephen Brooks, Co. I; disch. by order, June
8, I865.
Sier Baird, Co. I; disch. by order, June 8,
I865.
Benj. Cleveland, Co. E; died of disease at
Savannah, Ga., Feb. 9, I865.
Josephus Clark, Co. I; disch. by order, Aug.
4, I865.
Hiram Evans, Co. E; died of disease at
Savannah, Ga., Jan. 15, I865.
Calvin B. Ferris, Co. I; died of disease
March 3, I865.
Levi R. Fuller, Co. I; disch. by order.
Charles W. Hoxie, Co. I; must. out Jury
25, I865.
Horace June, Co. I; died of disease at Troy,
N. Y., April 2, 1863.
James Ransom, Co. I; disch. by order, June
8, I865.
Peter B. Tindall, Co. I; disch. by order, June
23, i865.
Milton R. Thompson, Co. E; disch. by order,
June 26, 1865.
FOURTEENTH INFANTRY.
John W. Arnold, Co. G; must. out July I8,
I865.
Archibald Bates, Co. G; must. out July I8,
I865.
John L. Bowers, Co. B; must. out July I8,
I865.
Dwight L. Burbank, Co. B; disch. by order,
Aug. 2, I865.
Andrew Doyle, Co. G; disch. by order,
June 22, 1865.
Jefferson L. Friend, Co. A; must. out July
i8, I865.
Thomas G. King, Co. B; must. out July I8,
1865.
Sylvester Kilbourn, Co. B; must. out July
I8, I865.
William Kelso, Co. G; must. out July I8,
I865.
William Luke, Co. G; must. out July I8,
I865.
George McKnight, Co. G; disch. for disability, June 12, I865.
Robert McMurray, Co. B; must. out July
18, I865.
Charles Reynolds, Co. G; must. out July I8,
I865.
Christian Perkins, Co. H; must. out July I8,
I865.
Jeremiah Shane, Co. D; disch. for disability,
Nov. II, i865.
Ambrose Stevens, Co. G; died of disease at
Newbern, N. C., May 27, I865.
John J. Smith, Co. G; must. out July I8,
I865.
Augustus Thies, Co. H; must. out July I8,
I865.


Lewis Warner, Co. B; must. out July I8,
I865.
Franklin Warren, Co. C; disch. for wounds,
June I8, 1865.
TWENTY-FOURTH INFANTRY.
Austin Birch, Co. -; must. out June 28,
i865.
Jonathan W. Crawford, Co. E; must. out
June 30, I865.
Theodore Dickinson, Co. -; must. out June
30, I865.
George Frear, Co. E; must. out June 30,
I865.
John French, Co. F; must. out June 30, I865.
Elmore Gates, Co. -; must. out June 30,
I865.
Peter D. Gibson, Co. -; must. out June 30,
i865.
Carlton Greenleaf, Co. B; must. out June
30, I865.
Charles Leigh, Co. E; must. out June 30,
i865.
Melvin G. Lincoln, Co. E; must. out June
30, I865.
Ezra Lewis, Co. I; must. out June 30, I865.
William A. Peavey, Co. -; must. out June
30, I865.
John Sterling, Co. A; died of disease at
Culpeper, Va., April 14, I864.
George Vandine, Co. E; must. out June 30,
i865.
George E. Walcott, Co. E; must. out June
30, I865.
Julius M. Ward, Co. E; must. out June 30,
i865.
TWENTY-FIFTH INFANTRY.
Oliver H. Blanchard, Co. E; died of disease
at Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 13, I865.
J. S. Manning, Co. D; died of disease at
Knoxville, Tenn., April I, 1864.
Edward P. Whitmore, Co. D; disch. for disability March 25, 1863.
Bruce C. Wilcox, Co. E; must. out June 24,
I865.
TWENTY-SIXTH INFANTRY.
Nelson Kenney, Co. G; died of disease at
Alexandria Va., Dec. 20, I863.
TWENTY-SEVENTH INFANTRY.
Edwin P. Warren, Co. H; must. out July I,
I865.
THIRTIETH     INFANTRY.
Abram R. Colburn, N. C. S.; must. out June
30, i865.
Oscar Denning, Co. D; must. out June 30,
i865.
Thaddeus Eddington, Co. A; must. out June
30, I865.
Thomas B. Farley, Co. A; must. out June
30, i865.
James E. Foster, Co. D; must. out June 30,
I865.






294


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Charles A. Gilbert, Co. A; must. out June   J
30, I865.
James A. Kent, Co. D; must. out June 30,
1865.
Alex. Lesprence, Co. D; must. out June 30,
1865.
Floyd Moulton, Co. A; must. out June 30,
I865.
John Sullivan, Co. A; must. out June 30,
i865.
Peter H. Van Etten, Co. A; must. out
June 30, I865.
Asa Woolcott, Co. H; must. out June 30,
i865.
ONE HUNDRED AND SECOND U. S.
COLORED TROOPS.
John Delany, Co. B; must. out Sept. 30,
I865.
George H. Goins, Co. B; must. out Sept. 30,
1865.
George C. Smith, Co. B; must. out Sept. 30,
i865.
John Saunders, Co. B; must. out Sept. 30,
I865.
John H. Thomas, Co. C.; must. out Sept. 30,
i865.
Charles Johns, Co. I; must. out Sept. 30,
1865.
DUESLER'S SHARPSHOOTERS.
James Curtis, Benjamin Carter, Elisha R.
Philo, Wallace W. Root, Byron E. Williams.
FIFTH NEW YORK INFANTRY (DURYEA'S ZOUAVES).
F. D. Newberry, enl. in April, 1861; must.
out May 14, 1863; with regiment in the
principal battles of the Army of the Potomac.
ELEVENTH CONNECTICUT INFANTRY.
C. V. R. Pond, acting q.-m., Sept. 30, I861;
commissioned q.-m. in I2th Conn. Inf.;
took part in the naval engagement at Fort
Jackson and in the capture of New Orleans; disch. March 4, I864.
FIRST CAVALRY.
Samuel L. Brass, Ovid, 2d lieut., April II,
1865; must. out March Io, 1866, with regiment.
Barton S. Tibbits, Coldwater, 2d lieut. (as
sergt.), July Io, 1865; must. out March 1o,
I866, with regiment.
William Bronson, Co. B; must. out March
10, i866.
John Dennis, Co. G; must. out Dec. 5, I865.
Elisha Demarest, Co. M; must. out March
25, i866.
Edwin Fox, Co. G; must. out Dec. 5, I865.
Charles Prentis, Co. I; must. out Dec. 5,
I865.


ames J. Pendill, Co. K; must. out May ii,
I866.
Lucius Stray, Co. E; must. out March 2,
i865.
SECOND CAVALRY.
William  H. Tallman, Coldwater, 2d. lieut.,
March I, I864; capt., Oct. 7, 1864; trans.,
June 8, 1865, to I36th U. S. C. T.
Henry W. Walker, Ovid, ist lieut. and quartermaster, July 31, i865; not musL
Washington Bulson, Co. G; must. out Aug.
17, 1864
John M. Colwell, Co. I; died of disease at
Rienzi, Miss., Aug. 13, 1862.
George W. Hand, Co. M; must. out Aug. 17,
i865.
Henry G. Johnson, Co. G; must. out June
3, i865.
Nelson Norton, Co. H; must. out Aug. 30,
i865.
Frank Zahninger, Co. M; must. out June 17,
i865.
THIRD CAVALRY.
John C. Baker, Co. K; died of disease at
St. Louis, Mo., April 7, I864.
Charles A. Cook, Co. M; must. out Feb.
12, i866.
Thomas Davis, Co. F; died of disease at
Rienzi, Miss., July 25, 1862.
Fred Eberhard, Co. A; died of disease at
Duvall's Bluff, Ark., July 23, 1864.
George Hawley, Co. G; must. out Feb. 12,
i866.
Henry M. Lily, Co. A; must. out Feb. 12,
i866.
Theodore Oiliver, Co. A; died of disease at
Brownsville, Ark., Aug. 25, I864.
Mike Reynolds, Co. G; must. out Feb. 12,
i866.
John Vorhees, Co. K; died of disease at
Brownsville, Ark., Aug. 25, i864.
Martin Vanderhoof, Co. M; must. out Feb.
12, i866.
Jasper L. Wooden, Co. A; must. out March
17, i866.
SEVENTH CAVALRY.
Edward Carr, Co. F; trans. to ist Mich. Cav.,
Nov. 17, 1865.
Elisha Demorest, Co. H; trans. to Ist Mich.
Cav., Nov. 17, i865.
Peter M. Dubendorf, Co. M; must. out Dec.
8, i865.
James Eldred, Co. C; must. out March 27,
i865.
Charles Goodrich, Co. M; trans. to Ist Mich.
Cav., Nov. 17, I865.
Michael Kanouse, Co. F; must. out Dec. I5,
i865.
Moses Kanouse, Co. F; must. out Dec. 15,
i865.
Spencer Leigh, Co. H; must. out Dec. 15,
i865.






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


295


William Marshall, Co. H; must. out Dec. I5,
I865.
William Milliman, Co. H; must. out Dec. I5,
I865.
Charles H. Osterhout, Co. L; must. out Dec.
I5, i865.
William S. Page, Co. A; trans. to Ist Mich.
Cav., Nov. 17, i865.
\linard O. Van Gilder, Co. H; must. out
Dec. 8, I865.
Colbert Van Gieson, Co. E; must. out Dec.
15, I865.
George O. Van Gieson, Co. E; must. out
Dec. 15, I865.
MERRILL HORSE.
Henry H. Larkin, Co. L; must. out May 4,
I865.
BATTERY C, FIRST LIGHT ARTILLERY.
Harry Brown.
John F. Button, must. out June 24, I865.
Benjamin Cole, died in hospital at Camp
Clear Creek, July I6, I862.
George W. Cole, must. out June 22, I865.
Warren R. Corey, must. out June 24, 1865.
Merrill Fuller, must. out June 24, 1865.
Hiram Ferguson, must. out June 24, 1865.
Albridge F. Haldlay, must. out June 24,
i865.
William H. Harris, must. out June 24, I865.
William  A. Hall, died in hospital at St.
Louis, Mo., Jan. 18, 1862.
George W. Houck, must. out June 24, I865.
Seymour H. Hoyle, must. out June 24, I865.
Amos Hunt, disch. for disability, April I,
1863.
Lorenzo Leffingwell, must. out June 24, 1865.
Lorenzo Mosher, must. out June 24, I865.
Adelbert Mudge, must. out June 24, 1865.
John C. McLean, must. out by order.
John S. Nichols, must. out June 24, I865.
William Sweeney, disch. to re-enlist as veteran, Dec. 28, I863.
Thomas J. Stewart, disch. by order, June
24, 1865.
Joseph Tubbs, must. out June 24, I865.
Henry H. Wilber.
Hiram Wiser, must. out June 24, I865.
Ira A. Wright, must. out by order, July 6,
I865.
George Winter, must. out June 22, i865.
BATTERY E.
William H. Barry, must. out Aug. 30, I865.
Ezra C. Chase, disch. by order, May 29, I865.
Porter B. Hewitt, trans. to Vet. Res. Corps,
Oct. I8, 1864.
Alonzo Randall, must. out Aug. 3o, I865.
BATTERY I.
Thomas Brady.
Theodore Craig, must. out July I4, I865.
W. H. Compton, disch. for disability, Dec.
22, 1862.


Elisha H. Colwell, must. out July 14, I865.
Moses Crawford, must. out July 14, I865.
William Davis, disch. for disability, April 27.
Elijah Forbes, must. out July 14, 1865.
John M. C. Forbes, must. out July 14, I865.
Henry Hoag, must. out July 14, 1865.
John Jordan, must. out July 14, I865.
William Kennedy, died of disease at Atlanta, Ga., Oct. I6, I864.
Jerome Milliman, must. out July 14. i865.
Seth Milliman, must. out July 14, I865.
Leonard Pursell, must. out July 14, I865.
Alfred Reynolds, must. out July I-4, I865.
George Sutford, died of disease at Washington, D. C., March 2, I863.
William S. Smith, must. out July 14, I865.
William J. Scott, must. out July 14, I865.
John Sage, must. out July 14, 1865.
John N. Warren, must. out July 14, I865.
Harvey M. Williams, must. out July 14, I865.
A. B. Zimmerman, disch. for disability, Oct.
24, 1862.
BATTERY K.
Marsden Miller, must. out July 22, 1865.
Ransom Simmons, must. out Aug. 22, I865.
BATTERY L.
Isaac Barjaron,' disch. for disability, Jan.
13, I865.
Stephen M. P. Bates, died of disease at
Knoxville, Oct. 25, I864.
Roland Collingsworth, must. out Aug. 22,
i865.
Albert S. Cooper, must. out by order, May
27, 1865.
Benjamin Douglass, must. out by order, July
22, I865.
Calvin Darwin, must. out Aug. 22, i865.
John Finch, must. out Aug. 22, 1865.
John Granger, disch. for disability, April I,
I864.
James Gallup, disch. by order, Sept. 26, i865.
Henry Goodrich, disch. by order, May 22,
1865.
Henry Hopkins, disch. by order, Nov. 21,
1864.
Robert M. Hazard, must. out Aug. 22, I865.
John Huffman, must. out Aug. 22, 1865.
David Hopkins, died of disease at Camp Nelson, Ky., Sept. I8, 1863.
Orrin J. Harding, must. out Aug. 22, 1863.
Daniel C. Larrabee, must. out by order, May
24, 1865.
Marsden Miller, must. out.
Peter Nagle.
Gaines Rudd, died of disease at Ashland, Ky.,
Sept. I, 1863.
Isaac A. Rapright, must. out Aug. 22, I865.
Van Rensselaer Sherman, must. out Aug. 22,
i865.
Vickery Jackson, disch. by order.
Stephen Wilcox, must. out Aug. 22, 1865.:il:.1...:.^




296


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


BATTERY M.
George H. Moulton, Coldwater,:2d lieut.;
eni. July i6, i863; ist lieut., Oct. 26, i863;
must. out Aug. i, i865, with 'battery.
George Stewart, disch. by order, May 29,
i865.


FIRST REGIMENT ENGINEERS AND
MECHANICS.
Hiram A. Blackman, Co. K; disch. for disability.
Levi H. Curtis, Co. E; disch. at end of service, Feb. I.5, i865.


CLEVELAND LIGHT ARTILLERY.
Levi Fish, enl. April i8, i86i; disch. July 28, i86i; in battle of Carrick's Ford.


;         Z        ,      I                        I       -         11           ..-  -—.             —        -        11






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


297


'LISTS
of
BRANCH, COUNTY OFFICIALS, CONTAINING THE COUNTY OFFICERS AND THE PRINCIPAL TOWNSHIP AND
VILLAGE, OFFICERS.


Prosecuting Attorneys.


i837-i842
1843-1848'
i849-I8S50
i8,5i-i8,52
1853-1854
i855-1856
857-18862
18863-1864
1865-i86!6
1867-i868
1869- 18,72
1833-1836
1837-1840
184I-I844
1845-1848
i 849118o50
851I- 1854
18,55-i856
1857-1862
18701-1876
i878-18,79
1879 -1833-18,36
1837-i840
184I1842-i844
1844-1848
1849-i8-56
1857-i86o


Esbon G. Fuller.
H. C. Gilbert.
Elon G. Parsonsl.
James W. Gilbert.
John G. Parkhurs
John W. Turner.
Egbert K. Nichols
L. T. N. Wilson.
George A. Coe.
Wallace W. Barre
Jonas H. McGow,
Wales Adams.
C. P. West.
Henry B. Stillmat
C. P. Benton.
S. C. Rose.
P. P. Wright.
Oben 0. Leach.
Benjamin C. Web
Charles Upson.
David Thompson.
John B. Shipman.
Peter Martin.
Martin Olds.
Edward A. Warn(
William B. Sprag
Esbon G. Fuller.
Harvey Warner.
Jonathan H. Gray


1873-18-76
I877-I880
1881I-I884
i88,5-i886
t.     1887-1890
189,1-I892
189,3-1c896
18917-1898
1899-1900
t.  1901-1904
aIn.    19-05 -Coun ty, Clerks.
1863-1868
869,-I8,74
t.     Ioi875-I88
i881i-189,2
1893-1896
i897-1900
19OI-I904
b.     1905 -Circuit Judges.
1882-1887
18 88i- 1893
1894 -Probate Judges.
i86i-i864
i865-i868
cr'.   1869- i88o
ue.     1881-1892
i8913 -896
I897-90,0
1901 -

Frank L. Skeels.
Simon B. Kitchel.
Chas. N. Legg.
John R. Champion.
William E. Ware.
Elmer E.. Palmer.
William H. Compton.
Chas. U. Champion.
Frank D,. Newberry.
Chas. N. Legg.
W. Glenn Cowell.
Henry N. Lawrence.
Francis M. Bissell.
Frank. Di. Newberry.
James R. Dickey.
E. A. Greenamyer.
Burt M. Fellows.
Wallace E. Wright.
Henry E. Straight.
Russell R. Pealer.
Noah P. Loveridge.
George L. Yaple.
Nelson D. Skeels.
David Thompson.
David N. Green.
Norman A. Reynolds.
Chas. N. Legg.
Elmer E,. Palmer.
Frank B. Reynolds.






298


298     HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


I833-I8,36
I837-i838
i 839-1i842
1843-i846
1847-1848
1849-1850
185I-1854
185~-i8,56
I8,57-i8,6o
1861-i186.4
18,65-i866
1867-i8,70


18,33-1I8,36,
18:37-18,42
1843-i1846
18-47-i8,50
185 1-I854
1855-18,56
i 859 i 862.
1 863 - i 866
i8617-18,70
1833-1834
1841-1842
I843-i8!50
18,53-I8;54
18,55-18628
i863-I868
i869-I872


William McCarty.
James 13. Stewart.
John H. Stevens.
Anseim Arnold.
Hiram Shoulder.
James Pierson.
Philo; Porter.
Daniel Wilson.
David N. Green.
John! Whitcomb.
Charles Powers.
Lucius, M. Wing.
Regi,
Seth Dunham.
Leonard Ellsworth.
Jared Pond.
Selleck Seymour.
Albert L. Porter.
Curtis, S. Youngs.
Francis B. Way.
Franklin T. Eddy.
Phineas P. Nichols.
Charles A. Edmonds,
Courn
Seth Dunham.
J. G. Corbus.
John T. Haynes.
Hiram R.'Alden.
Wales Adams.
'Hiram Shoulder.
Cyrus G. Luce.
Mosest V. Calkins.
John Whitcomb.


Sheriffs.
i8,7i-i874
18 75 -i 178i
i879-188,2
i883-i88.6
1 887-1i890
i891i-i894
1 8915 -1898
i899l-i900
1901-19,02
19013-1904
1905-,ster of Deeds.
1871- 1874
1875- 1878
1879-i1880
i88,i-i886
188-7-1I892
1893-i 89i4
189'5-1896
1897-1900
190OI-1904
19015 -
lty, Treasurers.
18,73-18-76
1877-i88o
1S88i-i884
188,5-I888
1889-I8912
18913-i89,6
1897-1898,
18,99-1I902
19'03 -

Lewis B. Johnson.
Jason T. Culp.
Loring P. Wilcox.
Oliver C. Campbell.
Ala-nson, T. Kinney.
Hezekiah Sweet.
Frank Swain.
William W. Herendeen.
Hezekiah Sweet.
David A. Buck.
John Hardenbrook.


Daniel A. Douglas.
Franklin T. Eddy.
William H. Donaldson.
Zelotes G. Osborn.
George H. Turner.
Mortimer B. Wakeman.
Benjamin B. Gorman.
A. E. Morrison.
L. J. Gripman.
Chas. F. Carpenter.
Loring P. Wilcox.
'James, R. Dickey.
Edward W. Benton.
Daniel F. Rich.
Benjamin B. Gorman.
James D. Mosher.
Edgar A. Miner.
Henry Seymour.
Hiram Bennett.


County School Commissioners.


1894-189,5
i896-I89,7
1898-18991


Delmore A. Teller.
Milton W. Wimer.
Gertrude Dobson.


190o-190 io Milton W. Wimer.;
i904-   "James Swain.


C'ircu~it Court Commissioneirs.


185 1-18,52
1853-i8.56
i857-1858


Esbon G. Fuller.
John G. Parkhurst.
Justin Lawyer.
Joseph B. Clark.


18,59-186,2 Wallace W. Barrett.
18-63 -1i864 'David Thompson.
i865-186,6 Franklin E. Morgan.
i865-T8,70 Willard J. Bowen.






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY29


299


1867-i81868
i869-1870
1871-i8,72
1871-18,76
1873-1878
i877-i1882
1879!-1880
1881-i88,2
i881-1884
1883-1886,
188,5-1i8 88
1887-1i888
1855-18,56
18,57- i86,o
i86,i-i862
i863-i866
Ii8,67-1870
i871-1872
1873-1I8-76
i187 7-1880
i85-5-i856
8,55-18,56
1 8 57-18158
185 7-1860
1859-i86o
i861-i862
T861i-1i8614
1863-1864
i8,65-i86,6
1865- '866
i1867-1868,
i1867-1i868
i1869;-1i870
1869-18,70
T87I-18,72
T871-18,72
1873- 1874


Jonas H. McGowan.
Asa M'. Tinker.
Frank S. Skeels.
Ezra Berry.
Charles, D,. Wright.
Chas. N. Legg.
Norman A. Reynolds.
Andrew J. McGowan.
'Milo D,. Campbell.
Frank D. Newberry.
Dudley M. Wells.
Frank A. Lyon.


1 889-1 i890
i889-i89,2
1891i-1892
i893-i896
189,3 -189,6
1879-i898,
1 897-1898i
1899 -1900o
i1899s-190g 2
19-01-1904
1903 -1905 -

William H. Lockerby.
Morey 0. Viets.
Andrew L. Kinney.
Clayton C. Johnson.
Melvin E. Peters.
Leonard F. Humphrey.
A. L.' Loocke,
Frank B. Reynolds.
Milo Thomps~on.
Charles S. Hill.
Charles F. Howe-.
Orrin M. Bowen.
Charles Hamilton.
Murray L. Knowvles.
John H. Bennett.
A. G. Bushnell.
Chas. A. Miner.
lanthus D. Miner.
Charles Hamilton.


County Surveyors.


Philip H. Sprague.
Murray Knowles.
Silas H. Nye.
Amasa R. Day.
Norman S. Andrews.
Titus Babcock.
John H. Bennett.
Murray Knowles.


i88i-i886
188,7-18,88
1889,-189,2
18,93-189,4
i1895 -1i89,6
1897-1898
1899 -

Coroners.


Isaac Middaugh.
Israel R. Hall.
A. C. Fisk.
Charles Dft Brown.
John H. Bennett,.
George W. Johnson.
Elmer Packer.
WVarren Byrnes.
Daniel Miller.
John C. Hall.
Moses, E. Chauncey.
Barnabas B. Shoecraft.
John H. Bennett.
Geo. W. Johnson.
Jerome S. Wolcott.
Nathan Fetterly.
Jacob Kincaid.


18,73-1876,
1875-18,76
1877-1878
I 877-1I8,78,
18 79-1i880
i879-1884
i88,i-i886
1885-1890
1 887- 1 896
1891-I892
1893-i896
1897- 1 898
i1897-1T898
i1899-190go
1899!1901I-1I904
19,05 -

Chas. H. Lovewell.
Edward Purdy.
Jerome Wolcott.
Aaron A. Van Orthwick.
Roland Root.
Delanson J. Sprague.
Arthur R. Burrows.
Aaron W. Barber.
Joseph H. Montague.
George D. Gates.
William S. Card.
Alfred Cheney.
E-zekial Barnhart.
Arthur R. Burrows.
Joseph H. Montague.
Milan M. Brown.
George A. Russell.




300


300     HISTORY OF BRANCH C-OUNTY


TOWNSHIP, OFFICERS..ALGANSEE TOWNSHIP.


Supervisor        Clerk
i838-Asahel Brown    jasper Underhill
i839-Asahel Brown    jasper Underhill
i84o-AsAhel Brown     jasper Underhill
184I-Asahel Brown     E. S. E. Brainard
I842-Asahel Brown     E. S., E. Brainard
1843-Asa~hel Brown    E. S. E. Brainard
I844-Asahel Brown     E. S. E. Brainard
I845-Asahel Brown     E. S.. E. Brainard
I846-Asahel Brown     James Underhill
I847-Asahel Brown     James Underhill
I848-Asahel Brown     Erastus Bradley
1849-Asahel Brown     Robert Magden
I85o-Asahel Brown     Robert Magden
I85i Asahel Brown     Benjamin Hobb~s
i852-Lyman Witter     Lemuel Pratt
I853-Asahel Brown     Abij ah Mosher
i854-James Underhill Isaac F. Camp
1855-5 ames Underhill Isaac F. Camp
i856-Asahel Brown     Isaac F. Camp
I857-Asahel Brown     Nathan Nivison
i858-Erastus Bradley Nathan Nivison
i859-Erastus Bradley Nathan Nivison
i86o-Erastus Bradley Henry Waibridge
i86i-Asahel Brown     Henry Waibridge
i862-Asahel Brown     Henry Waibridge
i863-Asahel Brown     Nathan Nivison
1864  Asahel Brown    Nathan Nivison
i865-Jas. A. Williams Lorenzo Reynolds
i866-Jas. A. Williams Lorenzo Reynolds
i867-Jas. A. Williams Lorenzo Reynolds
i868-jas. A. Williams Levi P. Fuller
i869-Erastus Bradley L. P. Fuller
i87o-Erastus Bradley L. P. Fuller
i87i-Erastus Biradley Olney W. Draper
I872-J. A. Williams   Olney W. Draper
i873-Jas. A. Williams Olney W. Draper
I874-J. A. Williams  Olney W. Draper
1875-J. A. Williams  Olney W. Draper
i876-J. A. Williams  Olney W. Draper
1877-J. A. Williams  Olney W. Draper
i878-Sereno Bradley  Roswell D. Tift


Treasurer
George Monlux
George Monlux
George Monlux
George Monlux
George Monlux
George Monlux
George Monlux
George Monlux
E. S. E. Brainard
E. S. E. Brainard
B. S. B. Brainard
E. S. B. Brainard
E. S. E. Brainard
E. S. E. Brainard


H-ighway Commissioner
Jas. H. Lawrence
Saml. B. Hanchett
J. K. Bickford
J. K. Bickford
Nathaniel Fisher
John Whitney
J. K. Bickford




E. S. E. Brainard Win. M. Clark
E. S. E. Brainard Carlton Clerk
E. S. B. Brainard Orton Hoxie
E. S. E. Brainard Joel Campbell
E. S. E. Brainard Calvin V. Clark
E. S. E. Brainard J. K. Bickford
James Underhill  Orton Hoxie
James Underhill  E. S. E. Brainard
Levi P. Fuller   David Rhodes
Levi P. Miller   Cornelius Streeter
Levi P. Fuller   Lyman Witter
E. S. E. Brainard Willis Potter
Mahlon Brainard Orton Hoxie
M. W. Brainard, Saml. H. Keeler
Chas. J. Underhill Thos. Nixon
Robert Crawford  Orton Hoxie
Robert Crawford  J. K. Bickford
Robert Crawford  George Briggs
Robert Crawford  Orton Hoxie
Robert Crawford  Thomas Nixon
Jas. R. Crawford Benj. Culver
Robert Crawford Orton Hoxie
M. B. Wakeman Thomas Nixon
M. B. Wakeman Thomas Nixon
M. B. Wakeman Thomas Nixon
M. B. Wakeman    Thomas Nixon
Levi A. Shumway Stephen Knecht






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


301


1879-Olney W. Draper James N. Martin  S. Byron GoodmanFranklin Twiss
i88o-Olney W. Draper J. Nelson Martin  S. Byron GoodmanA. B. Ransom
i88I-Olney W. Draper James B. Martin  Fred'k Hildebrand Thomas Nixon
i882 —Oney W. Draper James B. Martin  Fred'k Hildebrand L. D. Reynolds
i883-Sereno Bradley  H. W. HungerfordJos. H. Barker    Orton Hoxie
884 —Serenol Bradley  H. W. HungerfordJos. H. Barker   Franklin Twiss
i885-M. B. Wakeman Wn. J. Houck       David M. Draper L. D. Reynolds
i886-M. B. Wakeman Wm. J. Houck       Fred C. FulkersonL. D. Reynolds
I887-M. B. Wakeman Wm. J. Houck       Fred C. FulkersonS. B. Goodman
i888-M. B. Wakeman Wm. J. Houck       C. N. Goodman    Orton Hoxie
I889-M. B. Wakeman Wm. J. Houck       C. N. Goodman    WVm. M. Carey
I89o-M. B. Wakeman Wm. J. Houck       Wm. Gottschalk   Wm. Carey
i89i-M. B. Wakeman Wm. J. Houck       Wm. Gottschalk   Frank O. Heydon
1892-M. B. Wakeman E. A. Waterbury    Fred Purdy       Frank O. Hevdon
i893-W. J. Houck     E. A. Waterbury  Fred Purdy       David Wilbur
I894-Wm. J. Houck    E. A. Waterbury  John W. Sage     David Wilbur
1895-Wm. J. Houck    E. A. Waterbury  John W. Sage     David Wilbur
I896-Wm. J. Houck    E. A. Waterbury  Loren H. Draper David Wilbur
1897-Wm. W. Poats    F. S. Reynolds   John F. Seachrist Frank Knapp
I898-Wm. W. Poats    F. S. Reynolds   John F. Seachrist
I899-Olney W. Draper Fred E. Wilbur   Albert J. Marshall Daniel B. Crapo
9oo —Wm. W. Poats     Fred A. WaterburyAlbert J. Marshall Albert Bennett
I90I-Ebenezer Keeler E. E. Bennett    Geo. Goodwin     Albert Bennett
I902-Ebenezer Keeler E. A. Waterbury  Geo. Goodwin     Henry Emons
I903-Ebenezer Keeler E. A. Waterbury  S. J. Chestnut   Wm. H. Emons
1904 -I905-Fred Purdy      Loren H. Draper C. F. Myers       Mart. A. Griswold
I906-S. B. Goodman   Loren H. Draper E. A. Waterbury   H. C. Waterbury
BATAVIA TOWNSHIP.


Supervisor
I836-Martin Olds
1837-Martin Olds
I838-Martin Olds
1839-Martin Olds
1840-Martin Olds
I84I-Martin Olds
I842-Martin Olds
1843-Philo Porter
I844-Philo Porter
1845-Philo Porter
1846-Philo P'orter
I847-Philo Porter
I848-Smith Dow
1849-Philo Porter
I85o-Nath'l Woodard
I851-Nath'l Woodard
I852-Smith Dow
I853-James Murphey
I854-James Murphey
I855-David Fonda


Clerk
John H. Stevens
John H. Stevens
John H. Stevens
Elijah Thomas
Samuel H. Cary
Samuel H. Cary
Lewis Kingsbury
Lewis Kingsbury
Lewis Kingsbury
Martin Olds
Martin Olds
Smith Dow
James Murphey
James Murphey
D. G. Olds
D. G. Olds
Harrison Cary
Harrison Cary
Martin P. Olds
H. M. Loomis


Treasurer  Highway Commissioner
Morgan S. Smead
Samuel Fairbanks
Leonard Taylor
Shirlock Cook    John Bassett
Shirlock Cook    Albert Dudley
Shirlock Cook    Hiram Brink
Samuel H. Cary   Morgan L. Tyler
Timothy L. Miller Leonard Taylor
Timothy L. Miller Wm. L. Parker
Timothy L. Miller Peter Grove
Timothy L. Miller Jesse C. Martin
Martin Olds      WVm. L. Parker
Martin Olds      Nathan'l Woodard
George Hoag      Jesse C. Martin
George Hoag      Wm. L. Parker
George Hoag      Smith Dow
George Hoag      Jesse C. Martin
Samuel D. Parker Archibald Hanks
Samuel D. Parker Smith Dow
James D. Cole    Jacob Reynolds




302


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


I856-Philo Porter     Martin P. Olds
I857-Morgan L. Tyler Carlos Dunham
I858 —Morgan L. Tyler Martin P. Olds
I859-William Skinner Carlos Dunham
I860-David Fbnda     Hiram Simmons
I86 -Harrison Cary   Luther C. Stone
I862-Harrison Cary   Luther C. Stone
1863-David Fonda     James Campbell
I864-David Fonda     James Campbell
i865-David Fonda     James Campbell
I866-Morgan L. Tyler James Campbell
I867-James Campbell Fuller Atchinson
I868-James Campbell Fuller Atchinson
I869-James Campbell Fuller Atchinson
187o-James Campbell M. D. Bonney
187I-C. W. Fairbanks Benj. F. Rolph
I872-C. W. Fairbanks George Miller
I873-Hiram Simmons George Miller
1874-Wm. M. Tyler     George Miller
I875-Jas. Campbell    Admiral Burch
I876-Wim. M. Tyler    Admiral Burch
I877-W. M. Tyler      Pliny W. Titus
I878-M. W. Brown      L. M. Bowers
I879-Charles Austin   G. E. Willis
I88o-Wm. L. Tyler     G. E. Willis
I88 — W. M. Tyler     Geo. Miller
1882-Geo. Miller     Edwin Harkness
I883-Geo. Miller      Edwin Harkness
I884-Geo. Miller     Edwin Harkness
I885-Geo. Miller     Edwin Harkness
i886-Geo. Miller      Edwin Harkness
I887-Geo. Miller      Geo. E. Willer
I888-Geo. Miller      0. A. Vanderbilt
I889-Geo. Miller      0. A. Vanderbilt
I89o-Geo. Miller      Lee 0. Burch
I89 —Wm. M. Tyler     Lee 0. Burch
I892-Wm. M. Tyler     Harry Hurley
I893-Wm. M. Tyler     Harry Hurley
I894-Geo. Miller      Harry Hurley
I895-Byron L. Mitchell Harry Hurley
I896-Geo. Miller      Harry Hurley
I897-C. L. Olds       Allie Hurley
I898-C. L. Olds       Allie Hurley
I899-C. L. Olds      Allie Hurley
900o-C. L. Olds       Riley Bennett
I9OI-Laselle C. Waite Riley Bennett
I902-Aaron 0. Fox    Grove Tyler
1903-Aaron O. Fox    J. F. Wanar
I904-Aaron 0. Fox    J. F. Wanar
1905-Geo. Cleveland  John M. Gray
g906-Aaron 0. Fox    Allie Hurley


Samuel D. Parker
Jesse C. Martin
Hiram Brink
Warren Holcomb
S. Richardson
Wm. M. Tyler
Elijah C. Sterne
Jacob Daharsh
William Nivison
David C. Gould
Hiram Simmons
George Miller
M. D. Bonney
George Miller
George Miller
Leroy E. Graves
Leroy E. Graves
Jedediah Wilcox
Admiral Burch
Arch. R. Grove
H. F. Saunders
Peter Manguse
Benj. S. Wilcox
John Bowers
Jedediah Wilcox
Jedediah Wilcox
H. F. Saunders
Francis Moore
Francis Moore
Geo. W. Cleveland
Geo,. W. Cleveland
Elijah Grove
Elijah Grove
Wm. Knowles
Wm. Knowles
Wim. H. Miller
I. A. Martin
I. A. Martin
J. 0. Imber
J. 0. Imber
J. F. Wanar
Alvera Drumm
Alvera Drumm
Seward Cleveland
Frank J. Barrell
Frank J. Barrell
G. W. Cleveland
G. W. Cleveland
Wm. E. Gifford
Wm. E. Gifford
C. Grove Tyler


Archibald Hanks
Isaac Sprague
Northrup Sweet
Hiram Barrett
Isaac Sprague
Hiram Brink
David C. Fonda
Hiram Brink
Daniel Miller
John C. Thayer
Wm. R. Card
David C. Fonda
John C. Thayer
Wm. R. Card
Elijah Grove
John C. Thayer
H. F'. Buffham
Ransom W. Covey
John Martin
N. H. Saunders
Wm. R. Card
Alonzo Olmstead
A. R. Grove
Ira Martin
R. W. Covey
R. W. Covey
A. P. Johnson
R. W. Covey
R. W. Covey
Wm. H. Fonda
R. W. Covey
R. W. Covey
Chas. Trumbull
A. Mills
A. Mills
R. W. Covey
Ward C. Gruner
Ward C. Gruner
Cortes Pond
Wm. W. Green
Wm. W. Green
Wm. W. Green
H. K. Saunders
Peter Manguse
Francis Moore
Chas. A. Moore
Chas. A. Moore
Chas. A. Moore






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY30


303


BETHEL TOWNSHIP.


Supervisor        Clerk
1837-Elijah Thomas David M. Clark
1838-Steph. McMillan David Larmont
1839-Steph. McMillan John Proudfit
184o-Steph. McMillan John Proudfit
184i-Steph. McMillan Jeremiah Holly
1842-Jeremiah Holly  John Proudfit
1843-Jeremiah Holly  John Proudfit
1844-JTeremiah Holly  John Proudfit
1845-Jeremiah Holly  Richard Saulsbury
1846-Jeremiah Holly  Samuel Keyes
1847-Jeremiah Holly  Samuel Keyes
I848-James Bennie    Win. Lamoreaux
1849-James Bennie    Win. Lamoreaux
185o —Jeremiah Holly  Ransom Compton
I85 i-Win. Lamoreaux C. W. Weatherby
1852-Win. Lamoreaux P. A. Crans-on
1853-Wmn. Lamoreaux P. A. Crans-on
I'854-Win. Lamoreaux P. A. Crans-on
1'855-C. W. Weatherby W. T. Ammerman
18-56-Ros. P. Larabee W. T. Ammerman
1857-R. P. Larabee   W. T. Ammerman
i8,,8-N. G. Ellis    M. F. Giddings
1859-W.T.Ammerman M. F. Giddings
1 86o-W.T.Amnmerman James Gallap,
i86i-W.T.Aminerman Jas. H. Rippey
i862-R. P. Larabee   M. F. Giddings
'863-Thos. Goodrich M. F. Giddings
1864-W.T;Ammermnan M. F. Giddings
i865-Dav. Stephenson M. F. Giddings
'866-Chris. G. BabcockJames Gallap
1867-W.T.Ammerman James Gallap
T868 —W.T.Ammerman James Gallap
1869-W.T.Ammerman Jaihes Gallap
1870-Nathaniel Piatt  James Gallap
187I-James, Gallap   Edwin G. Wheeler
1872-Nathaniel Piatt Janies Gallap
1873-Nathaniel Piatt James Gallap
1874-Luman LampmanJames Gallap
1875-Luman LamplmanWm. G. Thurber
1876-Luman LampmanW. G. Thurber
1877-Rich'd T. Martin James Gallap
1878-Luman LampnianWm. G. Thurber
1879-Luman LampmanW. G. Thurber
I88o-Luman LampmanW. G. Thurber
188I-Monroe Selby    C. H. Woodcox
1882-Monroe Selby    B. B. Gorman
1883-Timothy Hurley W. G. Thurber
1884-S. M. Parharn   B. B. Gorman


Treasurer   Highway Commissioner
Isaac Freeman
N. P. Filkins
Otis Davis        N. P. Filkins
Samuel Fowler    C. N. Bates
Samuel Fowler    Moses Olmsted
Milton Bessmer   Na-than'l Woodard
Milton Bessmer   Matt. H. Bigham,
Na'than'l Woodard Stephen McMillan
Stephen McMillan Willard Cranson
George Gallap    Willard Cra~nson
Timothy Colby    Charles Webb
Timothy Colby    Guy E. Bennett
Timothy Colby    Jas. G. Richardson
Parm. A. Cranson Lyman M. Hart
Parm. A. Cranson James Bennie
Ros. P. Larabee  John Carter
R. P. Larabee    James Gallap
R. P. Larab~ee   John Freeman
R. P. Larabee    J. R. Brown
A. W. Plumley    James Bennie
James Gallap      Henry Bowker
John Carter       Arvin Bates
W. Van Orman     Cornelius Freeman
R. P. Larabee     George Smith
John Freeman      Heman Harris
John Webb,        Asa Cranson
Julius L. Hart    Major Tuttle
Julius L. Hart    Georor-e W. Webb
Jno. H. Tho~mpson P. A. Crans-on
Albert Hart       Day. L. Lockwood
Luman W. Harris W. A. Chamberlain
J. L. Hart        Chas. F. Housman
Geo. W. Joels, Jr. Geo. M. White
G. WV. Joels, Jr.  Perry H. Bower
J. L. Hart        George H. Hart
J. L. Hart       Josiah Walker
Charles Allen    P. A. Cranson
Charles Allen    Edward Odren
Henry Fowler     Oral Cramton
Edgar A. Miner   John Freeman
Edgar A. Miner   John Freeman
Edgar A. Miner   Benj. Pond
Brazil Short     Benj. Pond
Brazil Short     Judson Sweeting
Chas. Bradway    H. H. Smith
Chas. Bradway    H. H. Smith
Edgar A. M\iner,John M. Carter
Edgar A. Miner    Win. Short






304


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


1885-B. B. Gorman     Cortes Pond
I886-B. B. Gorman     E. A. Miner
I887-B. B. German    G. 0. Gallup
i888-B. B. Gorman    G. 0. Gallup
I889-Harry Smith     G. 0. Gallup
I89o-Harry Smith     G. 0. Gallup
I891-Hiram H. Smith R. H. Larabee
I892-Hiram H. Smith R. H. Larabee
I893-A. E. AmmermanG. E. Lobdell
I894-Sam. M. Parham E. A. Miner
I895-Sam. M. ParhamE. A. Miner
I896-Sam. M. ParhamE. A. Miner
I897-Sam. M. Parham C. N. Cure
I898-Chas. C. Fenner C. N. Cure
I899 -1900-Chas. C. Fenner Geo. H. Williams
190I-Chas. C. Fenner Geo. H. Williams
I902-Chas. W. Daniels O. B. Wheeler
1903-Chas. C. Fenner Chas. V. Crull
I904-Chas. C. Fenner Herbert Freeman
1905-Chas. C. Fenner Herbert Freeman
1906-Chas. C. Fenner Roy G. Moore


Philo D. Smith
Philo D. Smith
Wm. B. Wheeler
Wm. B. Wheeler
Frank Sharp
Frank Sharp
Oscar S. Martin
Oscar S. Martin
Henry L. Goss
C. C. Fenner
C. C. Fenner
Eddie Keyes
Eddie Keyes
Wells B. Hillyer
Ernest Dart
Ernest Dart
Henry Kaiser
Geo. Kemp
Geo. Kemp
Wm. C. Kanouse
Wm. C. Kanouse


Henrv Bronson
John Kanouse
W. J. Bucklin
W. J. Bucklin
James Burke
James Burke
Frank H. Hart
Elmer Webb
Elmer Webb
Geo. H. Williams
Geo. H. Williams
Geo. H. Williams
E. H. Walker
Cortes Pond
Henry L. Goss
Walt. Brocklebank
Walt. Brocklebank
Walt. Brocklebank
Walt. Brocklebank
Walt. Brocklebank


BRONSON TOWNSHIP.
(Records up to and including I867 were destroyed by fire.)


Supervisor         Clerk
1868-Chris. G. BabcockR. Van Ness
I869-Chris. G. BabcockB.F. Trigg
I870 —Chris. G. Babcock
I87I-C. G. Babcock     Lucien D. Driggs
I872-C. G. Babcock     Wales Adams
1873-C. G. Babcock     W. H. Compton
I874-C. G. Babcock     W. H. Compton
I875-C. G. Babcock     W. H. Compton
I876-C. G. Babcock     W. H. Compton
I877-C. G. Babcock     W. H. Compton
I878-C. G. Babcock     W. H. Compton
I879-Geo. W. Ellis     Wm. I. Beesmer
I88o-Geo. W. Ellis     Wm. I. Beesmer
I88I-Geo. W. Ellis     Wm. I. Beesmer
I882-Geo. W. Ellis     Wm. I. Beesmer
1883-Geo. W. Ellis     Wm. I. Beesmer
I884-Geo. W. Ellis     Wm. I. Beesmer
I885-Geo. W. Ellis     F. A. Keyes
i886-Geo. W. Ellis     Alonzo Ruggles
I887-Geo. W. Ellis     Glenn D. Corey
I888-Geo. W. Ellis    Alonzo Ruggles
I889-Geo. W. Ellis    Alonzo Ruggles
I89o-John Taggart     Franklin Keyes
I89 —John Taggart     Franklin Keyes
I892-John Taggart      Franklin Keyes


Treasurer   Highway Commissioner
Leonard D. Clark J. G. Sheffield
Leonard D. Clark M. Bloss
Cyrus J. Keyes   Allen Turner
Cyrus J. Keyes   Michael Bloss
Cyrus J. Keyes   Geo. Carpenter
Cyrus J. Keyes   Allen Turner
Spencer E. Bennett Albert Russell
Spencer E. Bennett Amos J. Anderson
Spencer E. BennettAmos J. Anderson
Spencer E. Bennett Henry Brown.
W. W. Earle      Henry Brown
W. W. Earle      Henry Brown
Spencer Bennett  John Taggart
Spencer Bennett  John Taggart
Lucius M. Leet   John Akers
Spencer Bennett  John Taggart
Geo. W. Hanks    James P. Monroe
Lucius M. Leet   John Taggart
C. B. Whittaker  John Taggart
C. B. Whittaker
Ray Bennett      James E. Dorn
Ray Bennett      James E. Dorn
C. B. Whittaker  James E. Dorn
B. M. Fellows    James E. Dorn






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


305


i893-John Taggart    Franklin Keyes
i894-Wm. B. Bushnell A. B. Clark
i895 —Wm. B. Bushnell A. B. Clark
1896-John Taggart    C. B. Whittaker
i897-John Taggart    Chas. K. Bush
i898-John Taggart    Chas. K. Bush
I899 —Wm. B. Bushnell A. B. Clark
9goo-Wm. B. Bushnell James Swain
I9OI-J.E.HoopingarnerJ. M. Corson
i902-J.E.HoopingarnerJ. M. Corson
19o3-J.E.HoopingarnerJ. M. Corson
90o4-J.E.Hoopingarner. M. Corson
1905-J.E.HoopingarnerF. J. Werner
19o6-John Taggart    Andrew J. Keyes


B. M. Fellows
Roy Bennett
Eugene R. Clark
Eugene R. Clark
M. E. Dorn
Michael Doran
Chas. T. Cockle
Chas. T. Cockle
John Finisy
John Finisy
F. J. Werner
F. J. Werner
Frank Flanders
James S. Davis


John Akers
Volney Sweeting
Volney Sweeting
Volney Sweeting
James H. Shane
James H. Shane
John Reynolds
Amasa Ruple
J. M. Cavanaugh
J. M. Cavanaugh
J. M. Cavanaugh
Jos. Sager
Jos. Sager
John Secor


BUTLER TOWNSHIP.
Supervisor         Clerk           Treasurer  Highway Commissioner
I839-David Lindsay    Asa R. Wisner    Thos. J. Rawson  H. S. Lampman
184o-Alan. D. Warren Asa R. Wisner     Daniel Shook     Jacob Shook
184I-David Decker     T. J. Van Giesen  Daniel Shook    Jacob Shook
I842 —Jacob Shook     Asa R. Wisner    Daniel Shook
I843-Jesse Bowen      T. J. Van Giesen  Lawrence Decker H. S. Lampman
I844-Jacob Shook      T. J. Van Giesen  Lawrence Decker H. S. Lampman
1845 Jacob Shook      T. J. Van Giesen  Lawrence Decker T. J. Rossman
1846-Jacob Shook      T. J. Van Giesen  Lawrence Decker Duncan McIntosh
1847 —Jesse Bowen     T. J. Van Giesen  Lawrence Decker Milo White
1848-Jacob Shook      T. J. Van Giesen  Lawrence Decker B. A. Rodgers
1849-Jacob Shook      E. Lampman       Lawrence Decker Duncan McIntosh
185o-Jacob Shook      T. J. Van Giesen  Lawrence Decker Daniel Shook
185I-Moses V. Calkins Chas. E. Bowers   Lawrence Decker John Hager
1852-Moses V. Calkins Chas. E. Bowers  H. S. Lampman
I853-Jesse Bowen      R. U. Floyd      H. S. Lampman     Milo White
1854-Jesse Bowen      Jos. M. Alexander H. S. Lampman   John Hager
1855-Moses V. Calkins Chas. E. Bowers  D. L. Burbank
1856-M. V. Calkins    Chas. E. Bowers  D. L. Burbank     L. D. Ramsdell
I857-M. V. Calkins    Chas. E. Bowers  D. L. Burbank     William Rossman
I858-M. V. Calkins    Chas. E. Bowers  0. H. Hadlock    VW. R. Kisson
1859-Jesse Bowen      R. U. Floyd      Jay Taylor       L. D. Ramsdell
I86o-Jesse Bowen      M. V. Calkins    Jay Taylor       D. L. Burbank
I86I-M. V. Calkihs    Chas. W. Bennett Jay Taylor       Chas. E. Bowers
I862-Chas. E. Bowers R. U. Floyd       Jay Taylor       Lawrence Decker
I863-Chas. E. Bowers Hiram H. Bennett Jay Taylor        D. L. Burbank
I864-Chas. E. Bowers Ira S. Lampman    Geo. W. Clark    Harlow Williams
I865-Barz. H. Calkins Ira S. Lampman   J. A. Weatherwax Thos. I. Edwards
I866-B. H. Calkins    Daniel Clark     F. M. Bissell    D. L. Burbank
I867-B. H. Calkins    Ira S. Lampman   A. B. LaFleur
1868-B. H. Calkins    B. 0. Moore      A. B. LaFleur    Thos. P. Evans
I869-Moses V. Calkins B. 0. Moore      A. B. LaFleur    D. L. Burbank
I87 —A. Van Orthwick B. 0. Moore       A. B. LaFleur    Hiram Burlison
187I-A. Van Orthwick John W. Henry     Jos. A. Bowen    Lawrence Decker
I872-A. Van Orthwick Marcus M. Calkins Jos. A. Bowen    Edward W. Perry




306


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


I873-B. H. Calkins    Marcus M. Calkins Horace B. Powers
I874-A. Van Orthwick Thomas Sinclair  Horace B. Powers
1875-Bradley O. MooreThomas Sinclair  J. E. Moore
I876-John M. Davids A. W. Eaton       J. E. Moore
I877-Bradley 0. MooreD. L. Burbank    J. E. Moore
I878-John M. Davids Thomas Sinclair. E. Moore
I879-Brad. O. Moore D. L. Burbank     J. A. Weatherwax
I88o-Robt. D. Murray D. L. Burbank    Jared E. Moore
I88I-A. Van OrthwickThos. Sinclair    Jared E. Moore
I882-A. Van OrthwickW. H. Lockerby    J. A. Weatherwax
I883-A. Van OrthwickMatthew Doris      Chas. Chivers
I884-A. Van OrthwickMatthew Doris      Chas. Chivers
I885-A. Van Orthwick Matthew Doris     Hiram Burleson
I886-A. Van OrthwickW. H. Martin      Eugene Harris
I887-Gilbert C. Clizbe Matthew Doris   Chas. Lindsey
1888 —A. Van OrthwickWm. H. Martin    B. 0. Moore
1889-Thos. Sinclair   Wm. H. Martin   Wm. R. Lott
I89 —Thos. Sinclair  Jean Burleson    Wm. R. Lott
I891-Gilbert Clizbe  Jean Burleson    Warren Rose
I892-Jean D. Burleson C. McDonald     Warren Rose
1893-Gilbert Clizbe   C. McDonald     Jean Burleson
I894-J. Van Orthwick F. C. Burbank    Fred Holmes
I895-J. Van OrthwickF. C. Burbank     Fred Holmes
I896-J. Van OrthwickC. W. Hayes       Henry Morrison
I897-Gilbert Clizbe   C. 0. McDonald  J. F. Knapp
I898-Gilbert Clizbe   C. 0. McDonald  J. F. Knapp
I899-Gilbert Clizbe   Fred L. Holmes  Henry Morrison
goo —Gilbert Clizbe  Fred L. Holmes   Frank Burbank
1901-Gilbert Clizbe   Marlan L. Henry  Frank Burbank
1902-Fred L. Holmes J. D. Burleson    W. D. Rose
I903-Fred L. Holmes Fay D. White      W. D. Rose
I904-Fred L. Holmes Fay D. White      Lora M. Curtis
I905-Fred L. Holmes Fay D. White      Nelson J. Curtis
19o6 —Jean D. Burleson Fay D. White    Nelson J. Curtis
CALIFORNIA TOWNSHIP.


Edward W. Perry
Lawrence Decker
Edward W. Perry
John Bignold
A.A.VanOrthwick
Daniel Clark
H. H. Bowers
Lawrenre Decker
Lawrence Decker
Chas. Chase
Daniel Clark
Chas. Chase
J. E. Hager
Thos. P. Evens
Thos. P. Evens
Thos. P. Evens
R. McDonald
R. McDonald
Silas Craft
Mandvil Bissell
Mandvil Bissell
Thos. P. Evens
J. E. Hager
J. E. Hager
A. D. Van Patten
A. D. Van Patten
A. D. Van Patten
Cash Taylor
Thos. P. Evans
Thos. P. Evans
Thos. P. Evans
Thos. P. Evans


Supervisor
I846-George Monlux
I847-George Monlux
1848-David Paul
1849-George Monlux
1850-George Monlux
I85I-George Monlux
I852-David Paul
1853-David Paul
1854-George Monlux
I855-David Paul
856 —David Paul
1857-David Paul
i858-Henry Kelso
I859-David Paul


Clerk
William Beach
Joseph H. Hall
Joseph H. Hall
Hiram Ellis
Hiram Ellis
Wm. D. Merwin
Hiram Ellis
Joseph H. Hall
W. H. Lathrop
W. H. Lathrop
Henry Kelso
H. N. Lawrence
Henry C. Wells
Henry C. Wells


Treasurer
Ira Purdy
Ira Purdy
Ira Purdy
Jos. H. Hall
Jos. H. Hall
Jos. H. Hall
Jos. H. Hall
Ira Purdy
Ira Purdy
Ira Purdy
James Paul
James Hiscock
James Paul
James Paul


Highway Commissioner
Isaac M. Miner
John V. Burt
Lester Broughton
Thos. H. Reynolds
Nathan Austin
Stephen Talmadge
C. W. Lawrence
Wm. G. Thompson
S. M. Talmadge
Norman Melendy
Thos. Hall
C. W. Lawrence
Thos. H. Reynolds
Willard T. Ellis




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY30


307


i86o-Harley H. Ellis H. N. Lawrence
i861-Harley H. Ellis H. N. Lawrence
i862-Harley H. Ellis David Pauil
1863-Henry Kelso     Willard T. Ellis
i864-Willard T. Ellis Calvin I. Merwin
i865-Willard T. Ellis Jas. N. Averill
i866-David Paul      Jas. N. Averill
i867-John Paul       Jas. N. Averill
i 868-John Paul      J. N. Averill
i869 —Dan. A. Douglassjas. N. Averill
i870-Dan. A. Douglassj. N. Averill
187i-John Paul, Jr.  M. N. Averill
1872-Henry Kelso     JN. Averill
1873-Henry Kelso     Edw. P. Wallace
I874-Edw. P. Wallace M. D. Colvin
1875-james N. Averilljohn Paul, Jr.
I876-J. N. Averill   John Paul, Jr.
18,77-James N. AverillJohn Paul, Jr..
1878-Henry Kelso     Howard W. Miller
1879-Robt. M. Cairns S. W. Dickinson
i88o —Rob~t. M. Cairns S. W. Diickinson
i88i-John Paul       S. W. Dickinson
i882-Henry Kelso     Seth Averill
1883-John Paul       Andrew D~ailey
i 884-John Flynn     Wilson Paul
1885-John Flynn      Seth Averill
i886 —john Flynn     Seth Averill
1887-John Flynn      W. A. Depue
i888-John Flynn      W. A. Depue
i889-John Flynn      M. L. Clinesmith
i89o-John Flynn      M. L. Clinesmith
i8Q1i-John Flynn     M. L. Clinesmith
1892-John Dunlap     S. J. Chestnut
1803-John Dunlap     S. F. Wilkinson
1894-J. Hardenbrook Johin Douglas
1895-J. Hardenbrook John Douglas
i896-W. S. Paul      T. C. Smith
I897-W. S. Paul      S. F. Wilkinson
1898-W. S. Paul      A. B. Dailey
I899-W. S. Paul      A. B. Dailey
1900-Geo. W. Paul    A. B. Dailey
I901-Geo. W. Paul    R. M. Cairns
I902-J. E. Lawrence
1903-J. H. Sackett   John Douglas
1904-J. H-. Sackett  Robt. M. Cairns
1905-W. W. Poats     Robt. M. Cairns
1906-J. L. McMurray D'. T. Bascom


Ira Purdy
Ira Purdy
Ira Purdy
Win. Carithers
Win. Carithers
Win. Carithers
Robt. M. Cairns
Robt. M. Cairns
Robt. M. Cairns
R. M. Cairns
Peter D. Gibson
Peter D. Gibson
Wmn. L. Monlux
Win. L. Monlux.A. W. Bates
R. Ml. Cairns
R. MT,. Cairns
R. Ml. Cairns
S. S. Lothridge
S. S. Lothridge
John Paul
S. S. Lothridge
S. S. Lothridge
Melvin Colvir
S. S. Lothridge
David Sharer
S. H. Lothridge
S. H. Lothridge
W. S. Paul
R. AM. Cairns
John Dunlap
Virgil Gallup
A. C. Ayers
A. C. Ayers
S. J. Chestnut
F. C. Goodwin
Earl Dufur
Earl Dufur
A. C. Ayres
A. C. Ayres
Earl Dufur
A. C. Ayres
J. W. Smith
J. Hardenbrook
Earl Dufur
Win. D. Paul


G. Withingt-on
Orrin Whitten
J os. W. Lawrence
T. H. Reynolds
Gilbert Gordinier
Jos. W. Lawrence
Orrin Whitten
Hugh M~cMurray
Jeremiah Depue
Orrin Whitten
Hugh McMurray
J os. W. Lawrence
Orrin Whitten
Archibald Bates
R. F. Coinstock
J. H. Lawrence
Alexander Vance
E. B. Forbes
R. M. Cairns
Jeremiah Depue
A. W. Bates
L. B. Brown
James Flynn
A. W. Bates
H. T. Reynolds
H. T. Reynolds
H. T. Reynolds
John Dunlap
Robt. Kelso
John Dunlap
John Billman
Abram Reppert
if. G. Billman
D. T. Bascom
Samuel Waters
Abram Reppert
I. A. Adams
Theron Thompson
Theron Thompson
James Paul
Theron Thompson'
Robt. Kelso
WV. D. Paul
D. J. Goodrich


I                                                           i




308


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


GILEAD TOWNSHIP.


Supervisor
I837-Abishi Sanders
I838-Abishi Sanders
1839-Abishi Sanders
I84o-Abishi Sanders
I841-Abishi Sanders
1842-Abishi Sanders
I843-Jehiel H. Hard
I844-Jehiel H. Hard
I845-Jehiel H. Hard
1846-Daniel Marsh
1847-Daniel Marsh
1848-Elsley W. Fuller
1849-John Marsh
185o-John Marsh
I85I-John Marsh
I852-Cyrus G. Luce
I853-David N. Green
I854-L. J. Whitcomb
1855-Daniel Marsh
1856-H. B. Williams
I857-Cyrus G. Luce
I858-Cyrus G. Luce
I859-Edward Webb
I86 —Job A. Smith
I86i-Job A. Smith
I862-Job A. Smith
I863-Cyrus G. Luce
'864-Cyrus G. Luce
I865-Cyrus G. Luce
I866-Lem. A. Graham
I867-Albert A. Luce
1868-George J. Langs
I869-George J. Langs
I87o-George J. Langs
I87I-George J. Langs
I872-Jared Fuller
1873-George J. Langs
I874-Cyrus G. Luce
I875-Cyrus G. Luce
I876-Thomas Lazenby
I877-Cyrus G. Luce
1878-Joseph Keeslar
0_ Qua        T _ _ _


Clerk
Albert W. Glass
Albert W. Glass
Levi Sanders
Elsley W. Fuller
Emerson Marsh
Emerson Marsh
William McClurg
William McClurg
William McClurg
William McClurg
Elsley W. Fuller
Lorenzo C. Hurd
Abishi Sanders
Mitchell Birce
Mitchell Birce
Benj. Sanders
Homer A. Loomis
Jared Fuller
George J. Langs
Elijah Sanders
Eliab S. Hilton
Eliab S. Hilton
Dwight C. Marsh
Dwight C. Marsh
Dwight C. Marsh
Dwight C. Marsh
R. Purdy
Edward Purdy
Robert Purdy
Robert Purdy
Robert Purdy
Robert Purdy
Robert Purdy
E. Purdy
E. Purdy
E. Purdy
E. Purdy
E. Purdy
E. Purdy
Giles A. Bixler
Giles A. Bixler
George J. Langs
/-"1  A D —I__


Treasurer   Highway Commissioner
Daniel Marsh
James Mills
Abishi Sanders    Jos. Freeman
Abishi Sanders    Chester Adams
Abishi Sanders    Leander Merrill
William Purdy     David Green
William Purdy     Jos. Freeman
William Purdy     Daniel Marsh
William Purdy     James McWethy
William Purdy     Jesse Barrett
Joseph Freeman    Benj. S. Wilkins
Edward Webb       Joseph Keeslar
John Campbell     Simon Z. Williams
H. B. Williams    Isaac Adams
H. B. Williams    Johnston Ferguson
David N. Green    Edward Webb
John Whitcomb     Maj. D. Williams
Lorenzo C. Hurd   Isaac Adams
Edward Webb       Benj. S. Wilkins
Joseph Keeslar    A. W. Miller
Joseph Baker      George Mott
Jared Fuller      Constant Voinett
Jared Fuller      John Fuller
Benj. S. Wilkins J. Ferguson
Benj. S. Wilkins Virgil Little
Virgil Little     J. A. J. Metzger
Virgil Little     Benj. S. Wilkins
Hugh W. Martin    Squire G. Beers
Hugh W. Martin    Daniel Marsh
Hugh W. Martin   Virgil Little
Hugh W. Martin    Squire G. Beers
Hugh W. Martin   Job A. Smith
Wm. Keeslar       Geo. J. Langs
Edward Webb, Jr. Squire G. Beers
Edward Webb, Jr. Job A. Smith
Alex. R. Green   William Meek
Alex. R. Green   Squire G. Beers
Alex. R. Green   D. A. Thompson
D. A. Thompson   Miles Wheeler
D. A. Thompson   Hiram Brown
D. A. Thompson   C. H. Brooks
C. H. Brooks     Edw. M. Williams
C. H. Brooks     Miles Wheeler
J. B. Hughes      Miles Wheeler
C. H. Brooks     Miles Wheeler
C. H. Brooks     E.. Luce
L. S. Foglesong   M. J. Beck
L. S. Foglesong   M. J. Beck
Albert A. Luce    M. J. Beck


1679 —tyrus j. Luce    Ulles A. tixier
I88o-D. A. Thompson Giles A. Bixler
I88i-D. A. Thompson J. B. Vandewater
1882-D. A. Thompson J. B. Vandewater
1883-J. R. Preston    M. R. Hoyt
I884-C. H. Brooks     C. T. Ward
I885-C. H. Brooks     C. T. Ward:::




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


309


886 —C. H. Brooks    A. R. Bonney     Albert A. Luce   Allen Weaver
1887-Lester Marsh    A. R. Bonney     John Wilkins     M. J. Beck
i88&-Lester Marsh    D. E. Williams   John Wilkins
i889-Lester Marsh    L. S. Foglesong  E. G. Luce       C. H. Brooks
8go_-Lester Marsh    L. S. Foglesong  E. G. Luce       C. H. Brooks
i89iLester Marsh    L. S. Foglesong  Major McIntyre   C. H. Brooks
I892-Lester Marsh    L. S. Foglesong   Major McIntyre   C. H. Brooks
1893-C. G. Babcock   A. R. Bonney     D. E. Williams   Allen Weaver
894 —C. G. Babcock   A. R. Bonney     Major Mcintyre   Riclard Hillyer
I895-Harvey Ryan     Ethel B. Graham  Major McIntyre   Geo. O. Bixler
I896-C. G. Babcock   Albert A. Brown  G.B.Hoopingarner John Beck
I897-D. E. Williams Albert A. Brown   G.B.Hoopingarner Geo. Hivelley
i898-D. E. Williams  Albert A. Brown  S. B. Duberdorf  Hugh Junk
i899-G. Hoopingarner B. A. Wilkins     C. J. Keeslar   Geo. O. Bixler
I9oo-G. Hoopingarner Ethelbert Graham Jesse Sanders    Geo. O. Bixler
i9oi-G. Hoopingarner Ethelbert Graham  Chas. Keeslar   Edward Steffey
1902-L. S. Foglesong M. J. Merriman    G. N. Lazenby   Franklin Zull
I9o3-L. S.'Foglesong Jay Steffey      G. N. Lazenby    M. J. Merriman
90o4-L. S. Foglesong Jay Steffey      H. B. Taylor     Lycurgus Langs
I9o5-Emery G. Luce Walter E. Garman Edson Foster       Lycurgus Langs
g9o6-Emery G. Luce Walter E. Garman Edson Foster       Franklin Zull
GIRARD TOWNSHIP.
Supervisor         Clerk          Treasurer   Highway Commissioner
1834-Jas. B. TompkinsJoseph C. Corbus                   Benj. H. Smith
i835-Jas. B. TompkinsJoseph C. Corbus                   Nathan Sargent
1836-Jas. B. TompkinsJ. C. Corbus                       Harris Aldrich
I837-Jas. B. TompkinsAura Smith                         A. N. Bradley
I838-Jas. B. TompkinsJoseph C. Corbus                   Jos. Van Blaircom
I839-Martin Barnhart J. C. Corbus      S. L. Lawrence   S. L. Lawrence
184o-J. B. Tompkins Peter I. Mann      Mason Chase      J. B. Tompkins
I841-J. B. Tompkins Aura Smith         Mason Chase      J. B. Tompkins
1842-J. B. Tompkins Daniel T. Olney    Aura Smith       Tohn H. Clement
I843-J. B. Tompkins J. C. Corbus      Aura Smith
I844-J. B. Tompkins J. C. Corbus      Robert Rowley     John H. Clement
1845-J. B. Tompkins J. C. Corbus      Robert Rowley     Levi Butler
1846-Robert Barnhart J. C. Corbus     Harv. L. Worden Philander Gould
I847-Elias Gage       Daniel T. Olney  Moses Tompkins J. C. Corbus
I848-J. B. Tompkins Peter I. Mann     Aura Smith       Abram Tompkins
I849-Sol. L. LawrenceJ. C. Corbus     Aura Smith       Danl. Cornell, Jr.
I85o-Aura Smith      J. C. Corbus     Moses Tompkins Rodney 0. Smith
185I-J. B. Tompkins J. C. Corbus      Aura Smith       Abram Tompkins
I852-Aura Smith      J. C. Corbus     Joseph Hudson    James Spencer
1853-Aura Smith      J. C. Corbus     Stephen D. Rainier Robert Gorball
I854-Aura Smith      Jeremiah Harding David Chauncey   Edwin Wheeler
I855-Aura Smith      Jedediah TompkinsGeo. B. Johnson  Ira Markham
1856-J. B. Tompkins S. B. Corbus      Asa Perrv        Wm. Babcock
I857-J. B. Tompkins Charles H. Burr Michael Shannon John H. Clement
I858-J. B. Tompkins A. R. Day         Jed. Tompkins    Rodney 0. Smith
I859-Ambrose BaldwinPhilander George Michael Shannon   Backus Fox
I860-Aura Smith      Philander George Michael Shannon  Backus Fox




310


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


I86I-Aura Smith       Philander George Michael Shannon  Ambrose Baldwin
1862-Enos T. Todd     Philander George Michael Shannon  A. C. Shepardson
I863-Enos T. Todd     Philander George Asa Williams    S. E. Spencer
I864-Enos T. Todd    A. J. Chauncey   Michael Shannon Ambrose Baldwin
1865-Enos T. Todd    A. J. Chauncey   Michael Shannon J. D. Smith
I866-J. C. Pierce    J. B. Williams   C. A. Tompkins   A. C. Shepardson
I867-J. D. Pierce    D. S. Van Blarcum Sherman Osborn  Ambrose Baldwin
I868-Ambrose BaldwinJ.-B. Williams    Jas. E. Perry     Sylv. E. Spencer
1869-G. W. Van AkenJ. B. Williams     J. E. Perry      A. C. Shepardson
I87o-G. W. Van AkenJ. B. Williams     J. E. Perry      Ambrose Baldwin
I871-G. W. Van AkenJ. B. Williams      A. C. Williams  William Rose
I872-G. W. Van AkenJ. B. Williams      D. S. Van Blarcum Durfee Barnhart
I873-G. W. Van AkenJ. B. Williams      Cassius H. Brown Curtis Prentiss
I874-G. W. Van AkenPerry E. Smith      S. E. Lawrence   P. C. Johnson
I875-G. W. Van AkenJames E. Perry      W. S. Van BlarcumP. C. Johnson
I876-G. W. Van AkenJames E. Perry      W. S. Van BlarcumP. C. Johnson
I877-G.W. Van AkenJ. B. Williams      J. E. Perry      P. C. Johnson
I878-G. W. Van AkenJ. E. Perry         W. S. Van BlarcumIra L. Nye
I879-G. W. Van AkenJames E. Perry      W. S. VanBlarcom C. Prentice
I88o-G. W. Van AkenWm. H. Perry       J. B. Williams   J. M. Walker
I88 -G. W. Van AkenWm. H. Perry        J. B. Williams  J. MI. Walker
I882-G. W. Van AkenJas. E. Perry       Geo. W. Jones   J. F. Hardick
I883-J. H. Davis     Jas. E. Perry     Geo. W. Jones   J. S. Bowers
I884-J. H. Davis     Jas. E. Perry    J. B. Williams   J. S. Bowers
I885-J. H. Davis      Giles Pintler   Jas. E. Perry    J. S. Bowers
i886-J. H. Davis      Giles Pintler   Jas. E. Perry    J. M. Walker
I887-J. H. Davis      Giles Pintler    F. J. Tompkins  J. M. Walker
I888-J. H. Davis      H. A. Lake      F. J. Tompkins
I889-J, H. Davis      Hiram Lake      Artemus Taylor   J. M. Walker
I89o-J. H. Davis      Hiram Lake      Artemus Taylor   E. J. Kingsley
I891-J. H. Davis      Hiram Lake      Amon Johnson     E. J. Kingsley
1892-J. H. Davis      Hiram Lake       Amon Johnson    J. S. Bowers
I893-G. H. Wagoner Hiram Lake          Jacob Hardick   J. S. Bowers
I894-J. H. Davis      Jas. E. Perry    Jacob Hardick   W. M. Walker
I895-J. H. Davis      Jas. E. Perry    A. E. Thompson  W. M. Walker
I896-J. B. Williams   Jas. E. Perry    A. E. Thompson  W. M. Walker
I897-Frank L. Cox     Giles Pintler    Fred Paddock    John Gresley
I898-Frank L. Cox     Giles Pintler    Fred Paddock    John Gresley
I899-Frank L. Cox     Eugene Hall      Frank Johnson   John Gresley
go00-Frank L. Cox     Eugene Hall      Frank Johnson   John Gresley
I9o —Frank L. Cox     Myron Bidwell    Stephen Parkinson Clark Knauss
1902-Frank L. Cox     Myron Bidwell    Stephen Parkinson Clark Knauss
1903-Frank L. Cox     Eugene Hall      Fred Bidwell    Clark Knauss
1904-Frank L. Cox     George Whitman   Glen Williams   Clark Knauss
I905-H. J. Morrison   George Whitman   Stephen Brewster W. M. Barnes
9go6-H. J. Morrison   George Whitman   Stephen Brewster J. B. Tuckey




HISTORY OF BRANCH. COUNTY     31


3ti


KINDERHOOK ToWNSHIP.
Supervisor         Clerk           Treasurer
1842-Oliver D~. Colvin George Tripp    Almeron W. (
i843-George Tripp,    William, Chase   Almeron W. (
i844-Oliver D. Colvin William, Chase   A. W. Case
1845-Oliver Di. Colvin William Chase   Luman Gibbs
i846-Oliver D-. Colvin George Tripp    William. Case
1847-David Tripp      A. W. Case       Luman Gibbs
i848-0. Burdick, Jr. James H. Hugenen Daniel Ent
j 849-David Tripp     George Tripp     Henry F. Hu)
i85o-Oliver Burdick   George Tripp.    Henry Huyck
i85i1-0. Burdick, Jr. W. Waterhouse, jrWm. Chase
1852-Oliver Burdick   William, Chase   Joel D. Lindsa
1853-Oliver Burdick   William Chase    Almeron WV. C;
1854-David Tripp      William Chase    A. W. Case
i855-Oliver Burdick   William, Chase   A. W. Case
i856-JDavid Tripp,    William, Chase   J. Waterhouse,
1857-iWilliam, Chase  David Tripp      J. Waterhouse,
i858-William  Chase   Farmer Gaff      J. Waterhouse,
i859-William  Chase   George Tripp     Daniel Hoyt
i,86o-William  Chase  George Tripp     Daniel Hoyt
i86i-S. Hungerford    Z. G. Osborn     \VilliamWalter
186,2-George Tripp,   Z. G. Osborn     WilliamWalter
1863-George Tripp     William Chase    Noah H. Jone,
1864-William Chase    Zelotes G. Osborn Noah H. Jones
i865-William Chase    Z. G. Osborn     Noah H. Jone,
i866-William Chase    Amos Flint       James Richey
i867-William Chase    Amos Flint       fames Richey
i868-Amos Flint       James Richey     Z. G. Osborn
1869-Amos Flint       James Richey     Z. G. Osborn
i87o,-Amos Flint      James Richey     Z. G. Osborn
i87i-Amos Flint       William Chase    Wallace Clark
i872-Z. G. Oshorn     William Chase   XWallace Clark
18,73-Z. G. Osborn    William Chase    Wallace Clark
1874-Eno~s Michael    James Richey     Wallace Clark
1875-(No record)
I&76-Z. G. Osborn     James Richey     Wallace Clark
1877-Z. G. Osborn     James Richey     Wallace Clark
1878-Z. G. Osborn     James Richey     Samuel Knaus
1879-Z. G. Osborn     James Richey     Samuel Knaus,
188o-Z.- G. Osborn    James Richey     Rollin Flint
i88i-James Richey     James Conklin    Rollin Flint
188,2-James Richey    Adna, Chase      Win. H. Mott
1883-James Richey     Adna Chase       Rollin Flint
1884-James Richey     James Conklin    Samuel Knaus
1885-James Richey     James Conklin    A. C. Bradley
1886-James Richey     James Conklin    A. C. Bradley
i887-James Richey     Jas. D. Mosher   Uriah Gripinar
i888 —James Richey    Jas. D. Mosher   Uriah Gripmar
1889-James Richey     Jas. D. Mosher   Fred Conklin
1890-James Richey     Jas. D. Mosher   F'red Conklin


Highway Commissioner
-ase Bentley Reynolds
-ase George Tripp
Win. Withington
A. B-onner
Lumnan Gibbs
Luman Gibbs
yck Daniel Ent
L. J. Gibbs
Oliver Burdick.y   David Tripp
aeDaniel Tripp
David Tripp
David Kipp
Sr. Alfred S. Bates
Sr. Peter Grice
Sr. Alfred S. Bates
Alfred S. Bates
John W. S~tokes
rs  Hiram Norton
rs  John Campbell
Is   L. B. Brown
Is   L. B. Brown
Is   Noah Jones
Marvin C. M\unger
W. Sweetland
Chas. Ale:~ander
Noah H. Jones
Noah H. Jones
A. D. Bonner
z Lindley Gripman
Hiram Adam-is
Charles Richey
Alva Jones
Noah H. Jones
Ss Abraham XWalter
3s Abraham XWalter
Samuel Knauss
Abraham Walter
Martin 'Upp,
Noah Jones;S  Noah Jones
Elza Branyan
Alva Jones
n Alva Jones
Ja1    Coki
Jas. Conklin






312


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


I89I-James Richey
I892-James Richey
1893-James Richey
I894-James Richey
I895-Martin L. Upp
I896-Martin L. Upp
I897-Martin L. Upp
I898-James S. Ogden
I899-James S. Ogden
Igo9-James S. Ogden
I90I-Martin L. Upp
1902-Martin L. Upp
I903-Martin L. Upp
I904-Martin L. Upp
1905-Lewis J. Corwin
I906-Lewis J. Corwin


Jas. D. Mosher
Jas. D. Mosher
Edgar Conklin
Edgar Conklin
Edgar Conklin
Edgar Conklin
John Sheets
John Sheets
D. E. Flint
Fenton Flint
James H. Hoyt
James H. Hoyt
James H. Hoyt
James H. Hoyt
Roll H. Hayden
Roll H. Hayden


Samuel Knauss
Samuel Knauss
James Hoyt
James Hoyt
Jesse C. Brown
James Ogden
James Ogden
Henry Knauss
L. K. Harding
L. K. Harding
W. S. Hilton
John Breghm
John Breghm
Chas. Smith
Chas. Smith
James S. Ogden


Alva Jones
A. C. Bradley
A. C. Bradley
A. C. Bradley
A. G. Barrick
A. G. Barrick
Sherman Jones
Arthur Clearwater
Wm. Miller
Benj. Michael
William Miller
William Miller
William Miller
William Miller
William Miller
William Miller


Supervisor
*I843-Hiram Gardner
1844-J. H. Culver
I845-Hiram Gardner
I846-Hiram Gardner
I847-James E. Fisk
I848-James E. Fisk
I849-James E. Fisk
I85 —Hiram Gardner
I851-Allen Turner
1852-James E. Fisk
I853-J. H. Culver
I854-J. H. Culver
I855-J. E. Fisk
I856-J. H. Culver
I857-David Anderson
I858-David Anderson
1859-David Anderson
I86o-J. H.' Culver
I86i-G. S. Burnett
I862-J. H. Culver
I863-A. J. Richardson
I864-G. S. Burnett
I865-Derrick Corson
1866-Derrick Corson
I867-Derrick Corson
I868-G. S. Burnett
I869-J. H. Culver
1870-Sam'l B. Corson
I87I-Amos Gardner
1872-Amos Gardner
I873-Amos Gardner
*Early records missing.


MATTESON TOWNSHIP.
Clerk          Treasurer
Jonathan H. CulverC. F. Jackson
Jas. O. Johnson  C. F. Jackson
John Gray        C. F. Jackson
James E. Fisk    J. H. Culver
Sam'l E. Faxon   Jesse Monroe
Robert Watson    A. G. Thompson
Robert Watson    A. G. Thompson
Robert Watson    A. G. Thompson
S. E. Faxon      Chas. F. Jackson
Joel H. Legg     Chas. F. Jackson
James E. Fisk    John W. Turner
James E. Fisk    John W. Turner
Sam'l H. Beach   Jacob L. Everhart
R. E. Copeland   C. C. Bennett
Edwin S. Faxon   A. H. Corson
Allen Turner     Ashley Turner
E. S. Faxon      Bentley Benedict
C. M. Benedict   Israel Wheeler
Morris Howe      John P. Fisk
Morris Howe      Derrick Corson
Morris Howe      Robt. E. Copeland
Morris Howe      Derrick Corson
Orrin F. Oliver  Robt. E. Copeland
Morris, Howe     Robt. E. Copeland
Morris Howe      Robt. E. Copeland
Sam'l B. Corson  Robt. E. Copeland
Edwin S. Faxon   R. E. Copeland
Manton E. Swains R. E. Copeland
Labert E. Fisk   Geo. W. Fulton
Albert D. Fisk   Geo. W. Fulton
Albert D. Fisk   Fritz Shaffmaster


Highway Commissioner
Benjamin Fisk
Jacob Lindley
James E. Fisk
Jacob Saibry
Abraham Lowry
J. F. Dunbar
Ervin C. Fisk
Bentley Benedict
Jacob L. Everhart
Jacob Liter
J. S. Hunt
Francis Reynolds
Nelson Bradley
C. Thompson
A. J. Richardson
J. L. Everhart
Lyman K. Lewis
S. B. Corson
J. L. Everhart
C. A. Dufoe
Saml. B. Corson
J. L. Everhart
John P. Fisk
Francis Reynolds
J. L. Everhart
Jas. O. Johnson
Alex. Anderson
J. L. Everhart
Jas. O. Johnson
Alex. Anderson
George Keyes










HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


313


I874-Amos Gardner    David Shimmel
I875-Amos Gardner    A. D. Fisk
1876-Amos Gardner    Geo. W. Fulton
1877-S. W. Sharrer   G. W. Fulton
i878-Amos Gardner    Oliver B. Culver
I879-Chris. Bennett  Oliver Culver
i88o-Amos Gardner    Oliver Culver
I88I-D. F. Rich      Calvin Beers
1882-D. F. Rich      Calvin Beers
1883-0. B. Culver    Wm. Anderson
I884-Amos Gardner    Calvin Beers
I885-C. C. Van Vorst Calvin Beers
i886-0. B. Culver    Calvin Beers
1887 —C. C. Bennett  Calvin Beers
i888-Henry Eberhard Calvin Beers
1889-Henry Eberhard Chas. Thompson
I89o-Henry Eberhard Chas. Thompson
1891-Henry Eberhard Oliver Culver
I892-Henry Eberhard A. C. Judd
1893-Henry Eberhard A. C. Judd
I894-C. M. Thompson Jay Corson
I895-C. M. Thompson Jay Corson
i896-C. M. Thompson Jay Corson
I897-Henry Eberhard A. C. Judd
I898-A. C. Judd      A. G. Copeland
I899 —A. C. Judd     A. G. Copeland
goo —A. C. Judd      A. G. Copeland
90I —A. C. Judd      A. G. Copeland
1902-A. C. Judd      A. G. Copeland
I903-A. C. Judd      Milton J. Bennett
I904-A. C. Judd      Milton J. Bennett
I905-A. C. Judd      Milton J. Bennett
9go6-A. C. Judd      Lee Copeland


Daniel F. Rich
Daniel F. Rich
Daniel F. Rich
Daniel F. Rich
A. G. Copeland
John V. Allen
Daniel Rich
Oscar Whitmore
James N. Fisk'
Alphonso Judd
James N. Fisk
Wm. Baxter
Henry Eberhard
Henry Eberhard
Emery Warner
Emery Warner
Eugene Corson
Frank Thomas
Frank Thomas
Edgar Snyder
Edgar Snyder
A. D. Hogoboom
A. D. Hogoboom
Tom Turner
Tom Turner
Jas. Cunningham
Leslie Bennett
Chas. Mastin
Chas. Mastin
Tom Turner
Tom Turner
Chas. Mastin
John Carter


J. O. Johnson
George Keyes
George Keyes
George Keyes
C. C. Bennett
Alphonso Judd
William Miller
William Miller
Edwin Nash
Robt. Copeland
C. C. Van Vorst
Geo. Keyes
Geo. Keyes
Geo. Keyes
Geo. Keyes
Edwin Bennett
Edwin Bennett
Edwin Bennett
Edwin Bennett
Edwin Bennett
Elliott Turner
Elliott Turner
Edwin Bennett
Edwin Bennett
Edwin Bennett
Edwin Bennett
L. J. James
L. J. James
Chas. Mastin
J. H. Van Nuys
L. J. James
Dorius Gibbs


NOBLE TOWNSHIP.


Supervisor
I846-Ambrose Hale
I847-Ambrose Hale
1848-Ambrose Hale
1849-S. S. Bushnell
185o-Darwin Wilson
I85I —Darwin Wilson
I852-Darwin Wilson
I853-S. S. Bushnell
I854-Darwin Wilson
I855-S. S. Bushnell
1856-William Rippey
I857-William Rippey
I858-Jeremiah Shane
I859-Levi Calhoun
I86o-William Rippey


Clerk
William Butts
William Butts
William Rippey
William Butts
William Butts
R. F. Kortright
Erastus Crofoot
D. S. Crofoot
William, Rippey
Jeremiah Smith
Marshall Morrill
Milton Humphrey
Wm. S. Willer
William Rippey
Horace P. Jeffrey


Treasurer
S. S. Bushnell
David Foster
David Foster
David Foster
James Sweeting
S. S. Matthews
S. S. Bushnell
Levi Calhoun
Levi Calhoun
Levi Calhoun
Levi Calhoun
Wm. Rippey
Culbert R. Smith
Chester E. Porter


Highway Commissioner
W. P. Patterson
Marvin Babcock
C. Palmiter
Joseph Smith
Egbert Caines
Peter Mallow
J. H. Smith
John Fuller
Jacob Trayer
Geo. C. Worden
John Fuller
John Trayer
Jeremiah Smith
C. W. Flanders
David Link


11       I   I         I            I  -  I            14         -  -1 —411 ---, --                   -11,  -    -                                                                       I




314


314     HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


i86i-E. T. Gardner   Win. S. Wilier  Wmn. Pa
i8G2-William, Rippey Win. S. Wilier,  Wmn. Pa
i863-William Rippey Win. S. Wilier   C'ulbert'
i864-William Rippey W. S. Wilier     Culbert'
i865-Elisha T. GardnerWm. S. Wilier  Andrew
i86o —Elisha T. GardnerW. S. Wilier  John Sv
i867-Elisha T. GardnerJohn Kisler    John Sv
i868-S. W. Sharp    John Snyder      David B
i869-Elisha T. GardnerJohn Snyder    John Ft
187o —Elisha T. GardnerCulbert R. Smith  John Fti,87,-Elisha T. Gardnerjohn Snyder    John Fti
i872-(No record)
1873-G. P. Robinson John Swain       Chorydor
1874-G. P. Robinson John Swain       To.J
1875-florace P. J-effreyJohn Swain   Thos. J.
187o.-Ho'race P. JeffreyJohn Swain   Thos. J.
i877-Horace P. J-effreyJohn Swain    Thos. J.
18978-Horace P. Jeff rey Frank H. Lane  John Sr
1879-li. P. Jeffrey  Frank Lane      John Sr
188o-H. P. Jeffrey   Frank Lane      John Fi
1881-H1. P. Jeffrey  Frank Lane      Wi.B
1882-H. J. Jeffrey   John Snyder     Win. Bi
i883-Win. Binkley    John Snyder     Augustt,884~-Win. Binkley   John Snyder     A. O'W
i885-Wm. Binkley     J. B. Keeslar   C'. R. Si
i88tD-H. P. Jeffrey  J. B. Keeslar   C. R. Si
1887-I. P. M'vorrill  C. W. Brooks   T. J. Li
1888-I. P. Morrill   C. W. Brooks    T. J. Li
1889-C. K. Nofsinger C. W. Brooks    John 5)
189o —C. K. Nofsinger Win. H. Grove  John 5i
189i-C. K. Nofsinger Win. H. Grove   Edmun(
1892-C. K. Nofsinger Win. H. Grove   Edinun(
1893-C. K. Noifsinger Win. H. Grove  Melvin
1894-Edinund Quick   Win. H. Grove   Melvin
1895-Edmund Quick    Win. H. Grove   John Zi
i896-Diavid Binkley  Albert Quick    John Zi.
1897-David Binkley   Albert Quick    Chas. V
i898-A. Bushnell     Albert Quick    Chas. V
1899-A. Bushnell     William Mock    Jos. Ste
1 goo-Charles 'Wilier  Albert Quick  Jos. Ste
igoi-Charles Wilier  Albert Quick    George
19o,2-A. Bushnell    Albert Quick    Ward I
19o3-Joseph Steff ey  Albert Quick   Ward I
1904-J oseph Steffey  Albert Quick   Peter I
19o5-Elfred Smith    Ambrose Bushnell Peter I
i9o6-Elfred Smith    Geo. Stegm-aier  G.W.H,
OVID TOW.NSHIP.
Supervisor        Clerk          Tri
i837-John Waterhouse
1838-Joseph Rudd, Jr. William Bockes


atten
atten
R. Smith
R. Smith
rBoyier,vain
vain
Ilanchard
aller
tiler
Liller
nSharp
Link.Link
Link
Link
iyder
iyder
Liller
inkley
inkley
us Weller
Tiller
muith
~Mith
ink
ink


Jacob Trayer
john Lane
David Link
Andrew Boyier
U riah Ruthroff
J acob 'I rayer
David Blanchard
J ohn, Swain
E~dgar A. Ward
David Blanchard
Corydon Sharp
Edward Cummins
David Link
David Link
David Link
David Link
William Mallow
Win. iVIallow
Wmn. Mallow
Win. Weaver
R. L. Whipple
Win. Mallow
VAlm. Mallow
Win. Mallow
Win. Mlallow
A. Lilly


wain      Frank Grove
wain      F. N. Grove,d Quick  Alf red Lilly
d Quick   F. N. Grove
Lupold    Edmund Quick
Lupold    Jos. Steff ey
inn       Jos. Steff ey'
inn       Jos. Steffey
Viller    Clint. Himebaugh
Viller    Clint. himebaugh
2ffey     George Smith
2ff ey    George Smith
Smith    John Swain, Sr.
Lyke      John Swain, Sr.
Lyke      David Binkley
Inhoff    David Binkley
Imhoff    Lewis Burnside
loopingarnerLuther Burnside,easurer Highway commissioner




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY        1


315


1842-J. G. Brooks
1843-J. G. Brooks
1844-E. D. Corwin
1845-E. D. Corwin
i846-D~aniel Wilson
1847-Daniel Wilson
i848-Daniel Wilson
1849-E. D. Corwin
185o-E. E. Corwin
185i-Levi Wilson
1852-E. D. Corwin
1853-Daniel Wilson
1854-D~aniel Wilson Levi Wilson
1855-E. D. Corwin    G. W. Stevens
1856-Levi Wilson     A. R. Bingham
i857-Levi Wilson
i858-Daniel Wilson
1859-E. D. Corwin    A. R. Bingham
T86o-Jerem-iah Cox
i86i-E. D. Corwin
i862-D-aniel Wilson  0. L. Davis
1T863-D~aniel Wilson  0. L. Davis
1864-Levi Wilson     0. L. Davis
1865-Levi Wilson
i866-Levi Wilson
i867-Daniel Wilson
i868-Sylvanus Wixon
1869-Levi Wilson     George Abbott    Avis R. Bingham  Wmn. F. Bingham
187o-Henry B. GeorgeSteven Ferguson   Thos. H. Heisrodt jas. H. Smith
1871-David Wilson    Martin Kinsley   J. R. Wilson     Sylvanus Wixon
T872-C. R. Whitehead Martin Kinsley                    Daniel Wilson
1873-C. R. Whitehead Martin Kinsley   Adelbert M. Fuller W. N. Conover
T874-C. R. Whitehead Wallace F. Wright A. M\'. Fuller  Wmn. P. Morey
1875-C. R. Whitehead Wallace F. Wright Chas. S. Wright  W. P. Morey
i876-C. R. Whitehead~allace F. Wright Chas. S. Wright  WV. P. Morey
i877-C. R. Whitehead Henry B. George Geo,. H. Allen    Lewis C. W~aldron
1-878-james R. Wilson Rufus R. Harris Geo,. H. Allen   Lewis C. Waldron
1879-Chas. Whitehead Wallace Wright   Thos. Thompson   David Harris
i 88o-Chas. Whitehead E. A. Greenarnyer Geo. Allen     Levi Waldron
188,-Chas. Whitehead Rufus Harris     Geo. Allen       David Harris
1882-Chas. Wright    Rufus Harris     Thos. Thompson   David Harris
1883-Chas. Wright    Wallace Wright   Chas. Russell    Lewis W~aldron
1884-Chas. Wright    Wallace Wright   Chas. Russell    Nelson Russell
1885-Jerorne Corwin  E. A. Greenamyer L. S. Daniels    W. F. Binghamn
'886-F. A. GreenamyerW. F. Binghamn   L. S. Daniels   J. H. Wilson
1887-F. A. Greenamy-erW. F. Bingham   M. F. Hiesrodt  Nelson Russell
1888-F. A. Greenamy-erW. F. Binghamn  M. F. Hiesrodt
i889-F. A. GreenamyerW. F. Binghanm   Wmn. Armstrong   Milton Strobec
i89o-E. A. Greenam'yer~dwin R. Bates  Win. Armstrong   Milton Strobec
189 IR-F. A. GreenainyerEdwin R. Bates  Fred Bidlernan  Moses Kerns
1892-F. A. GreenainyerEdwin R. Bates  Fred Bidleinan   Milton Strobec


I     I,     I -      -      4; ",  I I  11  -.- -    -  ---.... - -, ",;" -  .   , .




316


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


I893-Wm. F. BinghamEdwin R. Bates
I894-Wallace Wright Edwin R. Bates
I895-Wallace Wright Edwin R. Bates
I896-Wallace Wright Edwin R. Bates
1897-Wallace Wright Vernon Wright
I898-Wallace Wright Fred Conklin
I899-Wallace Wright Fred Conklin
9go0-Lewis Waldron Fred Conklin
i9o —Edwin R. Bates Albert Russell
I902-Edwin R. Bates Albert Russell
90o3-Edwin R. Bates Albert Russell
I904 —Edwin R. Bates Chas. Waterbury
1905-Fred J. Conklin Chas. Waterbury
g9o6-Fred J. Conklin Chas. Waterbury


Berton Strong    Milton Strobec
J. A. Greenamyer Milton Strobec
J. A. Greenamyer Milton Strobec
Wm. Sorter       Reuben Coleman
Allison Howland  Reuben Coleman
Julius Bates     Chas. Russell
Julius Bates     L. S. Daniels
Harlow Dubendorf J. Schumaker
Harlow Dubendorf Walter Kenyon
Ivon Snyder      Walter Kenyon
Ivon Snyder      Walter Kenyon
Walter Kenyon    W. H. Kerns
Walter Kenyon    W. H. Kerns
Judson Brown     Theodore Wood


QUINCY TOWNSHIP.
Supervisor         Clerk           Treasurer  Highway Commissioner
I836-Enos G. Berry    David W. Baker                     Jos. T. Burnham
I837-Enos G. Berry    David W. Baker                     Israel R. Hall
I838-Enos G. Berry    Ellis Russell    John Broughton    James Adams
I839-James Adams      James G. Corbus Joseph Berry       W. 0. Campbell
I840-W. P. Arnold,    James G. Corbus Joseph Berry       Ansel Nichols
I841-W. P. Arnold     Alvarado Brown   Joseph Berry      George Boon
I842-W. P. Arnold     Alvarado Brown   Joseph Berry      George Boon
I843-W. P. Arnold     Alvarado Brown   Joseph Berry      Job H. Moore
I844-W. P. Arnold     Alvarado Brown   Joseph Berry      H. F. Babcock
I845-W. P. Arnold     Alvarado Brown   Joseph Berry      Lucas Joseph
I846-W. P. Arnold     Alvarado Brown   Jos. T. Burnham   Alfred Wilmarth
1847-W. P. Arnold     Daniel M. Thomas Jos. T. Burnham   Lyman Cole
I848-W. P. Arnold     Daniel M. Thomas Jos. T. Burnham  H. F. Babcock
I849-W. P. Arnold     D. M. Thomas     Ira Clizbe        R. N. T. Decker
185 —  W. P. Arnold   John H. Edwards Tim. Lockwood     Jas. E. Gould
I85I-W. P. Arnold     Nathan B. Hewitt Aaron McGinness Deleven Tinkham
1852-W. P. Arnold     Nathan B. Hewitt Aaron McGinness John Broughton
I853-Lyman Cole       N. B. Hewitt      Jacob C. Boon    S. S. Lampman
I854-Lyman Cole       N. B. Hewitt      Daniel Williams  Geo. W. Chase
I855-P. M. Newberry Moses A. Hewitt Hosea J. Corbus      F. P. Williams
1856-Ebenezer Mudge Benj. F. Clark      Otis Gager       Jos. S. Swan
I857-Wm. Newberry Moses A. Hewitt Milan M. Brown Jos. T. Jones
I858-Wm. Newberry Moses A. Hewitt H. B. Edmonston F. P. Williams
I859-Orrin M. Bowen Julius J. Gregory Jacob Weaver       Walton J. Barnes
I86o-Orrin M. Bowen Julius Gregory      H. W. Williams   Wm. Newberry
186- Orrin M. Bowen Milan M. Brown Wm. P. Arnold        J. H. Withington
I862-Orrin M. Bowen Milan M. Brown Thos. N. Barnes       Nathan Swan
I863-John H. Jones    Milan M. Brown Orlando F. Buell Wm. Newberry
1864-John H. Jones    Milan M. Brown W. P. Arnold        Wm. W. Culver
I865-John H. Jones    Moses A. Hewitt Lyman Witter      Aaron W. Barber
I866-John H. Jones    Jay L. Taylor    Dan'l G. Williams J. B. Wheeler
I867-W. P. Arnold     Daniel W. Sawyer Lyman Witter     Geo. H. Lafleur
I868-W. P. Arnold     Daniel Sawyer    Zadoc C. Rose    Z. G. Swan
I869-John Sebring     Daniel W. Sawyer Zadoc C. Rose    Rella M. Campbell




HISTORY OF BRANCH C'OUNTY31


317


1870-~H.B.Edmondstofl Milan M. Brown
1871-W. P. Arnold    Alvarado Brown
I872-John H. Jones   Daniel W. Sawyer
1873-John H. Jones   Daniel W. Sawyer
1874-W. P. Arnold    D. W. Sawyer
I875-W. P. Arnold    D. W. Sawyer
1876-W. P. Arnold    D. W. Sawyer
i877-Jacob Kincaid   D. W. Sawyer
i878-Edson Blackman D. W. Sawyer
I879-Milan M. Brown Melvin S. Segur
i88o-Milan M. Brown Melvin S. Segur
i88i-Milan M. Brown Melvin S. Segur
1882-Clark Sears     Melvin S. Segur
i883-Clark Sears     Melvin S. Segur
i8841-Elliston Warner Melvin S. Segur
1885-Elliston Warner Melvin S. Segur
i886-Elliston Warner Melvin S. Segur
1887-Geo. Nivison    Melvin S. Segur
i888-Edson Blackman Melvin S. Segur
i889-Edson Blackman Henry Barnes
i89o-john H. Jones   Henry Barnes
i89i-John H. Jones   T. E. Marsh
i892-John H. Jones   T. F. Marsh, Jr.
1893-Eds-on Blackman Martin Greening
i894-Melvin S. Segur Win. Lennon
1895-Melvin S. Segur Win. Lennon
1896-Melvin S. Segur Win. Lennon
1897-Melvin S. Segur Win. Lennon
i898-G. W. Dumphy    Lee 0. Burch
T899-0. WV. Dumphy   Lee 0. Burch
i900-Chish-olm McKay Clinton Joseph
i901-Chisholm McKay Arthur Massey
I1902-Chisholm McKay Arthur Massey
19o3-Chisholm McKay Ruel D. Rawson
i904-Chisholm McKay Ruel D. Rawson
1905-Chisholm McKay J. P. McConnell
1906-Chish~olm, McKay Chas. W. Owen


Guy E. Bennett   Win. Harman
Guy E. Bennett   Jacob Weaver
J. L. Taylor     R. M. Campbell
Zadoc C. Rose    R. A. Baggerly
Martin Hawley    Levi Swan
Zadoc C. Rose    P. M. Newberry
Zadoc C. Rose    R. K. Twaddle
Almeron J. Wright R. K. Twaddle
Cyrus Wilcox     John R. Morey
Almon Lytle      Jacob Weaver
B. C. Mellen     M. M. Bailey
B3. C. Mellen    M. M. Bailey
M. M. ]Bailey    Joseph Eldred
M. M. Bailey     Alfred Etheridge
S. S. Leland     Alfred Etheridge
S. S. Leland     Alfred Etheridge
Hiram, Bennett   Jacob. Weaver
Henry Graves     John' Mowry
Ed. Troop
Edward Throop    S. W. Boynton
Win. Thurber     S. WV. Boynton
Win. Thurber     Alva Belote
James Haynes     Alva Belote
James Havnes     Chas. Parkinson
Carlton Wilcox   Albert Warner
Carlton Wilcox   Albert Warner
Thos. Rathburn   Albert Warner
Dewit C. Luse    J. F. Corey
Dewit C. Luse    J. F. Corey
Fred Powers      Chas. Parkinson
Fred Powers      Chas. Parkinson
Fred Wagner      Chas. Parkinson
D. W. Houghtaling~erbert Benge
D. W. HouightalingJobn Burns
Geo. Sanderson   Herbert Benge
Geo. Sanderson   Jared Swan
D. XV. Houghtalingjared Swan


Supervisor
18,55-Lorenzo, Little
T856-Isaac D. Beall
1857-Isaac D. Beall
T858-David R. Cooley
18859-James Antisdale
T86o-James Antisdale
T861-R. H. Williard
T862-J. B. Haviland
1863-Dianiel D. Riley
i864-Isaac D. Beall
*Early records destroyed.


SHERWOOD ToWNSHIP.
Clerk           Treasurer
A. F. Tomlinson F. C. Watkins
E. F. Hazen       Chester C. Duoty
E. F. Hazen       Chester C. Doty
F. F. Hazen       Jos. Failing
E. F. Hazen       Jos. Failing
F. F. Hazen       S. W. Blackman
James Antisdale E. F. Hazen
Isaac D. Beall    Dian'l D. Riley
Loring P. Wilcox Lucien E. Rowe
Loring P. Wilcox L. E. Rowe


Highway Commissioner
Wilson McSpencer
P. Clark
Benj. F. Ferris
James Gwin
Peletiah Clark
R. P. Coddington
Benj. Blossom.
Lyman Studley
M. Zimmerman
Peletiali Clark


,  I 11-      II  I N ''     "I'l-      11-   -1   11-   "I.,1.1.111-;-,14"i-",... -,;, I I         I




818


'HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


I865-Isaac D. Beall    L. P. Wilcox
I866-Henry L. Bisbee L. P. Wilcox
1867-Henry L. Bisbee E. F. Hazen
i868-Loring P.Wilcox E. F. Hazen
1869-Loring P.Wilcox Clark C. Lake
I87o-Loring P.Wilcox Clark C. Lake
I871-Loring P.Wilcox Clark C. Lake
1872-James Gwin      Isaac D. Beall
I873-James Gwin      Robert Fraser
I874-James Gwin      William Lehr
I875-Charles E. Swain J. J. Studley
I876-Charles E. Swain Henry Sayers
I877-Charles E. Swain Henry Sayers
I878-Charles H. Mann Jerome Studley
I879-Chas. H. Mann Jerome Studley
I88o-Jesse Gates      C. E. Swain
I88I-Jesse Gates '    C. E. Swain
1882-Chas. Rathburn   Jerome Studley
I883-Jesse Gates      Fred Greenlief
I884-Jesse Gates      L. P. Wilcox
I885-Jesse Gates      L. P. Wilcox
1886-Jesse Gates      L. P. Wilcox
I887-Jesse Gates      Frank Swain
I888-Jesse Gates      J. F. Williams
I889-Jesse Gates      S. K. Thurston
I89o-J. T. Russell    O. S. Bathrick
I89i-Jesse Gates      C. E. Swain
1892-Jesse Gates      C. E. Swain
I893-Jesse Gates     L. P. Wilcox
I894-P. J. Rathburn   W. B. Chiesman
I895-P. J. Rathburn   W. B. Chiesman
I896-P. J. Rathburn   Hiram Fonner
I897-P. J. Rathburn   Frank Hicks
I898-P. J. Rathburn   Frank Hicks
I899-P. J. Rathburn   Frank Hicks
9goo-P. J. Rathburn   A. W. Morris
90oI-P. J. Rathburn   Clark Wilcox
1902-P. J. Rathburn   James Swain
I903-P. J. Rathburn   Earl H. Warner
I904-P. J. Rathburn   Earl H. Warner
1905-P. J. Rathburn   Earl H. Warner
I906-P. J. Rathburn   Earl H. Warner


Henry Bullock    John M. Lacey
Clark C. Lake    Edward Stanton
Clark C. Lake    Burr Osborn
Clark C. Lake    Jabin Gwin
Horace O. Lee    Edward Stanton
Horace O. Lee    Burr Osborn
Horace O. Lee    Jabin Gwin
Franklin H. Fisher L. E. Rowe
Frank Thors      Clark C. Lake
Frank Thors      Jesse Gates
Marion C. Hazen  Jabin Gwin
Marion C. Hazen  Jesse Gates
Marion C. Hazen  Jesse Gates
Horace O. Lee    John Stafford
John McIntyre    John Stafford
Henry Locke      Henry Bisbee
Henry Locke      H. B. Hazen
David Spencer    John iMcIntyre
Chas. Sawin      Jabin Gwin
Horace Barton    John Gwin
P. J. Rathburn   Chas. Swain
P. J. Rathburn   Wesley Leckner
C. D. Rathburn   Orrin Pierce
C. D. Rathburn
G. H. Seymour    P. J. Rathburn
D. L. Billings   Wmn. Davis
George Hass      Orrin Pierce
George Hass      Orrin Pierce
S. K. Thurston   Chas. Swain
S. K. Thurston   Edward Watkins
Geo. Seymour     A. R. Klose
Geo. Seymour     Francis Daniels
Chas. Rathburn   Wilson Gates
Frank Hodge      Wilson Gates
Frank Hodge      Wilson Gates
E. W. Watkins    George Haas
E. W. Watkins    G. E. Kilbourne
0. F. Thornton   G. E. Kilbourne
O. F. Thornton   G. E. Kilbourne
F. M. Daniels    C. W. Kirby
F. M. Daniels   Asahel Blackman
G. E. Kilbourn   Asahel Blackman


Supervisor
1838-Curtis S.Youngs
1839-Curtis S.Youngs
I840-Curtis S.Youngs
I84 —Hiram Marsh
I842-Hiram Shoudler
1843-C. P. Benton


UNION TOWNSHIP.
Clerk           Treasurer   Highway Commissioner
Chester Hammond H. L. Mlitchell    David Kilbourn
Chester Hammond Carpenter Chaffee Marlin Burnett
C. P. Benton      Carpenter Chaffee B. Bartlett
C. P. Benton      Carpenter Chaffee H. L. Mitchell
C. P. Benton     Carpenter Chaffee M. B. Barnhart
Jos. C. Leonard  Carpenter Chaffee J. W. Norton


t



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


319


1844-C. P. Benton    J. C. Leonard    Cassius A. Mills
1845-Jos. C. Leonard H. N. Blakeman   Dr. W. P. Hurd
1846-Hiram Shoudler C. S. Youngs      Solomon Parsons
I847-J. C. Leonard   C. S. Youngs     Solomon Parsons
1848-M. B. Barnhart Melvin L. Youngs Carpenter Chaffee
1849-J. C. Leonard   M. L. Youngs     Manna Olmsted
1850-J. C. Leonard   M. L. Youngs     M. Burnett
I851-J. C. Leonard   M. L. Youngs     M. Burnett
I852-Lloyd H. Sims   M. L. Youngs     M. Burnett
I853-Manna Olmsted Jason L. Lee       M. Burnett
1854-Manna Olmsted John S. Youngs     M. Barnhart
1855-Silas H. Nye    Henry F. Ewers   L. G. Lincoln
i856-M. B. Barnhart Geo. T. Moseley   Bishop Burnett
1857-Manna Olmsted Geo. W. Shelmire C. A. Seymour
1858-Ezra Bostwick   G. W. Shelmire   C. A. Seymour
1859-Cyrus H. Nye    G. W. Shelmire   C. A. Seymour
i86o-Truman Olds     G. W. Shelmire   C. A. Seymour
I86I-Curtis S. YoungsJ. G. Parkhurst  William Drumm
I862-LeRoy Judd      G. W. Shelmire   William Drumm
1863-LeRoy Judd      J. G. Parkhurst  William Drumm,
1864-LeRoy Judd      James T. Leonard William Drumm
i865-LeRoy Judd      James T. Leonard Henry C. Morse
I866-Ezra Bostwick   C. W. Saunders   H. C. Morse
I867 —J. D. Ackerman C. W. Saunders   H. C. Morse
I868-J. D. Ackerman C. W. Saunders    L. G. Lincoln
I869-J. D. Ackerman C. W. Saunders    L. G. Lincoln
1870-J. D. Ackerman Estas McDonald    L. G. Lincoln
I871-J. D. Ackerman Estas McDonald    Wi. C. Smith
1872-B. L. Mitchell  Estas McDonald   W. C. Smith
I873-B. L. Mitchell  D. J. Easton     C. W. Saunders
I874-L. Rheubottom   R. F. Watkins    C. W. Saunders
I875-Mort. Vosburg   Hiram H. Chase   Samuel Wilbur
I876-Mort. Vosburg   H. H. Chase      Samuel Wilbur
I877-Mort. Vosburg   H. H. Chase      Samuel Wilbur
I878-Jas. D. Studley  H. H. Chase     Samuel Wilbur
I879-Martin F. Buell J. Willis Spencer V. Milton Lee
I88 —Joseph McCauseyJ. Willis Spencer W. Milton Lee
1881-Joseph McCauseyJ. Willis Spencer Henry Seymour
1882 —Joseph McCauseyMortimer Vosburg Henry Seymour
I883-Mort. Vosburg   Geo. E. Smith    Marshall Maxon
1884-L. Rheubottom   George Styles    Marshall Maxon
I885-Henry Seymour George Styles      Henrv Corbin
1886-Henry Seymour Mort. Vosburgh     Geo. Whiting
1887-I. E. Hitchcock  Mort. Vosburgh  Geo. Whiting
I888-Henrv Seymour John Nesbitt       Chas. Stafford
I889-Henry Seymour John S. Nesbitt    Chas. Stafford
1890-E. E. Bostwick  Mort. Vosburgh   Geo. Whiting
I891-Henry Seymour Mort. Vosburgh     Chas. Stafford
I892-Henry Seymour Mort. Vosburgh     Chas. Stafford
I893-Henry Seymour Mort. Vosburgh     Seneca Perry
1894-Henry Seymour Mort. Vosburgh     Seneca Perry


Carpenter Chaffee
H. L. Mitchell
M. B. Barnhart
M. B. Barnhart
George Strong
Hiram Richardson
Chas. A. Lincoln
Henry A. Kelso
Peter Grove
Silas H. Nye
Thos. B. Buell
Curtis Prentiss
Martin Knowles
T. B. Buell
Truman Olds
Darius Buell
Benj. Nelson
J. R. Vosburg
Darius Buell
Benj. Nelson
J. R. Vosburg
S. H. Nye
Benj. Nelson
Chas. A. Lincoln
S. H. Nye
Darius Buell
Parker Haner
Sylvester Feller
S. Feller
S. Feller
S. Feller
S. Feller
Burr Osborn
Thos. Buell
James Vosburg
Hiram Olmsted
Hiram Olmsted
John Johnson
John Johnson
John Johnson
John Johnson
John Johnson
Chas. Barnhart
Chas. Burnett
Chas. Burnett
Erwin Fellers
Chas. Burnett


I   II 11 c I  I II  I I I, I I. - ~   ~~  ~   ~;-.   - ' -   -  'I




320


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


1895-Henry Seymour Mort. Vosburgh
I896-Henry Seymour Mort. Vosburgh
I897-Henry Seymour Mort. Vosburgh
I898-Henry Seymour Mort. Vosburgh
I899 -i9oo-Albert Geer     Leo L. Johnson
i9oi-Albert Geer     Mort. Vosburgh
I902-Albert Geer     Mort. Vosburgh
I9o3-Albert Geer     Mort. Vosburgh
I904-Albert Geer     Mort. Vosburgh
i9o5-Leon A. Johnson Mort. Vosburgh
go06-Leon A. Johnson Mort. Vosburgh

Lean A. Johnson
Lean A. Johnson
Lyndz Johnson
Lyndz Johnson
Geo. Whiting
Wm. Rupright
Wm. Rupright
Chas. Lowell
Chas. Lowell
John S. Nesbitt
John S. Nesbitt


Chas. Burnett
James Cosier
James Cosier
James Cosier
J. M. Cosier
Chas. Zimmerman
Chas. Zimmerman
Chas. Zimmerman
Chas. Zimmerman
Chas. Zimmerman
Chas. Zimmerman


COLDWATER TOWNSHIP.
Supervisor        Clerk           Treasurer
I833-S. A. Holbrook J. C. Corbus      Robt. J. Cross
1834-Jas. B. Stewart Wm. H. Cross     S. L. Bingham
I835-Matthew Brink    W. H. Cross     S. L. Bingham
I836-Allen Tibbits    W. B. Sprague   Edward Paxton
I837-William H. CrossHiram Shoudler    Philo H. Crippen
1838-                 E. A. Warner
1839-R. J. Champion Edw. A. Warner S. A. Holbrook
I840-Jared Pond       E. A. Warner     Wm. McCarty
I84I-Elijah Ferguson Henry Lockwood James Fisk
I842-D. C. Ransom     Clark Williams  Jos. Shoecraft
1843-Henry LockwoodGeo. A. Coe        Harvey Dixon
I844-Chris. Dickinson Albert Chandler  D. S. Williams
I845-L. D. Crippen   John D. Wood     Geo. Kellogg
1846-David R. Cooley S. S. Cutter     D. S. Williams
I847-Henry LockwoodElon Parsons       Hiram Alden
I848-Henry LockwoodElon Parsons       A. Arnold
I849-Henry LockwoodF. V. Smith         Anselm Arnold
I850-Asa Parrish      W. C. Morehouse David Thompson
I85I-John Root        John G. ParkhurstDavid Thompson
1852-Harvey Haynes John H. Phelps      L. B. Brewer
I853-John Root        Edwin R. Clarke L. R. Austin
I854-C. P. Benton     Homer M. Wright Sellick Seymour
I855-George A. Coe    Benj. C. Webb    Sellick Seymour
I856-Harvey Haynes Benj. C. Webb       Roland Root
I857-John Root        David C. Powers  James Pierson
1858-Harvey Haynes David C. Powers     D. B. Purinton
I859-David B. Dennis Rob. F. MockridgeD. B. Purinton
I86o-D. B. Purinton   Rob. F. Mockridge C. Van Ness
86I —  Harvey Haynes A. D. Eldridge    Timothy Phelps
I862-Harvey Haynes George H. White Timothy White
I863-Harvey Haynes Ira W. Pratt        William Bennett
I864-Harvey Haynes W. B. Mason        Chas. J. Fonda
I865-S. S. Scoville  C. H. Williams   Chas. J. Fonda
I866-S. S. Scoville  C. H. Williams   Elias Gage
I867-Henry C. Fenn   C. H. Williams   Elias Gage
i868-Isaac Mains     Chas. N. Legg    Wm. B. Mason


Highway Commissioner
Jas. B. Tompkins
John Wilson
W. P. Arnold
John Wilson
Edward Paxton
James Shoecraft
Elijah Ferguson
Jos. H-. Moss
Reuben Whitehead
Silas A. Holbrook
George Hayden
Jos. H. Moss
J. Strickland
William Keyes
Isaac Middaugh
J. Strickland
Isaac Middaugh
William Smith
Alonzo Duncan
Abram C. Fisk
Alonzo Duncan
Abram C. Fisk
J. B. Southworth
B. B. Shoecraft
Wm. B. Mason
J. B. Southworth
Henry C. Fenn
John W. Turner
T. B. Southworth
Horace W. Reed
B. B. Shoecraft
Mahlon A. Smith
Isaac Mains
Wm. H. Webster




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


321


i869_Isaac Mains     C. H. Williams   W. B. Mason
187 —Isaac Mains     C. H. Williams   Wm. B. Mason
187I  Isaac Mains    J. H. McGowan    W. B. Mason
I872-Harvey Haynes J. H. McGowan      Elias Gage
I873-Harvey Haynes C. H. Williams     Elias Gage
I874-Alonzo B. Allen C. H. Williams   Timothy Phelps
1875-A. B. Allen     C. H. Williams   Timothy Phelps
1876-A. B. Allen     Harvey Gregory   Timothy Phelps
I877-Henry C. Fenn   H. D. Gregory    Charles Shoecraft
1878-A. B. Allen     C. H. Williams   Geo. W. Fisk
i879-Harvey Haynes Hervey Gregory     Geo. W. Dickey
i88o-Geo. W. Dickey Hervey Gregory    Samuel Fisk
i88 —Geo. W. Dickey Hervey Gregory    Samuel Fisk
I882-Geo. W. Dickey Hervey Gregory    Albert Brinton
I883-J. C. Andrews   Benj. W. Mains   Albert Brinton
1884-Geo. W. Dickey Benj. W. Mains    T. J. Williams
i885-Geo. W. Dickey Benj. W. Mains    T. J. Williams
i886-Geo. W. Dickey Floyd Gage        Ezra Shoecraft
I887-J. C. Andrews   Geo. H. Turner   Ezra Shoecraft
T888-Samuel Fisk     Harvey Painter   James Burdick
1889-Samuel Fisk     Harvey E. Painter James Burdick
890 —Samuel Fisk     Henry E. Straight Edward D. Legg
189 —Samuel Fisk     Henry E. Straight Edward D. Legg
1892-Samuel Fisk     Chas. Culp       Ezra Shoecraft
1893-Samuel Fisk     Chas. Wicker     Chas. Culp
1894-Samuel Fisk     Chas. Wicker     Chas. Culp
I895-Chas. Culp      Chas. Wicker     Chas. Brooks
1896-Chas. Culp      Chas. Wicker     Chas. Brooks
1897-Chas. Culp      Chas. Wicker     Wm. H. Megley
1898-Chas. Culp      Chas. Wicker     Wm. H. Megley
1899-Chas. Culp      Chas. Wicker     Geo. Martin
19oo-Chas. D. Wicker G. S. Thomas     Geo. Martin
I90o-Chas. D. Wicker G. S. Thomas     Ted C. Cox
1902-Chas. D. Wicker G. S. Thomas     Ted C. Cox
1903-Chas. D. Wicker G. S. Thomas     Morgan L. Tyler
I904-Chas. D. Wicker G. S. Thomas     Morgan L. Tyler
I905-George Martin   Wm. Hurst        John Phelps
9go6-George Martin   Wm. Hurst        John Phelps
VILLAGE OF COLDWATER.


O. S. Bingham
J..B. Southworth
Lucius Phetteplace
Mahlon A. Smith
J. B. Southworth
Wm. P. Norton
Jacob C. Andrews
Wm. P. Norton
Wm. P. Norton
Russell Rice
Wm. P. Benton
Marcus Hunt
Origin Bingham
Origin Bingham
Origin Bingham
Origin Bingham
R. F. Parker
Origin Bingham
Origin Bingham
James Bassett
Israel Painter
James Burdick
James Burdick
Cyrus Hand
Cyrus Hand
E. Blodgett
H. H. Benson
H. H. Benson
H. H. Benson
James Storr
James Storr
James Storr
James Storr
James Storr
Lewis Dollimore
Seth B. Randall
Seth B. Randall


President
1837-Hiram Alden
I838-L. D. Crippen
8I39-Silas A. Holbrook
1840 -1841 -1842-David Williams
1843-William Pierson
1844-Henry Lockwood
1845 -1846-A. L. Porter


Clerk
E. T. Paxton
E. A. Warner
E. A. Warner
George A. Coe
G. A. Coe
G. A. Coe
Corydon P. Benton


Treasurer
James H. Hanchett
D. S. Williams
William H. Kellogg
David Wood
Cornelius Wendell






.322


322     HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


I 847 ---Harvey Warner
i 84&-Harvey WAarner
i849 —Jared Pond
i85o-Jared Pond
i85 i-Har~vey Warner
i852-Albert Chandler
i853-Hliram, Shoudler
I854-Alvin H. Burdick
1T855-Hiram Baker
i856-Roland Root
i857-Augustus S. Glessner
i858-Alonzo F. Bidwell
1859-Charles Upham
i86o-Stephen Cutler


Mayor
i86i-Albert Chandler
i862-Albert Chandler
1863-David B. Dennis
i864-Justin Lawyer
1865-Justin Lawyer
i866 —John H. Beach
i867-D. C. Powers
i868-David C. Powers
i869-Phineas P. Nichols
i87o-Justin Lawyer
I87i-David B. Dennis
1872-Henry C. Lewis
I873-H. C. Lewis
1874-John R. Champion
i875-J. R. Champion
i876-Step~hen S. Cutter
i877-Charles Upson
1878-A. J. Foster
i879-D. C. Powers
i88o-John R. Champion
i88i-Barton, S. Tibbits
i882-L. M. Wing
1883-George Starr
1884-George Starr
i885-Alfred Milnes
i8865-Alfred Milnes
i887-B. H. Calkins
T9LPR, — I-I Cnlk1imq


C. P. Benton
C. P. Benton
Henry C. Gilbert
L. T. N. Wilson
E. G. Fuller
James XV. Gilbert
George A. Kellogg
Elihu B. Pond
Justin Lawyer
Franklin T. Eddy
Franklin T. Eddy
Wallace W. Barrett
P. P. Nichols
CITY OF COLDWATER.
Clerk
Robert F. Mockridge
R. F. Mockridge
Hiram D. Upham
John Murphey
John Murphey
W~illiam G. Moore
D. J. Easton
John Murphey
John Murphey
William H1. H. Halsted
W. H. H. Halsted
William R. Foster
William R. Foster
Charles L. Truesdell
Charles L. Truesdell
L. P. Palmer
L. P. Palmer
Albert 0. Wood
William G. Moore
William G. Moore
Lilburn P. Palmer
George B. Tompkins
George B. Tompkins
Judson P. Etheridge
J. P. Etheridge
Allen Cope
Charles F. Ruggles


George A. Kellogg
Hiram Alden
Phineas P. Wright
Robert F. Mockridge
R. F. Mockridge
R. F. Mockridge
George A. Coe
Nelson D. Skeels
A. F. Bidwell
J ustin Lawyer
J ustin Lawyer
John S. Youngs


Treasurer
John S. Youngs
John S. Youngs
]Ives G. Miles
George Starr
George Starr
George Starr
George Starr
John P. Youngs
Lester E. Rose
Lester E. Rose
Willard J. B~owen'
Willard J. Bowen
Willard J. Bowen
Willard J. Bowen
Willard J. Bowen
Willard J. Bowen
George Starr
Ransom E. Hall
A. S. Up-son
A. S. Upson
Charles Starr
Charles L. Truesdell
A. S. Upson
A. S. Upson
L. A. Jackson
Lennes A. Jackson
A. S. Upson
AqT Tn-cn

1889-C. D. Randall         Elmer J.Allen          L. A. Jackson
i89o-Edwin R. Clarke       Elmer J.Allen          L. A. Jackson
1891-Edwin R. Clarke       Harry R. Saunders      Charles T. Gilbert
1892-Barzilla, Calkins     Charles J. Harris      Charles T. Gilbert
1893-Simon B. Kitchel      James R. Dickey        L. A. Jackson
1894-N. A. Reynolds       H. A. CloseL.AJako




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


323


I895-T. A. Hilton
i896-A. A. Sherman
1897-A. A. Sherman
1898-Clayton C. Johnson
1899-Clayton C. Johnson
i9oo-Clayton C. Johnson
90o —Elmer E. Palmer
1902-Milo D. Campbell
90o3-Milo D. Campbell
90o4-Milo D. Campbell
1905-Chas. N. Legg
g9o6-Gerald E. Kleindinst


H. A. Close
H. A. Close
H. A. Close
Patrick H. Sweeney
Patrick H. Sweeney
Patrick H. Sweeney
Patrick H. Sweeney
Patrick H. Sweeney
William H. Moore
William H.. King
William H. King
William H. King
VILLAGE OF QUINCY.


A. S. Upson
W. E. Hodgman
Harry R. Saunders
A. S. Upson
W. E. Hodgman
A. S. Upson
Milton W. Wimer
H. R. Saunders


President              Clerk                  Treasurer
I858-Ebenezer Mudge       Moses A. Hewitt        Alden Gregory
859 —William P. Arnold    Moses A. Hewitt        William J. Briggs
I86o-Alden Gregory        Moses A. Hewitt         William J. Briggs
i86i-Cornelius Shear      Benj. F. Clark         Barber N. Sheldon
1862-Joseph Berry         Benj. F. Clark         Benj. F. Wheat
1863-John Sebring         Ebenezer Mudge         Gideon 0. Bailey
I864-John Sebring         Ebenezer Mudge         Thomas Clark
I865-Charles N. Wilcox    Ebenezer Mudge         Thomas Clark
I866-Cornelius Shear      Ebenezer Mudge          Thomas Clark
I867-David C. Myers       Ebenezer Mudge         Thomas Clark
I868-David C. Myers       Ebenezer Mudge         Thomas Clark
I869-David C. Myers       Ebenezer Mudge          Thomas Clark
187o-David C. Myers       Ebenezer Mudge          George B. Knight
187I-Horace Lownsberry    Ebenezer Mudge          George B. Knight
1872-Horace Lownsberry    Ebenezer Mudge          George B. Knight
I873-Jacob Kincaid        Ebenezer Mudge          Almeron J. Wright
1874-Jacob Kincaid        Ebenezer Mudge          Almeron J. Wright
I875-Jacob Kincaid        Ebenezer Mudge          Almon L. Lytle
1876-Jacob Kincaid        Ebenezer Mudge          Alfred A. Bowen
1877-Walton J. Barnes     Ebenezer Mudge          Stephen H. Loveland
I878-Walton J. Barnes     Ebenezer Mudge          George B. Knight
1879-Walton J. Barnes     Ebenezer Mudge          George B. Knight
I880-                                            Jesse B. Sutton
I88I-William A. Markel    Daniel W. Sawyer       J. B. Sutton
1882-                                            J. B. Sutton
I883-W. A. Markel         D. W. Sawyer           J. B. Sutton
1884-                                            J. B. Sutton
I885-John H. Jones        D. W. Sawyer           Charles L. Truesdell
1886-John H. Jones         D. W. Sawyer          C. L. Truesdell
I887-John H. Jones        D. W. Sawyer           C. W. Bennett
I888-C. L. Truesdell      Francis E. Marsh, Jr.  Henry A. Graves
I889-Francis E. Marsh     F. E. Marsh, Jr.       Robert J. Stevens
I89 —F. E. Marsh          Charles H. Young       William Lennon
I89I-Clinton G. Powers    Elmer J. Clizbe        Charles H. Young
I892-C. G. Powers         F. H. White            James Haynes
Note-A book of records containing the officers from I893 to I902 could not
be found in spite of diligent inquiry; hence the break in the official list.






'324


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


90o2-Charles W. Owen
I903-C. W. Owen
I904-Clarence C. Jones
I905-C. C. Jones
9go6-Joseph N. Salisbury


Ruel D. Rawson
R. D. Rawson
R. D. Rawson
R. D. Rawson
Lee O. Burch
VILLAGE OF BRONSON.


Edward M. Brown
E. M. Brown
Davis H. Houghtaling
D. H. Houghtaling
Arthur M. Griffin


President               Clerk
I866-Warren Byrns          Andrew S. Parrish
I867-Cyrus J. Keyes
I868-Oscar B. Nichols
I869-Lorenzo A. Rose
I870-Jason Shepard
I871-Milo Clark
I872-Oscar B. Nichols
I873-Oscar B. Nichols
I874-Oscar B. Nichols
I875-Anson J. Horton
1876-Milo Clark
I877-Jason Shepard
I878-Christopher G. Babcock
1879-Dr. W. Byrns          W. Ira Beesmer
I88o-Christopher G. BabcockWilliam I. Beesmer
I88 -Christopher G. BabcockWilliam I. Beesmer
1882-Oscar B. Nichols      William I. Beesmer
I883-Milo Clark            William I. Beesmer
I884-Milo Clark            William I. Beesmer
I885-George W. Ellis       Franklin H. Keyes
I886 —George W. Ellis      Adelbert B. Clark
I887-George W. Ellis       Adelbert B. Clark
I888-Henry P. Mowry        Adelbert B. Clark
I889-Burt M. Fellows       Alonzo Ruggles
I89o-Burt M. Fellows       Perry L. Crawford
I89- -James N. Fisk        Randall D. Powers
I892-James N. Fisk         Adelbert B. Clark
1893-Albert M. Shepard     Adelbert B. Clark
I894-C. M. Van Every, Jr. Albert M. Shepard
I895-A. B. Leonard         Albert M. Shepard
I896-Frank M. Rudd         Burt M. Fellows
I897-C. M. Van Every, Jr. Albert M. Shepard
I898-Robert M. Sanderson Albert M. Shepard
I899-Robert M. Sanderson Albert M. Shepard
Igoo-C. M. Van Every, Jr. Milo Thompson
I9OI-Harry Ruple           Milo Thompson
1902-Albert M. Shepard     William H. Davis
I903-Jacob F. Werner       William H. Davis
1904-Jacob F. Werner       William H. Davis
1905-Jacob F. Werner       William H. Davis
Igo6-Richard Coward        William H. Davis


Treasurer
Joseph E. Earl
Jason Shepard
Horace B. Williams
Horace B. Williams
Horace B. Williams
Horace B. Williams
Thomas James
George W. Hanks
Lucius M. Leet
Lucius M. Leet
Perry L. Crawford
Randall D. Powers
Franklin G. Keyes
Glenn D. Corey
Glenn D. Corey
Charles K. Bush
Thomas James
Harry Ruple
George E. Robinson
George E. Robinson
William H. Davis
William H. Davis
George E. Robinson
George E. Robinson
Arthur D. Lindsey
Charles T. Cockle
Charles T. Cockle
Glenn L. Keyes




HIS-TORY OF BRANCH COUNTY     3~


325


VILLAGE OF UNION CITY.


President              Clerk
1866-Silas H. Nyc         C. W. Saunders
i867-Silas H. Nye         C. W. Saunders
i868-H~enry F. Ewers      C. E. Ewers
i 869-S-olomon Parsons    J. T. Leonard
187o-Ezra Bostwick        James T. Leonard
187 i-Henry F. Ewers      J. T. Leonard
1872-Marc A. Merrifield   D. J. Easton
1873-Ezra Bostwick        D. J. Easton
1874-Ezra Bostwick        D. J. Easton
1875-Ezra Bostwick        D. J. Easton
1876-Silas H. Nye         David J. Easton
1877-S. H. Nye            D. J. Easton
i878-Charles W. Crocker   Henry F. Ewers
1879-C. WV. Crocker       D. J. Easton
i88o-C. W. Crocker        D. J. Easton
i88i-John 1. Copeland     D. J. Easton
1882-John I. Copeland     D. J. Easton
1883-Martin F. Buell      D. J.Easton
1884-Martin F. Buell      D. J.Easton
1885-D. J. Easton         E. H.. Brooks
i886-D. J. Easton         E. H. B rooks
i887-]D. J. Easton        Grove A. Church
i888-Ira, E. Hitchcock    D. J. Easton
i889-Martin F. Buell      D. J. Easton
1890-Martin F. Buell      D. J. Easton
i89i-Thomas B. Buell      D. J. Easton
1892-Martin F. Buell      D. J. Easton
1893-George K. Whiting    D. J. Easton
1894-John S. Nesbitt      D. J. Easton
T895-John S. Nesbitt      D. J. Easton
i896-John S. Nesbitt      D. J. Easton
1897-Frank C. Rheubottom T. F. Robinson
i898-Frank C. Rheubottom T. F. Robinson
'899-David j. Easton      Tom. F. Robinson
I900-G. K. Whiting        T. F. Robinson
i901-Leo L. Johnson'      T. F. Robinson
T902-D. D. Buell          T. F. Robinson
1903-A. R. Barrett        George Stvles
19o4-W. W. Snider         George Styles
1905-W. W. Snider         George Styles
1906 —W. W. Snider        George Styles
VILLAGE OF SHERWOOD1.


Treasurer
J.T. Leonard
J.T. Leonard
J.T. Leonard
E. L. Lee
Hiram Crissy
Hiram Crissy
Ira W. Nash
Jerom-e Bowen
W. P. Hurd
C. E. Ewers
Charles E. Ewers
Charles E. Ewers
D. J. Easton
Henry T. Carpenter
H. T. Carpenter
H. T. Carpenter
H. T. Carpenter
H. T. Carpenter
H. T. Carpenter
H. T. Carpenter
H. T. Carpenter
H. T. Carpenter
H. T. Carpenter
H. T. Carpenter
H. T. Carpenter
H. T. Carpenter
H. T. Carpenter
H. T. Carpenter
H. T. Carpenter
H. T. Carpenter
H. T. Carpenter
J. S. Nesbitt
G. K. Whiting
G. K. Whiting
C. H. Lowell
C. H. Lowell
F. H. Whiting
F. H. Whiting
G. K. Whiting
G. K. Whiting,
C. H. Lowell


President
1887-IRobert Fraser
1888-Robert Fraser
i889-Robert F'raser
i890-L. P. Wilcox
i891-G. H. Seymour


Clerk
Elgin Barton
Elgin Bart-on
C. E. Nelthorpe
Elgin Barton
L. I. Watson


Treasurer
D. R. Spencer
E. W. Gordon
E. W. Gordon
G. H. Seymour
E. E. Alliger





326


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


1892-G. H. Seymour
1893-C. B. Harrison
i894-J. W. French
i895-J. W. French
i896-J. W. French
i897-A. W. Morris
i898-J. F. Alger
i899-L. M. Daniels
i900-L. M. Daniels
i go i-W. B. Chiesman
I 902-W. B. Chiesman
I903-W. B. Chiesman
i 904-L. M. Daniels
1905-L. M. Daniels
i906-J. W. French


C. E. Swain
C. E. Swain
C. E. Swain
H. Hass
F. Hicks
F. Hicks
F. Hicks
L. E. Lowry
E. S. Easton
E. S. Easton
E.. S. Easton
E. S. Easton
E. S. Easton
E. S. Easton
E. S. Easton


W. B. Chiesman
W. B. Chiesman
W. B. Chiesman
WV. B. Chiesman
W. B. Chiesman
James Swain
Frank Thorns
C. E. Nelthorpe
H. J. Klose
Earl Warner
Earl Warner
W. F. Lampman
W. F. Lampman
G. H. Seymour
G. H. Seymour






t
i
I
d




Cyrus G. Luce..:~
~ —~ —~:



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                          327
HON. CYRUS GRAY LUCE.
No compendium such as the province of this work defines in its essential
limitations will serve to offer fit memorial to the life and accomplishments of
the honored subject of this sketch-a man remarkable in the breadth of his
wisdom, in his indomitable perseverance, his strong individuality, and yet
one whose entire life has not one esoteric phase, being an open scroll, inviting
the closest scrutiny. True, his have been " massive deeds and great " in one
sense, and yet his entire life accomplishment but represents the result of the
fit utilization of the innate talent which is his, and the directing of his efforts
in those lines where mature judgment and rare discrimination lead the way.
There was in him a weight of character, a native sagacity, a far-seeing judgment and a fidelity of purpose that commanded the respect of all. A man of
indefatigable enterprise and fertility of resource, he carved his name deeply
on the record of the political, commercial and professional history of the
state, which owes much of its advancement to his efforts.
Governor Luce was born in Windsor. Ashtabula county, Ohio, July 2,
1824, and died at Coldwater, Michigan, March I8, I905. His parents were
Walter and Mary M. Luce, his paternal ancestors settling at Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, at a very early day in the colonization of the new world,
and about I720o his paternal grandfather removed to Holland, Connecticut,
where his father was born. The latter was a soldier of the war of I812, and.
about I8I5 settled on the western reserve in Ohio. His mother was a Virginian by birth, and her father was of English lineage, but becoming an abolitionist he removed from the slave state of Virginia to Ohio, establishing the
family home in the latter state.
Governor Luce was reared upon a farm in the state of his nativity amid
pioneer conditions and environments until twelve years of age, when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Steuben county, Indiana, where
they cast in their lot with its first settlers. He attended one of the pioneer
country schools and supplemented his early education by a course in an
academy located at Ontario, Lagrange county, Indiana, where he resided for
three years. Arriving at man's estate he chose the occupation of farming as
a life work and located on a tract of land in Gilead township, Branch county,
Michigan, and from that time afterward to the day of his death he was always
interested to a greater or less extent in agricultural pursuits, finding therein
a good source of livelihood, his labors bringing him a gratifying financial
return.
In early life Mr. Luce was a warm admirer of Henry Clay and he cast
his first presidential ballot for Zachary Taylor, in 1848. The first office that
he ever held was that of supervisor of his township, being elected thereto in
1852, his services covering a period of ten years by reason of his re-election.
He was one of the organizers of the Republican party in his county, and in
I854 he was elected upon the Republican ticket to the Michigan legislature.
In i858 he was the successful Republican candidate for the office of county
treasurer and in I86o was re-elected. In I864 he was called by popular






328


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


suffrage to the offce of state senator, and in I866 was again chosen for-that
position, while in 1867 he became a member of the constitutional convention
and assisted in framing the organic law of the commonwealth. In I879 he
was appointed state oil inspector by Governor Crosswell, and by reappointment of Governor Jerome in I88I he continued as the incumbent for four
years. Still higher honors awaited him, for in I886 he became the standard
bearer of his party in Michigan and was elected governor, being again elected
in I888. His administration is a matter of history and forms a record that
is creditable alike to the state, its constituents and himself. His course was
characterized by an unfaltering devotion to the public good and by honest
purpose. He may have made some mistakes, for who' does not, but his
allegiance to high ideals no one questioned, and his administration was in
many respects beneficial.
Mr. Luce was at various times connected with mercantile establishments
and also with other business concerns, industrial, commercial and financial.
At the time of his death he was the vice-president of the Southern Michigan
National Bank, and his energies and well directed labor proved a potent factor
in the successful conduct of many important business interests.
In I849 Governor Luce was married to Miss Julia A. Dickinson, a native
of Massachusetts, who came with her parents to Branch county in 1836. They
had five children: Elmira; Emery Greeley, a farmer of Gilead township;
Dwight D., deceased; Florence A.; and Homer D. The mother died in I882
and the following year Governor Luce married Mrs. Mary E. Thompson. He
departed this life at the venerable age of almost eighty-one years. Honored
and respected in every class of society he was for a long period a leader in
thought and action in the public life of the state and his name is inscribed
high on the roll of fame, his honorable and brilliant career adding lustre to
the history of Branch county and of Michigan.
CHARLES F. CARPENTER.
Charles F. Carpenter, register of deeds of Branch county, was born
in Constantine, St. Joseph county, Michigan, October 2, 1852, his parents
being Frederick and Eunice (Smith) Carpenter, both of whom were natives
of New York. In that state they were married and soon afterward came
to Michigan, settling in St. Joseph county, where the father became locally
prominent and influential. He was sheriff of the county at the time of his
death, and in the discharge of all public duties and obligations he was prompt,
reliable and efficient.  His widow afterward became the wife of G. W.
Collins, a farmer of St. Joseph county, Michigan, and in the home of his
step-father and on the farm Charles F. Carpenter was reared. The mother
died in Coldwater, in 1903.
Charles F. Carpenter was but two years of age when his father died.
In his boyhood he became familiar with all the duties and labors that fall
to the lot of the agriculturist. He attended the common schools of the neighborhood and afterward enjoyed the privilege of a year's study in Colon
Seminary. Entering upon his business career he followed house painting




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


329


for five or six years and in 1871 he came to Coldwater, where he accepted a
clerkship in the dry goods store of W. S. Allen. A few years later he
entered the employ of J. B. Branch & Company, of Coldwater, remaining in
the service of that firm for twenty-five years-a fact which indicates in unmistakable terms his fidelity and capability.  His able services contributed
in substantial measure to the success of the house and he had the entire
confidence as well as the good will of those whom he represented.  He resigned his position in order to enter upon the duties of the office of register
of deeds, to which position he had been elected in the fall of I904 upon
the Republican ticket by two thousand majority. On the Ist of January.
1905, he began the administration of the affairs of this office for a two years'
term and his course has indicated that the trust reposed in him was well
placed.
In 18,78 Mr. Carpenter was married to Miss Rose B. Sheldon, an estinlable lady, who died February 17, I9OI, amid the deep regret of all who
knew her. She was widely and favorably known and in addition to the
social qualities which rendered her a favorite she was also a factor in public
office in the county, acting for twelve years as probate register under Judge
Norman A. Reynolds, after which she filled the office of deputy county clerk
for four years. All who knew her recognized her as a woman of superior
qualifications, excellent executive ability and strong force of character. She
had, too, the truly womanly qualities of kindliness, generosity and consideration for others and thus endeared herself to all with whom she came in
contact. She was a devoted and consistent member of the Episcopal church,
and for eighteen years was a menmber of the church choir. At the time of
her death the following appeared in the Couricr and Republican:
" In the death of Mrs. Rose Carpenter Coldwater loses one of its most
lovely characters, and her demise will be mourned by all: Of an amiable
disposition, she had none but kind words and loving thoughts for all. Her
home was her throne, and how kindly she ruled her realm. In the family
she was all that a wife should be. To her friends she was true, to the sick
and suffering helpful; for the sorrowing she always had a word of comfort
and hope.
(Passionately fond of music, she was at all times ready and willing'
to lend the melody of her glorious voice on all occasions, whether in the
church, in the social circle, or at the last obsequies of some one who had gone
before. For a number of years she sang in the Methodist choir, but for
several years past was a member of the Episcopal choir, where she ably assisted in building that organization up to the very front of the choirs in
this city.
" In social circles she was a general favorite, her bright, sunny ways,
her genial manner, her sweet, loving thoughts, always made her a welcome
guest. She never had other than a kind word or a pleasant recognition for
all, whether rich or poor, high or low, and her death will cause sadness in
manv a household where her virtues were known. To the sorrowing husband and mother the hearty sympathy and condolence of all will be extended.




330              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
But her work is done, her tasks all finished, and she has gone where suffering
is unknown and the weary are at rest.
" She had been in public life quite a number of years. A beautiful writer,
her books and records were always commented upon favorably, and her accommodating, cheerful, willing ways made her liked by all who had any
business to transact in those offices."
"Rose Sheldon was born March 9, 1855, in Batavia township, and had
lived in this city since I865. July I8, I878, she was married to Charles F.
Carpenter, who survives her, together with her aged mother, Mrs. Laura
Sheldon. She died at IO o'clock Sunday night, February 17, 1901. On
Sunday, February Ioth, she occupied her usual place in the Episcopal choir
and sang a solo very sweetly. At 12 o'clock that same night she was stricken
and a week later, almost to the hour, had entered into that sleep that knows
no waking. Sunday forenoon Dr. Smith, of Toledo, assisted by Drs. W\arsabo, Wood and Baldwin of this city, performed an operation, but the disease-strangulation of the bowels-had advanced too far for the operation
to be of any benefit. A few hours previous to her death she sang part of the
solo she sang the previous Sunday evening in the church.  She was prepared to answer the final summons and was conscious and brave to the very
last."
Mr. Carpenter is also an Episcopalian and is a Royal Arch Mason, his
life being in conformity with his profession in connection; with these two
beneficent organizations.  During the years of his residence in Coldwater
he has commanded the respect of all with whom he has been associated, and
having closely allied his interests with those of his adopted country he has
proved a valued citizen.
FRED WV. DOOLITTLE.
The well improved farm of Fred W. Doolittle, situated in Girard township, Calhoun county, is an indication of his life of thrift and enterprise,
for in his record consecutive and honorable effort has been crowned with
gratifying prosperity. He was born in Clarendon, Calhoun county, Michigan, June 27, I858, and is a son of James A. and Nancy (Wells) Doolittle,
'both of whom were natives of the Empire state. The father was descended
from the Doolittle family which has been prominent in the east for a number of generations, while its representatives are now scattered all over the
United States.  The original ancestors came to America from  England.
William. Doolittle, the grandfather, died in Clarendon, Michigan, many years
ago. It was in that city that the parents of our subject were married, and
there they remained until called from this life. They were leading and influential people of the community, held membership in the Baptist church at
Tekonsha, Michigan, and were highly esteemed by all who knew them.
Mr. Doolittle spent his early life on the home farm in Clarendon, where
he lived until twenty-four years of age. His education was acquired in the
public schools and he received practical training in the farm work, so that
lhe was well equipped for successful agricultural work when he entered busi



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


331


ness life on his own iccount. At the age of twenty years he was married
on the 28th of September, 1878, to Miss Ida A. Phelps, a daughter of Jerome B. and Lucinda (Nichols) Phelps. Her paternal grandfather, Henry
Phelps, was one of the early settlers of Tekonsha and Calhoun county, and
he had lived in New York prior to that time and his ancestors had resided
there for many years. It was in the 30's that he became the founder of the
family in Michigan, and his death occurred in Calhoun county many years
ago. Jerome B. Phelps, however, is still living on the old home farm at Tekonsha, but his wife passed away about ten years ago. She was a daughter
of Charles Nichols, who came from Pennsylvania and settled at Tekonsha
at an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle have become the parents of four
children: Edith, who died in infancy twenty-two years ago; Clifford, living
on one of his father's farms in Girard township, and who married Murel
Pell, by whom he has a daughter Ethel; and Earl and Pearl, who are on the
old homestead with their father.
Fred 'W. Doolittle is one of the leading farmers of Girard township,
and owns two hundred and eight acres of valuable land on sections three, ten
and two.  He has lived in this township for twenty-two years and his
first purchase of land comprised eighty acres, to which he has since added
until he now has valuable holdings. He has made a, specialty of stock feeding and cattle dealing, and in the management of his business interests has
met with very gratifying success. His farm is now a valuable property improved with excellent buildings and everything about the place indicates
that he is in touch with the most progressive ideas of farming. In community affairs he is interested and has served as school director, while fraternally he is connected with the Masons and the Ancient Olrder of United
Workmen, belonging to the respective lodges at Tekonsha. He possesses a
strength of purpose and persistency in business affairs that have made him a
representative agriculturist of this community and his life record reflects
credit upon the state of his nativity.
EDWIN R. BATES.
Edwin R. Bates, a farmer and representative citizen of Ovid township,
living on section eighteen, was born at the place where he still resides, his
natal day being October 26, I849. His father, Joshua M. Bates, also devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits and was one of the early settlers
of Branch county. His birth occurred in Otsego county, New York, December 31, I805, and he removed with his parents when a lad of three years to
Newstead, Erie county, New York, where he grew to manhood. On the
31st of December, 1828. he was, united in marriage to Miss Lydia Card, and
to this union five children were born, two dying in infancy. In April, I836,
he concluded to go west and try the realities of a pioneer life in a new country. He started on foot for Michigan, walking the entire distance, arriving
at Coldwater on the i6th of the month. After locating eighty acres of land
on section eighteen in Ovid township he returned to his home for his family.
After disposing of his place, which constituted a quarter of an acre of land,




332


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


he came with his family to Michigan, arriving April 30, 1837. The following April his wife died, leaving him with three small children alone in a
new country, the eldest child being but nine years old. On the 6th of April,
I840, he was married to Miss Olive A. Bates, of Farmington, Oakland
county, Michigan. To this union eight children were born, four dying in
infancy. Being an early settler, Mr. Bates passed through all the privations
and hardships of pioneer life in a new country, going barefooted in the summer and wearing cowhide shoes in the winter. With his strong arms he
wielded the ax and felled the giant oaks until he brought his farm under a
good state of cultivation, adding forty acres in I863. Although his trials
and hardships included sickness arid death in the family he managed to keep
his farm free from debt, and through his whole life he never had a lawsuit.
On the I8th of July, I869, Joshua Bates became ill with diphtheria and died
on the 3oth of the month, leaving a wife and six children to mourn his loss.
The funeral services were conducted by Rev. Hilam Scofield and the remains
were laid to rest in West Ovid cemetery.
Olive A. Bates, the youngest daughter of Josiah and Betsey Bates, was
born in Pownal, Bennington county, Vermont, May 2, 18 15. She resided
with her parents, assisting in the general household work and attending
school until she acquired a good education. After the death of her father
she came with her half-brother, Benjamin Stevens, to Michigan and settled
on a farm in Oakland county in 1832. She taught several terms of school in
Farmington and Levona townships, boarding w'ith the patrons. Ofttimes
she would have to walk two or three miles to her boarding place through
snow and rain, receiving as a compensation for her work only two dollars
per week in the summer and three dollars per week in the winter. She was
a great reader and well informed on almost any subject. She read the Bible
three times through consecutively.  She announced her allegiance to the
cause of Christian religion when young and was a Presbyterian in faith, but
coming here in an early day was unable to unite with the church of her
choice. In I840 she gave her hand in marriage to Joshua M. Bates and
came with him to Ovid, Branch county, here residing until her death, which
occurred at the home of her son, Edwxin R., December 5, 1884. She was
the mother of eight children, four dying in infancy. She was a faithful wife,
kind and indulgent mother and a good neighbor, ever ready to lend a helping
hand in time of sickness and sorrow and always ready to give alms to the
needy. When the time came for her to depart this life it could be truthfully said, "XWell done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been
faithful over a few things. I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter
thou into the joys of thy Lord." The funeral service was conducted by the
pastor in charge of the Methodist Episcopal church, and interment made in
West Ovid cemetery by the side of her husband who had preceded her to the
final home.
Edwin R. Bates spent the days of his boyhood and youth upon the old
homestead farm in Ovid township, and has continued to, reside here through
the period of his manhood, carrying on the active work of the fields. At
the time of his father's demise he came into possession of forty acres of land.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


333


He has made all of the improvements upon this place and has since extended
the boundaries of his property by the additional purchase of seventy-four
acres. Year after year the work of plowing, planting and harvesting is carried forward by him, and he annually harvests rich crops as the reward of
the labor which he bestows on the fields.
On the 2ist of October, I87I, Mr. Bates was married to Miss Mary
Cole, a daughter of George M. and Eliza Cole, of Ovid township, who were
farming people, settling in Branch county at an early day. They made their
wav westward from New York and cast in their lot with the pioneer residents
of this part of Michigan. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bates was born one son, Royal
E.. whose birth occurred November 26, I875. The wife and mother died
March 4, I883, and Mr. Bates was again married on the 3Ist of December,
1887, his second union being with Mildred Cornell, who xas born in Lenawee
county, Michigan, on the 2.4th of March, I862, and is a daughter of Albert
and Martha Cornell, both of whom are natives of Lenawee county.   Her
father devoted his entire time and energies to agricultural pursuits save for
the period of the Civil war, when he joined the Eighteenth Michigan Infantry
for active service in the field. He was on the Sultana at the time it blew up.
By the second marriage of Mr. Bates there is one son, Harold W., born July
21, I889.
Mr. Bates is known as an earnest and stalwart advocate of Republican
principles, being actively associated with the party in Branch county. He
served as township clerk for seven years, was supervisor for four years, and
has held several other township offices. He has taken an active part in public
affairs in the various lines contributing to advancement, and his co-operation
may always be counted upon for movements for the general good. He is
a prominent Mason, holding membership in Tyre Lodge, No. I8, at Coldwater, and belongs to Temple Chapter No. 21 and Jacobs Commandery
No. Io'. In his life he shows forth the spirit of the craft, which is based
upon mutual helpfulness and brotherly kindness.  The fact that many of
his warmest friends are numbered among those who have known him from
his boyhood days down to the present is an indication of an honorable career.
JOHN JOHNSON.
Among the early settlers of Branch county is numbered John Johnson,
now living on section fourteen, Union township. He was born in Erie county,
Ohio, on the 8th of April, I836. His father, J. D. Johnson, was a native
of New York, born on the ioth of April, I799, the year General Washington
lied. He was married in that state to Miss Ida Squires, whose birth also
occurred there, her natal year being about I805. They removed from New
York to Erie county, Ohio, about 1828, and lived on different farms in
that locality.  Mrs. Johnson die(! there in I848 and in I850 Mr. Johnson
came to Branch county, Michigan, settling on section fourteen, Union township, where he spent his remaining days. He passed away in I885, having
reached the advanced age of eighty-six years.  His political support was
given to the Democratic party in his early life, and on the organization of




334


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


the Republican party he joined its ranks, continuing one of its advocates until
his demise. Unto him and his wife were born eight children, all of whom
reached adult age.
John Johnson, the sixth member of the family, was a youth of fourteen years when he came with his father to Branch county, settling in Union
township. He had begun his education in his native state and he continued
his studies in a log school house in Union township. There were many evidences of pioneer life to be seen here and hardships and privations yet had
to be borne because of the remoteness of this district from the more thickly
settled portions of the east. At the age of eighteen, years he started out
in life for himself and worked as a farm hand for about two years. On the
Ist of January, I863, he won a companion and helpmate for life's journey
by his marriage to Miss Harriet A. Burnett, the daughter of Orris and
Diantha (Millerman) Burnett.   Her father was born in New York and
became one of the early settlers of Branch county, arriving here in 1835,
at which time he took up his abode in Union township. He entered land
from the government, his deed being signed by Martin Van Buren, then president of the United States. Mr. and Mrs. Burnett were married in New
York, but with the exception of the eldest child their children were all
born in Union township. There were eight in the family, of whom Mrs.
Johnson was the third, and her birth occurred on section fourteen, Union
township, on the 25th of October, I839. She has spent her entire life in this
township and in her early girlhood days was a student in a log school house,
conning her lessons as she sat on a slab bench. There was a big fire place
in one end of the room and the entire furnishings were primitive, while the
methods of instruction were very unlike those of the present day.
At the time of their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Johnson located on the farm
where they now reside and where they have lived for forty-two years. They
have become the parents of three sons: Leon A., who, is represented on another page of this work; C. Herbert, who is a professor of music; and Glenn
P., who is assisting in the operation of the home farm.
Mr. Johnson owns eighty acres of land rich and arable. He cut the
first tree in the locality for a log house which was the first dwelling of the
locality, and he is very familiar with the history of pioneer life here, not
because he has been told of conditions that existed, but because he has been
a witness of what has occurred and has also co-operated in many events which
now find record on the annals of Branch county.
In politics he has been a Republican since the organization of the party
and is now serving as justice of the peace, while for five years he was highway commissioner. The Burnett family is also prominent because of pioneer
connection with this part of the state. Mrs. Johnson's father and brother
Franklin were the only settlers in the neighborhood when they took up their
abode in Union township. There was one family about a mile distant, but
they did not know it at the time. The nearest mill was at Branch, about
thirteen miles away, and Mr. Burnett assisted in building the first mill in
Union township, it being erected at Hodunk.




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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


335


JULIUS S. BARBER.
Hon. Julius S. Barber, whose business interests alone would entitle him
to distinction as one of the representative citizens of Coldwater, is also deserving of mention because of the active part he has taken in promoting the
public welfare, and by reason of his capable service as a state legislator and in
other offices. His life record began in the little village of Benson, in Rutland
county, Vermont, about three miles from Lake Champlain, on the 6th of
April, I824.  His parents were Daniel and Cynthia (Dyer) Barber, both
natives of the Green Mountain state and members of old New England families. When their son Julius was a youth of fourteen, years they joined a
colony conmposed of other Vermont families and came to the west, settling
in Eaton county, Michigan, in the fall of I838. The father had followed
merchandising in his native state, hut near the little village of Vermontville
(founded by this colony) he carried on farming throughout his remaining
days, passing away at the very advanced age of ninety-seven years.  The
mother of Julius Barber passed away in 1832, at the age of thirty-two years,
and the father afterward marred Laura Dickinson. There were three children by the first marriage, but Julius Barber is the only survivor, and of the
second marriage two daughters are living. The father was a Whig until the
dissolution of the party, when he joined the ranks of the new Republican
party. In religious faith he was a Congregationalist.
Julius Barber was fourteen years of age when the family came to Michigan, where he has since largely made his home, although he engaged in
clerking in Whitehall, New York, for two years in early manhood, and later
spent some time in California. On the 27th of January, I849, attracted by
the discovery of gold, he sailed for the Pacific coast, making the voyage
around " the Horn " and landing at San Francisco, whence he proceeded to
Sacramento. He returned home in I854 by way of the Panama route, and
in 1857 went the same way to California, again returning in I859. During
his first sojourn in the far west he first engaged in merchandising in Sacramento and afterward conducted a m'arket garden near the city.  On the
second trip he acted as a clerk in a wholesale grocery and commission house,
pgaining experience, but little else, by his stay on the coast.
Mr. Barber took up his abode permanently in Michigan in I859. He
had become a resident of Coldwater in 1854 and had conducted a store here
until I857. Two years later he entered a law office, where he studied for
a year and a half, when he again entered commercial life. In I86i he joined
H. J. Woodward in forming a partnership under the firm name of Woodward, Barber & Company for the conduct of a general store, in which at
one time his uncle also owned an interest. In I877 Mr. Woodward and the
uncle withdrew  and the style of the business firm  became J. B. Branch
& Company. This is to-day the leading firm in the city, conducting a large
department store which occupies three floors and basement of a large double
store, and carries dry goods, carpets, millinery and other lines of merchandise. The business has steadily grown and the house has ever maintained




336


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


a policy in strict conformity with a high standard of commercial ethics. Mr,
Barber is also a stockholder and director of the Michigan Southern National
Bank, with which he has thus been identified since its organization thirty
years ago.
Mr. Barber was married, in I854, to Mrs. Emeline Baker, nee Chalmers,
who died in Chicago, Illinois, May 2I, I904. He is a member of the Episcopal church, in which he is vestryman, warden and lay reader, and in politics
he is a prominent Republican, who has been called to public office by his
fellow-townsmen, who recognize his ability and his devotion to the public
good. He has served as city alderman and in I874 was appointed postmaster
of Coldwater, in which capacity he served for two terms. In I867 he was
chosen to represent his district in the lower house of the state legislature, and
in the same year was elected a member of the constitutional convention. For
four years he was assessor of internal revenue. Thus active in commercial
and political circles, he is one of the public men of the tity, who has done
much to mold public thought and opinion and promote public progress. A
review of his career is another proof of the fact that not in environment or
conditions but in the man lies the possibility for accomplishment, and since
coming to Michigan, at the age of fourteen years, Mr. Barker, through his
force of character and strong determination, has not only provided for his
needs, but has also labored along lines that have been of much benefit to his
city and state.
WILLIAM MALLOW.
William Mallow is the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and fifteen
acres on section eight. Noble township, where he has lived since 1878, and
upon this place he has a nice residence that is surrounded by well tilled fields.
He was born in this township May 13, I844, his parents being Peter and
Margaret (Peters) Mallow, the latter a daughter of one of the early settlers
of Noble township, who arrived here in 184o0. Peter Mallow, the father of our
subject, was born in France and came to America in early life. He settled
on section five, Noble township, Branch county, where he purchased eighty
acres of land, and he added to this farm from time to time until he was one
of the most extensive land owners of the county, his possessions aggregating twelve hundred acres, which he divided among his children as they
married. About four hundred acres of land lay near Athens, Michigan, while
the remainder was in Noble and Bronson townships. Mr. Mallow carried on
general farming, and also dealt extensively in stock, both buying and feeding. He was a most energetic, enterprising and sagacious business man, his
judgment seldom, if ever, at fault in a business transaction, and as the
years passed he became very prosperous. Beside the twelve hundred acres
of land which he divided among his children he left an estate valued at fortyeight thousand dollars. During the last few years of his life he lived retired
in the enjoyment of a well-earned ease, and he passed away in I889, having
for about five years survived his wife, who died in June, I884. They were
the parents of eight children: Peter, who settled near Athens; William, of
this review; Henry, who made his home near Union City; Christina, the::.,.,, -......,..... ~.... ~.,-....~.,,, ~,. ~.~... ^., ~... ~,. -,...,..,,...,   -!.. -., - *- -.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


337


wife of R. Snyder, of Athens; Sarah N., the deceased wife of John. Greenwald; George, who is living in Bronson township; Mary, the wife of David
Kline, of Bronson township; and John, who makes his home near Sherwood.
William Mallow was a student in the district schools in his boyhood
lays, and when not busy with his text-books he assisted in the work of the
home farm, whereon he remained up to the time of his marriage. In 1875
lie was joined in wedlock to Miss Ella Boyer, of Noble township, a daughter
of Andrew Boyer, and the young couple began their domestic life on their
present farm, comprising one hundred and fifteen acres in section eight,
Noble township. Mr. M.allow has erected all of the buildings here and has
a nice residence containing eight rooms. In 18.76 he built a barn thirty-two
by forty-four feet, and he has erected other substantial outbuildings for the
shelter of grain and stock. In 1878 he bought one hundred and sixty-five
acres of the old homestead on section five, so that he now has two hundred
and eighty acres of rich and productive land. He carries on general farming, raising the various cereals best adapted to the soil and climate, and he
also buys and feeds stock, his operations in that line being quite extensive.
His long experience in the business which he makes his life work and his
enterprise and energy make him one of the prosperous farrmers of the community.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Mallow have been born four children: Mary L.,
the wife of D. Benton, of LaGrange county, Indiana; Maggie, who wedded
Carl Chesley, and they reside in Noble township; Clinton and Hattie, both
at home. Although reared in the faith of the Democratic party, his father
having become a Democrat after being made a naturalized American citizen,
William Mallow gives unfaltering support to the Republican party and its
principles. He has served on the school board for one term, was highway
colmmissioner, and has been constable for several years, and is a worthy and
respected citizen of the community, active and influential in support of all
measures which he deems of general good. He is one of the stockholders
of the Burr Oak State Bank, one of the solid banking institutions, whose
stock is quoted at one hundred and fifty dollars per share, and the bank has
deposits of over one hundred and six thousand dollars.
ELIJAH   GROVE.
Elijah Grove, farming on section nine, Batavia township, owns and
operates one hundred acres of land which has been placed under a. high state
of cultivation and improved with modern equipments so that it is an attractive
farm property and yields good harvests, making his investment a judicious
and profitable one. His life record began in Royalton township, Niagara
county, New York, his natal day being April 19, I838. His father, Elijah
Grove, was born in Pennsylvania, and in 1853 came to Branch county, settling
in Batavia township, where he spent the remainder of his days, his last
years being passed in Coldwater as a retired farmer. He was almost ninety
years of age when he departed this life. In early manhood he had married
Betsy Schoby, a native of New York, and she lived to! be about forty-two




338


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


years of age. There were nine children in the family, all of whom grew
to manhood or womanhood. The father was married the second time to
Charlotte Reynolds, who is also deceased, and by the second marriage there
were eight children, five of whom are living, but none are residents of Branch
county.
Elijah Grove, the eighth in. order of birth of his parents' nine children,
was a youth of fifteen when he came to Branch county. He acquired a district school education and in his youth gave his father the benefit of his
services, working in field and meadow as his aid was needed in caring for
the crops and the stock. He was married in I86o to Eliza J. Loomis, the
widow of Orson Burham. She was born near Rochester, New York, and
by this marriage there have been two sons: Owen Glenn and Elijah Burdet.
For many years Mr. Grove engaged in the milling business and in I864
'he located on the farm where he now resides, having here one hundred acres
of land, which has responded readily to the care and cultivation bestowed
upon it, for the soil is naturally rich and productive. He has carried on general agricultural pursuits and he has made all of the improvements on this
property, building the house and barns and adding other' equipments. In
1905 he suffered the loss of his barn by fire. He has been persevering in all
of his work, allowing no difficulties or obstacles to deter him in the path
that he has marked out and as the result of his well directed labor he is
now in possession of a comfortable competence. He has been a life-long
Republican, interested in the work of the party and keeping well informed
on the great questions which awaken national interest. He served as township treasurer and also as highway commissioner, but has never been active
as a politician in the sense of office seeking, preferring to leave that duty to
others. He belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen at Coldwater
and has a wide acquaintance outside of fraternal circles, for he has long been
identified with Branch county and its development.
CAPTAIN JOHN G. STEPPER.
Captain John G. Stepper, no longer active or engaged with business interests but well entitled to the rest which he is enjoying because he earned
it through unremitting industry and perseverance in former years, is entitled to representation in this volume because of an honorable career and
by reason of his fidelity to duty when upon the battlefields of the south he
defended the Union gause. He was born in Wellenburg, Germany, September 24, 1834, and remained in the fatherland until 1848, when at the age
of fourteen years he came to America with his parents, John G. and Catherine
(Sindlinger) Stepper. The family home was first established in Thompson
township, Seneca county, Ohio, and there they remained for about four years,
after which they removed to St. Joseph county, Michigan, where the father
purchased a farm. The mother died there and the father afterward came
to Branch county, where hp spent his last days.
Captain Stepper remained under the parental roof throughout the period
of his minority and assisted in the operation of the home farm. At the call... -.........




,~ I




I ^-:;iP_
^                     ^




*


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                        339
of his adopted country foraid he put aside business and personal considerations, his patriotic spirit being aroused by the unwarranted attack of the
south upon the government at Washington. He enlisted in Company G,
First Michigan Infantry, for three months' service, and on the expiration of
that term he re-enlisted as a member of Company B of the same regiment.
He was first made orderly, afterward commissioned second lieutenant, later
first lieutenant and subsequently became captain of Company B, serving with
that command until September 26, I864, when he received an honorable discharge, having for three years and three months been an active soldier on the
battlefields of the south. He participated in the engagement at Antietam,
and was taken prisoner in August, I862, at the second battle of Bull Run.
He was then incarcerated in Libby prison and after a week was parolled
and sent to Annapolis, Maryland. In the first battle of Bull Run he was
wounded, being shot through the right leg, and at Fredericksburg on the
13th of December, I863, he was shot through the upper part of the leg. He
was then transferred to Washington and taken to the Harwood hospital,
where lie remained for thirty days, after which he was granted a thirty days'
- furlough, and because he was still in ill health at the end of that time he
was granted sixty days more, so that three months had passed when he rejoined his regiment at Sharpsburg, Virginia.
After being mustered out Captain Stepper returned to the north and
was married in January, 1865, to Miss Rachel Miller. He then located on
a farm in Burr Oak township, St. Joseph county, Mlichigan, purchasing a
tract of land on which he made his home until the death of his wife in I873.
He then remained single for about a year, after which he married Almira
Fallace, but he has now been a widower for twenty-four years, He has one
son, Charles William, who, resides in Quincy, Michigan, and a daughter,
Catharine, the wife of Smith Clizbe.
Captain Stepper is a member of Butterworth Post No. io9, G. A. R.,
at Coldwater.  He has always been an advocate of Republican principles, but would never accept office of any kind. He belongs to the German
Benevolent Society, and in every relation of life in which he has been found
he has made warm friends and discharged every duty with promptness and'
fidelity. In I883 he purchased a farm in Coldwater township, continuing its
cultivation and improvement until 1887, when he sold that property and retired from active business life, establishing his home in Coldwater, where he
new lives.  Progress and patriotism might be termed the keynote of his
character, having been the motive force in all of his connections with public
and business life.
GENERAL JOHN G. PARKHURST.
General John G. Parkhurst, a distinguished citizen of Michigan whose
talent, ability and patriotism won him leadership in affairs of state and nation,
died suddenly at his home in Coldwater May 6, I906.   He was widely
recognized as a man of unswerving fidelity to duty, and no hope of personal gain or preferment could ever turn him from the path which he believed to be right.  Although a native of New York he had resided in
X




340:


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Michigan since I849, in which year he came to Coldwater to practice law.
At Oneida Castle, New York, General Parkhurst was born on the i7th
of April, 1824, and was therefore at the time of his death eighty-two years
of age.   His ancestors were early settlers of Massachusetts and were
of English and Scotch lineage,. The name Parkhurst is. of Norman and
French derivation, being formed of the word parc,, the French for park, and
hurst, the Anglo-Saxon for wood. His family name can be traced back to the
time when William  the Conqueror invaded England.    Representatives of
the family emigrated from the Isle of Wight in the early part of the fifteenth
century and built the Parkhurst Manor ini Surrey county, England. The
earliest progenitor of the family known was George Parkhurst of Guilford,
England, and one of his descendants, also bearing the name of George Parkhurst, came to America in 1635. He settled in Watertown, Massachusetts,
and became the progenitor of the family in the new world, the line of descent
being traced down through Joseph Ist, Joseph 2d, John Ist, John 2d and
Stephen Parkhurst to General John G. Parkhurst of this review. In the
Revolutionary war eleven members of the family fought for the independence of the colonies, and true to the spirit of patriotism which characterized
his ancestors General Parkhurst has won honors on the battlefield in defense
of his country. His parents were Stephen and Sally (Gibson) Parkhurst,
the former a native of New Hampshire and the latter of Massachusetts. Mrs.
Parkhurst was a granddaughter of a Scotch sea captain, who died on one of
the West India islands, and she died when her son John G. was but seven
years of age, leaving eight children.
General Parkhurst was thus left to the care of his sisters, to whom he
is indebted for his early moral and religious training. He was reared in
Oneida Castle, New York, to which place his parents had removed soon after
their marriage. He attended the. Oneida Academy, acquiring a thorough
literary education, and at the age of nineteen years entered the law office of
N. F. Graves, under whose preceptorship he studied four years, being admitted
to the bar of New York in 1847. After two years of successful practice in
his native place he came to Michigan, locating at Coldwater in 1849. Here
'he practiced law uninterruptedly until i86i, and during a part of that time
was a partner of George A. Coe, who-afterward became lieutenant governor
of Michigan.
A sterling Democrat, influential in his party, in i86o0 General Parkhurst was chosen a national delegate and was made secretary of the Charleston National Democratic Convention, which, after ten days' session and fiftyseven ballots, failed to make a nomination, later reconvening at Baltimore,
where, on the sixth day's session, Stephen A. Douglas was finally nominated.
Following his return home Mr. Parkhurst prepared and published the proceedings of this historic convention.  While thus engaged he astonished
friends by declaring that the south intended to have a government of its
own, that the result would be war, and that his assistance would be required
in behalf of the Union. The foresight of his prediction was soon proved,
and after Fort Sumter was fired upon and the call for volunteers was made,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


341


General Parkhurst, at the first war meeting held in Branch county, called
upon all loyal citizens to prepare immediately to defend the Union. As soon
as he could arrange his business affairs he gave his services to the government and was appointed by Governor Blair to the rank of lieutenant-colonel
of the Ninth Michigan Infantry, being mustered into service September Io,
I86I. In October of that year he reported with his regiment to General
Sherman in Kentucky. After building a fort on Muldrough's hill at the
mouth of Salt river, he was ordered to engage in the advance on Nashville.
In the battle of Murfreesboro in July, I862, after holding his position eight
hours against a force seven times as large, and losing one-third of his command in killed and wounded, Colonel Parkhurst was taken prisoner and was
detained by the rebel forces for four months. He was then exchanged in
time to report to General Thomas before the battle of Stone River, and
owing to the reputation the Ninth Michigan had achieved by its gallant fight
at Murfreesboro General Thomas selected this command as his provost guard
and appointed General Parkhurst provost marshal for the Fourteenth Army
Corps. From December, I862, until the close of the war he was on the
staff of General Thomas as provost marshal general, having, a part of the
time, the Ninth Michigan, two other regiments and a battery, as provost
guard under his command. In that capacity he engaged in all the battles of
the Army of the Cumberland, and at the same time had supervision of the
conductors on the military railroads of the Department of the Cumberland,
all the prisoners of war and all the provost marshals and their officers. For
heroism and bravery displayed in the battles of Stone River and Chickamauga
he was recommended by General Thomas for the rank of brigadier general
of volunteers, and was brevetted as such in January, I865. There were
incidents in his military career that would enlist much interest, but limited
space in this connection forbids further delineaton here. An indication of
the government's appreciation of his efficient service, however, in that sanguine conflict is the fact that in the national park at Chickamaug'a there has
been erected and dedicated, in 1895, a statue of General Parkhurst. This was
an unusual honor, for seldom is a statue erected by the government in honor
of a living man, and it indicated in unmistakable terms a high appreciation
of his gallantry and bravery on that field of battle.
Following the close of his military service, in November, 1865, General
Parkhurst opened a law office in Nashville, Tennessee, but being unwilling
to identify himself with either the radicals. the Republicans or the southerners,
he abandoned the idea of remaining and returned to Coldwater in August,
I866. He was then appointed by President Johnson, as United States marshal
for the District of Michigan, a position which he held about. six months.
When his name came before the United States senate for a confirmation of
this appointment, it was opposed by those who had signed his recommendation
because of his chance presence at the Philadelphia Soldiers' Convention, so
adroitly captured by President Johnson. In i868 he was nominated by the
Soldiers' state convention for lieutenant-governor of Michigan, in opposition
to the Republican candidate, but was defeated at the election.  In 1872
*




342


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


General Parkhurst was unsuccessful on the Liberal ticket for Congress from
the third district, but he led all the other candidates on that ticket at the
election that year, a fact indicating his popularity and strong following. In
1875 he was again defeated for office when he was the Democratic candidate
for state treasurer. In politics General Parkhurst was an uncompromising
Democrat, and were it not for the fact that his party is in minority in Mlichigan he would have at various times been honored by election in high political
station. He was prosecuting attorney from 1852 to 1855, and was special
agent for the United States treasury department from I8,67 until I869. In
September, I886, President Cleveland appointed him minister to Belgium,
which position he held until after the installation of President Harrison's
administration. In 1893 President Cleveland again appointed him to public
office by commissioning him postmaster of Coldwater, and he served as such
until I897, since which time he had lived retired from active participation in
political affairs.
As a lawyer General Parkhurst won distinction because of the decided
ability and close attention to the litigated interests entrusted to him. He was
a deep thinker and close and logical reasoner, discreet in forming an opinion
and modest in advancing his ideas, yet firm in their maintenance. Logical,
discriminating and comprehensive, he was a formidable adversary at the bar.
As early as 1849 he engaged in the insurance business in Coldwater, and
throughout the enitre period of his residence in this city he continued in
that business, so that at his death he was the oldest insurance agent in Coldwater, if not in Michigan.
He also devoted much time to agricultural pursuits and made judicious
investments in farm lands. Beginning in I87o, he was largely engaged
for two years in assisting the construction of a north and south railroad through Coldwater, and the roadbed had been completed, the bridges
built and ties on the ground from Mansfield, Ohio, to Allegan, Michigan,
when the financial panic of 1873 came on and defeated the enterprise. General Parkhurst was also very active in the efforts which secured the erection
of the State Public School at Coldwater. He organized and helped build
the gas works and was the last original stockholder of the company. In
manifold ways he contributed to the upbuilding of the city and to the advancement of the interests of the community intellectually as well as morally.
General Parkhurst was a charter member of Butterworth Post No. Io9,
G. A. R., had been vice-president of the National Union Veterans' Association, commander of the Michigan Commandery of the Military Order of the
Loyal Legion of the United States, and was a member of the congress of the
Loyal Legion held.in Chicago in I885. He was a member of the executive
committee of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland. He was president
of the Branch County Bar Association, was a member of the American Bar
Association, and of the American Historical Society. Since I88I he had been
an active member of the board of directors of the Free Public Library of
Coldwater, and since 1884 had been president of the board, having been
unanimously elected each year for twenty-two years. From boyhood he had
~1:~~~..:  il:::~ii.t~/:il~ ~l —   ~' —  -;- --;  `:I~::::`;-:: ' ':i:




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


343


been a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and on the I8th day of
April, 1852, with his prospective bride, received the rite of confirmation in
St. Mark's church at Coldwater. His ideas of the duties and responsibilities
of life were derived from no uncertain standard, and the principles of conduct
adhered to in early life became absolute mentors of action and sentiment
with him.
General Parkhurst was married three times. In I852 he wedded Miss
Amelia Noyes, a daughter of Samuel P. Noyes.     She departed this life
Tuly 26, I86I, leaving two daughters. Kate Amelia, afterward Mrs. Frank
C. Goodyear, is now deceased, and the younger daughter, Margaret P., is
the wife of Prof. William Carey Morey, of the Rochester (New York) University. In I863 General Parkhurst married Miss Josie B. Reeves, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, who died in 187I. In 1874 he married Mrs. Frances
J. Fiske, nee Roberts. who died in I900.
Faultless in honor, fearless in conduct and stainless in reputation, the
public life of few men extended over so long a period as that of General
Parkhurst, and none had been characterized by a more unfaltering loyalty to
duty or by a stricter allegiance to the principles which he believed would best
further the welfare of county, state and nation.
MRS. SARAH A. SMITH.
Mrs. Sarah Annie Smith, who owns and successfully conducts a general mercantile store in South Butler, where she is also filling the position of
postmistress, was born in Tecumseh, Michigan, November 30, 1843. Her
parents were Alexander and Emily A. (Southworth) Dubois. Her father,
who was born in Ireland March 22, 1807, came to America with his parents
when eleven years of age and settled in St. Lawrence county. New York.
Hte was one of a family of five sons and two daughters: John, Alexander,
Charles, Robert, James, Maria and Jane, all of whom are now deceased.
After coming to the United States the parents spent their remaining days
in New York.
Alexander Dubois came to Michigan at an early day and was married
in Washtenaw county, June T, 1835, to Miss Emily A. Southworth, who
was born in Canton, St. Lawrence county, New York, and was left an orphan
when only two years old. When eighteen years of age she became a resident of Michigan, where she met and married Alexander Dubois. They
had seven children, as follows: Robert, died in infancy. Mary E. became
the wife of Charles Perine, by whom she had three children, and after the
death of her first husband she married Daniel Hutchins, by whom she had
three children; she was born November 13, I840, and her death occurred
June I, 1892.  Jane Dubois, born September 17, 1846, married Charles
White, by whom she had one son. Fay White, and her death occurred October 7, I888. Charles Dubois lived in Pulaski, Michigan. Two other children of the family died in infancy. In 1848 Alexander Dubois removed with
his family from Washtenaw to Jackson county. Michigan, becoming identifled with the pioneer development and progress of that part of the state.




344


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Sarah Annie Dubois spent her girlhood days in Pulaski, this state, and
there she was married on the 22nd of April, I86o, to David Smith, who was
born there March io, 1840, and has been a resident of Butler township since
1856. His entire life has been devoted to agricultural pursuits. Mr. and
Mrs. Smith have one son, Will A. Smith, who is a cigar-maker of Coldwater. He was born in Butler township, March 17, I863, and married Mrs.
Lavina Burbank, of the same township, who by a former marriage had two
children.
For six years Mrs. Smith has occupied the position of postmistress in
South Butler and is also conducting a. general merchandise store, transacting
all the business and largely waiting on the customers herself. In the conduct of the store she became the successor of Clarence W. Hayes, a young
man who lived with Mr. and Mrs. Smith after nineteen years of age till
his death. He was born in Van Buren county, Michigan, April i, I864,
and in I886 established his store. About the same time he was appointed
postmaster, holding the office up to the time of his death, which occurred
March i, 1899. He had begun business, on a small scale, but gradually
increased his stock to meet the growing demands of the trade, and secured
a liberal patronage, which indicated his business ability and also the public
regard for his business integrity and his earnest efforts to please his patrons.
He was a young man of genuine personal worth, and his death was deeply
deplored by many friends, for he had the esteem and good will of all with
whom he came in contact. Mrs. Smith succeeded to the business, giving
her entire time to the store. She is a most industrious lady and without
previous business training she has taken up the management of the business
and has carefully and successfully carried it on.
ALFRED PARSONS.
There are living in Branch county but few citizens who can boast a
continuous residence here of nearly seventy years, and of these few we find
none aside from the gentleman whose name introduces this record who are
performing their accustomed duties in the full possession of their physical
and mental powers. Mr. Parsons has been a resident of Coldwater township
since 1836, so that he has passed more than sixty-nine years in this immediate vicinity. The days o'f chivalry and knighthood in Europe cannot furnish more interesting nor romantic tales than, our own western history.
Into the unexplored regions went brave men whose courage and endurance
were often called forth to meet existing conditions. The land was rich in
natural resources-in agricultural and commercial possibilities-and awaited
the demands of man to yield up its treasures, but its forests were difficult
to penetrate, and the Indians resented the encroachment of the " pale faces "
upon their "hunting grounds ". The establishment of homes in this beautiful region therefore meant sacrifices, hardships and also danger to a certain extent, but there were men and women brave enough to undertake the
task of reclaiming the district for the purposes of civilization. From that
stage in the history of Branch county with none of the comforts of civiliza



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


345


tion, through the different stages of evolution to its present state of agricultural perfection, Mr. Parsons has witnessed its growth until it now comirises thousands of fine farms and has become peopled with a happy, prosperous and contented population.
Mr. Parsons is a native of Somersetshire, England, where he was born
October I8, I828. His ancestors had been residents of that country through
many generations, his father being Daniel Parsons, also a native of Somersetshire, while his mother was Mary Holmes Parsons, also born in that
county. They were married there and had a family of three children when
they decided to try their fortunes in America. They made the voyage on a
sailing vessel, in the slow and primitive manner of the times, and took up
their abode in the state of New York, Alfred Parsons being then five years
of age. Another child was then added to the family, which now numbered:
George W. Parsons, who died in later years, in Pavilion, Kalamazoo county,
Michigan; Alfred; Mrs. Lavinia Ball, who died in Kalamazoo county; and
Richard, who died in infancy, in New York. The mother also died in that
state in 1834, and later Daniel Parsons married Amelia Harrison. In 1835,
thinking to have better business opportunities in Michigan than in New
York, Daniel Parsons came to Branch county, and the following year he
was joined by his family in Coldwater. Seven children were born of his
second marriage, as follows:  John, who died in Coldwater; Mrs. Marv
Sweezy, who is living in Kalamazoo, Michigan; Mrs. Nancy Dunks, who is
a resident of Coldwater; Mrs. Emily Adams, living in Oceana county, Michigan; D. W\., who died in Kalamazoo county; Lewis, who died in Shelby,
Michigan; Mrs. Elizabeth Goldsmith, who resides in Vicksburg, Michigan.
It was in early pioneer times that Daniel Parsons came to Branch county,
where he met the usual experiences, hardships and difficulties of pioneer
life. Bands of Indians were seen frequently, wild animals had their haunts
in the forests, and there was much wild game to be had, furnishing many a
meal for the early settlers. It was subsequent to his arrival here that Mr.
Parsons married a second time.  His wife was also a member of one of
the first families of the county and before her marriage she was the first
school teacher in the township of Girard. In the development and improvement of his farm property Mr. Parsons spent his remaining days, passing
away March 4, I85I, while his wife, long surviving him, died in I895.
Reared amid the wild scenes of frontier life Alfred Parsons had few
advantages in his youth in the way of education or otherwise, but ihe early
developed those sterling traits of industry, self-reliance and integrity which
were to bring him success in after life. He early took his place in the
fields, and has since been identified with agricultural interests in Branch
cou!nty, achieving, through his own efforts, all the prosperity and success
he has enjoyed.
On the 25th of December, i866, Mr. Parsons was married to Miss
Frances J. Eaton, a native of Dundaff, Pennsylvania, born August 22, 1846,
and a daughter of Ward and Elizabeth (Ayer) Eaton, the former a native
of Boston, Massachusetts, and the latter of Ireland. In i85I, some years




346


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


before his marriage, Mr. Parsons had purchased his present farm of eighty
acres on section thirty-five, Coldwater township, and here he has lived continuously since, with the exception of six years in the early 6o's when he
made his home in the city of Coldwater. At the time of his purchase his
land was a densely wooded tract, and Mr. Parsons personally took up the
work of clearing away the timber and preparing the fields for the plow. He
has transformed it from a wilderness to one of the best improved farms in
Ihis portion of the county, its fertile and productive fields surrounding excellent buildings, while all the machinery and farm implements necessary
for the successful operation of the fields and the care of the crops is here
found. His labors annually bring to him a good financial return, so that
his home is now supplied with the comforts and some of the luxuries of
life.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Parsons have been born three children, but only
one is now living. Hattie, born November 9, I867, died December 24, 1889,
at the age of twenty-two years; Lewis, born March 18, 1878, died on the
5th of August, of the same year. Harry, born November 28, 1872, was
married January 19, I898, to Miss Pearl Gallup, and they reside on the old
homestead, the son assisting in the operation of the farm. The eldest child,
Hattie, died of consumption December 24, 1889. She was not long confined to the house, and sat up a little every day till within a day or two of
her death. She was a warm-hearted, noble, Christian young lady, and was
widely beloved, as was well attested by the throng of callers continually at
the house during her illness. The funeral occurred at the Scoville school
house, Revs. Collin and Martin officiating.
Mr. Parsons, although not of sturdy physique, has always been a hardworking man, and even today, in spite of his age, is as active and alert as
many men of younger years. In politics he is a Republican, and although
never a politician in the commonly accepted sense of office seeking, he has
been prevailed upon several times to act as school officer, officiating as school
director and assessor of his school district. Although of necessity a busy
man, he has yet found time to broaden his mind and store it with useful
knowledge, and he is progressive in his ideas and earnest in support of every
forward movement for the benefit of the county where he has now lived for
three score years and ten.
ROLLIN A. JOHNSON.
Rollin A. Johnson, who carries on general farming, is a native of
Matteson township, Branch county, having been born on the 8th of May,
1850, on the farm on section twelve which is now his home.  The name
of Johnson has figured in agricultural life and public affairs in this section of the state for a long period and has ever been a synonym for good
citizenship and business integrity. James 0. Johnson, the father, was born
in Vermont and was a son of James Johnson, Sr., who was also a native
of the Green Mountain state and was a farmer by occupation.  On leaving New England he removed to Ohio and subsequently came to Michigan,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


347


taking up his abode on section twelve, Matteson township, Branch county,
where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land that was entirely
wild and unimproved.  He then undertook the arduous task of developing
the property, which he cleared and cultivated.  He remained upon the farm
until he retired, being for long years an energetic, enterprising and prosperous agriculturist of the community.  When his labors had brought to
him a comfortable competence that relieved him of the necessity of further
work he put aside business cares and removed to Union City, where he
lived in the enjoyment of a well earned rest up to the time of his death.
His son, James O. Johnson, Jr., was about twenty years of age when
he accompanied his parents to Michigan, and he assisted in the arduous
task of clearing the old homestead, working with his father throughout
the period of his boyhood and youth.  He enjoyed such educational advantages as the district schools afforded, and after he had attained his. majority
he went to Ohio, where he was married to Miss Sarah Lindley, a daughter
of Ephraim Lindley, who was a farmer by occupation. In the year I8,5I
James 0. Johnson went to California by way of New York and the isthmus
route and remained in that state for three years, when he returned to Michigan to find that his wife had in the meantime departed this life. Unto
Mr. and Mrs. Johnson had been born four children, three sons and a daughter, of whom Rollin A. was the youngest.  Following the mother's death
the father returned to Ohio, and there he was married to the eldest sister
of his first wife, after which he returned to the old home farm in Matteson
township, Branch county, and while living there four children, a son and
three daughters, were born of the second marriage, making eight children
in all, who were born and reared in Matteson township.  Mr. Johnson
afterward traded a part of the old home farm for a place on Mill creek,
where he remained for about forty years.  With the exception of the period
spent in California his entire life was devoted to agricultural pursuits and'
he was found reliable in his business methods and enterprising in all of his
undertakings.  His political allegiance was given to the Republican party
and he held several township offices. He had a wide and favorable acquaintance throughout the county and was a member in high standing of the
Masonic lodge at Bronson.  He died in his eighty-fifth year, honored and
respected by all who knew him.  Viewed in a personal light he was a
strong man, strong in his honor and his good name, in his business accomplishments and in his loyal citizenship.  He was classed for many years
with the leading agriculturists of his community and in addition to the
tilling of the fields he also dealt extensively in horses, fine cattle and sheep.
Rollin A. Johnson acquired his education in the district schools of
Matteson township and through the period of his youth remained at home,
assisting his father on the farm and clearing considerable land.  He lived
mostly on the place by the creek, which was on section thirteen, Matteson
township, and he was early trained to habits of industry, economy and integrity, which have proved of the utmost value to him in later life as he has
conducted his own business interests.
On the 24th of February, I876, Rollin A. Johnson was married to




348


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Miss Josephine Fisk, a native of Matteson township and a daughter of
Edwin Fisk, who was a farmer of that locality.  Mrs. Johnson was reared
and educated in this township and by this marriage there have been born five
children, four sons and a daughter, but Daisy, the second child, is now cleceased.  The others are:   Carl, Lou, Max and Rex, all of whom were
born upon the farm which is now their home.
The second year after his marriage Mr. Johnson removed to the original homestead property and here he has since lived.  He now has one
hundred and twenty acres of land, constituting a valuable farm, which has
been greatly improved by the care and labor he has bestowed upon it.  He
has erected all of the present buildings and modern equipments and he uses
the latest improved machinery in caring for the fields.  He also raises
stock, and both branches of his business are proving profitable. In 1901 he
was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 2nd of
March of that year, and the daughter died three days later. He has an interesting family of four sons, who are with him on the old homestead.  In
politics a Republican, he has taken some part in the work of the organization and rejoices in Republican successes.  He holds membership with the
Maccabees Tent at Sherwood and is well known in the county, his genuine
worth having gained for him warm personal regard and friendship.
HON. CHARLES UPSON.
In an enumeration of the men who have conferred honor and dignity upon
Branch county and whose life record was a credit to the state which honored
him, Hon. Charles Upson deserves mention. As lawyer and legislator he won
distinction and as a member of congress he proved himself a peer of many of
the ablest representatives of the nation. He was born in Southington, Connecticut, April I9, I82I, and died at Coldwater, Michigan, September 5, I885.
A son of Ashael and Lydia (Webster) Upson, he was descended from an
old New England family. His father, also a native of Connecticut, was a
farmer by occupation and was a man of scrupulous honor, exact in all his
dealings and faithful to every obligation in life. He and his estimable wife
held membership in the Presbyterian church and Mrs. Upson was a talented
woman, of strong and sterling characteristics.
Charles Upson spent the first thirteen years of his life at the parental
homestead and at the usual age began his education in the district schools.
When a youth of thirteen he entered a select school, in which he studied
diligently with a view of eventually pursuing a college course. In order to
replenish his funds he engaged in teaching school when sixteen years of age,
receiving for his services twelve and a half dollars per month, and in accordance with the custom of the times he " boarded round " among the scholars.
For five or six years he continued teaching at intervals and in I842 there came
to him the consummation of his hope of securing a higher education. In that
year he entered the academy at Meriden, where he pursued a classical course.
but finally on account of limited means he abandoned the idea of entering
college and resumed teaching. It was about this time that he borrowed a




Charlce Upeon




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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


349


copy of Blackstone, which he read during his leisure hours, working on his
father's farm during the summer months.  Determining to make: the practice
of law his life work, in I844 he was enrolled as a student in the law school
at New Haven, Connecticut. At the end of that year he came to Michigan,
spending the winter in Constantine in teaching and reading law, and he was
thus engaged in the dual pursuit until I847, when he was appointed deputy
county clerk of St. Joseph county, and in the spring of the same year was
admitted to the bar. In addition to, the discharge of his official duties he
engaged in practice, attending such law cases as were accorded to him by the
public. He soon demonstrated his ability, however, and his clientage increased.
After two years he was elected county clerk, and in 185o he was the unsuccessful candidate for prosecuting attorney, but in I852, having been again
nominated for the office, he was elected and entered upon a two, years' term
in that position. Still higher political honors awaited him, for in I854 he
was elected state senator by the Whig party, serving in the upper house of
the general assembly with distinction.  He was active in molding constructive legislation and left the impress of his individuality upon the laws
that were enacted during that session.
In I856 Mr. Upson removed to Coldwater, where he formed a law partnership with Lieutenant Governor George A. Coe. He maintained his deep
interest and activity in political matters and in I860 he was nominated by the
Republican party for the office of Attorney General of Michigan. At the general election he was given the position by popular vote, and in 1862 he received the unanimous nomination of his party for congress. He was elected
that year, re-elected in 1864 and again in I866, and for six years represented
his district in the national legislature. He became an active working member of ~the house, with conscientious purpose and representative patriotism supporting every measure which he believed would prove of benefit to the country
and opposing just as earnestly every interest which he deemed would be
inimical to the general welfare. In I869 official honors came to him in the
more direct line of his profession, he being elected circuit judge of the fifteenth
judicial district, but three years later he resigned on account of insufficiency
of the salary. In every position of public trust he was called upon to fill he
maintained his reputation as an able and incorruptible office holder.  He was
a member of the constitutional convention of I873, when he assisted materially
in forming the organic laws of the state. When Zachariah Chandler was secretary of the interior he tendered Judge Upson the position of Indian commissioner, but the honor was declined. In I880 he was again elected state
senator, and in 1883 he was a prominent but unsuccessful candidate for the
nomination for justice of the supreme court of Michigan.
In local affairs Judge Upson was also an influential factor, and twice
served as mayor of Coldwater, giving to the city a business-like and progressive administration, characterized by reform and practical improvement.
In i865 he assisted in organizing the Coldwater National Bank, and was
thereafter until his death one of its directors.
On the 4th of August, 1852, Judge Upson was united in marriage to
Miss Sophia Upham and they became the parents of two sons and two daugh



350


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


ters:  Alonzo Sydney; Mary, deceased; Margaret, the wife of Morris G.
Clark; and Charles Hiram, who ldied in infancy. Judge Upson figured for
many years as one of the distinguished and honored citizens of Branch county
and of Michigan. Faultless in honor, fearless in conduct, stainless in reputation, such was his life record.  His scholarly attainments, his statesmanship, his reliable judgment and his charming powers of conversation would
have enabled him to ably fill and grace any position, however exalted, and he
was no less honored in public than loved in private life.
ALONZO SYDNEY UPSON.
Alonzo Sydney Upson, son of Hon. Charles Upson, deceased, was born
in Constantine, Michigan, May 25, I855, and was only a year old at the time
of his parents' removal to Coldwater. Here he was reared and educated and
has spent his life. When the Michigan Southern Bank was organized in 1872
he became a bookkeeper in that institution, later was promoted to the position
of teller and subsequently became cashier, thus receiving ready recognition of
his ability. He is now cashier of the bank, a popular officer, whose unfailing
courtesy and accommodation to the patrons have secured him many friends,
while his devotion and allegiance to the institution have contributed to its
success.
Mr. Upson is without political aspiration but gives unfaltering support
to the principles of the Republican party. He has, however, served for several
terms as treasurer of Coldwater, called to that office by the vote of the people
who recognize his.capability for the duties that devolve upon him in this
connection. He is a member of the Bon Ami Club and holds high social
relations.
STEPHEN W. KEMPSTER.
Stephen W. Kempster is now practically living retired in a comfortable home just south of the city limits of Coldwater, but is still owner of a
fine and valuable farm which he improved and which returns to him a good
annual income.  He stands as an excellent example of the men of foreign
birth who in early manhood come to America without capital but possessing
laudable ambition and determined energy and through those means steadily
advance to the goal of success.
Mr. Kempster was born in Buckinghamshire, England, on the 25th of
November, I847, a son of Joseph and Sarah (Wells) Kempster, both of
whom were natives of England, where they spent their entire lives, the
father dying there in 1851, while the mother passed away in I8,57.  They
had three children: Stephen; Mrs. Emily Marks, now living in England;
and Mrs. Eliza Peppiatt, a resident of Ovid, Michigan.
In I867 Stephen W. Kempster came to America with his sister Eliza,
locating in Ovid, and although he had no means at the time, he was energetic and resolute and his willingness to work secured him good positions,
so that in the course of a few years, as the result of his earnings, he was
enabled to purchase property, buying land in 187I in Ovid township. He
at once began its development and continued to improve it until I889, when




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


351


he purchased his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Coldwater.
In all of his work he has been practical, methodical and progressive, and
his labor has been the resultant factor in his success.
On the I6th of December, 1873, Mr. Kempster was united in marriage
to Miss Eliza Peppiatt, who was born in Buckinghamshire, England, May
12, I842. and came to the United States with her brothers and sisters in
I867, settling in Wayne county, Michigan. Her father was Shadrach Peppiatt, while her mother bore the maiden name of Fannie Bavin, and both
were natives of England.  They came to Michigan in i866, settling in
Washtenaw county, where the father died in 1901o, while the mother passed
away in I891.  They were the parents of nine children, of whom two died
in infancy. the others being Eliza, now Mrs. Kempster; Mrs. Ann Collyer,
who died in Michigan; Mrs. Jane Beyers, a resident of Wayne county, Michigan; James, of Colorado; Mrs. Maria Day, Charles and Lizzie, all living
in Washtenaw county, this state.
Mr. and Mrs. Kempster have a family of a daughter and three sons:
Carrie, born March 26, 1875, attended the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, Michigan, and is now engaged in teaching school in the city of Coldwater; Joseph, born January 22, 1877, was graduated in chemistry at the
University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and holds a responsible position in
the laboratory of the Wolverine Cement Company, at Coldwater; Walter,
born August 3, i88o, attended the Michigan Agricultural College at Lansing, was married August 15, 1905, to Gertie Baldridge, and now lives upon
the Kempster farm in Coldwater township; and Harry, born October 9,
I883, attended the Agricultural College at Lansing, after having graduated from the high school at Coldwater in class of 1904.
In the spring of I905 Mr. Kempster turned the management of his farm
over to his son and purchased a comfortable home just south of the corporation limits of Coldwater, where he and his wife now reside. They have
traveled life's journey together for a third of a century, their mutual love
and confidence increasing as the years have gone by. Mr. Kemlpster belongs
to Coldwater Grange. He has served as school assessor, but is independent
in politics. In 1904 he made a visit to his old home in England, where many
of his relatives yet reside. In manner he is unassuming and entirely free
from ostentation, but he deserves that praise and credit which are given in
recognition of genuine worth of character and successful accomplishment.
Coming to America without capital, he has acquired a good competence, has
carefully reared his family and given them good advantages, and now is
enabled to enjoy a well-earned rest, the fruits of his former toil providing
him with life's necessities and comforts.
MRS. MARY A. STOKES.
Mrs. Mary A. Stokes, now living in California township, was born in
Oswego county, New York, April 4, 1827, and has therefore passed the
seventy-ninth mile-stone on life's journey. Her father, Gilman Withington,
was born in Cheshire county, New Hampshire, March 13, 1805, and was a




352


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


son of William Withington, who came to Michigan in 1833, and in 1836
took up his abode in Branch county, settling in Kinderhook township. Gilman Withington removed from the Old Granite state to New York, and
after living for a few years in Pennsylvania, came to Michigan in the early
4o0's, spending his remaining days in Branch county. He was a. carpenter
and joiner, following these trades in the east, and after coming to the west
he devoted much of his time to farming. He married Miss Philinda Gowdy,
who was born in Rome, New York, November 3, I803. Their marriage
was celebrated on the 2nd of March, 1826, in the Empire state, and they
became the parents of three children, one of whom died in infancy, while
Celia E. died in Branch county January I, 1845, at the age of thirteen
years, leaving Mrs. Stokes as the only surviving member of the family.
Both of the parents were Presbyterians and then Methodists in religious faith
in early life, but in later years joined the United Brethren church. Mr.
Withington was a Republican in his political views, and was the first school
district officer in Algansee township, which position he filled for many years.
His death occurred August 12, I88I, while his wife passed away June 7,
I885. Mary Ainn Withington was a young lady of sixteen years when she
accompanied her parents on their removal to this state, and she now lives
upon a farm adjoining the one which her father purchased and improved
on coming to the west. The land at that early day was all uncleared, and
although the highways had been surveyed they were still untraveled and
the roads'were therefore in very poor condition. Amid pioneer surroundings, therefore, Mary A. Withington was reared. On the 4th of September,
1844, in Algansee township, she gave her hand in marriage to Amos C.
Stokes, who was born in Tompkins county, New York, September 4, 1822.
His father was John Stokes, also a native of the Empire state, where he was
married to Miss Polly Lamphere, who was also born in New York. Four
of their children reached manhood or womanhood, namely: Mrs. Lucy A.
Burdick, Mrs. Polly Yates, J. Woodbury and Amos Stokes. After coming
west the father and his family lived for several years in Indiana and then
came to Michigan in 1842.
Amos Stokes was a farmer by occupation and cleared the land on section eighteen constituting the present home farm of his, widow. Unto them
was born a daughter, Araminta, whose birth occurred July 27, I846, and
who became the wife of Ferris B. Hanford, July 27, 1862. After his death
she was married, on the I9th of February, 1872, to Thomas Copeland, and
her own demise occurred on the 4th of March, 1894.
Mr. Stokes was a justice of the peace and school officer for many years,
and his efforts in behalf of public progress and advancement were beneficial
and far-reaching. He belonged to the United Brethren church and he gave
his political support to the Republican party for a long period, although in
his later years he became a staunch Prohibitionist and a, most earnest advocate of the cause of temperance. For three months he was a soldier of the
Civil war. Mrs. Stokes also belongs to the United Brethren church. Since
sixteen years of age she has lived in this immediate vicinity and has there



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


3.53


fore witnessed many changes here as the work of cultivation and civilization has been carried forward. She is a great reader and close observer of
events and keeps well posted on the questions of the day and upon all matters
of general interest, being an especially well informed woman and one well
preserved for her years.
SAMUEL W. RICE.
There is, perhaps, no citizen of Branch county who has done more for
the material improvement and progress of the county than has Samuel W.
Rice, who has personally cleared three eighty-acre tracts of land, reclaiming
it for the purposes of civilization and the uses of the white race. He is now
the owner of a valuable and well-improved farm of one hundred and ninetythree acres located on section four, Coldwater township, and section three,
Girard township. He was born in Wayne county, New York, on the I2th
of January, I823, his parents being Sylvester and Harriet (Warner) Rice,
both of whom were natives of New York, where they were reared to adult
age and were married. In their family were nine children: Philetus, who
lied in Coldwater township, Branch county; David, who died in Toledo, Ohio;
Mrs. Lucinda Smith, whose death occurred in the township of Girard; Eber,
who also died in Girard township; Samuel W., of this review; Mrs. Am'anda
Atwater, who died in Coldwater; Emma Jane, who is a resident of Coldwater; Russell, who died in Coldwater; and Sylvester, who passed away
in Girard township. It will thus be seen that of the nine children of the
father's family only two are yet living. It was in the year I844 that the
parents, Sylvester and Harriet (Warner) Rice, came with their sons and
daughters to Michigan. The tide of emigration had been steadily flowing
westward from  New York to this state for several years and, hoping to
benefit their financial condition in the new but rapidly growing district, they
made their way to Homer, Calhoun county, where they resided for two years.
On the expiration of that period they came to Branch county, settling in
Coldwater township, thus becoming identified with its agricultural interests.
The mother passed away in Coldwater township January I, I863, while
the death of Mr. Rice occurred in Homer, Michigan, in September, i875.
The children of the family grew to manhood and womanhood here, and in
the latter part of the 40's four of the brothers purchased farms in this part
of the county, and here they made for themselves and their families comfortable homes.
Samuel W. Rice, reared to the occupation of farming, early became
familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist, and in
1846 purchased land which was entirely wild and unimproved. It had been entered from the government by Mr. Dibble, and Mr. Rice at once began to
clear and cultivate the tract. At that time this portion of Coldwater township was an almost unbroken wilderness and the work of transforming it
into a habitable district was a laborious and difficult one. Personally Mr.
Rice has cleared no less than three eighty-acre tracts, a work which few
would care to undertake in this state.
On the 6th of November, 1873, occurred the marriage of Samuel W.




354


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Rice and Miss Lavonia Kilborn, a native of Sherwood, Michigan, born May
I7, T842, her parents being David and Clarinda (Hawley) Kilborn, both
of whom were natives of the Empire state, where they were married. The
Kilborns, like the Rices, were pioneers of Branch county,' and the first settlement was made in the vicinity of Sherwood, where representatives of the
name have since been worthy residents. There the father, David Kilborn.
who was born in I797, died in 1870, while the mother, who was born in
1801o, passed away in I88I. In their family were eleven children, as follows:
Holton, who died in Sherwood; Mrs. Harriet K. Coddington, who is living
in Palo Alto, California; Mrs. Eliza K. Coddington, who died in Union
City, Michigan; Wallace, a resident of Coldwater township; Mrs. Mary
K. Van Dievender, of California, now deceased; George, who died while
serving as a soldier in the Civil war; Samuel, a resident of Union City,
Michigan; Alden, who, passed away in California; and Mrs. Rice. Unto
the marriage of our subject and his wife has' been born two, children.
Hattie Rice, born March 3, I875, was married November 21, 1900, to
Charles Culp. They reside in Coldwater township and have two, children,
Frances Josephine and Walton. William Rice, born January 26, I879,
was married November 21, 1901, to Effa Irene Bennett, born October 6,
1875, a daughter of George and Sarah (Warren) Bennett, both of whom
have been residents of Branch county for many years.   Mr. Bennett is
still living and is a resident of Michigan, but his wife passed away August
12, I898.
Mr. Rice has spent nearly his entire life in the locality where he yet
resides, and has always commanded the high regard and esteem of his
fellow-townsmen here. He has followed the occupation of farming and
has done much for the development and improvement of this section. His
present farm is a fine one, consisting of one hundred and ninety-three acres
of fertile land located on section 4, Coldwater township, and section 33,
Girard -township.  It is equipped with good buildings and all necessary
machinery and accessories for its successful operation. It is now conducted
by his son, William; Rice, who is considered one of the reliable and influential young farmers of this part of the county. Although a Republican
politically, Samuel Rice has never been an office seeker, preferring to give.his time and energies to his business affairs. His parents were members of
the Baptist church, and in that faith he was reared, but for some years he
has been a professor of the spiritualist belief. His has been a long, useful
and active life and he is spending the evening of his days in the consciousness of duties well performed, occupying a comfortable home on the farm
which he has developed from its primitive state to its present condition of
agricultural fertility.  His residence in the county covers. more than six
decades, and he is justly classed with the honored pioneer residents here.
JOHN S. NESBITT.
Each community has its leaders-men who are molding the business
development and contributing to the prosperity of their respective localities —
and within this age of the world, when there is great competition and when
~.,.~ ~ ~ ~  ~. /.   **. -.! - - - - * * y " 1;   ' ' " * *,..




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


new conditions are continually arising, the men who are successful are alert
and energetic, quickly recognizing and improving opportunities.  Such a
one is John S. Nesbitt, cashier of the Union City National Bank. He was
born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, December 23, 1862.  His
father, William G. Nesbitt, was of Scotch descent and was also born in
Northumberland county, where he was reared and acquired his education.
He chose farming as a life work, and upon his removal to Branch county,
Michigan, settled upon a tract of land in Coldwater township, where he
was engaged in general agricultural pursuits until his removal to Batavia
township.  Subsequently he sought a home in the far west and died in
Vancouver, Washington, in the sixty-seventh year of his age. A zealous
and earnest Christian man, he held membership in the Methodist Episcopal
church and was active and helpful in its work. He married Statira Scarlett, a native of Canada. Her father was of Irish lineage, while her mother
was of Scotch descent. Mrs. Nesbitt still survives her husband and is now
in the sixty-seventh year of her age. They were the parents of two sons
and three daughters, all of whom are living, namely:  John S., of this
review; Lydia, the wife of Rev. Lida J. Wornom, of Camas, Washington;
-Clara, the widow of Luke Sizer, and a resident of Belleriver, Minnesota;
Cora, a twin sister of Clara, and the wife of Edward Boyce, of Ballard,
Washington; and R. William, who is living at Palms, Los Angeles county,
California.
John S. Nesbitt is the only member of. the family now living in Branch
county. He was less than a year old when brought by his parents from
the east to this county, and here he acquired his early education in the district schools, supplementing it by an advanced course in the high school at
Union City. He afterward engaged in clerking in a dry goods store for
three years in Union City, and in I8,88 he entered the Union City National
Bank as teller, which position he held until January 8, I896. He was then
elected cashier and has since acted in the latter capacity. In the intervening
years he has made a close and thorough study of the banking business,
with which he is now familiar both in principle and detail, and his accuracy,
system and close application have rendered his services of value to the bank,
while his genial manner and obliging disposition have made him popular
with its many patrons.
Mr. Nesbitt was married in 1887 to Miss Lucy Lincoln, a daughter
of Oscar L. Lincoln. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, in which he
has attained the Knight Templar degree, belonging to the commandery at
Coldwater. He is also a Knight of the Maccabees and has been a life-long
Republican. He is now active in the local work of the party, serving as
chairman of the township central committee, and has held other offices.  He
was township clerk for two terms, in I889 and I89o, was president of the
village for three years and is now treasurer. Almost his entire life has
been passed in Union City and this vicinity, and his history is therefore
well known to his fellow townsmen. The fact that his friends are many
and that he is popular is an indication that he has displayed many sterling
characteristics such as command respect in every land and clime.




356


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


HARVEY MATTISON DOUBLEDAY.
Harvey Mattison Doubleday, a resident of Branch county from pioneer
times, now living on section nine, Sherwood township, was born in Yates
county, New York, July 7, 1828. His grandfather, Elisha Doubleday, who
was of English descent, was born in the Empire state and throughout his
business career carried on agricultural pursuits.  His death also occurred
in the state of New York. His father, Hiram Doubleday, was a native of
Onondaga county, New York, and in 1831 he made a trip to Michigan, covering the entire distance to and from this state on foot. It was then that he
entered a farm of eighty acres in Calhoun county, and in the spring of the
following year he brought his family to the new home, settling on his farxin Athens township, where he built a log cabin, living in a covered wagon
until the pioneer home was completed. He split the boards for the floor
out of white ash logs. The little home, small in its dimensions, was sparsely
furnished and the family endured the usual hardships, privations and dangers
incident to frontier life. The Indians frequently visited this section of the
country and various kinds of wild animals and game could be had in the
forests. He remained in Calhoun county until the spring of 1837, when he
removed to Sherwood township, purchasing land on section four. Here he
again built a log house and began the cultivation and improvement of a farm.
He continued his work there for a number of years, but his last days were
spent in Union City and in the home of his son, H. M. Doubleday, his death
occurring when he had reached his eighty-ninth year. Viewed from a business standpoint his life was successful, for he started out empty-handed and
reared a family of six children, while accumulating a comfortable competency.
His success resulted from his close application and unfaltering diligence,
which enabled him to overcome all difficulties and obstacles in his path. His
business affairs, too, were conducted with the strictest honesty, and he was
never known to take advantage of the necessities of his fellow-men in any
transaction. He always gave his political allegiance to the Democracy and
he held many local offices, including those of justice of the peace and township trustee. He married Betsy Wallace, a native of New York, who lived
to be about fifty years of age. Of their family of seven children a daughter
died in infancy.
H. M. Doubleday, the eldest son and second child, was but three years
old when brought to Michigan by his parents and was a youth of eight years
when the family home was established in Branch county. When a youth
he made his way to the primitive log school house, common at an early day,
and therein studied the elementary branches of English learning. He had
opportunity to attend school for only about three months in the winter seasons, for throughout the remainder of the year his services were needed on
the home farm and he continued to assist his father until twenty-one years
of age. He then started out upon an active business career, being first employed as a farm hand for the sum of ten dollars per month. He worked in
this way on different farms until 185I, when, attracted by the discovery of
gold in California, he made his way to the Pacific coast by the water route




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"'Idlewild", The Country Seat of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey M. Doubleday.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


357


and the Isthmus of Panama, landing at San Francisco. He spent three years
in that state engaged in mining. He worked by the month for one hundred
dollars, and after a residence of three years in the far west he returned in
I854, by way of Graytown, New Orleans and Cincinnati, to Sherwood township, Branch county. While in California he had purchased one hundred and
twenty acres of land in Sherwood township, thus investing his earnings in
the mines. This property he still owns, and he has also about forty acres
across the road on section ten. At other times he has made additional purchases until he now has three hundred acres of land in one body, consisting
of his home farm and one hundred and twenty acres in Athens town:ship,
Calhoun county, another tract of eighty acres in Athens township and one
hundred and thirty acres on section twenty-one, Sherwood township, making
in all about six hundred and twenty acres of land. He also has an excellent
farm of one hundred acres in Kalamazoo county, and is the owner of two
houses and lots in Battle Creek. The greater part of this, has been acquired
through his own labor, his success being the merited reward of his efforts.
He is indeed a man of excellent business capacity and his labors have been
so discerningly directed along well defined lines that he seems, to have realized
at any one point the utmost possibility for accomplishment at that point. He
has been interested in three different banks, one in Athens, one in Union
City, and the Exchange Bank at Sherwood, but he has now severed his connection with these different institutions.
In 1857 Mr. Doubleday was married to Miss Nancy L. Blackman, a
(aughter of Simeon and Emma (Spencer) Blackman, and a native of Concord, Jackson county, Michigan, born May I6, 1842. She has spent most of
her life in Sherwood township, Branch county, and has become the mother of
five children, but only two are living, Hiram S., and Ovid M., who married
Flora Hagenbaugh, and lives in Athens township, Calhoun county.
Mr. and Mrs. Doubleday have one of the most beautiful country seats
in North Branch county, and the home is adorned by works of art, in pictures and bric-a-brac. This country seat is known far and near by the name
"Idlewild."
They have traveled in the far west a great deal, and in their wanderings they have selected a large collection of beautiful shells from the Pacific
coast, specimens of which are rare, besides different growths of cactus. He
has one of the finest specimens of deer's head, shot by his son Ovid, which
adorns the walls of the parlor. He has a, section of a pine tree in whlich a
minie ball is embedded. This was cut from a pine tree on the battlefield of
Chattanooga, a relic of the Civil war.
Among his rare specimens is a seven-legged pig, preserved in alcohol.
The deer antlers which deck the hall are proofs of the chase. There is also
to be seen a genuine Mexican sombrero, as well as a lariat made of horse hair.
These and many other rare specimens of curiosity grace the spacious rooms
of this country seat. In the sitting room, upon the wall, hangs a large en"raving of Mr. Doubleday driving a yoke of oxen, in the true pioneer style.
These oxen were twins and were reared and broken by Mr. Doubleday and
his son Hiram on his farm. This team of oxen won the blue ribbon, and






858


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


when they were marketed for the eastern markets they weighed four thousand one hundred and fifty pounds and were said by competent judges to be
the finest pair of steers ever shipped from Michigan.
Mr. and Mrs. Doubleday have made two visits to California, spending
the winter there, and Mr. Doubleday also went once with his brother and
again alone, so that he has four times visited the Pacific coast. His political
views are in accord with Democratic principles. He has practically made his
home in this county since I837, covering a period of sixty-eight consecutive
years. People of the present period can scarcely realize the struggles and
dangers which attended the early settlers, the heroism and self-sacrifice of
lives passed upon the borders of civilization, the hardships endured and the
difficulties overcome. The tales of the early days will be almost like a romance to those who have known only the modern prosperity and convenience.
To the pioneer of the early days far removed from the privileges and conveniences of city or town, the struggle for existence was a stern and hard
one and these men and women must have possessed indomitable energy and
sterling worth of character, as well as marked physical courage, when they
first voluntarily selected such a life and successfully fought its battles under,
such circumstances as prevailed in the northwest. To this class Mr. Doubleday belonged, but unlike many others he has been permitted to see and enjoy
the present prosperity and progress of his adopted county, in which he is now
a most honored citizen.
CHAUNCEY M. VAN EVERY.
Among the leading and highly respected citizens of Bronson, Michigan, is found Chauncey M. Van Every, whose identity with the business
activity of the town covers several decades.
Mr. Van Every was born in Galway, Saratoga county, New York,
May 22, 1833, son of Matthias and Rebecca (Crapo) Van Every, the former a descendant of Holland ancestry and the latter of French. His mother
died when Chauncey M. was four years old. Matthias Van Every was a
native of Greenbush, New York, born August 3, I809, and was engaged
in farming in that state until 1846, when he came to Michigan and settled
at Coldwater, where for years he was engaged in the foundry business,
and where he died at a ripe old age in I889. Of his children we record
that a son Joseph, who served under General Grant in the Civil war, was
killed in battle at Fort Gibson; a daughter, Rebecca M., died in Coldwater,
Michigan; and another daughter, a half sister of Chauncey M., is a resident of Saratoga county, New York.
Chauncey M. Van Every spent the most of his boyhood working in
his father's foundry at Coldwater. His advantages for obtaining an education were limited to a few months' schooling during the year, but he
made the best of his opportunities both in the school room and in the workshop. At the age of twenty-one we find him foreman of a foundry at
La Fayette, Indiana. After spending several years in the foundry business
at La Fayette and Coldwater, he came to Bronson and started a business::;-:....,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


359


of his own, which he conducted twelve years, during that time having
several partners. Returning to Coldwater, he established himself in a
foundry business under the firm name of C. M. Van Every and Company.
At the end of three years he purchased his partner's interest, and the next
four years the business was conducted under the name of C. M. Van Every
& Sons. In I88I he sold out and came back to Bronson, where, the following year, he opened up a foundry and machine shop. This business he sold
in I889, and since that date has been engaged in the real estate and insurance business. He was elected a justice of the peace in April, I904.
June I9, I854, in La Fayette, Indiana, Mr. Van Every married Miss
Jennie A. Coffin, a daughter of Nathaniel and Pollie (Woodworth) Coffin.
Of the six children born to them, three, Charles, Fred and Florence, are
deceased; Walter is a resident of Bay City, Michigan; Chauncey M., Jr.,
was until recently superintendent of a cement plant in Bronson; and Clifford J. lives in Sioux City, Iowa.
Mr. Van Every maintains fraternal relations with the Ancient Free
and Accepted Masons and for years has been one of the active workers in
and stanch supporters of the Baptist church.
WILLIAM    M. TYLER.
William M. Tyler is one of the prominent old settlers of Branch county,
having for many years been a witness of the changes that have occurred
as the work of development and improvement has been carried forward.
He came to the county when it was a wild district, few settlements having
been made within its borders, but time and man have wrought great changes
and Mr. Tyler is numbered among those who has ably assisted in the work
of general improvement. He now resides on section 14, Batavia township,
where he owns a good farm.
A native of New York, his birth occurred in Oswego county on the
9th of March, 1833, and he represents one of the old New England families.
His paternal grandfather was Asa Tyler, who was born in Vermont and
at an early day removed to New York, where he followed the occupation
of farming. His son, Morgan L. Tyler, father of our subject, was born
in Oswego county, pursued his education there and was married in that
county to Miss Elizabeth Grove, a native of New York. They came to
Michigan in I837, casting in their lot with the pioneer settlers of Branch
county. Mr. Tyler took up land from the government in Batavia township and shared in the hardships of frontier life, while developing and improving his farm. He continued to own and cultivate that property up to
the time of his death, which occurred when he was eighty-two years of
age. He was a public-spirited man, and in politics was an old-line Whig
until the dissolution of that party, when he joined the ranks of the new
Republican party.  He served as supervisor of his township both before
and after the Civil war, and he was a stanch advocate of the Union and
believed in the policy of the administration during the period of hostilities.
He had a very wide and favorable acquaintance in the county and is numbered among the real founders and promoters of this section of the state




360


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


because of the helpful part which he took in reclaiming the district for the
uses of civilization. His wife died in Branch county, at the age of seventyeight years. She was a daughter of John Grove, who was of " low Dutch"
descent.
In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Tyler were eight children, of whom
William  M. Tyler was the second child and second son. He was four
years of age when the parents came to Branch county, Michigan, and in
the common schools of Batavia township he acquired his education.
Through much of the year, however, he assisted his father in the work
of the home farm and aided in the development of the land and the care
of the crops until I862, when he could content himself no longer at home
while his country's safety was in danger. He, therefore, enlisted in Company C,Nineteenth Michigan Infantry, and eventually was promoted from
private to the rank of corporal and afterward was made first lieutenant of
Company E, subsequent to which time he received a captain's commission.
He participated in many battles, and at Spring Hill was captured and taken
to Libby prison, but was afterward paroled and taken to the rebel hospital,
where he remained for thirty-six days. After a few months he joined his
company at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and the next battle in which he participated was at Resaca, Georgia, where he sustained a flesh wound through
the thigh, being then sent to the hospital at Louisville. He rejoined his
regiment on the day that Atlanta surrendered, and he afterward took part
in the battle of Averysboro and Bentonville, North Carolina.  He was at
Washington and participated in the grand review, where the victorious army
marched through the streets of the city and passed the stand on which the
president watched the return of the country's loyal soldiers. He was acting
as quartermaster at that time, and he received his honorable discharge at
Detroit, Michigan, in July, I865, after which he returned to his home in
Branch county and engaged in farming.
Mr. Tyler was married in I865 to Miss Parley J. Holcomb, the daughter of Warren Holcomb and a native of New York, whence she came with
her parents to Branch county about 1847. Her death occurred in I894.
By this marriage there were five children:  Morgan L., of Coldwater
township; Warren H., who is living in Batavia township; Charles G., also
of that township; Harry, who died in infancy; and Carl, who is at home
with his father.
Mr. Tyler located on section sixteen, Batavia tonship, where he engaged in general farming until I891. He then sold out and located, in
Igo4, where he now resides on section thirteen, Batavia township. He has
been a life-long Republican and has always been active in support of the
party. His first presidential vote was cast for General John C. Fremont,
and he has voted for each presidential candidate since that time, nor has
he missed a public caucus or election since the war. He is recognized as
one of the strong and stalwart supporters of the party in his locality, and
he served for eleven years as supervisor of Batavia township, being the
only one to fill the office for so long a term save one other. He was likewise township treasurer, and his political duties have been discharged in a




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


361


most capable, prompt and efficient manner.  He is a charter member of
Butterworth Post No. Io9, G. A. R., and maintains pleasant relationships
with his old army comrades, greatly enjoying the campfires. For sixtynine years he has been a resident of Batavia township and now he has
retired from active work, enjoying a well earned rest from labor. He has
passed the Psalmist's span of three score years and ten, having attained
the age of seventy-two years, and his life has been an honorable and upright
one, while in matters of citizenship he has ever displayed the same loyalty
that marked his career as a soldier when on southern battle-fields he aided
in defense of the Union.
SAMUEL GARDNER.
Samuel Gardner is numbered among the early settlers of Matteson
township and is now following farming within its borders, his home being
on section eleven. He was born in the state of New York, September 2,
1835, and is a son of Hiram Gardner, who is represented elsewhere in this
work. When about two years of age Samuel Gardner was brought by his
parents to Michigan, the family home being established in Branch county
on the farm where he yet resides. Here he was reared and his education
was acquired in one of the old-time log school houses with its crude desks
and benches and its primitive methods of instruction. He remained at home
until twenty-one years of age, when he left the farm and went to Illinois.
-He thence made his way to Kansas and was absent from Michigan for
about a year, after which he returned to the old farm, where he has remained
continuously since.  He aided in clearing the land and the task was an
arduous one, but his persistency of purpose has been one of his strong
characteristics and in all of his farm work he has displayed a capability
and determination that have been commendable and have also been resultant
factors in his success. He now owns one hundred and forty acres of land,
which is highly cultivated and improved, and he has good buildings upon
his place and all modern equipments, so that his farm is in keeping with
a model property of the twentieth century.
On the I6th of January, 187I, Mr. Gardner was united in marriage to
Miss Emogene Jumph, a daughter of Erastus Jumph, a farmer of Branch
county. Three daughters were born unto them.
On the 27th of January, I895, Mr. Gardner wedded Mrs. Elcena
(Green) Smith, the widow of Seth Smith, a farmer of Matteson township,
and a daughter of Benjamin Green, who was a native of Jefferson county,
New York. Mrs. Gardner was born in Brownville, Jefferson county, and
was reared and married there, coming to Branch county in I865. She
taught school in Matteson township for about eight terms and was recognized as a capable educator. The three daughters of the family are: Mabel,
now the wife of C. L. Wood; Grace and Eva. All were born and reared
upon the old family homestead. Mr. Gardner has always been a Democrat
and upon the party ticket was elected to the office of justice of the peace.
He has a very wide acquaintance, being known to nearly everybody in the






362


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


county, and those with whom he has come in contact recognize his genuine
worth and many good qualities, which have awakened their confidence, admiration and regard.
JOHN PRIDGEON, JR.
Upon. a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section two, California township, resides John Pridgeon, Jr., and his father, John Pridgeon,
Sr. The latter was born in Detroit, Michigan, August 3, 1833, and was
brought to Branch county, Michigan, by his parents in 1836. His father was
Joshua Pridgeon, a native of Lincolnshire, England, in which county the
birth of Mrs. Susan Belle Pridgeon, wife of Joshua Pridgeon, also occurred.
They were married in England and soon afterward crossed the Atlantic to
America, hoping to improve their financial condition in the new world with
its broader business opportunities. They settled in Pennsylvania, where they
lived for a few years and then came to Michigan, arriving in Detroit about
1825. There they spent eight years, and during that time Joshua Pridgeon
came to Branch county and entered a claim from the government of one hundred and sixty acres. In I836 he brought his family here, took up his abode
upon his claim and began clearing the land. In connection with general
farming he became widely known as a stock-raiser and dealer. He was a
breeder of Devonshire cattle and also of blooded sheep and good horses. He
and his wife spent their remaining days upon the farm, his death occurring
in I875, while she passed away in I884. They were typical pioneer residents,
sharing in the usual experiences of life on the frontier and extending cordial
hospitality to friend and stranger. In the active work of subduing a wild
district Mr. Pridgeon took a helpful part and is classed with the pioneer
settlers whose labors have made possible the present advanced condition of the
county. Unto him and his wife were born seven children, all of whom reached
years of maturity, namely: George, who died in this county; Joshua, who
died in Hillsdale county, Michigan; John, father of our subject; Samuel,
who lives in Isabella county, this state; Abram, a resident of California township, Branch county; Isaac, deceased; and Jacob, who is living in Algansee
township.
John Pridgeon, Sr., was a little lad of but three years when brought by
his parents to Branch county, and here his youth was passed amid pioneer surroundings. He lived here at the period when most of the homes were log
cabins, when much of the land was covered with dense, timber, and when the
work of farming was carried on in but a slight degree. He was married
in i858 to. Miss Eunice Lease, a native of California township, whose father
was Julius Lease, who came to the county in I839, and whose mother was
a Diamond. There were three children born of this marriage: Benjamin,
who is now residing in Seattle, Washington; Henry, a resident of Kalamazoo, Michigan; and Mrs. Emma Lazenby, of Hillsdale countv. After the
death of his first wife Mr. Pridgeon was again married, his, second union
being with Mary Shannon. Their only child is the subject of this review.
The mother died in 1875.
John Pridgeon, Sr., started out in life on his own account when twenty







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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


363


one years of age, and soon afterward purchased his present farm of eighty
acres. While paying for it he lived at home. He has always carried on
general agricultural pursuits, making his home continuously in California
township, and his labors have been rewarded with a gratifying competence.
He has cleared many acres of new land and has undergone all the difficulties
incident to the establishment of a home on the frontier. He saw the first
school house built in the township and he lived here when there were no roads
aside from the old Indian trails. He went forty miles to mill and also a
long distance to market, but the early settlers depended largely upon what
they could raise upon their farms, having few of the conveniences and comforts which are now regarded as essential at this present period of our modern
civilization. In community affairs he has been deeply and helpfully interested
and has served as highway commissioner. His memory forms a connecting
link between the primitive past and the progressive present and he relates
many interesting incidents of the early days when the mode of life was very
dissimilar to that of the present time. In his farm work he used crude machinery, much of the labor of tilling the fields and caring for the crops being
-done by hand.
John Pridgeon, Jr., was born June 26, 1872, upon the farm where, he yet
resides, and it has been his home continuously since.  Under his father's
direction he worked in the fields and his education was acquired in the district
schools. On the 3Ist of January, I891, he wedded Miss Mollie Kimmell,
who was born in Defiance county, Ohio, on the 2d of January, 1873. Her
father, Columbus Kimmell, was born in Richland county, Ohio, in April,
1832, and was of German descent. He'wedded Mary Dean, who was born
in Richland county in November, I841. He had lived in Ohio until about
i886, and then removed to Hillsdale county, Michigan, where both he and
his wife now reside. They became the parents of eight children, four of
whom are now living: Joseph, I. W. and Maude, all residents of Hillsdale
county; and Mrs. Pridgeon.  John and Mollie (Kimmell) Pridgeon have
four children:  Glenn D., Lester A., William Harold and Mary W., constituting a bright and interesting family. Mr. Pridgeon belongs to the California Tent of Maccabees, while his wife affiliates with the Ladies of the
Maccabees. He is a representative of one of the oldest families of the township, and the work which was begun by his grandfather and continued by his
father is still being carried on by him. The name of Pridgeon has long
stood for agricultural progress and loyal citizenship and the subject of this
review is a worthy representative of the family.
IRA D. JOHNSON.
Ira D. Johnson, one of the well known and highly esteemed business
men of Coldwater and Branch county, has spent the greater part of his
life here and is known as an upright, reliable and capable man, possessing
the regard and confidence of his fellow-citizens. He gives his time and
attention to the operation of a flour mill at Branch, a few miles west of the
city of Coldwater, and has made it a profitable industry.




364


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Mr. Johnson is a native of Huron county, Ohio, where he was born
October 17, 1847, and both his paternal and maternal ancestors were residents of the Empire state. His father, Dr. Lewis Johnson, was a native
of Greene county, New York, born December,11, I820, while the mother,
who bore the maiden name of Emily Bainbridge, was born in the state of
New York. February 15, I825. They were married in Huron county, Ohio,
May 28, I840, and there resided until the spring of I866, when they came
to Michigan, where their remaining days were passed. They were the
parents of four children, all of whom grew to manhood and womanhood,
namely:  Mrs. Adeline Purdy, who was born March 26, 184I, and died
in Tarrytown, New York, in June, I886; Ira D., of this review; Mrs. Jennie
Kennedy, who was born March 3, I86I, and is a resident of the city of
Coldwater; and Loren H., who was born March 23, I85I, and is now living
in Idaho. The father, Dr. Lewis Johnson, engaged in the practice of medicine in Ohio for a number of years, and after coming to Michigan entered
the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church and for some years devoted
his time to preaching the gospel. He also carried on farming during that
period, living at different times in Butler, Quincy and Coldwater townships,
Branch county. He was a man of strong intellectual endowments and liberal education and his influence was a potent element for good in the various
communities in which he made his home. Throughout Branch county and
wherever he was known he was held in the highest esteem, and his death,
which occurred June i6, I904, was deeply deplored by many who knew
him, and who; still cherish his memory. His wife passed away May 26,
I899.
Ira D. Johnson spent the greater part of his youth in the county of
his nativity, and when about nineteen years of age came with his parents
to Michigan. He was reared upon the home farm and has followed agricultural pursuits for many years, although at the same time he has engaged
in various other business interests. In his early manhood he learned the
cabinetmaker's trade, to which he has since devoted considerable attention.
In 1871 he went to the west, remaining in Iowa and Nebraska until I89o.
Not long after he took up his abode in the west he met and married Miss
Mary Irene Card, the wedding being celebrated on the Ioth of September,
1873. She was born in Broome county, New York, April 9, 1854, a daughter of Ezra and Lucy (Stoughton) Card, both of whom were natives of
Broome county. They were married there and became the parents of four
children: Mrs. Ellen M. Bartholomew, a resident of Missouri; Mason L.
Card, who is living in Tacoma, Washington; Clayton Card, who makes his
home in Grinnell, Iowa; and Mrs. Johnson, of this review. The Card
family removed from the state of New York to Wisconsin in I850, and
afterward remained in the middle west, Mrs. Card dying in Iowa, in April,
1873, while Mr. Card passed away there in I880.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ira Johnson have been born five children: Loren
L. Johnson, born May 5, I875, and now residing in Coldwater, was married in Quincy, Michigan, April Io, I9o0, to Miss Zae Parkinson. They
have one son, Darrell, who was born June 20, I905. Harry E. Johnson,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


365


the second son, born February 8, 1878, was married November 15, I899,
to Miss Ethel Chase, and their home is in Batavia, this county. They have
two children, Chase, born December 27, 9oo0, and Ira Dean, born April
15, I903. Jennie M. Johnson, born December 27, I879, is at home. Irene
E. Johnson, born November 5, I886, died September 8, 1887. Lloyd C.,
who completes the family, was born October I6, I899, and is with his parents.
Since 1899 Mr. Johnson has owned and operated the flouring mill at
Branch, a few miles west of Coldwater. This property has been placed in
excellent shape and Mr. Johnson has built up a fine trade, owing to the
satisfactory product of the mill and his straightforward business dealings.
The mill is equipped with modern machinery and is provided with both
water and steam power, the latter being required only occasionally.  The
Branch mill has been long in operation, but it has never been more popular
with the general public than under the present management, and the business is now proving profitable, returning to Mr. Johnson and his family a
comfortable living. They occupy a pleasant home near the mill.
Mr. Johnson has frequently been called upon to fill positions of public
trust and responsibility. He has served as justice of the peace for several
terms, both in Michigan and Nebraska, and has been a school officer for
many years. He likewise belongs to the Grange, and both he and his wife
are consistent members olf the Methodist Episcopal church. He has a wide
acquaintance in Branch county and stands high in the esteem of his fellowmen, because of his well known fidelity to every cause he espouses and his
allegiance to honorable, manly principles.
WILLIAM    ADDISON STANTON.
William Addison Stanton, following farming on section three, Sherwood township, was born on section nine of this township on the I2th of
September, 1836, and is undoubtedly the oldest native son of Branch county
now living within its borders. His memory forms a connecting link between the primitive past and the progressive present. He is familiar with
all the history of development and progress here, and what to many are
matters of record are to him occurrences of which he has been a witness
or a participant. His father, John Stanton, was a native of New York, and
with his family arrived in Branch county in the spring of 1836, locating
on section nine, Sherwood township, where he secured a tract of raw land.
Not a furrow had been turned or an improvement made on the place, but
he at once began to clear the fields for cultivation and in due time harvested rich crops. He was among the first settlers of the county and he
aided materially in the pioneer development and later improvement of this
section of the state. He married Susan Waldron, also a native of New
York, and his death occurred in his fifty-third year, while his wife lived
to be sixty-six years of age. They were the parents of twelve children, of,
whom William A. is the youngest, and only three are now living, the sisters
being Clarissa and Lydia, the former the wife of Oscar Lincoln of Union
township.




366


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


William A. Stanton was reared in Sherwood township and attended
school held in a little log building furnished after the primitive manner of
the times. The curriculum, too, was very limited, the pupils gaining scarcely
more than a knowledge of reading, writing and arithmetic, although grammar and geography were also taught. Experience and observation, however, have greatly broadened the mind of Mr. Stanton and his reading has
kept him in touch with the progress of the world. In early manhood he
and his brother Edward, now deceased, began operating the old homestead
farm together, and continued its development until i868,, when they divided
the land. In the meantime they had added four hundred and twenty acres.
They purchased the farm now valued at sixteen thousand dollars for one
thousand dollars and borrowed the money with which to make the purchase. The tract, comprising three hundred and fifty-six acres, was all
paid for within six years' time; and when the brothers divided this property
William A. Stanton retained possession of the three hundred and fifty-six
acres, while his brother took the four hundred and twenty acre tract. The
subject of this review continued general farming upon his place until 1884,
when he located on a farm in Union township, his son continuing upon the
old homestead. He then remained a resident of Union township until I904,
when he returned to the other farm. He is now the owner of five hundred
and ninety-six acres of valuable land, all of which lies in Branch county
with the exception of one hundred and twenty acres in Calhoun county. He
sold one farm in Calhoun county in I902 for twelve thousand dollars cash.
He has been a stock buyer, shipping horses to Boston, New York, Buffalo,
Chicago, and other large cities, and has been very successful in this line of
business.
In I860 William A. Stanton was united in marriage to Miss Susan
Robinson, a daughter of Elijah and Fannie (Blodgett) Robinson.  She
was born in New York and was brought by her parents to Branch county
when a little maiden of five summers. Mr. and Mrs. Stanton have become
the parents of six children: Grove, now deceased; Guy, a speculator of
Union township; Gay, who is engaged in dealing in horses in Union township; Gar, of Jackson, Michigan; Effie, the wife of C. H. Johnson, a music
teacher; and Gib W., at home.
Mr. Stanton has been a life-long Republican, voting for every presidential nominee of the party. He has held some local offices, but has never
aspired to political preferment, desiring rather to concentrate his energies
upon his business affairs, in which he has met with signal success. He has
watched Branch county develop from a wild county with only a few white
inhabitants, to a rich agricultural district containing thousands of good
homes and many enterprising towns inhabited by industrious, prosperous,
enlightened and progressive people.  He has participated in and assisted
tne slow, persistent work of development which was necessary to produce
the wonderful change that has been wrought, and at all times his aid has
been counted upon in matters of progressive citizenship. That he has prospered is indicated by his valuable landed possessions at the present time,
and his success is the merited tribute of his own labor.




,    HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                         367
THOMAS P. EVENS.
Thomas P. Evens, who is probably the oldest living resident of Butler
township in years of continued connection therewith, was born in Newstead,
Erie county, New York, on the 24th of December, I834, his parents being
Charles and Hannah (Edmonds) Evens, both of whom were natives of
New York, in which state they were married. They were the parents of
three children when they came to Michigan in July, I837. The mother
had been married twice previous to her marriage to Mr. Evens, her first
husband being a Mr. Holmes, who died in the Empire state, and by whom
she had four daughters: Mrs. Lucinda Mills, Mrs. Amanda White, Mrs.
Caroline Bennett and Mrs. Louise Lampman, all of whom: became residents
of Branch county. Her second husband was a Mr. Wright, and after his
death she married Charles Evens. They were among the first New York
state people to locate in Branch county, and after a residence of four years
here Mr. Evens returned to the Empire state, where he soon afterwarddied. Their children were: Hiram, who was a soldier of the Civil war
and died in Savannah, Georgia, in I864; and Thomas P., of this review.
Mrs. Evens passed away in Quincy. Michigan, in I868.
Thomas P. Evens was reared to manhood among pioneer surroundings in Butler township and has here since lived, having been only three
years of age when brought to Branch county by his parents. He acquired
his education in the public schools and early became familiar with the labors
of the farm. After attaining his majority he was married, March 31, I86o,
at Hillsdale, Michigan. to Miss Frances J. Turner, who was born in the
state of New York, September 22, 1843, a daughter of Royal Turner, a
native of Connecticut, who served in the war of 1812, and whose wife bore
the maiden name of Julia A. Hubbard. Mr. Turner, whose birth occurred
in 1788, passed away in Butler on the I8th of October, I864, and his wife
died in October, I9OI, the county thus losing two of its honored pioneer
settlers. The Turners became residents of Jackson county, Michigan, at
an early day, but afterward returned to New York, and in May, I854,
became permanent residents of Branch county, Michigan, where Mr. Turner
purchased land on section twenty-nine, Butler township.  He afterward
devoted his remaining days to agricultural pursuits, and was regarded as
one of the prominent and valued citizens of the community. In his family
were the following named sons and daughters:   Josephine, who died in
Jackson county, Michigan, in infancy; Jerome, who was a member of the
United States navy during the Civil war, and died in the '6os; William,
who is living in Girard; Mrs. Julia Gee, who died in Butler township in
i86o; Mrs. Frances Evens; and George W. Turner, who is living in Butler.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Evens has been blessed with one son, M.
L. Evens, who was born in Butler, February 24, 1865.  He was reared
to manhood on the home farm and acquired a literary education, including
a course of study in Hillsdale College at Hillsdale, Michigan.  On the
3Ist of December, I890, he wedded Miss Kittie Willard, of Butler. He is
now general agent in western Michigan for the Lamb Fence Company, of




368


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Adrian, Michigan, and travels most of the time, although he still operates
the home farm in Butler. He is considered one of the expert fence men
of the state, having a splendid record for large sales. He makes his home
in Coldwater.
Thomas P. Evens has probably resided longer in Butler township than
any other resident, practically his entire life being passed here. His identification therewith covers sixty-eight years, and he has therefore been a
witness of almost the entire growth and development of the county, his
mind forming a connecting link between the primitive past and the progressive present. He is a man whom it is a pleasure to know, being intelligent and progressive, and though his educational privileges in youth were
limited his native intelligence and attainments have made him one of the
well informed men of his community. He is a forceful speaker and has the
courage of his convictions and his loyalty to his friends and the principles
he espouses is one of his strong and salient characteristics.  In politics he
has been an ardent Republican since the organization of the party, and is
regarded as an authority on political questions in this part of the county.
He attended the first election in Butler township and has missed but one
since then. He always attends the primaries and never misses a Republican county convention, almost invariably going as a delegate. His first
presidential vote was cast for Fremont in I856. He was chosen highway
commissioner of Butler township in I858, and has since held the office much
of the time. He has been constable for numerous terms, as well as deputy
sheriff of the county, and in all life's relations is found true to the trust
reposed in him.
GEORGE GREENWOOD.
George Greenwood, of Coldwater. was born on the I2th of August,
I833, near Manchester, England, and pursued his education at a place
called Rochdale. He enjoyed the advantages afforded by the district schools,
and when he had put aside his text-books he learned the weaver's trade.
Following that pursuit he also filled the position of timekeeper, and to
those lines of business he owed his living in early life.
Before leaving his native country Mr. Greenwood was married, on the
7th of September, 1857, to Miss Harriet Taylor, who died in this country
about six months after their emigration to America, passing away in I863.
She left one daughter, Amanda, who died March I2, I904. On the 28th
of April, 1864, Mr. Greenwood was again married, his second union being
with Deborah Mountford, who was born in New Castle, Stratfordshire,
England, on the 7th of October, 1836. She was reared in the land of her
nativity until twenty-five years of age and came to America with an uncle.
She has been a resident of Coldwater for forty-three years and is one of
the well known citizens here. In 1875 her uncle died and left her a considerable legacy. This she gladly put into her husband's hands, to be used
by him in his business, and Mr. Greenwood gratefully acknowledges how
much he owes for his success to his wife's generous and wise co-operation.
Mr. Greenwood arrived in America in I862 and took up his abode or,






I    11 , I




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


369


North Monroe street when he came to this city. Here he worked at any
employment that would yield him  an honest living and later, when his
industry and frugality had brought to him some capital, he engaged in the
bakery business, which he followed until I879.  Since that time he has
been connected with various business enterprises, and he now owns several
valuable tracts of land in Branch county and also property in the city,
including three store buildings and three dwellings.  He has thus placed
his money in the safest of all investments-real estate-and the rental from
his property now brings him a good income.
Mr. Greenwood has served as a member of the city council for two
years, and has always given his political support to the Republican party.
He is a member of the Episcopal church of Coldwater and has belonged to
the choir since I863. He is deeply interested in everything pertaining to
the growth of the church and the extension of its influence, and has manifested a helpful part in promoting improvement and upbuilding along various
lines here. Since coming to this country he has won the proud American
title of a self-made man, for he had-no capital when he reached Coldwater.
-He possessed, however, strong determination, laudable ambition and unfaltering energy, and he has steadily worked his way upward. His business
career has ever been straightforward, and though he has met many reverses
and obstacles he has overcome these by determined effort.  His industry
has been the key which has unlocked the portals of success and now, in
the evening of life, he is in possession of valuable property interests which
class him with the substantial residents of his adopted country.
CHARLES A. TOMPKINS.
The name of Tompkins is inseparably associated with the history of
Girard township, as members of this family were among the very first setflers of this section to come from New York state and participate in the
subduing of the wilderness.  Although the elder generation of these pioneers has with but one exception, Mrs. Mary Marsh Tompkins, passed
away, nevertheless many of their descendants still reside here and are enjoying the privileges and benefits so bravely struggled for by their parents
and grandparents.
Three brothers of the Tompkins family, which had lived in New York
state for many generations previously, came to Michigan in the thirties,
thleir names being James, Abram and Moses Tompkins.    James was the
first of the Tompkins family to be attracted by the middle west, and he
arrived here several years before his brothers.  Elsewhere in this volume
a complete account is given of his participation in the early development
andl history of this region. Abram was also a pioneer here, although he
went to Iowa in an early day. In that state he grew to prominence, representing his county in the state legislature and filling many other important
offices. He passed the remainder of his days in Iowa, where many of his
direct descendants still live.
The other brother, Moses Tompkins, was born in Schoharie, Scho





370


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


harie county, New York, April 8, 1814, and he passed his early life there,
where he also, grew to manhood. He was married there to, Mary Marsh,
a native of Schenectady county, where she was born June 20, 18I8, her
parents being Charles Marsh and Mary Eddy. Her father was a native
of that county, while her mother was born in Chenango county, that state.
They passed their entire lives in the Empire state, although many of their
children went into; the west.
The marriage of Moses Tompkins and Mary Marsh was consummated
in Schenectady county, June 2, I838, and very soon thereafter they joined
the stream of emigration to, Michigan, coming here the same year. For
two years they lived at Girard Center, and then they removed to section
fifteen, Girard township, where Mr. Tompkins purchased forty acres of
land which was almost wholly uncleared. Here the young couple made
for themselves a comfortable home, here they reared a family and here it
was that Mr. Tompkins died January 29, I879, at the age of sixty-five
years. While a resident of New York state he learned and followed the
trade of painter, a vocation which he also followed some after coming to
Michigan, although here he was also always a farmer. During his residence here he was one of the leading citizens of Girard, standing high in
the regard of his fellow townsmen. He held a number of minor offices and
was also, in 1847 and in I850, treasurer of the township of Girard. Mr.
and Mrs. Tompkins were for many years members and active workers in
the Free Will Baptist society.
Mr. and Mrs. Moses Tompkins had four children, two sons and two
daughters, all of whom grew to manhood and womanhood. One son, Julius
M. Tompkins, was born January 24, 1842. At the outbreak of the Civil
war he enlisted in Company C, of the Seventeenth Michigan Infantry, and
was killed at Spottsylvania Courthouse, in the battle of the Wilderness, May
12, 18164. Marcia and Delphine Tompkins, the two daughters, were born
in Girard and now live with their mother and brother upon the old homestead. Charles A. Tompkins, the other son, was born in Girard, October
13, I840, and his entire life has ben passed here, with the exception of the
period of his service in the Civil war. He enlisted September I6, I86I, in
Company E, First Michigan Infantry, and served during the full term of
his enlistment-three years.  He was wounded three times and received
his honorable discharge October 30, I864. Since the war he has followed
farming as a vocation and is now the owner of one hundred and twelve
acres of fine farming land on sections fourteen and fifteen, Girard township.
He was township treasurer in I866, and he is considered as one of the
solid and substantial citizens of the town and county. Fraternally he is
affiliated with Butterworth Post No. I09, of Coldwater.
Mr. Tompkins, his aged mother and his two sisters occupy the old
homestead on section fifteen, where they have a comfortable home. Mrs.
Mary Tompkins, although past eighty-seven years of age, is physically as
active and as alert mentally as most people of one-half her age. She still
insists upon performing her share of the ordinary household duties, and
she possesses an entertaining fund of reminiscence, her memory serving her




I -- I -~-~~~ —~-~I-~ ----~~,,




,






Al




i::
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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


371


well, as relating to the many stirring incidents of the pioneer days. She
is one of the very few pioneers of this section remaining with us to-day,
and she is passing her remaining days in the company of her children,
happy in the consciousness of an industrious and useful life, well spent.
The old homestead on section fifteen is held jointly by members of the
family, and nearly their entire lives have been passed thereon.
JOSEPH W. McCAUSEY.
Joseph W. McCausey, president of the Union City National Bank, whose
intense and well directed activity has made him a prominent factor in business
circles in Branch county, was born in Ira township, Cayuga county, New
York, his natal day being July i6, 1854. His father, Thomas C. McCausey,
was born in Washington county, New York, and was a farmer by occupation.
Thinking to, better his financial condition in the west he came to, Branch
county in 1863, settling in Union township, where he carried on farming
until he put aside active business cares. He was a consistent and faithful
member of the Methodist Episcopal church and in his life he displayed many
of the sterling characteristics of his Scotch ancestry. He married Elsie A.
Hardenburgh, who was born near Port Byron, New York.        His death
occurred on September 27, I904, when he was eighty-one years of age, and
his widow is now living at the age of eighty-one. They were the parents of
three children, two sons and a daughter.
Joseph W. McCausey, the youngest of the family, was but nine years
of age when he came with his parents to Branch county. He was educated
in the public schools here and in the State Normal School, from which he
was graduated with the class of 1873. He afterward engaged in; teaching
for three terms in the district schools of Branch county and later gave his
attention to farming in Union township, but thinking that he would find
other pursuits more congenial in I88o he secured a position as bookkeeper
in the Union City National Bank, serving in that capacity for a year and a
half. In December, 1882, he went to Quincy as cashier of the First National
Bank, there remaining until 1883, when he returned to Union City to become
cashier of the Union City National Bank. He thus served until the death
of Ezra Bostwick in I895 and in January, I896, he was elected to the presidency and has since remained at the head of the institution. A safe,
conservative policy was inaugurated and has always been followed. Mr.
McCausey, because of his long connection with the banking business, is
thoroughly familiar with it in every department and much of its success is
directly attributable to his efforts. He has always been interested in the
lumber business, being connected with the Union City Lumber Company
as treasurer, the principal office being at Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is
likewise connected with A. J. Beyor in the lumber business in the northern
part of the state and is treasurer of the Northwestern Lumber Company
operating in Wisconsin. He is thus associated with commercial and industrial interests of importance and is widely recognized as a man of superior
business discernment, executive force and unfaltering enterprise.
In 1883 occurred the marriage of Joseph W. McCausey and Miss




372


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Rebecca A. Sager, a daughter of Joseph Sager, of Kalamazoo county, Michigan. They now have three children: Elsie T., Thomas W. and Mary Louise.
Mrs. McCausey is a native of Michigan, born in Climax, Kalamazoo county,
May. 29, I855, a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Foote) Sager. Her parents
are both deceased. Mrs. McCausey is a lady of more than ordinary education and culture. She is a graduate of the Kalamazoo High School in the
class of I876, and was one of the successful and meritorious educators in her
native state, having been in the profession for nine years.  She had
taught school'prior to her graduation. For five years she was one of the
teachers of the Union City Public Schools, and also taught in Manistee,
Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. McCausey have taken due pride in the education
of their children. Elsie T. is a graduate of the Union City public schools,
and is now a junior in Wellesley College. Thomas J. W. is a graduate of
the class of I904 in the Union City schools, and is now a student at the
well known Ferris Institute, in Big Rapids, Michigan. Mary Louise also
graduated in the class of 1904 at Union City public schools and is now a
freshman in AW\ellesley College. Mrs. McCausey is a devoted member of the
First Congregational church at Union City, Michigan, and is superintendent
of the Sunday School, having officiated as such for years. Mr. McCausey
has been a life-long Republican and has taken an active interest in the work
of the party, his labors proving an important factor in molding the policy
of the party and in securing its success in Branch county. He was supervisor
of his iownship in I88o, I88i and 1882, and resigned at the time of his
removal to Quincy. He was also school commissioner for several years and
is now serving on the town council and on the school board of Union City,
being an incumbent in the latter office since taking up his abode here. A
prominent Mason, he has attained the Knight Templar degree and he is
also a member of the Mystic Shrine and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He belongs to the First Congregational church, has served as one
of its trustees for many years, is now its treasurer and is one of its most
active and helpful workers. For forty years he has resided in Branch county,
a period which has witnessed rapid growth and substantial development here.
This result has been produced by the united efforts of many able men but
probably no single individual has done more for the development of Union
City than Mr. McCausey, yet in a quiet, unostentatious way. In manner
he is courteous and pleasant, winning friends by his genial disposition and
honorable character which command the respect of all. In every relation
of life he has been faithful and true, and in his work of public and private
nature, eventful and varied as it has been, no shadow of wrong or suspicion
of evil darkens his honored pathway.
KIRKLAND B. ETHERIDGE.
Kirkland B. Etheridge, who is conducting a feed and exchange mill
in Quincy, was born here on the I6th of January, 1846. His father, Samuel
Etheridge, was one of the pioneer residents of this part of the state, arriving
here in 1836, at which time he located in Coldwater. A millwright by trade,
he erected the first flouring mill in Branch county.  He was a man of




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


373


marked influence and public spirit and his efforts in behalf of the general
good were far-reaching and beneficial.  He represented his district in the
state legislature in I839 and I840, at which time the general assembly convened at Detroit. He was also justice of the peace for a number of years,
and every trust reposed in him  was faithfully performed.  In 1845 he
removed from  Coldwater to Quincy and carried on general agricultural
pursuits just west of the town. In early life he was a member of the Baptist church, but subsequently became a communicant of the Episcopal church,
and his fraternal affiliation was with the Masons.  He married Cynthia
Maria Ingham, who was born in Herkimer county, New York, in I8o6,
and like her husband was a representative of an old New England family.
Samuel Etheridge died in I864 at the age of seventy-six years, while his
wife survived until 1886. Further mention of Mr. Etheridge is made in
connection with the sketch of A. Munson Etheridge on another page of
this work.
Kirkland B. Etheridge was educated in the schools of Quincy and was
reared to farm life, remaining upon the home farm until eighteen years of
age. The Civil war being then inaugurated, he responded to the country's
need and enlisted as a member of Company E, Fourth Michigan Volunteer
Infantry, under command of Captain John W. Spear. He served with that
company for two years and was in the Army of the Cumberland in Rosecrans' Brigade, Third Division, Fourth Army Corps. He- went to the front
as a musician and was mustered out as corporal at Houston, Texas, June 13,
1866, receiving an honorable discharge at Detroit.  This was one of the
last regiments discharged from the service.
When the war was over Mr. Etheridge returned to Branch county,
where he worked at the cooper's trade, and afterward at carpentering, but
eventually he returned to the farm and has since carried on general agricultural pursuits, although at the present time he is not active in farming
operations, having rented his land in Quincy township, comprising a tract
of one hundred and five acres. In the fall of 1903 he bought the knitting
factory and transformed it into a mill, fitting it up with machinery for the
grinding of all kinds of feed, so that he now conducts a feed and exchange
mill.
In 1875 Kirkland B. Etheridge was married to Miss Emma Newberry,
a daughter of Peter and Hannah Newberry. Mrs. Etheridge was born in
Quincy in I849.  There is one son by this marriage, Moreau Newberry
Etheridge, who was born in Quincy, August 12, 1884, and is a graduate
of the high school here of the class of I904. In the fall of the same year
he entered into partnership with his father, under the firm style of Etheridge & Son.
Mr. Etheridge, his wife and son are members of the Baptist church,
in which they take a very active interest. He has served as trustee of the
church for thirty years. His parents were charter members of the Quincy
Baptist church, and the father was its first clerk and for many years served
as one of its deacons. Mr. Etheridge is a member of the Grand Army of
the Republic and has been commander of C. O. Loomis Post No. 2, the






374


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


oldest post in the state of Michigan, because of the fact that Coldwater
Post No. I lost its charter. He is a Republican in politics, and while in
the army, although only eighteen years of age, cast his first vote for Abraham
Lincoln, obtaining his right of franchise from the fact that he was doing
duty as a soldier. He is a member of the Quincy school board, and the
cause of education finds in him a warm friend. His entire life has been
passed in the village or surrounding district, and he is therefore well known
and is best liked wherever best known. His attention has been largely concentrated upon his business affairs, with the result that he is now controlling
a profitable enterprise, while his farm also yields to him a good financial
return.
ALONZO B. ALLEN.
The farming interests of Branch county are well represented by Alonzo
B. Allen, one of the enterprising and prosperous agriculturists of Coldwater
township, whose property interests comprise two hundred and forty acres
of rich land, the greater part of which is under a high state of cultivation.
Mr. Allen has now passed the seventy-sixth milestone on life's journey, but
in spirit and interests seems yet in his prime. He was born in Pittsford,
Vermont, on the IIth of July, 1829, and is a representative of an old New
England family. His father, John Allen, for many years a leading agriculturist of Branch county, was born in the town of Sudbury, Rutland county,
Vermont, April 29, I8oi, and was descended from Revolutionary ancestry,
prominent among whom was Ethan Allen, the daring commander of the
" Green Mountain boys " at the time of the capture of Fort Ticonderoga.
William Allen, great-grandfather of our subject, was a native of Connecticut and soon after the close of the war for independence removed from that
state to Vermont, becoming a resident of the town of Orwell in Rutland
county. He made his home there with his eldest son William and died at
an advanced age. In early life he learned the shoemaker's trade, which he
followed as a source of livelihood for many years. He took an active part
in the Revolution, serving tinder his illustrious cousin, Colonel Ethan Allen,
with the Vermont troops.
Reuben Allen, grandfather of our subject, was born in the town of
Union, Tolland county, Connecticut, in October, 1763, and was but sixteen
years of age when he enlisted for service with the American army in the
Revolutionary war.  He rendered valuable aid in the struggle for independence and when the republic was an achieved fact he went from Connecticut to Vermont, becoming a resident of Pittsford, Rutland county. There
he was married in 1790 to Miss Rebecca Rhodes, a native of Rhode Island,
and he established his home upon a farm      in the town of Sudbury,
the young couple taking up their abode in a log cabin which Mr. Allen
built, but which he replaced in a few years by a more commodious frame
residence. His time and energies were devoted to general agricultural pursuits and he cleared and cultivated forty-four acres of his land, after which
he sold this place and went to Salisbury, Addison county, Vermont, where
he resided until 1832. That year witnessed his removal to the state of




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


375


New York, and his last years were spent in the home of his son, John Allen,
his death occurring in I836. His wife survived him several years and passed
away at the home of her daughter. They were people of genuine worth and
respectability, whose many excellent traits of character won them the confidence and esteem of those with whom they were associated. Their family
numbered three daughters and three sons, namely: Clara, Sarah, Reuben,
John, Saloma and Elisha.
Tohn Allen, whose birth occurred in Sudbury, Vermont, April 29, i8o0I,
was there reared and educated. He early became familiar with farm labor
and remained on the old homestead until twenty-two years of age, when he
began farming on his own account, purchasing fifty acres of land in Salisbury, Addison county. The tract was covered with a dense growth of timber and there were no improvements upon the place, so that his first work
was the erection of a small frame house. He then commenced to clear and
improve the farm, which he afterward sold, taking up his abode in Pittsford, Rutland county, where he remained until 1832, when he became a
resident of Orleans county, New York. He made the journey between the
two towns with a team as far -s Whitehall and thence by way of Lake Champlain and the Erie canal to his destination. Taking up his abode in the town
of Murray, he resided there until I843, when, attracted by the advantages
that Michigan offered to settlers, he decided to make his way to this state.
Accordingly arrangements for the journey were made, and in company with
his wife and ten childrenle traveled westward in a wagon drawn by horses.
On reaching his destination he purchased one hundred acres of land now included within the city limits of Coldwater, a part of it being occupied by the
railway station. The tract, however, was raw and unimproved at that time,
and again his first work was the building of a house. When this was done
he began to clear and cultivate his fields, and year after year saw a larger
tract plowed and planted, while in the autumns good crops were harvested.
Upon that place he resided until I856, when he sold his property and purchased the farm upon which he continued to reside until his death.  His
second farm he also greatly improved through his careful management, untiring diligence and capable effort, and he erected thereon good farm buildings, including a commodious and substantial dwelling. In all of his farm
work he was practical and progressive, and as the years passed, success
crowned his efforts. Mr. Allen was married three times. He first wedded
Miranda Kelsey, who was born in Salisbury, Vermont, in October, I8oo,
and died in June. 1826, leaving two children, John Edward and Clarissa
Miranda. For his second wife he chose Esther Blackmer, and they became
the parents of eight children, three of whom are yet living, as follows:
Alonzo, Franklin and Martha.  The third marriage of Mr. Allen was to
Mrs. Britana (Jackson) Phetteplace, a native of Oswego county, New York.
Mr. Allen lived to the advanced age of ninety-three years, passing away
on the 29th of September, I89I, while his third wife died a few years previous. He lived to see many changes in his adopted county and in the country as well, for he was a pioneer settler here. His life record covered the




376


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


period of wonderful invention in the United States, including the introduction
of the telegraph and telephone, of the railroad and the wonderful uses of
electricity in many departments of labor. In the early days he performed
his farm work with the machinery and implements such as were common at
the time, hut he also lived to see much change in these as well as invention
brought new and improved machinery. In politics he was always a DemDcrat, never faltering in his allegiance to the party. All who knew him respected him for his genuine worth and his fidelity to principle. As a pioneer
he aided materially in the growth and progress of this section of the state and
was among those who assisted in laying broad and deep the foundation for
the present development of Branch county.
Alonzo B. Allen, whose name introduces this review, was only three
years old when his parents removed from Vermont to New York, and there
he began his education in the public schools, which he attended through the
winter months, while in the summer seasons he worked upon the home
farm. His time was thus occupied until he attained the age of fourteen
years, when the family removed to Michigan, their home being established
in Branch county.  Mr. Allen continued his education as a public school
student in Coldwater and afterward in Hillsdale College at Hillsdale, Michigan, thus acquiring a good education, which enabled him at the age of twentytwo years to become a teacher.  He followed the profession for several
terms, spending the winter months in the school room, while in the summer
seasons he worked in the fields. Throughout his entire life he has been
identified with agricultural pursuits, and he made his first purchase of land
in 1852, becoming owner of a tract lying on sections 35 and 26, Coldwater
township, and still included within his present farm. Only fifteen acres of
the original tract had been improved and upon this a small log cabin and a
log barn had been built. At the time of his marriage Mr. Allen took up his
abode on this place, building a wagon house, in which he lived until he could
erect a frame dwelling.
It was on the 13th of December, I86o, that Mr. Allen was united in
marriage to Miss Hannah Mary Barnes, who was born on the 28th of October. 1836, in Saratoga Springs, New York, a daughter of Smith Barnes, also
a native of the Empire state. Being left an orphan when a young lad, her
father went to reside with an uncle in Saratoga county, New York, where he
made his home until 1851, when he came to Branch county, Michigan, settling in Coldwater township. Here he purchased eighty acres of land on section twenty-seven and resided there until called to his final rest. Hte had
married Miss Deborah Loantha Morehouse, a native of New York and a
daughter of Aaron and Delora (Reynolds) Morehouse. Mr. and Mrs. Allen
have become the parents of four children, but only two are now living: Smith
Allen, born September 28, I86I, married Katie Brown and they reside near
his father. Nellie Allen, born August 26, 1872, was married October II.
1893, to Thaddeus R. Follett, and she and her son, Allen T. Follett, born
April 6. I895, reside on the old homestead with her father, for whom she
acts as housekeeper, for Mrs. Allen, the wife and mother, passed away Sep



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


377


tember 18, I904. Esther M., who was born March 8, I864, died September
27, I868, and Mary Allen, who was born September 27, I868, died on the
3rd of August, 1887.
In his political views Mr. Allen was an earnest Democrat from the time
he cast his first presidential vote for Stephen A. Douglas until I876, when his
political opinions underwent a change and he became an advocate of the
Greenback party.  He still keeps in touch with the questions and issues of
the day and holds decided opinions upon the matters which affect the welfare of the country. He has at various times been an officer in his sclool
district and has represented his town three terms on the board of supervisors.
All matters that tend to advance the interests of the county and promote its
progress and upbuilding receive his endorsement and many tinfies his active
co-operation. He is today one of the honored pioneer settlers of the county,
having for more than six decades resided within its borders, during which
time the greater part of its growth and improvement has been accomplished
until the county today bears little resemblance to the unimproved district into
which the Allen family made their way so long ago. Mr. Allen relates many
interesting incidents of early pioneer times, his mind being stored with
reminiscences of the early days, yet no man rejoices more largely in what
has been accomplished by the county as it has taken on all the evidences of
an advanced civilization. In farm work he has always been active, energetic
and successful and is today the owner of valuable property interests.
CHRISTOPHER SCHAFFMASTER.
Christopher Schaffmaster, whose life of industry and enterprise has
been crowned with success and who is now the owner of a. good farm in
Bronson township, was born in Germany in 1828, his parents being John
Henry and Margaret Christina (Rosenbroke) Schaffmaster. The father was
a brick manufacturer. When Christopher Schaffmaster removed to Michigan in 1853 his father came to America with his family and lived with his
two sons, Christopher and Fritz, for two years, but about I855 removed to
Mattescn township, where he rented forty acres of land that he afterward
purchased. Subsequently he added another forty-acre tract. He had a family of eight children, namely: Anna; Christopher; Fritz; Henry; Margaret,
who died at the age of two years; Barney, who died in I864; Margaret, who
was the second of that name; and George. The father continued to reside
upon his farm until a few years prior to his death, which occurred in January, I885, when he was eighty-two years of age, his birth having occurred
on the Ist of January, 180o3. His wife survived him for a number of years,
passing away in I899.
Christopher Schaffmaster acquired a good education, attending school
until fifteen years of age, when he went to work in his father's brickyard
and mastered the trade, becoming familiar with it both in principle and detail. In I847, at the age of nineteen years, he came to America, hoping that
he might find better business opportunities in the new world where competition was greater, but where advancement was also more quickly secured and




378.


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


where labor gained its just reward, unhampered by caste or class. Landing
on the Atlantic coast he made his way to western New York, settling in
Orleans county, where lived his uncle, who was a contractor in stone and was
also a manufacturer of lime.  Mr. Schaffmaster of this review was employed there from October, 1847, until January, I848, but in the meantime
he determined to become a farmer and resolved to work away from German
associations so that he might learn the American language, knowing that if
he remained among German friends he would continue to use the speech of
the fatherland.  He therefore entered the employ of an American farmer,
with whom he worked for three years. Later he spent two more years in
the service of other farmers of that locality, at the end of which time he and
his brother Fritz, who also came to America, started for Branch county,
Michigan. This was in 1853. Mr. Schaffmaster saved seven hundred dollars and his brother Fritz saved five hundred dollars, which they invested in
ninety-five acres of land on section four, Bronson township. They cleared
this land, cultivating it together for six years and building thereon a residence at a cost of one thousand dollars. Both were energetic, industrious
men, and their labor soon wrought a marked change in the farm which they
owned.
In I86o Mr. Schaffmaster was married, and they began their domestic
life upon this farm. The following year Mr. Schaffmaster purchased his
ibrother's interest, and with a new impetus for energetic and unremitting
labor he so directed his efforts that in I864 he was enabled to extend the
boundaries of his farm by additional purchase, adding a tract of sixty-four
acres. He continued to make his home upon his farm until I899, when he
removed to Bronson. In all of his farming operations he was practical, persevering and progressive and he developed a splendid property. He had
purchased forty acres of land on section three, Bronson township, and about
I887 had purchased fifty-three and a half acres adjoining the town of Bronson, known as the Milo Clark farm. About I898 he bought forty acres on
section eleven of the same township, known as the Frances Ruggles farm.
thus becoming the owner of two hundred and ninety-three and a half acres,
besides their handsome town property in Bronson. He yet retains possession
of all of this and is therefore one of the extensive land owners of his locality. He has followed general farming with excellent success and he feeds
all of his grain to his stock. Mr. Schaffmaster gives his personal supervision to his property, which he works on the shares, though he is now well
advanced in years and leaves the active work of the farm to others.
On November 14, I86o, Christopher Schaffmaster was united in marriage to Miss Mahala La Due, who was born in Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, and
was but a little child when her parents removed to Monroe county, New York,
near Rochester. She was born May 21, I840 and she is the third in a family of five children, two sons and three daughters, born to Cornelius and
Margaret M. (Ostrander) La Due. All are living, namely: Mary L., wife
of Charles Caveney, a resident of Bronson, Michigan, and an agriculturist
by occupation, and both are members of the Methodist Episcopal church;
Henry A., a resident of Byron, New York, and was married three times, the




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


379


present wife having been Mrs. Buchanan; Mrs. Schaffmaster is next in order of birth; Arcelia, wife of John Auten, a farmer of Matteson township;
Willie Jasper, a resident of Monroe county, New York, also follows agricultural pursuits and.is married. Father La Due was born in New York
and was of French lineage. Mother La Due was also a native of New York,
born in the same locality as her husband, and in an early day removed to
western New York. The following memorial appeared at the death of Mr.
La Due: "Cornelius S. La Due, of the town of Sweden, Monroe county,
New York, exchanged worlds June I8, I884, in the seventy-fourth year of
his age. His father was a Methodist local preacher. He was converted in
early life and continued to live a consistent Christian until the summons
came, 'come up higher.'  He esteemed very highly the public means of
grace, remarking, as life was drawing to a close, that he should go to the
house of God as long as he was able to go anywhere, hence he has often been
at church during the past year, while so feeble as hardly to be able to speak
for want of breath; expressing in class by joyful countenance and a few
words his pleasure to testify to the goodness of God. When the church of
his early choice departed in practice from the teachings of the early Methodist fathers he saw fit to come out and identify himself with those who
still believe the world will never find a better creed to lead a man to the skies,
if believed, experienced and practiced, than that taught by John Wesley.
The companion of his youth survives him. May the blessing of God rest
upon her and upon the five children, all grown to mature years, and may
tney follow in their father's ways as he followed Christ." Mrs. Schaffmaster
has always been an able helpmeet and associate to her husband in the years
past and gone, and she has always stood by his side in counsel and advice. She
raised her children to lives of usefulness, and they today fill honored positions in the social circle of their native county. Mr. and Mrs. Schaffmaster
began their lives with small capital, but by energy and filial living they have
accumulated a goodly competency. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Schaffmaster have
been born three children, but Cornelius La Due died at the age of twenty
months. John, who is living on the home farm, married Miss Jennie Fowler,
and has three children: George F.; Homer C., and Esther. Dora is the wife
of George Carter, a resident farmer of Bethel township.
Mr. and Mrs. Schaffmaster are members of the Methodist Episcopal
church of Bronson, in which she is steward and he is trustee, and both have
been teachers. As soon as possible after coming to America he took out his
naturalization papers, and when the right of franchise was conferred upon
him he became a staunch Republican, and has never faltered in his allegiance
to the party. He was loyal to his adopted country in her time of need, and
took a man to Kalamazoo and paid eight hundred and ten dollars for a substitute, although not drafted.  He has been a man of principle, and with
the aid of his good wife has accomplished great success.  He has been a
member of the school board for several years and was highway commissioner
for one year. Whatever the duty that has devolved upon him, it has been
faithfully performed, and he has always stood for progressiveness in citizenship as well as in private life. In his farming operations he has done




38(


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


much to advance a high standard among agriculturists. He resolved to be
a leader rather than a follower, and he has been the first to introduce much
improved farm machinery in this part of the county. He had the first binder
and had a windmill upon his place twelve years before any other was found
in the locality. He also had in his home the first organ in the township.
Whatever has tended to promote his work and to facilitate farming interests
has received his endorsement and attention, and he has been quick to adopt
any new methods which promise of practical value. Having now passed
the seventy-fifth milestone on life's journey he is largely enjoying rest from
further labor and is surrounded by all of the comforts and many luxuries
which go to make life worth the living and which have been secured through
his own well directed efforts. He wisely determined in early manhood to
come to the "land of the free," and here, where labor finds its just reward,
he has worked persistently and energetically until he is today one of the
prosperous farmers of Bronson' township.
SIMON    B. KITCHEL.
Simon B. Kitchel was born at Auburn, Cayuga county, New York, in
the year I839, and died at Coldwater, Michigan, July 31, I905. About the
year I870 he was married to Theresa M. Jordan, and to them was born one
son, Hiram Kitchel, who, survived his father, an only child. In the year
I892 his wife, Mrs. Theresa M. Kitchel, died, and in the following year he
married Miss Carrie Krebs, who survived him as his widow. Much deserved credit was always accorded these faithful companions by Mr. Kitchel
for the great assistance they rendered in the successes that came to him.
Simon B. Kitchel, considered from his boyhood to the day of his death,
was a typical American citizen of the Nineteenth Century. As a boy his
pathway was beset with all the hardships and privations of poverty. His
parents were poor. He had no influential friends except such as he must
attract by his own efforts and worth. Through work and self denial he supported himself and not only obtained a good primary education but attended
for a few terms a neighboring academy.
August 2I, 1862, he enlisted as a private in the Eighth Independent
Company of New York State Sharp Shooters, and for his great gallantry and
coolness while with this organization was specially mentioned and complimented in the history of the regiment. When the Forty-third Regiment of
United States Sharp Shooters (colored troops) was organized, the prejudice
of the Confederate army was so great against the use of colored troops by the
North that it was not easy to obtain efficient officers who cared to face the
dangers of capture. Young Kitchel, however, was ready to enlist and by
reason of his proficiency and capacity he was promoted from: time to time,
until on the Ioth day of April, I864, he was made first lieutenant of Company I in the above regiment. He was in numerous engagements, twentyfive or more, during the service, including the capture of Richmond April 3,
I865.
After the close of the war Lieutenant Kitchel found his way first to




!  '   _ t I




I;




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


381


Ohio,, where he taught school for a year or two, and then came on to Coldwater, settling in this city in the year I868. He had overcome all obstacles
in the boyhood pathway, he had. served well and honorably his country in
war, and now without capital or influence he found himself in a new home
where he must carve his own future and make his own fortune. By hard
struggles and through many privations he completed his law studies and
began the practice of his chosen work. At odd spells while in the army
and after its close he had taken up and pursued the study of stenography,
until he had become a proficient artist in that branch, and which served him
to great advantage in the practice of his profession. He was also an artist
in fine penmanship. So popular had Mr. Kitchel become as a young lawyer
and citizen that in 1876 he was nominated and elected prosecuting attorney
of the county and was re-elected to the same office in 1878. He was afterward honored by his neighbors and by the city in being made a member of
the board o'f education, mayor of his city, etc.
He was always an ardent member of the Republican party and believed
in an honest square deal in caucus or election. He hated rings and bosses
and always fought trickery. His position was always known and he never
wore two faces. The last political effort of his life was for a law providing
for the reform of the primary election system. He abhorred the abuses
attendant upon the modern caucus and convention and earnestly advocated
radical changes in the law. Both personally and through his paper he became a prominent state factor in this fight.
His mind and genius were never idle, and his plans seldom miscarried.
He was not an impractical dreamer. He studied men and their wants. It
was through his keen observation and genius that he compounded the liniment that afterward became world famous. Through his pluck and perseverance, without capital and single handed, he organized the manufacture,
sale and business; he pushed the enterprise, until at his death Kitchel's Liniment had become a familiar name the country over.
He loved good horses and for twenty years or more owned the best
he could buy. At his death he had twenty-five or more of the finest bred
colts in the whole country. He often drove his own horses in speed contests, but never bet or invested a dollar in pools or wagers. In his habits
he was strictly temperate, and never touched intoxicating liquor as a
beverage or used tobacco in any form.
~  He was exceedingly fond of shooting and during the season for bird
hunting would spend many days with his dogs tramping through the woods,
and he generally returned with well filled bags. For some years prior to
his death he went South, accompanied by his wife, for a few months each
winter, taking his guns and dogs for recreation.
At different times he owned some fine launches, first upon the lakes
about Coldwater and afterward some very elaborate and beautiful ones.
In one of them he spent several weeks with his wife in a cruise down the
inland route along the Atlantic coast and up some of the rivers emptying into
the Atlantic. Later he had an elaborate and finely appointed launch constructed for him in Providence, Rhode Island, and with his wife and son,




382              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
Horace, cruised the Long Island Sound, up the Hudson, through the Erie
Canal, across Lake Erie to Detroit. These trips were to him the height of
enjoyment.
When the automobile came Mr. Kitchel watched and studied its advent
and improvements, and during the last two years of his life enjoyed greatly
the best machines he could buy, bringing to Coldwater the first touring
cars owned in the city.
Perhaps no undertaking, however, redounded to his home credit with
greater appreciation than the establishment and maintenance of the Coldwater Daily and Semi-weekly Reporter. The success of this enterprise was
due solely and alone to his daring and push. No! expense was denied or
refused to make the paper the best. The circulation so rapidly increased that
it became equal to if not greater than that of any paper in the state published
in towns of no greater size. Two linotype machines, with corresponding
presses and equipment, were added, until it was at the time of his death one
of the best appointed offices in the state.
Socially he loved his home and his friends and cared little for the society of strangers. It mattered little to him whether his friends were rich
or poor, their real worth was all that appealed to him.
While he always had the best of everything himself, he was not given
to display, nor to any extravagance for mere show. The vein of humor in
him was seemingly inexhaustible and original. His memory seldom lost
anything and whether hours, days or years elapsed he could recall with detailed accuracy conversations and incidents with such precision that he afforded his friends and companions, wherever he was, both pleasure and
entertainment.
No man ever questioned his integrity, word or honesty. In charities he
was liberal and generous and his hand was always extended to a worthy
cause. His giving was not published by heralds, but was exercised with
observation. He was true to a friend. He was cordial, generous and open
when he was with him and he would guard and defend his good name when
he was absent.  What better test oif friendship? He died having left a
deep impress for good. His struggles in youth for support and education
are worthy of emulation. The services he rendered to his country in war
call for the gratitude of every citizen. While his honesty and character,
his clean and temperate life, his genius and energy, the useful enterprises
he organized and left, unite with common voice in deserved praise of the
life and accomplishments of Simon B. Kitchel.
MILO D. CAMPBELL.
JAMES R. DICKEY.
James R. Dickey may without invidious distinction be classed as a foremost citizen of Coldwater, being influential in public affairs, in which his
ability and devotion to the general good well qualify him for leadership. As
county treasurer and county clerk he has made a most creditable record, and
at the present time he is representing the First ward of the city on the board
of supervisors.






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


383


Mr. Dickey was born in Niagara county, New York, February 14, I847,
his parents being-James and May T. (Appleby) Dickey. The father was a
native of Washington county, New York, and was a blacksmith by occupation. He came to Branch county, Michigan, in March, 1852, settling in Coldwater, where he worked for about six months, when he began farming in
Quincy township, there carrying on general agricultural pursuits until his
death, which occurred in the '7os. His political views accorded with Republican principles, and although he was never an aspirant for office, he was
always loyal to the party to which he gave his support. His wife was a
native of Alleghenv county, New York, and died when about sixty years of
age. They were the parents of four'children, of whom one died in childhood.
James R. Dickey, the third child and third son of the family, was about
five years old when brought by his parents to Branch county. He was educated in the district schools and in Coldwater, where he attended the high
school and in the summer months he followed farming, looking after the
interests of his father's place. He early learned the value of industry and
-integrity as forceful factors in a business career, and these have ever characterized his life. As a companion and helpmate for life's journey he chose
Miss Emily P. Smith, to whom he was married July 3, 1873. She was a
daughter of Daniel Smith. Mr. and Mrs. Dickey began their domestic life
upon the farm and he continued its cultivation until 1876, when called to
public office by popular ballot. He removed to Coldwater to enter upon the
duties of county treasurer, to which position he had been elected on the Republican ticket, receiving the largest majority given any man in the county.
He was re-elected in I878, and in I88I he was chosen county clerk, which
position he filled for twelve consecutive years, a longer period than any other
incumbent in that office during the history of Branch county. In I8Q)2 he
was defeated for nomination in one of the most hotly contested political
fights ever known in the history of the county. In I893 he filled the position
of city clerk and the following year he entered upon the work of making
the annotations attached to the law books of the different states. His patent
is now handled all over the country, and in the interest of the business Mr.
Dickey himself traveled through many states of the Union. His work has
received the commendation of many of the most prominent lawyers of the
country and also of the senate of Wisconsin, who in session advocated the
use of his patent. In 1904 he was elected supervisor from the First ward
and is now occupying that position.
Mr. and Mrs. Dickey have one daughter, Dora Duella. Fraternally he
is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient
Order of United Workmen. His residence in the county covers more than
a half century and he is prominent locally, having the warm friendship and
high regard of the majority of the citizens of this part of the state. Ov!er the
record of his official career there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of
evil, and he has rendered valuable service to the county in the faithful discharge of the duties that have devolved upon him.






384


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


ISAAC TOWER.
Isaac Tower is one of the venerable residents of Union City, having
passed the eighty-third milestone on life's journey. He is honored by all
because his life has been upright and has also been crowned with successful
accomplishment in the business world. In more intimate commercial circles
he has gained warm friendships and today he is esteemed by young and old,
rich and poor throughout Branch county. His birth occurred in. Windsor
county, Vermont, June 13, 1822. His father, Abram Tower, is supposed
to have been a native of the Green Mountain state and was born March 9,
I781, while his death occurred January 15, 1857. He married Bethia, Field,
also a native of Vermont, horn December 4, I786. She passed away September I, 1839,.
Isaac Tower, the eighth in order of birth in their family of ten children, was reared in the county of his nativity and with the exception of four
years spent in New Hampshire remained a resident of Vermont until twentyeight years of age. He attended the common schools there and after arriving at years of maturity he sought a companion and helpmate for life's journey, being married in Charleston, New Hampshire, April 2, 1849, to Miss
Mary Corbin, who was there born October 16, 1829, her parents being Ezbond
and Lucretia (Howe) Corbin.    In their family were ten children, all of
whom became residents of Branch county, but only five are now living.
Mrs. Tower has a twin sister, Martha, who is the widow of Hiram Crissy,
and Mrs. D. C. Mosley is also their sister. Their brother, Captain Henry
Corbin, resides in Union City and they have another brother in Sherwood.
Mr. Tower also has a sister living, Mrs. Henry L. Bisbee, whose home is in
Athens, Calhoun county, Michigan.
Mr. and Mrs. Tower removed from the east to Branch county in the
year of their marriage, locating in Union City, where he established a boot
and shoe store, carrying on business with gratifying success until I865. lHe
then sold out and took up his abode on a farm in Burlington, Calhoun county,
where he lived for four years, after which he returned to Union City, establishing his home in the house which has since sheltered him.  The first
township election was held in this house. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Tower were
born two sons: Willis, who was born November 1I5, i856i, and is now engaged in the boot and shoe business in Union City, and Newton E., who was
born November 26, I857, and is now postmaster of this place. He is married and has two children: Harold N. E. and Marjorie E.
Mr. and Mrs. Tower celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary in
1899, having for a half century traveled life's journey together, sharing with
each other its joys and sorrows, its adversity and prosperity, their mutual
love and confidence increasing as the years have gone by. They have now
been man and wife for fifty-six years, and all of their married life has been
spent in Branch county. Since the organization of the Republican party Mr.
Tower has been one of its stalwart advocates and has held a number of local
offices in the town, never faltering in the performance of any duty that has
devolved upon him in this connection. He is one of the honored pioneer set









HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


385


tiers here and his labors have contributed in substantial measure to the uplbuilding and progress of this section of the state.  His; success in business
was the result of honest, persistent effort in the line of honorable and manly
lealing. His aim has always been to attain to the best and he has carried
forward to successful completion whatever he has undertaken.  His life has
marked a steady growth and now he is in possession of an ample competence,
anid, more than all, has that contentment which comes from a consciousness
of having lived for a worthy purpose.
WILLIS H. TOWER.
Willis H. Tower, a representative of commercial interests in Union
Citv, where he has engaged in business as a dealer in boots and shoes, was
hlere born November I5, I856, being the elder son of Isaac and Mary Tower,
w-lo are yet residents of Union City. He began his education in the colmmon
schools, passed through successive grades until he had become a high scholol
student and later entered Olivet College at Olivet, Michigan. He began his
lbusiness career as a salesman in the shoe store of Samuel Corbin, with whom
lie remained for two or three years, and on the expiration of that period he:nd his brother, Newton E., established a shoe store in this city under the
fi-rl name of Tower Brothers.  They were thus associated for twenty-five
years. At the end of that time Willis Tower purchased his br:other's interest
and has since conducted business independently. From the beginning he has
enjoyed a large patronage, and his enterprising methods, the large line of
p ()ds which he carries and his honorable methods constitute the basis of
his prosperity.
In I88o Mr. Tower was united in marriage to Miss Ida E. Canniff, a
(laughter of Enos and Lucy Canniff.  She was born in Hudson, Michigan
and pursued her education in the schools there. By this marriage there is
(ine child, Dr. Lee H. Tower, who is now engaged in the practice of medicine in Centerville and is a graduate of the University of Michigan of the
class of 1904.
In connection with his other business interests Willis Tower is a (lirector in the Union City National Bank. While his mercantile affairs make
heavy claims upon his time and attention, lie has yet found opportunity to
plerform capable service in behalf of his fellow townsmen, and his aid is
alwiays counted upon to further any movement for the public good.    In
politics lie has been a life-long Republican and has served as a member of
the school board. In the Masonic fraternity he is connected with the lodge and
the Order of the Eastern Star, and his wife is a member of the Congregational church. He has lived his life of fifty years in this county and is well
known. A man of wide experiences and broad mind, of marked enterprise
and good discernment, he has many friends throughout this part of the state
and is classed with the representative merchants and valued citizens of Union
City.






386


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


WARD C. GRUNER.
In the history of the agricultural development of Branch county mention should be made of Ward C. Gruner, who resides on section two, Batavia township, and he has spent his entire life in Branch county, giving his
attention to agricultural pursuits since he attained his majority.  He was
born in Coldwater township on the Ist of January, I866. His father, Werizel Gruner, was a native of Wittenberg, Germany, and on crossing the Atlantic to America spent five years in the state of New York, after which he
came to Michigan, settling in Coldwater township at an early period in its
development. There he secured a tract of land and became one of the prosperous farmers of the county, devoting his time and energies to general
agricultural pursuits up to the time of his demise, which occurred when he
was fifty-five years of age. He married Miss Emily Randall, who is represented elsewhere in this work.
Ward C. Gruner is the fourth of their children and was reared in Coldwater township upon the old home farm. At the usual age he entered the
district schools, and acquired a fair English education. Through the period
of his youth he assisted in the labors of the old homestead and when twentyone years of age started out in life on his own account. In I889 he purchased
the farm whereon he now resides, took up his abode there and has made excellent improvements since, including the erection of substantial barns and a
good residence. These are surrounded by well tilled fields, and he annually
gathers golden harvests for the reward which he bestows upon his land.
On the 20th of November, 1889, Mr. Gruner was married to Miss Delia
Graf, a daughter of Willard and Martha Graf, and unto them have been born
three children, Carl W., Ruth M. and Mina Laura, all of whom are attending
school. Mr. Gruner has eighty acres of land, devoted to general farming
and stock raising.  He has been a life-long resident of Michigan and his
life exemplifies the progressive spirit which has been the dominant factor in
the substantial and rapid development of this part of the country. In politics
he is an earnest Republican, has served as highway commissioner and, is now
a member of the school board.  He has taken an active interest in public
affairs and is a member of the Grange, No. 95.
HON. MILO DEWITT CAMPBELL.
Hon. Milo Dewitt Campbell, prominent in Republican circles in Michigan and wielding a wide influence in public thought and action, was born
on his father's farm in Quincy township, Branch county, October 25, I851,
his parents being Rollin Madison and Susan Ann Campbell. In the paternal
line he comes of Scotch lineage, while the maternal ancestry is traced back
to England. His parents were born in western New York, and in I848 came
to Michigan, settling in Branch county, where the father followed the occupation of farming.
Milo Dewitt Campbell was reared in the usual manner of farm lads and
attended the country schools until fourteen years of age, after which he be



r




Residence of Milo D. C


Aampbell




/kh7






0 f~fI




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


387


came a student in the city schools of Coldwatef, and there he was graduated
on the completion of a high school course with the class of I87I. He afterward matriculated in the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, and the year
of his graduation there was I875. His father being a farmer of limited
financial resources was not able to aid his son in securing an education, but
allowed him the privilege of working as a farm hand in the summer months,
and with the wages thus earned Mr. Campbell met the expense of his high
school and normal courses. When seventeen years of age he began teaching.
and alternately devoted his attention to attending school and to the work of
instruction in the schoolroom until he had completed his own education. Predilection led him to the study of law, and in I877 he was admitted to the bar.
For ten years thereafter he practiced in the town of Quincy, Michigan, and
soon rose to prominence in his profession, gaining a lucrative practice. In
I886 he removed to Coldwafer, where he has since resided, and here he
entered into a partnership with Clayton C. Johnson, who had been a law student
in his office. This relation has continued uninterruptedly and the firm enjoys
a large patronage.  The favorable opinion which the world passed upon Mr.
Campbell at the outset of his career has in no degree been set aside or modified, but on the contrary has been strengthened as the years have passed and
he has demonstrated his ability to handle intricate legal problems.  In addition to his law practice he has business interests in the Coldwater National
Bank and the Southern Michigan National Bank.
Mr. Campbell is equally prominent in political circles and perhaps is
even more widely known as a Republican leader than as a lawyer.  He has
held several positions of honor and trust, the first office to which he was
called having been that of county school commissioner.  He was elected
to that office when only twenty-one years of age, and subsequently he was
chosen by popular vote to the office of circuit court commissioner of Branch
county.  In 1885 he was elected to represent his district in the state legislature and in January, 1887, when Governor Luce was inaugurated as chief
executive of the commonwealth, Mr. Campbell became his private secretary
and was the incumbent in that office for four years.  In 1891 he was appointed by Governor Winans as the Republican member of the state board
of inspectors, having charge of all the penal and reformatory institutions of
the state, together with the pardon board.  He was made president of this
board and served for two years, or until the law creating this board was
changed.  He was appointed by Governor John T. Rich a member of the
railroad and street crossing board of inspectors in I893, and served for one
term and in 1897 he received appointment as commissioner of insurance by
Governor Pingree, holding that office for two years, when at the solicitation
of the governor he was appointed a member of the board of state tax commissioners. He then became its president and served as such until the close
of Governor Pingree's term  of office.  He has been elected three times
mayor of the city of Coldwater, in I902, I903 and I904, and as a delegate
has attended many district, state and national conventions of the Republican
party as well as international and national conferences of the board of correction and charities.  He was a delegate to the national conference at






388


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


New York to prepare extradition agreements between the states.  He has
made a close study of questions that have arisen in connection with the discharge of the many duties that have devolved upon him in an official capacity
and has labored for the benefit of the state along practical lines for improvement in connection with the work for the benefit of the classes who do not
hold themselves amenable to the law and must therefore be placed under
restriction.
Fraternally Mr. Campbell is a member of the Patrons of Husbandry
and is also a Knight Templar and an Elk.  He holds membership with the
Presbyterian church of Coldwater and his career has been marked by conduct consistent with his professions.  He is a man of broad humanitarian
principles and has never faltered in the performance of any duty in connection with his public service.
Mr. Campbell was married in Quincy, Michigan, October I8, I876, to
Miss Marion Florence Sears.  They have an adopted daughter, Jessie May,
who became a member of their household when three years of age.  The
family enjoy pleasing, social relations and are numbered among the prominent representatives of the social life of Coldwater.  They own and occupy
a large and attractive modern residence on East Chicago street.
HENRY A. GRAVES.
Henry A. Graves, formerly identified with the mercantile interests as a
grocer and now agent for the United States Express Company at Quincy,
was born at Clear Lake, Steuben county, Indiana, November 25, 1856. His
father, Orval Graves, was born in Granville, Licking county, Ohio, September 23, I8I7. The grandfather and great-grandfather both bore the name
of Enoch Graves, and the former, born in Granville, Massachusetts, in I795,
went to Ohio with his father, Enoch Graves, Sr., who traveled westward with
a colony and founded the town of Granville, giving to it the name of their
old home in New England. The Graxves family is of Anglo-Saxon lineage.
and the name was originally DeGreaves. The first representative of the
family in America arrived in 1632, settling in Massachusetts, and later generations went to Connecticut.
Orval Graves removed from Ohio to Steuben county, Indiana, in I854.
He was a farmer by occupation and he purchased four eighty acres of'land
of the original purchaser, who had obtained it from the government, and
Mr. Graves of this review has in his possession the original patent deeds for
each eighty. On the 7th of April, I865, Orval Graves became a resident of
Quincy and remained in the village for four years, after which he took up
his abode on a farm two miles west of Quincy, which he had previously purchased and on which he remained until his death on the 9th of February,
1889. He was a man of strong convictions, honorable and upright in his
daily walk in life. and was a consistent member of the Presbyterian church,
in which he long held office. He gave his political support to the Republican
party, 'but had no aspirations for preferment in that direction. He stood
high in the regard of friends and neighbors, all who knew him entertaining




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


389


for him warm regard. He married Elvira Saxton, who was born in Malone,
Franklin county, New York, October 8, 1823, and is now living in Quincy.
She was a daughter of Ebenezer and Lois (Brigham) Saxton, in whose family were eight children, while her husband was one of a family of four children, of whom one is now living, Alva Graves, who is a music teacher residing at Battle Creek, Michigan. Mrs. Graves was of English lineage. Unto
this marriage there were born five children: Elmer E., Lillie, Ella and Burton 0., all now deceased.
Henry A. Graves, who was the fourth in order of birth, began his education in the schools of Quincy and continued his studies in Valparaiso, Indiana. He taught for five years in the district schools of Quincy township,
an(t was superintendent of schools in the state reformatory of Connecticut at
Meriden for a time. In the spring of I883 he embarked in the grocery business in Quincy, successfully conducting a store until 1895. He also had the
agency of the United States Express Company. In the fall of I895 he sold
the business and in the spring of I896 went to Fostoria, Ohio, where he
took charge of the United States express office. After remaining at that
-place for two years he returned to Quincy and again engaged in the grocery
anid express business. He had a well appointed store, which he conducted
until January, I905, when he sold out to his son-in-law, George P. Comstock,
and John R. Norcutt, but retained the agency of the express company, and
is now conducting the office at this point. Mr. Norcutt is now out of busiiess in Quincy, and Mr. Graves has charge of the United States Express
Company, and the firm is now Comstock and Company, Mr. Graves being the
company.
On the Ioth of August, 1881, Mr. Graves was united in marriage to
Miss Jennie Boon, a daughter of Rodney and Hannah (Carr) Boon of Roseville, Illinois. She died Tune I6, I892, in the thirty-fourth year of her age,
leaving a daughter, Nellie E., who is now the wife of George P. Comstock.
On the 27th of September, I893, Mr. Graves was married to Miss Lulu D.
Smith, a daughter of J. C. and Viola Smith of Cleveland, Tennessee. Mrs.
1Graves was born in Quincy, Michigan, July io, I870, and there were two
children by this marriage:  Howard A., born March 14, I895 and Marguerite Viola, who was born November 14, 1897, and died lanuary TI, I900.
Mr. and Mrs. Graves are members of the Presbyterian church. in which
he is serving- as one of the trustees, and for a number of years he was superintendent of the Sunday school. In the work of the church he has taken a
deep and helpful interest. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, Mt. Vernon Lo:dge No. I66, in which he has taken the York Rite degrees- Ouincy
Chapter No. II5, Royal Arch Masons; Mt. Moriah Council No. 6. at Coldwater, and Jacob's Commancery No. 10, Coldwater; and Saladin Temple,
A. A. 0. N. M. S., Grand Rapids, and belongs also, to the Knights of Pythias
fraternity, Quincv Iodge No. 201; the Woodmen Camp No. I1o66, and tlhe
Eastern Star No. I2, and has filled all of the chairs in subordinate lodges.
In politics he is a Republican and has been a member of the council, also
village treasurer and township treasurer and township superintendent of
schools. Ie is now serving as township chairman of the Republican com

I            I      -   I I 1   I    1,11 "I'' ----... ll-,", -,, -     , I






390


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


mittee, and has received his commission as postmaster of Quincy.  He is
recognized as one of the local Republican leaders, and has also been very
active and helpful in church work. He is popular with many friends and
esteemed by all who know him, and is justly regarded as one of the representative citizens of Quincy.
CHARLES W. BENNETT.
Charles W. Bennett, at one time prominently connected with business
interests in Coldwater and now living retired, was born in the town of Rollin,
Lenawee county, Michigan, August I4, 1838, his parents being Hiram Harrison and Caroline A. (Holmes) Bennett. The father and mother were both
natives of the state of New York, the former born near Schenectady.and the
latter near Batavia. They were married in Michigan and settled in Lenawee
county, there living for about eight years, after which they removed to the
township of Butler, Branch county, where they arrived in June, I845. Subsequently they took up their abode in Quincy, where the mother died in 1890
at the age of seventy-six years, while the father passed away in Coldwater
in I897, at the age of eighty-three years. The remains of both were interred
in the cemetery at Quincy. Through much of his life the father followed
farming and he also worked at carpentering and at the builder's trade, possessing much natural mechanical ability.  His political support was given
to the Whig party in his early life and afterward he became a staunch Republican. He was one of the most prominent members of the Baptist church
of his locality and was one of three men who established the first church
of that denomination in Butler township. He led an, active and consistent
Christian life and the honorable principles which permeated his career made
him a man respected and esteemed by all who knew him. His wife was also
a member of the Baptist church and a most estimable lady. This worthy
couple had but two children, Charles W. and Minerva Adaline, the latter the
wife of Joel Rowley of Coldwater.
Charles W. Bennett was reared'upon his father's farm and obtained his
education in a little log schoolhouse such as was common in pioneer districts.
When twenty-one years of age he began teaching school, but followed that
profession for only two years, when, after the outbreak of the Civil war, he
responded to the country's need, enlisting on the i5th of August. I86I, as a
private of Company G, Ninth Michigan Infantry. He was made a sergeant
before the company left the state and afterward received several promotions, being commissioned captain on the 26th of October, I863, of Company
F, Thirteenth United States Colored Infantry, while on the 2nd of December, I865, he was brevetted major " for faithful and meritorious service during the war."  He participated in a number of the most sanguinary  engagements, including the battles of Murfreesboro, Stone River, Chickamauga,
Nashville and others of less inmportance, and was honorably discharged with
his regiment on January io!, I866, having been connected with the military
service of his country for nearly four and one-half years. IHe is now a mem



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


3'31


lier of Butterworth Post, No. 109, G. A. R.. of which he has served as comianlder.
Following his return from the war Mr. Bennett took up his abode in
Quincy, where in I866 he engaged in the grocery and drug business. He
followed merchandising there until I89,3, but during the last ten years confined his attention to the drug and book trade, having disposed of his grocery
stock. That he enjoyed a liberal patronage and a successful business is indicated by the fact that he continued actively in commercial circles for twentyseven years. Selling out in Quincy in 1893 he removed to Coldwater, where
he now makes his home. In 1870 he had established at Quincy, Michigan,
the Bennett Newspaper & Magazine Agency, which was the pioneer enterprise of this line in the world. He conducted the business to a recent date,
but in I904l sold out.
Mr. Bennett was married in Quincy, Michigan, in i868, to Miss Minnie
J. Sheldon, a native of Ohio and a daughter of the Rev. Barbour N. and
Maria Jane Sheldon, a history of whom is given elsewhere in this work.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Bennett are prominent and zealous members of the
Presbyterian church, and the captain is a Republican in politics, active in
support of the party from early manhood. He has held a number of minor
offices and was postmaster of Quincy under the administration of President
Harrison. ~Well known in Branch county as a progressive, energetic and
enterprising business man, he has also gained a wide acquaintance as a
musician, and was the organizer of the Quincy band. He is likewise the composer of thirty-eight vocal selections, and in musical circles his reputation extends far beyond the limits of this county.
DELIVAN     SORTER.
Delivan Sorter, who is engaged in general farming in Ovid township,
was born in this part of Branch county on the 8th of May, I846, his parents
being Jacob and Hannah (Clark) Sorter, both of whom were natives of
Steulben county, New York. The paternal grandparents renmoved to New
Jersey from the Empire state, and there Jacob Sorter was reared and educated. He chose as a companion and helpmate for life's journey Miss Hannah Clark, who also spent her childhood in that locality. In pioneer times
they came westward to Branch county, arriving in Michigan in I838, at
which time they settled in Ovid township upon a farm of forty acres. All
around was the forest and it was only here and there that a settler had made
a little clearing and begun the development of a farm. Mr. Sorter cut away
the trees, plowed the land and tilled the fields, and in due course of time had
his entire farm under cultivation. He lived upon that place for three years
and a half and then purchased what has since been known as the Sorter
farm, entering eighty acres of land from the government and buying the remainder from other parties.  The place comprises two hundred. and sixty
acres of land, the greater part of which is under cultivation.  Mr. Sorter
bought and sold various farms in the county and capably conducted his business interests with the result that as the years passed he acquired a handsome
competence. In politics he was always earnest and active in support of the






392


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


principles of Democracy and he did everything in his power to promote the
growth and insure the success of his party. His death occurred in 1882,
when he was eighty years of age, and thus passed away one of the honored
pioneer residents of this section of Michigan. In the family were eight children, three of whom were born in New York, while five were born in Branch
county. All were sons, and the eldest died in infancy. The others were
George, William, Henry, Andrew, James, Delivan and David.
Delivan Sorter spent the days of his boyhood and youth in Ovid towl-nship and assisted his father in clearing and cultivating the old homestead.
He had the opportunity of attending the district schools and thus qualified foilife's practical and responsible duties.  His active labor in the fields also
prepared him for carrying on the farm work when he took charge of his own
property in later years. He now has fifty acres where he resides, and twenty
acres additional in the township, and his farm labors are characterized by a
thorough understanding of agricultural methods and by unremitting diligence in the promotion of his work.
In I875 Mr. Sorter was united in marriage to Miss Esther A. Merrill,
a daughter of Joseph S. and Mary A. Merrill. Mrs. Sorter was born in Ovid
township, near the Quinby schoolhouse, on the 28th of September, I854,
representing one of the pioneer families of this part of the state. Her father
was a native of Maine and when fifteen years of age left New England and
went to Ohio, where he remained until I848. He then came to Branch county,
which was largely a wild and unimproved district at that time. He settled
upon a farm of forty acres, then covered with timber, and cleared most of
that place. In I85I, however, he went to California, attracted by the discovery of gold in that state, and there he remained for about two years searching for the precious metal. Returning to Branch county he bought another
farm inl Ovid township, becoming owner of two hundred acres of timber
land, which he cleared through hard work. No one who has not performed
a similar service can understand the arduous toil involved in such a task.
One by one the trees have to be felled, the stumps grubbed out and the brush
cleared away or burned. Then follows the work of plowing, harrowing and
planting, and thus the task of cultivating the fields is carried forward until
rich harvests are garnered as a reward for the former toil. Unto Mr. and
Mrs. Joseph S. Merrill were born three children, two sons and a daughter.
The mother, however, died when Mrs. Sorter was only about a year old,
and the father afterward married again, his second union being with Mrs.
Sallie Hanford Summers, the widow of Thomas Summers, who by her
former marriage had one daughter, Teresa. By the second marriage there
was one son, Levi. Mrs. Sorter's father was married a third time when Mrs.
Louisa J. (Hibner) Grover became his wife. She was the mother of two
children, a daughter and son, Laura and Frank, who were born of her former
marriage, while by Mr. Merrill she had two sons, J. S. and Allen Ozias, the
latter now deceased. Mr. Merrill was an earnest Republican in his political
views and was a well-known man, who had a wide and favorable acquaintance throughout the county. He died October I7, 1879, when well advanced
in years, leaving behind him an honorable name.




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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


393


At the time of their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Sorter settled upon the
\Villiam Sorter farm, where they lived for a year and then spent the succeeding three years upon their present place. On the expiration of that period
they returned to the old homestead and Mr. Sorter devoted two years to the
care of his aged. father and the management of the property.  The father
(lied in his eightieth year, and thus passed away an honored and pioneer
resident of Branch county. He had given his political allegiance to the
Democracy, and at the time of his death he was the owner of fifty acres of
land in Ovid township in one tract and twenty acres in another tract. Mr.
Sorter of this review has devoted his entire life to agricultural pursuits, and
in his work is practical, energetic and persistent-qualities which always insure success. In politics he is largely independent, voting for men and nmeasnres rather than party.
JOHN F. PHILLIPS.
Many of the successful men of this country have achieved success while
conducting agriculture along with other lines of business, giving a portion of
their time to each avocation and becoming adept in each. One of these is
the gentleman named above, Mr. John F. Phillips, who occupies a comfortable
farm home on section sixteen, Kinderhook township.
Mr. Phillips is of English birth, he having been born in Cornwall, England, May 6, I844. The Phillips had been residents of Cornwall for many
generations and the first of the family to leave the mother country and come
to America was the paternal grandfather of our subject, who settled in Hastings county, Canada, where he spent the remainder of his life. Our subject's
father, John Phillips, was also born in Cornwall, England, where he grew to
manhood and married Elizabeth Roberts, a native of the same place. They
were the parents of three children, when, a few years after the departure of
the senior Phillips, they decided to also try their fortunes in the new country.
They made the voyage in I850 and likewise located in Ontario upon,a new
farm. The father died two years after their arrival and the son, J6hn F.,
was brought up by strangers, he being only eight years old when his father
died. John Phillips and M\ary Roberts Phillips were the parents of five
children, as follows: Peter died in Hastings, Canada; John F. is the subject
of this review; Mary Honey, Susan Holmes and Josiah Phillips always made
their home in Ontario, and of the family only John F. and Mary Honey are
living. The mother also died in Ontario in 1880.
John F. Phillips lived in Canada until I865 and then went to Lockport,
New York. He had learned the trade of carpenter and joiner in Canada
and after going to Lockport he worked at his trade in shops there for several
years. This was followed by two years' work upon a farm not far from
Lockport, after which he worked at his trade at Charlottesville, New York,
until I87I, when he came to Michigan, locating first at Kinderhook Corners,
where he remained for two years. His first purchase of land was fifty acres.
which comprises a portion of his present farm, and in later years he increased
this to one hundred and eighteen acres. The place was but little improved
and he cleared the land himself, working also at his trade when opportunity






394


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


offered. It is an acknowledged fact that no carpenter or contractor in this
portion of the county has so many good buildings to his credit as has Mr.
Phillips. He has been engaged in construction in all the southern townships
of Branch county, as well as in the northern townships of Steuben county,
Indiana, and his buildings have stood the test of years.
Mr. Phillips was married, March 30, I87I, to Emma Ketchum, who
was born in Niagara county, New York, February 8, I846, and who died
here January IO, I887. Two children were born unto them: Mertie is the
wife of Frank W}haley and their home is in Kinderhook; they have one
daughter, Mildred. The other daughter, Nettie L., is the wife of Francis
Flandemeyer and they live in Coldwater, Michigan. Mrs. Phillips' parents
were George Ketchum and Mary Jane West, natives of western New York
state, where Mrs. Ketchum died, her husband afterward coming to Michigan
and dying at Flint December II, I905. Three of the Ketchum children are
still living: Mrs. L. J. Skinner, of Flint, Micligan; William I. Ketchum,
of New Fane, New York; and Charles Ketchum, of Lockport, New York.
The second marriage of Mr. Phillips occurred November I I, I888, when
he was united with Miss Alice A. Hess, a native of Alabama, New York,
where she was born May 5, I859, her father being Phillip Hess, born in Germany, and her mother being Mary Lawrence, a native of Rioyalton, New
York. Mr. Hess was born March 31, 182I, and Mary Lawrence was born
December 6, I823. They were married at Buffalo, New York, and were
the parents of nine children, all of whom grew to maturity, asi follows:
Charles H. lives in South Dakota; Frances Ross died in South Frankfort,
Michigan; Homer died in Orleans county, New York; Mary Martin lives in
Kinderhook; Nellie died in New York state; George P. died in Genesee
county, New York; Iona J. Thompson lives in Genesee county, New York;
Martin K. lives in Kinderhook; Alice Phillips is the wife of our subject. Mr.
and Mrs. Hess were esteemed people and both members of the P'resbyterian
church. Mr. Hess died April 19, 1902, while Mrs. Hess passed away November 20, 1897. Tracing their genealogy still further we learn that the father
of Mr. Hess was George Hess, while the father of Mrs. Hess was Alvin
Lawrence, whose wife was Abigail Parker, both being of English descent.
The marriage of John F. Phillips and Alice Hess has been a particularly
happy one, and it has been blessed with one son, Clare J., whose birth occurred
September 28, I895. He lives at home with his parents and is attending
school.
In addition to his business as a builder, Mr. Phillips also finds a great
deal of his time occupied with other outside matters, he having been.administrator of many estates and dealing considerably in real estate of various
kinds. At the same time he manages his farm after the best and most approved methods and we find it a model in condition and general appearance,
being supplied with excellent buildings and all needful machinery for operation. The whole premises possess a remarkable neatness of appearance, the
owner being methodical and having an eye for beauty as well as utility.
Although of necessity a very busy man, nevertheless Mr. Phillips finds
time for fraternal and social duties and he is a member of the Masonic order.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                         395
Greenleaf Lodge No. 349, and the A. O. U. W. in Kinderhook. Mr. and
Mrs. Phillips are also members of the Methodist Episcopal church in Kinderhook.
TIHO/iMAS W. MACK.
Thomas W. Mack, who for more than half a century has resided in
Branch county, was born in Conneaught, Erie county, Pennsylvania, July
20, 1833, his parents being Joel and Marcia (Ward) Mack, the latter an
adopted daughter of Thomas WTard. The father, Joel Mack, was a native
of the Empire state and after residing in Pennsylvania for some time removed to Oh1io in 1835, settling in Florence, Erie county, where the family
remained for twenty years, but the father passed away at the age of thirtythree years. The mother and her children came to Michigan in MIarch, 1854,
and lMrs. Mack afterward mnarried again, becoming Mrs. Johnson. She died
in Girard Center in 1883 at the age of seventy years. They were the parents
of five children: Cordelia, who died in infancy; Joseph, who died at the
age of seven years; Truman, a farmer of Girard township; Joel, an agriculturist living in Union township; and Thomas WV., of this revieiw.
Thomas W. Mack spent the days of his youth largely in Florence, Erie
county, Ohio, and early learned the value of industry and perseverance as
effective factors in a business career. Before leaving Ohio he was married on
the I6th of November, 1853, to Miss Eleanor Packard, a daughter of Jeremiah and Patience (Orvis) Packard, the former a native of Pennsylvania
and the latter of Connecticut. Mrs. Packard passed away May Io, 1835, in
Pennsylvania, while the death of Mr. Packard occurred in Huron county,
Ohio, October 25. I865. They had two children: Mrs. Mack; and Caroline, who became Mrs. Daniels and always made her home in Ohio, but died
in New York city. May 6, 1865, having gone there on a visit. Mr. Packard
after the death of his first wife was married March 28, 1836, to Minerva
Hyde, and they had three children: Melissa Lance, Schuyler Packard and
Riley Packard, all of whom are deceased.  Mr. and Mrs. Mack have become thle parents of three daughters: Patience Minerva, who was born in
Union township, August 7, 1857, died there June 21, I862. Patience Philena,
boern in Girard township, Febrlary 20, I866, died in Union township, April
I5, 1876. Elsie, born in Union township, September 30, I854, was married
September 5; 1870, to Charles Edwin Perry. a native of Fredonia, Calhoun
county, where he was born January I8. I848. He was a farmer by occupation and spent nearly his entire life in Girard township. During the period
of the Civil war he enlisted on the 2nd of September, 1864, in Company C,
Twenty-eighth Michigan Infantry, and was discharged May 26, 1865, at the
close of hostilities. At the battle of Nashville he contracted a lung disease
and never fully recovered, dying from the effects April 6, I889, at his home
in Girard township. He left a widow and two daughters: Clara M., who
was born May 24, 1872. and is the wife of Boyce Wagoner, of Girard township, by whom she has one son, Roland; and Orpha J. Perry, who. was born
June 2, 1875, and is the wife of Frank Johnson, of Albion, Michigan. They
have three children:  Harold Edward, Gladys Elinor and Leila Bernice.




396


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Mrs. Perry now lives at Girard Center and occupies an enviable social position there.  She belongs to Butterworth Corps, W. R. C., at Coldwater.
Avondale Hive, L. O. T. M., at Tekonsha, and is also a member and active
worker in the Girard Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. and Mrs. Mack have been continuous residents of Branch county
for fifty-one years, living in Union township until October, 1902, when they
came to Girard to spend their remaining days. Following their arrival in
this county Mr. Mack purchased forty acres of new land in Union township,
which he cleared and cultivated. He also purchased and aided in clearing
two other farms there, and he still owns eighty acres of valuable and productive land on section thirteen, Union township. He has followed blacksmithing for many years in connection with agricultural pursuits and has long
lived a life of untiring activity and enterprise. He found here a new and undeveloped region and assisted in its reclamation. His efforts have aided in
transforming the wild land into productive fields and at all times he has
furthered progressive public measures which have been the source of substantial upbuilding and progress in the county. An upright man, he has enjoyed the confidence and esteem of all with whom he has come in contact,
and his life record is an indication that honorable effort wins not only success, but also the high regard of one's fellow men.
ADISON P. JOHNSON.
From an early period in the development and upbuilding of Branch
county Adison P. Johnson has resided within its borders and his home is
on section two, Batavia township. He was born in Huron county, Ohio,
on the 3Ist of October, 1833. His father, Hezekiah Johnson, was a native
of Green county, New York, was there reared and became a carpenter and
farmer. His father was born in Yonkers, Connecticut, and removed to the
Empire state at an early day. Hezekiah Johnson, after his marriage, left
New York and went to Huron county, Ohio, about I830, there residing
for a long period, after which he came to Michigan about I864, settling in,
Quincy township, Branch county, upon a farm which remained his place
of residence up to the time of his death. He passed away at the age of
eighty-four years, leaving to his family the priceless heritage of a good
name and also a comfortable competence. His wife, who bore the maiden
name of Cornelia Frayer, was born in New York and reached the very
venerable age of ninety-five years.  In their family were eleven children,
nine of whom grew to manhood or womanhood, Adison P. Johnson being
the seventh child and sixth son.
In the place of his nativity Mr. Johnson, of this review, spent his
boyhood and youth and was a district school student. He remained with
his father until he was of age, assisting him on the farm. He also' worked
by the day for one summer and he gained a practical knowledge of the best
methods of carrying on agricultural pursuits. Before he left Ohio he was
married to Miss Sylva. Van Dusen, who died, leaving four children: Ella
May, the wife of Jerome Hawley, of Traverse City, Michigan; Della, the




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


397


wife of Adelbert Martin, a resident of Batavia township; Kenneth, deceased; and Melvin A., who is living in Batavia township.
In the year I866 Mr. Johnson removed to Hillsdale county, Michigan,
and in 1871 came to Batavia township, Branch county, locating where he
now resides.  Since that time he has carried on general farming, having
eighty acres of land which he now rents. It was upon this farm that his
wife died on January Io, I898, and on the 4th of April, I9oI, Mr. Johnson
was married to Mrs. Lottie Hoffman, the widow of Dr. D. Hoffman, of
McConnelsville, Ohio, and a daughter of Enoch and Juliet A. (Hall) Dye.
She was born in Smithfield, Jefferson county, Ohio,, and has been three
times married, her first union being with James T. Hood, by whom she had
one son, William Hood. Mrs. Johnson is a direct descendant of the great
Dye family of Ohio, who has a claim on a large estate in Scotland and
England.
Mr. Johnson votes with the Democracy where national issues are involved, but at local elections casts an independent ballot. He has served
as highway commissioner in Batavia township, but the honors and emoluments of office have had little attraction for him. He belongs to, the Masonic
fraternity, with which he has been identified since twenty-one years of age,
his membership being now in Tyre Lodge of Coldwater.
FRANK N. WILLIAMS.
Frank N. Williams, one of the ablest insurance men of the county,
was born June 10, I867, in the city of Coldwater, where he yet makes his
home, having spent his entire life here. His father, W. Job Williams, was
born in Dewitt, Onondaga county. New York, on the I4th of February,
1840. His paternal grandfather, Simon Zelotes Williams, came to Michigan in 1835, locating in Gilead, Branch county, but subsequently returned
to the Empire state in I838. Once more, however, he took up his abode in
Gilead in 1842, and afterward removed to Coldwater, passing his remaining days there. The Williams family came originally from Wales, and the
branch to which our subject belongs is descended from  Roger Williams,
who landed with the Pilgrims and was prominent in the settlement of New
England, where he was known as the "apostle of peace."   He settled in
Massachusetts, but because of his religious faith was driven to, Rhode Island
with others who held similar views. He became the founder of the colony
of Rhode Island and also of the city of Providence. Major Williams, an
ancestor of our subject, was an aide to General Washington. Job Williams,
the great-grandfather, settled in Dewitt, Onondaga county, New York, and
thence representatives of the name came to Michigan, founding the family
in this state.
W. Job Williams, father of our subject, arrived in Branch county in
1842 with his parents and lived in Gilead for twenty years. He afterward
spent five years as an agriculturist in Ovid township and then came to Coldwater, having resided in this city since twenty-six years of age. He is a
member of the Masonic lodge and is well known here as a representative
citizen and a man of many good qualities and characteristics. For two years






398


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


he has served as city marshal. He married Miss Harriet Stowell, who was
born in Ovid township, this county, on the 4th of August, I845. The
Stowells originally lived in Connecticut and New  Hampshire, and at a
later day the family was founded in New York, whence representatives of
the name came to Michigan, settling in Branch county. The marriage of
W. Job Williams and Harriet Stowell was celebrated in Bethel township,
March 23, I862, and for thirty-eight years they traveled life's journey
together, but were separated by the death of the wife on the 20th of Decemher, I900. They were the parents of three children: Samuel Zelotes, Frank
N. and Mabel M. Williams, all of this county.
Frank N. Williams acquired a common school education and first engaged in business for himself in 1889. He continued merchandising for
thirteen years, selling harness, carriages and bicycles. He then owned and
conducted livery stables for three years, but disposed of his business in that
line in I903, and has since devoted his energies to the insurance business,
representing both accident and life companies. He is to-day agent for the
Mutual Benefit Life of Newark, New Jersey, and the Aetna Accident Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut.  He has been eminently successful in every line of business in which he has directed his energies, and
is to-day considered one of the ablest insurance men of the county.
On the 4th of March, 898, iMr. Williams was united in marriage to
Miss Estelle Rawson, who was born in Coldwater, April 28, I869, and is
a daughter of James M. Rawson, whose birth occurred in Weedsport, Newt
York, February 13, I836.  The Rawsons are of English descent, tracing
their ancestry back through Edward Rawson, who in 1636 was a resident
of Newberry, Massachusetts, and served as secretary of the Massachusetts
colony. James M. Rawson came from     New York to Michigan in I847.
locating in Bethel, Branch county. Through much of his life he was engaged in business as a traveling salesman. He served as a soldier of the
Civil war, enlisting in I864 in Company C, Twenty-eighth Michigan Infantry, with which he continued until after the close of hostilities. He was
married in Centerville, this state, to Miss Charlotte E. Nichols, who was
born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, January 24, I845, and is still living in
the city of Coldwater. Mr. Rawson, however, died in this city, September
29, 1903. He lived an upright, honorable life and won the merited esteem
of his fellowmen.  Mrs. Rawson has membership relations with the Coldwater Assembly, a religious organization.  Unto this worthy couple were
born five children, all of whom are residents of Coldwater, namely: Mrs.
Lottie M. Hawes; Mrs. Estelle Williams; Mrs. Bernice Brant; Mrs. Bessie
Deuser; and Paul J. Rawson.
In his political views Mr. Williams is a stalwart Republican, but has
never been an office holder nor desired official preferment as a reward for
party fealty. Fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of
America and socially with the Arion Club of Coldwater., He is exceedingly
popular, having many warm friends in the city in which his entire life has
been passed. Here he owns a comfortable home, which he built, and he has




tHISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


399


been very successful in his business career, despite obstacles that would
have utterly discouraged many a man of less resolute and determined nature
and laudable ambition.
CHARLES HOMER SAGER.
Charles Homer Sager, interested in general agricultural pursuits, his
home farm being in Bronson township, was born in 1842 in Bronson township, his parents heing George and Emily Jane (Blanchard) Sager.  The
father was born in the state of New York, May 2, 1824, and they were married at Burroak, Michigan. George Sager had come to this state with his
father, John Sager, in I835, and the grandfather had purchased a tract of
land of one hundred and sixty acres on the Chicago road, now known as
Johnson's place. There, as a pioneer settler, he began the cultivation and
improvement of his farm, which he continued to make his home up to the
time of his death. In his family were seven children: George, Zid, Isaac,
John, Mary Ann, Katherine and Eliza.
George Sager. the eldest son in this family, lived upon the old farm
homestead until eighteen years of age, when he started out in life on his
own account. Through two and a half years he was employed by Mr. Lockerby in Burroak, after which he married Miss Blanchard of that place. He
then took up his abode on the old Frye farm in what is now known aDs the
Dutch settlement. This place comprised one hundred and twenty acres, and
he continued its cultivation until about I852, when he sold that place and
bought three hundred acres on section twenty-eight. To this he afterward
added one hundred acres adjoining, and there he carried on general farming
and stock-raising, making a specialty of dealing in sheep. He was industrious
and persevering, and the large farm which he acquired showed that he was
very successful. In all of his business dealings he was straightforward and
honorable, as well as energetic, and he won for himself a creditable name.
He died in Tanuary, I899, while his wife passed away about I889. They
were the parents of eleven children: Mary Jane, Homer, Margaret, George
H., Louisa N., Rosellie. Isaac, Albert, Lucy, Carrie and Joseph.
Charles Homer Sager began his education in the district schools and
remained upon his father's farm until I86I, during which time he assisted
in clearing the land, plowing the fields and harvesting the crops. He was
a young man of nineteen years when, in response to his country's call for
aid, he offered his services to the government and was assigned to duty
with Company B, First Michigan Regiment. This command was attached
to the Army of the Potomac, and he participated in all of its battles, includthe engagements at Fredericksburg, Bull Run and Fair Oaks.    He was
wounded at Moline Hill, where he had his forefinger shot away, and he
also had a leg broken at Fredericksburg. He likewise was struck by a ball
at Antietam and, because of his wounds, received an honorable discharge.
Mr. Sager was married in I863 to Miss Martha J. Woodhull, a daughter of Stephen Woodhull, after which he rented a tract of land and was
thus engaged in farming for several years. In 1865 he removed to Kansas,: y: 5




400


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


settling in Ottawa county, where he spent two years and then returned to
Michigan, living for five years in this state at that time. About 1872 he
again went to Kansas, where he continued until 1878, when he went to
the Indian Territory, and there leased one thousand acres of Indian land.
He farmed there successfully and continuously for twenty-one years, or
until I899, when, on account of his father's death, he returned to Michigan.
While in Kansas and in Indian Territory he had operated a threshing machine and was extensively engaged in the raising of wheat. Following his
father's death he received as his inheritance one hundred and ten acres of
the old homestead, and he is now operating this farm, being recognized as
one of the substantial and progressive agriculturists of his community. His
land is productive, and owing to the care and labor which he bestows upon
the place he now harvests large crops, which bring him a good financial
return.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Sager have been born eight children: Luther L.,
who married Lillie Bonner, of Kansas, by whom he had seven children, has
always been associated with his father in business; John is living in Branch
county; Abraham was killed in Tacoma, Washington, in I90I; Cora is the
wife of Clarence Monroe, a resident of Matteson township; the younger
members of the family are William McKinley, Maggie, Charlie and Frank,
are deceased, but William McKinlev.
MJr. Sager is a Republican in his political views, but has never sought
or desired office, giving his attention to business affairs that have made him
an experienced and prosperous farmer.
JAMES RICHEY.
Among the many good men who have spent their entire lives in Branch
county, none left a better life record or were held in higher esteem than
the gentleman named above, the late James Richey. Mr. Richey was born
in Ulysses county, New York, June 29, 1832, and he was only five years of
age when he accompanied his parents from the state of New York to Sandusky county, Ohio, this taking place in I837. The Richeys came from Pennsylvania and were of Dutch descent, our subject's father being Isaac Richey.
while his mother was Aseneth Carpenter, whose people came from the eastern
states.  Isaac Richey and Aseneth Carpenter were married in New York
state and they were the parents of eight children, only three of whom are
now living:  Harriet Terry, of Nevada, Indiana; Charles Richey, of California; and Ellen Munger, also of the state of California. The parents, after
a residence of several years in New York state, removed to Sandusky county,
Ohio, where they lived for twenty years, and then afterward came to Branch
county, Michigan, where they passed the remainder of their days in the township of Kinderhook.
Their son, James Richey, accompanied his parents from New York state
to Ohio, and from there to Michigan, and he lived at home until his marriage,
with the exception of the period of his enlistment in the Civil war. He grew
to manhood in Sandusky county, Ohio, and there it was that he responded
to the call of his country at the outbreak of the great'conflict, enlisting in the




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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


401


latter part of I86I in the Seventy-second Ohio Infantry, and serving until
April of the following year, when he was disabled by a gunshot wound which
incapacitated him from a soldier's duties and, in fact, crippled him for the
remainder of his life. He was sergeant of his company at the time of enlistment and served as such until his discharge.
A few years after the close of the war Mr. Richey was married, December
21, I868, to Alvira Depew, but their union was of brief duration, for she
died July 25 of the following year. Mr. Richey's second marriage was consummated April 26, I878, when he was united with Miss Mary E. Flint, who
was born in the township of Eckford, Calhoun county, Michigan, July 26,
1846. She came from one of the sturdy and highly respected families who
came from the east in the early thirties and made for themselves comfortable
homes in the then untrodden middle west. Her father, Aseryl Flint, was
born in Roxbury, Vermont, March 26, I807, and her mother was before
marriage Saloma Sumner, who was born in Middlebury, Vermont, February
12, I8SII. They were married in Vermont and were the parents of the following children, all of whom grew to maturity, they being as follows: Jane Jones
is a resident of Kinderhook; Samuel A. passed almost his entire life in Clarendon, Michigan, where he was one of the leading men of Calhoun county,
where he died in I9oo; Salome and Harriet both died in Ovid township,
this county, the former in 1897 and the latter in 1892; Albert lives in, Nebraska; Rollin died in Kinderhook, in I904; Julia Ann died here in 1902;
Mary E. Richey is the widow of our subject; Henry P. lives in Kinderhook;
Olive Dawes lives in Jamestown, Indiana; Emma Marshall is a resident of
Ovid, this county.
Aseryl Flint and his family came from the east in I835 and first located
in Michigan, in the township of Eckford, Calhoun county, where they lived
until 1851, then removing to Branch county and Kinderhook township, where
the parents passed the remainder of their lives. Mr. Flint's first purchase of
land here was something over two hundred acres, for which he paid one thousand dollars. This land was almost wholly uncleared and unimproved, and,
in fact, this entire region was in a virgin state, with dense forests, poor highways and neighbors few and far between. The members of the Flint family
were, however, industrious people and they worked with a will in making
themselves a home here. The parents were people of high character and they
proved important factors in the early history and development of this part
of the county of Branch. Mr. Flint was a deeply religious man, with high
ideals, and his life was an open and unsullied book. Of good physique and
industrious habits, it is related of him that frequently, after a long and hard
day's work, he would take advantage of a moonlight night to continue his
labors, such was his ambition to provide comforts for his loved ones and to
attain a competence. He was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church and a man who possessed the respect of all who knew him. He
did not live long after coming to Branch county, however, to enjoy the fruits
of his labors, for his death occurred here May 3, I856. Mrs. Flint was thus
left a widow with nine children under the age of eighteen years and with a




402


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


farm to manage. With rare courage she attacked the problem, keeping her
children together and managing her affairs with unquestioning faith and
remarkable executive ability. This she continued to do during the remainder
of her long and useful life and before her death she had the satisfaction of
seeing all of her children married and with families and comfortable homes
of their own. She was truly a most remarkable woman, one of a thousand,
and when her death came, September 17, 1899, she left behind her hundreds
of sorrowing relatives and friends. She was an intensely religious woman,
joining the Methodist Episcopal church when she was but a young girl, and
leading a thoroughly Christian life through its eighty-seven years' duration.
Her business affairs were conducted with unerring judgment and only a
few days before her death she was engrossed in their details.
WVrith parents of such sterling worth of character it is no wonder that
the Flint children grew to be men and women of importance here, where so
many of the family still reside. Mr. James Richey spent the greater portion
of his life in Kinderhook township, and here he held a very high place in
the regard and confidence of the people. He purchased his farm on section
eleven, Kinderhook township, before his marriage, and although the place
was cleared of timber, nevertheless there were few improvements in the way
of buildings, etc., and there remained plenty of work to do in making a home
here. Each year witnessed improvement in the farm and before long it was
one of the comfortable and attractive homes of this vicinity. He was ofttimes selected as judge in the Branch County Fair Association on stock, wool
and grain.
That Mr. Richey was a man whom the people looked up to as honorable,
capable and trustworthy, is plainly evidenced by the many times he was
chosen to fill positions of trust and responsibility. In fact, his fellow-townsmen had implicit confidence in him, and they knew that in his hands their
interests would be well and carefully guarded. He.was supervisor of Kinderhook township for no less than fifteen years, and his valuable experience
in this line led to his being placed upon the more important standing and
special committees of the Branch County Board of Supervisors. He always
looked carefully after the interests of his own township and also showed
unusual capability in the transaction of the general business of the county.
Mr. Richey was also township clerk for several terms and held other local
offices, always performing his public duties faithfully and well.  He was
also director of the Branch County Mutual Fire Insurance Company for many
years, and he was always interested in any movement tending toward the betterment of the people and the improvement of his town and county. He
was a stanch Republican and his advice was always sought in the councils
of his party. Fraternally he was affiliated with Tyre Lodge, F. & A. M., of
Coldwater, and was one of the honored members of the Butterworth G. A. R.
Post at Coldwater, Michigan. Mr. Richey's death occurred November 20,
1903, at the age of seventy-two years. He is survived by Mrs. Richey, who
still occupies the farm home in Kinderhook township.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


JAMES S. OGDEN.
Branch county has numerous beautiful farm homes, but none of them
surpasses in neatness, beauty and general utility that of the gentleman named
above, which is located on section two in the township of Kinderhook. The
whole place, in fact, reflects the character of the owner and his family, who
are among the well-to-do and highly respected residents of this part of the
county.
The Ogdens are of English descent, the paternal grandfather of our
subject being John R. Ogden, who came from England in the beginning of
the nineteenth century and settled in the state of New York. His wife was
Harriet Parker, who died in New York state, her husband dying later at
Davenport, Iowa. One of their children, Wyman Ogden, was the father of
James S. Ogden, and from him is the present branch of the Ogden family
descended. Wyman Ogden was born in Hornellsville, Steuben county, New
York, April 21, I819, and he was married in Bingham, Potter county, Pennsylvania, July 18, 1841, to Amanda M. Gifford, who was born at Cio. Allegheny county, New York, December 28, I826. Her parents removed from
New York to Pennsylvania, and there it was that she met Wyman Ogden,
who was then in his young manhood employed in rafting timber down the
Allegheny river. Soon after marriage they located in Steuben county, New
York, and in 1855 they came to Michigan and Branch county, locating in
Algansee township, where Mrs. Ogden died November 21, 186I.     They
were the parents of eleven children, four of whom died in infancy, the others
being as follows: Edward S. died in Andersonville prison during the Civil
war; Henry J. is an inmate of the Soldiers' home at Grand Rapids, Michigan; Pardon G. lives in Kinderhook; Levi F. lives at Sault Ste. Marie,
Michigan; James S. is our subject; Wyman P. lives at Belvidere, Illinois;
Charles S. is a resident of Wexford county, Michigan. After the death of his
first wife, the father, Wyman Ogden, removed to Angola, Indiana, where he
married Mary A. Sowle, by whom he had two children: Allen E., who lives
at Angola, Indiana, and Cora D., who is a resident of Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Mary Sowle Ogden died in Pennsylvania in 1901, while Wyman Ogden
passed away here at the home of his son, July 22, 1904, where he had been living for several years. William Ogden was a stonemason by trade, although he
also owned and operated farms during the greater part of his life. In addition
to his farm in Algansee township he purchased one hundred and sixty acres
of new land in Wexford county, Michigan, which he cleared, living there a
number of years. In Wexford county he was township clerk, treasurer and
highway commissioner for repeated terms and was a man of influence and
high standing. Fraternally he was a Blue Lodge Mason and in early life he
belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church, although later belonging to the
Liberal United Brethren church. Our subject's mother was a member of the
Methodist Episcopal society and the Eastern Star.
James S. Ogden was only two years of age when he accompanied his
parents from New York to Michigan, and he lived in California and Algansee townships until twenty years of age, also being in Wexford county for




494


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


three years, assisting his father in clearing the new land there. He learned
the trade of stonemason, at which he has worked nearly all his life, although
at the same time operating his farm. His first ownership of land was in
Algansee township in I879, and he purchased his present farm on section
two, Kinderhook township, in February, 188I, since which time this place
has been his home. His first purchase here was sixty acres and later purchases have increased it to one hundred and sixty acres. Although this place
was not cleared by Mr. O!gden, nevertheless he has made great improvements
thereon in the way of buildings, fences, hedges, etc., it being now most attractive.
Mr. Ogden was married December 25, I879, to Mary A. Burdick, who
was born on this farm March 2, I855. Her father was Beriah L. Burdick,
who was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, March 17, I8o02. and his parents in
turn were Pardon Burdick and Polly Lewis, both residents of Vermont.
Mrs. Ogden's mother was Lucy Ann1 Stokes, who was born October 24, 819.
Mr. and Mrs. Burdick were married April 26, I846, in Steuben county,
Indiana, and lived there some years after marriage. They came to Kinderhook in I852 and passed the remainder of their lives on this farm, Mrs. Burdick dying October 30', 1863, and MIr. Burdick, December 31, I875. Both
were respected people, and Mrs. Burdick was a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church. The Burdicks had six children, as follows: Oscar died
in early childhood; Albert lives in Gilead, this county; Frank P. lives at
Fremont, Indiana; Clark died in San Francisco, California; Mary A. Ogden
is the wife of our subject, and J. B. resides in Chicago, and was shipping
clerk of an express company a number of years, eight in total, and is now
employed with a large firm on the south side.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. James S. Ogden has been blessed with
the birth of three children: Ernest C., Elsie D. and Ray E. The two sons
live at home with their parents, while Elsie, the daughter, is the wife of
William Hoyt. They live in this township and have one daughter, Margaret.
Ei nest C. Ogden, the eldest of the children, although past his majority,
still resides at home and he is interested with his father in the management
and operation of the farm. He was born October 2, 1883, and has secured
a good practical education. He is an energetic young man, thoroughly posted
on agricultural matters and much of the responsibility of conducting the
farm falls upon his shoulders. He is a member of Greenleaf Lodge No. 349,
F. & A. M., and that he stands high in the regard of its members is plainly
shown by the fact that the first year of his membership he was chosen as
secretary of the lodge, a position which he still retains, and is now justice
of the peace of the township.
Although following a line of general farming, nevertheless Mr. Ogden
and his son have specialized somewhat in Hereford cattle in an effort to improve the stock of this vicinity, in which they have been very successful.
James S. Ogden has the thorough confidence of his fellow townsmen
and he has been frequently called to serve them, being supervisor of his township in 1898-99 and 1900; township treasurer from  1885-87 and elected
again in I9o6, and assessor of his school district ever since 1884. Politically




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


405


he is a Democrat.  Mr. Ogden was also a charter member of Greenleaf
Lodge No'. 349, F. & A. M., and besides being W. M. of the lodge for five
years, has filled all the other chairs, including the office of secretary for four
years. He is also affiliated with the I. O. O. F. and the K. O. T. M., while
Mrs. Ogden is a member of the L. O. T. M.
SOUTHERLAND MOORE SEELY.
Southerland Moore Seely, now deceased, was born August 15, I826,
near Middletown, Orange county, New York. He was the, ninth in a family of ten children born unto Holly and Elizabeth (Moore) Seely.  The
father was a native of Goshen, Orange county, New York, born August 7,
1787, and was of English and Scotch lineage, although the family was established in New England during an early period in the colonization of this
county. The mother of our subject was of Quaker parentage and was born
at Cornwall, New  York. September I6, I79o.   In the year 1829 Holly
Seely, having sustained heavy losses through fire, removed his family to
Newburg, New York, and afterward to Sussex county, New Jersey, and
there conducted a tannery. It was during their residence in Sussex county
that the wife and mother died in 1835. After her death Mr. Seely never attended school, and all his schooling came between his fifth and eighth years.
The father afterward married again and later removed to Tunkhannock,
Pennsylvania, where he also conducted a tannery. About 1832 the family
came to Michigan, settling near Ypsilanti, and not more than a year later
Southerland M. Seely started out in life for himself.
He left a home where he had no advantages or hope for an education
and when thirteen years of age began the battle of life for himself as a
poor boy. The facts of his career disclose wonderful success as he steadily
made his way upward undeterred by obstacles and difficulties in his path.
He became both wealthy and well informed. Going to Erie, Pennsylvania,
he accepted a position as errand boy and general helper in a hotel and
after three or four months he went to Georgetown, Pennsylvania, where he
remained for a short period and was again employed in a hotel. At Mogadore, Ohio, he was employed for two years in a tannery, after which he
was foreman there, remaining until I844. In the following year he went
to Mendham, New Jersey, where for a short period he worked in a tannery
and afterward he was engaged in the boot and shoe business with Lewis
A. Thompson, who subsequently became his father-in-law. This business relation was maintained until I852, when on account of ill health he
withdrew and turned his attention to the business of purchasing western horses
and shipping them to the eastern market. Soon afterward, however, he purchased a stage coach line running from Coldwater to Marshall, Michigan,
and used his horses on that line. He then planned a mail route from Marshall to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and in this manner extended the stage route,
devoting his energies to the business until I859, when he sold out and engaged in purchasing and selling horses again.  To this he gave his time
until after the outbreak of the Civil war. His next enterprise was a tan



406


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


nery at Coldwater, and in the winter of I8,63-4 he removed to New 'York
City, where he engaged in dealing in bonds, stocks and mortgages. That
business claimed his energies for several years and he was so successful that
he amassed a large sum of money. He was perhaps the most noted capitalist
that has lived in Branch county. In I871 he returned to Coldwater on account of declining health and continued his residence here until his death,
October I6, 1899.
Mr. Seely traveled extensively both in America and abroad and gained
that culture, knowledge and experience which only travel can bring. His
conversation was enriched with many interesting reminiscences and anecdotes of his journeys, and he was a most congenial companion. Though
he was never a church member he attended the services of the Presbyterian
church and was a very charitable man, giving freely of his means to those
who needed assistance and to worthy benevolent objects.
It was on the 7th of April, I853, that Mr. Seely was united in marriage
to Miss Sarah J. Thompson, a daughter of Lewis A. Thompson of Mendham, New Jersey, who was born there in 1833 and now resides in Detroit.
She is a member of the Presbyterian church.  Mr. and Mrs. Seely have
two daughters: Annie, who is living in Coldwater; and Mrs. W. N. Worcester, of Detroit.
The life history of Mr. Seely is notable in the fact that he rose from
a very humble financial position to one of affluence. His business discernment and judgment were rarely at fault. He seemed to understand intricate business problems almost at a glance and he knew how best to utilize
his opportunities so as to produce the greatest results. Nor was his path
strewn with the wreck of other men's fortunes. He was just and upright
in all his dealings and the secret of his prosperity lay in his close application, his indefatigable energy and his keen sagacity. In his life he displayed
the sterling traits of character of friend, father and husband, being always
loyal to those with whom he enjoyed social relations, while to his family
he was most devoted.
CHARLES C. FENNER.
There is no better criterion of the worth of a locality as a place of
residence and an indication of the advantages it offers its citizens than the
fact that many of its native residents remain within its borders. Mr. Fenner is one of Branch county's native sons and is today a representative agriculturist here.  He was born in Bethel township, August i8, 1858. His
father, Collins Fenner, was a native of Chautauqua county, NewT York, born
February 28, I82I.  In his youth he learned the shoemaker's trade and
followed that pursuit while living in the east. He married Lucinda Myers,
and on coming to Michigan he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits.
He reached Branch county in pioneer times, when the settlers were few. It
was only here and there that a log cabin was seen in the midst of the forests,
indicating that the seeds of civilization had been planted that were in due
time to bring forth rich fruit in splendid farms with all modern equipments.
Mr. Fenner entered from the government eighty acres of land on section




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


407


fourteen, Bethel township, and with characteristic energy he began clearing
this place. He built a log cabin and in true pioneer style began life here.
As he cleared his land lie turned the first furrows in the fields and in due
course of time rich harvests were gathered. He kept adding to this land
until he had one hundred and ninety acres in Bethel township, constituting
a valuable farm, the greater part of which was under a high state of cultivation.  He raised cattle and draft horses in connection with the improvement of the fields and was numbered among the progressive and practical
agriculturists, his labors being of material benefit in the development of
this part of the state.  He died April I9, I9o5, at the venerable age of
eighty-four years, and thus passed away an honored pioneer settler who in
his locality was respected by all who knew him. His widow still survives
him and yet makes her home with her children. Mr. Fenner was a well read
man, keeping informed upon the questions and issues of the day politically
and otherwise. He voted with the Democracy, but had no political aspiration for himself, preferring to give his undivided attention to his business
affairs, whereby he provided a comfortable home and living for his family.
He had six children: Marby, who married A. R. Groves and is living in
Coldwater; Corydon, a resident of Ovid township; Phebe, who became the
wife of P. A. Buck, of Bronson, Branch county, and died September 5,
1892, at the age of forty-one years, eleven months and twenty-three days,
leaving two children, Percy C. and Otis Buck; Calista, the wife of Charles
Russel, of Ovid township; Charles C., whose name introduces this review;
and Mary, the wife of George Fowler, a resident farmer of Coldwater township.
Charles C. Fenner is indebted to the district school system of Branch
county for the educational privileges he enjoyed in youth, his time being
divided between the duties of the school room, the pleasures of the play
ground and the work of the farm. Under the direction of his father he
was well trained in all of the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the
agriculturist and assisted him in the operation of the old homestead up to
the time of his marriage. In 1889 he was united in marriage to Miss Emma
Norton, a daughter of Ansel Norton. He then lived on the Norton farm
for twelve years and came into possession of the home farm about i886.
He had operated this land in the meantime and he received as an inheritance
one hundred and ten acres of land, to which he afterward added by purchase a tract of forty-two and a half acres on section thirteen, so that he
has at the present time one hundred and fifty-seven and a half acres of
rich and arable land.  Here he carries on general farming but all of the
grain that he raises he feeds to his stock, having sheep, hogs and horses upon
his place, all of good grades. He sells annually considerable stock, receiving therefrom a good income. He is likewise a stockholder of the Creamery
Company at Batavia and was the first man to sign the paper promoting this
enterprise. From the beginning he has been one of its directors. In I9,1o
he built a fine residence on his farm, comprising one hundred and fifty-seven
and one-half acres and the place is richly furnished, making a most attractive




408


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


home, its hospitality being greatly enjoyed by the many friends of the family.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Fenner have been born five children: Lulu Maud,
who is now living in Coldwater; Clarence, Glema, Gladys and Eunice, all
at home.  The members of the household occupy an enviable position in
the social circles in which they move. In politics Mr. Fenner is a Democrat, interested in the growth and success of his party. He was elected
supervisor in I898 and has since held that office with the exception of the
year 1902. He was on the school board for a number of years and as a
public official is always true to.his duty, which he discharges with promptness and fidelity. His business record is alike creditable, for he is straightforward in all of his dealings, never taking advantage of the necessities of
his fellowmen and he has found that diligence and enterprise constitute a
safe and sure basis for the acquirement of a competence.
EDMUND W. QUICK.
E. W. Quick, whose landed possessions comprise one hundred and two
acres in Noble township, is a native of England, his birth having occurred in
Devonshire in April, 1835. His parents were James and Jane (Waller)
Quick. The father was a farmer by occupation, always following that pursuit in order to provide for his family, which numbered seven children. His
death occurred in England and E. W. Quick is the only representative of the
family that has sought a home in America. He acquired a good education
in the schools of his native country and was reared to farm life, lessons of
industry, perseverance and integrity being early impressed upon his mind, so
that in later years they have borne rich fruit. He continued on the old homestead until he had reached the age of twenty-two years, when, desiring to
profit by the better business opportunities of the new world, he bade adieu
to friends and native country and sailed for the United States. He did not
tarry on the Atlantic coast, however, but came at, once to Michigan and since
1858 has been a resident of this state. He married Miss Mary Martin, a
daughter of Phillip Martin. who was born in Devonshire, in 18,39, came from
England in I858, and they settled in Gilead township. There they lived for
three years, and in I86I.Mr. Quick rented a farm, which he cultivated until
I863, when he invested his savings in a tract of forty acres on section twelve,
Noble township. He then took up his abode on this place, and soon thereafter built a house and barn. As the years have passed he has added other
equipments and now has a well improved property. In I870 he bought fifty
acres of land and subsequently added twelve acres, so that one hundred and
two acres are now comprised within the boundaries of his place. He raises
both grain and stock, feeding the former, and he has a good place, thoroughly
in keeping with modern ideas of progressive agriculture.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Quick have been born seven children: Frank, who
is now living in Daisy, North Dakota; Jessie, who became the wife of Luke
Peachey and died in I89I; William, who is living in Daisy, North Dakota;
Agnes, who married John Woodard and is a resident of Page, North Dakota;




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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


409


Phillip, a physician practicing in Olivet, Michigan; Albert, who is in the
mail service running out of Branson; and Sidney S., who is engaged in the
practice of medicine and surgery in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was educated
in Perdue University, and graduated in the class of I906. He married Miss
Grace Kellett, and they have one little son, Garrette Wayne. Mrs. Quick
was born in La Grange county, Indiana., November 22, 1878, and is a datughter of Robert and Jane (Kelso) Kellett. All of his sons are prospering in
life and the family is one of which the parents have every reason to be proud.
In his political views Mr. Quick is a stalwart Republican and cast his
first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in I864, having in the meantime
taken out his naturalization papers. He has been called to several public
offices, serving for two terms as supervisor, also for two terms as treasurer
of the township and as a member of the school board for twenty-six years,
and there is no man in the community who is more thoroughly interested in
the welfare and upbuilding of the county than Mr. Quick. He is loyal to
American institutions, having a deep attachment for the land of his adoption.
He has never regretted his determination to seek a home in the new world,
for here he has found good business opportunities, and as the years have
passed he has prospered in his undertakings. He has justly earned the proud
American title of a self-made man, the only title which our liberty-loving
people acknowledge, and as the architect of his own fortunes has builded
wisely and well.
SAMUEL WATERS.
Some of the leading and most influential citizens of the prosperous
county of Branch are its farmers, who, although still in their prime have
made for themselves and families comfortable homes here and who are regarded as men of prominence in their town and county. One of these is
the gentleman named above, Mr. Samuel Waters, who has already achieved
a large measure of success in life.
Mr. Waters was born at Buffalo, New York, October 30, I852, he
being of English descent, and the only member of his family born in America. His father was James Waters and his mother was Elizabeth Cooper,
both natives of Lincolnshire, England, where they spent their early married life. James Waters was always a farmer, and in England had charge
of large farms, an avocation which he followed after coming to this country. He and his wife were the parents of nine children when in 1851 they
decided to try their fortunes in America, and they located first at Buffalo,
New York. Their means were very limited upon their arrival, but the English pluck and persistence won a way for them and they continued to grow
in prosperity year after year. They lived at Buffalo for three years and
then removed to White Pigeon, Michigan, where they remained for five
years, going from there to Ohio and finally to Fremont, Indiana, where
the parents died, the father in I879 and the mother in I88I. Both were
esteemed people and members of the Reformed church. Of their ten children, all but two, Thomas and Jane, are living, as follows: Mary Spade,
of Kinderhook; Eliza Kellogg, of Missouri; William, of Ohio; James, Mor



410


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


ris, George and Phillip, of Indiana; and Samuel, of Kinderhook, Michigan.
All have made homes for themselves and are well-to-do as regards this
world's goods, and all have families of their own.
Samuel Waters was reared upon the farm and as the youngest child
he lived at home during the life of his parents. He was married October
30, I877, to Miss Elizabeth Grimm, a native of Steuben county, Indiana,
where she was born January 24, I855. Her father, William Grimm, was
born in Stark county, Ohio, in June, 1832, and her mother, Mary A. Keller,
was born in Randolph county, Ohio, in I835. They removed to Steuben
county, Indiana, in an early day and spent fifty years of their lives there,
where the mother died December 12, 1903, and where the father still resides,
at Fremont.   They were the parents of four children, all of whom  are
living:  Elizabeth Waters, wife of our subject, and Henry, Ellwood and
George, all residents of Steuben county, Indiana.
The early married life of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Waters was spent in
Fremont township, Steuben county, Indiana, but in I88.8 Mr. Waters purchased his present farm in California township, Branch county, Michigan,
which has since been their home. The farm at first contained one hundred
and eighty-three acres, forty acres of which has since been sold, and it has
been transformed into one of the comfortable farm homes of this section.
Mr. Waters has cleared nearly thirty acres of the farm and has made many
notable improvements in the way of building, etc., including one of the
finest barns in the township, which is to be speedily followed by a residence
of modern construction.
A son and a daughter have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Waters. Bert,
the eldest, married Olive Powelson, and they have two daughters, Violet
and Marian, their home adjoining that of their parents.  The daughter,
Linnie, resides at home.
Mr. Waters has been an industrious and intelligent farmer and success
has crowned his efforts. He is a Prohibitionist in politics, although never
a seeker after office. His interest in educational matters has led, however,
to his selection as moderator of his school district for six years in succession, a position which he still holds.. Mr. and Mrs. Waters are members
of the Liberal United Brethren church and they stand high in the regard
of the residents of this section.
EDWIN:BOSWORTH CHURCH.
Representing a family of prominent connection with American life and
affairs from the early colonial period to the present, Mr. Edwin B. Church,
of Quincy, Michigan, has himself lived up to the best traditions of the
Church ancestry and is one of the best known and most influential citizens
of Branch county.  Born in Bristol, Rhode Island, in 1844, he comes of
truest New England stock, and on both his father and mother's sides is related to men of more than ordinary prominence in every-day life as well as
public activity.
William Henry Church, his father, also born in Bristol, was a descend



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


411


ant of Benjamin F. Church, whose participation in the Revolutionary war
is a treasured part of the family annals. An earlier Church had been commissioned lieutenant of militia at Bristol by none less than His Majesty
George the Third.   The connection of the Church family with America
began early in the seventeenth century, when they came from England and
made settlement in the town of Bristol near Mt. Hope, Rhode Island. The
prevailing occupation of the family in its various generations has been farming and stock-raising, William  Henry being also a farmer.  He received
his education in private schools at Bristol and Providence, and became one
of the largest landholders in the state of Rhode Island. He died at Bristol
in I898. aged eighty-three years.  He had come west and been in Grand
Rapids in the fifties, and visited his son at Quincy in I87o.  He was a
imember and active worker in the Congregational church, in politics was a
Republican of strong convictions but without aspirations for office, and
being a man of quite remarkable executive ability and force of character he
held a position of distinction in his community.
William H. Church married Susan M. Lincoln, who was born in Bristol
in I817, and died in 1876, in her fifty-ninth year. Her father was a farmer
and a native of Connecticut. W. H. Church and wife had eleven children,
namely:  Sarah Ann is the wife of George Burt, a farmer at Raynhfam,
Massachusetts; Susan Maria is the widow of James Herrendeen, in Washington, D. C.; William Albert resides on the old Rhode Island homestead
where he was born. The fourth member of the family is Edwin B. Church.
Henry Francis is a retired stock dealer in Providence, Rhode Island. Charles,
the sixth, died in infancy. Emily Lincoln lives in Bristol. Clara Medora
is the wife of Dr. William J. McCaw, of Providence. Alice Southworth,
residing in Bristol, is the widow of George Easterbrook. Carrie Percis is
a resident of Washington, D. C.  Benjamin Bradford died at the age of
fifteen.
Mr. Edwin B. Church spent his early life in the town of Bristol, was
reared on a farm, learned its duties and before coming west farmed for his
father. His education was received in the schools at Warren and Bristol.
From farming he directed his attention to the trade of machinist, which he
followed at Taunton, Massachusetts, and Providence. In the meantime, in
1862, he had responded to his country's call for soldiers, and. enlisting at
Bristol in the Twelfth Rhode Island Infantry, Company E, he served nine
months.  He participated at Fredericksburg under Burnsides, and thence
the regiment was ordered to Kentucky in pursuit of John Morgan, the Rebel
leader. At the close of his term he was returned to Providence and mustered out.
Mr. Church has been a resident at Quincy and identified with its welfare since I867, in the fall of which year he came from the east to permanently make his home in the Wolverine state. Opening a meat market in
Quincy, he also bought and shipped stock with this village as his headquarters, and continued in that general line of business, especially in buying
and shipping stock, for thirty odd years. His interests have been constantly
expanding ever since his location here. About I87I he bought a little farm




412


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


of ten acres in section sixteen of Quincy township, conducting this in connection with his other business, and since then he has added to his farm
until it now contains almost two hundred acres. In I88o he was one of the
organizers of the First National Bank of Quincy, being at the present time
the second of the original organizers living. He still retains his interest in
the institution, being a director and also for the past ten years vice-president. In politics a Republican, he has often served on the village board, and
is a member of the Baptist church of his town.
In I870 Mr. Church married Adaline (Broughton) Burdick, widow
of George W. Burdick. Mrs. Church was born in Quincy township, this
county, three miles west of the town of Quincy, in I836, and is one of the
oldest living native-born residents.  Her father, John Broughton, was a
maker of history in this county, esteemed and highly honored both as a
citizen and in private life. He was born in Rutland, Vermont, and died
at the age of eighty-five years, in I879. His ancestry was traced to three
Broughton brothers who came from   England in an early day and made
settlement in Vermont. John Broughton was a farmer, having come to
Michigan and settled at Quincy in I835. For about a year he kept a tavern
midway between Quincy and Coldwater, and thereafter was a resident of
Quincy. He traded extensively in lands, investing heavily in government
lands, and retained large amounts of it until his death. Quincy is partly
built on two farms owned by him on the west side of the town, and he also
had a farm on the east side, part of which has also become absorbed into the
village. Although a farmer by stated occupation, he gave much of his time
to real estate dealings. As a pioneer of the county he was identified with
the formation of the village of Quincy, and was always ready to support,
if he did not take the lead in any enterprise that meant the progress and
substantial welfare of the town. The Quincy Methodist church honors him
as one of its first and most actively influential members. When there was
no church in town his house was the meeting place for the worshipers in
that faith, and in fact the society was organized in his home. The site of the
present church edifice was donated by him, and his interest and activity were
constant factors in the religious and moral advancement of the town in his
lifetime. In politics he was a stanch Republican from the organization of
that party until his death.  He married Elizabeth Wingert, a native of
Pennsylvania and a daughter of Jacob Wingert, a tailor, who afterward lived
in New York state.  Mr. and Mrs. John Broughton were the parents of
seven children, namely:  Eleanor Eliza, now deceased, was the wife of
William Chappell, an army officer; Adaline, the present wife of Mr. Church,
and who by her first marriage had three children, George and John, both
deceased, and Fannie Church Parsons, about whom there is further mention
elsewhere; Sarah, John' George, and William, an artist, all of whom are
deceased; and Martha A. is the wife of Silas S. Daish, a retired grain dealer
in Washington, D. C., and they have two children-John B., a prominent
lawyer in Washington, national representative, and May E., who married
Thornton Lockerson, an insurance man in Philadelphia. Mrs. Church is a




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


413


member of the Methodist church at Quincy. Mrs. Broughton died in 1893,
aged ninety years.
William A. Church, a brother of Edwin B. Church, was, also a member
of Company E, Twelfth Rhode Island Infantry, and the brothers served
throughout their term together, both being in the battle of Fredericksburg.
Mrs. Fannie Church Parsons, the daughter and only living child of
Mrs. E. B. Church, has achieved a national reputation through her original
methods of kindergarten musical instruction.  She is the author of the
Illustrated Music Study system and is at the head of the musical department
in the National Normal School of Illustrated Music Study, the central studio
of which institution is in the Fine Arts Building at Chicago. She has held
this position the past four years, and is under contract for two, years more.
Her works were copyrighted in 1897, and her system is now in use in many
Chicago schools as well as in many other cities and towns and in every state
in the Union.
Mrs. Parsons' musical training was begun at the age of six years, and
was continued under the best masters obtainable. Several years were spent
under William Waldecker at Washington, followed by study at the New
England Conservatory at Boston, where she had such eminent instructors as
George Howard, Frank E. Morse, George Chadwick and W. F. Apthorp.
Her work of teaching children, already begun, was continued in Michigan,
and in those early years of her work she perfected the system by which her
name has become so well known and by which she has contributed so much of
value to musical education. In I89o she married Rev. W. H. Parsons, for
twenty-five years a member of the Methodist church in the Michigan conference, and now located at New Buffalo, that state. The three children
born of their marriage are Anita Church Parsons, Adymae and Edwina..
When her oldest daughter was five years old Mrs. Parsons, who in the
meantime had discontinued active educational work, formed a class of children in order that Anita might have the advantage of the class lessons which
had proved so beneficial to former pupils. From this beginning has grown
the movement which has resulted in the establishment of many normal centers where her system of instruction may be acquired. She has written several text books, manuals, charts and other aids for the practical teaching of
her methods, and, as already stated, her system is being introduced in numerous new centers every year and is constantly growing in favor among
educators.  Mrs. Parsons was reared by Mr. Church from    seven years
of age, and she thinks as much of him as her own father.
MARCELLUS HARRIS PARKER.
Marcellus Harris Parker, who, as an architect and builder was closely
associated with the improvement of Coldwater through many years so that
now various substantial and prominent buildings stand as monuments to his
skill and enterprise, was born in Sutton, New Hampshire, November i8,
1821, while his death occurred in Coldwater, November 2, i90o2. He left
the parental home when eighteen years of age, removing to, Rochester, New
York, where he served an apprenticeship as an architect and builder. He




414              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
afterward went to Buffalo, New York, where he remained for a brief period
and then became a resident of Vermilion, Ohio.
On the I8th of March, 1847, while in the Buckeye state, Mr. Parker
was married to Miss Harriet M. Sage, who was born in Middletown, Connecticut, February io, I827, her parents being George and Lucy (Davis)
Sage. They were also natives of Connecticut, whence they removed to Virginia and afterward to Ohio, where their last days were passed. Subsequent to their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Parker removed to Toledo, Ohio, and
there resided for eighteen months, on the expiration o'f which period they
took up their abode in Batavia, Michigan. In I85I they became residents
of Coldwater, where Mr. Parker resided until his life's labors were ended.
Here as an architect and builder he contributed largely to the improvement
and welfare of his adopted city.  Many prominent buildings here were
planned and constructed by him, including the public library and the court
house. He always lived faithfully up to the terms of a contract and was
thoroughly prompt and reliable in the execution of any work entrusted to
him and because of his capability and honorable methods he enjoyed a liberal patronage. In his later years he retired with a comfortable competence
to enjoy a well earned rest.
Mr. and Mrs. Parker became the parents of three children, but two died
in childhood, the surviving daughter being Celia, now the wife of Dr. J. H.
Woolley, a dentist of Chicago. There were no exciting chapters in the life
history of Mr. Parker but he displayed a persistency of purpose and fidelity
to honorable principles and a commendable and helpful interest in his fellowmen that made him one of the respected and representative residents of
Coldwater, and when he passed away at the advanced age of eighty-one
years his death was deeply regretted by many who knew and honored him.
His widow still survives him and yet occupies the old home in Coldwater.
CHARLES TITUS CORNWELL.
Charles Titus Cornwell, who is now living retired in Coldwater, was
born in Fulton county, New York, September 24, 182I, and has therefore
passed the eighty-third milestone on life's journey. He is descended from
Revolutionary stock. His paternal grandfather, Ashwell Cornwell, was one
of three brothers who came from England to America and at the time of
the Revolutionary war he espoused the cause of the colonists and aided in
the struggle for independence, holding the rank of captain. His son and
namesake Ashwell Cornwell, Jr., was born in Fulton county, New York,
and in early life learned the trade of a tanner and currier and also that of
shoe-making. He was one of four brothers, all of whom followed the same
business pursuits. Having arrived at years of maturity he wedded Ann Warn,
a native of Saratoga county, New York.
Charles T. Cornwell, the only representative of their family now living, was a lad of but eleven years when he left home and started out in the
world for himself. He has since depended entirely upon his own labors
and whatever success he has achieved is attributable alone to his untiring




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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


415


efforts.  He first worked for his board on a farm  for about three years
and the first wage he received was twenty-one dollars for seven months'
labor. He continued as a farm hand until about seventeen years of age,
when he entered upon an apprenticeship for the carriage-maker's trade, serving for three years in Fulton county, New York.  He then worked for a
short time at piece work and about 1842 removed to Ralston, Lycoming
county, Pennsylvania, where he began building cars for the mines. After
remaining at that place for a year he returned to Fulton county, New York,
where he resumed work at his trade. After spending some time as an
employe in Galloway, New York, he went to Rexford Flats, New York,
where he engaged in wagon making on his own account for about a year.
While there he was married to Miss Alma Lefferts and went to Troy, New
York, where he worked at the cabinet-maker's trade, spending about a year
and a half or two years in that place. He next settled at Schenectady, New
York, where he engaged in building railroad cars. In the meantime he had
learned photography and while in Schenectady he established a studio and
carried on business for about two years. In I849 he came to Coldwater
and in 1850 built the house that he now occupies. Here he worked at cabinet making and also followed the profession of photography. He traveled
all over the county in an early day and was in St. Louis during the Civil war.
His attention, however. has been principally given to photography and he
has carried on business in Coldwater as a representative of this art for
about thirty years, being the pioneer photographer in this part of the state.
He is an expert in daguerreotype work and has a fine selection of pictures
taken over a half century ago.
Mr. and Mrs. Cornwell have one son, Charles S., who is now a resident
of Chicago. The wife and mother died May 8, I9o4, and Mr. Cornwell has
since lived alone. His early political support was given to the VWhig party
and since its dissolution  he has joined the ranks of the Republican party,
which he has now supported for about half a century. He voted for Henry
Clay in the early days and has since cast his ballot in support of each Repulblican nominee. Mr. Cornwell is a gentleman of personal worth, of kindly
spirit, deference for the opinions of others, unfailing courtesy and innate
affability. In the long years of his residence in Michigan he has ever enjoyed the regard and trust of his fellowmen and is today one of the venerable
citizens of Coldwater, honored by all who know him.
MARSHALL F. SMITH.
Marshall F. Smitll is a representative of one of the pioneer families of
Branch county and has for more than a half century lived within its, borders,
so that he is familiar with its history. having watched its development through
five decades. He was born in Noble township September 26, I853. His
father, Walter W. Smith, was a native of Vermont, born February 21, I8IO,
while the mother, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Warren, was born December 26, I8I3.  In the year J84o Walter W. Smith came to the west,
settling at Niles, Michigan, where he worked at the carpenter's trade for two




416


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


years, having learned that business while in New England. Land was cheap
and could be had almost for the asking, as there were many tracts still in
possession of the government. He therefore secured a claim in 1842, entering one hundred and sixty acres on section ten, Noble township. Not a
furrow had been turned or an improvement made on the place, the tract presenting the appearance only of nature's handiwork. Mr. Smith did not at
once commence farming, but for four or five years thereafter continued carpentering. He then took up his abode upon his land, which is now known
as the David Ward farm. He afterward bought forty acres on the same
section, so that his place comprised two hundred acres. This he partially
improved, hiring a man to break the land, after which he would plant and
cultivate his crops. He carried on general farming for a number of years,
meeting with creditable success in his work. Here he reared his family of
four children, namely: George W., who was born in 1841 and was killed
at Jefferson, Texas, on the 4th of October, I868; Edward, who died May
I8, I888; Emily, who was born June 2, 1846, and died April 5, I870l; and
Marshall F., who is now the only survivor of the family.
In the district schools Marshall F. Smith acquired his education, and
upon the home farm he was reared, early beginning labor in the fields. As
soon as old enough to reach the plow handles he took his place in the fields,
and when not busy with the duties of the school room he assisted in cultivating and improving his father's land. In 1887 he purchased the home farm,
his father having died on the 4th of January of that year. A few months
later, however, he sold this property to his brother Edward and purchased
the Robinson farm of three hundred and thirty acres on sections fourteen and
fifteen, Noble township. Later he sold forty acres of this, so that he retained
possession of a tract of two hundred and ninety acres. He then removed
to that farm and made it his home continuously until 1899. He carried on
general agricultural pursuits and also fed cattle and sheep!, both branches of
his business proving profitable; but after cultivating his place for a number
of years he rented his farm and removed to the town, where he is now living
retired.
On the 24th of December, 1871, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Hattie
Boyer, a daughter of Andrew and Margaret Boyer of Noble township. Mrs.
Smith was born in the state of New York September 17, 1852, and came
with her family to Michigan about I855. In his political views Mr. Smith
is an earnest Republican, keeping well informed on the questions and issues
of the day, and for several years he served on the school board. He has
long been a witness of the events that have occurred in Branch county that
have left their impress upon the annals of this part of the state. He has seen
wild lands transformed into fine farms dotted with substantial buildings,
while here and there a church and school house indicate the advance of civilization, while towns and cities have become imbued with commercial and industrial life and activity. He rejoices in what has been accomplished in this
part of the state, and has always been the champion of movements that he
deemed of benefit to his community.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


417.


CHARLES HAMILTON.
Charles Hamilton, carrying on general farming on a tract of eightyfive acres on section fifteen, Bronson township, was born in Dublin, New
Hampshire, December IO, 1837, his parents being Charles A. and Susan
(Perry) Hamilton.   The family was established in Massachusetts at an
early day. The father was a carpenter and shoemaker by trade and in
connection with those pursuits he followed the occupation of farming. He
lived in the east until after the close of the Civil war, when he came to
Michigan, settling in Bronson township, Branch county, where he subsequently purchased forty acres of land on section fifteen, lying on the Chicago Pike and known as the old French Tavern place. Here he carried on
farming until I867, when he went to Missouri and purchased a tract of
land, but not finding this all he desired he returned to Michigan. Here he
worked at his trade and also on the farm but later he returned to the east,
where his last days were passed, his death occurring in 1887, while his wife
died January 3, 1899. In their family were four children, of whom Charles
is the eldest. His living brother is Horace, while Oliver died in I865 at
the age of twelve years. Edwin was killed in Brookfield, Missouri, in I87I.
Charles Hamilton was a student in the schools of New Hampshire in
his early boyhood days and afterward went to college in Westminster, Vermont. He completed his education, however, in Townsend, Vermont, where
he pursued a course in civil engineering, leaving school at the age of twenty
years.  In 1858 he arrived in Branch county, Michigan, and engaged in
teaching school in Bronson, also working on the farm for a year. He continued as a teacher until I86I, after which he responded to the country's
call for troops, enlisting in Company K, Seventh Michigan Infantry, for
three years.  He was with the army of the Potomac and participated in
many important battles that led to the ultimate triumph of the Union armies.
He was wounded in the head at the battle of Fair Oaks and was reported
as dead, but eventually he received care for his injuries and recovered.
Having served for three years he re-enlisted as a veteran in I864, becoming
a member of the Ninth Vermont Infantry, with which he remained for a
year, when in I865 he received an honorable discharge. He was a brave
and loyal soldier, who made a creditable record on the battlefields of the
south and with the triumphs of war he returned to his home.
Mr. Hamilton resumed school teaching in I865 and for a time was
principal of the schools of Burr Oak, Michigan. Later he went to Missouri, where he followed the same profession, being principal of a school
there for a several years. As an educator he was capable, zealous and progressive and the schools under his guidance made substantial progress. In
September, I874, he returned to Michigan, settling upon his father's farm
and in addition to school teaching he followed the profession of surveying.
In I882 he was elected county surveyor, which position he held for a number of terms and to which he was re-elected in I9o0.  His long service in
that office is indicative of his capability, fidelity and promptness and also of
the confidence and trust reposed in him.::;   f




418


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


On January I6, I862, Mr. Hamilton was married to Miss Lucretia R.
Rugg, of Londonderry, Vermont, and unto them have been born four children: Mabel F., at home; Myrtle E., who became the wife of George Cook
of Burr Oak, Michigan, and died October I, I897; Nellie E., at home; and
Lucretia R., the wife of C. M. Norton, who is living on the old homestead
and superintends the farm work, and they have a little son, Wilbur Hamilton.  The family home comprises a farm of eighty-five acres on section
fifteen, Bronson township, and this returns to Mr. Hamilton a good income
each year. He has a comfortable residence and good outbuildings, including two barns, one thirty-six by fifty feet and the other twenty-four by
twenty-six feet. Mr. Hamilton has erected nearly all of these buildings and
has made his place a model farm of the twentieth century, equipping it with
all modern conveniences and the latest improved machinery. This was once
the site of the old French tavern and was a stage station on the route between Chicago and Detroit. His land is nearly all under cultivation and
he carries on general farming, feeding all of his grain to his stock. His
political allegiance is given to the Republican party and for one year, I888,
he served on the county drainage commission. He is also a school director
and has ever manifested a deep and helpful interest in educational affairs in
this part of the state, while his own labors as a teacher have proved effective
in raising the standard of schools and promoting their efficiency.
Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton have one of the old spinning wheels which was
his mother's, which is close to a century old. He has also two volumes
of Moore's Universal Geography and Astronomy, one of the first editions
published in I8I9, also an old fashioned singing book which is much over
a century old, using the long "S," and it was the property of Early Percy
of Old England. This book was brought across the Atlantic. Mrs. Hamilton has a double coverlet which was woven by her grandmother. IHer
great-grandfather, Peter Putnam, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war,
which entitles the members of her family to become members of the Sons
and Daughters of the American Revolution.
EDWARD C. LOCKWOOD.
Edward C. Lockwood, whose farm on section six, Ovid township,
indicates in its attractive and well kept appearance the spirit of enterprise
and progress which dominates the owner, has here one hundred and seventeen acres of land that is arable and productive, owing to the careful cultivation which he has placed upon it. The buildings, too, are commodious
and substantial and everything about the farm shows care and painstaking
supervision. It was upon this place that Edward C. Lockwood first opened
his eyes to the light of day on the I2th of December, I857, a son of Henry
and Lydia (Jordan) Lockwood.
Edward C. Lockwood, reared to the occupation of the farm, was educated in the district schools and in the high school of Coldwater, in which
he spent one year as a student. After putting aside his text-books his undivided attention was given to agricultural pursuits and he soon learned the
best methods of tilling the fields, planting crops and caring for the harvests.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


419


Wishing to establish a home of his own he secured as a companion and helpmate on life's journey Miss Mary E. Lockwood, to whom he was married
on the 31st of October, 1879. She was born in Wyoming county, New
York, October 31, I858, and is a daughter of Rufus and Sarah (Mead)
Lockwood, of Coldwater, Michigan, who were early settlers of Branch
county, coming to the west when their daughter was a little maiden of seven
summers.  The family home was established first in Coldwater township
upon a farm of about one hundred acres of land and there Mrs. Lockwood
of this review spent her girlhood days, while in the Coldwater high school
of the city she acquainted herself with the branches of learning commonly
taught in such institutions and graduated in the class of 1887. Unto our
subject and his wife have been born three children: Laura, who was born
January 19, I88I; Bertha, who was born May 21, 1883, and is the wife
of Luther E. Russell, a farmer of Ovid township; and Florence, whose birth
occurred June 7, I896. All were born on what is known as the old Lockwood homestead, where the parents yet reside with their eldest and youngest daughters. Mr. Lockwood here owns and operates one hundred and
seventeen acres of land, having a well equipped property, the value of which
has beert enhanced through the excellent improvement that he has placed
upon it and by the careful cultivation of his fields. He annually harvests good
crops and on the market finds a ready sale for his products, so that each
year adds to his income.
When age gave to Mr. Lockwood the right of franchise he cast his
first ballot for the men and measures of the Republican party and since that
time he has never wavered in his allegiance to its principles, believing that
it contains the best elements of good government. He is recognized as an
active, capable and effective worker in the local ranks of his party, and that
he has the entire trust and good will of his fellow townsmen is shown by
the fact that he has been retained in the office of justice of the peace for
eighteen years —a fact which also stands in uncontrovertible evidence of a
capable service unmarked by fear or favor in his judicial opinions, which,
on the contrary, are ever characterized by fairness and impartiality.
HECTOR McLEAN.
Hector McLean is numbered among the pioneer residents of Branch
county and in his farming operations in Matteson township is meeting with
a creditable measure of success. Numbered among the native sons of New
York, he was born in Broome county on the I6th of August, 1831. His
father, Charles McLean, was a farmer by occupation. He, too, was a native
of New York, born in Schenectady, and there he was- reared and married,
the lady of his choice being Miss Rachel Buys, who was born in Pennsylvania. In their family were nine children, of whom Hector McLean is the
fourth in order of birth. In the year I845 the father came with his family
to Michigan, settling in Matteson township, Branch county, on the farm
which is now the home of our subject. Here he purchased eighty acres of
land, the greater part of which was raw and unimproved, but he was not
long permitted to enjoy his new home, for his death occurred soon after
his arrival.




420


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Hector McLean and his brother, who were living here at the time, took
up the arduous task of clearing the farm and our subject was finally left
the sole possessor of the property, which he continued to clear and cultivate.
The splendid appearance of the place is due to his energies, keen business
discrimination and practical methods.  He now has eighty acres of land,
the greater part of which has been transformed into productive fields and
yields to him good harvests annually. The place is attractive in its appearance, owing to the care and labor he has bestowed upon it, and he is justly
accounted one of the progressive agriculturists of the community.
In 1871 occurred the marriage of Hector McLean and Miss Mary E.
Anderson, a native of Steuben county, Indiana, born on April 12, 1842. She
is a daughter of William and Elizabeth Anderson and her father was a
native of Lo Maine, and the mother of the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. Mrs.
McLean was brought to Branch county when only four years of age and
her education was acquired in the district schools of Bronson. Unto Mr.
and Mrs. McLean was born one son, who died in infancy. They are people of genuine worth, occupying an enviable position in public regard, and
the cordial and generous hospitality of their pleasant home is greatly enjoyed
by their many friends.
When age gave to Mr. McLean the right of franchise he became a
supporter of Republican candidates and principles, but now he is known as
a Prohibitionist, although he is somewhat independent in his political affiliation, supporting the man rather than the party. Matters of local progress
are always of interest to him and his co-operation can be counted upon to
further measures for the general good. He is a member of the Grange at
Colon, Michigan, and is well known in the county where much of his life
has been passed, for he was but fourteen years of age when he arrived in
Michigan. He has therefore lived in this county for six decades and has
witnessed almost its entire development and progress. As the years have
gone by changes have occurred that have transformed an unbroken timber
region or wild prairie land into productive fields in the midst of which are
found substantial homes, while here and there churches have been built and
towns have sprung up containing all of the industrial and commercial interests known to the older east. His work has been entirely along agricultural
lines and a life of enterprise and carefully directed labor has resulted in making him a prosperous citizen.
WILLIAM    C. SORTER.
William C. Sorter is numbered among the pioneer residents of Branch
county, where he is devoting his energies to agricultural pursuits with good
results, making his home on section twenty-eight, Ovid township, where he
has a valuable farm. His birth occurred in Steuben county, New York, on
the 3d of January, I837, his parents being Jacob and Hannah (Clark) Sorter,
both of whom were natives of the same county. The paternal grandparents
removed to New Jersey from the Empire state and there Jacob Sorter was
reared and educated. He chose as a companion and helpmate for life's journey Miss Hannah Clark, who also spent her childhood in that locality. In




:-i




-P, -,






Ad* e  m^~










HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


421.


pioneer times they came westward to Branch county, arriving in Michigan in
1838, at which time they settled in Ovid township upon a farm of forty acres.
All around was the forest and it was only here and there that a settler had
made a little clearing and begun the development of a farm. Mr. Sorter cut
away the trees, plowed the land and tilled the fields and in due course of time
had his entire farm under cultivation. He lived upon that place for three
years and a half and then purchased what has since been known as the Sorter
farm. He purchased forty acres and then entered eighty acres of land from
the government, buying the remainder from other parties. The place comprises two hundred and sixty acres of land, the greater part of which is under
cultivation. Mr. Sorter bought and sold various farms in the county and
capably conducted his business interests with the result that as the years
passed he acquired a handsome competence. In politics he was always earnest
and active in support of the principles of Democracy, and he did everything
in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of his party. His
death occurred in I882, when he was eighty years of age, and thus passed
away one of the honored pioneer residents of this section of Michigan. In
the family were eight children, three of whom were born in New York,
while five were born in Branch county. All were sons, and the eldest died
in infancy. The others were George, William, Henry, Andrew, James, Delevan and David.
William Sorter of this review was only about a year and half oldl when
brought by his parents to Branch county, so that he was reared amid the wild
scenes of frontier life. At the usual age he entered the district school near
his father's home. The school house was built of logs and was furnished in
primitive manner, and the curriculum embraced but a few branches of study.
He made good use of his opportunities, however, and in the school of experience has learned many valuable lessons as the years have gone by. In
1864 Mr. Sorter was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Strong, a daughter
of Calvin Strong, a pioneer of Branch county and a farmer by occupation.
He also followed mechanical pursuits, possessing considerable ingenuity in
that direction. Mrs. Sorter is a native daughter of Coldwater township and
there her girlhood days were passed. She has been to her husband a faithful
companion and helpmate on life's journey. Their beautiful country residence
and outbuildings are most attractive to the passer-by. It is beautifully located
and one of the most attractive residences in the township. Mr. and Mrs.
Sorter have two of the old parchment deeds, one bearing the signature of
President Martin Van Buren and dated October Io, I840, and the other
signed by President James K. Polk and bears the date June I, I848. These
are valuable souvenirs in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Sorter.
In his political views Mr. Sorter is a Republican and has ever kept well
informed on the questions and issues of the day. He regards it the duty
as well as the privilege of every American to cast his ballot in support of
principles in which he believes and which he deems. will prove of greatest
good to county, state or nation. He served as township treasurer for one
year and he has been chosen as administrator of many estates-which fact
indicates that his fellow-townsmen have had trust in him. Fraternally he is




422


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


connected with the Masonic lodge at Coldwater and he and wife are members of the Methodist church at Kinderhook. He looks at life from a practical standpoint, for there is nothing narrow or contracted in his nature, and
throughout the county he is widely known and highly respected, justly meriting the esteem which is given him and which is ever a public recognition of
genuine personal worth.
FRED OLDS.
Fred Olds follows the occupation of farming on section twenty-three,
Union township, and is numbered among the pioneer settlers of Branch
county. His memory embraces the period of early development: here when
the land was wild and the work of improvement seemed scarcely begun.
He was born in Batavia township, Genesee county, New York, June 8, 183I.
His father, William Olds, was a native of Vermont and a brother of Joseph
Olds, who after residing for some time in New York continued his westward way to Branch county, Michigan. where he arrived in 1836. Few,
indeed, were the settlers living in this part of the state and he was the third
man to locate on Battle Creek road, extending from, Hodunk to Union City.
He was of English descent and traced his ancestry back to one of three
brothers who came from England to America at an early period in the colonization of the new world.
William Olds, father of our subject,' on leaving Vermont became a resident of Genesee county, New York. He was a farmer by occupation and
always followed that pursuit in order to provide for his family. He came
to Branch county in I8391, settling in Union township, where he secured a
tract of land and opened up an excellent farm. The implements in use at
that time were very crude as compared to the modern farm machinery and
necessitated much manual labor which does not fall to the lot of the farmer
at the present day but he persisted in his work of improving his property,
which in due course of time became valuable owing to the cultivation he had
bestowed upon it. He lived to the very advanced age of seventy-nine years
but his wife, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Palmer and was a native
of Genesee county, New York, lived to be only fifty years of age. They were
the parents of seven children, two sons and five daughters, all of whom
reached adult age.
Fred Olds, the eldest son and third member of the family, was a youth
of eight years when he came to Branch county, the family home being established in Union township. In the winter months when the weather was not
too severe he made his way to the little log school house and in fact he
assisted in its construction. He there conned his lessons, sitting on a rude
slab benclh. In the summer months, however, he had no opportunity of
attending school but remained at home, assisting in clearing the farm and
preparing the fields for cultivation. He aided in the operation of his father's land until twenty-three years of age, when he was married in I857 to
Miss Harriet Wilson, a daughter of Peter Wilson. The young couple took
up their abode in a little log shanty standing on a half acre of land. Mr.
Olds has since lived in this place, although the pioneer cabin has long since




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


423


been replaced by a more commodious and modern residence and his farm
has been extended until it now comprises two hundred acres of rich and
productive land. He has traveled considerably, visiting San Francisco irn
1874, also going to the Atlantic coast, when he visited Virginia. He has
gone to, other places and has thus gained considerable knowledge of his
native country.  His travel has been made possible through his earnest
labor and he has become a prosperous agriculturist.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Olds were born three children: William, Libbie,
the wife of Lewis Adolph; and Maud, at home. Mr. Olds is a stalwart
Republican and has assisted in electing each Republican president since the
organization of the party. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church
and his Christian faith has been a permeating influence in his honorable
life. He has lived in Branch county for two-thirds of a century and few
of its settlers today were here at the time of his arrival. He has been an
interested witness of the changes which have occurred, assisting as he could
in its development and today he is numbered among its respected pioneers,
having planned and accomplished a successful business career, while at the
same time faithfully performing his duties of citizenship.
SAMUEL I. TREAT.
Long, active and honorable connection with business interests of Coldwater well entitles Samuel I. Treat to mention with the representative citizens of Branch county. He was born in Ovid township, this county, August 19, I840. His father, Samuel M. Treat, was a native of New York and
came to Branch county about 1838, settling in Ovid township, where he took
up land from the government. It was wild and unimproved but he at once
began its cultivation and in the course of time developed a productive farm,
which he continued to make his home until his death at the age of seventyfour years. He married Fannie Ives, a native of New York, who died when
their son Samuel was only three weeks old. The babe was then taken to
the home of his grandparents, with whom he remained until seven years of
age, when his father married again and he returned to the old homestead
farm. He acquired his education in the common schools, attending for about
three months in the winter seasons, while in the summer he aided in the work
of the farm, assisting in plowing, planting and cultivating. He continued to
aid his father until twenty-one years of age, when he started out in life on
his own account, working by the month as a farm hand.
Samuel I. Treat was thus engaged until 1862, when, feeling that his
first duty was to his country, he enlisted in the One Hundredth Illinois Infantry as a private, serving for more than nine months, after which he
received an honorable discharge and returned to Adrian, Michigan. lHe
remained a resident of that place for about two years, after which he came
to Coldwater and he has since followed farming and also, dealt in hides,
pelts, tallow, furs, junk, salt and fertilizers, carrying on this business for about
thirty-five years. He also renders tallow and grease, having a large slaughtering and rendering plant upon his farm, which is situated just outside the
city limits of Coldwater and comprises one hundred and twenty acres.




424


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Mr. Treat was married to Miss Helen Armstrong, and unto them wrere
born two sons and a daughter, but the latter died in infancy. The sons,
Frank and Vernon, are both associated with their father in business. Mr.
Treat has always been a Republican since casting his first presidential ballot
for Abraham Lincoln in I86o. He keeps well informed on the questions
that divide the two great parties and is thus able to support his position by
intelligent argument. He now belongs to Butterworth Post, No. o09, G.
A. R., of Coldwater, and is interested in his comrades of the Civil war, spending many pleasant hours in recalling the scenes that occurred on the battlefields of the south. He is equally loyal to his country in days of peace and
during the sixty-five years of his residence in this county he has been the
champion of all movements tending toward the material, intellectual, social
and moral development of his locality. He has lived sixty-five years without the use of liquor or tobacco.
Frank W. Treat, the elder son of Samuel I. Treat, was born in Ovid
township, July 3I, I869, and is indebted to the public school system of Coldwater for the educational privileges he has enjoyed. In I888 he went to
New York City, where he entered the employ of J. P. Felt, where he spent
two years as a clerk, and then for three years was in the employ of George F.
Cram, the well known publisher. Onl the expiration of that period he re-turned to Coldwater, in 1893, and entered into partnership with his father.
They have since conducted a prosperous business, making large sales annually,
so that a good financial return is secured upon their investment and as the
result of their labors and business force. In 19o2 Frank Treat was married
to Miss Dora Gripman, a daughter of Lindley H. and Jane (Ferguson)
Gripman. They have three children, a son and two daughters: F. Lesley,
Helen Jane, and Jessie L. Frank Treat is now serving as alderman of the
first ward of Coldwater and is a staunch Republican. He belongs to the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and in social, business and political relations occupies a prominent position in his city, while his personal worth
entitles him to the regard in which he is uniformly held.
Vernon I. Treat, the younger son of Samuel I. Treat, was born in
Coldwater, January 3, I875, and after acquiring his education in the public
schools responded to his country's call for troops, enlisting as a private of
the First Illinois Volunteer Infantry in the Spanish-American war.  He
went with that regiment to Cuba, participated in the battle of Santiago,
returned with his command to Montauk Point, Long Island, and thence to
Chicago, where he received an honorable discharge. In I9oo, however, he
re-enlisted as a member of Company L, Thirtieth United States Regulars,
and was promoted to corporal. He was also made quartermaster sergeant
of his company, with which he went to the Philippines, remaining there for
nineteen months in active service. He was with the army altogether for
twenty-two months and was discharged with the rank of quartermaster
sergeant at San Francisco, California, returning to his home on the 3rd of
April, 1901. He made a creditable military record and is now numbered
with the veterans of recent years who have shown that in her military
prowess the United States deserves to rank with the great powers of the




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


425


world. Following his return Vernon Treat began traveling for a Chicago
house, buying hides in Wisconsin, Minnesota and the northwest until April,
1904. He then returned to his home and has been active in the management
of the business here, associated with his father and brother. He was married in j904 to Miss Catherine Stowe, a daughter of Granville Stowe. He
belongs to the Spanish-American War Association and to the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows at Coldwater. The family has long been prominent
socially in this city, and father and sons are known as reliable, enterprising
business men.
FRED P. FRY.
Fred P. Fry, a prominent farmer of Batavia township, living on section two, is one of MIichigan's native sons, and the spirit of enterprise which
has dominated this state in its upbuilding and development has been manifest in this native son of Michigan. His birth occurred in Burr Oak, January 3, I858, his parents being Charles U. and Catherine (Wagner) Fry,
both natives of Pennsylvania. The father was born in Union county, that
state, and when a young man came to Michigan, being married in St. Joseph
county to Miss Wagner, who was born in 1837 and came to the west at an
early age. Mr. Fry was a blacksmith by trade and he also followed farm —
ing. On leaving his native state he settled first in Millgrove township, Steuben county, Indiana, and afterward came to Branch county, living on section one, Batavia township, where his death occurred when he was about
fifty-eight years of age. His wife passed away in 1903. In their. family
were eight children, three daughters and five sons, all of whom reached
mature years but one.  Fred P. Fry was about three years old when he
went to Indiana, where he remained until sixteen years of age, there attending the district schools. He then came to Branch county and with his
father settled on section one, Batavia township, aiding in the arduous task
of developing and improving a farm. On the 3rd of January, 1883, he was
married to Miss Anna M. Graf, a daughter of Gustave and Magdalena
(Piltz) Graf, both of whom were born in Germany. On coming to America
the father settled in Aubvrn. New York, and the mother came to Coldwater,
Michigan, when a young woman. They were married in that city and then
returned to Auburn, New York, but afterward came to Branch county in
the spring of I862. Mrs. Fry was born in Auburn, New York, August 4,
I86I, and was but an infant when brought by her parents to Michigan.
The young couple began their domestic life upon a rented farm in Batavia township, where they remained for a year, and one year was also spent
at Eaton Rapids, Michigan, in the hotel business. In 1885 Mr. Fry purchased his present farm and took up his abode in a little log house, but this
has since been replaced by a modern frame residence. The farm comprises
eighty acres and is well tilled, owing to the care and labor which Mr. Fry
has bestowed upon the place and the diligence and energy which he manifests in all of his farm work. Unto him and his wife has been born a daughter, Florence, who at the age of sixteen years is attending school in the
eighth grade, and is also taking music.  Matters of local progress and




426              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
national advancement are causes dear to his heart and he has co-operated in
many movements for the general good. In his political views he is a Republican, and he belongs to the Grange and to the Knights of the Maccabees.
His wife and daughter are also members of the Grange. Mr. Fry is a
lover of fine stock, of the Red Duroc breed.
OLIVER MORRILL.
Oliver Morrill, whose name appears on the roll of old settlers in Branch
county where he is now following farming, his home being on section twentytwoi, Union township, is a native son of Vermont. He was born there December I, I826. His father, Jeremiah Morrill, was also born in the Green
Mountain state, and he came to Branch county, Michigan, in I835. One
can imagine the state at that time an almost unbroken wilderness, the forests
stretching away for miles to the north. The harbors had not been improved
and there was little evidence of a growing civilization. The wild woods
furnished excellent opportunity for the trapper, and it was thus that Jeremiah
Morrill largely earned his livelihood and provided for his family. He married Rosamond Bryant, also a native of Vermont, and both died when about
seventy-five years of age.
Oliver Morrill, the eldest of their three sons, was a lad of about nine
years when brought by his parents to the pioneer west. They lived for a
time at Adrian, Michigan, spending about two years there, after which they
took up their abode in Union township, Branch county, where Mr. Morrill
obtained his education in the district schools. He was about twenty-one
years of age when he began learning the moulder's trade at Union City, and
he followed that pursuit for fifteen years. Later he returned to the farm and
has since devoted his energies to, agricultural pursuits.
It was in the same year that he was married, having been joined in wedlock in I86I to Miss Emily Lake. They have one daughter, Eva, now the
wife of Wilbur Warren. They also lost three children.
Mr. Morrill's farm comprises eighty acres of land, which is well improved with modern equipments. He has led a busy and useful life, carrying on general agricultural pursuits for forty-four years. He has also been
identified with the development of the county, aiding in many practical ways
in its growth and improvement. He has always favored good roads, good
schools and the general progressive development, and in local offices has
proved his loyalty to the community. His vote has long been cast for the
men and measures of the Republican party, and he is a man always true to
his honest convictions. He needs no special introduction to the readers of
this volume, having so long resided here, but no history of the community
would be complete without mention of this pioneer settler.
ALBERT A. DORRANCE.
Albert A. Dorrance, who is now living a retired life in Coldwater, has
been connected with various business and public interests which have had
direct bearing upon shaping the policy and molding the history of Branch




y/<7)








HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


427


county. He is descended from French ancestry and the name was originally
spelled D'Orrance. The ancestors of a less remote period, however, came
from Scotland. The great-grandfather, Rev. Samuel Dorrance, was a native
of that country and a graduate of Dumbarton College. He became a minister
of the Gospel and for fifty years was pastor of a church in Windham county,
Connecticut. His son, Samuel Dorrance, was a soldier of the Revolutionary
war and acted as clerk of his company. He was born in Connecticut and
was closely identified with the colonial history of his locality and with the
early events of the republic. His son, George Dorrance, was born in Massachusetts, whence he removed to Providence, Rhode Island. He became a
captain in the war of 1812, his commission being issued by Governor Elbridge
Gerry, of Massachusetts, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. George Dorrance was married to Miss Ann Olney Warner, who was
probably a native of Rhode Island. She died when her son Albert was about
six years of age, and the father passed away about six years later.
Albert A. Dorrance is a native of Albion, Orleans county, New York,
his birth having occurred at the family home on the Erie canal, September 8,
1827. He was the ninth in a family of eleven children, and on being left
an orphan at the age of twelve years he started out to make his own way in
the world, working at any employment which he could secure. He attended
school as opportunity offered and at different times was employed in a printing office, in a jewelry store and in a drug store at Albion and Rochester.
Realizing the value and need of an education he became a student in Brockport Collegiate Institute. His thoughtful consideration of life, its needs and
its possibilities were early manifest and indicated the development of a strong
character.
Thinking that he might have better business opportunities in the west
Mr. Dorrance came to Michigan in I848, locating first in Detroit, where for
a brief period he was employed in a newspaper office. He was also western
correspondent for the New York Tribune, at that time published by Horace
Greeley, with whom he was personally acquainted, having been in his employ
in the east. From Detroit he went to Jackson, Michigan, where he established the Jackson Citizen, a newspaper which is yet published, being at the
present time the property of Hon. James O'Donnell. Mr. Dorrance continued
the publication of the Citizen for about a year, after which he went to Washington, D. C., to accept an appointment under President Fillmore. He did
not tarry long in the capital, however, but returned to the New England
states and also went to Albion, New York, the place of his nativity. There
in the year I85I he was united in marriage to Miss Juliet S. Gregory and the
following year returned with his wife to Jackson, Michigan.
On again taking up his abode in that city Mr. Dorrance established a
drug store, but after a year accepted a position at the state prison, serving in
that capacity for ten years. He came to Coldwater in the spring of I868 and
again engaged in the drug business, establishing the store which is now conducted by his son. He has also filled various public offices during his residence here.
He was for four years postmaster under President Harrison, and during that
period established the free delivery system. A member of the board of edu



428


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


cation for fifteen years, he acted for some time as its president and did effective
service in behalf of the public school system of the city. He was also president of the board of electric lights and water works; also the first president
of the board of public works. He retired from active business about I902 or
I903 and has since enjoyed a well merited rest. Although now well advanced in years, having passed the seventy-eighth milestone on life's journey,
in spirit and interests he seems yet in his prime and keeps well informed on
the questions and issues of the day. He was one of the organizers of the Republican party at Jackson, Michigan, in the year I854 and since that time has
been active in its ranks. His first presidential vote was cast for Zachary
Taylor, and he also supported Fillmore. He then cast a ballot for John C.
Fremont in I856 and has never wavered in his allegiance to the Republican
party from that time to the present. He was a delegate to the national convention which nominated President William McKinley at St. Louis, and
also to the one which nominated Theodore Roosevelt for the vice-presidency
at Philadelphia. In the winter of I848-9 he was foreman of the state printing
at Lansing, Michigan. He was one of the promoters of the Battle Creek and
Coldwater electric line, assisting in securing the right-of-way, and his efforts
have been of material benefit in promoting public progress: and improvement
in the state along many lines.  He has been a member of the Presbyterian
church for about forty years and has held membership relations with the
Masonic fraternity for a half century, joining the order in Jackson, Michigan.
He attained the Knight Templar degree, is a past eminent commander of the
Commandery and also a member of the Grand Commandery of the State of
Michigan.
Mr. and Mrs. Dorrance became the parents of a daughter and two sons:
Mary J., the wife of W. S. Hawley; Ralph G., who is engaged in the drug
business in Chicago; and Albert J., who is a druggist of Coldwater. In the
evening of life Mr. Dorrance is now living retired and well merits the rest
that is vouchsafed to him, for his has been an active, useful and honorable
career. His name is closely associated with many events of importance, especially during the earlier epoch in the history of the commonwealth, and at
all times his course has been actuated by honorable principles and untiring
devotion to the general good.
CLARENCE C. JONES.
Clarence C. Jones, since I899, connected with the Wolverine Portland
Cement Company at Quincy, is a native son of this city, born in 1870. His
father, John H. Jones, was born in the state of New York and in early.manhood followed the occupation of farming, but afterward turned his attention to merchandising. He came to Michigan in I854, settling on a
farm in Branch county in Quincy township. He then carried on general
agricultural pursuits with good success until 1884, when he took up his
abode in Quincy, where he engaged in buying and selling live stock and
wool, continuing in that department of business activity up to the time of
his death. He was industrious and skillful as a farmer and in commercial




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


429


pursuits was enterprising and sagacious, accumulating as the years went
by considerable valuable property. He became a stockholder, director and
the vice president of the First National Bank of Quincy and his own name
was an honored one on commercial paper. Fraternally he was a Mason,
interested in the craft and in sympathy with its teachings.  In politics he
was a Republican, and several times represented his township on the board
of supervisors.  He was also chosen to represent his district in the lower
branch of the state legislature for two terms and in the senate for two
terms.  He gave careful consideration to the questions whch came up for
settlement and was instrumental in securing much wise legislation which
has proven of direct benefit to the commonwealth. He was also connected
with constructive legislation and his official career was characterized by an
unfaltering devotion to the general good. Following his retirement from
the office of state senator he was made president of the village board of
Qtuincy and again was returned to the board of supervisors, whereupon he
served for several additional terms.  He married Miss Susan C. Warfield,
who was born in New York and was a daughter of William H. Warfield, a
native of Maryland, who removed from    that state to the Empire state,
where he engaged in tilling the soil. Mrs. Jones was one of two children,
the brother being William H. Warfield, who is a retired farmer now living
in Canandaigua, New York.    Mrs. Jones was a member of the Presbyterian church and died in that faith in I886 at the age of fifty-seven years,
being survived for ten years by her husband, who passed away in I895 at
the age of sixty-six years. In their family were five children, but the first
named is deceased.  The others are:  Clinton W\., who is in the railway
mail service and lives in Quincy; Addie E., the wife of Arthur Pessell, an employe of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, living in Los Angeles,
California; Herbert M., a farmer residing in Reading township; and Clarence C.
In the district schools Clarence C. Jones began his education, which he
continued in Quincy and in a business college at Valparaiso, Indiana. Following the completion of his education he devoted his attention for a number of years to clerking in clothing stores in Quincy and Jonesville. He
afterward took charge of a set of books in the mill at Jonesville, and later
he returned to, Quincy, where in 1897 he embarked in the grocery business,
conducting his store for a year. In I899 he entered the office of the Wolverine
Portland Cement Company, at Quincy, where he has remained to the present
time, covering a period of six years, and he is now one of the stockholders
and directors of the company.
In 1892 was celebrated the marriage of Clarence C. Jones and Miss
Lena M. Berry, who was born in Quincy in 1872, and is a daughter of L. D.
and Mary (Redding) Berry, both of whom were residents of Quincy. Mrs.
Jones has a half-sister, Nellie. She is a member of the Episcopal church,
while Mr. Jones belongs to the Masonic Lodge and to the Knights of Pythias
fraternity. He is a stalwart Republican, active in the work of his party in
this locality, and in 1894 was chosen village treasurer, while in 1896 he was
elected justice of the peace, and at this writing is serving his second term as.*




430


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


president of the village. Interested in its welfare and progress, his administration of office is practical and at the same time lacks not that progressive
spirit which works for improvement along substantial lines.
A. J. DORRANCE.
A. J. Dorrance, proprietor of one of the oldest established drug stores of
Coldwater, was born in Jackson, Michigan, December 22, 1856, his parents
being A. A. and Juliet S. (Gregory) Dorrance. He is the youngest of three
children, and attended the Jackson city schools until about twelve years of
age, when he came to Coldwater and continued his education here. He began
in the drug business with his father in I873 in the capacity of clerk, and so
continued until he became proprietor. He carries on business along both
wholesale and retail lines and the house sustains an unassailable reputation
for its progressive and honorable business methods. In I89o  A. J. Dorrance was united in marriage to Miss Anna J. Williams, who was left an
orphan in early girlhood and was reared by her grandmother, Mrs. S. C.
Williams, of Buffalo, New York. Her girlhood days were passed in South
Carolina, and her education acquired in that state was completed by graduation from Aiken Academy. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Dorrance have been born
seven children: Francis, Mary, Albert, Catherine, Elsie, Julia and Ralph.
Mr. Dorrance is a Republican, firml in his advocacy of the party and its
principles, and yet without political aspirations for himself. He has resided
in Coldwater from the age of twelve years, and has a wide acquaintance
both in business and social circles. The fact that many of his warmest
friends are numbered among those who have known him from boyhood is
an indication of an honorable life and the proof of his activity and capability
in business is found in the excellent success which attends his efforts. He
has wrought along modern business lines, and energy and keen discrimination are accounted his dominant qualities.
F. J. DUNKS.
F. J. Dunks, who is now engaged in the real estate and loan business
in Coldwater, is numbered among the citizens who have long resided in
Branch county and have witnessed its development from the early days. His
mind forms a connecting link between the primitive past and the progressive
present and his influence and labors have been no unimportant element in promoting public progress.
Mr. Dunks was born in Monroe county, New York, September 13, I835.
His father, Edwin H. Dunks, was a native of New Hampshire, born in I8o5,
and from the Old Granite state he removed to Batavia, New York. He
was a farmer by occupation, and in August, 1853, he came to. Coldwater,
Michigan, where he was engaged in loaning money. He died in the eightyfirst year of his age, one of the respected and honored pioneer residents
of this part of the state. His political views accorded with Republican principles, and his religious faith was that of the Baptist church. His wife, who
bore the maiden name of Jane Wright, was born in Genesee county, New




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


431


York, in I8o9, and died in Coldwater, Michigan, in 1882 at the age of
seventy-three years. They were the parents of two daughters, now deceased,
and two sons, the brother of our subject being Edward J. Dunks of Muskegon,
Michigan.
F. J. Dunks, the eldest of this family, and the only one now living in
Branch county, spent his boyhood days in Monroe and Orleans counties, New
York, and pursued his education in the schools of Albion, that state. He was
eighteen years of age when he came to Branch county, Michigan, and a short
time before he attained his majority he returned to New York, purchasing
a farm in Orleans county, whereon he made his home for a year. He then
sold that property and again came to Branch county, purchasing a tract of
land near Coldwater, which he still owns. He was married in October, I862,
to Miss Nancy Parsons, a daughter of Daniel and Amelia (Harrison) Parsons,
the former a native of England, and the latter of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The mother came to Coldwater in I829 with her aunt, and they cast
in their lot with the pioneer settlers of this part of the state. There were
only three white families living in what is now Coldwater, but the Indians
were numerous, and their wigwams could be seen here and there in the
forests. Much wild game, including deer, turkeys and prairie chickens, could
be had, and wild animals were very numerous. The homes olf the few settlers
were mostly log cabins and the work of improvement and progress seemed
scarcely begun. Mr. Parsons came to this county in I836, and was married
here in Coldwater. There were six children born of that union, of whom
Mrs. Dunks is the second in order of birth, her natal day being July 21, I84I.
She has spent her entire life in this county and has a very wide acquaintance
here. At the time of his marriage Mr. Dunks located on his farm, four miles
northeast of Coldwater in Coldwater township. The place was all covered
with timber, and their home was a little log cabin eighteen by twenty-four
feet. With characteristic energy he began clearing and developing the land.
As soon as the trees were cut down and the brush cleared away he plowed
his fields and planted his crops, and in the course of time had improved an
excellent farm property of one hundred and sixty acres on which he erected
good buildings, also built fences and added other modern accessories and
equipments.  He lived upon that farm  for twenty years and still retains
possession of the old homestead. In I882, however, he removed to his present home at No. 336 Grand Avenue, and he owns forty-six acres of land
within the city limits of Coldwater. For twenty-three years he has been
engaged in the loan and real estate business here, and while upon the farm
he devoted much of his attention to shipping live stock, being one of the
leading representatives of that line of business in the county. He made a
specialty of fancy cattle and was very successful. He has also prospered
since coming to Coldwater, and has negotiated many important realty transfers and advantageously placed many loans. At the time of his marriage he
started in life in debt, but soon discharged each financial obligation which
devolved upon him, and through unfaltering perseverance, capable managemlent and unremitting diligence he has steadily advanced to a position prominent in business circles in Branch county.




432


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


The home of Mr. and Mrs. Dunks has been blessed with a son and two
daughters: E. Wilford, who married Lottie Philips, of Chicago; Nellie L.,
the wife of Captain E. D. Legg, a lumber merchant of Coldwater; and Anna
L., the wife of Frank Purdy, of this city. They have three grandchildren:
Hazel Legg, Louis Legg and Ferris Purdy.
Mr. Dunks cast his first presidential vote for John C. Fremont, and has
since given his allegiance to the Republican party. He is numbered among
the pioneer settlers of Branch county and his wife has for even a longer
period resided here. Great changes have occurred as pioneer conditions have
been replaced by evidences of an advanced civilization.  Practical in his
methods, and public-spirited in his relation to the county, he has given valued
support and co-operation to many measures for the general good. For years
he has been an important factor in the development of the natural resources
of the state, and in the control of his private business affairs he has also contributed to the general prosperity. He is a man of distinct and forceful individuality, and in business and social relations in private life he has commanded
and enjoys the trust and good will of his fellow-men.
HON. ASAHEL BROWN.
Hon. Asahel Brown, long a leader in public thought and action in. Branch
county, is now numbered among her honored dead, but he left the impress of
his individuality upon the laws of the state during active connection with
its legislative department.  As the champion of many progressive public
measures he so advanced the general welfare that the people, appreciative of
his worth, felt the deepest regret when he was called from the labors of life.
Mr. Brown was born in Stafford, Monmouth county, New Jersey, April
9, I803, and died in Coldwater, June 8, I874. His parents were Abner and
Hannah (Birdsall) Brown. The father was also a native of Stafford, New Jersey, and was born March 14, 1772, while the mother's birth occurred in the
same place, September 22, 1781. A few years after their marriage, about
18o6, they removed to Monroe county, New York, where they spent their
remaining days, Mr. Brown following the occupation of farming. Both were
sturdy people of strong intellectuality and high moral character. They reared
a family of seven children, of whom Asahel was the eldest, and all lived to
mature years, namely: Asahel, Harriet, Rebecca, Abner, Jacob, Desiah and
Mary.
Asahel Brown enjoyed only limited educational advantage in his youth,
for his services were needed upon the home farm, and he assisted in the opertion of his father's land until his thirtieth year, but though he had little opportunity of attending school he was throughout his entire life a student, and
through the avenue of books, papers and a wide and varied experience he be
came a well-informed man. In his later years he made a close study of the
questions bearing upon the welfare of his country, its social, economic and
political conditions, and displayed in his conversation and public addresses a
breadth of knowledge superior to that of many college-bred men.
In I826 Mr. Brown was married to Miss Deborah Comstock, a daughter




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


433


of Jesse and Rachel Comstock, prominent pioneers of Monroe county, New
York. Their daughter was born in Farmington, Ontario county, New York,
July 15, I808, and her death occurred in Algansee township, Branch county,
Michigan, December 30, I88I. The children of this marriage were: J. Wesley, Emily, Rachel C. and Hannah C., twins, Othelia, Omar B., Combe A.
and Omar C. The four eldest were born at Perrinton, New York, and in
1833 Asahel Brown started with his wife and children for Michigan, making
the journey westward by wagon. He settled on a tract of land in Palmyra
township, Lenawee county, but in the year 1836 removed to Algansee township, Branch county, where he took up his abode upon a tract of land,
which he developed into a productive farm. In all of his labors he was practical and enterprising and sought out better methods and improved conditions.
It was in political life, however, that Asahel Brown became best known
and did most effective work for his state. His early allegiance was given
to the Whig party and he afterward became a Republican. His practical
)"dealing with public questions and his undoubted honesty made him influential
with the people, who naturally chose him for their leader. By popular ballot
he was elected to most of the important offices within the gift of his fellow
townsmen. For twenty-one consecutive years he served as supervisor and
for many years was justice of the peace, in which position he rendered decisions that were strictly fair and impartial. In 1849 he was nominated on its
ticket as a candidate for the state legislature but was defeated, the county
being largely Democratic. In I850 he was elected a delegate to the constitutional convention and assisted in framing the organic law of the state. In
the same year he was chosen state senator, to which office he was re-elected
in I858, and to each question which came up for settlement he gave earnest
consideration, becoming a stanch champion of every bill which he believed
would prove beneficial to the interests of the commonwealth. Again in I867
he was elected a delegate to the constitutional convention. He was greatly
opposed to slavery, was a man of firm convictions and decided in his opinions
and to these he gave forceful and earnest expression. He could always present
his views with fairness, and by his undoubted sincerity he gained the respect
of all who met him and many times won the support of their opinions. He
was an effective worker on committees and while in the senate and in the
constitutional convention did able work in constructing legislation. Notwithstanding all this he was rather retired in disposition nor did much to seek
political preferment. In early life in religious faith he was a Universalist
and his wife held membership with the Methodist church. In later years,
however, both attended the Congregational church. Thev were among the
honored pioneers of Branch county and bore all the hardships and trials incident to a life on the frontier. They left the impress of their individuality for
good, however, upon the community and are yet remembered by many of the
older residents of the county as among the pioneers to whom much credit is
due for the impetus which they gave to development and substantial upbuilding here.




434


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


J. WESLEY BROWN.
J. Wesley Brown, the eldest of the eight children born unto Asahel and
Deborah (Comstock) Brown, is now living a retired life in Coldwater. He
was born in Perrinton, Monroe county, New York, August 27, 1827, and
with his parents came to Michigan in 1833, remaining in Lenawee county
until their removal to Branch county in 1836. He was reared upon the home
farm amid pioneer scenes and environments and was educated in one of the
primitive log schoolhouses such as were common in the districts at that time.
He remained at the parental home and aided in the arduous task of developing
a new farm until he was twenty-four years of age, when he started out in life
on his own account on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in California
township given him by his father. This land was entirely in its primitive
condition, not a furrow having been turned or an improvement made, but
Mr. Brown and his young wife, whom he had married October 8, I85I, and
whose maiden name was Helen E. Tripp, settled upon this farm and engaged
earnestly in its development and cultivation, remaining thereon until the
fall of I858. At that time they took up their residence in the city of Coldwater, where they have since lived. Mr. Brown subsequently sold his farm
and having already a large experience in commercial lines, having been a
mercantile clerk for three years, he turned his attention to merchandising in
I861 as a partner of H. J. Woodward, under the firm name of Woodward,
Brown & Company, but in less than a year he sold his interest in that business. For a few months thereafter he was associated with Uri Blodgett in
the furniture business. His next venture was in the hardware trade, which
he entered in I866 as a member of the firm of Mockeridge, Green & Company.
This relation was maintained for three years, at the end of which time Mr.
Brown disposed of his interest in the business and retired from active life.
He has never sought political favors but has always given his support to the
Republican party.  He and his wife attend the services of the Episcopal
church, although they are not communicants therein.
Mrs. Brown was born in Worcester, Otsego county, New York, December 21, 18,33, and is the youngest of two children, whose parents were
David and Sally (Flint) Tripp. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have one son, J. Birdsail, who makes his home with his parents and is engaged for the greater part
of the time in looking after the interests of his father's farm lands and other
real estate. Mr. Brown is honored as one whose business career will bear
the closest investigation and scrutiny and who in all life's relations has been
found true to the varied duties that have devolved upon him in connection
with public and private interests.
DAVID TRIPP.
David Tripp, a pioneer resident of Branch county, was born in Decatur,
New York, July I, I807. In tracing the ancestry we learn that David Tripp,
Sr., was born February 21, 1768, and died on the 28th of November, 1828.
He married Miss Mary Dickinson, whose natal day was June I, 1772, and








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Residence of J. Wesley Brown.




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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


435


who departed this life on the Ioth of June, I847. Their children are as
follows: Lovina, Patience, Polly, Nancy, Nathan, Elizabeth, Robert, Hannah, Emilv, David, George, Stephen, Marcia M., Reumah and Celestia.
Of this family of fifteen sons and daughters David Tripp, whose name
introduces this record, was the tenth in order of birth. Having arrived at
vears of maturity he married Sally Flint, a daughter of S. Phineas and Parmelia (Houghton) Flint. She was born in Otsego, New York, November 26,
80o8, and died October 9, 1879. The marriage was celebrated in I829,
and in the year I836 they left New York for the west. After landing at Toledo, Ohio, they proceeded thence with ox-teams to their destination in Branch
county, Michigan, arriving here in the month of July. They settled in Kinderhook township, where Mr. Tripp took charge of an unimproved tract' of land
from which he developed a fine farm, making his home thereon for many
years. He became a prominent and wealthy agriculturist, and died October
2, 1875, respected by all who knew him. His political support was given to
the Democratic party and he served as supervisor and justice of the peace.
A pioneer of the county, he was classed among the industrious and worthy
citizens who laid the foundation of civilization in this part of the state. He
came here when the red men were still numerous in the county and undertook
the task of reclaiming the district for the purposes of civilization. His labors
were practical and have borne fruit in the improved conditions which are
here seen today. He and his devoted wife were members of the Methodist
Episcopal church and were earnest and zealous supporters of the cause of
Christianity in the early years of their residence here.
VIRGIL U. HUNGERFORD.
Virgil U. Hungerford, a prosperous and representative farmer, living
on section twenty, Algansee township, is one of the native sons of the county,
for his birth occurred in the village of Algansee, in I869. His father, Henry
W. Hungerford, was born in Oakland county, Michigan, in 1834, and was
of English lineage. His father was Matthew H. Hungerford, a native of
New York, and a son of Eliphalet Hungerford, who came from England to
this country and settled in New England. Henry W. Hungerford was a
student in Hillsdale College, and engaged in teaching school in this state
until the outbreak of the Civil war. He had become a resident of Branch
county about I856, and purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land on
section twenty, Algansee township. After severing his connection with the
teacher's profession he devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits, but
during the dark days of the country's peril, when the disloyalty of the south
threatened disruption of the Union, he defended the stars and stripes. Twice
he volunteered and was rejected on account of physical disability, but at
length was accepted as a member of Company G, Ninth Michigan Infantry,
and served for about four months, or until the close of the war. A man of
genuine worth, of upright principles and moral life, he was for many years
a faithful member of the Congregational church, in which he served as
deacon. In his political views he was an earnest Republican and filled the




436


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


office of school inspector, while for several years he was township clerk.
He married Sophia M. Mabbs, who was born in New York city, and is
living at the age of seventy years, her birth having occurred April 14, I835.
Her father, William Mabbs, came from England in I834, and established
his house in New York City, whence he afterward came to Michigan, settling
in Hillsdale county, in I840. He was a representative of the English middle
class and came to the United States well supplied with funds, having been
a prosperous soap manufacturer of his native land. He deposited a large
sum of money in a bank in New York city, but the institution failed and
he therefore came to, Michigan a poor man. Here he turned his attention to
farming and the manufacture of brick. He married Hannah Hill Stace, a
native of London, England, who for seventeen years prior to her death was
blind. Mr. Mabbs passed away in I870, at the age of seventy-eight years,
while his wife died in I88o, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. They
were members of the Congregational church and in their family were eight
children: John, who was an engineer in the new Board of Trade building
in Chicago, died in I9o4; William arid Vennette are both deceased; William
Bagley is a statistician of Lansing; Austin is the owner and operator of
gold mines in the, west and makes his home at Deadwood, South Dakota;
Robert is a retired farmer, living in Allegan, Michigan; Hannah is the deceased wife of Henry Sadler, a resident farmer of Allegan county; Henry,
who studied for the ministry, became a soldier of the Civil war and died in
a hospital at New Orleans, Louisiana; and Sophia was the youngest and
became Mrs. Hungerford. She is still living at the age of seventy years,
having been born on the 14th of April, I835, but Mr. Hungerford departed
this life January 31, 1901. In their family were two sons and three daughters: Virgil U.; Bertha E., wife of E. D. Conkling, a farmer of Kinderhook, Michigan; Mary G., the wife of L. H. Draper, of Algansee; Volney
R., superintendent of schools at Decatur, Michigan; and Emily E., who is a
graduate of the high school of Coldwater of the class of I896, and of Olivet
College, of the class of I904. Volney is also a graduate of those institutions.
Virgil U. Hungerford spent his boyhood days in the usual manner of
farm lads of the locality and his early educational privileges were supplemented by study in the schools of Quincy and of Ypsilanti, Michigan. He
taught a graded school in California, Michigan, and in other places, being
identified with the profession for ten years, but his energies are now devoted
to general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising, and in his chosen vocation
he has become very prosperous, being now one of the substantial farmers of
the community. He is now also associated in the firm of Perry & Hungerford, real estate dealers.
Mr. Hungerford was married, March 29, I89I, to! Miss Lillie May
Boyee, a daughter of Clark Bovee, and she died July 30, I891, at the age
of twenty-one years. Five years later he wedded Clara M. Marshall, whose
birth occurred in Ovid township, in 1875. Her father, Albert Marshall, was
a native of Canada, and came to the United States in his boyhood days with
his mother. Here he wedded Emma Flint, of Kinderhook. Mr. and Mrs.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


437


Hungerford have become the parents of three children:  Gladys L., born
in I898; Ruth, in I899; and Helen, in I9oI.
Mr. Hungerford is a member of the Odd Fellows Society and of the
Modern Woodmen Camp, while his wife belongs to' the Congregational
church. In politics he is a Republican, and is serving as school inspector
and deputy sheriff of the county.
GEORGE HERMAN COLE.
Branch county offers excellent opportunities to the farmer, for the land
is rich and productive, responding readily to cultivation, and thus in the
care of his property Mr. Cole is meeting with good success. He has a farm
on sections nineteen and thirty, Ovid township, comprising one hundred
acres. He is one of the citizens that the Empire state has furnished to Michigan, his birth having there occurred on the 27th of May, 185I. His father,
George W. Cole, who came to Branch county in pioneer times and followed
the carpenter's trade here, was born in New York in I812, and was married
there to Miss Louisa Ransier, likewise a native of that state. As the years
passed their marriage was blessed with ten children, four sons and six daughters, namely: Jonathan and Alphonso, both deceased; Watson; Helen, who
has also passed away; Francis; Delia and Mary, deceased; George Herman;
Adelaide, deceased; and Adeline, twin sister of Adelaide.
George Herman Cole spent the first three and a half years of his life
in his native state and then came with his father's family to Michigan, their
home being established in Bethel township. Branch county. They settled
upon a tract of land of forty acres, which the father cleared and cultivated.
Later he sold that property, in I86o, and removed to Ovid township, where
he bought eighty acres of timber land, which he also partially cleared. The
members of the household early became inured to the arduous task of clearing and cultivating new land and shared in the hardships and privations incident to, pioneer life before this district was connected with the older east
by a network of railroads that bring to the county all of the comforts and
conveniences known to the older civilization. The father was a Democrat
in his political views and his death occurred January 14, I89I.
George Herman Cole had been reared to farm life, while in the district
schools he obtained his education, pursuing his studies in the winter months,
while in the summer seasons he aided in the labors of the farm. At the
time of his father's death he obtained possession of the old home place by
purchasing the mortgages. He was married in Ovid township in April, 1873,
to Miss Louisa Treat, whose birth occurred in this township, August I9,
I854. Her father, Henry Treat, was a well known farmer and early settler
of the community, who came to Branch county from New York when the
work of improvement and progress had scarcely been begun in this part
of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Cole now have a family of two children, Marion
and Ivy, and they also lost two, Henry and Leo, who were the first and third
in order of birth, respectively. All were born in Branch county.
Politically a Democrat where national issues are involved, Mr. Cole
votes independently at local elections, but has never been an aspirant for




438              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
public office, preferring to give his undivided attention to his farm work. He
had no inheritance to aid him as he started out for himself, nor have conditions been peculiarly fortunate in his business career. He has won success,
however, through earnest labor, early realizing the truth of the admonition
of the old Greek philosopher, "earn thy reward, the gods give naught to
sloth," he has labored untiringly year after year until he has gained that
prosperity which always comes as the reward of persistent, energetic effort.
HORACE DENHAM.
Horace Denham, of Quincy township, who has lived since boyhood in
this county, was born in Ontario county, New York, November 23, I856.
-His father, Cornelius, who! was born at Conway, Massachusetts, and who
passed away in this county in the winter of I905, at the age of eighty-seven,
was the fourth of five children, all deceased; namely, Elijah, William, Luther,
Cornelius and Lucinda, wife of Callister Mellen. The Denhams are of the
New England stock. Cornelius Denham married Sarah Blodgett, who, a
native of Ontario county, New York, died in  90oo, at the age of eightytwo, and was one of the seven children of William and Lydia (Mapes)
Blodgett, the former a native of New York and the latter of New Jersey.
Uri Blodgett, of Coldwater, is a brother of the late Mrs. Denham. Cornelius Denham and family came to Branch county in the spring of I865,
locating in the southeast corner of Butler township, where he lived till death.
He was one of the extensive and prosperous farmers of the county, owning
three hundred and twenty-five acres, and also handled a large amount of live
stock. Starting in life with a common school education, he prospered by
industry and was a man of influence and worth in all the relations of life.
He was a Republican, without aspirations for office, and indeed was of a
retiring and modest disposition which shunned all ostentation, his life work
being successfully accomplished by quiet means.
Though reared on a farm Mr. Denham had good educational advantages. His attendance at district school was supplemented by study at Hillsdale College, but when school days were over he returned to the farm and
has followed the vocation of agriculture with increasing success all the
remaining years. He has lived in Quincy township since I889, where he
owns a first-class farm of eighty acres, 'besides eighty acres in Butler township. His home is on section two, where he has a beautiful and comfortable
country residence.
Mr. Denham married, in I889, Miss Cora Van Orthwick, who was born
in Butler township in I869. Her parents, Aaron and Helen (Nichols) Van
Orthwick, are well known citizens of Butler township. Her father, of Holland ancestry, came to Michigan in I860, first locating in Coldwater township, and then in Butler. He was born in New York state, while his wife is
a native of Quincy township. Mrs. Denham has two brothers, Charles, in
Butler township, and Jay, in the grocery business at Quincy. Mr. and Mrs.
Denham have one child, Claude, now fourteen years old. Mrs. Denham is
a member of the Methodist church, and his politics is Republican. Besides
his farming interests he is a stock-raiser of considerable importance.






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Residence of Prosper C. Johnson.




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I




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                        439
PROSPER C. JOHNSON.
Prosper C. Johnson, a member of the real estate firm of Johnson &
Kanauss, carrying on a business second to none in the county, was born in
Erie county, Ohio, on the Ist of September, I838, his parents being James D.
and Ida (Squares) Johnson. Both parents were natives of the state of New
York and removed thence at an early date, settling first in Loraine county,
Ohio, and afterward in Erie county, where the mother died in 1847. They
had become the parents of eight children, six sons and two daughters, all of
whom reached mature years. In I850 the father, then a widower, came to
Michigan with his children and settled in Union township, Branch county,
where he resided for many years. He died at the advanced age of eighty-five
years, after having led a busy, useful life as a farmer. He was one of the
pioneers of the county and in the early days endured all the hardships and
privations incident to settlement on the frontier. When he came to Branch
county he purchased under contract a small tract of land, on which he was
able to make a payment of only twenty-five dollars, and had not the contract
been renewed by the former owner he would not have been able to retain
possession of this place, because he had not the money necessary for the
succeeding payments. In time, however, he was enabled to triumph over
the difficulties and obstacles which surrounded him in his pioneer days and
to develop a good home for his family.
Prosper C. Johnson was only twelve years of age when the father
brought his children to Branch county, and with the others he was reared amid
the environments and scenes of pioneer life, early becoming familiar with the
arduous duties and labors incident to the development of a new farm. He
chopped wood many long days for fifty cents per day and he worked for his
father and other farmers of the locality. He received at times only ten dollars
per month for his services, but this was considered then a very good wage.
He had limited school advantages, his opportunities being confined to short
winter terms in the pioneer country schools and throughout the remainder of
the year he had to work diligently in order to contribute to the support of
the family.
In I863 Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Sarah A. Hulben,
and he then settled down in life as a farmer, taking up his abode in Girard
township, where he purchased forty acres of land. He had to incur some
indebtedness, because he had not capital sufficient to make the entire payment.
Earnestly and diligently he began the work of improving his property, and
by good management and frugality was soon enabled to clear his farm of all
financial obligation. He continued the work of cultivation and improvement
and as his financial resources increased he extended the boundaries of his
place until he owned in one body two hundred and fifty-five acres, comprising one of the best improved and most valuable farms in Branch county. His
wife was indeed a faithful helpmate to him in all his troubles, and after
sharing his joys and sorrows, his adversity and prosperity for thirty-one years
she was then called to her final home in I894.


I
I                                                                                                                                                                                        I




440


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Two sons and a daughter were born unto their marriage. They were
reared on the farm and were given every possible educational opportunity,
for Mr. Johnson realized the disadvantages to which he had been placed in
life because of a limited education, and in order that his children should not
suffer from the same lack he and his estimable wife made many sacrifices. His
sons reside in Coldwater, where one is a lawyer and the other a business man,
and the daughter and her husband reside on the old homestead farm. In
1895 Mr. Johnson was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Ida
Cole, nee Palmer.
In I9OI Mr. Johnsdn decided to retire from the arduous duties of farm
life. He had resided for thirty-seven years on the same place and from early
youth had labored hard in the fields and meadows. His efforts, however, had
been attended with pleasing success, and he had provided well for his wife
and children, who, having now grown to years of maturity and needing his
help no longer, Mr. Johnson decided to take up his abode in Coldwater, where
he located in 1901. It was his intention to retire altogether from active business cares and enjoy an ease and rest that he had justly earned, but having
led a most industrious life he found that indolence was utterly incompatible
with his nature and he needed something to engage his time and attention.
He then decided to enter the field of real estate operations and a year after
removing to Coldwater he began dealing in real estate. Later he entered
into partnership with Samuel Kanauss, and today the real estate firm of
Johnson & Kanauss conducts a business second to none in the county, negotiating annually many important realty transfers. In politics Mr. Johnson
has always been independent.  He is a self-made man and no citizen of
this county is held in higher respect than he. His worth is widely recognized
by his fellow citizens, and his example is well worthy of emulation, showing
what can be accomplished by strong purpose, indefatigable energy and resolute will. He is entirely free from ostentation and display, but in his life
has shown forth many sterling traits of character whereby he is justly entitled to the confidence and esteem of his fellow men.
CHARLES E. SWAIN.
Charles E. Swain, a retired farmer of Sherwood, traces his descent back
to ancestry honorable and distinguished, for the first representatives of the
family in America were of English birth and came to the new world on
the Mayflower with the little historic band of Pilgrims who sought in the
freedom of the new world opportunity to worship according to, the dictates
of their own conscience. Mr. Swain was born in Niagara county, New York,
December 19, 1838. His father, Joseph G. Swain, was a native of New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he pursued his education and was reared. When
a young man he went as a sailor on the high seas and followed that life for
about thirty years. He was married in Geneseo, county, New York, to Miss
Louisa Dewey, a native of that county. Later he purchased a farm in
Niagara county, where he resided until 1846, when he came to Branch county,
Michigan, settling in Union township. He owned at different times a num



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


441


ber of farms in that township and continued to engage in agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred when he was about sixty years of age.
In the family were four sons, all of whom reached manhood, were married,
reared families of their own and are yet living, namely: Charles E.; William
Warren, who resides in Carthage, Missouri; Martin, of Union City, Michigan; and Albert, of Bear Lake, Manistee county, Michigan.
Charles E. Swain was only eight years of age when he came with his
parents to Branch county, and in the midst of the forest in Union township
he was reared, his educational privileges being such as were afforded by
the common schools at an early day. He remained at home until nineteen
years of age, when he removed to Iowa, settling near Davenport, where he
lived for a year. He next went to Linn county, Missouri, where he resided
until 1858, when he again came to Branch county. It was in that year that
he was married in this county to Miss Mary Helen Studley, who died, leaving five children: Frank, who, is mentioned elsewhere in this volume; Fred
A., a resident farmer of Union township; Edwin, deceased; Orville, a dealer
in cigars in St. Paul, Minnesota; and Joseph W., who is a painter of Iowa
City, Iowa.
Mr. Swain was married on the Igth of February, 1873, to Miss Harriet
Billings, a daughter of N. A. and Elizabeth (Rowe) Billings. Mrs. Swain
was born in Sherwood township, her parents being among the pioneer settlers of this county, where they arrived in I836. The father came to, Michigan from Saratoga county, New York, while the mother was a native of
St. Lawrence county, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Swain have become the
parents of a daughter and son: Mary, who, is now the wife of Arthur Morris
of Constantine, St. Joseph county, Michigan; and Aldredge, who married
Hattie Kline and is living in Sherwood.
Following his first marriage Charles E. Swain returned, in I858, to
Missouri, where he remained until I86I, when he again came to Branch
county, settling in Union township, where he was engaged in general farming until I872. In that year he took up his abode in Sherwood, where he
has since resided, and he worked at the carpenter's trade for about eighteen
years, doing business as a contractor and builder and erecting many houses
in Branch county, a number of these being in the village of Sherwood. He
owns a farm in Sherwood township, and is now living retired in the enjoyment of a well earned rest. His life in former years was one of intense
activity and his labors were discerningly directed along well defined lines
until he gained a competence that now enables him to put aside further
business cares.
Mr. Swain has been a life-long Republican and served as supervisor of
Sherwood township in I875 and 1876. He was also township clerk for several terms and highway commissioner for several years. He likewise held
the office of township treasurer for a year, was a member of the village
council and acted on the school board until he declined longer to fill the
office. He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity for thirty-five years.
of the Grange for thirty years, and he and his wife are charter members of
the Eastern Star. With little assistance at the outset of his career he has




442              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
worked his way steadily upward, placing his dependence upon the substantial
qualities of energy and determination, together with unfaltering diligence.
He has a wide acquaintance in the county in which so many years of his life
have been spent, and his friends recognize in him the possession of those
qualities which in every land and clime command respect and admiration.
LEONARD DANIEL CLARK.
Leonard Daniel Clark, deceased, was for many years a highly respected
citizen of Branch county. He was born in Ohio, November 25, I825, and
spent the first twelve years of his life in his native state, receiving his early
education in the district schools. In 1837, the family moved to Michigan
and settled in Branch county. Here the youth was three miles distant from'
school, the way led through the woods, and so wild was the country at that
time that it was not an unusual occurrence for him to be chased by wolves
as he walked to and from school. He learned the trade of shoemaker of
his father, which he followed for some years, then bought a farm of two
hundred acres and, until I892, was engaged in agricultural pursuits. That
year he sold his farm and came to Bronson, where the rest of his life was
passed in retirement, and where he died April 22, 1905, at the ripe age of
eighty years. He built and owned a fine brick block and two residences in
Bronson. For years he was a trustee of the Farmers' Insurance Company,
and he was identified with Mystic Lodge, A. F. and A. M.
Mr. Clark was married in I848. Mrs. Clark, who survives him, was
Dorothy M. Brower, a daughter of Aaron Brower, a New Yorker who came
as a pioneer farmer to Branch county, Michigan. The fruits of their marriage were six children, namely: Myron Clark, who is engaged in the grocery business in Bronson; Helen, wife of Lucien Driggs, of Lansing; Mary,
deceased; Eugene, a dry goods merchant of Bronson; and Aaron and one
unnamed that died in infancy.
SAMUEL AND WILLIAM        SHERER.
Among the prosperous and highly regarded residents of southern Michigan we find a number of German descent whose ancestors came to this
country in the last century or the century previous and first settled in Pennsylvania, many of them afterward removing from there to Ohio in an early
day, and from there to Michigan. It is also a notable fact that these descendants of the sturdy Germans are now among our very best farmers, nearly all
of them well-to-do, with large farms and excellent buildings, while they
rank as our very best citizens.
Such are the members of the Sherer family, of whom we find a number
in the southern part of Branch county, notably in California township. This
branch of the Sherer family is descended from one William Sherer, who was
born in Germany and who, upon coming to this country, located in Pennsylvania. He was only twelve years old when he left Germany and he was
attracted to America by the fact that an elder brother had preceded him
here several years. William grew to maturity in Pennsylvania, and there






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


443


early learned the trade of shoemaking, which he followed more or less
throughout his life, although he was a farmer in later years. In Pennsylvania he was married to Catherine Myers, who, was also of German descent,
and they had four children when they decided to try and better their fortunes in the then new state of Ohio. They lived for several years in Seneca
county, and later removed to Sandusky county, where the parents passed the
remainder of their lives, William Sherer dying there January I8, 1842, and
his wife dying at the age of eighty-three years. Both were members of the
Lutheran church and they were people of high standing in the communities
wherein they had lived. Eleven children were born unto them, two of whom
died in infancy, the others being as follows: George, Henry and William
died in Sandusky county, Ohio; John died in Quincy, Michigan; Samuel
and David, both still living, are residents of California township; Benjamin
lives in Ohio,; Jeremiah died in the west. It will thus be seen that of this
large family of children only three are now living.
This review concerns one of the sons, Samuel, who was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, January 17, '1824, just previous to the removal of his
parents from there to! Seneca county. Samuel grew to manhood upon the
home farm, and when twenty years old started out for himself. He was
married April II, I852, in Sandusky county, Ohio, to Catherine Babione,
who was born in Ohio, September 26, 1824. During his early manhood Mr.
Sherer was engaged in various enterprises and also worked in mills for some
years. Soon after marriage he purchased eighty acres of new land in California township, this county, although he did not come and make his home
here until about three years thereafter.  This land he improved, and he
made for himself and his family a most comfortable home here. In addition
to this he also owns eighty acres of land in sections eleven and fourteen.
Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Sherer, all of whom
are living, as follows: Daniel lives in Lester,.Michigan; William is one
of the subjects of this review; John is in Toledo; Samuel E. lives in California township; Mary Haight is also, a resident of this township. The
mother, Mrs. Sherer, died September 6, I888. She was a most estimable
woman and was a member of the Lutheran church, to which her husband
also formerly belonged. At her death the following obituary notice was
written:
"Catherine Babione was born in Fremont, Ohio, September 26, I834,
and died September 6, i888, at her home in California, Michigan.  She
was married to Samuel Sherer, April I6, I852, and came to this place in
I853. She was the mother of five children, all of whom were present at the
funeral. She united with the Lutheran church in Ohio, and had her children all baptized there. Her death was caused by paralysis. She was sick
four days, being unconscious nearly all of the time, but the day before she
died she became conscious, knew those around her, and on being asked if
she was prepared to die, replied 'Yes.' She leaves a husband, five children,
four brothers and a host of friends to mourn her loss. The funeral was held
at the Presbyterian church and was conducted by Rev. Mr. Boyd."
Politically, Mr. Sherer has always been a Democrat, although never a




444              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
seeker after office. His life has been a long and industrious one; he has
been wise in the rearing of his children, and he has so conducted his life
as to win the approbation and regard of his fellow-citizens. He is passing
his declining years upon the old home farm, where also reside his son William and family.
William Sherer, the second child in order of birth of Samuel and Catherine Sherer, was born in the township of California, October Io, 1856, and
his entire life thus far has been passed here. Growing to maturity as he did
upon the farm, he learned the value of industry and gained a good practical
knowledge of agriculture. He was united in marriage, January 3, i886,
with Miss Addie Back, who is a native of Kansas. Her father is Alvin
Back, and her mother is Josephine Morris Back, a native of Stark county,
Ohio, where she was born August 5, I847. Mr. Back was born in Williams
county, Ohio, January 29, I842. The home of the Backs has been in Williams county, Ohio, with the exception of a few years' residence in Kansas.
until a year ago, when they removed to Ray, Indiana, where Mr. and Mrs.
Back still reside, although Mr. Back still retains his farm in Williams county.
Mrs. William Sherer is their only child.
One son, John Wesley Sherer, has been born to Mr. and Mrs. William
Sherer, his birthday being January 3, I887. He is attending school and
lives at home with his parents. Among the leading and progressive young
farmers of this portion of Branch county Mr. William Sherer stands prominently. He may well feel proud of his life as a dutiful son, as he worked
his father's farm for twenty-nine years by rent and shares, and never skipped
a year. Possibly, there is not another son in southern Michigan with such a
record of industry and filial duty to his parents. His possessions now include
one hundred and eighty-six acres of fertile land on sections one, two, three
and eleven, California township, a goodly share of which he has cleared and
improved himself. Each of his farms has good buildings and is equipped
with all accessories for operation. Although still a young man, Mr. Sherer
has already accumulated considerable property, and in the community where
he has spent all his life he is known as a man of integrity and an influential
citizen.
JOHN HARDENBROOK.
Branch county figures as one of the most attractive, progressive and prosperous divisions of the state of Michigan, justly claiming a high order of
citizenship and a spirit of enterprise which is certain to conserve consecutive
development and marked advancement in the material upbuilding of the section.
The county has been and is signally favored in the class of men who have
controlled its affairs in official capacity, and in this connection the subject of
this review demands representation as one who has served the county faithfully and well in positions of distinct trust and responsibility. He is now
sheriff in Branch county, where he has lived for seventeen years.
Mr. Hardenbrook was born on a farm in Williams county, Ohio, April
21, I856, his parents being Ferdinand and Jeanette (Lindsley) Hardenbrook,
the former a native of New York and the latter of Scotland. Both are now












:I




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


445


deceased, having departed this life in Steuben county, Indiana, to which place
they removed when John Hardenbrook was eighteen years of age. There he
resided continuously until thirty-two years of age, and in I888 he came to
Branch county, where he has since made his home. His education was that
offered by the common schools, and his life has been characterized by untiring energy and industry. He was reared upon a farm and continuously engaged in agricultural pursuits until I894, when he was elected to the office
of supervisor of California township, in which capacity he capably served for
two years. He was then engaged in the drug business in Ray, Indiana, for
six years and won success in his undertakings. In I90g he was appointed
under sheriff, acting in that capacity for nearly three years, and in the fall
of 1904 he was elected sheriff by a majority of two thousand one hundred
and twenty-one, so that he is the present incumbent of that office.
In I880 Mr. Hardenbrook was united in marriage to Miss Mary Hufnagle, and unto them have been born three children who are yet living, while
two are deceased. Mr. Hardenbrook is fraternally connected with the Knights
of the Maccabees and with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while his
political allegiance is given to the Republican party. He has been enterprising, persevering and reliable in all business transactions and the same
beneficial qualities of good citizenship have been manifest in his official service.
L. J. CORWIN.
L. J. Corwin, a farmer and worthy citizen of Kinderhook township,
Branch county, was born in Ovid township, on the I2th of December, I855.
His father, Jerome Corwin, became a pioneer resident and representative
citizen of this part of the state, living in Ovid township up to the time of
his death. He was born in New York in 1826 and spent the first nine years
of his life in the Empire state, after which he came to Michigan and continued a resident of Branch county until called to the home beyond. His
father, Jonathan Corwin, was also born in New York and brought his family
to Michigan, taking up his abode in Coldwater, where he remained for some
time. He was a physician by profession and practiced medicine with good
success in the early days of his residence here. That the county was largely
undeveloped is indicated by the fact that there were many tracts of land
still in possession of the government, and Jonathan Corwin secured forty
acres as a government claim. His death occurred when he had been a resident of Branch county for about six years. Jerome Corwin was reared and
educated in this county. Shortly after the father's death the family removed
to Ovid township and lived on several different farms in that portion of
the county, finally settling upon the farm now owned and operated by Levi
Tift. While living in Ovid township Jerome Corwin was married to Miss
Elizabeth Towsley, a native of Canada, and unto them was born one son,
Edwin. The wife and mother died about two years after her marriage, and
later Mr. Corwin was married again, his second union being with Salome
Flint, a native of Vermont, whose father was one of the old and prominent
pioneer residents of Branch county, who on coming to Michigan first settled
in Calhoun county, but later came to this county, where he devoted his ener



446


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


gies to farming. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Corwin were born five children, three
sons and two daughters, of whom one is now deceased. L. J. Corwin was
the eldest of this family. The father gave earnest endorsement to Republican principles and never failed to cast his ballot for the men and measures
of the party. He also took an active interest in its work and did what he
could to promote its growth and insure its success. He served as supervisor
of Ovid township for one term and was well known in the county as a publicspirited citizen, whose life displayed many sterling traits of character that
commanded uniform confidence and respect. He died in February, 1887.
L. J. Corwin is indebted to the district schools of Ovid township for
the educational privileges which he received.  He remained at home until
he attained his majority, and not long afterward, on the 6th of February,
1877, was married to Miss Ida Clark, a daughter of Wallace and Mary Clark,
and a native of LaGrange county, Indiana, born on the 4th of July, I856.
There the first twelve years of her life were passed and she then came with
her parents to Branch county, Michigan, after which she continued her education in the schools of Kinderhook township. The young couple began
their domestic life upon a farm of eighty acres in Ovid township, and, working persistently and energetically as the years passed by, Mr. Corwin secured
capital sufficient to enable him to extend the boundaries of his place, which
now comprises one hundred and twenty acres and is a valuable property, well
equipped with modern improvements. Later he removed to Angola, Indiana,
where he remained for about two years, and in 1902 he took up his abode in
Kinderhook, where he built his present home. He lives in the town of Kinderhook, but gives his attention to his farming interests.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Corwin have been born two sons and a daughter,
Clark J., Seibert and Edna Hazel, all of whom were born on the homestead
farm in Ovid township. The family are members of the Congregational
church at Kinderhook, in the work of which Mr. Corwin takes an active
and influential part. He served as trustee of the church since the erection of
the present house of worship, and he contributed generously to the building
fund. He generally votes for men and measures rather than for party, and
in I905 he was elected supervisor of his township, which position he is now
filling. His father was a recognized leader in local political circles, and
for abouf two terms served as justice of the peace, while for a number of
years he was road commissioner. Both father and son have taken an active
and helpful interest in everything pertaining to general progress, and the
general good, and their labors have been effective, so that they have become
valued and leading citizens of this part of the state.
ALPHONSO TYLER.
Alphonso Tyler, who is serving as under-sheriff of Branch county, and
is one of the well known farmers and early settlers, his home being now on
section five, Batavia township, was born upon this place April 25, I848.
He is a brother of William M. Tyler, whose history is given upon another
page of this work. The family was established in Branch county at a very
early period in its development, and the name has ever stood as a synonym




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


447


of good citizenship and of activity and honor in business. In the family were
five sons and three daughters, of whom Alfonso Tyler is the seventh child
and fifth son.
Mr. Tyler was educated in his native township, mastering the branches
of learning usually taught in the common schools, and he remained at home
until he had attained his majority, working in the fields through the summer
months, or until after the crops were harvested in the late autumn. On the
i6th of February, I874, he wedded Miss Amanda M. Wright, a daughter
of John and Mary (Johnson) Wright. She was born in Huron county,
Ohio, and came to this county in early maidenhood.  The young couple
began their domestic life upon his farm, and they have become the parents
of one son, Hugh A. Mr. Tyler has always devoted his energies and attention to general farming and has also carried on stock buying and shipping,
following this business for about ten years. He has eighty acres of land and.
the farm is well equipped with modern improvements. He has always voted
with the Republican party and is now serving as under-sheriff of the county.
He belongs to the Masonic fraternity at Union City, and in business, fraternal and political circles has made a creditable name, having always been
found loyal to the trust reposed in him.
ALBERT N. BRINTON.
Among the men of advanced years who lend dignity and honor to the
citizenship of Coldwater, Albert N. Brinton is numbered. He has passed
the allotted span of three score years and ten, his birth having occurred in
Salisbury, Connecticut, November 13, 1827. The Brintons came to America
on the Mayflower, two brothers of the name sailing from England on that
historic vessel, and from that time to the present representatives of the name
have been respected and worthy citizens of New England. The grandfather
was born in Massachusetts, which was also the native state of Samuel. Brinton, father of our subject. By occupation Samuel Brinton was a furnaceman, engaged in operating blast furnaces until he came to Branch county,
and then a farmer. Seeking a home in the west he came to Branch county
with his son, Albert. Here he spent his remaining days, his death occurring
in this county in 1867, when he was seventy-three years of age, and his
remains were interred in New York. His wife bore the maiden name of
Mary Whitney and was a native of Massachusetts, while her ancestors came
from England. She died at the age of sixty-three years and was also buried
in the Empire state. Of their family of four sons and one daughter all
reached adult age, but Albert N. Brinton, the youngest, is the only one yet
living.
Albert N. Brinton was only about five years old when his parents removed from Connecticut to Dutchess county, New York, where the succeeding eight years of his life were passed. They then became residents of
Chautauqua, New York, where he grew to, manhood and was married, Miss
Elvira H. Bidgood becoming his wife. She was a daughter of William Bidgood, who came to Michigan in i866 and died in Coldwater township, Branch
county, in his eighty-first year. Mrs. Brinton was born in Warren county,




44S


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Pennsylvania, February i, 1834, and with her husband came to Michigan
in I866, the family home being established in Coldwater township, where
he became the owner of a tract of land. There, in connection with farming,
he conducted a blacksmith shop, having learned the trade when he was eighteen years of age. He followed that pursuit for about thirty-five years, and
later gave his undivided attention to agricultural interests until his retirement from business in I898, at which time he took up his abode in Coldwater. Mr. and Mrs. Brinton have traveled life's journey together for fiftytwo years and have moved but twice in all that time, first when they came
to Branch county, and secondly when they settled in Coldwater. They have
two sons: Clarence N., a resident of Battle Creek, Michigan, and Samuel
W., of this city.
Mr. Brinton still owns his farm, comprising forty acres of land in
Coldwater township, and this brings to him a good rental. When age gave
to him the right of franchise he proudly cast the first presidential vote for
the candidate of the Whig party, and continued his affiliation with that political organization until the formation of the Republican party, when he joined
its ranks. He has never failed to vote at a presidential election since that
time, and he has taken an active part in local public affairs. He was justice
of the peace for twelve years in Coldwater township, and was also township
drain commissioner, while in I896 he was elected county drain commissioner,
filling that position for two years. While justice of the peace he married
eighteen couples. In the trial of the litigated interests which came before
him he was always fair and just in his rulings, neither fear nor favor biasing
him in giving an opinion. He served as school director for about eighteen
years and the cause of education has ever found in him a warm friend. He
has done everything in his power to promote the cause of the schools and
give to the young better advantages in order that they may be well qualified
for the practical and responsible duties of life. Mr. Brinton has been an
honored member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows since I849, has
filled all of the chairs in the local lodge, has been representative to the grand
lodge and grand encampment and is now treasurer of Coldwater Lodge No.
3I. His wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, with which she
has been identified for forty years. Mr. Brinton favors every progressive
movement that has been instituted in Branch county for its material, intellectual and moral progress, and his life has been such as to win him the
respect and good will of his fellow men. Reliable in business, trustworthy
in citizenship, devoted to his family and holding friendship inviolable, he
has made for himself an untarnished name as the years have gone by.
SAMUEL L. KILBOURN.
Samuel L. Kilbourn, proprietor of a hardware store in Union City, was
born in Niagara county, New York, August 8, I834. His father, David
Kilbourn, was a native of Massachusetts, and remained in the Old Bay state
until twenty-one years of age, when he removed to Niagara county, New
York, taking up his abode on a farm there. He came to Branch county in
1836, locating in Union township, where he entered land from the govern



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


449


ment. For two years he resided upon that farm, at the end of which time
he located in Sherwood township, building one of the first sawmills there.
He then engaged in the manufacture of lumber for about twelve years, being
one of the early representatives of industrial life in his community. Later
he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits near the village of Sherwood,
there spending his remaining days, his death occurring when he was about
seventy-six years of age. He was a member of the Congregational church
at Union City, which he joined on its organization, and for many years his
labors were a potent factor in its growth and progress. His early political
support was given to the Whig party, and upon its dissolution he joined the
ranks of the new Republican party, being called to the office of highway
commissioner as its representative, and to other local positions of public
honor and trust. He was one of the worthy pioneers of Branch county,
his efforts proving a tangible element in the upbuilding and development of
this part of the state. His worth,'too, was widely acknowledged by all who
knew him, and his loss was deeply regretted by many friends. In early
manhood he married Miss Clarinda Hawley, a daughter of Chapman Hawley, who died in Branch county. Mrs. Kilbourn was born in Niagara county,
New York, and died in the eighty-third year of her age in Sherwood township. In their family were nine children, five sons and four daughters, all of
whom reached adult age, and George Kilbourn died in I862, while defending
his country as a soldier in the Union army.
Samuel L. Kilbourn, who was the sixth child and fourth son in his
father's family, was only two years of age at the time of the parents' removal
to this county. His boyhood was passed in Sherwood township, and in the
public schools he acquired his education. His training at farm labor was
not meager, for as soon as old enough to handle the plow he began work in
the fields and continued to assist in the operation of the old homestead until
after the inauguration of the Civil war in I86I. As soon as it was seen that
the contest was to be no mere holiday affair, but a bitter struggle for supremacy, he espoused the cause of the Union, enlisting as a member of Company D, First Michigan Light Artillery, with which he served for three
years. He participated in the battle of Corinth and other engagements in
eastern Tennessee, and then returned to Louisville, Kentucky, a distance of
three hundred miles, and covering twenty miles per day. He took part in
the battle of Crab Orchard, and afterward returned to Nashville, taking
part in the engagement at Stone River on the last day of the year and the
first two days of the new year. Mr. Kilbourn was also in the engagement
at Chattanooga and Chickamauga, where the battery lost all but one gun.
The men then remained in that vicinity until December, when they were
ordered back,.to Nashville, where they secured a battery, horses and equipments. They got a command to turn over to an Indiana company their full
equipment and to proceed to Murfreesboro, where Mr. Kilbourn remained
until the expiration of his term of service. He received an honorable discharge at Nashville, Tennessee, September 17, 1864, having served exactly
three years.
When he was discharged he returned to Sherwood, Branch county, with




450


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


an honorable military record, and afterward engaged in farming, which pursuit he followed continuously until I889, when he retired on account of ill
health, locating at Union City. He had been married in September, I86I,
to Miss Elvira Gwin, a daughter of Jabin and Lorinda (Pease) Gwin. Mrs.
Kilbourn was born in Ohio, and in early girlhood accompanied her parents
to Wisconsin, whence she came to Michigan about I849. Unto this marriage have been born a son and daughter: G. E., a resident farmer of Sherwood township; and Annetta, the wife of W. H. Barrett, of Union City.
Mr. Kilbourn is a member of Corbin Post No. 88, G. A. R., in which
he has filled nearly all of the offices. He also belongs to the Unitarian Society of Sherwood, and in politics has been a life-long Republican. He has
filled the position of justice of the peace and drain commissioner and has
held a number of school offices, the cause of education finding in him a
warm and stalwart friend, supporting every measure tended to promote the
standard of the schools and advance their efficiency. He has lived in Branch
county for sixty-eight years, and therefore is well acquainted with its history,
having witnessed its development from pioneer times to the present. He
has seen all of the evidences of frontier life give way before the advancing
civilization and measure of progress, and his sympathies and interests have
always been with the line of life that is wrought for permanent good and
substantial improvement.
JOHN HENRY BEECH, M. D.
Among the physicians and surgeons who have figured prominently in
the history of the medical profession in Branch county was Dr. John Henry
Beech, who died in Coldwater, October I7, 1878, when fifty-nine years of
age. He was a native of New York, and a son of John and Susan Beech.
His father died when comparatively a young man, but the mother survived
for many years. She married for her second husband Elihu Mather, and
when Dr. Beech came to Branch county Mr. and Mrs. Mather also sought
homes in this part of the state.
Dr. Beech, having acquired his preliminary education in the public schools
of his native state, afterward entered the Albany (New York) Medical College, from which he was graduated on the completion of the regular course,
and on his removal to Coldwater he entered upon the practice of medicine,
in which he continued until after the inauguration of the Civil war, when he
enlisted in the Union army, becoming a, surgeon of the Thirty-fourth Michigan Infantry. When the country no longer needed his aid he returned to
his home and practiced in Coldwater and became very prominent in his profession here. It was in answer to a call issued by him that the physicians
of this part of the state met at Coldwater and organized the Southern Michigan Medical Society. He always took great interest in the progress made
by the medical fraternity and kept in touch with the most advanced thought
and methods. His labors were far-reaching and beneficial and he was the
loved family physician in many a household. In politics he was a Democrat
and his prominence in community affairs is indicated by the fact that he was
honored with the mayoralty of Coldwater and with other positions of public








Henry C. Lewis






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                        451
trust and responsibility. He never faltered in the performance of any duty
that devolved upon him nor was dilatory in meeting any obligation that he
had incurred either in private life or in citizenship and as a representative
resident of Coldwater was widely known.
Dr. Beech was three times married but had no children. His last marriage was with Mrs. Sarah E. Skeels, nee Lewis, and now Mrs. Conant, of
whom special mention is made in connection with the personal history of the
late H. C. Lewis, who was her brother. For many years Dr. Beech remained
a resident of Coldwater, practicing here successfully up to the time of his
death. He was a thorough student and was recognized as a learned and skillful physician.  He was also esteemed for his generosity and kindness of
heart, and he yet lives in the memory of the older citizens whose good fortune it was to know him.
HENRY C. LEWIS.
The career of the gentleman whose name introduces this review was
that of a self-made man, reliant and determined, who, though he started out
in life in limited financial circumstances, won success through capable and
well-directed effort. He was horn in Clarendon, Orleans county, New York,
May 5, I820, his parents being William and Sarah Lewis. His early youth
was spent in his native state and when a lad of fourteen years he made his
way to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he became connected with a grocery
house, in which he remained for several years. On the expiration of that
period he came to Coldwater and for ten years was engaged in the dry goods
business in this city. On selling out he became associated with Clinton B.
Fisk in the banking business, but this relation was maintained for only a
brief period, after which Mr. Lewis became sole proprietor. Later, however,
he admitted Alonzo F. Bidwell and Ives G. Miles to a partnership and successively the firm was known as Lewis & Kellogg and Lewis & Starr. Eventually Mr. Lewis sold his interest, after which he engaged in buying horses
for the government. Two years later, in connection with Mr. Starr, he becaurie an organizer of the Coldwater National Bank, of which he was made
president, occupying that position up to the time of his death, which occurred
August Ig, I884. He thus figured prominently in financial circles in Coldwxater, and in the bank of which he was president he instituted a safe, conservative policy that insured it a goo4 patronage and made the investment a
profitable one.
In I846 Mr. Lewis was united in marriage to Miss Alma A. Alden, a
daughter of Dr. Hiram Alden. She survived him for several years and died
in 1895. Mr. Lewis united with the Baptist church in I865 and remained
one of its consistent members until his demise. In politics he was first a
Democrat and afterwards a Republican. Following the close of the Civil
war he went abroad and visited England, Ireland, Russia, Germany, France
and Spain, and in I873 he was appointed a commissioner to the Vienna Exposition. Again in 1878 he crossed the Atlantic, this time making his way
to Palestine. While on his various visits abroad, being a great lover of art,
he collected many valuable pieces of statuary and fine paintings, and near






452


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


his beautiful home in Coldwater he erected a suitable building and thereon
established the Lewis Art Gallery, wherein were placed his many fine specimens of the works of old masters as well as of the modern artists and sculptors. Subsequent to his death by his bequest this collection became the property of the state and now enriches the art collection of the Michigan University, while the building which he erected is now the home of the Young
Men's Christian Association of Coldwater. His private library was given to
the Coldwater Public Library. He was a man of beneficent spirit and benevolent purpose, and while he was successful in his business and prominent as a
representative of commercial and financial interests here he never allowed accumulation of wealth to in any manner affect his relations with those less
fortunate. He stood in his old age just where he did in his younger yearsas the champion of all that is right, true and just in man's relation with his
fellowmen, recognizing not wealth, which is the most desirable position man
can attain.
Mrs. Sarah E. Conant, a sister of Mr. Lewis, was born at Clarendon,
Orleans county, New York, December 31, I825, and was a little child when
her father died. In her girlhood days she came with her widowed mother
and the other children of the family to Coldwater, and here the mother
passed away at the age of sixty-two years. For her first husband she married Nelson D. Skeels, and later became the wife of Dr. J. H. Beech, of
whom mention is made above. Her third marriage was to F. H. Conant.
She now resides in Coldwater and is held in the highest esteem by a wide
acquaintance. She has long been a member of the Presbyterian church, of
which she is a generous and liberal supporter. Her life has been that of a
consistent Christian woman and her influence is widely felt in church and
social circles. Interested in all that promotes the intellectual, social, aesthetic
and moral nature of man, she has exerted her influence in behalf of progress
along these lines and her efforts have not been without good results. At four
score years she is one of the well preserved women of her time.
TRUMAN C. MACK.
Truman C. Mack, who has been a continuous resident of this, section
since I854, was born in Florence, Erie county, Ohio, July 23, 1839. His
father was Joel Mack, while his mother was Marcia, the adopted daughter of Thomas Ward. Joel Mack and his family went from Pennsylvania
to Ohio in I835, locating in Erie county, where they were among the very
earliest settlers. Joel and Marcia Mack were the parents of five children,
as follows: Cordelia, a daughter, died in infancy. Joseph died at the age
of seven years. Thomas W. Mack is a resident of the village of Girard.
Joel Mack is a farmer of Girard township. Truman C. Mack is the subject
of this sketch. The husband and father, Joel Mack, died in Erie county,
Ohio, at the age of thirty-three years, and after a residence of twenty. years
in Ohio the wife and mother, Marcia Mack, came to Michigan with her
children.  She located in Branch county, and having previously married




dh~z4  6 kC-4Tj










HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY,453


Comfort Johnson, in Ohio, they made their home here. Her death occurred
in Girard in I883, when she was seventy-three years of age.
Our subject, Mr. Truman C. Mack, was a lad of but fifteen years of
age when he accompanied his mother and brothers from Ohio to Michigan.
He had grown up on the farm in Ohio and he followed this vocation after
coming to Michigan, and before he was tiventy-one years old he had purchased forty-five acres of land in Girard township, to which he later added
another forty-five acres. He was married, February 2, 1862, to Miss Mary
J. Swan, who has proven a true helpmeet throughout the many years of
their wedded life. Mrs. Mack was born in Erie county, Ohio, June 25,
I843, her parents being Constant Merrick Swan and Rachel Johnson Swan,
two of Branch county's oldest and most respected pioneers, who still live
upon their fine farm in the township of Union. Mr. C. M. Swan was born
in Lebanon, Madison county, New York, November 8, I82I, while Mrs.
Swan is a native of Elyria, Loraine county, Ohio, where she was born
November 9, I826. They were married in Berlin, Erie county, Ohio, May
29, 1842, and came to Michigan in I850, locating in Union township on the
farm where thev have ever since lived. Although he has always owned and
operated farms, having cleared up several during his busy life, Mr. Swan
has given comparatively little of his attention to agricultural pursuits, he
having always been engaged in other enterprises as well. When Mr. and
Mlrs. Swan came from Ohio to Michigan in I850 they brought with them a
maple sapling which they planted in their front door-yard, and here the
tree still stands, a sapling no longer, but a beautiful maple tree with a base
measuring over six feet in circumference. This alone is an apt illustration
of the growth and development of this section of country during their fiftyfive years' residence here. Mr. and Mrs. C. M. Swan were the parents of
two daughters. Mrs. T. C. Mack, the wife of our subject, and Lois Swan
Walsworth, who died in I867. Twice during the married life of Mr. and
Mrs. Swvan have they been participants in family reunions where were five
generations of the family, the last occasion of this sort being in June, I905,
the five generations being as follows: Mr. and Mrs. C. M. Swan; their
daughter, Mrs. T. C. Mack, wife of our subject; a granddaughter, Mrs.
Ella Waite, of Bronson, Michigan; a great-grandson, Mr. Roy Waite, of
Chicago; and a great-great-grandson, Mr. Waite's baby son, Arthur Waite.
Mr. and Mrs. Swan have led useful and active lives and they are highly
esteemed in this vicinity.
Mr. and Mrs. Truman C. Mack are the parents of seven children, all
of whom   are now married and with homes and families of their own.
They are as follows: Ella Mack, born January I, 1863, was married October 12, 1879, to LaSalle Waite. They live in Bronson and have three children: Roy, Rachel and Ruel. Nettie Mack, born May 12, I866, was married September 12, I885, to Frank Vosburgh.  Their home is in Union
township and they have two children: Platt and Ruby. J. C. Mack, born
June 6, i868, was married June I8, i888, to Mary Reynolds. They live in
Union township and have six children: Bernie, Truman, Claude, Nina,
Irene and Lloyd. Lois Mack, born May 20, I873, was married April 27,
1873 wa  mariedApri 2:




454


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


I892, to Archie Cherdavoine. They live near the old homestead and have
two children: Lester and Marcia. Maude Mack, born December Ii, 1877,
was married October 12, I892, to Jay Cornell, and their home is in New
Mexico. Jesse C. Mack, born July 8, I88o, was married January 17, 900o,
to Mabel Reynolds. They live in the township of Girard and have two children, Pauline and Marcia. Herbert Mack, born February 5, I872, was married in I902 to Sarah Cherdavoine and they live in Battle Creek.
Mr. Mack, although never an offiece seeker, has been director in his
school district for several years. His present farm is a fine one, comprising
one hundred and twenty acres of fertile land, equipped with good buildings
and all of the needful machinery and other accessories for successful operation. Here Mr. and Mrs. Mack have spent many years of their lives and
here they have won the regard and high esteem of their friends and neighbors. They have reared and educated their large family of children and have
seen them grow to successful manhood and womanhood and now with families of their own. The parents have witnessed and assisted in the development of this section from a comparatively new country to its present prosperous condition, and they have surely performed their whole duty as residents of this prosperous state and county.
FREDERICK HILDEBRAND.
Frederick Hildebrand was born in Germany, 'in I839, and was a son of
Ernest and Mary Hildebrand, also natives of that country, who in their
later years came to America and lived with their children. Their family
numbered five sons and four daughters, namely: William and John, both
now deceased; Charles, who resides in Reading township, Hillsdale county,
Michigan; Louie, a resident of Algansee township; Frederick; Mrs. William
Kraus; Mrs. Gottschalk; Mrs. Rohloff, now deceased; and Mrs. Joseph
Schultz, a widow, living in Algansee. Their son Frederick spent the days
of his boyhood and youth in the country of his nativity, and in I86I, when
about twenty-two years of age, crossed the Atlantic to the new world. He
did not tarry in the east, but made his way at once to Michigan, settling in
Algansee. He then spent two years working as a farm hand by the month
for Philander Walbridge and George Briggs, remaining in the employ of
each for a year. He afterward secured work on the W. J. Barnes farm in
Quincy township, where he lived for a number of years, and during that
period, through his industry and economy, he managed to save a sum sufficient to enable him to purchase the Robbins farm on section fifteen, Algansee township, comprising one hundred and twenty acres. Removing to his
property he at once began to cultivate the soil and in due course of time
harvested rich crops, and as the years brought further prosperity he extended the boundaries of his farm by the additional purchase of one hundred
acres.
Frederick Hildebrand was united in marriage to Miss Charlotte Hagerman, who was born in Germany in 1844, and died in I9OI, at the age of
fifty-seven years. She was a daughter of Ernest and Mary Hagerman, and
her mother passed away in the old country, after which the father came to




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


the United States, where his death occurred in I876. In his family were
three sons and four daughters: William, deceased; Fred, who is living in
Quincy township; Charles, deceased; Mrs. Remus, a widow, residing in Detroit;.Mrs. Rosenow, deceased; Mrs. Sprunk, who has also passed away;
and Mrs. Hildebrand. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Hildebrand were born
three children, of whom one died in infancy. The daughter Winnie is the
wife of John T. Goodman, a retired farmer, living in Coldwater. The son,
Louie F., resides upon the old home farm. The parents are members of
the German Lutheran church and Mr. Hildebrand is a stalwart Republican
in his political views, having given his support to the party since attaining
his majority.  He has held minor offices, but has never been ambitious in
the sense of office-seeking.  Both he and his wife attend church and are
worthy people, enjoying in full measure the confidence and good will of
those with whom they have come in contact.
Their son, Louie F. Hildebrand, was born on the place where he now
resides, in 1870, spent his youth upon a farm and acquired his education in
the public schools of the township and in the German school at Coldwater.
He always devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits until August, I905,
when he bought property in Coldwater. He was married in I900 to Miss
Mamie Kennedy, who was born in Algansee, in I876. Her father, Michael
Kennedy, was a native of Ireland, and came to the United States at
an early day, settling first in Ohio, whence he afterward came to this county,
his home being now in Algansee township. At the present writing he is
living retired in Coldwater. He wedded Mary Robinson and they had six
children, but the first two died in early life. The others are: Lulu, the wife
of Lou Wilson, a resident farmer of Algansee; Mrs. Hildebrand; Emma, a
salesladv of the B. Branch Mercantile Establishment of Coldwater; and
Maggie, at home. In his political views Louie Hildebrand is a Republican
and he has a wide acquaintance in the county where he has always lived and
where his social qualities, his business worth and progressive citizenship
have made him a popular resident.
JULIUS M. BATES.
The attractiveness of Branch county as a place of residence is indicated
in the fact that many of her native sons have retained their homes within its
borders from birth to the present time, enjoying its privileges and opportunities and adding to its advancement by co-operation in public life and
activity in business affairs. Of this class of citizens Julius M. Bates is a
representative, being one of the native sons of the county, born on section
eighteen, Ovid township, where he still resides.  His natal day was September 29, I854, and he is a son of Joshua M. Bates, who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume. No event of special importance occurred to vary the
routine of farm life for our subject in his youth, his attention being divided
between the duties of the schoolroom, the pleasures of the playground and
the work of the home farm. He mastered the common branches of English
learning and also became proficient in the labors of field and meadow as he
aided in the raising of grain and stock. The occupation to which he was




456


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


reared he has made his life work, and he still lives upon the old farm homestead where in former years he assisted his father in clearing the fields and
preparing the land for the plow. Here he has eighty acres, presenting an
excellent appearance, for the fields are well tilled and the buildings and
fences are kept in good repair.
Mr. Bates has been married twice. In January, 1873., he wedded Miss
Mary E. Burns, a daughter of Harvey Burns, a farmer of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Mrs. Bates was reared in Ovid township, Branch county, and by her
marriage became the mother of a son and daughter, Harvey and Ethel, the
latter now the wife of Seth Tompsett. For his second wife Mr. Bates chose
Miss Zerniah Cole, a daughter of Reuben Cole, a well-known farmer of
Ovid township. She was born in that township in I867, spent hei girlhood
days there and was indebted to the public school system for the educational
privileges she enjoyed. In 1890 she gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Bates
and they are well known and worthy people of the community, having a
large circle of warm friends who esteem them highly because of their excellent traits of heart and mind. In March, I896, they adopted a son, Leslie H. Bates. Mr. Bates votes with the Republican party, keeps in touch
with the questions and issues of the day and has twice served as township
treasurer. His fraternal relations are with the Masons of Coldwater.
CHARLES PHILIP CONKLIN.
Charles Philip Conklin, assistant postmaster of Coldwater, was born
in Huron county, Ohio, near Norwalk, June 6, 1852, his parents being George
and Mary E. (Norton) Conklin, the former a native of New York and the
latter of Connecticut. The Conklins are of Holland lineage and the progenitor of the family in America was John Conklin, who came from the
little Dutch kingdom to the new world and settled in Wlestchester county,
New York. He had two daughters and one son, and one of the daughters
became the wife of Hercules Lent, while the other married Isaac Van Wert,
one of the three captors of Major Andre, the British spy of the Revolutionary
war. The son, John Conklin, married Hannah Storms, also a native of Holland, and a daughter of Gorham Storms of the same country. Her mother.
however, was a French Huguenot and her maiden name was Sporama. Unto
John Conklin and his wife were born ten children, including Matthew Conklin, whose birth occurred in New York in March, I746. He was married
to Sarah Valentine and they had seven children.
Among this number was Philip Conklin, the grandfather of Charles
Philip Conklin of this review. He was born November 15, 1784, and died
June 27, I877. He was married twice, first to Abigail Spofford and second
to Susan Amanda Jones. Of the first marriage there were seven children
and of the second there were ten. George Conklin, son of the first marriage,
was born July II, I819, and departed this life March 6, I89I. He was the
father of our subject and was married to Mary E. Norton, whose biirth
occurred August 25, 1824.
The paternal great-grandmother of Charles Philip Conklin was a great



^ " " W-cd  wooo








HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


457


granddaughter of Adam Mott, one of the nine partners who settled Dutchess
county, New York, and whose real father was Adam Wallace. He was only
three years old when his father, the Rev. Adam Wallace, was burned at the
stake in Scotland because he was a Protestant, an account of this being given
in the book of martyrs, the event occurring in the reign of Queen Mary
about the year I55o. After his martyrdom his widow took her son to England, where she married a Mr. Mott, and thuts the lad became known by his
stepfather's name. He eventually married and had two sons, Richard and
Joseph. The latter marred and his children were Joseph, Jane and Martha.
The last named became the wife of James Valentine. One of the children of
this marriage was Sarah Valentine, the great-grandmother of Mrs. Conklin.
For some years George and Mary E. Conklin resided in Ohio, making
their home there until 1870. In October of that year, however, they became
residents of Coldwater, accompanied by their son and only child, Charles
Philip Conklin, then nineteen years of age. The father was a farmer by
occupation and throughout his entire life engaged in the tilling of the soil
in order to provide for his family. His political support was given to the
Republican party and he was a faithful and consistent member of the Presbyterian church, in which he held the office of elder. His wife, also a loyal
Christian, belonging to the Presbyterian church,-survives him and makes her
home with her son at the advanced age of eighty-one years.
Charles Philip Conklin was reared upon the home farm and acquired
a high school education in Norwalk, Ohio, and in Coldwater, Michigan. In
May, 1873, he entered the Coldwater postoffice in the capacity of a clerk,
and from one position to another was promoted until in I882 he became
assistant postmaster, a position which he has occupied continuously since,
covering a period of twenty-three consecutive years.  His political views
accord with Republican principles and in matters of citizenship he is progressive, interested in all that pertains to the welfare and upbuilding of his community.
On the 9th of November, I876, Mr. Conklin was married to Miss Kate
Amanda Shaw. who was born at Fulton, New York, January 26, I856. They
had two children, but the younger, Leslie, who was born July 4, I882, died
February 25, 1884. Their surviving son, Ralph Norton, was born June 17,
1879. Mr. and Mrs. Conklin and their son are members of the Presbyterian
church, in which he is now serving as a trustee, and he is also identified with
the Knights of Pythias fraternity. Having lived in this city since the age of
nineteen years he has a wide acquaintance here and the sterling traits of his
character are such as have gained for him warm friendship and kindly regard.
E. M. JARDON.
E. M. Jardon, one of the prominent farmers of Batavia township, living
on section twenty-two, is a native of Huron county, Ohio, born on the 7th
of March, 1837. His father, Edward Jardon, was born in Orange county,
New York, and in early manhood removed to Ohio, where he was married
to Miss Catharine Lofflan, who was a native of Pennsylvania. They began




458


lIISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


their domestic life in Tuscarawas county, subsequently removing to Huron
county, and in 1839 became residents of Ashland county, Ohio, where they
spent their remaining days, the father passing away at the advanced age of
eighty-seven years, and his wife when sixty-five years of age. They were
the parents of three children, two daughters and a son.
E. M. Jardon was reared in Ashland county from the age of two years,
and when twenty-seven years of age he was married in I865 to Miss Eliza
M. Frey, a daughter of John M. and Lena C. (Lenninger) Frey, who were
born in Germany and were married there. Mrs. Jardon was also a native of
the fatherland, born May 20, I840, and was twelve years of age when she
came to America with her parents, who located first in Plymouth, Huron
county, Ohio, on the boundary line of Richland county.
In the year I865 Mr. Jardon of this review  removed to McHenry
county, Illinois, where he remained for one year and then went to Steuben
county, Indiana. where he resided for fourteen years, his time being devoted
to general farming there. He afterward lived in Crawford county, Ohio,
where he spent one year, and in I88I he came to Branch county, Michigan,
settling upon his present farm. Here he has sixty acres of land, which is
devoted to the raising of crops best adapted to soil and climate. Everything
about his place is neat and thrifty in appearance and he is an enterprising
agriculturist, keeping in touch with modern progress in regard to the work
of the farm.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Jardon have been born five children: Minnie, now
the wife of Harry Bater, of Union township, Branch county; Lena, the wife
of Clayton Roberts, of Montpelier, WVilliams county, Ohio; Cora, the wife
of John M. Gray, of Batavia township; and Edna and Ethel, twins. Both
received diplomas in the public schools, and they are members of the Ancient
Order of Gleaners at Batavia Center. The former is at home, and the latter
is engaged in teaching school in Batavia township.
Mr. Jardon has been a life-long Democrat, always supporting the party
where national issues are involved, but voting independently at local elections.
He has been a resident of Branch county for about twenty-four years and is
interested in public affairs, giving active co-operation to many movements
for the general welfare. In his farm work he has prospered and is now the
possessor of a good property.
STANLEY W. BOYNTON.
Stanley VW. Boynton, well-known and successful stock farmer of Quincy
township, was born in Wayne county, New York, September 24, I848. Of
ancestry that has been traced to England, his grandfather, George, was a
native of Vermont, and his father, Benjamin F. Boynton, was born in Wayne
county, New York, and died in this county in I88o, aged fifty-eight years.
The father came to Michigan in 1863, and locating on section twenty in
Quincy township, where Stanley W. now lives, was there engaged in farming until his death. The old homestead consists of one hundred and eighty
acres, and by father and son has been kept up to date and one of the most
productive and valuable estates in the township. The father adhered to the




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


459


Free Will Baptist faith, and was always a Republican. The wife of Benjatnin F. Boynton was Maria Drake, who was born in New Jersey and died
in I885 at the age of sixty-three. She was also a member of the Free Will
Baptist church. Of their nine children all died in infancy but two, Stanley
W. and Ella, the latter having married three times and being a resident of
Oakland, California.
Reared on the old farm in Quincy township and attending the school
which stood on an adjoining farm, Mr. Boynton has pursued his successful
life career in the surroundings that have been familiar to him from youth up,
and through his character for industry and business integrity a well deserved
prosperity has rewarded his efforts. He has a beautiful farm residence on
the homestead. He feeds a large quantity of live stock, and this is the principal branch of his business.
Mr. Boynton married, first, in I870, Gertrude Cummings.  She was
born in Orleans county, New York, a daughter of Alexander and Louisa
(Craigan) Cummings, her parents moving to Michigan when she was a child
and locating in Calhoun county, where her father was a farmer. She died
in 1887, at the age of thirty-five. Mr. Boynton married for his second wife,
in I892, Hermione Ellsworth, who was born in New York state August 28,
1872, a daughter of Mortimer and Louise Sisson Ellsworth.  Her parents
came to Michigan and settled first at Adrian, and the father is still living;
the mother died at Lincoln, Nebraska, January 26, I885. Mrs. Boynton is
the second of five children, her brothers and sisters being: William, a stationary engineer at Three Rivers, Michigan; Mary, the wife of Guy Hurley, in the Wolverine Cement Works at Quincy; Normlan, an engineer at
Three Rivers; and Pearl, wife of John Goodrich, a dairyman at Lincoln,
Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Boynton's only child, C. Bernice, was born in 1895
and died in 1902. Mrs. Boynton is a member of the Baptist church, and he
is affiliated with the Masonic order, Mt. Vernon Lodge No. I66. He and
his wife are members of the Eastern Star, No. 12, and she is past worthy
matron. A Republican in politics, he has held township offices and stands
high in his community.
E. F. GAMBLE, M. D.
Dr. E. F. Gamble, engaged in the practice of medicine in Coldwater, is
a native of Tecumseh, Michigan, born on the i2th of May, I866. His
parents were F. W. and Maria (Gray) Gamble, the former a native of
Enniskillen, Ireland, while the latter was born in Tecumseh, Michigan.
Dr. Gamble was reared and educated in the place of his nativity, completing his literary course there by study in the high school. Determining
upon the practice of medicine and surgery as a life work he then entered the
homeopathic medical department of the Michigan State University at Ann
Arbor and was graduated with the class of 1892. He supplemented his
collegiate training by six months' experience in Grace hospital and then
located for practice in Wellsboro, Indiana, where he was also surgeon for the
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company and the Chicago & Grand Trunk
Railroad Company for about two and a half years, after which he was located




460              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
in Winona, Minnesota, for eighteen months, and in I897 came to Coldwater,
where he has since engaged in practice. A liberal patronage has been accorded him in recognition of his ability in the line of his profession, and in
his practice he displays thorough understanding of the principles of medicine
and a ready adaptability of his knowledge to the case in question. He is
secretary of the Branch County Pension Examining Board, and is examiner
for various life insurance companies and lodges.
Dr. Gamble was married in Tecumseh, October I6, I893, to Miss Elida
DeMere James, a daughter of Alfred and Mary (White) James. They now
have two sons: Alfred F. and Lytton D. Dr. and Mrs. Gamble have a large
circle of friends in Coldwater, their intelligence and worth gaining them
the entry into the best homes of the city. His political support is cast with
the Democratic party and he takes an active interest in its affairs, but has
never been an aspirant for office, preferring to give undivided attention to his
professional duties.
MRS. E. R. G. PARADINE.
Mrs. E. R. G. Paradine, well known in Coldwater, was born in Hillsdale county, Michigan, March I4, 184I.  Her father was Orson Randall,
who was born in Yates county, New York, August 25, I807, and came to
Branch county, Michigan, in 1844, locating in Coldwater township, where
he was engaged in farming. He was married September 15, I8,33, to Miss
Laura Gilbert, a native of Connecticut, and they became the parents of five
children, of whom Mrs. Paradine is the fourth in order of. birth.  Her
father continued to make farming his life work and for many years was a
leading agriculturist of Branch county, his death occurring in the city of
Coldwater, I89o. Mrs. Paradine was only about three years old when she
came to Branch county, where she was reared and educated. She first married Wenzel Gruner on the 25th of August, I858,. He was born in Reichenburg, Germany, September 28, 1831, and in 1848 or I849 came to America
and lived five years in New York state and then located in Michigan and
became a well-to-do farmer.  Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gruner were born the
following named: Mina L., deceased; Mary K., the wife of William Mitchell of Coldwater; Edna E., the wife of S. T. Vesey of La Grange, Indiana;
Ward C., a resident farmer of Branch county; Benjamin S., who is a telegraph operator in Alabama; Bartlett, a merchant living in Mount Pleasant,
Michigan; and Starr W., a farmer of Coldwater township. All were born
upon the old family homestead in Coldwater township-the farm upon which
the father located when he first came to Michigan. Mr. Gruner died April
15, I885, and February 3, I897, Mrs. Gruner was united in marriage to
William W. Paradine, who was born in England in 1837, and came to the
United States in I856, and in I86o to Branch county. His life has been
that of a farmer.
GEORGE A. TUTTLE.
George A. Tuttle, who for fifty years has been a resident of Branch
county, is now engaged in farming on section eighteen, Batavia township.
His birth occurred in Marshall county, Indiana, on the 26th of October,










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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY4


461


1849, his parents being Major and Eliza (Ramsay) Tuttle. The father, a
native of Connecticut, removed from New England to New York, and afterward took up his abode in Indiana, locating at Michigan City. He afterward
settled in Marshall county, living there when the Indians were numerous,
his attention being given to the cultivation and development of a farm. In
1856 he came to Branch county, this state, settling in Batavia township,
where he purchased what was known as the Rogers farm. On selling that
place he bought the Fowler farm and he gave the land upon which the church
in the locality now stands. At a later date he sold his property and bought
the Jones farm in Coldwater township, remaining there for two years, when
he sold out and became the possessor of the farm upon which his son George
A. now resides. There he spent his remaining days, reaching the very venerable age of eighty-four years. He was the oldest Mason of Michigan who
was initiated in the order in this state. Mr. Tuttle was four times married,
his first union being with Charlotte Barber, by whom he had four children:
Timothy and Orson, both deceased; Sarah M.; and Levi, who has also passed
away. For his second wife he chose Eliza Ramsey, and George A. Tuttle
is the only child of this marriage. For his third wife he won Mrs. Comings,
and Mrs. Lucinda Brown became his fourth wife. There was one daughter
by that marriage, Arabelle, now deceased. George A. Tuttle and his sister
Sarah are the only surviving ones of the family.
When about eight years of age George A. Tuttle was brought to Michigan and in the public schools he acquired his education. He remained with
his parents until their death, was reared to the occupation of farming and
became thoroughly familiar with the duties and labors of field and meadow
at an early age. On the 27th of October, I892, he was married to Miss Mary
Sindlinger, a daughter of John and Caroline (Dingier) Sindlinger, and a
native of Burr Oak township, St. Joe county. Two sons have been born of this
marriage, Glen and Mark, both of whom are in school.
Mr. Tuttle is the owner of one hundred acres of well improved land,
the fields being richly cultivated and yielding good harvests for the care and
labor bestowed upon them. He has been a resident of Branch county for
almost fifty years and ha-s been identified with its interests in a helpful degree,
contributing to. the success of those movements which are a matter of public
pride. In politics he has always been an earnest Republican and has served
as director of schools and at the same time is moderator. He is well known
in the county, and his genuine worth has won him friendly recognition from
all with whom he has come in contact. He belongs to the First Congregational church at Matteson, has taken an active interest in its work, serving as
its treasurer and one of its trustees and as an earnest worker in the Sundayschool. Mrs. Tuttle is a member of the German Lutheran church.
ROBERT FRASER, M. D.
Dr. Robert Fraser, whose capability in his profession ramks him with
the leading members of the medical fraternity in Branch county, is perhaps
the oldest physician in years of continuous practice in this part of the state,




462


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


having for thirty-five years followed his chosen calling in Sherwood. Hle
is also well known as a leader in the ranks of the People's party in this locality. He was born in Canada, May 8, 1842, and is a son of William Fraser,
a native of Scotland. He was reared and educated in the land of the hills
and heather, whence he came to America at the age of twenty-five years.
He established his home in Canada, where he was married to Miss Christina
Gunn, a native of that country. He died at the age of fifty-five years, while
his wife passed away at the age of seventy-five years. They had a son and
daughter, of whom Dr. Fraser is the elder.
Having mastered the common branches of English learning, Dr. Fraser
continued his studies in the Bradford high school, of Canada, and was graduated from the medical department of the Victoria University, in the class
of 1865. The same year he came to the United States, settling first in New
York, where he remained for five years.  In March, I870, he arrived in
Sherwood, where he has since made his home. Desirous of obtaining still
greater proficiency in the line of his profession he entered the American
Electrical Medical College in 1875, and was graduated in I876. He did not
cease his study even then, but has always been an interested observer of the
progress of the medical fraternity, keeping in touch with its advancement
through reading and investigation. He has now practiced in Sherwood for
thirty-five years and is a beloved family physician in many a household, a
cheery manner and ready sympathy, as well as his scientific knowledge,
making him one of the capable practitioners of Branch county.
In I87T Dr. Fraser was married to Miss Jennie Coleman, who was
born and reared in Canada.  They had two children, but Everton died at
the age of eight years. The surviving son, Dr. Robert Carson Fraser, is a
graduate of the Detroit Medical College, and is now practicing in Detroit,
Michigan.
Dr. Fraser of this review is a Democrat. He was the first president of
the village of Sherwood after its incorporation, and filled that office for
several terms. He was also a candidate for congress on the People's ticket,
and has taken an active part in politics, being deeply interested in the great
questions which affect the welfare of the country, as well as in the local
political work.  He never fails to attend the county conventions, and his
opinions carry weight in the local councils of his party.
Dr. Fraser has a good home in Sherwood and an excellent farm of
eighty acres in Sherwood township. He has never regretted his determination to seek a home in the United States, with its livelier competition and
advancement more quickly secured, and in a profession where individual
merit is all that counts, he has won for himself an enviable position, his
practice being as large as that of any physician in the county.
ST. MARY'S PARISH.
A few Polish families settled in Bronson, Michigan, in I86I, and at
once formed themselves into a little band of worshipers, holding services at
the home of James Cunningham, but at first without a priest.  In  863
St. Mary's Parish was organized by Rev. F. X. Schulack, a Jesuit Father,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


463


and in I865, through his efforts, their first church was built on the south
side of the railroad, and for a period of fifteen years he was in charge. Then
for four years, until 1884, the church was attended hy Rev. Fattler Charles
Korst of Coldwater. The first resident priest St. Mary's had was the Rev.
Father Francis Krol. At the end of six years he was succeeded by Father
Schulack, who remained until 1892. Then came Father John Lemke. whose
death occurred at the end of ten months of service here. Father Casimer
Rochowski succeeded him, and was pastor until I899. The next six months
Father Bernard Srnijewski presided over the parish, and in September, I899,
came Rev. Father John Bernard Hewelt, who has since been in charge, and
to whose efforts is largely due the success of the parish.
The present church and school buildings of St. Mary's each occupy a
ground space of one hundred and forty by three hundred feet. The fine
church edifice, erected on the ashes of the second church building, is one
hundred and twenty by forty-eight feet in dimensions and cost twelve thousand dollars, with an additional cost of eleven thousand dollars for furnishings. It was built by popular subscription. The interior decoration of this
church is the most noted of its kind in the State of Michigan, the painting
having been done by an artist from Rome.
CSt.Mary's School, erected in Igoo, during the pastorate of Father
Hewelt, is eighty-eight by seventy-eight feet, and was built at a cost of
twenty-four thousand dollars. From six to ten teachers are employed, and
regular courses of study up to the twelfth grade are offered; also typewriting,
stenography, music and art needle work are taught. The largest contributor
to the bulilding fund of the school was Ciceroi Holmes.
Father Hewelt is a native of Prussia and was born in I863, a descendant of an old noble family.  His education was begun in Germany.   In
I870 he was taken to Paris, thence to England and Ireland, and in I88o he
came to the United States, where his studies were continued with the priesthood in view. He was ordained in I891 in the cathedral at Detroit. His
work at St. Mary's has been characterized by enthusiastic and untiring energy
and has been fruitful to a marked degree.
THADDEUS FOLLETT.
Thaddeus Follett, who, carrying on agricultural pursuits, resided in
California township, was born in Cayuga county, Ohio, on the 3rd of November, I86I. His father, Reuben T. Follett, was born in Dover, Ohio, on
the 15th of August, 1822, and there resided until forty-one years of age,
when he came to Michigan, settling in Butler township, Branch county,
where for two years he owned and cultivated a farm. He then removed to
California township, where he purchased one hundred and sixty-four acres
of land on section six, and as he prospered in his work he increased his
acreage until his farm, at the time of his death, comprised two hundred and
forty-four acres of rich and productive land.  His father, Daniel Follett,
was a native of Connecticut and in an early day went to Ohio, where he died
in 1848. While living in the Buckeye state, Reuben Follett was married




464


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


in Cleveland on the 25th of November, 1852, to Miss Julia E. Kelley, who
was born in that city October 15, 1832, and was a daughter of Wvilliam
Kelley, who was born near Rochester, New York, and afterward resided in
Cleveland, Ohio, where he died in I839, while his wife passed away in I8401.
In their family were eight children, Mrs. Follett being the only one now
living. Unto Reuben Follett and his wife were born eight children, and,
with one exception, all yet survive, Eva having died at the age of sixteen
years.  The living members of the family are:  Mrs. Emma Thompson,
who resides in California township; Charles, who is living in Algansee;
Mrs. Lucy Corless, of Ovid; Thaddeus, of this review; Mrs. Nettie Bovee,
of Chicago; Mrs. Alta Mitchell, living in Dover, Ohio; Mrs. Birdie Corless,
a resident of LaGrange, Georgia.  The father followed farming both in
Ohio and in Michigan, and he cleared much of his land, on which he made
gonod improvements and erected substantial buildings, thus developing one
of the excellent farms of his neighborhood. In his social relations he was a
Blue Lodge Mason, and in his political views was a Democrat. He and his
wife were attendants on the services of the Presbyterian church. He was
an intelligent farmer and esteemed citizen, and his efforts in behalf of public
progress were of direct good.
Thaddeus Follett, whose name introduces this review, always lived upon
the home farm, and throughout his entire life has carried on. general agricultural pursuits.  He acquired a common school education and in the
periods of vacation worked in the fields. He now carries on general farming and also raises good horses. He owns one hundred and sixty-four acres
of land on the old homestead, where he is now living with his mother. He
married Nellie M. Allen, of Coldwater, and they have one son, Allen T.
Follett, who was born May 5, I895.
Mr. Follett belongs to, several fraternal organizations, including the
Odd Fellows society in California township, the Masonic: lodge in Kinderhook, and the Modern Woodmen camp in California township. He is an
independent voter and has been a member of the township hoard of review
and also school district moderator. He is recognized as. a prosperous young
farmer and is a man of affairs, who has ever been a keen observer, is well
read and is informed upon all matters of general interest.
ISAAC BENNETT.
Isaac Bennett, a pioneer Michigan Methodist minister, was. born on
Bacon Ridge, Ross township, Jefferson county, Ohio, April 22, 1810. He
was the son of James and Lydia Bennett. His grandfather, Isaac Bennett,
was a member of the Pennsylvania Militia, and his grandfather, Ludwig
Hardenbrook, was a soldier of the Revolutionary war. Several of his uncles
were soldiers of the war of I812 to I815. His. grandfather Hardenbrook
and his own parents were Presbyterians. When thirteen years of age his
father moved west to Morrow county, Ohio. When twenty years of age
Isaac Bennett attended a Methodist campmeeting near Mt. Gilead, Ohio, and
was converted and united with the Methodist church.  In 1832 he was
licensed to preach, Russell Bigelow signing the license as presiding elder.




Rev. Isaac Bennett










HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


465


In 1832 he was married to Miss Eleanor Barrickman, who died three years
later, leaving in his care two children.
At the organization of the Michigan conference held at Mansfield, Ohio,
in 1836, he was admitted on trial and ordained a deacon by Bishop Soule,
and in 1838 he was ordained an elder by Bishop Waugh. In 1838 he was
married to Mrs. Nancy McNaught Hill, widow of George Hill. His itinerant life began in 1834, when he was employed as a supply on Mt. Gilead
circuit. In 1836 he was appointed to St. Mary's Mission, Maumee district,
western Ohio, this mission including all of Mercer, Van Wert and parts of
Allen and Putnam counties in Ohio, and two appointments in Allen county,
Indiana.
In 1837 Isaac Bennett's work began in Michigan, his appointments
being in succession, Shiawassee circuit, Ingham mission, Eaton mission,
Albion circuit, Litchfield, Coldwater, Manchester, Burlington, Litchfield
again. South Albion, Parma and Eaton Rapids, Flat River, Ionia, Grand
Rapids (Westside, afterwards Second Street), Lamont, Edwardsburg, Paw
Paw, Cassopolis, Allen, Girard, Quincy, Reading, Butler and Kinderhook.
At the Conference held at Jackson, in 1872, he was superannuated; forty
years from the time he was licensed to preach, and thirty-six ye.3: from the
time he became a member of the Conference.
Shiawassee circuit embraced all of Shiawassee, Clinton, and parts of
Eaton, Genesee, Livingston and Oakland counties. This mission extended
west and east as they traveled seventy-five miles, and forty miles north and
south; a four weeks' circuit, thirty-five appointments, he and his colleague,
Washington Jackson, each preaching eight sermons and traveling one hundred miles per week on an average for the year, making over five thousand
miles travel. The larger portion of the settlement of this region began in
1836, there being few roads of any kind. They traveled on horseback and
afoot by Indian trails, and blazed trees for guides from place to place, fording
the streams.
In 18.38 he moved his family from Ohio to Michigan, a distance of three
hundred miles, through a sparsely settled country, three weeks of continuous
travel. When they arrived at their destination it was almost impossible to
find a house. At last they heard of a log cabin in Vernon township, in a
small clearing surrounded by woods, and no neighbors near. They moved
into this, and as they had brought but little with them, and had no money to
buy with, he borrowed tools and made his furniture of boxes and young
saplings, thus beginning his home life in Michigan. His work called him
from home, and necessarily his wife and little ones were alone most of the
time. Days would come and go, then perhaps a white man or an Indian
would pass by. The settlement was new, people poor, and sometimes food
was hard to get; preachers and other pioneers suffered all the hardships alike.
With the exception of the clay and mud in Ohio, the St. Mary's and Shiawassee mission were practically the same; Ingham mission work was the
same, but conditions were better. In Albion circuit, second year, Allen Staples was his colleague. This year at their meetings several hundred were
converted, and between four and five hundred united with the Methodist




466


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


church, many joining other churches. Litchfield circuit in I844-5 included
Jonesville, Allen and Reading in Hillsdale county, and Butler, Quincy, Algansee and California in Branch county. Coldwater included Quincy, Gilead
and Girard. Burlington circuit embraced Tekonsha and Lion Lake in Calhoun county, Union City and Bronson in Branch county, and Colon in St.
Joseph county. Thus it will be seen that Isaac Bennett's work as minister
extended the entire length and breadth of Branch county fifty-five and sixty
years ago. During his retirement he was active in local church work as
preacher and class leader.
He was the father of seven children. Two died in childhood.  His
oldest son, Simeon, located in Kansas and was known as a free soiler. He
died i  85. His stepson, Williamdied in  59.  t   ied in Chicag in I87o, and was
buried in Quincy, Michigan. George, the oldest son by his second marriage,
was a volunteer soldier in the Civil war, and died in West Virginia, Olctober
25, I873, and was buried in Quincy.
May 20, I886, Isaac Bennett lost his best and dearest friend, one who
had been his comrade and counsellor, one who had shared with him all his
hardships and trials of an itinerant's and pioneer's life, who had stood by
his side in sickness and death, and in the darkest hours had been the one that
he could always turn to for comfort and sympathy-his wife. She bade him
"good-bye " and promised to meet with him across the river. They laid her
away by the side of her boys in Lake View Cemetery. March 6, I89O, his
daughter, Eleanor Hendee, died in Jackson county, Michigan, and was
brought home and buried by the side of her mother.
Isaac Bennett cast his first vote for General Jackson and was known
as a Democrat until I854. In his pocket journal he wrote, " Thursday, July
6, I854. To-day I attended a political meeting at Jackson to consolidate
political parties against the encroachment of slavery. Meeting harmonious.
Candidates for state officers were nominated." That was the celebrated convention held " Under the Oaks" at Jackson, Michigan, when they organized
and gave the name " Republican " to the new party. Forever afterwards he
was known as a Republican.
In January, I899, he complained of a pain in his breast and side. This
was the forerunner of his final sickness and death. February 2o, a spasm of
his heart told him of his condition, he realized that his hour had come and
the sands of life were running low. He said to those who were in the room,
" I have no time to talk with each one of you, I will pray for you," thus closing
his life's work, pleading that those who stood by his side might be permitted
to meet with him in Heaven.
The oldest member of the Michigan Conference had passed away and
was buried by the side of his wife and children, leaving surviving him two
children, Sarah and Hiram.
J. M. GRAY.
J. M. Gray, energetic and enterprising, has displayed in his business
life those qualities which always eventually win success, and that his fellow
townsmen regard him as capable of controlling public affairs is shown by the




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


467


fact that he has been chosen by popular suffrage to the office of township
clerk. He was born August I9, 1875, on the farm on section twenty-three,
Batavia township, where he now resides, and he represents an old New
England family. His father, John M. Gray, was a native of New York,
having been born in Westfield township, Schenectady county, on the 29th of
September, 1827. He came to Branch county in the '6os and he took up his
abode in Batavia township on the farm vwhich is now owned and occupied by
J. M. Gray. For twenty-one years he was a sailor on the Great Lakes, having followed that pursuit prior to the establishment of a home in Branch
county. Here he turned his attention to general agricultural pursuits, which
claimed his time and energies throughout his remaining days. In his political views he was a Democrat in early life, but after taking up his abode in
Batavia township he became a Republican and was elected and served for
some years as justice of the peace, his decisions being characterized by an
impartiality that won him high encomiums from the general public. He was
also director of the Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Company and was a
member of the Masonic fraternity.  He married Mrs. Julia A. (Phelps)
Flint, who was born in Wyoming county, New York, on the i8th of March,
1837, and was reared in the place of her nativity. She is still living and resides with her son, J. M. Gray, but the husband and father passed away on
the 22d of March, I898, being then in his seventy-first year. In the family
were seven children, namely: James R., Nellie, Charles, Elizabeth, Frank,
Lydia and John M.
In taking up the personal history of John M. Gray we present to our
readers the life record of one who is widely and favorably known in this
part of the state. His youth was uneventful, being passed in the usual manner of farm lads of the period upon the place where he yet resides. He
worked in the fields through the summer months and acquired his elementary
education in the district schools, while later he attended the Metropolitan
Business College at Chicago for six months. Upon his return home he took
charge of the farm which he now owns and has since given unfaltering attention to its cultivation and improvement.
On the 28th of July, I897, Mr. Gray was married to Miss Cora Jardon,
a daughter of E. M. and Elsie (Frey) Jardon, the father a native of Ohio.
She was only five years of age when she came to Michigan with her parents,
who settled in Branch county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gray have been born
four sons: Clare. Lester, Forest and Starr (deceased). Mr. Gray is a
Republican, who has always kept well informed on the questions and issues
of the day, and greatly desires the success of his party. He was elected
township clerk in April, I9o5, and is discharging the duties of that office
in addition to the supervision of his business interests. He was president
of the Batavia Creamery, and is now treasurer, and his farm  comprises
eighty acres of land, which is devoted to the cultivation of various cereals.
Having lived all of his life in Batavia township he has a wide acquaintance,
and the active part which he has taken in public affairs has extended his
circle of acquaintance and gained for him the merited regard of his fellow
townsmen.




468              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
DE WITT C. SPROUT.
DeWitt C. Sprout, owner of Maple Villa, on section twenty-four,
Quincy township, where he has two hundred and twelve acres of valuable
farming land, was horn in Sandusky county, Ohio, in I86o. His father, John
Sprout, was a native of Knox county, Ohio, and was of German-Scotch ancestry. The paternal grandfather, Samuel Sprout, removed from his native
state of Pennsylvania to Ohio, and there John Sprout was reared to the occupation of farming, which he made his life work, raising both grain and
stock. He was a Republican in his political views and in religious faith was
connected with the United Brethren church. He married Catherine Shilling,
who was born in Seneca county, Ohio, and was of German lineage, her
parents, Andrew and Mary Shilling, being natives of the fatherland. Mrs.
Sprout was also a member of the United Brethren church, and her death
occurred in i896, when she was sixty-one years of age, while Mr. Sprout
departed this life on the 27th of February, I905, when in his seventy-first
year. They were the parents of two sons, the other being Ulysses S. Sprout,
now residing in Seneca county, Ohio.
DeWitt C. Sprout, reared upon the home farm, pursued his early education in the district schools and afterward continued his studies in Heidelberg College, at Tiffin, Ohio, and in the academy at Fostoria, Ohio. He
engaged in teaching in the country schools for ten terms and through the
summer months devoted his energies to farming pursuits. He has always
carried on the work of tilling the soil, and in March, I905, he removed to
Michigan, purchasing the Brainard and Babcock farm, known as Maple
Villa, on section twenty-four, Quincy township. He has two hundred and
twelve acres of land and is extensively engaged in breeding and feeding
stock. His is one of the best improved properties of the locality, the buildings upon his place having been erected at a cost of five thousand dollars.
In I885 Mr. Sprout was married to Miss Lillie V. Byers, who, was born
in Seneca county, Ohio, in I864, her parents being Jeremiah and Sarah
(Kimes) Byers. Her father was a pioneer settler of Seneca county, Ohio,
and followed the occupation of farming, and Mrs. Sprout was the eldest of
their three children, the others being: William, who is living in Girard
township; and Dora, the deceased wife of Frank Groves. Unto Mr. and
Mrs. Sprout have been born four children: Emerson J., born in I886; Cora,
in I893; Clarence, in I890; and Bruce, in I896. The parents hold membership in the United Brethren church, and Mr. Sprout gives his political
allegiance to the Republican party. He has conducted business interests of
considerable extent and importance,' and although'his residence in Branch
county has been of brief duration he has become well known as one of the
leading representatives of its stock-raising interests.
HARLOiW\ W. WILLIAMS.
From the age of ten years Harlow W. Williams has been a resident of
Coldwater. Almost seventy years have come and gone since that time and
great changes have occurred within this period as the county has emerged




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


469


from pioneer conditions to take its place as the center of an advanced civilization. Log cabins have given place to commodious and attractive homes,
churches and schools have been built, business enterprises introduced and the
land has been converted from a wild tract into richly productive fields. Mr.
Williams has not only witnessed all this change, but has taken an active part
in the development of the county, and his labors have resulted beneficially
for the community.
A native of the Empire state, Mr. Williams was born in Royalton township, Niagara county, New York, April I6, 1826. His father, Elisha Williams, was a native of Massachusetts and was there reared. In early life he
learned the trade of a hatter, cooper and carpenter and joiner and shoemaker and he was naturally a mechanic, so that he was well qualified to do
various kinds of labor. He was married in Massachusetts to Siba Parmalee, a native of Connecticut, and they located in Victor, Ontario county,
New York, whence they afterward removed to Royalton, Niagara county,
and later to Erie county. The year I836 witnessed their removal to Coldwater.  They reached their destination on the Iith of October, and Mr.
Williams assisted largely in building up the town. Being a carpenter and
joiner, he erected some of the first houses in this place and contributed in
substantial measure to the growth and development of the city. He lived to
be eighty-three years of age, while his wife passed away when about fifty-five
years of age. They were the parents of eight children, four sons and four
daughters, all of whom reached adult age, married and reared families of
their own.
Harlow W. Williams, the youngest of the family and the only one now
living, was but ten years of age when he came to Branch county, locating
with his parents in Coldwater. Here he was reared, acquiring his education
in the pioneer schools of the village. His mother died when he was but fifteen years of age, and he then started out in life on his own account. working
at anything which he could get to do. He followed both carpentering and
coopering, also did painting and other work, for he seemed to have inherited
his father's natural mechanical ingenuity, and was also instructed by him in
various branches of labor. He began contracting when a young man, and
his life of intense activity continued through many years, but now he is
enjoying a well earned rest.
On the IIth of August. 1846, Mr. Williams was united in marriage to
Miss Louisa Carter, a daughter of Benoni and Hannah (Mansfield) Carter,
and a native of Monroe county, New York. Her birth occurred in Penfield,
October 28, I830. In the year in which their marriage occurred, Mr. and
Mrs. Williams located in Quincy, where he engaged in carpentering as a
contractor and builder. He lived in that city for about fifteen years, and in
Butler for ten years, making his home on the farm and at the same time
continuing his building operations.  In 1872 he became overseer of the
county farm, which position he filled until I877, when he was appointed
superintendent of the poor by the board of supervisors, and acted in that
capacity for three years. He was chairman of the board, and in the discharge of his official duties he was ever prompt, faithful and reliable. In




470               HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
1877 he took up his abode again in Coldwater, where he now resides, living
retired at the present time. He has contributed in large measure, however,
to the substantial improvement of the county, which he has seen developed
from its primitive condition. He has erected many school houses and residences and has built many bridges. He has put up a number of houses in
Coldwater for himself, selling them on the installment plan, and at one time
he was also engaged in the livery business here. He has likewise had other
interests, and in the control of his varied business affairs he has shown keen
discrimination, strong executive ability and unbounded perseverance. Now
in possession of a handsome competence, acquired through his well directed
labors, he is enjoying a rest which is richly merited.
In his political views Mr. Williams has always been a staunch Republican since the organization of the party, and has held a number of local
offices. He was supervisor of Butler township until he resigned, and was
treasurer of Quincy township for about two years. He has always been interested in public affairs, and his labors have been resultant factors in promoting the welfare and growth of this part of the state, where he has new
lived for a period of sixty-nine years. His acquaintance is wide and he enjoys the respect of young and old, rich and poor.
FRANK E. KNAPP.
Frank E. Knapp, superintendent of the public schools at Quincy, was
born in Coldwater township, Branch county, Michigan, in I867, and is of
German and Irish descent. His father, Reuben Knapp, was born in Greenville, Ohio, while his grandfather was also a native of that state, and was
of German lineage. About I86I Mr. Knapp came to Branch county and he
wedded his wife in Greenville, Ohio. He also resided in Texas for a short
time. He married Cordelia Houghn, a native of Greenville, Ohio., and of
Irish lineage. Mr. Knapp died in the fall of I893, at the age of seventy
years, while his wife passed away in I875, at the age of thirty-five years.
In their family were three children, of whom Frank E. is the second. Martin L., the eldest, is now foreman in railroad car shops in Indian Territory,
and Stephen C. is associated with his brother Martin.
Frank E. Knapp acquired his education in the district schools and in the
Quincy Union school, and also attended the Michigan State Normal College, Benton Harbor College and the Michigan State University, at Ann
Arbor. In order to educate himself and provide the funds necessary for his
academic and college work he taught in different schools in Branch county,
his first important appointment in that direction being at.Camden, Michigan, where he remained for two years. He afterward acted as principal of
the schools at Pittsford, Michigan, for six years, and subsequently went
to White Pigeon, where he was superintendent of schools for two years. In
the fall of I9C0 he came to Quincy and has since been at the head of the
Educational Society of this place, now  having eight teachers under his
supervision. The schools are carefully graded, the work systematized and
the standard of public instruction is being continually raised, owing to Professor Knapp's intense zeal and interest in the work.


46
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I




t14


9c;SJ




olli etc










HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


471


In I888 was celebrated the marriage of Professor Knappi and Miss Cora
H. Allen, a daughter of Charles M. and Mary J. Allen. Her father is a
resident farmer of this county, and Mrs. Knapp was born in Reading township in 1873. There are two children of this marriage: lone Ernestine and
Edward Allen. Professor and Mrs. Knapp are prominent and valued members of the Presbyterian church, in which he is serving as superintendent of
the Sabbath school.  He is also high priest of Quincy chapter, No. 115,
R. A. M., and belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and the Maccabees lodge. In politics he is a Republican, is serving as a member of the
board of school examiners in Branch county and is a member of both the
County and State Teachers' Associations. He has become well known as
a capable educator and has made consecutive advancement in his profession,
having contributed in a large degree to the improvement of the public school
system in territories where he has been employed.
SAMUEL BATER.
Samuel Bater is numbered among the early settlers of Branch county
and now devotes his attention to general agricultural pursuits on section
twenty-three, Batavia township, where he owns and operates one hundred
and twenty-five acres, constituting a finely improved farm. He may truly
be called a self-made man, for in his youth he was empty-handed and had
to depend entirely upon his labor and capable management for the success
that he is now enjoying as the years have gone by. His farm therefore is
the visible evidence of a life of thrift and industry.
Mr. Bater was born in Devonshire, England, on Christmas day, I837,
his parents being William and Mary (Cochram) Bater, who were also natives
of England, where they spent their entire lives, the father devoting his energies to farming in order to provide for his family. He died at the age of
seventy years, while his wife was about eighty years of age at the time of
her demise. In their family were four sons and three daughters, all of whom
reached adult age, while four of the number came to America. Samuel Bater
is the fourth in order of birth, and he remained in his native country until
sixteen years of age. His educational privileges were limited, for when a
youth of eight years he left school and also left home in order to provide
for his own support. He worked in England for six cents per day. Realizing it would be with great difficulty he could make a living and gain a competence in that country he resolved to try his fortune in America and when
sixteen years of age crossed the Atlantic to the new world to enjoy its greater
privileges and opportunities. He landed at Quebec, Canada, and thence made
his way to Rochester, New York, after which he spent about two years in
Batavia, that state.  On the second day of his residence there he earned
five shillings as a result of his day's labor. The first year he was in America
he worked for ten dollars per month, which seemed a princely sum in comparison with the wage that he had earned in his native land. He hired out
by the month to John Moore, and with him went to Jonesville, Michigan,
in I855. In 1859 he came to Coldwater, where he worked at the mason's




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


trade or at anything that he could get to do. He assisted in the construction
of many business blocks in Coldwater and also worked on the building of
the first large school house of that city.
Mr. Bater had been a resident of Coldwater for only a brief period
when he sought a companion and helpmate for life's journey, and on the 3Ist
of December, I86o he was married to Miss Lucinda Stafford, a daughter
of Hosea B. and Lura (Wilson) Stafford, the former born in Genesee county,
New York, while the latter was the first white child born on an island in the
St. Lawrence river and St. Lawrence county, New York. The parents
came to Branch county in a wagon from Detroit, Michigan. They were
pioneer residents of Calhoun county and were married there, and at an early
epoch in the development.of Branch county took up their residence within
its borders and were identified with its early improvement and development.
Mrs. Bater was the second in a family of six daughters and two sons, and
was born in Burlington township, Calhoun county, Michigan, on the 6th of
October, I841. She was but a child when she came to Branch county, where
she has lived all her life. Her mother, who was born in I8I8, is also yet
living, having reached the eighty-sixth milestone on life's journey.
For about a year and a half after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Bater resided
in Coldwater. and then located in Batavia township, on the state road seven
miles west of the county seat. Here Mr. Bater purchased forty acres of land
and began its cultivation and improvement, but in I862 he put aside all business and personal considerations, feeling that his first duty was to his adopted
country. He therefore enlisted as a private of Company C, Nineteenth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of the war, returning
home.   He was in many of the principal engagements of that long and
sanguinary strife and was with Sherman on the march to the sea and also
took part in the grand review in Washington, where " wave after wave of
bayonet crested blue" flowed by the review stand where stood the nation's
president, watching the victorious army. For almost three years Mr. Bater
was on active service, save for the twenty days which he spent in Libby
prison, and his regiment was in the front of Atlanta. He also took part in the
battles of Resaca and Peach Tree Creek, and for a year and a half he drove
a six mule team for the regiment.
Following his return to Branch county Mr. Bater resumed farming and
purchased sixty acres of timber land in Batavia township. He then cleartd
away the trees and built a little plank house, remaining there for two years.
On the expiration of that period he sold out and bought a part of his present
farm on section twenty-three, Batavia township. It was entirely wild and
unimproved. There was not a house or building of any kind on the place.
He first built a little shanty in which there was neither window nor door,
but in course of time this was replaced by a substantial frame residence. He
now has a fine farm, well improved, and every tree and every building upon
the place have been put there by him. He first bought forty acres and at
different times added tracts of eight, fifteen, ten and twenty acres, paying
ninety dollars per acre for the last mentioned. Thus he has added to his
property from time to time until he now owns one hundred and twenty-five




HISTORY OF BRANtH COUNTY


473


acres of valuable land, constituting one of the highly improved farms of the
county.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bater have been born four sons and two daughters:
Charles, who is living in Union township; Mary, the wife of John Yeatter,
a resident farmer of Colon township, St. Joseph county, Michigan; Alexander, a farmer of Batavia; Harry, a farmer living near Hodunk in Union
township; Rose, the wife of B. E. Grove, of Batavia; and Samuel E., at
home. The family is one of prominence in the community and Mr. and Mrs.
Bater may well feel proud of the fact that they have reared sons and daughters who have become valued and respected citizens of the localities in which
they reside.
Mr. Bater is a nember of Butterworth Post, G. A. R., of Coldwater.
He and his wife are numbered among the pioneer residents of Branch county
and have been identified with the work that has led to its present development and advanced position. He has made a specialty of raising fine Shropshire sheep and is one of the most extensive dealers along this line. He is
also engaged in raising Jersey hogs and deals in horses. In fact, he has some
of the best stock in the county, and is a business man of recognized ability
and enterprise.  He has long been connected with stock-raising interests,
and in this connection has traveled extensively over the county. In politics
he is an earnest Republican, active in the local work of the party. The life
record of Mr. and Mrs. Bater is one deserving of commendation and may
well serve as a source of emulation to those who have due regard for the value
of character and who wish to attain success by honorable methods. His life,
exemplifies the term " dignity of labor," and during the long years of his
residence in this county he has never had occasion to regret his determination
to seek a home in America, for here he has found good business opportunities
and through their utilization has won a desirable competence.
EDMUND AUSTIN.
Edmund Austin, whose home is on section two, Quincy township, was
born in Steuben (now Schuyler) county, New York, in I844. In the same
county and state was born his father, Reuben Austin, and in New York the
early English ancestors of the family settled many years ago. Reuben Austin, who was a farmer all his active career, came to Michigan in I854, and,
first as a renter and then an owner, he farmed successfully in Quincy township for many years. He had married in New York and brought his wife
and two children with him to this county. His death occurred in I864, at
the age of fifty years. He was a class leader in the Methodist church, and
supported the Republican' party.  He married a native of Vermont, Ruth
Shattuck, who died at the age of seventy-six years, in I898. Her parents
were Dr. Benjamin and Mary Shattuck, of English lineage. She was also
a member of the Methodist church. Edmund Austin has one brother, Wesley J., who is a carpenter and painter in Quincy. He served three years and
three months in the Civil war, being one of those who volunteered at Quincy
in 186I, and was a member of Battery F, First Michigan Artillery.




474


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Mr. Austin was reared on a farm, and outside of his attendance at district school and his regular vocation of farming, he has followed the trade
of carpenter to some extent and has also taught school.  He married, in
September, I870, Lydia Ann Lockwood. She was born on the farm where
she and her husband now make their home, in I843, and is a daughter of
Wesley Lockwood, whose recent death, March 5, I905, took away one of
Branch county's oldest and most esteemed citizens. Of English ancestry,
he was born in the state of New York, October 12, I807, and came to
Michigan in I836. A farmer by occupation, he resided on his eighty-acre
farm, on section two of Quincy township, for over sixty years. He was a
class leader in the Methodist church over forty years. He married, in New
York, Mary Ann Philo, who was born in New York,.and her parents died
in that state. Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood had six children, three of whom were
born before the parents moved to Michigan. Charles, Cynthia and William
Henry are deceased, the last named having served about three years and
eight months in the Thirty-first Indiana Volunteer Infantry during the Civil
war. Esther E. married W. J. Austin, a brother of Edmund; Lydia Ann is
Mrs. Austin; and Libbeous is a farmer and resides at Jonesville. Mir. and
Mrs. Austin have two children: Henry WV. is a farmer at Quincy, and Addie
G. married J. B. Pessell, manager of a creamery at Butler, Indiana.
Mr. Austin is a steward in the Methodist church in the township of
Quincy, and in politics is a Republican. For eight years Mr. Austin owned
a farm and resided in Wexford county, Michigan, and during seven years of
this period he represented his township on the board of supervisors. At
the present time he is serving in the office of justice of the peace, and also
as school inspector.
FRANKLIN EATON.
Franklin Eaton, now living a retired life in Coldwater, was born in
York township, Washtenaw county, Michigan, December 5, I84o. He is
descended from John Eaton of Dedham, England, who came to America in
the Mayflower. His father, Jeremiah Eaton, was a native of Plattsburgh
Center, New York, and was a farmer by occupation. He remained a resident of the east until I849, when, attracted by the discovery of gold in California, he made the overland trip to the Pacific coast, traveling across long,
hot stretches of sand and through the mountain passes. At length he reached
his destination and spent two years in California, engaged in mining and
shaving shingles. Upon his return to the east he located in Lake county,
Illinois, where he remained for about nine years, after which he established
his home in Floyd county, Iowa. Later he returned to Michigan, but after
four years again settled in Iowa, and was there dfowned in the Shell Rock
river in I857. His wife bore the maiden name of Huldah Howard and was a
native of Owosco township, Cayuga county, New York. Her father was
Cyrus Howard, who was of Scotch descent.   Unto Mr. and Mrs. Eaton
were born five Sons and a daughter.
Franklin Eaton, the third child and the third son of this family, spent
his boyhood days in Illinois, Iowa and Michigan, as his parents removed




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


475


from one place to another. In 1857, when but seventeen years of age, he
entered upon an apprenticeship to the blacksmith's trade, and when he had
completed his term of indenture he began working as a blacksmith in Ann
Arbor. He removed to Coldwater in I86I, but in the same year responded
to his country's call for troops, enlisting as a member of Company H, First
Michigan Infantry, for three months' service.  It was after this that he
came to Coldwater, and here he re-enlisted in Company I, Fourth Michigan
Cavalry, with which he served until the close of the war. At the time of
his second enlistment he became a sergeant and held that rank until hostilities had ceased, although he was offered a commission, which he did not
accept. He had four brothers, who were also soldiers, and three of them
were members of the Fourth Michigan Cavalry. All lived to, return from
the war, although the youngest was for nine months in Andersonville prison.
There are but two of the number now living, William L. being a resident of
Hamiltcn Island, Michigan. Franklin Eaton participated in the first battle
of Bull Run, and while at the front he dislocated his right ankle, which has
caused him a great deal of trouble since. He was a brave and loyal soldier,
often found where the battle raged heaviest, and he participated in the engagements at Perryville, Stone River, Kenesaw Mountain, Chickamauga
and many others, receiving an honorable discharge at Nashville, Tennessee,
and being mustered out at Nashville, Tennessee.
When the country no longer needed his aid, Mr. Eaton returned to,
Coldwater and resumed work at his trade, In I867 he began business on his
own account and continued in active blacksmithing until 1897, when he sold
out and retired to private life. He is now enjoying a well earned rest, having in the years of his former toil acquired a competence that now enables
him to live retired.
In 1862 Mr. Eaton was married to Miss Harriett Burroughs, who died
in 1897, and he has since married Mrs. Margaret Nelson, the widow of
George Nelson, who was also a soldier of the Civil war. Mr. Eaton is a
charter member of the first Grand Army post that was organized in the
state of Michigan, has been continuously connected therewith and served as
commander for two years. He has been a member of the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows for more than twenty years and also, belongs to other orders.
He has never voted any ticket save that of the Republican party. He was
chief engineer of the fire department for two years and assisted in organizing the Light Guards, of which he was lieutenant for six years. He has
ever been fearless in conduct and faultless in honor, and in the public welfare of the county he has been deeply interested.  He is a native son of
Michigan, and in his life he has displayed the strong and sturdy traits of
character of a pioneer ancestry and the alert, enterprising spirit of the present age.
WILLIAM F. YOUNG.
William F. Young, well known in Branch county, where he has been a
progressive farmer and citizen for many years, was born in Wayne county,
New York, in 1835, and has been a resident of Michigan since I847. He




476


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


spent the remainder of his youth and early manhood near Adrian and in
Jackson county, and in i86i enlisted for service in the Civil war. He was a
member of the First Michigan Engineers, being second sergeant all through
his three years' service. He was the first man to enlist in the company at
Jackson. One permanent result of his performance of duty to his country is
the loss of his hearing. He returned home in I864, and on January 3, I865,
was married to Angeline C. Burch. She was born at Grass Lake, Jackson
county, Michigan, in I843, and died in Reading, Michigan, in I887, having
been the mother of four children, namely: Arthur B.; Nona A., deceased;
William H., and Florence A., William and Florence being residents of Chicago.
Mr. Young married for his present wife, in I902, Susan (Farleman)
Donnau.   She was born at Tecumseh, Michigan, in 1843, a daughter of
John and. Lydia Farleman, he of German and she of Canadian French lineage. By her previous marriage to Peter Donnau, who was born in Ohio, and
who died in 1897, she had three children: Katie, the wife of Henry Wilcox,
a coal dealer at Illiopolis, Illinois; Susie L., the wife of Henry Rentchler,
farmer of Illiopolis; and Henry, a farmer in Logan county, Illinois.
Mr. Young was in the brick manufacturing business at Grass Lake several years, and in the same business at Hillsdale. At the latter place he
owned one hundred acres of land, and has the distinction of having manufactured more brick at that place than any other person. He came to, Quincy
township, this county, from Reading, in 1887, and has since been successfully engaged in farming on section sixteen, where he owns forty acres.
Mr. Young is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Quincy.
In politics a staunch Republican, which party he has supported since the days
of Lincoln and the Civil war, he has always taken a public-spirited interest
in local and state affairs, and while a resident of Hillsdale was town treasurer.
CALVIN BEERS.
Honesty and stability of character are the culminating attributes of a
man's life. These are the cardinal points of the gentleman's career whose
name heads this review. The beautiful country home of Mr. and Mrs. Calvin
Beers is known as "Sunny Lawns," and their pretty home is the scene of
many pleasant gatherings. He is an agriculturist of a high order, as well
as a poultry fancier, his henneries containing some of the prize fowls to be
found in the county of Branch.
Mr. Beers is one of Michigan's native sons, his birth having occurred in
Hillsdale county, on the 5th of September, I847. His father, Harrison
Beers, was a native of New York and a son of Fitch Beers, a native of Connecticut. Having arrived at years of maturity Harrison Beers was married
to Miss Fanny Boyce, a native of New York, whence they came to Michigan
in 1845, locating in Allen township, Hillsdale county. They settled upon
a tract of wild land in the midst of the forest and there the father cleared
up and improved a farih, remaining thereon until his death, which occurred
in his eighty-sixth year. Unto him and his wife were born four sons and








a. E- ~ SI






i<.(^~ocL ^




I   I     I




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


477


two daughters, and the father's death was the first in the family. The children are all vet living, namely: Edna, the wife of Edwin Nixon, of Grand
Ledge, Michigan; Calvin, of this review; Adella, the wife of James Howell,
a resident of California; Angus, of Hillsdale, Michigan; Fred, who is married and is a farmer of Matteson township; and Henry, who is also married
and is living upon the old family homestead in Hillsdale county.
Calvin Beers spent the days of his boyhood and youth in the county of
his nativity and acquired his education in the common and select schools
there. He was early trained to habits of industry, economy and integrity and
he remained at home until he had attained his majority, when he engaged in
business for himself. He learned the trade of painting and decorating when
a young man and followed that pursuit for twelve years in Hillsdale county.
In March. I877, he came to Branch county, locating on a farm, where for
sixteen years he carried on general agricultural pursuits. He then bought his
present farm, known as the Hammond place, comprising eighty acres of land,
on which he carries on the work of general farming, bringing the fields up to
a high state of cultivation, so that he annually harvests good crops. With a
nature that could never content itself with mediocrity he has steadily made
advancement in his business life and has a well improved farm property. To
some extent he has given his attention to dairy farming and has also followed
his trade.
On the 24th of February, I869, Mr. Beers was united in marriage to
Miss Emogene W\estgate, a daughter of Charles and Harriet (Brigham)
Wlestgate. Her father was bern in New York and came to Branch county at
an early day, locating in Allen township, Hillsdale county, where he followed
farming. There his death occurred when about seventy-eight years of age.
His wife, who was also a native of the Empire state, died in Hillsdale county,
Michigan, aged seventy-eight years. Mrs. Beers is the second of five children, three daughters and two sons, all of whom grew to manhood or womanhood, and is a native of Branch county, Michigan, born April 26, I846. She
was here reared and educated as a teacher, and by her marriage has become
the mother of one son and two daughters: Ray D., a yard conductor on the
Vandalia Railroad at South Bend; Beulah, the wife of Claude Palmer, a
fireman on the Michigan Central Railroad, living in Jackson, Michigan, and
they have a little daughter, Dorothy; and Edna, the wife of Yedo Evart, a
railroad man of South Bend on the Vandalia Railroiad, and they also have
one little daughter, Eilene.
In his political views Mr. Beers has been a life-long Republican, taking
an active interest in the work of the party, and for twelve years he was
clerk of Mattison township. He has been a resident of Branch county for
twenty-eight years and in local progress and national advancement feels a
deep pride, manifesting at all times a public spirited citizenship.
Mrs.' Beers is one of the estimable ladies of the township, and has received more than an ordinary education, having been one of the successful
teachers of Hillsdale and Branch counties a number of years. She is an able
assistant to her husband in the establishment of a model home and surroundings.




478


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


They have in their home some very antique relics of " Ye olden days,"
such as a mahogany stand and mirror which are over a century old. Also,
two queerly wrought pitchers brought from England about I796. They are
family heirlooms. Mr. Beers takes decided ground on the subject of temperance and is also an enthusiast in the organization known as " The American Society of Equity," which is designed to aid the farmer.
WILLIAM MARQUART.
William  Marquart, who since I873 has been a resident of Algansee
township, was born in Germany, and is now seventy years of age. The years
of his youth and early manhood were spent in the land of his nativity, and
when he made his way to the new world he located in Reading, Michigan,
but spent three months only in that place. He then located permanently in
Algansee township and for four years worked by the day at farm labor.
On the expiration of that period, having, through his industry and careful
management, saved a sum sufficient to enable him to purchase land, he became the owner of fifty acres on section nine, where he is now living a
retired life. While in his native country he had served as a member of the
German army. Here he devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits until
he had acquired a comfortable competence that is sufficient to supply him
with the necessities and comforts of life. His political allegiance has been
given to the Republican party since he became a naturalized American citizen,
and in everything relating to the welfare of his community he is progressive
and interested. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran church, of which
he has long been a faithful member.
William Marquart was united in marriage to Christina Hacker, also a
native of Germany. She died November I8, I9O5, and her remains are interred in the Fisher cemetery. a beautiful stone marking her last resting
place.  They became the parents of five children:  Rickey, who married
Newton Bover, a Methodist minister, who is now operating her father's
farm; Fred; William, who is a fariner of Quincy township; John, deceased;
and Minnie, who died in infancy.
Fred Marquart, the eldest son, was reared with his father in Germany,
and came with his parents to the United States in the fall of 1873. He attended school in his native country and also became a district school student
in Algansee township, and throughout his entire life has been identified with
agricultural interests.  He was trained to habits of industry and economy
and soon came to realize the value of untiring effort and persistency of purpose as forceful and resultant factors in winning success. He is now living
on section ten, Algansee township, where he has one hundred and forty acres
of land, and on section fifteen of the same township has a tract of forty acres
of his wife's. His home is one of the finest and most convenient country
residences in Branch county, is tastefully furnished and gives every evidence of the refined and cultured taste of the inmates. In connection with
the tilling of the soil Mr. Marquart is extensively engaged in the raising of
graded stock. making a specialty of Durham cattle and Delaine sheep.
In I88o Mr. Marquart was married to Miss Amelia Roloff, whose birth




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


479


occurred in Germany, in I862. Her father, Fred Roloff, was also a native
of that country, and on coming to the United States in I864 took up his
abode in Algansee. He was a practical farmer, who prospered in his undertakings. He married Caroline Hildebrand, also a native of the same country,
and a sister of Frederick Hildebrand, mentioned elsewhere in this work.
Mr. and Mrs. Marquart have two children:    Eugenia, the wife of Jay
Meyers, a resident farmer, living on his father's land: and Edward, who at
the age of eighteen years is a strong and stalwart boy of six feet.  The
parents are members of the Lutheran church and are interested in its work
and contribute continuously to its support. Mr. Marquart is an inflexible
adherent of the Republican party, standing firm in support of his convictions and keeping well informed on the questions and issues of the day, so
that he is able to support his opinions by intelligent argument. Both he and
his wife are well known in this locality and have many warm friends.
CLARK C. SEARS.
Among the men of New England birth and ancestry whose active years
have been mainly spent in this beautiful and prosperous county of Branch,
and to whose ability and integrity as men of action and influence the county
owes its best elements of growth and progress, is to be mentioned among
the first Mr. Clark C. Sears, now and for many years a prominent citizen of
Quincy. Having been born in 1827 (October 23), he is now well within the
shadow of his eightieth year, and a long career of useful activity has characterized this extended age.
Mr. Sears' birthplace is Ridgebury, Connecticut, and his first American
ancestors, dating back to the colonial period, settled at Cape Cod, so that the
family for generations has been identified with New England life and affairs.
One of his forefathers was a captain in the continental army during the Revolution. His father, James Sears, also of Connecticut birth, was a well-todo farmer and stock-raiser, took an active part in the Presbyterian church,
being an elder, and in politics followed the fortune of the Whigs and later
the Republicans. He died in New York state. His wife was Deborah Crosby, a native of Connecticut, and also of New England stock, and a member
of the Presbyterian church. They were parents of five children, of whom
Clark C. is the only one now living. The others are: George Beldon, who.
was superintendent of the Newark, New Jersey, public schools twenty-five
years; Gould B., likewise a school teacher, and a farmer in Ontario county,
New York; Maria, who married Francis Northrup, a shoemaker of Newark,
New Jersey, now deceased; Eliza A., whose husband, John Wright, a farmer,
was in the Civil war and is now living in West Bay City, Michigan.
Clark C. Sears was reared on a farm and attended school in Orleans,
Ontario county, New York. Farming has been the industry to which he
has devoted the best energies of his life and by which he has gained his
material success. He came to Michigan in I860, and after living awhile in
the village of Quincy he bought a farm on section nine of the township of
the same name. He farmed this place four years, and then bought the place
of one hundred and thirty-eight acres on section eight where he still makes




480


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


his home, taking life easily and gracefully in his declining years. Besides
his farming interests he is a stockholder and director in the First National
Bank of Quincy.
On April Io, I901, Mr. and Mrs. Sears passed the fiftieth or golden
anniversary of their wedded lives-one of those rare occasions, so, rich in
memories and associations, that they are never to be passed over without
mention. Just fifty years before that date Mr. Sears had married Miss Harriet E. Warner, who' was born in Ontario county, New York, September 13,
I83I. Her father, John Warner, a native of Massachusetts and of an English family that settled in New England at an early day and later furnished
patriotic assistance to the colonies in the Revolution, moved to New York
with his parents when he was a boy, he being one of a large family of children. He was a shoe merchant at one time, but followed farming for the
most part. He married Susan Post, a native of Long Island and of English
lineage. Mrs. Sears was the youngest child and is the only one living, the
other children being, Jesse, Edwin, Ulysses, Orson, Maria, George, John,
Susan. Jesse and Susan came to, Michigan and died in this state, while the
sons George and John died in California. John Warner was a Universalist
in religious faith, while his wife was a Presbyterian.
Mr. and Mrs. Sears were parents to five children, namely: Sumner, a
practicing physician in Quincy; Minnie, who married Milol D. Campbell, of
Coldwater; Nellie, the widow of Sereno Mansell, who was a plumber in
Coldwater; Geolrge, on the home farm; and Mabel, deceased. Mr. Sears is
an elder in the Presbyterian church at Quincy.  He is a member of the
Grange, and in politics a Republican. His public service shows a record of
thirty years as justice of the peace, and he has also been supervisor of Quincy
township.
WARREN HENRY.
Warren Henry, a retired farmer of Sherwood, was born in Sterling
township, Windom   county, Connecticut, July 6, I81I9, and has therefore
passed the eighty-sixth milestone on life's journey. His father, James Henry,
was born in the same house in which his son's birth occurred. The grandfather, James Henry, Sr., was a native of Scotland, and when a young man
came to America, being married after his arrival in this country. He died
in I809. James Henry, Jr., removed from New England to, Portage county,
Ohio, in I83I, locating on a farm in Highland township. All around were
the green woods-nature's handiwork, for man had not begun his work
of transformation at that time. He built a log cabin in the midst of the
forest and began the improvement of the farm, continuing its cultivation up
to the time of his death, which occurred when he was seventy-four years
of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Henrietta Jordan, was
about sixty-nine years of age when called to her final rest. Mr. Henry had
served as a lieutenant in the war of 1812, and his commission is now in
possession of Warren Henry. In the father's family were seventeen children, of whom thirteen reached manhood and womanhood.
Warren Henry, the youngest son and the sixteenth member, is also




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


481


the only surviving member of that large family. His eldest brother lived
to be ninety-six years of age and nearly all of the others reached advanced
years.
When but twelve years of age Warren Henry accompanied his parents on their removal to Portage county, Ohio, where he spent the remainder
of his youth, pursuing his education in the log schoolhouses and assisting
in the arduous task of developing a new farm. He remained with his parents until they were called from this life. He was married the first time
in 1840, Miss Harriet Eggleston becoming his wife, and in 1851 he removed to Branch county, Michigan.   Four children, two sons and two
daughters, were born of this marriage: Norman, who died at Chattanooga,
Tennessee, in I865, while serving his country as a Union soldier; Adelia,
the wife of William Bailey, of Union City, Michigan; Otis, of Louisiana;
and Hettie, who (lied when about three years of age. The mother died in
Ohio in 1849, and it was two years later that Mr. Henry came with his
family to this county, settling in Sherwood. In I868 he married Hattie
Hall, and they became the parents of one son, Walter G., who is now employed in the mail department of the Chicago post office.  Mrs. Hattie
Henry passed awav in I877, and in 1879 Mr. Henry married Mary Ellen
Gerls. of Greenville, Mount Calm county, Michigan. They had two sons,
Hubert, of Sherwood, and Harry G.. who died when only a year old.
When Mr. Henry arrived in Sherwood in I85I it was a new town,
and the work of improvement and progress had scarcely been begun in
the surrounding districts. He purchased a farm a mile and a half north of
the village, there residing for about eight years, when he bought another
farm, on which he lived for a short time. In I866 he purchased what is
called the Studley farm, making it his home until I880, when he built his
present residence in Sherwood, since living in the village.  He is, however, one of the largest land owners of the township, having now about
three hundred acres within its borders, and this valuable property returns to
him a good income.   His political allegiance has always been given the
Democracy, and for sixteen years he served as justice of the peace, discharging his duties with equity and impartiality. He was also school director for several years and the cause of education has found in him a
warm friend. His residence in the county covers fifty-four years and he
has been very successful in his business career, making all that he now possesses through his earnest and unremitting labor and close attention to
his business. He has erected seven frame houses, five of which were built
in Sherwood township, and he has had the misfortune to have four houses
destroyed by fire. He is familiar with the pioneer history of Ohio as well
as of Michigan. The first house in which he lived in the latter state had no
board floor. His wife made all of the clothes for the family, spinning and
weaving and producing the manufactured articles from the raw wool. The
family diet was mostly bread and milk, but they all enjoyed good health. In
order to purchase for his wife the first calico dress which she ever owned
Mr. Henry rode a distance of forty miles on horseback. When the family
removed from Connecticut to Ohio there was but one railroad in the United




482              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
States, and this line is well remembered by Mr. Henry, who had arrived
thereon, the cars being drawn by horses, for as yet steam power had not
been utilized as a means of transportation. He has been a witness of much
of the country's growth and development, has seen the introduction of the
telegraph and the telephone and the transformation of farming methods
through the introduction of improved and modern machinery. He has now
passed the eighty-sixth milestone on life's journey and his career is one in
which unimpeachable honor and straightforward dealing commnand the respect of all. In his life he has embodied the belief that he does best who
does most to help his fellow men. He is a self-made and self-educated man
of the present twentieth century.
JOHN KNECHT.
John Knecht, interested in general agricultural pursuits, his home being
on section eight, Algansee township, was born in Mahoning county, Ohio,
in I853. His father, Charles Knecht. was a native of Pennsylvania, and
was of German lineage. In early life he learned and followed the cooper's
trade, while subsequently he became a farmer and devoted his energies to
that pursuit for a number of years. In the spring of 1865 he came to Michigan, settling in Coldwater, after which he was employed on a railroad for
a time, but later bought and operated a farm in Algansee township. He held
membership in the Lutheran church in early manhood and in later life
became identified with the Methodist Episcopal church, in the work of which
he took an active and helpful part. He died in Bethel in I884, at the age
of seventy-five years. His wife, whose maiden name was Lydia Stair, was
born in Pennsylvania, April 24, I8,IO, and died in this county March 23,
I886. She, too, was of German lineage, and her parents died in the Keystone state. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Knecht had a family of eleven children:
Harriet, who is the widow of Michael Zellers and makes her home in Coldwater; Stephen, of Kansas; Charles, who is living in Butler, Michigan:
Julia Ann, the deceased wife of David Erb: Sarah, the deceased wife of
Jared Shennefeild; Maria, who married William Zellers, and after his death
became the wife of Frank Tompkins, of Ovid township; Rachel, the wife of
Joshua Leaf, of Coldwater; Rebecca, who died at the age of four years;
Mary, the widow of William Osman, and a resident of Coldwater; Samuel,
who is living in Algansee; and John.
In taking up the personal history of John Knecht we present to our
readers the life record of one who is widely known in his adopted town~
ship and county. He spent his early youth upon the home farm in Ohio, and
with his parents came to Michigan.  His education was acquired in the
country schools, and he has always followed the occupation to which he
was reared, now making his home on section eight, Algansee township,
where he owns one hundred and forty-nine acres of land, constituting a valuable and well improved farm, on which he has raised high grade cattle and
sheep. His business interests are carefully conducted and result in bringing
him merited and gratifying success. On the 20th of July, 1873, Mr. Knecht
was married to Miss Sarah Ann Dixon, who was born in Illinois in I857,




Ii








HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


483


and is a daughter of Thomas and Angeline Dixon. The father was a native
of England, and when nine years of age came to the United States. His
last days were spent in Branch county, Michigan, where both he and his wife
passed away.  Mr. and Mrs. Knecht have no children of their own, but
are rearing an adopted daughter, Lura Marium, now fifteen years of age,
who has been with them since sixteen months old. Mr. and Mrs. Knecht
are members of the Free Methodist church, in which they take an active
interest, and he has served as class-leader, steward and trustee, while for
the past twenty years he has been chorister in the Sunday School. In his
political views he is a Prohibitionist, for that party embodies his ideas concerning the temperance question.
CHARLES H. NEWELL.
Charles H. Newell, who is the editor of Coldwater's widely read and
popular paper, The Courier, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but has been a
resident of Coldwater for the past sixteen years and is well known not only
throughout Branch county, but the state as well. After completing a course
in the public schools of Cincinnati Mr. Newell went to Oberlin, Ohio, where
he continued school work for about three years, and while doing that became
interested in journalism, resulting in accepting a position with the Oberlin
News, on which paper he worked for about three years, and then returned to
Cincinnati, where he continued in the printing business for several years.
In August of 1885 Mr. Newell purchased a third interest in the Plain
Dealer, of Wabash, Indiana, and became the editor of that paper, which is
one of the strongest and best known Republican papers of Indiana. In the
fall of I889 he purchased The Courier, of Coldwater, in connection with
C. W. Owen, and has been identified with that paper ever since. The Courier
is the recognized leading Republican paper of Branch county and has done
splendid service for its party. It was established in I882 by Nichols & Moore.
who conducted it until I887, when John N. Foster became its owner, and he
in turn, about two years later, disposed of his interest to Newell & Owen.
In 1897 Mr. Newell purchased the Coldwater Republican and merged that
paper with The Courier, since which time The Courier has advanced from a
weekly to an every-other-day publication and is looked upon as a thoroughly
reliable publication.
Mr. Newell has been one of the prominent members of the Michigan
Press Association, one of the strongest newspaper organizations in the country, serving as an official in that organization almost continuously since becoming identified with it. At the winter meeting held in Battle Creek in 1903
Mr. Newell was unanimously elected president of the association, the office
coming to him wholly unsought, and he served for two terms, only one other
member ever having achieved that honor. On two occasions he was elected
a delegate to the National Editorial Association.
Politically Mr. Newell is a stanch Republican, but not an office-seeker.
He has never been a candidate for political honors, but naturally takes a




484


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


lively interest in the welfare of the party of his choice. He is also an active
worker in the Presbyterian church of Coldwater and is a member of the board
of trustees and an active member of the choir.
WESLEY LECKNER.
Wesley Leckner, engaged 'in buying wool at Sherwood, is a native of
Crawford county, Ohio, born November 23, 1837. His father, Sampson
Leckner, was a native of Pennsylvania and a pioneer of Cass county, Michigan, where he located about I844. He was of German lineage and displayed many of the strong and sterling characteristics of his Teutonic ancestry.  He followed the occupation of farming, living a life of activity
and usefulness and reaching the venerable age of eighty-four years.  He
married Eliza Fredricks, a native of Pennsylvania, who lived to the age of
seventy-nine years.  In their family were five children, all of whom yet
survive.
Wesley Leckner, the eldest of the family, was a lad of seven summers
when he arrived in Michigan with his parents, and upon the home farm
in Cass county he was reared. In retrospect one can see him as a farm boy
trudging each morning to school through the winter months over a distance
of two miles and then conning his lessons in a little log school house. His
father was well educated, and assisted the son in his books in his younger
days, so that he enjoyed more than the limited advantages afforded by the
common schools. IHe was also trained to habits of industry and integrity,
and these elements proved a basic force in his character in later years. He
remained at home until twenty-two years of age and was then married to
Miss Margaret Early, a daughter of John Early of Cass county. She was
born in Pennsylvania, and is the eldest in a family of five children. She
was brought to Michigan during her infancy, her parents settling in Cass
county, and there Mr. and Mrs. Leckner began their domestic life upon a
farm in Porter township. About I870 he sold his property there. He had
become a recognized factor in political circles, and was elected to various
township offices and also appointed to some county offices. He served as
deputy sheriff of Cass county and he resided at Constantine, Michigan, for
a time. In i88o, however, he removed to Sherwood, where he engaged in
the butchering business, establishing the first meat market in the town. Since
that time he has also devoted his attention to a greater or less extent to dealing' in live stock. During the winter he was upon the road for Henry Newland & Company of Detroit, whom he represented for about twelve years,
and he was also with White Brothers of Boston for about six years. It was
subsequent to that time that he was appointed deputy sheriff of Branch
county, and for four years he filled that office. He has also been highway
commissioner, and for many years has been a member of the city council
of Sherwood.   He has ever exercised his official prerogatives in support
of general progress and improvement, making a close study of the needs
of the county, and doing all in his power to advance the general welfare.
Mr. Leckner is a staunch Democrat, having always advocated the principles promulgated by Jackson.  He has; however, not considered himself




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


485


strictly bound to party ties and he voted for Abraham Lincoln and has been
somewhat independent in his local political affiliation. He has never faltered
in support of his honest convictions, but has fearlessly defended his views
no matter what the opposition. HIe was one of the men who incorporated
the village of Sherwood and was instrumental in laying out the streets and
making many other substantial and permament improvements.     He was
one of the first members of the village board, and he has ever studied the
needs of the town and labored to meet these. He has contributed to its
material improvenment through the erection of several houses, and he has
practical experience in the builder's trade, having at one time served an apprenticeship as a carpenter. Mr. Leckner is likewise prominent in the Masonic fraternity, being a charter member of Sherwood Lodge No. 42I.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Leckner has been blessed with four daughters: Clara; Hattie, the wife of S. T. Downs, of Grand Rapids, Michigan;
Laura, the wife of R. W. Mead, who is an agriculturist and stockman; and
Ida, the wife of William Zimmers, of Burr Oak, Michigan. The last named
was a successful and prominent teacher in Sherwood for several terms.
Mr. Leckner is well known in Branch county and has 'an extensive acquaintance in this part of the state.  He is now representing the Mutual
Fire Insurance Company of Branch and St. Joseph counties, and in this
connection has become well known. He is also a dealer in wool, and lhis
business interests have brought him into contact with many of the residents
of this portion of the state, while his social qualities and genuine worth
have gained him warm friendships and high regard. He may well be numbered among the real promoters and upbuilders of the town of Sherwood, and
his name is therefore inseparably associated with its history. He is broad
gauged and liberal in all of his views, political, religious and social. He is
a man of action rather than theory and while others might argue and debate
he has gone to work and demonstrated in practical effort his views upon
various questions.
E. H. WILLIAMS.
E. H. Williams, who is engaged in the manufacture of cigars in Coldwater, was born in Quincy, Branch county, Mtarch 31, I855. His father,
Daniel G. Williams, was a native of New York, and was a son of Ezariah
Williams, who was also born in the Empire state. The grandparents came
with their family to Michigan about 1837, locating in Coldwater, Branch
county. This was then a pioneer district in which the work of improvement
and progress had scarcely been begun, and with the early development of
the county the familv became closely associated. Daniel G. Williams was
only seven years of age when he accompanied his parents on their emigration westward. They lived at Coldwater for a time and afterward removed
to Port Huron, Michigan, returning, however, to Branch county at a later
day. The father now resides in Los Angeles, California. He married Miss
Betsy Hayden, also a native of New York, who died when about sixtyeight years of age. Her father, Hiram  Hayden, was likewise born in the
'Empire state and came to Branch county about I834. He built the sixth




456


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


house in Coldwater, on what is now Hudson street, and was one of the
pioneer settlers of Branch county. By trade he was a cabinet maker, and
was one of the early representatives of industrial life in this city. In the
Williams family were but two children, the sister, Flora, being now a resident of Los Angeles, California.
E. H. Williams, the only son, was reared in Quincy until about seventeen years of age, and attended school there. He afterward went to Grand
Ledge, Michigan, where he learned engineering, being employed in the factory in that place. For about nine years he continued at Grand Ledge, after
which he traveled through the western states and then again located at
Grand Ledge, where he spent the winter.   He next went to Colorado,
where he was engaged in mining for about three years, spending much.of
the time at Leadville.  On the expiration of that period he returned to
Coldwater, arriving here about 1884.  Since that time he has engaged in
the manufacture of cigars and has also conducted the poultry business to
some extent. In his cigar factory he employs five men and two women. His
special brand of cigars is the Zach Chandler, a five cent cigar, and the Lady
Hudson and Our Standard, which are ten cent goods. In his business Mr.
Williams has prospered and is now in good financial circumstances.
In I886 occurred the marriage of E. H. Williams and Miss Ida Young.
the wedding ceremony being performed by the Rev. Henry Collin. Mrs.
Williams is a daughter of Hiram and Nancy (Weller) Young, and was born
in New York near Syracuse, being brought to Coldwater by her parents
when about fifteen years of age. There is one daughter by this marriage,
Arlie, now the wife of Roy Van Shoick.
Mr. Williams has been a life-long Republican, and is a member of
the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of the Maccabees. In Coldwater
and Branch counties he is well known, having spent much of his life here,
and his genial manner and unfailing courtesy have rendered him popular
with a large circle of friends.
MARTIN F. BUELL.
Martin F. Buell, who is now living retired at Union City, was here born
on the 6th of October, 1841, and is a son of Justus and Emeline (Blakeman)
Buell, who were natives of the state of New York, but became early residents of Branch county, settling in Union City in I836. The father died in
June, I869, having survived his wife for a number of years. They were the
parents of eight children, of whom, four reached adult age, namely: Judson
W., Martin F., David B. and Jasper D. The last named, however, passed
away in California.
Martin F. Buell was reared and educated in Union City, supplementing his public school course by study in Eastman's College at Poughkeepsie,
New York, where he completed a commercial course and was graduated in
the class of I866. He then returned to his native town and remained with
his parents until the death of his father, when he was appointed administrator of the estate. About that time he entered the employ of the Michigan
Central Railroad as station agent, and occupied the position continuously from




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


487


January 18, 1871, to' August I6, I899, covering twenty-six consecutive years.
He has since lived retired from active business life, having from his earnings and by judicious investment secured a competence that now enables him
to enjoy a well earned rest.
At the time of the Civil war Mr. Buell espoused the cause of his country. Hardly had the smoke from Fort Sumter's guns cleared away when he
offered his services to the Union, enlisting on the i8th of April, I86I, as a
member of Company A, Loomis' First Michigan Battery A. He served for
three years and three months. His regiment was assigned to the Army of
the Cumberland, and he participated in many hotly contested engagements,
including the battles of Stone River, Chickamauga, Perryville, Middle Fork
Bridge. Hoover's Gap, Green River, Missionary Ridge and many others. He
never faltered in the performance of any duty and was often where the leaden
hail fell thickest. At the close of the war he received an honorable discharge
and returned to his home in Union City with a most creditable military record. He was the first one of the boys in Union township enlisted for the service
and the last to, get a pension. He was a faithful soldier and never in all
his service was he off duty, nor in hospital, but always ready to perform his
duty as a conscientious and faithful soldier.
Mr. Buell was married January 6, I869, to Miss Mary J. Perry, a
daughter of Edwin and Eliza (Spencer) Perry, of Union City. Mrs. Buell
was born in Burlington, Calhoun county, Michigan, April 7, I846, and has
become the mother of five children, but Brownie B. died at the age of three
years. Perry J. is represented on another page of this work and the other
members of the family are Daisy E., Glynne G. and Benjamin H.
In his political views Mr. Buell is a staunch Republican, active in the
work of the party and has been honored by his fellow townsmen with a number of local offices. He has served as supervisor, has been chairman of the
school board of Union City for a number of years, also village president for
many years and a member of the council twenty-four years. He was one
of the building committee at the time of the erection of the new school house,
and he is a director of the Union City National Bank. In Masonry he has
attained high rank, being now a Knight Templar. His life has been one of
signal usefulness to his native city, for in various public offices he has discharged his duties in a most prompt and capable manner and has co-operated
in many measures for the general good that have had direct bearing upon
the welfare and upbuilding here. In days of peace he is as loyal to, his country as when he followed the stars and stripes upon southern battlefields, and at
all times he is an honorable man worthy of the regard in which he is uniformly held.
WILLARD S. HAWLEY.
Willard S. Hawley, one of the early settlers and prominent citizens of
Coldwater now living a retired life, was born in Wayne county, New York,
October 7, I844. His father, William B. Hawley, was a native of Ontario
county, New York, and became a resident of Coldwater in I866.    Soon
afterward he engaged in farming, locating in Girard township, where he




488


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


spent his remaining days, his death occurring in 1872. He married Lucy
Doolittle, also, a native of New York, and her death occurred in Coldwater.
They were members of the Presbyterian church and his political allegiance
was unfalteringly given to the Republican party. He was a man of honorable principles and upright life and enjoyed the unqualified confidence and
regard of those who knew him. Unto him and his wife were born a son
and daughter, the latter being Augusta D. Hawley, a resident of Coldwater.
Willard S. Hawley, the only son, was reared and educated in his native
county and supplemented his early school privileges by a course of study in
Canandaigua Academy.   He has been a resident of Branch county since
I866, at which time he began farming and through a long period was actively engaged with agricultural interests.  He placed his land under a
high state of cultivation, following the most modern methods in tilling his
fields and he also added to! his place good improvements.
In 1876 Mr. Hawley was united in marriage to Miss Mary J. Dorrance, a daughter of A. A. and Juliet (Gregory) Dorrance. Mrs. Hawley
was born in Jackson, Michigan, and pursued her education in the schools
of that city and Coldwater. She has become the mother of two children:
Edith A., the wife of C. C. Schrontz of Meeker, Colorado; and William
D., who is a druggist of Coldwater.
In his political views Mr. Hawley is a Republican and in religious faith
is a Presbyterian, taking an active part in the work of the church, in which
he has served as deacon and trustee. He has lived in the county for almost
forty years and has intimate knowledge concerning its growth and development because of active participation in the events which have shaped its
history. He has never sought to figure prominently before the public, yet
has ever manifested those sterling traits of character which are the basis of
an honorable manhood and awaken admiration and respect.
ROBERT KELSO.
Robert Kelso has cleared and made all of the improvements upon his
excellent farm on section fourteen, California township, where he has lived
since I878, in which year he purchased eighty acres of land. He is a native
of Indiana, his birth having occurred in Greenfield, LaGrange county, on
the Ist of March, I843. His father, John Kelso, was a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, born July Io, I81I. His grandfather, Hugh Kelso, a
native of Scotland, came to America about the beginning of the nineteenth
century and settled first in Philadelphia, whence he afterward removed to
New York. Later he came to Branch county, Michigan, and his last days
were passed in Union township, but his wife departed this life in the east.
In their family were five sons, all of whom came to this part of Michigan.
These were: John, father of our subject; David and Henry, who died in
Branch county; William, who died in Steuben county, Indiana; and Matthew,
who passed away in LaGrange county, Indiana.
In the year 1836 John Kelso, leaving the east, made his way to LaGrange county, Indiana, where he resided continuously until I852, when ho














HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


489


removed across the border into Branch county, Michigan. He owned one
hundred and sixty acres of land in LaGrange county and eighty acres across
the state line in Michigan. His life was devoted to general agricultural pursuits, which he carefully and successfully conducted for many years. He
was married in the state of New York to Miss Agnes Stewart, who was born
in Ireland, May I8, 1812. The Stewarts were of Scotch-Irish descent and
the brothers and sisters of Mrs. Kelso were: Samuel, Robert, Thomas, Gibson, Margaret, Sarah and Rebecca Stewart. Mrs. Kelso was twelve years
of age when brought to America by her parents, Thomas and Marjorie (McBride) Stewart, who were likewise natives of the Emerald Isle, in which
country all of their eight children were born. Coming to America they lived
in the Empire state for a brief period, and in I836 removed to Michigan,
settling in Noble township, Branch county, where they spent their remaining
days.
Mr. and Mrs. John Kelso were for a number of years prominent and
respected residents of Noble township, Branch county, where Mr. Kelso
actively carried on general agricultural pursuits. He voted with the Democracy and his wife was a member of the Presbyterian church. His death
occurred in Noble township in I877 and Mrs. Kelso survived him for ten
years, passing away in I887. They, too, were the parents of eight children,
all of whom reached years of maturity, namely: Mrs. Isabelle Depue, who
is living in California township; William H.. who died in Kinderhook, Michigan, in 1904; Mrs. Marjorie Link, who died in Jackson county, Indiana;
Robert, of this review; Thomas and John, who are living in Noble township; Mrs. Mary Dodd, who resides in South Dakota; and Mrs. Sarah
Knight, who is also a resident of Noble township, Branch county.
Robert Kelso spent the first ten years of his life in Indiana and then
came with his parents to Michigan, the family home being established in
Noble township, Branch county, in 1852. The work of the farm early became familiar to him and he acquired his education in the district schools. He
continued at home until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when on the
7th of August, 1862, at the age of nineteen years, he responded to his country's call and enlisted at Coldwater as a member of Company H, Nineteenth
Michigan Infantry.  This regiment was assigned to the Second Brigade,
Third Division of the Twentieth Army Corps, and he participated in the
battles of 'Thompson Station, Tennessee; Bentwood, Tennessee; Resaca,
Georgia: Carsville, Dallas, Golgotha, Culp's Farm, Kenesaw Mountain and
Peach Tree Creek, all in Georgia; the siege of Atlanta; the siege of Savannah; and the battles of Averysboro and Bentonville, North Carolina. He
was with Sherman during the entire Atlanta campaign and was in every
battle in which his regiment participated. He was never wounded, nor was
he ever in the hospital, but was captured with the entire regiment on the
5th of March, I863, six regiments falling into the hands oi-the. rebels at
Thompson Station, Tennessee. They were taken to Tullahoma, Tennessee,
and afterward to Libby prison in Richmond, but were incarcerated for only
twenty-one days, at the end of which they were parolled and afterward exchanged. Thus Mr. Kelso continued in active duty up to the time of the




490


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


close of the war and was honorably discharged on the loth of June, I865.
After being mustered out Mr. Kelso returned to Michigan and started
out in business on his own account. He was identified with farm labor and
in I878 he purchased his present farm of eighty acres on section fourteen,
California township. The place was then uncleared, but he at once began
to take away the timber and brush and turn the sod, and in course of time
on well plowed fields there were gathered good harvests, and year by year
the farm has continued to be a productive tract. Mr. Kelso is a comrade of
Eli Alvord Post, G. A. R., of Montgomery, Michigan, and maintains pleasant
relations with the boys in blue, with whom he fought during the Civil war.
In politics he is a Deemocrat and has been called to the offices of highway commissioner and justice of the peace. He has also been a director and assessor
of the school district, filling the latter position at the present time. He has
made an excellent record both as a soldier and farmer, and upon the battlefields of the south he displayed unfaltering loyalty to his country and the
Union cause.
L. A. WARSABO, M. D.
Dr. L. A. Warsabo has engaged in the practice of medicine in Coldwater for more than thirty years and is well known here. He was born in
the city of Mohileff, Russia, February 22, 1848, and was reared in his
native land, obtaining a liberal literary education.  Determining upon the
profession of medicine as a life work he began preparation for that calling
and afterward entered Moscow University, from which he was graduated
with the degree of M. D., in I869. He later went to Vienna, Austria, where
he broadened his knowledge by wide experience in hospitals, coming under
the instruction of some of the eminent physicians and surgeons of that country. He afterward studied a short time in further research and investigation along medical lines in Paris and in I871 he came to the United States,
arriving in Chicago on the 4th of August of that year.
Dr. Warsabo entered upon the practice of his profession in Chicago,
but on account of the disastrous fire which swept over that city in October, T87I, he came to Michigan. In the University of Michigan at Ann
Arbor he spent one year. In 1875 he came to Coldwater, where he has
since remained, and he is today a member of the Tri-State Medical Association. He was city health officer for thirteen years, discharging the duties
of that position in addition to those incumbent upon him through a large
private practice.
In 1876, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Dr. Warsabo was married to Miss
Kate Garner and unto them have been born three children. He is a Republican in his political views and fraternally is connected with the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows and with the Masons, having attained the Knight
Templar degree in the latter organization.  He is also a member of the
Presbyterian church. Dr. Warsabo is a man of broad sympathies as is often
manifest in his professional service. He is widely and favorably known
throughout the community which he has chosen as his place of residence.
His unfailing courtesy and his deference for the opinions of others have




* t




5
KQ',




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


491


made him popular and without ostentation or display he has labored most
earnestly for the welfare of the city as well as for success in his professional career.
JOHN R. BLAKE.
John R. Blake, following agricultural pursuits on section five, Union
township, is a native of Cayuga county, New York, born on the 8th of
December, 183I. His father, John Blake, was a native of Maine, and was
of English descent.  The possibilities of the new and growing west attracted him.  He realized that there were vast regions unclaimed which
might be made cultivable and productive, and in 1833 he turned his face
toward the setting sun, continuing his journey until he had reached Calhoun county, Michigan, where he made a settlement, living there for two
years on his father's farm.  He afterward removed to Clarendon township, of the same county, where he resided until old age, passing away
when eighty-nine years of age. He was a prominent member of the Free
Will Baptist church, took an active part in its work and served as one of
its deacons. He married Lucinda Howe, who was born in New York, and
was of Welsh descent. She died when eighty-six years of age. They were
the parents of six children, who reached mature years.
John R. Blake, the fifth member of the family, was only two years
old when his parents came to Michigan, the family home being established in Calhoun county. He was reared upon the farm in Clarendon
township, and he attended the district schools until he had mastered the
elementary branches of learning, when he became a student in Olivet College.
Later he spent a half year in Oberlin College, in Oberlin, Ohio, and he has
also taken a four years course of the Chautauqua Literary Scientific Society
Circle. He pursued this at Clarendon and was graduated in 1882. The
following year he came to Union City, and soon afterward completed arrangements for purchasing the farm upon which he now resides. While
in Calhoun county he had taught for several years, proving a capable and
successful educator. It was also during the fall of I86I, at Oberlin, Ohio,
that he offered his services to the government in defense of the Union. He
enlisted in the army and went to the south, but became ill after a short time
and returned home.
In 1862 Mr. Blake was married to Miss Nancy L. Hungerford, a
daughter of Hiram and Lucinda (Waters) Hungerford. She was born and
reared in Michigan, and by her marriage has become the mother of two
daughters:  Hattie Lucinda, the wife of Henry E. Bronson, of Union
township, by whom she has a son, John H.; and Sadie M., at home.
Mr. Blake has never given his political allegiance to other than the
Republican party. He cast his ballot for General John C. Fremont and for
each nominee at the head of the ticket since that time. He attended the
anniversary services of the organization of the Republican party "under the
oaks," at Jackson, Michigan, and has rejoiced in the successes which have
come to the political organization that has always stood for progress, reform and improvement. He is a member of the First Congregational church




492


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


of Union City, interested in its development and the extension of its influence and active in the Sunday school work. He has been particularly helpful in the latter department of church activity and has organized many Sunday schools in the county, realizing the value of early moral training for
the youth, for the Psalmist said: "Train a child up in the way he should
go and when he is old he will not depart from it." He has for twenty years
attended each state Sunday school convention, also all of the Sunday school
conventions of the county and three of the international Sunday school conventions and is now a teacher in the Sunday school at Union City, and a
deacon in the church.  His life has indeed been honorable and upright,
prompted by principles and motives that neither seek nor require disguise.
EARL HAZEN.
Earl Hazen, one of the early settlers of Branch county and a retired
farmer now living in Sherwood, is numbered among the worthy citizens that
Ohio has furnished to Michigan, for his birth occurred in Richland county,
of the former state, May 28, I828. His father, Jabin Hazen, was a native
of Pennsylvania, and took up his abode in Ohio during the period of its
pioneer development. He came to Michigan in I837, and cast in his lot
with the frontier settlers of Calhoun county, taking up his abode in Eckford township. The year I840 witnessed his arrival in Branch county and
he located in what is now Sherwood, but the site of the town was then all
covered with a dense forest, there being only about four houses between
Sherwood and Union City and the same number between Sherwood and
Colon, in St. Joseph county. He purchased land which was all raw and
unimproved, not a stick of timber having been cut on the place or a building of any kind erected. He first built a log cabin and in pioneer style
began life there. He worked energetically in clearing the farm with the
assistance of his sons and as the forest was cut down, acre after acre was
placed under the plow and in due course of time abundant harvests were
gathered.  He lived to be eighty-three years of age and was one of the
venerable citizens and honored pioneer residents of the county. He traced
his ancestry back to one of three brothers who came from Spain, two of
them settling in Pennsylvania. They became separated from the third brother
and never heard of him again. The mother of our subject bore the maiden
name of Parmelia Studley, a native of New York, who lived to be about
eighty-two years of age.  She became the mother of five sons and two
daughters, all of whom reached adult years, and Earl Hazen is the eldest
of the three now living. His brother, Charles Marion Hazen, resides on the
old farm homestead in Sherwood township, and their sister Jane, the widow
of Edward Bartlett, is now living in Minnesota.
Earl Hazen was about eight years of age when brought to Michigan by
his parents, and was a youth of ten summers when he became a resident
of Branch county. I)uring the greater part of the time since he has made
his home in Sherwood township, and when a boy he attended one of the
old-time log school houses, mastering the branches of learning therein taught,
although the curriculum was very limited in that day. His training at farm la —




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


493


bo1r, however, was not meager, for he assisted his father in clearing the land
and cultivating the first crops, remaining on the old homestead until he attained his majority. He then started out in life for himself, depending entirely upon the labors of his hands for a livelihood.  He worked by the
day at any employment which he could secure and it was thus that he gained
his start in the business world.
In I85I Mr. Hazen sought a companion and helpmate for life's journey,
being married in that year to Miss Elizabeth Webb. He then purchased a
tract of land in Sherwood township, about a mile south of the village of
Sherwood, where he cleared away the timber, chopping wood on about
twenty acres. He then traded that farm for property in Colon, Michigan,
where he worked at the cooper's trade for a number of years, after
which he purchased    a small place in Matteson township, wvhere he
engaged in the manufacture of brick, carrying on business along that
line very successfully for many years.  Ie also added sixty acres of
land adjoining the brickyard, and while conducting that industrial enter1rise he manufactured the brick used in the construction of the house which
is now his home. He built his residence in 1875, and it has since been his
place of abode. His first wife died in 1864, leaving a daughter, Ella, who
is also now deceased.  In 1865 Mr. Hazen married Emma Callver, who
(ied March 23, 1903.   He has foulr grandsons and two granddaughters,
A. D. Frve, Carrie Frye, Clifford Frye, Charley Frye, and Leo and Theo
Frye, twins.
Mr. Hazen now owns forty acres of land in Sherwood township across
the road from the old homestead. He and his wife are the oldest settlers
in this tow^shin, and have been identified with the upbuilding of Branch
county from its infancy, for when they arrived here the entire district was
almost an unbroken wilderness. Many changes have occurred and Mr. Hazen
has favored every progressive measure tending to the permanent good of
the county. He cast his first presidential vote for Fremont and has since
supported each nominee at the head of the Republican ticket with the exception of the year T86C. vlhen he voted for Stephen A. Douglas. In 1864,
however, he supported Abraham Lincoln, and has since been loyal to Republican interests. He has held some of the local offices and he is a member
of the Free Methodist church, with which he has been identified for several
years. During a long residence of sixty-eight years in Branch county he
has beconme well known, and as one of the pioneer settlers is certainly deserving of representation in this volume. His life history if given in detail
would present an accurate picture of pioneer conditions here, for in the
cabin home in wvhich he lived all of the hardships of frontier life were met,
and many of the pleasures incident to the settlement of a pioneer district
were also enjoyel.
ALBERT SHEPARD.
Albert Shepard, station agent at Bronson, Michigan, enjoys the distinction of being the oldest employe on his division of the road. He was bcrln
in St. Joseph county, Michigan, January 4., I847. His father, Jason Shep



494


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


ard, a native of New York, came to Michigan at an early day, and in I856
settled in Branch county. where he lived for nearly half a century, and
where he died at a ripe old age, January 2, 1902. He worked at his trade,
that of millwright, in Hillsdale and St. Joseph counties, and after locating
in Branch county he owned and ran a flour mill at Bronson many years.
The latter part of his life was spent in retirement. His wife, whose maiden
name was Mary Miller, was born in New York state and died in Bronson.
At the time the Shepard family moved to Branch county Albert was
a boy of nine years. After finishing his studies in the public schools he
learned telegraphy and secured a situation as telegraph operator with the
Lake Shore Railroad, a position he filled eight years. For the past twentyseven years he has been station agent at Bronson, thus having been in the
service of the road a longer time than any other employe. Among the investments Mr. Shepard has made is a valuable oil well in Marion county,
Indiana.
Of his family we record that Mrs. Shepard was formerly Miss Jennie
A. Miles, of Coldwater, Michigan.  They have three children, namely:
Charles A., a station agent at Fremont, Ohio; Grace M., wife of Charles
Rockwell; and Bert, a telegraph operator on the Pacific coast.
The mysteries of Masonry Mr. Shepard has penetrated from the Blue
Lodge to the Mystic Shrine. He has membership in the Lodge and Chapter
at Bronson, the Council and Commandery at Coldwater, and the Mystic
Shrine at Detroit. Politically he is a Republican and religiously he harmonizes with the Congregational church, of which he is a consistent member.
JOSEPH MILLER.
After a long life of industry and usefulness the subject of this review,
Mr. Joseph Miller, is spending his declining days in well-earned leisure, living
in a comfortable home at California Center, although still retaining his fine
farm of one hundred and forty acres on section twelve, Kinderhook township.
Mr. Miller is a native of Highland county, Ohio, where he was born
May'I, I830. His father, Jacob Miller, and his grandfather, Daniel Miller,
were both natives of Pennsylvania, and it is supposed that the Miller family
had lived in that state for a number of previous, generations.  Our subject's
father, Jacob Miller, grew to manhood in Pennsylvania, and there he was
married to Elizabeth Protius, also born in that state.  Soon after 18201 they
sought a home in the then new state of Ohio, and accordingly made the trip
there in the customary primitive manner of the times, locating first in Highland county, where they remained until I830, then again traveling westward
into Indiana.  They crossed over the border into Michigan and finding a
little settlement at White Pigeon, they decided, as it was then early winter,
to spend the remainder of the cold season here.  Accordingly they appropriated an empty log cabin here and stayed for a few months, Mr. Miller
in the meantime doing a little prospecting on his own account.  Passing
over into LaGrange county, Indiana, he found here a suitable tract in Green



0




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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


495


field township and secured a deed from the government.  Here he made a
home, erecting a log house and beginning the clearing of the land.  But
Jacob Miller did not live long to, enjoy the fruits of his labors, for he died
here May 13, I838, at the age of fifty-three years.  Mrs. Miller was left a
widow with twelve children to rear.  She met her added duties bravely and
well, however, and with the assistance of the elder children managed to
complete the rearing of the younger children and to help them get started
in life. She lived upon the old homestead until her death here August I6,
I869, and it was most gratifying to her to know that at this time all of her
twelve children had grown to successful manhood and womanhood and that
all of them were married and with homes and families of their own. Mr.
Jacob Miller had not only secured the first one hundred and sixty acres from
the government, but he also before his death had purchased over five hundred acres additional, seventy acres of which was over the border in. Branch
county, Michigan. After the death of the father and mother this property
was divided among the twelve children. Of these twelve children only three
are now living: Joseph, our subject; Salome Robbins, of Iowa; and William, of Illinois. The other nine died in the places named:  John, in Iowa;
Christinia Young, in Kansas; David, in St. Joseph county, Michigan;
George. in Coldwater; James, in Noble; Adam, in St. Joseph county; Catherine Rolbbins, in St. Joseph county; Daniel, in Sturgis, Michigan; and
Henry, in Iowa.
Joseph Miller, our subject, was but an infant of six months when his
parents took him to White Pigeon, and after their removal to Greenfield
township he grew to young manhood upon the home farm there.  He was
only eight years old when his father died and he lived at home with his
mother until he had attained the age of fourteen, when he began to work
for himself, his first wages being ten dollars per month. The first fall after
he was twenty years old he purchased forty acres of new land in Greenfield township and earned enough money in one summer to pay for it. The
following year he was married to Caroline E. Norton, a native of St. Joseph
county, Michigan, and the daughter of Trumbull and Lois Alger Norton.
Their early married life was passed in LaGrange county, Indiana, but in
I853 he sold out his possessions here and decided to try his fortunes in the
far west. They started for Iowa in a one-horse wagon, leaving Indiana
in the latter part of August and arriving in Boone county, Iowa, October I2
of the same year. He secured a tract of government land in Perry township,
Boone county, and began its improvement. At this time the settlers were
very few and far between and the little family experienced all of the hardships of life in a new country. In I857 it was decided to return to, Michigan,
and this they did, locating in Kinderhook township, Branch county, where
they owned two different farms before finally locating on the one hundred
and forty acre tract on section twelve, which Mr. Miller still owns. Mr.
Miller has expended much labor and money in the improvement of this fine
farm and it now forms one of the most excellent farm homes in Kinderhook
township. Mrs. Miller died August 9, 1884, leaving behind her a sorrowing
husband and mourning children, as well as a large circle of warm friends.




496


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


She had borne her husband eight children, a complete record of whom is as
follows: Clarence married Emma McNall and they have two sons, Theron
and Earl, their home being in Angola, Indiana. Josephine Bordt died December 8, I9o0. She had two children, Claude and Ethel, they living in
Kinderhook.  Lois Babb lives in Kinderhook and she has three children,
Frank, Ella and Ralph. Arminda Ball is a resident of Sanilac county, Michigan. where she has five children, Della, Eliza, Minnie, Grace and Edna.
Elsie died at the age of two years. Oscar died December 8, I91I. Frank
married Vesta Gould and they have one son, Claude, their home being in
Coldwater. Bertha Christina died in infancy.  Mr. Miller also has five
great-grandchildren, as follows: Mildred and Clarence Miller, children of
Theron and Florence Myers Miller; Wilma J. Miller, daughter of Earl and
Nellie Carruthers Miller; Mildred and Howard Delos Yates, children of Amos
and Ella Babb Yates.
Mr. Miller's second marriage occurred November Io, I885, when Harriet McNall Norton became his wife. By her first husband, Alfred Norton,
Mrs. Miller had five children, only one of whom is living: Willie, Freddie
and Ray died in infancy; Edgar B. died at the age of twelve years; Floyd L.
married Almra Hall and they have three children, Audrey L., Jennie May and
Oral O., the home of the family being in Chicago. Mrs. Miller was the
daughter of two of Branch county's honored pioneers, Hiram and Harriet
Barnes McNall, appropriate biographical mention of this family being made
elsewhere in this volume under the article concerning Mrs. Miller's brother,
Irving McNall, of Kinderhook township.
Mr. Joseph Miller was for many years a leading figure in the affairs of
Kinderhook township and he was called to, a number of local offices. He was
a justice of the peace, township highway commissioner and constable for a
number of terms and also served his school district as director for many years.
Formerly he affiliated with the Knights of the Tented Maccabees and the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mrs. Miller belongs to the Methodist
Episcopal church and is also, a member of California Hive; No. 674, Ladies
of the Tented Maccabees, and of the W\oman's Christian Temperance Union,
of which organization she was record keeper for nine years. No residents
of this portion of Branch county possess in a higher degree the confidence
and true regard of the people in this vicinty than do Mr. and Mrs. Miller.
Their home is a most hospitable one and their many warm friends wish for
them continued prosperity and llappiness for years to come.  Uncle Joe
Miller is one of the honored pioneers of old Branch county, and he has seen
the Indians pass by by the hundreds on the trails.
GEORGE W. CLEVELAND.
George iV. Cleveland. who is filling the office of supervisor of Batavia
township and makes his home on section thirteen, was born in Lenawee county,
MIichigan, on the 23rd of February, I848. His father, Charles Cleveland,
was a native of New York, and when a young man came to Michigan. The
paternal grandfather, Willian  Cleveland, was a native of England and in




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


497


early manhood' crossed the Atlantic to the new world. He established his
home in New York and there resided until his removal to this state at an
early period in its development. Following his arrival in Michigan Charles
Cleveland was married in Lenawee county and there took up his abode, his
attention being devoted to general agricultural pursuits up to the time of
his death, which occurred when he was a comparatively young man of thirtysix years. He married Miss Emma Purdy, a native of England, who, when
thirteen years of age, came to the United States with her parents, the family
bhoe being established in Lenawee county, Michigan.  She died in Cass
county, this state, when thirty-eight years of age.
George W. Cleveland was the fourth in a family of five children, and
when seven years of age went with his mother to Cass county. When a
youth of twelve years he went to Hillsdale county, Michigan, and the following year removed to Ingham county, where at the age of fifteen years
he responded to the country's call for aid, enlisting as a private of Company
G, Twenty-seventh Michigan Infantry.  This was in I863, and on the
3oth of July, I864, he sustained a wound in the right arm which caused the
loss of his hand. He was in the hospital for ten months at Washington and
Philadelphia, and was honorably discharged at the Chester hospital in the
latter city on the 30th of May, 1865.
Mr. Cleveland then returned to Michigan and located in Branch county.
For thirteen years he was upon the road as a traveling salesman, at the end
of which time he settled in Batavia township, giving his attention to agricultural pursuits. He lived upon different farms for some years and then
when his labors had brought him sufficient capital he purchased in I896 a
farm in Batavia township, where he resided for seven years. On the expiration of that period, however, he sold the property and bought the place
on which he now resides on section thirteen. This is a good property, and
under his care and cultivation has been made productive and profitable.
On the 18th of January, 1874, Mr. Cleveland was united in marriage
to Miss Elizabeth Higgins, a daughter of James and Jane (Perkins) Higgins, and the widow of Arthur E. Filkins. She was born in Durham, Gray
county, Ontario, September I8, 1853, and was sixteen years of age when
brought to Branch county, Michigan. By her first marriage she had one
(laughter, Julia Arlene, who is now a teacher. She took a teacher's course
in the Ypsilanti Normal and in the kindergarten department also, and she
expects to make teaching her life work. She will also complete the Normal
teacher's course. She has taught twelve years and is now in the city schools
of Coldwater. By the second marriage there is a daughter, Grace, A., now
the wife of K. D. Lewis, of Grand Rapids. She received her diploma at the
same time as her sister Arlene, and has taught four years in Traverse City,
Michigan. Mr. Lewis is engaged in the insurance business, and they have
one daughter, Katharine.  Mrs. Cleveland is a member of the Episcopal
church, as are also the daughters, the former is a member of the Centennial
Bay View Literary Circle. Mr. Cleveland has been a life-long Republican,
taking an active interest in the work and success of his party, and for four
terms he served as treasurer of Batavia township. He has also been justice




498


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


of the peace and a member of the township board, and in I905 he was elected
supervisor, which position he is no'w filling. He is well known in Branch
county, having taken an active interest in political affairs and public life,
and his co-operation has ever been on the side of progress, improvement,
reform and substantial development. Without any pecuniary or family advantages to aid him at the outset of his career he has always steadily worked
his way upward in business life and his excellent farm is the visible evidence
of his life of energy and thrift.
CORYDON M. FENNER.
Corydon M. Fenner, who for fifty-five years has been a resident of
Branch county, covering nearly the entire period of his life, is now engaged
in general agricultural pursuits on section thirteen, Ovid township.  He
regards his farm work as abundantly worthy of his best efforts, and his
labors have resulted in bringing his place up to a high state of cultivation.
His birth occurred in Cattaraugus county, New York, on the I3th off September, I847, his parents being Collins and Lucinda (Meyers) Fenner.
The father was born in the Empire state in I82I, and there spent the days
of his youth and early rmanhood. Desiring a companion and helpmate for
life's journey he chose Miss Lucinda Meyers, who was born in New York
in I826. In 1848 he brought his family to Michigan, settling in Branch
county, and for many years thereafter was closely identified with agricultural pursuits, the family home being established and maintained in Bethel
township. In his work he was industrious and energetic and all that he possessed and enjoyed came to him as the direct reward of his labor. He was
always earnest in his advocacy of the principles of the Democratic party,
which he supported frorm the time he attained his majority until his demise.
He became affiliated with the Masonic lodge at Coldwater, and was a devoted
member of the Methodist church there. He also organized the first Sunday
school in Branch county, and he did everything in his power to promote
the moral development of his community, while his own life was guided
by honorable principles and characterized by manly conduct. He died in
the spring of I905, in his eighty-fifth year, and was laid to rest amid the
deep regret of many friends, for he had a wide acquaintance in Branch
county, and wherever known he was respected for his genuine worth. Unto
him and his wife were born two sons and four daughters, of whom Phebe
is now deceased. The others are: Marbry, Corydon, Charles, Calista and
Mary. Two of the children were born in the Empire state and the others
after the removal of the family to Branch county.
Corydon Fenner was only about six months old when brought by his
parents to Michigan, and he was reared upon the homestead farm in Bethel
township, where he remained until he had attained his majority. He early
took his place in the fields, where he worked from the time of spring planting until crops were harvested in the late autumn. During the winter months
he attended the public schools and gained a fair knowledge of the common
branches of learning. On attaining his majority he was united in marriage
to Miss Emma Buck, a daughter of Loren W. and Louisa (Smith) Buck,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


499


a farmer and carpenter of Branch county, and one of the oldest settlers of
this part of the state.  Mrs. Fenner was reared and educated here. The
year following their marriage the young couple removed to Ovid township,
settling on the farm which had been purchased by his father. Mr. Fenner
of this review, however, has cleared most of the place and has made all of
the present improvements, which are modern in character and attractive
in appearance, adding largely to, the value of the place. Everything about
the farm is neat and thrifty in appearance, and Mr. Fenner is regarded as
one of the wide-awake, practical and progressive agriculturists of his community.
Unto our subject and his wife have been born four sons, Loren, Nelson, Jasper and Roland. Loren was educated in the common schools and
also, the Angola College, and he is a prosperous farmer. He wedded Miss
Alma Crystler. Nelson is a farmer of Bethel township, and wedded Miss
Millie Olmstead. Jasper is now a student in the University at Ann Arbor,
and i-s pursuing a course in pharmacy. He taught school two years in Ovid
township.  Roland resides with his parents.  The members of the household occupy an enviable position in social circles and the hospitality of the
Fenner home is greatly enjoyed by many friends. Mr. Fenner votes with
the Democracy and for one year served as ditch commissioner. Mrs. Fenner
has an old copy of a newspaper entitled " Brother Jonathan," printed July 4,
I845. He recognizes the needs and possibilities of the county for material
improvement and permanent development, and endorses all the plans tending to further the general good.
KIMBLE PARRISH.
Kimble Parrish, who, assisted in building the first mill in Coldwater,
and who since that time has been a valued representative of the city because
of his activity in business affairs and his sterling personal worth, is now
living retired, having passed the eighty-sixth milestone on life's journey.
One of the most venerable citizens of Branch county, no history of this section of the state would be complete without his life record. He was born
in Monroe county, New York, April I6, I818. His father, Abram Parrish,
was a native of Connecticut and spent his last days in Monroe county, New
York. A farmer by occupation he followed that pursuit for many years
in order to provide for his family. He married Hannah Shaw, who was
also a native of the Empire state and died there. They became the parents
of thirteen children, of whom twelve reached mature years, while one was
killed by being thrown from a horse in childhood.
Kimble Parrish, the tenth in order of birth oaf the family, remained at
home through the period of his boyhood and youth, assisting his father in
the cultivation of the home farm and gaining a knowledge of the best
methods of conducting the business. Lessons of industry and integrity were
instilled into his mind and have borne rich fruit in an honorable and successiul career in later life. In 1836 he sought a home in the west, coming to
Branch county, Michigan, and on taking up his abode in Coldwater he began
the manufacture of kettles, plows, carving machines and the building of saw




500              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
mills. He assisted in the construction of the first mill in Coldwater and
was one of the early representatives of the industrial life here. He also
carried on farming to some extent, hauling his grain to Hillsdale with a
team. The unimproved condition of the county can be imagined from the
fact that many Indians still lived in this part of the state and there were
many wild animals in the forests, while various kinds of wild game could
easily be secured by the hunter. The forests were uncut, the streams were
largely unbridged and the lands uncultivated, but as the years passed great
changes were wrought.   Mr. P'arrish bore his full share in the work of
improvement and in addition to his efforts along manufacturing lines was
also connected with agricultural interests. He has owned several farms and
has traded quite extensively, and his business interests have been so carefully directed by sound judgment that as the years have passed he has accumulated a handsome competence.
On the I8th of May, 1843, Mr. Parrish was married to Miss Mary
Chapman, who was born in Franklin county, New York, June 22, 1817, her
parents being Edmond and Polly (Davis) Chapman. She came to Branch
county, Michigan, in I836 with her father, who was one of the pioneers
of the county, and who was a native of Massachusetts, while her mother's
birth occurred in Vermont. In the Chapman family were two sons and two
daughters, Mrs. Parrish being the second child and elder daughter. By her
marriage she has become the mother of two children: Lepha, the wife of
George O'Keefe; and Rhoda, the wife of Samuel Parsons, of Sioux county,
Iowa.
Mr. and Mrs. Parrish have lived for sixty-eight years in Branch county,
most of the time in Coldwater, and are therefore numbered among the pioneer
settlers. They have celebrated the sixty-second anniversary of their marriage, and through the long years have lived happily together, sharing with
each other the joys and sorrows, the adversity and prosperity of life. Commanding the respect of all who knew them, they have a wide circle of friends
in the county. Mr. Parrish was the first Whig constable of Branch county,
and he has been a Republican since the organization of the party, voting for
its first presidential candidate, John C. Fremont. He was at one time a
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and for many years he
and his wife have been devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal church,
in which he has filled various offices and has also acted as a teacher in the
Sunday school. His has been an honored and an upright life. He has
been true to the teachings of the church, has been straightforward in his
business dealings and reliable at all times in his transactions with his fellowmen. He receives the veneration and respect which should ever be accorded
one who has advanced far on life's journey, and all speak of him and his
wife in terms of high regard.
LOREN R. BROOKS.
One of the oldest families of Branch county is that of which Loren R.
Brooks is a representative. In investigating the history of pioneer times it
will be found that his grandfather, Jesse Brooks, settled here at a very


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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


501


early day and became a factor in the work of early development and improvement, and from that time to the present members of the family have
borne their full share in the work of upbuilding that has wrought the present
condition of advancement and civilization in this part of the state. Jesse
Brooks was a native of Glastonbury, Hartford county, Connecticut, born
March 31, I79I. In early manhood he wedded Miss Marinda Fox, who was
born in Hartford county, Connecticut, February 7, 1794. The wedding was
celebrated on the Ist of January, 1812, and the succeeding year they removed
to Cornwell, Litchfield county, Connecticut, where they remained until I8I8,
when they went to Tioga county, New York, there residing for about seventeen years, when in I835 they came to Michigan, making their way to Coldwater, Branch county. More than seventy years have come and gone since
that time and the traveler of today, looking abroad over well cultivated farms
and fine orchards, or visiting the enterprising and thriving towns and cities,
can scarcely realize that at the time of Jesse Brooks' arrival here almost
the entire county was covered with a dense growth of.timber. The little
streams were deflected from their course at times by fallen logs or other
signs of nature's changes, and only here and there had a clearing been made
in the midst of the forest to show that the white man had become somewhat
conversant with the district and its possibilities. Jesse Brooks took up land
from: the government and with the aid of his son, Russell Brooks, cleared and
developed a farm. He continued a resident of this county up to, the time of
his death, and when he was called to his final rest on the 3rd of September,
I872, at the age of eighty-one years, the county mourned the loss of one
of its most valued and honored pioneer settlers, for while carrying on his
private business interests he had at the same time contributed to the work of
general progress and upbuilding. He had long survived his wife, who passed
away on the I4th of April, I846. In their family were fourteen children,
but only two of the number are now living: Loren, who resides in Minnesota; and Mrs. Marinda Weldon, of Reed City, Michigan. After losing his
first wife Jesse Brooks wedded Betsy M. Phillips on the 29th of April, 1847,
and by that union there was a son and daughter: Francis N. Brooks, who
died while serving in the Union army in the Civil war; and Mary L., also
deceased.
Russell Brooks, who, was the fourth member of the family of Jesse
and Marinda Brooks, was born in Chenango county, New York, May 15,
I8I9. He was a youth of about sixteen years at the time of his parents'
removal to Michigan, and he soon became familiar with the varied experiences incident to pioneer life when the frontier home was separated by
long distances. from: mill and market and other evidences of the older civilization of the east. He became the active assistant of his father in clearing
and developing new land. In early manhood he wedded Mary Jane Barner,
who was born in Schoharie county, New York, September 2, 1834, a daughter
of Joshua and Sarah Carolina (Wentworth) Barner. Her parents became
residents of Batavia, Branch county, Michigan, and the father devoted his
attention to general agricultural pursuits up to the time of his death, which
occurred July 14, I880, while his wife passed away June 7, I873. They




502


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


were the parents of nine children, of whom seven are now living. Unto Mr.
and Mrs. Russell Brooks were born five children, but Jesse A., Charles W.
and Orcelia are now deceased. Those who still survive are Mrs. Carolina
Hawley, who is living in Union township, Branch county, and Loren R.,
of this review.
In taking up the personal history of Loren R. Brooks we present to
our readers the life record of one who has a wide and favorable acquaintance
in Branch county. His birth occurred on the old family homestead on section 7, Coldwater township on the I5th of May, I862, and he was reared
to farm life, no event of special importance occurring to vary the routine
of farming interests for him in his youth. His education was acquired in
the district schools and when not busy with his text-books he worked in the
fields. In I883 he went to, Missouri, where he engaged in farming until
I886, when he returned to the old homestead in Branch county, upon which
he remained for a year. From 1887 until I900 he was a resident farmer
of Union township and then again returned to the old home place on section
7, Coldwater township. Here he owns eighty acres of land and he also has
a tract of forty acres in Batavia township. His farm is well improved and in
all of his work he displays a spirit of progress that has placed him in the front
ranks among the leading agriculturists of his community.
On the 8th of December, I885, Mr. Brooks was united in marriage to
Miss Louisa L. Ellington, who was born in Bath county, Kentucky, January
28, i86I, and was the youngest in a family of nine children, whose parents
were Alvin M. and Lucy Jane (Wilson) Ellington. Her father was born
in Bath county, Kentucky, November 23, I8I7, and her mother in Virginia,
November II, 1817, and they were married on the 8th of December, I842.
All of their nine children were born in the Blue Grass state and are yet living but one. The father, however, died in November, I890, while the mother's
death occurred in 1864.
Mr. and Mrs. Brooks have four children: Ina M., Earl R. and Carl A.,
all of whom are living at home; and Carrie, who died December 3, I894. The
parents and children are identified with the Methodist church and take an
active and helpful interest in its work. Mr. Brooks exercises his right of
franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party and
is now filling the office of justice of the peace in Coldwater township, discharging his duties with strict fairness and impartiality. While living in Union
township he served as a school officer. He is a worthy representative of a
prominent pioneer family and at the same time the position which he has
made for himself in agricultural circles would entitle him to mention in this
volume.
The lineage of both Mr. and Mrs. Brooks is English and Scotch. Mr.
Brooks' grandfather Brooks was the first Sunday School superintendent
of the Brooks Sunday School, now known as the " Centennial." He was a
class leader in the Methodist church for many years in the county and in
the city of Coldwater. In relics Mrs. Brooks has a specimen of needle work
on linen. The cloth was woven in linen by her grandmother Wilson, and the
silk was gathered from the silk worm, and this piece of handwork was exe-,. i




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


503


cuted October 24, I8Io, at the age of fourteen years.  Mr. Brooks has an
old gourd, used in the household, which is over one hundred years old, and they
also have one of the old counterpane and double coverlets, which is fully IOO
years old. They also have two old spinning wheels and reeds passed down
from their parents and grandparents.
ARTHUR G. COPELAND.
Arthur G. Copeland, actively and successfully connected with agricultural interests, his home being on section twenty-one, Matteson township,
was born in this township on the 3rd of November, 1849. His father, Robert E. Copeland, was a native of Ireland and came with his parents to America when eighteen months old, being a son of Isaac Copeland, who first located at St. Catherine's, Canada, where the grandfather was afterward killed.
Robert E. Copeland, having lost his father, was reared by a Mr. Colt in
Niagara county, New York. not far from one of the world's greatest wonders-the Niagara Falls. He remained with Mr. Colt until about sixteen
years of age, when he started out upon an independent business career, working at any employment that would yield him an honest living. When twenty
years of age he went to Lewiston, New York. There he was united in marriage to Miss Maria Lindley, a native of the Empire state, and in March,
I847, he came to Branch county, Michigan, settling in Matteson township,
where he purchased a farm   on section twenty-two.  This he improved,
clearing the fields and cultivating his crops, erecting good buildings and
otherwise adding modern equipments to the place, which was all raw land
when it came into his possession. He first built a little log house, in which
eight of his children were born, but when his financial resources permitted'
lie erected a good modern frame residence and the last two children were
born on that farm. Upon the old homestead eight of the ten children grew
to manhood or womanhood and seven are yet living. The father still survives and, having been born on the 4th of March, 1822, he has passed the
eighty-third milestone on life's journey. His wife, however, passed away
on the  5 th of June, I896. Coming to Branch county at an early day, the
family shared in the hardships and trials incident to pioneer life and the
members of the household have taken an active and helpful part in the work
of public improvement.
Alma M. Watson was born in Colon, March I6, I8591. Married to,
Arthur G. Copeland, December 28, 18175. To this union were born three
children, Lee, Ellen and Star. She has lived in this community all her life,
except about four years in Kansas. She was converted and baptized in early
childhood and united with the Colon M. E. church, March 15, I89I. She
has always been an earnest Christian, was cheerful, saw and loved the good
and beautiful in nature and in people. She loved her home and family. It
can truthfully be said, she loved the Lord supremely, and her neighbor as
herself. She lived the golden rule. She had been gradually failing in health
during the past year or more and it was decided a few weeks ago that an
operation was necessary. Her last words while sinking into unconsciousness were, "Jesus lover of my soul."  After the operation she endured her




504


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


suffering bravely and passed into the unseen at 8:15 o'clock Tuesday evening, May 22, 19o6, aged 47 years, I month and 29 days. Her remains,
accompanied by her husband and brother, were brought from Ann Arbor
on Wednesday. Funeral services were held at her home Friday afternoon,
Rev. C. L. Beebe, her pastor, officiating.  Burial in Lakeside cemetery.
While no adult human life is faultless, her life was well balanced, unselfish,
and beautiful. The Methodist Episcopal was the church of her choice. She
believed and loved its teachings but was tolerant and charitable to all people
of whatever belief. Her last words were words of faith and trust in the
Savior whom she had known and loved all her life; thus closes another life
work.
No stream  from  its source
Flows seaward, how lonely soever its course,
But what some land is gladdened. No star ever rose
And set, without influence somewhere.  Who knows
What earth needs from earth's lowest creature? No life
Can be pure in its purpose and strong in its strife
And all life not be purer and stronger thereby.
Arthur G. Copeland is the eldest son and second child of the family.
He was born in the little log cabin in Matteson township, spent his youth
there and was educated in district school No. 9. He worked in the fields
through the summer months and in the winter seasons devoted his time to
mastering the branches of learning taught in the home school.  He was
married on the 28th of December, 1875, to Miss Alma Watson, a daughter
of Robert and N. A. (Hunter) Watson. The father was born in Crawford
county, Pennsylvania, and was one of the pioneer settlers of Matteson township, purchasing the first land that was sold within its borders, his place
being located on section I8, where he opened and developed a good farm.
He was a millwright by trade and he did his first farming after his removal
to Branch county. His death occurred in the eighty-fifth year of his age.
His widow was born in Venango county, Pennsylvania, and is yet living at
this writing, in her eighty-third year. Mrs. Copeland is the eldest of five
children and was born, reared and educated in Matteson township. At the
time of his marriage Mr. Copeland located on the farm where he now resides, but in 1878 sold his property and went to Kansas, purchasing a farm
in Crawford county, where he remained for five years. On the expiration
of that period he returned to this county and again purchased the old homestead, on which he has since lived.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Copeland have been born two sons and a daughter:
Lee, who began teaching when nineteen years of age and has followed the
profession for nine years, was born February 23, 1878, and is a graduate
of the Colon high school, thus having been well equipped for the profession which he has thus far made a life work. Ellen is the wife of John
Staley, a farmer of Matteson township, and for five years she engaged in
teaching school. Starr is attending school in Colon.
Mr. Copeland gives his undivided attention to general agricultural pur



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


505


suits and is the owner of eighty acres of land, which is highly cultivated.
He makes a specialty of raising mint oil, and he has also engaged quite
extensively in raising strawberries, devoting twelve years to that business.
In his business he is active and energetic, and starting out in life for himself
empty-handed, the success that he has achieved is attributable entirely to his
own labors. In public affairs he has been interested and he cast his presidential vote for Peter Cooper, for William Jennings Bryan, and is an advocate of the free coinage of silver. He was for five years clerk of Matteson
township, for four years treasurer and is now justice of the peace. Both
he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church at Colon
and are well known and highly respected people of their community. Mrs.
Copeland's mother, Mrs. Watson, has one of the old deeds executed by President Andrew Jackson, and it bears the date July I, I836. This is the
eleventh of the deeds in the county of Branch.
BYRON W. BRAY.
Byron W. Bray, residing on Section twenty, Union township, is one
of Michigan's native sons, his birth having occurred in Hillsdale county,
August 30, I856. His parents are Amos Crandall and Mary Jane (Bush)
Bray, both natives of New York. The father was born in Ontario county
and in 1815I came west to Michigan, settling on a farm in Hillsdale county.
His place was on Athens Prairie and there he remained for about six years,
after which he returned to the Empire state. When two years had passed
he took up his abode in Quincy, Branch county, where he engaged in general farming until I863, when he removed to Algansee township.   He
was a Republican up to within five years of his death, when he became a
champion of the silver movement, believing in the free coinage of silver
at the ratio of sixteen to one. He held a number of offices in his township and was always active in support of what he deemed would prove of
public benefit. He died in his sixtieth year, while his wife, who was born
in Canandaigua county, New York, is now living in Algansee township on
the old family homestead. They were the parents of four sons and three
daughters, all of whom are yet living with the exception of one daughter.
Byron W. Bray, the eldest member of the family, was a young man
when he came to Branch county and here the days of his childhood and
youth were passed. He remained at home until about twenty-one years of
age save for a period of two years when he was employed elsewhere. He
was married in Union township in 1884 to Miss Helen Buell, a daughter
of David L. and Amelia (Wood) Buell, both of whom were natives of New
York, and were among the early settlers of Branch county, settling here
about I860. Mrs. Buell is the eldest of five children and was born in New
York. She was brought to Branch, county when about three years old. Mr.
and Mrs. Bray have two sons, David Star and Don Carlos Buell.
The home farm comprises one hundred and twenty-six acres and Mr.
Bray also operates the old homestead of one hundred and seventy-two
acres, also another farm of one hundred and five acres in same township,
being thus extensively engaged in general agricultural pursuits. He is also




506


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


one of the large stockholders and the president of the Union City Creamery
Company and he manages his business interests with care and fidelity. In
politics he has been a life-long Republican, taking an active interest in the
work of the party, and he has held various local offices, including that of
justice of the peace. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging
to the lodge and chapter, and he and his wife are prominent and active
members of the Order of the Eastern Star. In his life Mr. Bray has displayed the enterprising spirit so characteristic of the middle west and he
owes his business advancement entirely to his own labors, being both the
architect and builder of his own fortune.
WILLIAM     PECK   NORTON.,
William Peck Norton, now living a retired life in Coldwater, after
many years of agricultural interests, was born in the town of Goshen, Litchfield county, Connecticut, June 21, I828, his parents being Jeremiah and
Mary. Ann (Peck) Norton, who were also natives of the same county. The
father was a French Huguenot, while the mother was of English descent.
He died during the early childhood of his son William, and the widowed
mother with her two. sons and a daughter afterward removed to Huron
county, Ohio, where she located in 1845. There she settled upon a farm,
which she continued to make her home until her own demise.
William Peck Norton was educated in the district schools, and when
fifteen years of age he began to learn the cabinet maker's trade, while later
he acquainted himself with the carpenter's trade. He was seventeen years
of age at the time of the removal to Huron county, Ohio, and there he lived
for some time.  Seeking a companion and helpmate for life's journey in
early manhood, he was married on the 3Ist of December, I85I, to, Miss
Mary Ann Angel, after which they removed to Norwalk, Ohio, where he
followed carpentering until the 4th of March, I857. In that year he and
others of the locality left for the territory of Kansas, where they remained
for two, years. It was a very troublous time in the history of the state, for
it was the precipitating of the Civil war, when Kansas was a contested territory of the pro- and anti-slavery people.  After two years Mr. Norton
removed to Missouri, where he remained for a year, and then returned to
Ohio. Again he was identified with the building operations of Norwalk,
first as a journeyman carpenter and afterward as a contractor, continuing in
that line of labor until I864, when he went to Nevada and to California.
He continued working at his trade in the far west until the spring of I866,
when he returned to his old home in Ohio by the way of the Isthmus route.
On the Ist of May he arrived home and in June of the same year he
came to Coldwater. He has since resided in Branch county, first settling
upon a farm in Coldwater township about two miles south and east of the
city. For more than a third of a century thereafter he carried on general
agricultural pursuits, raising the cereals best adapted to soil and climate, and
also keeping on hand some good grades of stock. He farmed until October,
1903, when he retired to private life, taking up his abode in his present residence in Coldwater. His home is a substantial brick structure of pleasing




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


507


style of architecture and is tastefully furnished. He now has a handsome
competence to supply him with necessities and comforts and many of the
luxuries of life, and amid pleasing surroundings he is now spending the
evening of life in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil.
Mr. Norton cast his first presidential vote for the Whig candidate in
1852. He afterward allied his interests with the Republican party, which
he supported until I880, since which time he has been independent.  Although not members of any church he and his wife attend the services of
the Presbyterian church and contribute to its support. His life has been a
very busy and useful one, and his success is the direct result of his own
labors. Throughout his business career he would brook no obstacles that
could be overcome by persistent and honorable effort, and his untiring labor
has been the basis of his prosperity.
LEONARD TAYLOR.
Leonard Taylor is the oldest settler in Batavia township in years of
continuous connection with this part of the county. His home is on section
twenty-nine, where he is comfortably situated, enjoying all of the necessities and many of the luxuries of life. He has now attained the advanced
age of seventy-six years, and for three score years and ten he has lived in
Batavia township. His birth occurred April 13, 1829, about twenty miles
east of Buffalo, New York, his parents being Leonard and Carolina (Stranahan) Taylor, the former a native of Massachusetts and the latter of New
York. The father engaged in conducting a hotel about twenty miles east
of Buffalo, but thinking to have better business opportunities in the west he
made his way to Clinton, Lenawee county, Michigan, in 1834, ahd in the
following year he came to Batavia township, Branch county. Michigan was
still under territorial government, and the work of improvement and development seemed scarcely begun. Mr. Taylor entered into partnership with
John H. Stevens, who was the second sheriff of Branch county, and they
conducted a hotel at what is known as the old Bodina stand, where they
remained for about twelve years. From the government Mr. Taylor entered
a tract of land, which, was entirely wild and unimproved when it came into
his possession, but after his retirement from the hotel business he began
the cultivation of his farm and gave to it his energies and attention until his
demise, which occurred in his seventy-seventh year. He was justice of the
peace for many years, was also highway commissioner, and was one of the
pioneers who was closely identified with the early history of the county,
formulating many plans and instituting movements for the general good
and progress of this part of the state. His wife passed away when in her
seventy-seventh year. They were the parents of a daughter and four sons,
of whom one son, Franklin, died in I835, and was buried in the old Morse
graveyard. George died when about twelve years of age, and Caroline is
also deceased. The others are James and Leonard, the former a resident of
Batavia township.
Leonard Taylor was the eldest in his family and was six years of age
when he came to Branch county. His youth was passed in Batavia town



508              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
ship and he began his education in one of the old log schoolhouses common
in pioneer days, his father furnishing the money to build the first school
building of the township. It can readily be imagined that the methods of
instruction, like the building, were somewhat primitive and schools held for
only a brief period during the winter months, but in the summer season
Mr. Taylor was not idle as his attention was given to farm work and he
early became familiar with the task of clearing and cultivating new land.
He remained at home up to the time of his first marriage, which was celebrated in 1852, Miss Roxanna Sweet becoming his wife. They had one
child, Franklin, who died at the age of about sixteen months. Mrs. Taylor died January 4, I854, and Mr. Taylor afterward married Laura A.
Card, a native of Berkshire county, Massachusetts, born on the I4th of
March, I827. Her parents were Weden and Julia (Lamfer) Card and she
was about ten years of acre when the family'came to Michigan, settling in
Lenawee county, where she remained until her marriage. Unto Mr. and
Mrs. Taylor have been born six children: Emma J., now the wife of Charles
Noyes, of Batavia township; Lauretta, the wife of Loren Keys, of Batavia
township; Julia Ann, who died when twenty-one months old; Freddie, who
died at the age of eighteen years; Charles, a farmer of Batavia township;
and E. Watson, who is also, living in that township. Mr. Taylor has provided all of his children with good farms and he still owns about two hundred acres of land, which is a valuable property because of the fertility of
the soil and the excellent improvements which have been placed upon the
farm. He and his wife have travelled life's journey together for more than
a half century, sharing with each other the joys and sorrows, the adversity
and prosperity which checker the careers of all. He has been a Republican
since the organization of the party and has been deeply interested in its
work. He acted as justice of the peace, has been superintendent of the
poor farm for about six years and as a private citizen has supported many
measures that have been of direct and permanent good to the county.
Seventy years have passed since he came to Branch county and he is authority upon matters connected with its history, while in his life he has advanced its interests. His memory goes back to, the time when much of
the county's development was as yet unaccomplished, the forests stood in
their primeval strength, the rivers were nbrided, th rers were urere were no railroads,
no telegraph and telephone. The work of farming had scarcely been begun
through the entire county and the Taylors were among the first settlers in
this part of the state, Leonard Taylor of this review being the oldest resident of Batavia township. He certainly deserves mention among the honored early settlers and with pleasure we present the record of his career to
our readers.
JAMES B. PAUL.
It is not our intention to trace within the confines of the present review
the origin of the Paul family in this country, for elsewhere in this volume
may be found interesting and extended genealogical matter pertaining to
the Pauls, the same embracing a half dozen generations of the family, from










1 (7 0
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I




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


509


those who first settled in this country down to the present youngest living
generations. David Paul, the father of the subject of this review, was born
in Argyle, Washington county, New York, April 16, I819, and he was a
resident of the Empire state until I844, then joining the tide of western
emigration and coming to Michigani and Branch county, settling on section
sixteen, California township, where he spent the remainder of his life. He
was a carpenter by trade, although the most of his time was given to farming, wherein he was notably successful, he finally owning over five hundred
acres of land here. In the early history of this part of the county, and
particularly that of the township of California, Mr. Paul was a prominent
and leading figure and he was a participant in all movements tending toward
the improvement of the country and the betterment of the conditions surrounding the residents here. Before leaving New York state he was married, at Argyle, March II, 1841, to Miss Jane E. Hall, a native of that
place, where she was born August 31, I822. Their union was blessed with
the birth of twelve children, two of whom died in infancy. The other ten,
all of whom reached maturity, were as follows: John died in October, I9OI;
Elizabeth Quimby lives in Ovid, Michigan; James B. is the subject of this
review; David H., Albert and Frank live near Seattle, Washington; George
W. died in I902; Wilson S., Alien W. and Mrs. Emma Vance live in this
township. After long lives of usefulness the parents died here, Mr. Paul's
death occurring November 20, I89o, and that of Mrs. Paul December 13,
1903. Many of their children and grandchildren still reside in this part of
Branch county, where they are known as leading and highly respected people.
James B. Paul, the third child in order of birth of David and Jane
Paul, was born on the old homestead, section sixteen, California township,
January 26, 1847, and his home was in this township almost continuously
until I887, when he went west, locating in the territory of Washington.
There he pre-empted forty acres of land and remained for a period of eight
years, being engaged in farming and other enterprises. In I8915 he returned
to Michigan and Branch county, which has since been his home. Mr. Paul
was married, April 2, 1883, to Miss Emily Colvin, who was born in Kinderhook, Michigan, March 20, 1846. Her father was Oliver D. Colvin, born in
Kingsbury county, New York, May 29, I814, and her mother was Miranda
Mead, also a native of the same county, where she was born December 3,
I816. They were married in New York state and soon thereafter came to
Michigan, locating in Kinderhook, this county. They were among the very
earliest pioneers of Kinderhook township, coming here in 1836, and secured
from the government one hundred and sixty acres of land. Here they made
a comfortable home and here they passed the remainder of their lives, with
the exception of a very few years' residence in the city of Coldwater. Mr.
and Mrs. Colvin had eight children, two of whom died in infancy, the others
being as follows: Lydia E. Webster died in Brooklyn, Michigan; Hiram
Colvin died in California township; Mary C. Hill is living in Reading,
Michigan; Emily Paul is the wife of our subject; Ella Colvin died in Kinderhook; Sarah Paul lives in Seattle, Washington. The parents both died in
Kinderhook, Mr. Colvin May 5, I858, and Mrs. Colvin December I, I866.
Kindrhoo, Mr Colin My                          -




510


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Both were members of the Methodist church and people of high standing in
the community where they lived for so many years. Mr. Colvin was a
Democrat and held many local offices in the early history of Kinderhook
township, while in 1846-47 he represented his county in the State Legislature.
He assisted in the clearing of a large amount of land in Kinderhook township, owning several hundred acres during his lifetime, and was not only
a successful agriculturist but also a man of affairs in other lines, being a
leader in all movements tending toward the development of the section where
he. made his home for so many years.
Mr. James B. Paul since his return in 1895 from the west has made
his home upon his farm on section sixteen, Caiifornia township, the same
being a portion of the old Paul homestead. The farm is an excellent one,
under good cultivation and thoroughly equipped, and in its operation he is
ably assisted by his son, Jay 0. Paul, the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Paul,
who was born February Io, 1884. Jay O. Paul was married, April 26.
I905, to Miss Lulu Braman, who was born in this county, she being the
daughter of Charles Braman, a native of northern Michigan, and Lillie Smith
Braman, who was born in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Braman have been residents
of Algansee township, this county, for the past five years..
The young couple make their home with Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Paul. Both
J. B. Paul and his son, Jay 0., are members of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows No. 283, at California, while Mr. and Mrs. Paul are members
of the Methodist church. Mr. Paul in politics is now an independent voter
and he has been called upon several times to serve his fellow townsmen, he
having been highway commissioner several terms and the present director
of his school district, a position he has held for the past eight years. He
is a man of influence in the township and he and the members of his family
possess the confidence and regard of a very large circle of friends. Mr. and
Mrs. Paul have an old souvenir in the shape of a tailor's goose, which is
over a century old.
C. ROSS WILLIAMS.
C. Ross Williams was born in I868, in Algansee township, where he
still resides. His father, James A. Williams, is a native of Sterling, Cayuga
county, New York, born in 1820, and is of English and Welsh lineage.
There was also some trace of Dutch in the ancestry. About 1853 he came
to Michigan, settling in Algansee. He had been a student in the public
schools of New York and had afterward attended medical lectures in Albany,
and for almost a half century he practiced as a physician and surgeon at
Algansee, but is now living retired in the enjoyment of a well earned rest,
having attained the ripe old age of eighty-five years. In politics he is a
Republican and has been supervisor of Algansee township. He was also
superintendent of public instruction of Branch county and his activity in
public life and his fidelity and devotion to the general good made him a
valued factor in the progress and upbuilding of this portion of the state.
He wedded Miss Mary E. Wilcox, who was born in Stanford, Delaware
county, New York, in 1832, and was of New England stock. Her father,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


511


Harry J. Wilcox, was a native of Connecticut, and following the occupation
of farming, spent his last days in New York. He married a Miss Brown
and they had a family of eleven children, including Mrs. Williams. James
A. Williams was one of a family of five children, having four sisters, and of
this number Mrs. Sarah Howland came to Michigan. Unto the parents of
our subject were born three children:  Herbert J. and Lillian, both deceased; and C. Ross, of this review. The first named became a physician
of note and a skilful surgeon and his death occurred in Tacoma, Washington, in I892, when he was thirty-four years of age.  He married Lulu
Reese, of the state of Washington, and they had one child, Reese R.
C. Ross Williams began his education in the schools of Algansee township and when not busy with his text-books worked on the home farm.
His entire life has been devoted to agricultural pursuits and he makes his
home on section ten, Algansee township.  At one time he owned fortytwo acres on section three of this township but has sold that property.
He belongs to the Presbyterian church, at Quincy, is an Odd Fellow in his
fraternal relations and a Republican in his political views.
JOHN W. CULP.
John W. Culp, for many years identified with agricultural interests
but noiw living a retired life in Coldwater, was born near Lockport, New
York, May 8, 1832.   His father, Nicholas Culp, was among the pioneer
settlers of Branch county, Michigan. His birth occurred in Pennsylvania
and he was of German ancestry, his father being John Culp, but back of
that there is little definite knowledge of the family history. Nicholas Culp
was married in Newfane, New York, to Miss Phoebe Rockwood, who was
born in Niagara county, that state. After their marriage they settled upon
a farm in New York not far from Lockport and in 1837 they removed to
the west, taking up their abode in Girard township, Branch county, Michigan. The journey was made by boat from Buffalo, New York, to Toledo,
Ohio, thence by rail to Adrian and by wagon to Branch county, Michigan.
Throughout his business career he followed farming but about 1864 he
sold his land and retired from active business life, -removing to the town
of Coldwater, where his death occurred in 1873, when he was seventy-six
years of age. His wife died in I86I, when about sixty-two years of age.
They were the parents of six children, namely: Joshua, who died in Chicago in 1892; John W., of this review; Phoebe, the wife of Rodney Twadell, a resident of Quincy, Michigan; Jason T., who died in Coldwater in
1895: Laura, who became the wife of Charles Caldwell and died in 1874;
Harriet, who married Alonzo Bennett and died in I866. The father was
a Whig in his political affiliation until the dissolution of the party, when
he became a staunch advocate of Republican principles. Both he and his
wife were devoted and loyal members of the Presbyterian church and were
held in the highest esteem by a large circle of friends.
John W. Culp was only five years of age when brought by his parents
to Branch county, where he has spent a long and useful life. He was reared
upon the old homestead farm and gained a common school education, re



512


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


ceiving such advantages as 'were afforded in the old log schoolhouses of
the early days. During the period of his youth the Indians were still quite
numerous in the county and there were many hardships and trials incident
to the frontier life to be borne. He assisted in the arduous task of developing and cultivating new land and he remained upon the home farm until
I850, when at the age of eighteen years he came to Coldwater, thinking that
he would find other occupation more congenial than that of farming. Here
he accepted a clerkship in the general store of H. C. Lewis & Company,
with whom he remained until I858. In that year he formed a partnership
with Ives G. Miles in a general store in Coldwater, but later they confined
their attention entirely to the dry goods trade.  Mr. Culp continued his
connection with this business until I869,. During the succeeding five years
he was traveling salesman of a New York house, carrying a line of hats,
caps and furs. His health then failed him and he took up his abode on a
farm in Coldwater township, where he continued to engage in agricultural
pursuits until I9oo, when he again became a resident of the city. He still
owns the old home farm, however.
On the Ioth of June, I858, Mr. Culp was married to Miss Josephine
Goodell, a daughter of Abisha and Barbara (Johnson) Goodell. Her mother
died during the childhood of Mrs. Culp and the father afterward removed
from  Monroe county, New York, to Branch county, Michigan, in I852,
settling in Coldwater, where he died in I861. Mrs. Culp is a native of
Fairport, Monroe county, New York, and by her marriage has become the
mother of two children: Minnie, the wife of Floyd Gage, a farmer of Coldwater township; and Charles, who married Harriet Rice, and resides upon
his father's farm.
Mr. Culp has always endorsed Republican principles, but has never
been an aspirant for office. His wife is a Presbyterian and he attends and
supports that' church, while his membership relations are with the Masonic
fraternity, with which he has attained the master degree. Many years ago
he also belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Culp is
well known as a representative of a worthy pioneer family and because lie
has ever been found on the side of progress, improvement and upbuilding in
public affairs as well as in private and business matters he is classed with
the representative men of this part of the state.
NELSON H. ANDRUS.
Nelson H. Andrus, who has lived in Branch county since 1867, is one
of the prosperous farmers of Quincy township, owning the old homestead
of sixty acres in section fourteen. Reared on a farm and acquiring his education in Quincy and Kalamazoo, he has always been identified with farming
as his active pursuit. Hle breeds and raises thoroughbred Delaine sheep,
a branch of live stock industry in which he takes much pleasure and pride,
and which has been very profitable under his able management. Mr. Andrus
is also vice-president of the Quincy State Bank.
Mr. Andrus was born in Yates county, New York, October 27, I852,
and has never married, he and his sister Lucretia making their home to



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


513


gether. The Andrus family camne from England many years ago, settling
in Connecticut, and later furnished members to the Revolutionary army.
Stephen P. Andrus, father of Nelson I., was born in Montpelier, Vermont,
and was a farmer most of his life, although a cooper by trade. He was a
member of the Methodist church, a class leader, and a licensed exhorter,
and in politics was a Republican.  He moved to Michigan in July, 1867,
buying the farm where his son Nelson now resides. but in the October following he passed away in death, having arrived at the age of fifty-six years.
His wife, maiden name Lucina Rounds, was born in Rensselaer county, New
York, in I813, and died in I875, aged sixty-two. Her parents, Samuel and
Lucy Rounds, came to Michigan in 1837, locating in Hillsdale county, where
they died. Her father was a farmer, and both parents were members of the
MIethodist chulrch. Samuel and Lucy Rounds had nine children, of whom
Lucina was the first, and the others are named as follows: Hosea, deceased;
Samuel, deceased; Elzer, deceased; George, a Kansas farmer; Varnum, also
farming in Kansas; Gilmore, a merchant in Cambria. Hillsdale county, Michigan; Anna, the deceased wife of Chester Stoddard; and Abbie, widow of
James Clizbe, her home being in Quincy.
Stephen P. Andrus was one oif seven children, as follows: Emeline,
Walter, Lavinia, Eliza, Stephen P., Cornelia and William, all of whom are
deceased.  Stephen P. Andrus and wife had twelve children, who are accounted for as follows: Wesley P., who died in I898, had for years been
a prominent hardware merchant at Grand Rapids, and also represented Kent
county in the Michigan senate.  During the Civil war he enlisted from
Illinois in I86I, and, entering the service as first lieutenant, was promoted
to captain olf his company in the Forty-second Illinois Infantry. He served
throughout the war, was with the Army of the Cumberland in all its important engagements, and was wounded three times, the last time at Chattanooga. Lavinia, the second child, is deceased; and Lucretia has already
been mentioned as making her home with her brother Nelson. Samuel, a
retired farmer in Cedar Springs, Michigan, and who for a number of years
was in partnership with his brother Wesley in the hardware business, had
also enlisted with his brother in the Forty-second Illinois and served through
the war, being sergeant of his company.  The daughter Amelia died in
I86I. Emeline is the wife of Israel Thickstun, a Pennsylvania farmer.
Sarah is the wife of Miles Golden, a farmer of Quincy. Lucy died in I904,
Emily lives in Quincy township, Adelia is deceased, and Anna married
Israel Kinyon, a farmer at Quincy.  Nelson H. is the youngest of the
children, and as the subject of this sketch perpetuates the family record
for the benefit of future generations. Mr. Andrus is a staunch. Republican,
and stands foremost among the citizens of the county for public spirit and
personal merit.
JAMES SWAIN.
James Swain, a representative of the educational interests of Branch
county, was born upon a farm in Noble township, this county, October 25,
1867, his parents being John and Rosanna (Appless) Swain. The father




514              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
was born near Reading, Pennsylvania, and was of English lineage. He
spent his boyhood days in the Keystone state, and when a young man went
to Ohio, where he met and married Miss Appless. She was born in Germany, and died in I9oo, at the age of sixty-six years. By her marriage
she became the mother of seven sons and one daughter. It was in I865
that the parents of our subject removed to Michigan, settling in Bethel township, and afterward in Noble township, Branch county. The father is a
farmer, who has followed that work as a life occupation, and he still resides
in Noble township. His fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability,
have frequently called him to public office, and he has served as supervisor,
clerk and treasurer of his township.
James Swain, spending his boyhood days on the home farm, pursued
his early education in the public schools and continued his studies in Burr
Oak and in the Tri-State Normal College at Angola, Indiana. He was
graduated from that institution and was also at one time a student for a
time in the Normal College at Ypsilanti, Michigan. Thorough preliminary
training well qualified him for the profession which he has made a life
work. At the age of twenty-three years he began teaching and has since
been identified with the development of the educational system of Branch
county. He taught in the district schools for a time, spent six years as a
teacher in Sherwood and two years at Bronson. In I896 he was elected a
member of the teachers' examining board. In 1897 he was elected president of the Branch County Teachers' Association, which position he held
for five years. In I903 he was elected commissioner of schools of Branch
county, in which capaciy he is now serving.
Mr. Swain was married in I893 to Miss Louisa L. Russell, and they
have three children, Elwood Thomas, James Russell and Beryl Louisa. Mr.
Swain is a Master Mason, also holding membership relations with the Odd
Fellows and the M/accabees. His study of the political questions and issues
of the day has led him to exercise his right olf franchise in support of the
Republican party, and his religious faith is indicated by his membership
in the Christian church.  He stands as an advocate of progress and improvement along all lines for the benefit of the county and has gained for
himself a creditable position in educational circles.
MRS. ADELINE GRANGER.
Mrs. Adeline Granger is the only surviving daughter of James B. and
Eliza (Ames) Tompkins, who were among the earliest settlers of Branch
county, and the name is inseparably interwoven with the history of this
part of the. state because of the active part which its representatives have
taken in reclaiming the once wild region for the purpose of civilization and
making it the most habitable region with all the advantages and conveniences
known to the older east. The father was born in Schoharie county, New
York, June 28, I804. He was married at Tecumseh, Michigan, in February,
1832, to Eliza Ames, whose birthplace was the town of Colchester, Chittenden county, Vermont, her natal day being March 3, I813. Believing
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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


515


for his family in the west, Mr. Tompkins came to Branch county and was
among the first to establish a home in the hitherto undeveloped regions of
Girard township, where he soon became known as the leading citizen-a
position of prestige which was accorded him throughout his entire life. He
was a surveyor and made the first survey in Girard township and Branch
county, and he carried on general agricultural pursuits, developing a fine
farm in the midst of the wilderness. He lived an honorable, upright life,
following principles which gained him the unqualified respect and confidence
of his fello'wmen, and on the Ist of August, I879, was called to his final rest,
the community deploring the loss of one of its most valued citizens. His
wife passed away December 6, I902, at the advanced age of ninety years.
Further mention of the parents is made in the sketch of J. Theron Tompkins
on another page of this work.
Adeline Tompkins spent her girlhood days in her parents' home, where
she was carefully trained in the duties of the household, and in early womanhood she gave her hand in marriage to Alexander Fox, who passed away
April I8th, I865, aged forty-four years and four months, also a member of
one of the early families of this part of the state. They had two children:
Mary, born in Girard on April 23, I860, and died January 30, I86I, and
Charles G., born in Girard on June 25, I862, and died of smallpox in a
Chicago hospital on December 17, I88I, when nineteen years of age.
The following lines were written in his memory by a friend:
Stricken down in the midst of the riotous city,
Far from dear home and a fond mother's care;
Poor boy, you are worthy of tenderest pity,
Poor hero, there are those whom your horror can share.
Most truly a hero, though never in battle,
Though death's battle lost is the hardest of all;
Though far from dear mother, kind faces were gathered
Around thy low cot in the hospital hall.
Pure Sisters of Charity hovered around you
In sweet ministrations where others would fly;
They closed thy sad eyes from earth's gaze forever,
They heard thy last murmur, Tell mamma goodbye.
The ring and the watch will ever be treasured
As relics sad of that saddest of days;
When poor Charlie was borne from the care of comrade,
To quell the dread ravage and keep it at bay.
The Infinite marks the fall of the sparrow,
And enfolds you His child with His wise loving arm;
He will throw the wide gates and free you from sorrow,
You are one of the fold, He will shield you from harm.




516             HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
0, poor saddened mother and sweet little sister,
Think not of the form that lies under the sod;
But turn your eyes up through the shadows existing,
And see there a Heaven, a Father, a God.
Mrs. Granger became the wife of Frances Granger, of Tekonsha, Calhoun county, by whom she had one daughter, Hattie Granger, who became
the wife of Dr. J. H. Anderson, and had two sons, Garnet and Granger
Anderson, who are living with their father at Union City, Michigan. The
mother died in Girard township, July 23, i897. The following excerpt
appeared in one of the local papers:
" Hattie, wife of Dr. Anderson, died Friday afternoon, July 23, aged
twenty-three years. Hattie Granger was born in Tekonsha, September Io,
I874, and came to Girard to live when a small girl. She was married to
Dr. James Anderson, of this place, July I, I892. Two little boys, one a
baby two weeks old, came to them and need a loving mother's care. But
our Heavenly Father knew best and has transplanted her to the Heavenly
home. Mrs. Anderson was a general favorite and was a lively character,
and will be much missed by her many friends and by the husband and children and mother, who is now left childless by her death. The funeral was
held Sunday afternoon in the Methodist Episcopal church and was one of
the largest ever held here. The sermon was preached by Rev. Pinckard, of
Constantine. The casket was borne by six young married men, and their
wives preceded the casket bearing the floral designs, which were very beautiful. Dr. Grube sang that beautiful hymn 'One sweetly solemn thought.'
The interment was made in the Girard cemetery."
"It was long before twilight
On Friday that day;
The news had been scattered
Far, near and away,
That Hattie, our darling,
Had just passed away.
"She was willing and ready
Her task to perform,
And never did shrink
Though not very strong.
' She was jolly, light hearted,
And pleasant each day,
And always was willing
Her Master to obey.
"Her children and home
That she loved so wellThe extent of her love
My pen cannot tell






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


517


"Rev. Pinckard was sent for,
Our pastor of yore;
And preached just as beautiful
As ever before.
"The song so appropriate,
By Dr. Grube sung;
Will long be remembered
By everyone.
"One chair is left vacant,
One home is made sad;
There are hearts torn and bleeding,
And hearts that feel bad.
"Only a few years
Here did she stay;
When the Master called,
And she went His way,
"To dwell with the angels,
In mansions above;
Prepared by our Savior
With tenderest love.
"She was only a lamb
From the Shepherd's fold;
Now with the flock
Where there is no cold,
( No sorrow or pain,
No trouble or care,
And to live in a home
That the Lord did prepare.
"So, husband and children
And parents who are left;
Let your hearts be content,
For the Lord knoweth best."
With the exception of a few years spent in Tekonsha, Mrs. Granger has
always resided in Girard township and for a number of years she cared for
her aged mother, who passed away when nearly ninety years of age. Mrs.
Granger still occupies a comfortable home in Girard Center and she has
many warm friends in this part of the country, where the Tompkins family
has long been prominently known.




518


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


CLARENCE B. SPORE.
Clarence B. Spore, who, from the age of thirteen years, has been a
resident of Union City, where he is now well known as an extensive dealer
in coal, was born in Carroll county, Ohio, January 17, 1856. His father,
Enos Spore, was also a native of that county, and in I869 arrived in Union
City, Michigan, where he began the operation of a planing mill. He was
not long permitted to enjoy his new home, however, his death occurring
soon after his removal to this state. He had married Augusta Gregory,
also a native of Ohio, and her death occurred several years ago. They were
the parents of eight children, of whom six reached adult age.
C. B. Spore, the eldest of the children, spent the first thirteen years
of his life in the Buckeye state and then accompanied his parents on their
removal to Union City, where he has since lived, completing his education
in the public schools here. He entered upon his business career as a clerk
in a general store and was thus employed for about six years, when he
turned his attention to, the trade of a barber, carrying on a shop in Union
City for about eleven years. He had a good patronage during that time,
and his financial resources continually increased so that in I889 he was
enabled to embark in another business enterprise. He became a wholesale
dealer in wood and a retail dealer in coal, and at one time he shipped thirty
thousand cords of wood per year, making shipment to Jackson. He has
been in the coal business for about five years and now sells to both the
wholesale and retail trade, having an extensive patronage. He takes contracts from all schools and churches and has a large business, selling about
one hundred and seventy-five carloads of coal per year, including fifty carloads of anthracite. His trade is constantly growing and has already reached
extensive and profitable proportions. In addition to this business he is the
owner of a valuable farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Calhoun county,
about seven miles from Union City.
Mr. Spore was married in November, I89I, to Miss Jennie E. Walker,
a daughter of Riley W. Walker, and they are well known in social circles
in Union City, while the hospitality of their own home is greatly enjoyed
by their many friends. Mr. Spore is an interested, active and valued member of the Knights of the Maccabees and the Royal Arcanum, while in his
political views he is a Republican. Endowed by nature with sound judgment, he realized that work is the basis of all success and he has not feared
that laborious attention to business so necessary to achieve prosperity, and
this essential quality has ever been guided by methods that would tolerate
the employment of a course that would bear the most rigid examination
and by a fairness of intention that has neither sought nor required disguise.
FRANK SWAIN.
Frank Swain, who has perhaps built seventy-five per cent of the houses
in Sherwood and is still extensively engaged in business as a contractor and
builder at this place, was born in Linn county, Missouri, at what is now
called St. Catherine, September I, I859. His father, Charles E. Swain,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


519


is a native of New York and yet resides in Branch county. The son, Frank,
is the eldest of a family of five sons, all of whom have reached manhood.
HIe was only about four years old, however, when he came with his parents
to this county, the family home being established in Union township, where
he was reared upon a farm. He acquired his education in the district schools
and the graded school of Sherwood and in the summer months he aided
in the labors of the field. After putting aside his text-books he resided at
home until his marriage, which was celebrated on March I, 1884, Miss
Elizabeth Shelts becoming his wife.  Her parents, Jackson and Margaret
(H-awn) Shelts. came from   Ohio to Branch county about I866.     The
daughter was born in Huron county, Ohio, and was quite young when
brought to this state. At the time of their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Swain
located in Sherwood in the home which is still their place of residence. He
began contracting and building when a young man of only nineteen years,
and has followed his chosen vocation extensively in Branch, St. Joseph and
other counties.  He has built a number of fine residences in the city and
other places, and has erected about seventy-five per cent of the buildings
in Sherwood, so that this place is largely a monument to his skill, enterprise and business ability. He has been very successful, and back of his
prosperity is a thorough understanding of the builder's art, a conscientious
performance of every duty and unqualified faithfulness to the terms of a contract awarded him.
Mr. Swain has always taken an active and helpful interest in local
politics, giving-his support to the Republican party. He served as a trustee
of the village of Sherwood in former years and is now occupying the same
office. He has held other minor positions, having been township clerk and
a member of the school board, while in I895-6 he was sheriff of Branch
county.  His duties in the last named position were discharged without
fear or favor and he became a menace to all criminal classes, while those
who, hold themselves amenable to law   regarded him  with a feeling of
safety. He has worked earnestly for Republican successes, believing firmly
in the principles of the party, and he keeps well informed on the questions
and issues of the day. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and the Knights
of the Maccabees. He has lived in Branch county for nearly forty years,
and during this period has proven his loyalty to all that concerns public
progress and improvement.   He possesses a decision of character which
never degenerates into stubbornness or impulsive haste, but has made him
a man of firm purposes, commanding the respect and confidence of all. In
social circles he is courteous and affable and at all times, whether in public
or private life, he is regarded as a man of his word, his integrity being
above question.
HUGH McMURRAY.
One of the oldest residents of the township of California and southern
Branch county, where he is known as a prosperous farmer and a highly
esteemed citizen, is the gentleman named above, Mr. Hugh McMurray,
who has lived here for the past half century. Mr. McMurray was born
near Belfast, Ireland, August 13, 1830, and like most of the residents of




520             HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
county Down, where he was born, he was of Scotch ancestry. His father
was John McMurray and his mother was Mary Frim, both natives of Ireland, where they spent their entire lives. Here John McMurray was a farmer,
and he and his wife were members of the Presbyterian church and people
of high character. They were the parents of eight children, all of whom
grew to maturity, and nearly all of whom came to America, although both
of their parents died before the date of their emigration. The record of
these children is as follows: Moses came to Michigan and Branch county,
and passed the remainder of his life here, dying in California township in
I880; Samuel made his home in Canada; John died in Ireland; William
was in the English army; Hugh is our subject; Margaret and Nancy died
in California township; and Elizabeth died in Hillsdale county.
Hugh McMurray learned the weaver's trade in Ireland, at which he
worked considerably, also finding employment there in farming. He was
only eighteen years of age when he came to this country, and his first home
was near Rochester, New York, where he remained for a few years, then
coming to Michigan and Branch county in I853. Here he and his elder
brother, Moses, engaged in farming and were partners until the death of
the latter. Their first purchase was fifty acres, to which they in later years
added several other tracts, and at one time owned two hundred and thirty
acres. The most of this land was at the time of purchase uncleared and
unimproved and they labored long and faithfully in bringing it under cultivation and in erecting the necessary buildings.
Our subject was married in the autumn of I86i to Jane E. Greer, who
was born in Armagh, Ireland, October 6, 1844. Her father was John
Greer and her mother was Mary Ann Murphy, both natives of Ireland,
although John Greer's father was born in Scotland. John and Mary Ann
Greer were the parents of twelve children, five of whom died in infancy
and early childhood. These were as follows: Joseph died in Ireland when
twenty-one years old; George died in New York state; Robert died in Oakland county, Michigan; John and James died in Kinderhook township;
William died in California township; Jane E. McMurray, the youngest of
the family, and the only one now living, is the wife of our subject. John
Greer and family came to America from Ireland in 1853, and they first
located in New York state, where Mr. Greer died in 1855, at the age of
sixty-five years. A few years thereafter Mrs. Greer, her son, James, and
her daughter, Jane E., came to Michigan and Branch county, where Mrs.
Greer died May I, I88I, at the age of eighty-seven years. In Ireland Mr.
Greer was an Episcopalian, while Mrs. Greer was a member of the Presbyterian church.
The marriage of Hugh and Jane McMurray has been blessed with the
birth of eleven children, eight of whom are living: Everett died at the
age of seven years, Moses at thirteen years and Agnes at nineteen years.
Eliza married Dennis Bascom and their home is in this township; they
have three children, Agnes, Floyd and Edna. John married Lillian Waldron; they have two children, Hugh and Lloyd, and they live here. James
married Harriet Terwilliger and their home is in Toledo. Edgar married


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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


521


Vine Teeters and they have one son, Dean, their home being here. Mary
married Warren Southworth; they live at Edgerton, Ohio, and have one
son, Duane. Charles married Viola Hammond and they live in this township, they having one daughter, Rosaline. Alva married Anna Goodwin;
they have one son, Herbert, and an infant daughter, and their home is in
this township. Ella, the only unmarried child, resides at home with her
parents. Thus it will be seen that this worthy couple in the later years of
their lives are surrounded by their children and grandchildren, although
they still occupy their own comfortable farm home. Once a year all of
the relatives assemble for a reunion and these family gatherings are most
happy affairs.
Mr. McMurray's first farm home in this township was on section six,
but he has lived upon his present farm about twenty-five years. The place
is well equipped with good buildings and under excellent cultivation, although of late years Mr. McMurray has not performed a great amount of
labor himself. His has been an industrious life, and he has seen this section developed from new country to its present fertile condition.  In his
efforts to provide a comfortable home for 'his loved ones he has found a
most capable helpmeet in Mrs. McMurray, who has shared his joys and
sorrows for so many years. They have reared their large family carefully,
giving them good practical educations, and now they see them with homes
and families of their own. Mrs. McMurray is a member of the Presbyterian church. Mr. McMurray was in earlier years a Whig, but has been
a Republican ever since the formation of that political party.  His first
presidential vote was cast for General Scott. He has been called upon several times to serve his fellow townsmen, being township highway commissioner for three years and township drain commissioner for several terms,
while in the early years of his residence here he was school director for
eight years and school assessor for one year. His life has been a long avd
useful one and his relatives and friends trust that he has many happy years
still before him.
PERRY DARWIN GRAY.
Perry Darwin Gray, who since I9I0 has resided on his present farm
on sections thirty-one and thirty-two, Algansee township, where he has one
hundred and eighty-five acres, and who is a minister of the Gospel in the
Christian church, but is at present preaching for the Congregational church in
the village of Algansee, was born on Christmas day, I869, in the township
where he now makes his home. His father, Darwin L. Gray, was born in
Ashfield, Massachusetts, April 30, 1824, and was of Scotch lineage. In
I6o6 the Grays removed from Scotland to the north of Ireland, and in the
year 1718 John Gray crossed the Atlantic to the new world, settling in
Pelham, Massachusetts, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits. Robert
Gray, the great-grandfather of Mr. Gray of this review, was a soldier of
the Continental army and served throughout the struggles which freed the
colonies from the yoke of British oppression. His son, Eli Gray, the grandfather of our subject, became the founder of the family in Michigan, remov



522              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
ing from Ashfield, Massachusetts, to Algansee township, Branch county, in
I836. He married Betsey Lyon, a native of Connecticut, and a cousin of
Mary E. Lyon, the founder of Mount Holyoke Seminary, at Mount Holyoke,
Massachusetts, and a daughter of David Lyon, who was a native of Connecticut and was of English lineage. Eli Gray was the father of twelve
children, of whom, four were born of his first marriage, namely: Flavilla,
the wife of Luther Ward, of Ashfield, Massachusetts; Eleanor, William, and
Robert. By his second wife, Betsey Lyon, he had eight children, as follows: Betsey, now deceased; Lydia, the widow of Hon. Jonathan Sherer, of
Plymouth, Michigan; Sarah, the wife of J. E. Potter, of Nebraska; Mary,
who has departed this life; Darwin; Jerome, a farmer of Glidden, Iowa;
Ralph, deceased; and Edwin, who served with Company A, Ninth Michigan
Volunteer Regiment in the Civil war and participated in many important
engagements, but has died since the close of hostilities.
Darwin Gray had but limited educational privileges. He was always
a farmer and came with his parents to Michigan in r836, becoming one
of the pioneer settlers of Algansee township. Although a poor boy, by
thrift and industry he became a prosperous, successful and'prominent man
of the county, whose business reputation was unassailable, and he was equally
loyal to every obligation that devolved upon him. Identified with the township through long years he stood very high in the esteem of his neighbors
and friends as a man of sterling integrity. He became a member of the
Baptist church in his early days and his interest in political questions and
issues led him to cast his ballot for the men and measures of the Republican party. He married Julia Ann Archer, who was born in Orleans county,
New York, September 25, I834. Her father, Benjamin Archer, was a native
of the same state and came to Michigan in pioneer times, establishing his
home in Algansee county. He was a member of the Fifteenth Michigan
Infantry in the Civil war, enlisting at Coldwater in I86I, and was killed at
the battle of Shiloh. He married Miss Sophronia Schofield and they became
the parents of seven children: Asher F. resides in Algansee; Benjamin,
a merchant, at Hart, Michigan, who was a member of the Fourth Michigan
Cavalry; Sophronia, the wife of Joseph Mallison, a farmer, living in Ferry,
Michigan; and Mrs. Gray, who is the eldest living member of the family
and is now seventy-one years of age. She was twice married, her first
husband being Porter Fales, who was a native of New York, and came to
Michigan at an early day. He enlisted for service in the Union army with
the First Michigan Sharp Shooters in I864, and sustained a gunshot wound
before Petersburg. He was taken to the hospital at Washington, where
gangrene set in and he died shortly afterward. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Fales
were born five children: Ella, the wife of Robert Henderson, a farmer of
Goodland, Indiana; Noah P., who lives with his brother Perry; Sabra, the
wife of Albert Street, a farmer of Harrisburg, Michigan; Martha May, the
wife of James Vannuys of Fremont, Indiana; and one who died in infancy.
After losing her first husband Mrs. Fales gave her hand in marriage to Mr.
Gray and there were three children of that union: Perry D.; Cynthia J.,
the wife of Ebba Corless, an engineer in the Quincy power house; and




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


523


George Milan, who died in infancy. Mr. Gray died on the Ist of May,
I897, and is still survived by his widow, who is now seventy-one years of
age. She is a member of the Presbyterian church.
Mr. Perry D. Gray was reared upon the home farm and supplemented
his district school education by a course of study in the Tri-State Normal
College at Angola, Indiana, after which he engaged in teaching school for
three winters. He has engaged in preaching since eighteen years of age,
having been ordained as a minister of the Christian church at Keokuk,
Iowa, in I89I, by Elder J. H. Carr. He has served as pastor of the following churches: Golden Point, Illinois; New  London, Iowa; Kirksville,
Iowa; North English and Keota, Iowa; Decatur, Michigan, and is now
preaching at Algansee. He returned from Iowa to his farm in I897, settling on his present place of residence in I91I. Here he has one hundred
and eighty-five acres of rich and productive land on sections thirty-one and
thirty-two, Algansee township, which he manages and at the same time carries on his work as a minister of the Gospel.
On the 23d of October, I890, Mr. Gray was married to Miss Myrtie P.
Carr, whose birth occurred in De Kalb county, Indiana, on the 5th of
August, 1872. Her father, James P. Carr, of Angola, Indiana, is a machinist by trade and became foreman of a large shop. He married May M.
Fetterhoff, a native of Ohio, and both are still living. Of their two children one has passed away. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gray have been born two
daughters and a son: Julia M., born October I6, I891; Mildred E., born
March 9, I896; and Darwin C., who was born September 2, 9o00, and died
October 5, 1902. Like her husband, Mrs. Gray is a devoted member of
the Christian church. He has fraternal relations and both he and his wife
affiliate with the Order of the Eastern Star.  His political allegiance is
given to the Republican party and he is filling the office of justice of the
peace, discharging his duties with due regard to the equity and law of the
case. His influence is ever on the side of right and truth and his labors in
the ministry have been a potent element in the moral development of the
various localities where he has served as pastor of the Christian church.
LEONARD FRANKLIN HUMPHREY.
Leonard Franklin Humphrey, member of the law firm of Newberry
& Humphrey, of Coldwater, was born in Auburn, Indiana, April I6, I862,
his parents being Lyman and Fanny (Williams) Humphrey, who were natives of New York, but were married at Albioln, Michigan. They lived
for about five years at Auburn, Indiana, and then came to Branch county,
Michigan, in 1863, settling in Butler township, where they resided for many
years. They next settled in Algansee township, where the succeeding seven
years were passed, when they took up their abode in the village of Canandaigua, in Lenawee county. There the father died in May, 1903, at the
very venerable age of ninety years, one month and fifteen days. He had
followed farming through his active business life, thus providing for his
family. His widow still survives at the age of seventy-two years. They
were the parents of five sons and two daughters.




524


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Leonard F. Humphrey was reared on his father's farm and continued
his education in the public schools until he had become a high school student.  Not desiring to engage-in agricultural pursuits as a life work, he
took up the study of law in the office of William E. Ware, and later the
firm of Barlow & Loveridge were his preceptors. He was admitted to the
bar April I6, I885, and located for practice in Coldwater, where he has
since remained, being now a member of the firm of Newberry & Humphrey, with a large and rapidly increasing clientage. Nature seems to have
endowed him with the peculiar qualifications that combine to make a successful lawyer, for he is patiently persevering, possesses an analytical mind
and one that is readily receptive and retentive of the fundamental principles and intricacies of the law. He is fearless in the advocacy of any
cause he may espouse, is quick to comprehend subtle problems and is logical
in his conclusions. He belongs to both the Branch County and the Michigan State Bar Associations.
On the 25th of March, I885, Mr. Humphrey was married to Miss
Cora M. Stiles, of Coldwater, a graduate of the Fort Wayne (Indiana)
Conservatory of Music. They have an interesting son, Victor S.
Mr. Humphrey votes with the Democracy and holds membership relations with the Modern Woodmen of America, the Ancient Order of United
Workmen and the Methodist church, and his identification therewith is an
indication of his character and the motives which control his relations with
his fellow-men. His life history is notable from the fact that from the age
of thirteen years he has been dependent upon his own resources, but early
realizing that "there is no excellence without labor," he applied himself
diligently to the mastery of his law studies and has displayed the same close
application, indefatigable energy and laudable ambition and determination
in the conduct of his legal business since becoming a member of the bar of
Coldwater.
HON. AMOS MATTESON GARDNER.
Hon. Amos M. Gardner, numbered with the prominent farmers of
Branch county, is living on section eleven, Matteson township. His birth
occurred in the town of Burlington, Otsego county, New York, March I8,
1833. The family is of Scotch origin and was founded in America at an
early day. The grandfather, Samuel Gardner, died in New York. The
father, Hiram Gardner, was a native of Vermont, where he remained until
about eighteen years of age, when he removed to Otsego county, New
York. He was a farmer by occupation, always following that pursuit in
order to provide for his family. In Otsego county he was married to Miss
Permelia Matteson, a native of Rhode Island and a, daughter of Amos
Matteson, who came to Michigan about 1833, locating on the banks of
Matteson lake. The township of Matteson was named in his honor, for
he was one of its first settlers and a most progressive citizen, who contributed in large measure to the work of public improvement. In I836 Mr.
Gardner arrived in Branch county and the following year he brought his
family, settling in Matteson township, where he entered from the govern



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


52 5


ment three tracts of land of eighty acres each, which is still in possession
of the family. He became closely identified with the events which constituted the early annals of the county, and did all in his power to improve
upon the methods which were calculated to advance the interests of this
part of the state. He served as supervisor of his township for many years
and was one of the commissioners to locate the county seat.  Prominent
and influential in public affairs he had a very wide acquaintance and did
much toward molding public thought and opinion in Branch county.  His
political allegiance was always given to the Democracy, and while taking
an active part in matters relating to the general good he also carefully
promoted his business interests and improved an excellent farm. He died
ill his seventy-fifth year, respected and honored by all who knew him.
Unto him and his wife were born eight children, three sons and five
daughters. One of the sons was shot at an early date, while waiting for
deer in the night.  The others reached adult age and six of the number
are now living, A. M. Gardner being the eldest. The others are: Samuel;
Eunice, the wife of John Benedict, of Niles. Michigan; Delia, the wife of
George Clark, of Constantine, Michigan; Celinda, the wife of M. Daniels
of Sherwood, this state; and Parmelia, the wife of C. H. Goodwin, of
Colon, Michigan.
A. M. Gardner was only four years old when he was brought by his
parents to Branch county, the family home being established in Mattesor
township. On the journey hither from    the state of New   York they
came as far as Buffalo on the old -Erie canal, and incidents along this canal
Mr. Gardner can recall as if but yesterday. From Buffalo to Monroe, Michigan, the journey was continued on a boat, and from Monroe to Adrian,
Michigan, they came via the old wooden railroad drawn by horses. Thence
from  Adrian to Matteson the Gardner family were met by an ox-team
owned by Joseph Rudd, and the entire trip to the township of Matteson
was made in this pioneer style. The family lived with Grandfather Amos
Matteson till October, when they moved into a primitive log cabin which
had no windows, doors nor floor. There were plenty of wolves and deer,
and once in a -while a bear was to; be seen. He has seen many of the red
men or Indians, and there was a trail that ran across the Gardner estate
on down southeast near the old county seat, Branch.   Mr. Gardner has
killed deer in Matteson township. Among his relics he has a mirror close
to one hundred years old and given him by his mother. When they came to
Branch county the mail came once each month, and each letter cost twentyfive cents, while now the mail is delivered at the door each day. He has
used the old four-fingered cradle, having thus cut hundreds of acres.  He
has lived, as it were, in the Victorian age, when all of the great inventions
of the present twentieth century, such as the great railway systems, the
telegraph, the telephlone, the rural free delivery and other great improvements have been made since he has been a resident of Branch county. Mr.
Gardner was reared upon his father's farm, acquiring his education in a
little log schoolhouse of the early days, where he pursued his studies for
about two months each year. During the remainder of the year he worked




526


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


at farm labor and in the winter that he was twenty-four years of age he
attended the Culver school in Matteson township. Reading, observation and
experience, however, have largely broadened his knowledge and made him
a well informed man. He spent two summers in Kansas, engaged in farming, having entered from the government a claim of one hundred and sixty
acres in Coffey county. Following his return to Branch county, in partnership with his brother Samuel, he rented his father's farm for three years
and then with the capital he had acquired through his own labors he purchased one hundred acres in the midst of the green forest, incurring an
indebtedness of two thousand dollars by so doing. With characteristic energy he began clearing this property and cultivating the fields and he has
added to his landed possessions from time to time until he now has three
hundred and twenty acres, constituting a well improved farm. Upon this
is a modern residence, large and substantial barns and other outbuildings
for the shelter of grain and stock.  In fact, there is no equipment of a
model farm lacking, and everything about the place is indicative of the
careful supervision of a progressive owner.
On January I, 1863, Mr. Gardner was married to Miss Ellen Wheeler,
of Franklin, Lenawee county, Michigan, who died June 9, I886, leaving
four children, namely: Ella, now the wife of Eli Keyes, of Decatur, Michigan; Gertie, the wife of T. D. Turner, a resident farmer of Matteson
township; Donna, a teacher in the schools of Coldwater; and Bernice, the
wife of Arthur Stoute, of Kalamazoo, Michigan.  In I890 Mr. Gardner
was again married, his second union being with Sarah Johnson, a daughter
of J. 0. and Julia Johnson. Mirs. Gardner was born in Matteson township,
where she has spent her entire life.
At one time Mr. Gardner was actively interested in politics and wav
a stanch and unfaltering advocate of the Republican party. He served as
supervisor of M'atteson township for ten years, and in I884 was elected to
the state legislature, representing his district for one term.  He has been
the champion of all plans and measures instituted for the good of the community and with the history of Branch county and its development he has
been closely identified.  He has seen it transformed from  a wilderness
to its present condition of high cultivation and of superior industrial and
commercial achievement. He is now the oldest living resident of Matteson
township, having made his home within its borders for sixty-eight years,
and his mind bears the impress of the historic annals of the county and
state and forms a connecting link between the primitive past and the progressive present. His life has been actuated by principles of integrity and
worth and his career has reflected credit and honor upon his fellow townsmen who have honored him.
FRED J. CONKLIN.
Fred J. Conklin, following the occupation of farming in Ovid township, is living on section sixteen, where he owns and operates one hundred
and fourteen acres of land devoted to general agricultural pursuits. The
property, is well improved, indicating in its excellent appearance the careful




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


supervision of the owner. Mr. Conklin is a native son of this township,
having been born on the I2th of August, I864. His father, James D.
Conklin, was one of the early settlers and representative citizens of Branch
county and was a native of Genesee county, New York, where; his birth
occurred in 1827.  He came to Branch county when about twenty-three
years of age, settling in Ovid township upon a farm on section thirty-six.
He purchased one hundred ard sixty acres of land and at once began to
cultivate and improve the property, transforming the tract into, very productive fields. A few years after his arrival here he was married to Miss
May Wolf, a native of Ohiol, in which state she was also reared.  She
journeyed to Michigan with her parents, who traveled across the country
and through the " dismal swamp." By her marriage she became the mother
of seven children, four sons and three daughters, of whom Fred J. Conklin
was the fourth child and third son. Three of the number are now deceased.
All were born and reared in Branch county. The parents hold membership
in the Baptist church and are highly esteemed as worthy pioneer people
whol have contributed in substantial measure to the development and upbuilding of this part of the state. In his political views Mr. Conklin has
always been a Republican and for eight years served as justice of the peace,
while for several terms he was township clerk. He was a member of the
school board, and everything that tends to advance intellectual, material or
moral progress receives his endorsement and co-operation.
Fred J. Conklin was reared in Kinderhook township, and was a district school student in his youth, thereby acquiring a fair knowledge of
the branches of English learning. In the summer months he assisted his
father in the operation of the home farm, continuing to, work in the fields
up tor the time of his marriage, which occurred in Branch county on the
Ist of December, I885, the lady of his choice being Miss Laura A. Paradine, who was born in Ovid township on the 3d of April, 1867, and is a
daughter of William W. and Sarah (Higgins) Paradine, who emigrated
from Ohio to Michigan at an early day. The father was born in England
in 1836 and left that country for the United States in I855. He first
located on a farm near Cleveland, Ohio, but after two years came to Branch
county, settling in Ovid township, where he reared his family. He, too,
has been a life-long Republican and takes an active interest in politics.
Fred J. Conklin took up his abode on his present farm in I892, having
here one hundred and fourteen acres of land which is rich and arable and
responds readily to the care and cultivation which he bestows upon it. He
uses the latest improved machinery in tilling the soil and harvesting the
crops and is thoroughly up-to-date in his methods of farm work, securing
through his unremitting diligence and perseverance a very desirable competence.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Conklin has been blessed with a son and
two daughters, but the son, James W., who was born June 17, I894, died
on the 26th of September, I895. The daughters are: Gertrude B., who
was born October 20, i886; and Leona M., March 29, I889. Both Mr. and
Mrs. Conklin are widely known in this part oif the state and enjoy the




528              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
friendship of many with whom they have come in contact. He has always
been deeply interested in the work of public improvement and progress and
his fellow townsmen have frequently called him to office. He served as
treasurer of Kinderhook township for two terms and has been clerk of
Ovid township for three terms. In the spring of 1905 he was elected supervisor on the Republican ticket and is now filling that office, exercising his
official prerogatives in support of those plans and measures which are destined to prove of benefit to the community at large.
ALVARADO B. RANSOM.
Alvarado B. Ransom was born on the farm on which he now resides,
on section two, Algansee township, his natal day being December II, I846.
His father, Francis D. Ransom, was a native of Cayuga county, New York,
was of English descent and died in the year 1884. His son spent his youth
upon the old homestead farm, on which his father had located during the
pioneer epoch in the history of the county. He worked in the fields during
his boyhood days and has always devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits and throughout his business career has made a specialty of the raising
of Durham stock. In all of his work he is enterprising and manages his
affairs with good business ability and keen discernment, his labors therefore
bringing him a justly merited return. He, likewise owns an interest in
the Quincy National Bank building, at Quincy, Michigan.
June 8, 1872, Alvarado B. Ransom was married to Sarah E. Handy,
who was born in Greece township, Monroe county, New York, August 9,
1847. Her father, Cyrus Handy, was likewise a native of Connecticut, and
on removing to the middle west in I846 settled first in Indiana, where he
remained for forty years. He then came to Michigan, where he resided
for a short time, after which he returned to the Hoosier state. He was a
farmer by occupation and his labors brought him a fair measure of success.
His religious views were indicated by his membership in the Baptist church
and by his active work for the furtherance of all of its different departments
of labor. In politics he was a Republican and for a number of years was
justice of the peace, discharging his duties with due regard to the equity
and law of the case. He married Miss Maria Cole, a native of Ovid,
Seneca county, New York, and both have passed away. In their family
were the following named: Stephen, deceased; Mrs. Ransom; Matilda,
who married and has now departed this life; Homer, a farmer and carpenter, residing in Fremont, Muskegon county, Michigan; Hiram, who follows farming near Clear Lake, Indiana; and Mattie, deceased.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ransom have been born four children, but they lost
their first born, Alma. Nettie is the wife of George Thompson, of Quincy,
Michigan. Maude is at home. Florence is the wife of Earl Shoemaker,
who is living on her father's farm. The parents are members of the Algansee Baptist church, in which Mr. Ransom has served as deacon and he has
ever taken an active and helpful part in church and Sunday-school work,
doing everything in his power to promote the growth and extend the influence of the church. He likewise belongs to the Grange and is a Republi

a ~








10k~




4
I
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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


529


can in his political views. Having been called to office he has served as
justice of the peace and highway commissioner, and is a man reliable and
trustworthy in all life's relations, whether in public office, in business affairs
or in social circles.
James A. Ransom, bother of Alvarado, B. Ransom, was born in Elbridge,
Onondaga county, New York, in 1838, and he, too, was reared to farm
life and acquired his education in the district schools. He was a teacher in
a writing school for two terms but otherwise has always followed the occupation of farming. He became a resident of Michigan in.1842 and settled
on a farm now owned by his brother Alvarado. At the present writing his
home is on section two, Algansee township, where he owns and operates
one hundred and twenty acres of land.
In I862 James Ransom, wedded Mary A. Finney, who was born in
Ovid township, this county, October 2, 1845, and died December 1, 866.
Her father, Luther Finney, was a native of Canada and came to Branch
county at a very early day, settling in Ovid township, where he followed the
occupation of farming. Subsequently he removed to Algansee, where his
death occurred. His wife bore the maiden name of Miss Butterfield.
Unto James Ransom by his first marriage were born two, children:
Chloe, who became the wife of Edward Fillmore and after his death married
Charles Wheeler, but is now deceased; and Adella J., who, married Wesley
Darling, and after his death became the wife of Joseph Moore, a painter,
living in Oakland county, Michigan. For his second wife James Ransom
chose Arzena A. Hayes, in I868. She was born in Onondaga county, July
19, I84I, and passed away on the 25th of February, I875. Her parents,
Hiram and Almeda Hayes, were natives of New York and came to Michigan
about I856, settling in the town of Quincy, where the father followed the
occupation of farming. By this marriage there were three children: Carrie,
the wife of Louis Van Geisen, who is living on the Upper Peninsula; George
H., a farmer, residing in Quincy township; and Harley D., of Reading
township. The sons are also married.   Mr. Ransom's third wife, whom
he married in I878, bore the maiden name of Ella L. Darling, and was born
in Hillsdale county, Michigan, in I85I, a daughter of Benjamin and Lovisa
Darling. Her parents were natives of the state of New York, and came to
Michigan in I837. By the third marriage there are five children: Olive
L., who was born September 20, 1879, and is the wife of Varney WV Ferguson, living on her father's farm; Adelbert J., who was born in I88I, and
is at home; Almeda, who was born August 31, 1883, and is deceased; Francis
D., who was born September 8, 1885, and is living on the home place; and
Helen D., who died April 15, 1905, at the age of seventeen years. Mrs.
Tames Ransom died November 6, I905, a Christian lady, and her remains
are interred in " Fisher Cemetery," a beautiful stone standing reared to
her memory.
Mr. James Ransom is a member of the Baptist church, as was also
his wife, in which he is serving as trustee, and his efforts in behalf of the
organization have proven far-reaching and beneficial, making him one of its
valued members. He belongs to the Grange and in early life gave his
*f;                    X i




530


HISTORY OF BIRANCH COUNTY


political allegiance to the Whig party, since which time he has been a Republican. For a number of years he has been a menrmber of the Board of
Reviews. From   pioneer times the Ransrnm brothers have been representative citizens of this part of the state, interested in all that pertains to public progress.
LOUIS SLOMAN.
Louis Sloman, a clothing merchant of Coldwater and the oldest representative of this line of business in the city, is strictly a self-made man,
whose life history might well serve as a source of encouragement and inspiration to others, for it indicates the force and value of industry, integrity
and consecutive endeavor in the active affairs of life.  He was born in
the city of London, England, May 6, 1848, and was only three years of age
when brought to the United States by his paients, so that his interests
have ever been thoroughly American, and there is no native-born son of
the land who is more loyal to the welfare of the country.  His parents.
Mark and Sarah Sloman, located first in Rochester, New York, where the
father became a clothing merchant, and it was in his store that the son
gained his first experience in the department of activity in which he has
been engaged throughout all his business career.  His school privileges
were somewhat limited, for when only eleven years of age he was thrown
upon his own resources and started out to make his way in the world unaided. Nevertheless, he has been a close reader and observer and, possessing an observing eye and retentive memory, he has become a well informed
man on general subjects.  When it became necessary that he provide for
his own support he went to the city of Buffalo, New York, and was very
successful in securing employment in a clothing establishment in which he
remained for two years. He afterward came to the middle west, and for
two years had the management of a clothing establishment in Alton, Illinois. Notwrithstanding the fact that he was but a youth he displayed business ability equal to that of many a man of riper years. In all his business
relations he is regarded as a man of keen discernment, sagacious and fairsighted, energetic and reliable.  He has ever dealt fairly and justly with
all and has thus gained the confidence of his customers and his fellowmen.
On leaving Alton he went to St. Louis, Missouri, where for two years he
was a clothing clerk, and in I866 he came to Coldwater, where he opened a
clothing store for himself.  The capital necessary for this enterprise had
been secured through his industry and frugality. He has continued in the
business in this city, covering a period of nearly forty years, and he has
all the while enjoy:ed a good trade. The store is stocked with a large line
of clothing and men's furnishing goods and has ever been well patronized.
Mr. Sloiman has also been in former years and is now prominently connected with other business interests of the city, having been identified with
the Coldwater Road Cart Company, whiich was 'once a flourishing concern,
but las in:oi ceased to exist. He was also one of the o'rganizers of the
National Burial Device Company, With which he is now connected, and
he is also a director in the Coldwater National Bank.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


531


In 1876, in the city where he yet makes his home, Mr. Sloman was
united in marriage to Miss Rena Wilson,' who'died in 1887, leaving two
children, Herbert' L. and Rae. In' 1889 Mr. Slomian was again married,
his second union being with Miss Minnie I. Sheldon, and they 'have become
the parents of four children, Morley S., Arthur L., Esther and Margaret.
Politically, Mr. Sloman'is a Republican, but has never sou'ght the
honors nor emoluments of office, preferring to devote his entire time and
attention to his business, and through close application and straightforward
dealing he has won very desirable and well merited success. He is a member of the Bon Ami Club, and he holds'a high place in the esteem of his
fellow-citizens.
STARR W. GRUNER.
Starr W. Gruner is a representative of one of the prominent, highly
respected and valued families of Branch county and was born in Coldwater
township, August 30, 1878. Here he has spent his entire life, with the
exception of a brief period passed in Germany, the time spent in school in
Coldwater and the period of his service in the Spanish-American war. His
father, Wenzel Gruner, was a native of Reichenberg, Bohemia, where he
was born September 28,. 831. He came to! America in I848, when seventeen years of age, and joined his brother Anton Gruner, whoi had preceded
him one year. He took up his abode near Rochester, New York, where he
spent five years, and then became a resident of Coldwater township, Branch
county, Michigan, where he passed his remaining days. After his arrival
here his parents, Franz and Katrina (Bergmann) Gruner, also came: to
America and made their way to Branch county, where the grandfather died
in the year 1856, while his wife survived until I86I. In their family were
six children, but only one is now living,. Karl, who resides in Germany,
Wenzel Gruner was married on the 25th of August, I858, to Miss Emily
Randall, and they became the parents of seven children, all of whom reached
adult age, although Mrs. Mina Lewis died in the year I896. The others
are: Mrs. Mary Mitchell, who, resides in Coldwater; Mrs. Edna Vesey,
who is living in Logansport, Indiana; Ward C., who resides in Batavia;
Benjamin S., whose home is in Winfield, Alabama; Bartlett R., who is living
at Mount Pleasant, Michigan; and Starr W., whose name introduces this
review. The father died in 1885 and the mother has since married William
P'aradine and now resides in the city of Coldwater.
Upon the home farm    Starr W. Gruner was reared, his time being
passed in the usual manner of farm lads of that period. He attended the
schools of Coldwater during the sessions between 1891 and I896 and received a diploma upon his completion of the high school course. He afterward spent two years, 1896 and 1897, in Germany, visiting relatives there,
and at the outbreak of the Spanish-American war, in 1898, he enlisted at
Coldwater as a member'of the Thirty-third Michigahn Infantry, with which
he continued until the close of hostilities. He participated in the battle of
Aquadores, Cuba, July I, i898, Gen. Henry M. Duffield being their'immediate commander. and he received his.honorable discharge at Owosso, Mich



532              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
igan. He then returned home and began farming upon the old family homestead, where he still resides. His present farm comprises eighty acres of
fertile land improved with fine buildings. This place was cleared by his
father, and Mr. Gruner, of this review, has further continued the work of
development and improvement until the entire place is now under a high
state of cultivation.
On the Ist of June, I899, Mr. Gruner was married to Miss Lena L.
Teachout, who was born in Ovid township, Branch county, July 2, 1878,
a daughter of Stephen and Caroline (Thompson) Teachout, the former a
native of the state of New York and the latter of Ohio. Both her paternal
and maternal grandparents were pioneer residents of Ovid township, and
the Thompsons came originally from  Scotland.  Mr. and Mrs. Teachout
were the parents of three children, of whom one son died in infancy, while
Mrs. Bertha DeClute resides in San Francisco, and Mrs. Gruner completes
the family. Her parents are now residents of Coldwater City.
LORENZO ZIMMERMAN.
Lorenzo Zimmerman, who, having retired from farming and building
operations, is now merely superintending his investments, being one of the
stockholders and directors in the Farmers' National Bank of Union City
and the owner of good land in this county, was born in Erie county, New
York, April 9, I840, and comes of both German and Irish ancestry. His
father, Levi Zimmerman, was a native of Montgomery county, New York,
and obtained his education in the public schools there. He was married
in that county to Miss Elizabeth Gray and they began their domestic life
in the same locality.  It was Mr. Zimmerman who came of German ancestry, while his wife had some Irish blood in her veins. He died at the
age of seventy years and Mrs. Zimmerman at the age of sixty-eight years.
They were the parents of twelve children, of whom three died in youth, but
the others reached adult age.
Lorenzo Zimmerman, the fifth child and second son, was reared and
educated in his native county, attending the common schools and afterward the Williamsville Academy. He learned the carpenter's trade in his
youth and at the age of twenty years left home, since which time he has
been dependent entirely upon his own resources for all the success he has
achieved. He came first to Michigan, but afterward went to Arkansas and
to Ohio and in the latter state, in company with four others, was engaged
in prospecting for oil and developed an oil well near Marietta, Ohio. When
the Civil war broke out his patriotic spirit was aroused by the attempt of
the south to overthrow the Union, and in I86I he enlisted as a member of
Company L, First Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, with which he served for about
fifteen months.  He was then honorably discharged on account of disability and returned to Erie county, New York, where he worked at the
carpenter's trade until 1865, when he again made his way westward to
Michigan. In that year he purchased a farm in Kalamazoo county, hiring
men to cultivate and improve his land, while he continued to work at his
trade, both at contracting and jobbing. He remained in Kalamazoo county






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


533


until 1883, when he came to Sherwood and for a number of years thereafter was quite extensively engaged in the building of mills, receiving contracts at different times in Kentucky, Arkansas, Michigan and Wisconsin.
He is now largely retired from active business life, but is one of the directors of the Farmers' National Bank of Union City.
In I864 Mr. Zimmerman was married to Miss Sarah Zimmerman, a
native of Steuben county, New York, and a daughter of Richard Zimmerman. They have become the parents of two daughters and a son: Anna
L., the wife of J. B. Peck, a farmer of Sherwood township; Lee, who is
living in Athens, Michigan; and Mary E., the wife of J. H. Grill, also of
Athens.
Mr. Zimmerman is independent in political matters, voting sometimes
with the Republican party and again in favor of the Democratic party. He
belongs to Sherwood Lodge No. 421, A. F. & A. M., and to Kilbourn Post
No. 36I, G. A. R., of which he is now quartermaster. Both he and his
wife are members of the Eastern Star and they have many friends in the
locality where they have long resided.  To every enterprise calculated to
advance the prosperity of Sherwood he is a generous contributor, and he
is likewise a popular citizen, possessing those traits of character which win
and retain friendship.
ELISHA J. BROWN.
Descended from one of the old and prominent families of Connecticut,
where its members lived for several generations, some of them  in later
years coming into the then new middle west and making for themselves
homes here, Mr. Elisha J. Brown, the subject of this review, can point
with just pride to the accomplishments of his ancestors and to the record
of his own life. His branch of the Brown family is descended from three
brothers of this name who came from England early in the eighteenth century and settled at Norwich, Connecticut, which was the headquarters for
many years. The Browns were patriotic people and several of them were
participants in the Revolutionary war. Our subject's great-grandfather was
a Captain Brown in this conflict, and the former still has in his possession
a sabre carried by the latter at the battle of Bunker Hill, and also an oldfashioned watch carried by another Captain Brown, also an ancestor, through
that war. These rare family relics have been handed down from father to
eldest son ever since and are considered among the most valuable and highly
prized family relics in this portion of Michigan.
Our subject's grandfather was Dyer Brown and his father was Charles
D. Brown, both being natives of Connecticut, where the latter was born in
Meriden, March 8, I815. Dyer Brown, his wife and his six children came
to Michigan in the early thirties and first located in the township of Ovid,
where they purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land. This land was
in a virgin state, entirely uncleared, and in that early day there was no
road running south toward it from Coldwater, the settlers being compelled
to follow Indian trails. The Pottowatomie tribe was very numerous in this
vicinity at that date, and in fact for some years after the arrival of the




534              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
Brown family.   This one hundred and sixty acres was cleared by Dyer
Brown and his sons, and in addition they controlled the sale of one thousand
five hundred acres additional, which was disposed of to other early settlers.
Our subject's father, Cliarles D. Brown, was a partner with his father in
all his undertakings here, until the death of the latter, October 8, 1841. Of
the family of twelve children, only one is still alive, this being Mrs. Caroline
Goodell, who lives in Oakland county, Michigan, at the advanced age of
eight-eight years.
Charles D. Brown was married September I, 839, to 'Hannah Hoyt,
who was born in Cherry Valley, Chautauqua county, New York, September
22, 1822.   The Hoyts were originally from   Germany, Hannah    Hoyt's
grandfather coming to America late in the eighteenth century. Charles D.
Brown and his wife had seven children, as follows:  Caroline Davis died
in Eaton county, Michigan, in I899; Elisha J. is the subject of this review;
Anna Roberts lives in Eaton county; William H. lives in Flint, Michigan;
Harriet Mott lives in Ovid, this county; Mary C. Brehm lives in Kinderhook; Laney M., the youngest, died in infancy. Charles D. Brown was
renowned throughout Branch county in an early day as a mighty hunter
and trapper, as well as an excellent citizen and a successful farmer.  It
is reliably stated that he killed not less than one thousand deer in this county
alone, and another interesting family'relic now in possession of the family
is the much-used hunting knife with which he used to skin the deer he killed.
Our subject, Elisha J:, lived with fis parents all during their lives, the family owning all property in common and there being no division of property
until after the death of the parents. In the home of Mr. Brown now hangs
a photograph of four generations of the'Brown family, all of whom lived
on the same farm at the same- time, and owning their property in common,
a most unusual thing in this day.
Mr. and MVrs. Charles D. Brown led l6ng and useful lives, the former
dying Septenmber 2, I898, and the latter April I7, 1896.
At the outbireak of the Civil war Elisha J. Brown responded to the call
of his country and engaged in this great conflict, his enlistment occurring
August 7, 1862, in CompanyIH, Ni'neteenth Michigan Infantry, serving un-.til the close of the war and being discharged June io, i865. He was in
every engagement of his regiment, excepting a few minor skirmishes when
he was disabled from a wound.    It is a remarkable fact concerning Mr.
Brown's service'fhat during the three years he spent but fifteen' dollars of
his soldier's pay, sending home every other cent of it to his father.
Soon after the'close of the war,' September- 5, I865, Mr. Brown was
married, his bride being Miss Annie Cheney, a native of Northanmptonshire,
England, where she was born December 14, 1844. She was the daughter
of' Eli Chepey' and Jane Wallace, both natives of the same place and both
born in i8i8, the father'Marh' 8th and 'the mother June 2Ist. They were
married' at Naseby, Englad, 'and came to the'United States in I845, locating firs t at Avon, Loraine conty, Ohio, where they lived two years, then
removing to C yuga. county, Ohio, which was their home five years and then
to Branch county, Michigan, where they settled in Ovid township. Here










oL. )- de






oel         6acie3








HISTORY OF BRANCH.COUNTY


535


Mr. Cheney secured one hundred and sixty acres of land and improved it,
and where he passed the remainder of his life,,his death occurring here November 12, I.890. Mrs. Cheney is still living at an advanced age, and
makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. Brown. The Cheney family consisted
of four children: Alfred lives in Kinderhook; John died in I845; Annie
Brown is the wife of our subject; Sarah,Lobdell, died in Indiana.
In the sixties the Browns removed from Ovid to Kinderhook tolwnship, where they purchased a fine farm on section three. This was their
home for thirty-five years and they made of it a comfortable and attractive
place. Here nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Elisha J. Brown, only
four of whom are living: Ethel J., Harlie E. and Charles D., twins, and
a baby who died in infancy, while Freddie died at the age of fourteen years.
The living children are Jesse C., Herman E., Nora and Ruth. Jesse C.
married Allie Olmstead and their home is in this township; they have two
sons, Carl H. and Harold H. Herman married Edith Harkness and their
home is in New Castle, Pennsylvania, where he is a chemist in the laboratory of a large cement factory; they have five children, Douglas, Dorothy,
Elizabeth, Harriet and Eric. Ruth is the wife of Wesley Garn; they live
in Kinderhook and have one daughter, Bernice. Nora, the other daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Brown, lives at home with her parents.
Elisha J. Brown has, with the exception of the period of his enlistment in the Civil war, always been a resident of Branch county and here
he has long been known as a man of property and influence. His first presidential vote was cast at Atlanta, Georgia, during the Civil war, for Abraham Lincoln, and he has ever since been a loyal Republican, taking a deep
interest in the progress of his party. Although always active politically, he
has refused office on many occasions, but his interest in educational affairs
has led to his selection as school director on many occasions. He has repeatedly been a delegate to county, senatorial, congressional and state Republican conventions and he thus has a wide political acquaintance throughout
the state.
He has been highly successful as a farmer, although now retired from
active duty in this line, he having disposed of his farm four years ago and
removed to Kinderhook Center, where the family have a modern and comfortable home. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have been members of the Baptist
church nearly all their lives and their children also belong to this society.
Mr. Brown is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, while
Mrs. Brown is a member of the Kinderhook W. C. T. U., as well as of
numerous auxiliary church societies.
GEORGE W. BLACKWELL.
Among the retired citizens of Union City is George W. Blackwell,
whose birth occurred in Albion, Orleans county, New York, on the 3oth of
March, 1843, his parents being Titus and Betsy (Stevens) Blackwell. The
father was a native of Trenton, New Jersey, while the mother's birth occurred in Cayuga county, New York., He died in his eight-second year,




536              HISTORY OFF BRANCH COUNTY
while she passed away at the age of seventy-nine years. They had a family
of six children, of whom four reached adult age.
George W. Blackwell, the youngest of the family, spent his youth in
the place of his nativity and was educated in the common schools. He then
began learning the mason's trade with his father and followed that pursuit
until after the inauguration of the Civil war. He watched with interest,
however, the progress of events in the South and in July, I86i, with a fervid
patriotism he responded to the call for aid, enlisting as a member of Company K, Twenty-seventh New York Infantry. He served his full term of
two years with valor and loyalty and then returned to his home. In the
fall of I864, however, he re-enlisted, joining the Fourth New York Heavy
Artillery, with which he remained until October, I865, when the war having
ended he received an honorable discharge October I, I865. He responded
to the first call for aid and was present at the surrender of General Lee to
General Grant at Appomattox, April 9, I865. He was in the army altogether for three and a half years and he never faltered in the performance
of any duty, thus his efforts contributed to the sum total of the movements
which resulted in the preservation of the Union. When mustered out he
held the rank of commissary sergeant of his company. He took part in the
first battle of Bull Run and was under General McClellan in the army of the
Potomac. He was in the hospital during a part of his first term, but during
the greater part of the time was on active duty.
On March 3, I866, Mr. Blackwell was united in marriage to Miss
Mianda L. Case, a daughter of Reuben and Ellily (Webster) Case, both
of whom were born near Rochester, New York. The father died when fortythree years of age, and the mother when sixty years old. They were the
parents of seven children, six of whom reached adult age, and one who was
killed in the army. Mrs. Blackwell is their eldest daughter and second child,
and was born in Orleans county, New York, December 8, I844. She spent
her girlhood days there and is indebted to, the public school system of that
locality for the educational privileges she enjoyed.
In the year following his marriage Mr. Blackwell came to Branch
county, locating in the midst of the forest in Sherwood township, where he
secured a tract of land and improved a farm, adding to it good buildings,
cultivating the fields and retaining his residence there for seventeen years.
He then traded that property for land two miles from Coldwater, in Coldwater township, and upon this second farm made his home for eight years.
He then sold out and bought land in Batavia township, where he also lived
for eight years, after which he came to Union City, retiring from active business life. All of the time in which he carried on general agricultural pursuits he also worked at the mason's trade and he plastered about fifty houses
in Coldwater, in addition to considerable operation as a plasterer in the
county. He worked at different times at Batavia, Sherwood and Union
City, and in fact has been employed at the mason's trade in all of the towns
of the county. He yet owns a valuable farm of one hundred acres of well
improved land and this brings him a good rental.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Blackwell were born a son and a daughter:






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


537


George W., who, married Fannie Burrett and resides in Batavia township;
and Nettie, the wife of Asa Moore, a farmer of Union township. They
have been residents of the county for thirty-eight years and are people of
genuine worth, enjoying in large measure the good will and trust of those
with whom they have been associated. Mr. Blackwell has been a life-long
Republican and is active in the local work of the party, while his opinions
carry weight in his township. He was drain commissioner while in Sherwood and also school director.
He is a prominent member of Corbin post No. 88, G. A. R., has been its
commander and has taken a very active part in its work. In the Masonic
fraternity he has attained the Knight Templar degree and the York Rite,
in the commandery at Coldwater, and he belongs to the lodge, chapter and
council in Union City. He is also a member of the Order of Eastern Star,
to which his wife belongs, and she is likewise connected with the Woman's
Relief Corps and the Department of Honor, while Mr. Blackwell holds
membership with the Ancient Order of United Workmen at Union City.
He stands today in his mature years a strong man, strong in the consciousness of a well spent life, strong in his courage and good name and a worthy
example for young men to pattern after as showing what intelligence and
probity may accomplish in the way of success in life.
GEORGE C. WATTLES.
George C. Wattles, living on section nine, Matteson township, is a
native of the Empire state, his birth having occurred in Franklin, Delaware
county, New York, on the i5th of February, I85I. His father, Ansel F.
Wattles, was a native of New York and removed from the east to Loraine
county, Ohio, about I853, locating near North Amherst. He came to St.
Joseph county about I862, settling in Colon, and was there engaged in the
foundry business in connection with D. C. Richards. In r865, however, he
removed to the farm in Matteson township, Branch county, and gave his
attention to general agricultural pursuits up to the time of his death, which
occurred in his seventy-fifth year. He was a life-long Republican, a prominent Mason and a member of the Baptist church. His wife, who bore the
maiden name of Susan Remington, was a native of New York and died in
I853. In their family were five children, two daughters and three sons.
George C. Wattles, the youngest, was about eight years of age when
he accompanied his parents on their removal to Michigan and he remained
with his father until thirteen years of age, when he returned to Ohio, spending the succeeding two years in school in company with his brother, M. E.
Wattles. He then again came to Michigan and lived with his father for
a short time, after which he once more went to Ohio. On again coming to
this state he located at Manistee, working in the government survey service
in surveying the peninsular lands. He also spent about two years in the
lumber woods and at milling, after which he went to Ottawa county, Michigan, where he remained for seven years. There he was engaged in the
lumber business, in threshing and in railroading.
It was about this time, in I870, that Mr. Wattles was united in mar



538              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
riage to Miss Mary J. Taylor, a daughter of Amos Taylor, of Coopersville,
Ottawa county, Michigan, in which place she was born and reared. In 1874
Mr. Wattles removed to Sandusky, Ohio, where he continued in-the railroad
employ at station work, having charge of the freight house for the Lake
Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Company for about three years. He
likewise spent one year with the Sandusky Tool Company and became emigration agent for the Kansas,Pacific Railroad Company, now the Union Pacific. He was also with the tool company at the same time, but afterward
returned to the employ of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad
Company as traveling passenger agent, being with this corporation for about
nine years, during which time he lived in Toledo for about three years, building a home while there.  In I888 he went to Kansas and was agent for
the Rock Island Railroad at Harrington from  October, 1887, until May,
I888, after which he returned to Toledo. Later in the same year, how —
ever, he came to Branch county and purchased a quarter section olf land cn
section nine, Matteson township, in what was called the old Rumsey marsh
and in October, I888, removed from Toledo to this farm whereon he has
since resided.  He is now the owner of two hundred and forty acres of
land which he has brought to a high state of cultivation, adding to it all
modern equipments and improvements. There are good buildings upon the
place, the fields are well tilled and in his work he is meeting with merited
success. His farm is largely devoted to the cultivation of peppermint and
the manufacture of oil and he has one of the best distilleries for this purpose in the county. He has excellent machinery and all the modern equipments needed,for the conduct of such an enterprise and his product for the
year 1905 was fourteen hundred pounds of oil, while other years he has
produced as high as. two thousand pounds of peppermint oil. He also, conducts general farming, has a good dairy and is quite extensively engaged in
the, raising of stock, including hogs, cattle and horses. In all of his business he is practical and his methods are straightforward and reliable, winning
for him the confidence' and trust of those who come into business relations
with. him.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Wattles have been born four children: Merritt R.,
who married Katie Wilck and. resides in Madison township; George A., who
married Barbara Stemler and resides in Colon, Michigan; Ford A., who
wedded Lena Cleveland and is living in Matteson township; and Alice C.,
who possesses considerable musical talent and is well known in the community as a pianist. Mr. Wattles is well known in the county and was one
of the organizers of the American Society of Equity. In.his business career he has made steady advancement and has ever been interested,in the
improvements which are matters of local pride, giving his aid and co-operation to many movements for the general good.
HON. FRANK D. NEWBERRY.
Hon. Frank D. Newberry, of Coldwater, prominent in legal and military circles in Michigan, is descended from English ancestry, the family
home in years remote having been at Devonshire, England. The founder of






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


539


the family in America came to the new world on the good ship Mary and
John and settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1630. The branch of the
family to which Captain Newberry of this review belongs, sent its representatives gradually westward.  The grandparents tarried for a time near
East Windsor, Connecticut, where his father, Romeo Dyer Newberry, was
born in I794. In 1818 he married Sarah Beckwith, of Hartford, Connecticut, and soon afterward removed to Oneida county, New York, where he
engaged in farming. In 1836, with his wife and five children, he went to
Avon, Oakland county, Michigan, and in 1848 to Rochester, in the same
county.
It was while the family were residents of Avon township that Frank
D. Newberry was born, on the 23rd of June, 1840. Reared upon his father's farm, he acquired his preparatory education in the Rochester Academy
and the Dickinson Institute at Romeo, Michigan, and in September, 1859,
he matriculated in Williams College, of Massachusetts, where he continued
his studies until after the inauguration of hostilities between the north and
the south.  He then enlisted in defense of the Union cause, becoming a
member of the Fifth New York Volunteer Infantry, known as Duryees
Zouaves, May 9, I86I, less than a month after the attack on Fort Sumter.
He served his full term of enlistment and was in all the battles of eastern
Virginia from Big Bethel to Chancellorsville, doing a soldier's full duty and
returning to his home with a creditable military record.
Following his military experience Captain Newberry prepared for the
practice of medicine and surgery in the medical department of the University of 'Michigan, from which he was graduated in March, 1865. He did
not, however, engage in practice, but turned his attention to teaching and
for some years 'was'knowvn as a capable educator in his native state. For
two years he was principal of the schools of Rochester, Michigan, and then
accepted the principalship of the Union' City schools, of which he had charge
for four years, removing to Branch county at the beginning of that period.
In 1874 Captain Newberry was called to public office, being elected
county clerk, in which capacity he served for six years, and then retired
from office as he had entered it-with the confidence and good will of all.
In the meantime he had entered upon the study of law and after careful
preparation was admitted to the bar. He has held other offices in the line
of his profession, having- been city attorney, circuit court commissioner and
prosecuting attorney, and these have brought to him  wide experience in
connection with the corts while tthe  ae time e     has rendered capable
and faithful service. He has also been a member 'of the school board of
Coldwater.  Still ftirther political honors awaited him for in I9o3 he was
elected on' the Republican ticket to the state legislature, receiving a vote of
three thousand one 'hundred and thirty-nine, against that of nineteen hundred and ninety-seven cast for his opponeit.
Captain Newberry has never ceased to feel a deep interest in military
affairs, and in 1876 he joined the Michigan National' Guard as a private of
Company A, Second Infantry. He was captain from    1878 until' r886, in
which year he became lieutenant colonel of the regiment, serving in that




540              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
capacity for two years, while from 1887 until 1891 he was inspector general. In I896 he re-entered the state service and in 1898 he enlisted with
his company in the Thirty-second Michigan Volunteer Infantry for the war
with Spain, being mustered out November 5, I898. Three days later he was
elected prosecuting attorney, but he resigned that office July 27, I899, to
accept a captain's commission in the Thirtieth United States Volunteer Infantry, desiring to render active aid to his country in a military capacity.
He served at this time for twenty-one months, sixteen of which were passed
in the Philippines, and he was mustered out April 3, I9OI, at San Francisco, California.
Returning to his home in Coldwater, Captain Newberry resumed the
practice of law and is now an active member of the bar, with a large clientage that connects him with much of the important litigation tried in the
courts of this district. His careful preparation of cases is supplemented by
a power of argument and a forceful presentation of his points in the court
room and he never fails to impress court or jury and seldom fails to gain
the verdict desired.
In I867 Captain Newberry married Fannie Ellsworth Stone, prominent
in literary circles of the state and of wide reputation as a writer.  Their
attractive home is the center of a large circle of friends.
MRS. FANNIE E. NEWBERRY.
Mrs. Fannie Ellsworth Newberry was born in Monroe, Michigan, May
7, 1848, a daughter of Hiram and Sophia (Harmon) Stone. Her father
was a native of Onondaga county, New York, and in his boyhood he accompanied his parents on their removal to Monroe, Michigan, where he was
reared and educated. Following his preparation for the bar he was admitted
to practice and became a leading member of the legal profession in his part
of the state. He also gained distinction in public office, serving as county
judge and for two terms as a member of the state legislature, although he
was only thirty-two years of age at the time of his death. He was a man
of superior intellect, and left the impress of his individuality upon the legislative and judicial history of the state. His widow was born in New York,
about eighteen miles west of the city of Rochester, is now more than eightytwo years of age and makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Newberry.
Her father was Ezekiel Harmon, a native of Vermont and a physician by
profession.
Mrs. Newberry, in her girlhood days, made her home at different times
in Monroe, Michigan, Chicago and Boston. She was a student in the Monroe Female Academy and received instruction from her mother and private
tutors. She was graduated from the high school at Brookline, Massachusetts, when seventeen years of age, and at the age of nineteen, at South
Bend, Indiana, she gave her hand in marriage to Captain F. D. Newberry,
whose personal sketch appears above. She is of studious nature and scholarly tastes, has always been a great reader and has traveled quite extensively
in this country, thus continually broadening her knowledge. Her first literary production of any note was a story for the Saturday Evening Post, writ





HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


541


ten when she was sixteen years of age. She has been a frequent contributor to various papers and periodicals, but her chief literary productions for
adults have been " Strange Conditions " and " Impress of a Gentlewoman."
She has also written largely for young people, a list of her works including
" Transplanted "; "Comrades"; "Brian's Home" "; Sarah, a Princess "
" House of Hollister "; " A Son's Victory "; " Into the Light "; "Bubbles ";
" Not for Profit"; " Everyday Honor "; "All Aboard "; "Joyce's Investments "; and "The Wrestler of Philippi," more than a million copies of
the last named having been sold. Mrs. Newberry is an honorary member of
the Michigan State Press Association and also of many other literary societies.
ARCHIE W. COLE.
Archie W. Cole, a leading stock farmer of this county living on section twenty-five, Batavia township, is the owner of the largest farm in this
locality, his place embracing three hundred and thirty-four acres all in one
body. While he tills the fields he more largely devotes his energies to buying, feeding and selling stock and has found this a profitable source of
income.
Mr. Cole is one of Michigan's native sons, his birth having occurred
in Calhoun county on the 25th of September, I868. His father, Newman
E. Cole, was a native of Herkimer county, New York, and was about ten
years of age when he came to Michigan with his mother. He was therefore reared in this state and in his youth learned the tinner's trade, which
he followed until about twenty years of age. He carried on the hardware
business in Battle Creek, Michigan, for four or five years, and then bought
a farm in Calhoun county, east of Battle Creek, comprising two hundred
and eighty acres. For a long period thereafter he carried on general agricultural pursuits, but in I892 sold that property and bought the farm whereon Archie W. Cole now resides. The father was a resident of Coldwater
at the time of his death, which occurred in his seventy-eighth year. He was
a successful man who. started out in life as a poor boy but by his industry,
economy and earnest labor worked his way steadily upward to, a position of
affluence. When he first accepted this position his capital consisted of but
twenty-five cents and at his death he was the possessor of a very desirable
competence. His business principles and methods, too, were honorable and
straightforward and his entire life was in harmony with his professions as
a member of the Baptist church. He took an active and helpful part in
church work and contributed liberally to its support.  In politics he was
a life-long Republican. His interest in matters of public progress was deep
and sincere and was manifest in many tangible ways for the general good.
He gave a house and lot to Kalamazoo College, valued at four thousand
dollars, making this one of the bequests of his will. He had a very wide
and favorable acquaintance in the county and his life record displayed such
sterling traits of character that all who knew him honored and respected
him. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Jennie Keith, was a native of.
New York, and a daughter of Ozen Keith, who removed from the Empire




542              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
state to, Michigan at an early day, Mrs. Colle being at that time ten years
of age.. She was born in Herkimner county, New York, but was largely
reared in Michigan, the family home bging first established at West Hudson
in Hillsdale county.  Mrs. Cole was a devoted wife and mother and she
passed away in Coldwater in 1893, when in her seventy-second year. In the
family were seven children, three sons and four daughters: Clarence, who
died when but ten weeks old; Nellie C., the wife of E. H. Percy, of Glen
Blair, California; Fred, who died at the age of six months; Carrie E., the
wife of W. B. Moore, of Girard township, Branch county; Emma J., the
wife of W. J. Hammond, of Fargo, North Dakota; and Ella M., the wife
of L. J. Marshall, of Crookston, Minnesota.
Archie W. Cole is the youngest in the family and was reared in Calhoun county, Michigan, while his education was acquired in the schools of
Hillsdale.  When he had completed his literary course he returned home
and there remained until twenty-one years of age, when he went to California, locating in Eureka, that state. There he was engaged in bookkeeping
for a lumber company for one year and subsequently became bookkeeper for
a wholesale and retail book and stationery firm, with which he continued for
two years. On the expiration of that period he returned home and joined
his father in business, being thus associated until the death of his parent.
He had disposed of the milk business previous to his father's death, and
concentrated his energies upon general farming and stock-raising, making
a specialty, however, of the latter. He buys, feeds and sells stock and is
an excellent judge of farm animals, so that he is seldom at error in appraising the value of cattle, horses or hogs. His farm of three hundred and
thirty-four acres is the largest in Batavia township and is a splendidly
improved property. He is one of the directors of the Batavia Creamery
Association, and its president in I906.
In 1897 Mr. Cole was married to Miss Alice M. Aldrich, a daughter of
Edgar and Olive (Bickford) Aldrich, and a native of Algansee township,
Branch county. They now have one son, Newman Ernest. Mr. Cole is an
unfaltering advocate of Republican principles and he belongs to Coldwater
Tent, No. 157, K. 0. T. M. His entire life has been passed in Michigan
and the spirit of enterprise which has been the dominant factor in the upbuilding of this state has been manifest in his business career, for after
all it is the aggregate endeavor of individuals that promotes public progress
and improvement and the history of a community, state or nation is best
told in the lives of its people. Mr. Cole is indeed a representative agriculturist of Branch county, well deserving of mention in this volume.
EDWARD M. WATKINS.
Many of the respected and worthv citizens of Union City are those
who in former years were active in business life and thereby acquired prosperity that now enables them to live retired, enjoying in quiet the fruits of
their former toil. Such a one is Edward M. Watkins, who was born in
Ontario county, New York, the Empire State, June 2I, I830. His father,
Alanson Watkins, was a native of Massachusetts, the Old Bay State, spent his






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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                        543
boyhood days in that commonwealth and became a farmer and drover.. He
also followed merchandising and was connected with other business enterprises, and whatever he undertook he carried forward to successful completion. About I870 he came to Calhoun county, Michigan:, and purchased
a farm, upon which he spent his remaining days, dying at the age of sixtyeight years. He had wedded Mary Griswold, a native of Connecticut, who
lived to be about forty-two years of age. Their marriage was blessed with
eight children. Following the death of his first wife the father afterward
married her sister, Permelia Griswold, and there were eight children by that
union. As will be noticed, Mr. and Mrs. Watkins descend from the New
England ancestry.
Edward M. Watkins is the second child of the first marriage and he
was reared in his native place until twenty-two years of age. He came to
the west in 1852, settling in Calhoun county, Michigan. He secured employment at the carpenter's trade in Battle Creek, but after a short time
removed to Athens township in that county, where he continued building
operations. Not long afterward he sought a companion and helpmate for
life's journey and was married in Burlington, Michigan, October 26, I859,
to Miss Chloe Rogers, a daughter of Henry and Nancy (Tucker) Rogers,
the former a native of Pennsylvania, the Keystone State, and the latter of
Maryland. In their family were six children, of whom Mrs. Watkins is the
youngest. Her father was a soldier of the war of 1812 and she had one
brother whol was a soldier of the rebellion, defending the Union cause. Mr.
Watkins had two brothers who served in the Civil war. Mrs. Watkins was
but seven years old when her father died and is now the only surviving
n-tember of the family. She was born and educated in Rushville, New York,
and was engaged in teaching school for about nine years. Her eldest sister
also engaged in teaching and her brother followed the same profession  She
came to the west in order to teach with her brother, and here she formed
the acquaintance of Mr. Watkins.
At the time of their marriage they located in Burlington, Calhoun
county, where he conducted a general store, and there they remained for
about six years, coming to Union City in I870. Here Mr. Watkins, with
Mr. Charles W. Crocker, now of Chicago, Illinois, established a store and
for many years was actively engaged with commercial interests. In I897
he turned his attention to the grain business, which he carried on until 9o00,
and he was engaged in the lumber business at the time he decided to retire
to private life. He is a man of resourceful ability, determined and energetic, and his life history most properly illustrates what can be attained by
faithful and continued effort in carrying out an honest purpose.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Watkins was blessed with two' children:
Will D., who is a traveling salesman residing in Kalamazoo, Michigan; and
Belle, who is a teacher in Toledo, Ohio. The son was born July 22, 1863,
and pursued his education in Union City and at Lansing College. He is a
prominent Mason and has held the highest offices in the Traveling Men's
Association. For sixteen years he has been a representative on the road
for the house of Sprague, Warner & Company. The daughter, Belle, ac





544              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
quired her early education in Union City, afterward studied in Chicago, took
post-graduate work in Toledo College, and has been a successful teacher in
Toledo for three years. Mr. Watkins proudly cast his first presidential vote
for John C. Fremont and has since been a stalwart Republican, assisting in
electing each president who has been the standard bearer of the party. He
has been active and influential in local political circles and has served on
the town board. For twenty-six years he has been a member of the Ancient
Order of United Workmen. His wife is a member of the Eastern Star and
of the Degree of Honor, and has taken quite an active interest in the
work of those organizations, being now chief of the latter. She has also
held offices in the Eastern Star and she is an earnest and devoted worker
in behalf of the temperance cause, serving as superintendent of the Loyal
Temperance Legion for a number of years. She was district superintendent
of the work and during that time organized eighteen lodges. She has likewise held a number of offices in the local, county and district organizations
of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and her influence is ever on
the side of right, progress, development, reform and truth. Her religious
faith is indicated by her membership in the: Congregational church.  The
family home has been maintained in Union City since I870 and both Mr.
and Mrs. Watkins are widely and favorably known. Integrity, activity and
energy have been the crowning points of his success and his connection
with various business interests and industries has been of decided advantage
to this section of Michigan, promoting its material welfare in no, uncertain
manner.
J. H. VANNUTYS.
J. H. VanNuys, residing on section twenty,< Matteson township, was
born in Ovid township, Seneca county, New York, January 6, 1848, and is
of Holland lineage, his paternal grandfather having been born in the "land
of the dykes."  The father, Simon VanNuys, was a native of New Jersey
and there spent his boyhood and youth. After his first marriage he removed
to Seneca county, New York, locating in Ovid township, where he followed farming until I857, when he came to Michigan, settling in Franklin
township, Lenawee county. There he devoted his attention to, general agricultural pursuits until 1859, when he came to Branch county, settling in
Ovid township, where he carried on farming. Later, however, he removed
to Bethel township, where he bought a small tract of land of ten acres and
upon that place he spent his remaining days, dying when about seventy
years of age. He married Miss Sarah Wickoff for his second wife. She
was a native of Seneca county, New York, where she was reared and married and she is now eighty-one years of age, making her home at Orland,
Indiana. By the father's first marriage there were seven children and by
the second there were nine children.
J. H. VanNuys is the eldest of the nine and was nine years of age
when he came to Michigan, arriving in Branch county when a youth of
eleven years. Upon the home farm in Ovid township he was reared, attending the district schools of the neighborhood and he remained at home




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


until I865, when at the age of seventeen years he enlisted for service in the
Union army as a private of Company H, Eleventh Michigan Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of the war. He then received
an honorable discharge on the i6th of September, I865, and returned to
Ovid township, where he worked for his father until he had attained his
majority. He was afterward employed by the month as a farm hand and
thus he made his start in the business world.
On the 5th of December, 1874, Mr. VanNuys was married to Miss
Lucinda Evans, a daughter of John W. and Elizabeth (Harmon) Evans.
She was born in Floyd county, Indiana, in the town of New Albany, August 29, 1846, and when eleven years of age went with her parents to Lawrence, Kansas, where she remained until 1863, when she came with her
parents to Michigan, where she has since resided save for a period of two
years immediately following her marriage, this time being passed in Indiana. In I876, however, Mr. and Mrs. VanNuys came to Branch county,
settling in the village of Branch, where they remained until I88I, when they
located on the farm which is now their home. There were but few improvements on the place but Mr. VanNuys has erected large and substantial barns,
also built a fine residence and has carried on the labor of the fields until he
has a splendidly improved property. He has also made a specialty of raising Guernsey cattle and now has good stock upon his place. His farm embraces eighty acres of land which is rich and arable.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. VanNuys have been born two children. Arthur
J., who was born in Branch, June 12, 1877. was reared and educated in
Miatteson township, and Della G., born on the farm where Mr. VanNuys
now resides, on the 2nd of October, 1882, is the wife of James Neil Cochran, a resident of Coldwater, and they have a little son, J. T. Cochran.
Mr. VanNuys votes with the Democracy and has been elected and
served as road commissioner and as a school director. He belongs to the
Methodist Episcopal church of Colon and is active in its work. For thirty
years he has been a resident of Branch county and in its progress and improvement has been deeply interested, withholding his co-operation from
no movement for the public good.
JEFFERSON S. CONOVER.
Jefferson S. Conover, long known as one of the distinguished citizens
of Michigan, active in business circles of Coldwater and prominent in the
state as a representative of the Masonic fraternity, was born in the village
of Cato, Cayuga county, New York, April 20, I84I. He was a son of
George M. Conover, who traced his ancestry in the paternal line back to the
Dutch Koven Hoven family that settled in New Jersey about I650. In the
maternal line he was descended from a son of Lord Reader of Ireland, who,
having been disinherited for marrying a girl in the lower station of life,
came to America, where such class condition was unknown.   George M.
Conover wedded Fannie Carter, whose parents removed from Vermont to
New York at an early day, establishing their home near Cato.
Jefferson S. Conover spent his boyhood days in Cayuga and adjoining




546


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


counties and was a student in the district schools until about fifteen years
of age, after which he spent two terms in Perry Academy, at Perry, New
York. A few years later he pursued a brief business course and this terminated his advantages in school, but through experience and observation his
knowledge was greatly broadened and he became a man of wide, general
information and of much force of character. At the age of nineteen years
he began teaching school and in the spring of I860 he accompanied his parents on their removal to the west, settling with them in South Bend, Indiana. The Civil war was inaugurated early in the following year and Jefferson S. Conover was among those who early responded to the country's
call for aid, but his constitution proved unequal to the hardships of a soldier's life and after less than a year of service, three months of which had
been passed within the walls of army hospitals, he was discharged and resumed the profession of teaching. In July, I866, he became a resident of
Coldwater, Michigan, where he continued to make his home until his death.
Through the succeeding five years he conducted a business college here and
then devoted a year or two, to journalism. On the expiration of that period
he established the business of fine job and color printing, to which he gave
his attention for fifteen years, establishing an enterprise which has developed into the Conover Engraving & Printing Company. Upon its organization he was chosen president and continued at its head until his demise, making this one of the large and profitable productive industries of the city.
Mr. Conover was a man of varied activities, resourceful and energetic,
and his loyalty to the Masonic tenets and teachings combined with natural
ability led to his selection for high honors in connection with the fraternity. He became a Mason in I88o, taking the three initial degrees in Coldwater Lodge, No. 26o, and after two, and a half years he was elected master, serving until the consolidation of that lodge with Tyre Lodge, No. I8,
about I898. He became a Royal Arch Mason in Temple Chapter, No. 21,
November 7, I881. He received degrees of royal and select master in
Mount Moriah Council, No. 6, March II, I882; dubbed and created a Knight
Templar, March 2, I882; received the Scottish Rite grades to S. P. R. S.;
thirty-second degree in Michigan Sovereign Consistory, June 17, I8, 19,
1883, and was crowned an honorary member of the supreme council, thirtythird degree, at Cleveland, Ohio, September I6, I890. On the I8th of June,
I892, he joined a caravan that crossed the burning sands of the desert at
that time, and became entitled to wear the fez and sport the tiger-claws of
the " Shriner."  He presided over all the Masonic bodies of his home city.
and at one time occupied the three responsible positions of worshipful master, high priest, and eminent commander. In 1892 he was elected grand
commander K. T. of Michigan, and served for one year with zeal and earnestness. When William P. Innes was elected grand master, in January, I892,
Mr. Conover was elected to: succeed him as grand secretary, and to that
responsible position he was annually elected for eleven years. After accepting this office, he withdrew from all active participation in business matters
and devoted his undivided attention to his official duties as grand secre



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


547


tary. Upon the death of William P. Innes, in August, I893, Mr. Conover,
who was then grand king in the grand chapter, was appointed grand secretary of that body, and, resigning the office of grand king, took up the work
of grand secretary for the Royal Craft in this state, and in January, I897,
he was elected grand recorder of the grand council Royal and Select Masters.
The duties of these three offices occupied his whole time and to them he
gave the best energies of his nature. Mr. Conover was also an active member
of the Order of the Eastern Star, was elected grand patron of Michigan,
October 9, 1884, and re-elected in 1885. The following year he was elected
most worthy grand patron of the general grand chapter O. E. S. of the
United States.
On the I3th of May, I863, Mr. Conover was married to Mary I.
Wharton of South Bend, Indiana, and they resided in that city and in Lafayette and Indianapolis for short periods. In July, 1866, however, they came
to Coldwater, Michigan, which was thereafter his place of residence.  His
devoted wife preceded him to the home beyond only a few months, passing
away December 25, Igo2. Their children were as follows: Charles A., L.
Lenore, Kate B., Mara W. and George W., but the last named died in infancy.  Mr. Conover became a member of the Christian church when a
young man and for thirty-six years was an active member of the Presbyterian church of Coldwater, his funeral service being held in this house of
worship. He departed this life April 15, I903, and the burial service was
conducted by the officers of the grand lodge of his beloved fraternity.
CHARLES A. CONOVER.
Charles A. Conover, son of the late Jefferson S. Conover, was born in
Lafayette, Indiana, May I, I865. He was reared in Coldwater and attended its public schools, while later he completed a commercial course in
the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso. Since that time he has
been closely identified with the Conover Engraving & Printing Company of
Coldwater, succeeding his father in the ownership of the business in I900.
Alert, enterprising and notably prompt and energetic he has made this a
profitable and extensive business interest, having now a large patronage
which indicates that the class of work executed in the plant is of superior
character.
In politics Mr. Conover is a Republican, active and influential in community affairs and has served as alderman of his city and as a member of
the cemetery board. He succeeded his father as grand secretary of the grand
chapter, R. A. M., of Michigan and has since held that position.  He is
also grand recorder of the grand council, R. S. M., of this state and is a
worthy successor of an honored sire in his relations of Masonry. He also
belongs to the Presbyterian church.
In 1887 Charles Conover was married to Miss Juno Edmonds, and
their union has been blessed with three children, Charles Junius, Edmond
W. and Fred Eric, the last named being deceased.






548


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


LEANDER S. BURNETT.
Leander S. Burnett, deceased, who, was known among neighbors and
friends as a representative and reliable citizen of Union township and one
well worthy of the regard in which he: was uniformly held, was born December 11, 184I, on the farm on section fourteen on which he always resided. His parents were Orris and Diantha (Millerman) Burnett, pioneer
settlers of Branch county, and one of the first families to settle in Union
township. Under the parental roof Leander S. Burnett spent the days of
his childhood, his education being acquired in the public schools, while the
periods of vacation were devoted to the labors of the fields. He was a lifelong farmer and won a creditable measure of success in the tilling of the
soil and in the care of his crops. He followed progressive: methods of farming, placing his land under a very high state of cultivation and using the
latest improved machinery in the care of his fields. The only time when he
put aside farm work was when in I864 he responded to his country's call
for aid, enlisting as a private in a regiment of Michigan Light Artillery. He
went to the front and was with the army for about a year, when the war
ended and he returned to his home.
On November 29, i866, Mr. Burnett was united in marriage to Miss
Mary Olney, who was born in Girard township, October 2, I846.    Her
father, James H. Olney, was a native of New York and on coming to
Branch county with his parents when but twelve years of age settled in
Girard township. He was one of the pioneers of the locality, the parents
casting in their lot with the early residents who had come to reclaim this
frontier district from the domain of the red man and utilize it for the purposes of civilization. Here Mr. Olney was reared and educated, and he became familiar with all of the experiences and conditions of pioneer life. He
married Catherine M. Vincent, a native of New York, who in early girlhood
days came with her parents to Branch county. They were the parents of
one son and two daughters, of whom Mrs. Burnett is the second in order of
birth. Her father was married the second time, Emily O. Johnson becoming
his wife, and by that union there were five children, two sons and three
daughters who reached adult age. Mrs. Burnett's own brother, Sylvester L.
Olney, resides in Traverse City, Michigan. Asenath is the wife of James
E. Embly of Mendon, Michigan. Mrs. Burnett's half brothers and sisters
are as follows: Nora and Cora, now deceased; Mattie, the wife of Edward
Ostrom, who is living in Homer township, Calhoun county, Michigan;
Clarence, who is a farmer of Union township; and Clifford, who is living in
Homer township, Calhoun county.
Mrs. Burnett was reared in Girard township, and in i866 she gave
her hand in marriage to Leander S. Burnett. They located on the farm
where she is now living, their original home being a log cabin, in which they
resided for nine years, when it was replaced by a more commodious and
modern residence. One daughter was born unto them, Lulu Bell, the wife
of Charles G. Van Schoick, a leading and enterprising farmer of Union township. There is one daughter by this marriage, Beulah Van Schoick.




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A2$J.A/P41OZa










HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


549


Mr. Burnett was a lifelong Republican, interested in the work of the
party, its growth and success, yet never seeking or desiring office for himself. He and his wife held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church
at Union City, was active in its work and contributed generously to its support, while for some time he held the office of trustee. He was a member of
the Grange and he likewise held membership in Corbin Post No. 88, G. A. R.
He passed away May 7, I904, and his remains were interred in Riverside
cemetery at Union City. He had many friends who had learned to know
and esteem him for his sterling worth, and his loss was therefore deeply regretted by those with whom he had come in contact. Mrs. Burnett still resides upon the old homestead farm, having here eighty acres of well improved
land. She has spent all of her life in Branch county, the Burnetts and the
Olneys both being pioneer families of this portion of the state identified with
its entire history.
JOSEPH NELSON SALISBURY.
Joseph Nelson Salisbury, manufacturer and lumber dealer, is closely
identified with the business and civic life of Quincy, both by reason of his
own energetic and public-spirited activity and also. as successor to his father,
whose connection with Quincy dates from the early days of its history as a
center of population, and who has always been regarded among the strongest characters in the town.
Joseph B. Salisbury, the father, died in October, 1902, being at the
time one of Quincy's oldest and most highly esteemed business men. His
honorable career was thus sketched by one who had known him from boyhood: "Joseph Blackmar Salisbury first saw the light among the hills on
the Hudson river at Athens, New York, June 2, I831. Left fatherless at
an early age, he has given us another example of a boy's self-dependence,
fighting the battle of life alone with a success crowned with an honorable
manhood. While in his teens he came to Newark, New York, to live with
his uncle Horace Blackmar, who was a prominent merchant and business
man of that place, whose advice to the boy was, 'the only way to do business is the right way,' emphasizing the word 'right,' and Joe has remembered it. He remained with his uncle until the high tide of emigration to
California swept him across the isthmus and Pacific ocean to the gold fields.
Joe's story of the three years' struggling in the mines and of his trials in
getting there would make an interesting book. In the fall of I854 he came
to Michigan and joined his interests with W. J. Barnes in the lumber business, locating on section twenty-six, three miles southeast of Quincy, where
they erected a sawmill. In the fall of 1863 he moved to the village of
Quincy and purchased the interest of J. R. Daggett in the planing mill and
lumber yard, which he continued until his death. Mr. Salisbury has been
in business in Quincy forty-eight years.  He made his business a success.
He has earned a record of honorable dealing and integrity of character well
worthy of emulation. Joe Salisbury had many good traits. Being mortal,
he must have had some faults, and he had some good qualities the world will
never know how to appreciate. Well, Joe has gone; he can't come back. We
fi: 1: \




550


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


may say what we will, he can't fight back, but that noblest trait in us, charity, constrains us to remember his virtues and forget his faults. A mourning community went with him to the grave, where the beautiful ceremony
of a fraternal brotherhood left him  with God. The sweet aroma of the
bank of flowers, wet with tears, will linger there while friends, with the love
of sweet and enduring memories, shall pay tribute to his rest."  Joseph B.
Salisbury married, May Io, I85I, Margaret Ann Barnes, whose death occurred February 21, I895.  They were parents of five children, namely:
Joseph N., Carrie Lillie, Willard Andrews, Rolzamund B. and Flora Adell.
Mr. Joseph N. Salisbury, the only living son of this late Quincy business man, was born in Newark, Wayne county, New York, in 1853, but
was reared mainly on a farm in this county, attending school in the country
and in Quincy. He early became associated with his father in the lumber
yard and sash and planing mill, and at his death became proprietor of the
factory and business.  Interior wood finishing, sash and general planing
work constitute the output of the mill, and his large retail lumber yard is the
only enterprise of the kind in Quincy. Like his father, Mr. Salisbury is
successful in business affairs, and is one of the prominent men of affairs of
his town. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, the Masons and Maccabees, and, a Republican in politics, has served two terms in
the village council and is always ready to promote by personal effort the
welfare of his community.
In 1877 Mr. Salisbury married Margaret Ann Rose, who was born in
Kingsville, Canada, in I855. Her father, Benjamin Rose, also, a native of
Canada and of Irish stock, was a farmer and came to Michigan from Canada in I870. locating at Jonesville, whence, after a successful career in
farming, he retired and moved to Quincy in I886, and died the following
year in his sixty-fifth year. His wife, Hannah Rose, also a native of Canada, is still living, in her eighty-ninth year, making her home with Mr. and
Mrs. Salisbury. She is a Methodist; her husband was a Baptist. Mrs. Salisbury is next to the youngest of the seven of her parents' nine children that
reached adult age, the others being as follows: Benjamin, a wholesale merchant in South Bend; Mariam, widow of Upham Waldo, of Chicago; Maria,
twin sister of Mariam, and married Melvin Ganyard and is living in Oakland; Silence, widow of Henry O'Reilly, lives in San Francisco, California;
Myra is wife of Gabriel Blum, a merchant of Martinez, California.  Mrs.
Salisbury's mother by a previous marriage has two living children: Chloe,
the wife of Frank Post, a mine operator in California, and Phoebe, wife of
William Doe, a molder living in Detroit. Mrs. Salisbury is a member of the
Presbyterian church. Mr. and Mrs. Salisbury have one child, Rose, who is
at home.
GEORGE H. SEYMOUR.
George H. Seymour, cashier of the Farmers and Merchants Bank, and
a respected and trustworthy representative of the financial interests of the
county, was born in Union City, June 26, 1867, being the second son of
Henry and Carolyn (Tutherly) Seymour, whose history is given on another
A*




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


551


page of this work. At the usual age he entered the public schools and
passed through successive grades until he became a high school student in
Union City, graduating in the class of 1884. When he had put aside his
text-books he entered upon his business career as a teller in the Union City
National Bank, which position he filled with ability and credit from August, I884, until March, I888. In the latter year he came to Sherwood,
accepting the cashiership in the Farmers and Merchants Bank, which has
been his business association from that date to the present time. The success of the bank is largely attributable to his efforts for he is a popular official, obliging to its patrons and at the same time carefully conducting the
affairs of the institution, which is capitalized for ten thousand dollars, with
Ienry Seymour as the president. George H. Seymour is also engaged in
the insurance business, representing the New York Underwriters Agency,
the Hanover, and the North British Companies.
In November, I888, Mr. Seymour was united in marriage to Miss
Maude L. Hubbard, a daughter of Russell D. and Julietta (Cooley) Hubbard. They now have one son, Leon H.
Mr. Seymour is a stalwart and unswerving Republican, having taken an
active interest in the party and exerted his influence in its behalf since attaining his majority.  He is now filling the position of village treasurer
and was formerly president of the village. He has been a member of the
school board for twelve years and was township treasurer for four years
and his support of progressive community interests has been of marked
value in this part of the county. He belongs to Sherwood lodge, No. 421,
A. F. & A. M., and is also a member of the Unitarian church in Sherwood.
His entire life has been passed in Branch county and his life history is in
contradistinction to the old adage " That a man is never without honor save
in his own country, and that among his own kin," for in this locality where
he has always lived Mr. Seymour has so directed his efforts as to win success and an honored name simultaneously.
WILLIAM    N. CONOVER.
William N. Conover, a retired farmer now living in Coldwater, was
born in the town of Sparta, Livingston county, New York, August 29, 1837,
his parents being Garrett and Jane (Hall) Conover, both of whom were
natives of Cayuga county, New York. His grandfather, John Conover, was
also a native of the Empire state and was of Holland descent, and from the
same country the maternal ancestry is traced. Mrs. Conover died when her
son William was only three years old, leaving two children, but the daughter departed this life several years ago.  For his second wife the father
married Sarah Howell and they became the parents of four children, after
which the mother's death occurred. In 1847 Mr. Conover had removed
to Huron county, Ohio, and it was there that he was married for the third
time, Miss Mary Wright becoming his wife. There were two children by
that union.  Mr. Conover always devoted his time and energies to, agricultural pursuits and his death occurred in Fairfield, Huron county, Ohio.
William N. Conover was reared on the old homestead farm and left.:




552


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


the parental roof when twenty-two years of age. He was married in i86r
to Miss Sevilla Trauger, who was born in Richland county, Ohio, and was
of German lineage. The young couple began their domestic life upon a
farm in Huron county, Ohio, and Mr. Conover continued the cultivation of
his land until in I862, when he could no longer content himself to remain
at the plow while the Union was in danger. He therefore enlisted on the
9th of August as a member of Company D, One Hundred and First Ohio
Infantry, joining the regiment as a private. In February, I863, being unable
to endure the hardships of war, he was honorably discharged on account of
disability at Bowling Green, Kentucky. He now maintains pleasant relations with the soldiers of the war through his membership in Butterworth
Post, G. A. R.
Returning to his home in Ohio, Mr. Conover remained in that state
until 1864, when he came to Branch county, Michigan, and settled in Algansee township.  Three years later he sold his property there and removed
to Ovid township, where he successfully carried on farming until 1889.
He was practical in his work, systematic in his methods, utilized the latest
improved machinery to facilitate the work of the fields and altogether was
known as an enterprising agriculturist.  Success attended his labors and
with a well earned competence he retired to Coldwater to enjoy the fruits of
his former toil.
Mr. and Mrs. Conover became the parents of one child, Lottie, who was
married to Adelbert Leroy, a resident of Kalamazoo, Michigan. She died
in 1902, leaving one son, Lavern, who is now sixteen years of age. Mr.
Conover has always been an advocate of Republican principles, but has never
had any political ambition, content to devote his attention to his business
affairs, and now after many years of close connection with agricultural interests he is enabled to live retired, enjoying the comforts and many of the
luxuries of life.
JOHN A. GREENAMYER.
John A. Greenamyer, a representative farmer of Ovid township living
on section twelve, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, on the 28th of
January, I858. His father, David Greenamyer, was also a native of that
county, born in I820 and was reared in Ohio, where he followed the occupation of farming. His entire life was devoted to general agricultural pursuits and thus he provided for his family. He was married in Ohio to Miss
Margaret Snook, a native of that state, born in 1827. She was reared and
educated in Salem, Ohio, and came of a family of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Greenamyer were born ten children, six sons
and four daughters, of whom two are now deceased.
John A. Greenamyer, the fifth child and third son in his father's family, was about seven years of age when his parents left Ohio and removed
to Branch county, Michigan, settling upon the farm which is now the home
of our subject. It comprised one hundred and sixty acres of land and the
father secured eighty acres of this. He erected all of the buildings upon
the place and added many modern improvements, converting the property




i




I4-V, 6 A






fi








HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                        553
into a well developed farm which yielded him a good income as a reward
for the cares and labors he bestowed upon the fields. In politics he was a
life-long Republican, interested in the growth and success of his party, and
he was widely and favorably known in this section of the state. He carried on the active work of the farm until I9OI, when he retired from business life and took up his abode in Coldwater.
John A. Greenamyer was reared upon the old farm   homestead and
pursued his education in the district schools of Ovid township, therein mastering the branches of learning usually taught in such institutions. He always remained at home during the period of his boyhood and youth and
assisted his father in the farm work until he attained his majority. He then
left home and started out upon an active business career as a farm hand.
He worked by the month for five years and then returned to the old homestead, which he purchased from his father. He now has eighty acres of
land all under cultivation and neatness and system pervade the place and
indicate the owner to be an enterprising agriculturist, who thoroughly understands his business and directs his labors so as to meet with success. In
all his work he has been encouraged and assisted by his estimable wife, who
in her maidenhood bore the name of Belle Strobec. They were married on
the 20th of April, I887. Mrs. Greenamyer was born in Ovid township on
the 25th of August, I864, and is a daughter of Addison and Hannah (Pender) Strobec, early settlers of Branch county. They came from Lenawee
county during the epoch of pioneer development here and established their
home in Ovid township, where they reared their family. Mrs. Greenamyer
spent her girlhood days under the parental roof and acquired her education
in the district school near her home. By her marriage she has become the
mother of six children, four sons and two daughters, all of whom were born
upon the farm where they now reside, namely: Ralph, Starr, Arlene and
Rex, twins, Clifford and Marie.
In his political allegiance Mr. Greenamyer is an earnest Republican and
has capably filled local offices, acting as township treasurer for two years
in Ovid township. He is well known and his co-operation can be counted
upon for any measure for the benefit of the community. He belongs to the
Order of Mutual Protection at Coldwater.
LEROY B. TALBOTT.
LeRoy B. Talbott, a prominent farmer residing on section fourteen,
Union township, was born in Cazenovia township, Madison county, New
York, November 8, 1830. His father, Lorenzo D. Talbott, was also a native
of the Empire state, and was a son of Samuel Talbott, whose birth occurred
either in Nova Scotia or England. The great-grandfather, Edward Talbott, was a native of England and was a military officer, becoming commander of the warship Prince of Wales. He was connected with the nobility of his native land. In the maternal line Mr. Talbott is descended from
one of the old families of New York of Holland-Dutch ancestry. His grandfather was John Nichols. His mother bore the maiden name of Catherine
M. Nichols and was born in New York, giving her hand in marriage in






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Madison county, that state, to Lorenzo D. Talbott. They took up their abode
in that county, but their last days were spent in Michigan, both passing away
in Union City. The father was eighty-three years at the time of his demise,
while his wife passed away at the age of about seventy years.  In their
family were two sons and a daughter. The brother, E. H. Talbott, was
killed in California by being thrown from a horse, while Malissa Ann, the
sister, is now the wife of Oved Alvord of Creston, Iowa.
LeRoy B. Talbott, the eldest of the family, was reared in the county
of his nativity to the age of fifteen years, and in 1845 came with his parents
to the middle west, the family home being first established in Mentor, Ohio.
Mr. Talbott remained there until i866, and was married in that place to, Miss
Julia Griswold, the daughter of Harry Griswold and Betsy (Ackley) Griswold. Mrs. Talbott died March I6, I905, her death being greatly deplored
by many friends, for she had endeared herself to a large circle of acquaintances with whom she had come in contact. She left one daughter, Myrtie,
now the wife of Frank Baker, of Detroit, and they have a daughter, Lila.
At the time of Mrs. Talbott's death the following lines were written:
"Miss Julia E. Griswold was born in Mentor, Lake county, Ohio, November 15, 1841, and passed to higher life, March I6, 1905, aged sixty-three
years. She was married to L. B. Talbott August ii, I86I. Two children
blessed this union. The white messenger came and plucked one from the
parent stem in its infancy and bore it away to the great beyond. A husband
and daughter, Mrs. Frank Baker, of Detroit, and a sister, Mrs. Cale Lincoln, are left to mourn the loss of wife, mother and sister.
"For some years, Mrs. Talbott has been failing, and for the past few
months she has been treated for a complication of diseases; no positive
decision could be reached. She spent a few weeks at the Sanitarium  at
Battle.Creek, she returned home, and has been gradually going down ever
since. On the evening of the loth she was stricken with paralysis from
which she never rallied. The sleep that forebodes so much took possession,
resisting all care and entreaties of loving friends that she might be spared to
them.
"Mrs. Talbott was highly esteemed in the neighborhood where she
has lived thirty-eight years; endearing herself to those with whom she came
in contact and to-day they mourn with those who mourn the loss of she who
Waited in the gloaming,
And at the early morn;
She awaited the angels coming,
She listened for their songs.
"Day and night was the watch kept, lovingly attending to the little that
could give comfort to the body as it lay so helpless; each one knowing that
they were helpless to stay the hand of the dread archer, who, sooner or
later, would snap the bow and send the arrow that would sever the cord
that binds to earth.
"Thus she lingered, day by day, growing weaker and weaker, until the
two worlds that had been so slowly approaching each other, rested for one




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


brief moment on the threshold, and the life went out like the snuffing of a
candlk. The veil was lifted and the spirit left its clay casket and entered
her eternal home.
"Home! Yes, home of the soul,
In Heaven's land not built with hands;
Beyond the stars in God's own land;
And written on a golden scroll:
'Home of the Father, home of the soul.' "
In the year I866 Mlr. Talbott came to Branch county, purchasing a
farm whereon he now resides. He has made all of the improvements here
including the erection of his present modern residence and his large and
substantial barns.  The place is divided into fields of convenient size by
well kept fences and the latest improved machinery is used in facilitating
the farm work. The homestead comprises one hundred and fifteen acres
of land and is one of the good farms of the county owing to the care and
cultivation which Mr. Talbott has bestowed upon it. He has always carried
on general agricultural pursuits and his practical knowledge and experience
enable him to so conduct his business interests as to derive therefrom a
gratifying income. Since age gave to him the right of franchise he has
been in sympathy with Republican principles and has voted for the party
since it has had a presidential nominee in the field. He is well known in
the county, his residence in Union township covering almost forty years and
it is known that his aid can be counted upon for the furtherance of every
progressive and beneficial movement. His worth is acknowledged by many
friends who entertain for him kindly regard.
EDWARD P. WILCOX.
The farming interests of Matteson township find a worthy representative in Edward P. Wilcox, who resides on section eight, where he owns
eighty acres of land, while elsewhere he has a tract of twenty-three acres.
The Empire state has furnished a large number of valued citizens to Branch
county, including Mr. Wilcox. who was born in Onondaga county, New
York, December lo, I840. His father, Thomas Wilcox, was a native of
Vermont and in his boyhood days went from the Green Mountain state to
New York with his parents. His father was Stutley Wilcox, of English
descent. In the Empire state Thomas Wilcox was reared and became a
farmer. In I856 he removed to Michigan, settling in Jackson county, and
his last days were spent in Muskegon county, where he passed away in his
eighty-sixth year. In early manhood he had wedded Eliza Hall, a native of
New York, in which state her death occurred when she was about fifty
years of age. In their family were eight children, seven of whom reached
manhood and womanhood, while five are now living.
Edward P. Wilcox was the sixth child and third son and was about
fifteen years of age when he came to Michigan, the remainder of his minority being passed upon the home farm in Jackson county, where he gained
a good practical knowledge of the best methods of tilling the fields and




556


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


caring for the crops. On attaining his majority he started out in life on his
own account, willing to perform'any work that would yield him an honest
living and gain him a start in life. He came to Branch county in 1878, locating on a farm in Matteson township which he purchased from Curtis McCarty. There he carried on general agricultural pursuits until 1904. In
I9OI, however, he located on his present farm on section eight, Matteson
township, where he has eighty acres of land that he has placed under a high
state of cultivation, while in another tract he has twenty-three acres. His
farm work is systematically managed and his untiring activity in business
life guided by sound judgment has brought to, him a gratifying measure of
prosperity.
Mr. Wilcox was married in i88i to Miss Ella Johnson, a daughter of
Samuel and Harriet Johnson and a native of Niagara county, New York.
They have two children: Clyde, who is living on the old homestead; and
Myrtie, the wife of Earl Taylor, a farmer of Matteson township. Mr. Wilcox has been a life-long farmer and the success that he has achieved is due
entirely to his persistency of purpose and indefatigable energy. In politics
he is a Democrat and is interested in public affairs, although he has never
sought or desired public office. During a residence of twenty-eight years in
Branch county he has won the esteem and regard of his fellowmen and the
circle of his friends has constantly been extended.
IRA A. MARTIN.
Ira A. Martin, who devotes his time and energies to agricultural pursuits on section three, Batavia township, was born on the old family homestead March 15, I859. His father, Ira Martin, was a native of Jefferson
county, New York, and came to Branch county, Michigan, in I844. He
was born in I820 and was therefore a young man of twenty-four years when
he determined to try his fortune in the west, hoping that better opportunities
might be enjoyed and that advancement might be more quickly secured in
a district where competition was not so great owing to the less thickly settled
condition of the country. He spent one year in the city of Coldwater and
then removed to Batavia township, where he purchased a tract of land. He
was a cooper by trade, but after buying a 'farm gave his time and energies
to its cultivation, raising the various crops best adapted to the soil and climate.
Matters of public interest elicited his attention and to many movements for
the general good he gave hearty co-operation. He held some local offices
and in politics was a stanch Republican. He wedded Miss Mary Loomis,
a native of Ohio and a daughter of Eber Loomis. Her mother was a native
of Connecticut. Mrs. Martin was born in 1822 and both parents of our subject have now passed away, the father having died in I897 and the mother
in I903. They were the parents of six children, all of whom are yet living,
but Ira A. and Joseph are the only ones who reside in Branch county.
Ira A. Martin was the fourth son and fifth child in the family. No
event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for.
him in his youth. He acquired his early education in the district schools
of Batavia township and afterward continued his studies in the schools of




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


557 -

Coldwater. When not engaged with his text-books his time was largely
given to farm work upon the old family homestead and he remained with
his parents until the time of his marriage, when he took up his abode on
the farm where he now lives on section three, Batavia township. Here he
owns one hundred and thirty acres of well improved land, carries on general farming and has a model country home. In the rear are good barns and
outbuildings and these in turn are surrounded by well tilled fields, the entire
farm presenting a most attractive appearance because of the air of neatness
and thrift which pervades every part of it.
In I889 Mr. Martin was united in marriage to Miss Della E. Johnson,
a daughter of A. P. and Sylva (VanDusen) Johnson. Mrs. Martin was born
in Ohio and was eight years of age when she came to Branch county. This
union has been blessed with one daughter, Vesta L., now at home. Mr.
Martin is a stalwart advocate of Republican principles, has served as township treasurer of Batavia township and is now filling the office of justice
of the peace. He is actively and helpfully interested in public affairs, is a
member of the Grange and has a wide and favorable acquaintance in the
county where his entire life has been passed and where he has so; directed
his efforts as to gain success in business and at the same time win the trust
and friendship of many with whom he has been associated.
REV. DAVID L. HOLBROOK.
Rev. David L. Holbrook, pastor of the Congregational church of Union City, was born in Yates county, New York, June 5, I848, his parents
being Dr. L. H. and Susan (Jones) Holbrook. His paternal grandfather,
Luther Holbrook, was a native of Keene, New Hampshire, and was a cabinet maker by occupation.  The ancestry of the family can be traced back
to an early epoch in the settlement of the new world, John Holbrook having come from England, in I840, and located in Weymouth, Massachusetts.
Dr. Holbrook was born in Utica, New York, and completed his professional education in Hahnemann Medical College, of Chicago, in which
city he practiced for several years. He died when about fifty-seven years
of age. His wife was a native of New Jersey, and with her parents located
in Yates county, New York, in her early girlhood.   Her father, Joseph
Jones, was a surveyor and surveyed much of the land in the western part of
the Empire state.  He was of Welsh lineage.  Mrs. Holbrook died when
about seveny-seven years of age. In the family were five sons and a daughter, and with the exception of one son all are yet living, namely: Colonel
Stanley H. Holbrook, of Park Ridge, Illinois, who is connected with the
J. W. Butler Paper Company, of Chicago; Joseph S., who is with the Fuller
& Fuller Drug Company, of Chicago; William C., who is a musician with
De Baugh's Band; and Anna M., who is a teacher in the kindergarten at
Park Ridge, Illinois.
Rev. David L. HIolbrook, the eldest of the family, was educated at
Amherst, Massachusetts, where he was graduated with the class of 1872.
He afterward was connected with the Chicago high school and he completed his preparation for the ministry by graduation from  the Chicago




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Theological Seminary with the class of I877. His first pastoral charge was
at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, where he remained from I877 until I892, when
he went to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, as pastor of the Congregational church
from I893 until I898. In 1900 he came to Union City, where he has since
remained, and under his guidance the work of the church has been well
organized and great good is accomplished in its various departments. He
has in his labors not been denied the full harvest nor the aftermath, and
his influence has been of no, restricted order.
On the 6th of September, 1876, Rev. Holbrook was united in marriage
to Miss Sarah H. Helm, a daughter of the Rev. James I. Helm, D. D., formerly rector of St. Paul's church, at Sing Sing, New York, now deceased.
Mrs. Holbrook is a native of New Jersey. The marriage of Rev. and Mrs.
Holbrook has been blessed with seven children: James L., who died at the
age of two years; David H., who is now in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin,
where he is teaching in the high school, and who married Gertrude Brewer,
by whom he has a son, David; Charles W., who is engaged in teaching in
Clinton, Iowa; Frederick S., who died in infancy; Franklin F., who is a
graduate of the Union City high school; Eliza S., who has also completed
a high school course; and Marjorie, who is a high school student. The
Rev. Holbrook is a man of scholarly tastes, continuing his studies and researches along many lines and thus promoting his efficiency in his work by
the broadening of his knowledge. He presents his thoughts with clearness
and force and his long continuance with the different churches with which
he has been connected indicates his standing with his parishioners and the
general public.
MRS. C. E. (HOBART) HURD.
Mrs. C. E. (Hobart) Hurd, of Union City, was born in Yatesville,
Yates county, New York, January Io, 1821, and became a resident of
Michigan in 1841, when she located in Union City. Here she has resided
continuously since she was married in I842 to Dr. W. P. Hurd, who died in
I88I. He was a prominent physician for many years in Union City, but
gave up the practice of medicine during the war of the rebellion and was
later connected with banking interests, being president of the Union City
Bank at the time of his death.
JOHN A. STANTON.
John A. Stanton is one of the representative and leading farmers of
Sherwood township, living on the old family homestead on section nine.
It was upon this farm that he was born May 24, 1869, being the only son
and eldest child of Edward D. and Susan (Atwood) Stanton, who are mentioned on another page of this work. His boyhood days were spent in the
usual manner of farm. lads of the period and he assisted in the further cultivation and improvement of the old home place, upon which his grandfather,
John Stanton, had located in 1836, taking up the land from the government.
He was one of the pioneer settlers of the county and aided in reclaiming this
portion of the state for the uses of the white race, it having been hitherto




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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                         559
the domain of the red man. John A. Stanton has always remained upon the
farm and in his youth his time and attention were divided between the work
of the school room and the duties of the fields, his education being largely
acquired in the schools of Union City.
As a companion and helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Matie
Collins, to whom he was married on the 28th of February, I89I, her parents
being Joseph and Sophronia (Pierce) Collins. They were early settlers of
Branch county, locating in Sherwood township when few homes had been
established within its borders.  It was here that Mrs. Stanton was born.
Mr. and Mrs. Stanton have become the parents of two, daughters and a
son: Alice, Eslie and Edward.
Mr. Stanton is the owner of four hundred and seventy acres of valuable land, of which three hundred and twenty acres is the old homestead
farm, while ninety-five acres lies in section eleven. He is a most progressive agriculturist and his farm indicates his careful supervision in its neat
and attractive appearance. Indeed it is one of the most desirable properties
of the county and it returns to him a splendid income annually because of
the care and labor he bestows upon the fields. He has followed in his father's political footsteps and has been a life-long Republican.  He has a
wide acquaintance in Branch county and is best liked where best known, a
fact which is indicative of an honorable career.
J. B. BRANCH.
J. B. Branch, who entered upon a clerkship at the age of fourteen years,
is today at the head of the extensive department store of J. B. Branch &
Company, the largest enterprise of this character in this portion of the
state. He has steadily worked his way upward, each step in his career being
carefully taken, and as the years have advanced his business capacity and
enterprise have been recognized and have found their just reward in the
handsome competence which is today his.
Mr. Branch is a native of the Empire state, his birth having occurred
in Fort Byron, New York, April 3, 1853. His parents were Elijah C. and
Annette N. (Woodward) Branch, both of whom       were natives of New
Hampshire. They came to the west from New York when their son was a
small boy and settled at Coldwater, Michigan, where they spent the greater
part of their remaining days, both passing away in Branch county, the
mother's death occurring in I900, while the father survived until 1902. The
remaining children of the family are J. B. Branch and one sister.
J. B. Branch was reared and educated in Coldwater, but had no particular advantages in youth to assist him when he started out upon his business career. He was only fourteen years of age when he was thrown upon
his own resources and since that time all that he has enjoyed or achieved has
been acquired through his own well directed labor, guided by sound business judgment that is the outcome of experience. He first became a clerk
in the store of Woodward, Barber & Company and acted in that capacity
until I875, when he became a partner in the firm of Woodward & Branch
and established a dry goods store. After two years, however, he sold his




560


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


interest to the partner and joined Mr. Barber in forming the present firm
of J. B. Branch & Company, successors to Woodward, Barber & Company.
The present partners are J. B. Branch and Julius S. Barber, the former,
however, being the active manager of the business.  They carry a large
line of dry goods, carpets, millinery and in fact conduct a general department store which is not surpassed by any enterprise of this character in
central Michigan. Their building is three stories and basement and there
is also. an annex. The building is equipped with an electric elevator and
on each floor they have a double room which is divided into departments.
The business is conducted along strictly retail lines, and throughout his entire career Mr. Branch has carried on merchandising, standing today as the
leading representative of this line of trade in Coldwater.
Mr. Branch was married in this city in I876 to Miss Emma Moulton,
who was born in Coldwater and is a daughter of Storrs H. and Julianna
(Hulburt) Moulton, pioneer residents of this city. The father conducted a
furniture store here about forty or forty-five years ago. This he at length
sold because of impaired health and both he and his wife died several years
ago. Mr. and Mrs. Branch have become the parents of two sons and two
daughters:  Helen M., now the wife of William  Coombs of Coldwater;
Leroy J., who is also married and is associated with his father in business; Lorene M.; and George M. The first two, are twins.
When twenty-one years of age Mr. Branch became a member of the
Masonic fraternity and successive degrees have since been conferred upon
him until he is now a Knight Templar Mason. He holds membership in the
Baptist church and is interested in public progress to the extent of active
co-operation in many measures for the general good. His life as a man of
affairs is to him only a means to an end for he never allows the duties of
his calling to dwarf his finest sensibilities or to thwart his generous ambition. He is genial, courteous and a fast friend to those who enjoy his confidence. In all his business enterprises he is eminently successful and is
regarded by all who know him as exceptionally sure and reliable.
ORLANDO G. NOYES.
Among the respected and worthy citizens of Coldwater now living retired is numbered Orlando G. Noyes, whose birth occurred on Chestnut street
in Rochester, New York, August I, I839. The family is of English lineage.
and the grandfather, Samuel P. Noyes, was born and lived in the east. His
son, Samuel P. Noyes, Jr., was born in the southeastern part of Vermont in
I803, and during his active business career engaged in the manufacture of
shoe pegs and lasts, conducting a factory in Rochester. He wedded Mary
Brezee, who was a native of Connecticut and was of French and English
lineage. They became the parents of nine children, of whom one son and
one daughter died in early life, while the others reached adult age.
Orlando G. Noyes, the eldest of the seven who grew to manhood and
womanhood, was reared in Rochester and in Penfield, New York, and ptrsued his education in the common schools. He afterward assisted his father
in business until the latter's death. W7hen only thirteen years of age he




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


561


began learning the printer's trade, and to that pursuit largely gave his time
and attention until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when in I861 lhe
enlisted as a musician of the Ninth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, serving
for eleven months.  He was captured at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, being
taken prisoner by Generals Foster and Wheeler.  He was paroled, however, about ten miles southeast of McMinnville, Tennessee, and returned to
Nashville, whence he made his way to Columbus, Ohio. Following his discharge from the army he returned to Coldwater, Michigan, where he had
located in 1846, his parents in that year having established their home here,
while the father carried on business as a boot and shoe merchant.
Mr. Noves worked in the printing office of the Coldwater Sentinel, of
which Elihu B. Pond was the editor and proprietor.  He continued with
that paper for two or three years, after which he entered the office of the
Branch County Repuiblican, remaining in that employ until the time of his
enlistment in the Civil war. Following the close of hostilities and his return to Coldwater Mr. Noyes was engaged in the liquor business in connection with his father, manufacturing and rectifying whisky for about two
years. He also conducted a billiard hall for some time and had a soda water
fountain.  Later he spent about six months in Chicago, and subsequent to
his return to Coldwater he was elected city marshal, which position he held
-for two terms.  Later he and Frank Noyes built and conducted what' is
known as the Farmers' Feed Stables, beginning the business in January,
1892, and conducting the same until 1904. He then went to Denver, Colorado, where he spent three months in visiting his brother, Frank Noyes,
an expert violin manufacturer, whose violins are known throughout the
world, and have been tested in comparison with some of the old and famous
instruments, including the Stradivarius, which are worth four thousand dollars. The violins manufactured by Mr. Noyes were found to, be of superior
grade and workmanship. Following his visit in the west Orlando G. Noyes
returned to Coldwater, where he is now living practically retired, but he
and his brother Frank own property here, including the west half of the
Noyes block. The east store of the Noyes block is now owned by the Eldridge
heirs, Mrs. Amelia Hobbie, of Kankakee, 11., Mrs. Florence Vankirk, and
Mrs. Josephine Smith, of Nomence, Ill. The three-story brick block at the
corner of Chicago and Hanchett streets was built by S. P. Noyes, Jr., and
his son, Orlando G. Noyes, in I866, and is known as the Noyes block, located on the northeast corner of Chicago and Hanchett streets, Coldwater.
He resides at No. 34 Hanchett street, where he has lived for fifty-three years.
Mr. Noves is a member of the Masonic fraternity in good standing,
and exemplifies in his life the beneficent spirit of the craft. He was raised
to the sublime degree of a Master Mason September Io, I869, and has since
affiliated with the organization. He is likewise a charter member of Butterworth Post, G. A. R., and of the Union Veterans' Union, and he had the
honor of presenting the name of W. W. Barrett, which was. accepted.
Mr. Noyes was married in 1884 to Miss Emma Haines, the youngest
daughter of Robert and Julia Haines, of Ovid township, Branch county,
Michigan. He has lived in Coldwater for fifty-nine years and may well be




562


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


classed with the pioneers of Branch county. In early life he gave his political
support to the Democratic party, and in 1872 voted for Horace Greeley,
while in 1904 he cast his ballot for Theodore Roosevelt. In 1876 he delivered many political speeches in behalf of the Greenback party.' He has
been a close student of political economy and the questions of the day, and
few men are better informed concerning the issues which now divide the
two great parties.  He has contributed in substantial measure to the
upbuilding of Coldwater and has much more than a passing interest
in its welfare and progress. On many occasions he has given active support to measures for the general good and his labors along this line have
been far-reaching and beneficial.
JACOB EINSLEY.
Jacob Ensley was for many years one of the prominent farmers and
leading citizens of Branch county, representing its agricultural interests,
and when he was called to his final rest deep regret was felt upon the part
of many friends. He was a native of Ohio, born on the 22d of May, 1835,
his parents being John and Lydia (McClish) Ensley, who were also natives
of Ohio. Soon after coming to the territory of Michigan they took up their
abode in Batavia township. They had, however, spent four months in Lenawee county, Michigan. Jacob Ensley was the second child in their family, and was but two months old when brought by his parents tb Branch
county, the mother carrying him from Jonesville, as she walked that distance. Amid the scenes and environments of pioneer life Jacob Ensley was
reared, early becoming familiar with the arduous task of developing new
land and opening up a farm. Thus his youth was largely a period of unremitting toil, and he gained the experience which enabled him to successfully carry on farm work when he afterward began business on his own account. He acquired his education in the schools of Batavia township, and
desiring to establish a home of his own he secured as a helpmate for life's
journey Miss Dora Robinson, to whom he was married on the 3Ist of August,
1862. Her parents were Nahum and Betsy (Golden) Robinson. The father
was a native of Vermont, and on leaving New England went to Pennsylvania when a young man. He was a miller by trade and followed that pursuit in the Keystone state and in New York. He was married in Pennsylvania to Miss Golden, whose birth occurred in Pennsylvania. The mother died
in New York when forty-five years of age, and the father afterward returned to
Crawfordsville, Pennsylvania, where his last days were passed, his death occurring when he was sixty-three years of age. His business career was characterized by promptness, energy and diligence, and these qualities brought him a
gratifying measure of success. Mrs. Robinson was a member of the Methodist
church, and both parents of our subject were worthy and respected people, enjoying the warm regard of a large circle of friends. The father served as a private in the war of 1812, and was alwavs loyal and patriotic in matters of citizenship. In the family were eleven children, four sons and seven daughters,
five of whom reached adult age.
Mrs. Ensley was born in Chautauqua county, New York, on the 3oth




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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


563


of August, 1843, spent her girlhood days in her parents' home, and was a
young lady of nineteen years when she came to Michigan, arriving in this
state in 186I. For thirty-five years she has made her home upon the farm
which is now her place of residence. This is a splendidly improved property, on which is a fine brick building, good barns and other equipments.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ensley were born four children, but Homer is the
only one now living. He is carrying on the home farm of one hundred
and twenty acres, and is recognized as a progressive agriculturist of this
part of the state. The others were: Grant, who died at the age of fifteen
years; Burt, who died when fifteen months old; and Bertha, who passed
away at the age of five years.
Mr. Ensley worked persistently and energetically as the years went by
in order to improve his property and place his land under a high state of
cultivation.  He was a resident of Batavia township for more than six
decades, having been brought to the county when it was largely an unimproved part of the state. Much of the land was still in possession of the
government, and only here and there was seen the home of a settler, indicating that the work of reclamation had been begun. He was a member of the
Grange, and was actively interested in all that pertained to the agricultural
development of the county. iHe also assisted in the promotion of interest
for general progress and improvement along material, intellectual and social
lines, and his worth as a man and citizen was widely acknowledged. He
died January 6, I89o, and thus passed away one of the honored pioneer
residents of the county. Mrs. Ensley still survives her husband and makes
her home uponi the old farm with her son.
OREN L. PIERCE.
Oren L. Pierce is one of the old settlers of Branch county now living
on section seventeen, Sherwood township. He was born in this township
May I8, 184o, his parents being Jonathan E. and Lucretia D. (Lee) Pierce.
The father was a native of Rhode Island but was reared in New York, in
which state his wife was born, their marriage being there celebrated. They
came to Michigan in I836, settling in Sherwood township where Mr. Pierce
purchased a small tract of land. They were pioneer residents of Branch
county, being among the first to locate in this township and they therefore
experienced the difficulties and hardships which fall to the lot of a frontier
settler. Mr. Pierce gave his undivided attention to the development and
improvement of the new farm, continuing its cultivation until his death, which
occurred July 5, 1855, when he was about forty-nine years of age. His
widow has also passed away. They were the parents of six children, of
whom three died in infancy, the others being Oren L.; Mary, the wife of
Andrew Dorsey; and Saphronia, the widow of Joseph Collins.
Oren L. Pierce was the third in order of birth in his father's family.
He was reared in Sherwood township and in his early boyhood attended a
log school house. He lost his father when fifteen years of age and since.
that time he has been dependent entirely upon his own resources, working
by the day and month in his youth and early manhood. He has cleared




564


HISTORY O'F BRANCH COUNTY


considerable land in the county including the farm upon which. he now resides. At the time of his marriage he located on a small farm in Sherwood
township and after cultivating it for a period sold the property and settled
on section seventeen, where he has since made his home, covering a period
of thirty-eight consecutive years.
In I865 Mr. Pierce wedded Miss Louisa H. Ensign, a native of New
York and a daughter of Rastus and Harriet (Pierce) Ensign. They have
a son and daughter, Fred L., a resident farmer of Sherwood township, and
Ethel E., at home.
Mr. Pierce now owns one hundred and twenty-six acres on section
sixteen, Sherwood township.  He is the oldest man living in Sherwood
township that was born and reared in the township. He is a gentleman who
dearly loves the chase, and has spent several autumns in the hunting season
on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and has killed nine deer.  In his
beautiful country residence he has a fine buck's head and antlers mounted
and adorning the walls of his sitting room. He has always devoted his life
to agricultural interests, but is likewise a capable carpenter and has erected
all of the buildings upon his place, including his residence and barns. He
possesses good business ability and executive force and deserves great credit
for what he has accomplished. His political allegiance has been given the Republican party since casting his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln
in I864. He was highway commissioner for three terms but has never
been active in seeking political office or honors, content to do his duty as a
private citizen.  He has seen this county developed from a wild country
with only a few white inhabitants to a rich agricultural district containing
thousands of good homes and acres of growing towns inhabited by an industrious, prosperous, enlightened and progressive people and he has participated in the slow, persistent work of development which was necessary to
produce this change, attaining at the same time a place among the prosperous
residents of the county.
WILLIAM    WALTER.
William Walter, interested in general farming in Kinderhook township, which is the place of his nativity, was born January I6, I855, but comes
of English ancestry. He is a son of Abraham Walter, who was born in
England, and a grandson of Abraham Walter, Sr. The latter wedded a
Miss Mears and on emigrating from England with their family settled in
Steuben county, Indiana, where their last days were passed. Having arrived
at years of maturity Abraham Walter, Jr., took up the study of medicine
and practiced for many years. He was married in Kinderhook township,
Branch county, Michigan, on the 5th of March, 1854, to Miss Priscilla Ent,
who was born near Trenton, New Jersey, August 7, 1826. Her father was
Enoch Ent and her mother was Susan Gordon Ent, both natives of New
Jersey. In an early day the Ent family were residents of Monroe and of
Lenawee counties, Michigan, and in the latter county Enoch Ent passed
away. His wife afterward came to Branch county and departed this life in
Kinderhook township at the advanced age of ninety-eight years.  In the




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


565


family were seven children, but only one is now living, Mrs. Priscilla (Ent)
Walter, who makes her home with her son William in Kinderhook. Following his marriage Dr. Abraham, Walter engaged in the practice of medicine for a long period and was recognized as an able man and successful
physician. He settled upon the farm which for a long period was called
the Walter homestead, clearing and developing the land and transforming it
into productive fields. He was an esteemed citizen and upright, honorable
gentleman and his death was deeply regretted by many who knew him when
on the I2th of August, I902, he was called to his final rest. Unto Dr. and
Mrs. Walter were born seven children, four of whom reached years of
maturity, namely: William, of this review; Frank, who is living in Kinderhook township; Fred, who makes his home in the state of California;
and Dora Michael, who is living in Bethel township.
William Walter was reared upon the old homestead farm in the usual
manner of lads of the period, attending the public schools through the winter months, while in the summer seasons he aided in the work of the fields.
On the 25th of February, I88O, he was united in marriage to Miss Mattie
Stowe, who was born in Huron county, Ohio, January 29, I858. Her father
was James Stowe, a native of the state of New York, while her mother bore
the maiden name of Elizabeth Sellover and was born in Ohio. There were
seven children in the Stowe family, of whom two died in infancy, the
others being: Mrs. Mattie Walter, the wife of our subject; Fred, a resident of Nebraska; Lutie and Della, of Coldwater; and Mrs. Alice Hildebrant, of Algansee. Mr. Stowe died in I885 and Mrs. Stowe is still living
in Coldwater. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Walter has been born a daughter, Nettie, now the wife of Harry Strank, of Fremont, Indiana.
Throughout his entire life William  Walter has engaged in general
farming and after his father's death succeeded to the ownership of the old
homestead, comprising two hundred and twenty-five acres of rich and productive land in Kinderhook township, which he retained until I9o6, when
he sold the place. In all of his work he has been practical and enterprising
and his labors have been attended with gratifying results. In his political
views he is an earnest Republican and has served as justice of the peace and
school director. His fraternal relations are with Graham, Tent, K. O. T.
M., of California township. He has for a half century made his home in
this county, where he has a wide and favorable acquaintance.
A. LE ROY LOCKE.
A. Le Roy Locke, a member of the Branch county bar and a resident of
Bronson, dates his birth in Townsend township, Huron county, Ohio, December 31, I859, and traces his ancestry back to New England. His parents, Josiah and Malissa (Tillotson) Locke, natives of Vermont, came west
to Ohio in early life, and when the subject of this sketch was two years old
moved to Michigan, locating in Sherwood township, Branch county. Here
they passed the remainder of their lives. Mr. Locke was educated in the
public schools of Branch county, and by teaching school paved his way to
the legal profession. He was a student in the office of H. H. Barlow, an




566


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


attorney of Coldwater, Michigan; was admitted to the bar in I888, and
began the practice of his profession in Mason county, this state. On account of illness, however, he did not remain there long, but went south in
search of health and spent some time in North Carolina. On his return
to Michigan he came first to Coldwater. In 1892 he was appointed postmaster of Sherwood, a position he filled three and a half years, when he
resigned, at that time being elected circuit court commissioner.  At the
close of his two years' term as circuit court commissioner he removed from
Coldwater to Bronson, where he is now engaged in the practice of law.
Mr. Locke is a member of the Masonic order and politically is a
Democrat.
H. E. FREDERICK.
Today Branch county is thickly settled and all of its land has been,claimed, and the greater part of it cultivated, its productiveness being
proven in the splendid crops which are annually harvested in field and in
orchard. A half century ago little work in this direction had been done
and the most rapid strides made in the county toward its present development and progress have been witnessed within the last twenty-five years.
During this period Mr. Frederick has been numbered among the farmers
of the county, living on section 22, Batavia township, where he owns a'
valuable tract of land which presents a pleasing appearance owing to the
improvement which he has placed upon it and the well kept condition of
the fields. A native of Pennsylvania, he was born in Union county on
the 6th of April, 1844, his parents being William and Catherine (Kline)
Frederick, also natives of Pennsylvania.  The father was born in Union
county, but the mother's birth occurred in Juniata county. In their family
were eight children, all sons, and with one exception all reached manhood.,
The father died in Ohio at the very venerable age of ninety-six years, having removed to that state in 1854, and his wife passed away when about
sixty-nine years of age.
H. E. Frederick, the sixth son in his father's family, was a youth of
nine years when he accompanied his parents to Erie county, Ohio. After
five years he removed to Sandusky county, that state, but was married in
Erie county on the 24th of December, 1872, the lady of his choice being
Miss Adaline Goss, whose birth occurred in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania,
on the I2th of February, 1855, her parents being Isaac and Rebecca (Manbeck) Goss. They lived for two years in Erie county, Ohio, and for three
years in Sandusky, and in the spring of I878 they arrived in Branch
county, Michigan, Mr. Frederick making investment in the farm on which
he now resides. Here he has lived continuously for twenty-eight years,
working earnestly and persistently to develop the place, so that it will
yield the best possible results for his labor. He has brought the land to
a high state of cultivation, the fields being now very productive, and stockraising has also been a profitable source of income. He has eighty acres
of land, five miles from the city limits, now well improved and is classed
with the substantial agriculturists of this community.  In politics he was




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


567


a Republican, having supported the party since age gave him the right of
franchise, and he has held some local offices, but has largely preferred to
leave this to others, while he gives undivided attention to his agricultural
interests. He belongs, however, to Butterworth post, No. Io9, G. A. R.,
being entitled to membership by reason of the fact that in 1864, when
twenty years of age, he responded to the country's call for troops, enlisting
in Company I, One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry,
with which he served as a private until the close of the war. He never
faltered in the performance of any military duty, taking his place on the
lonely picket line or on the firing line as duty called. His activity in public affairs has made him well known in the county and his friends speak
of him in terms of warm regard and praise, for he possesses a genial disposition and courtesy as well as business ability and integrity.
OLIVER B. CULVER.
Oliver B. Culver, living on section eighteen, Matteson township, was
born upon this farm December 27, I840, a son of Aliather Culver and a
half brother of Jonathan Culver. The latter is supposed to be a native of
Massachusetts and was of English descent. The father was born in the
Old Bay state, whence he removed to, Ontario county, New York, and in
I835 came to Branch county, settling in Matteson township. He was the
second man to take up land from the government in this township, and
Mr. and Mrs. Culver have five of the old parchment deeds, executed as
follows: September o1, 1838; May i, 1839; September Io, 1838; May
I, 1839, and May I, 1838, which are the valuable souvenirs in the home of
Mr. Culver. This makes ten deeds of the kind found in Branch county so, far,
and they bear the date and were executed by President Martin Van Buren.
Mr. Culver entered altogether one thousand acres. He hauled his wheat
to Toledo, which was the nearest market, and he built upon his place a
log cabin, after which he began the active work of improving and developing the farm. One of the pioneer settlers, he was closely identified with
the early history of Branch county and aided in laying broad and deep the
foundation for the present development and progress of the county. In
politics he was a Democrat and the first town meeting was held in his
house.  There were at that time not to exceed six voters in the township.
Mr. Culver was chosen one of the officers and throughout his entire life he
was active in his support of measures for the general good. He died in
his eighty-second year, while his second wife, who bore the maiden name
of Lydia Ann Baker and was a native of Rhode Island, lived to be seventytwo years of age. The father had been previously married, his first union
being with Miss Amarillis Humphrey, whom he wedded in I8I5.    They
had two children,' Paulina and Jonathan H. By the second marriage there
were four daughters and three sons and with one exception all reached.
adult age.
Oliver B. Culver is the youngest of the family and the only one now
living, and he was reared upon the farm where he yet resides. After mastering the elementary branches of learning taught in the common schools




568              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
he attended the high school at Colon, and he remained at home through the
period of his boyhood and youth, assisting in the labors of the home farm.
On the Ist of January, I866, he was married to Miss Mary E. Sharer, a
daughter of William and Lucinda (Weed) Sharer, who was born in the township of Galen, Wayne county, New York. Mr. Culver brought his bride
to the old homestead farm, where he now owns two hundred and eighty
acres of productive and valuable land. He has about forty-five  acres
planted to fruit, including strawberries, and in fact berries of all kinds.
One road for three-quarters of a mile is bordered with fruit trees. He has
a number of substantial buildings upon the place, including three dwellings
and buildings for packing and shipment of fruit, and he also has buildings
at Colon, from which point he makes his shipments. In addition to the
cultivation of grain and fruit he is also, engaged in loaning money and
holds a number of real estate mortgages. He has been very successful in
his business life and his labors have been the source of a gratifying income.
Mr. Culver is a stanch temperance man and is independent in his
political views, voting for the candidate rather than the party. He has
taken an active interest in public affairs, however, and his fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, have frequently called him to office.
He was clerk for five terms, was supervisor for two terms and is always
loyal in his support of public measures. He is today one of the oldest
settlers of the county, having for sixty-five years been a resident of Matteson township, and his memory forms a connecting   link between the
primitive past and the progressive present. His house was the second built
between Colon and Coldwater, and therefore one of the old landmarks
of the community. An account of pioneer life presents a correct picture
of the experiences of Mr. Culver in his vouth. He has known what it was
to make his way through the primitive forests of Branch county when settlements were very widely scattered and when the homes were mostly log
cabins.  The cooking was done over the fireplace, the little home was
lighted by candles and the farm machinery was very crude, but all this has
been changed as progress has wrought a transformation and brought about
a business condition that makes Branch county on a par with the older
counties of the east.
JENNY C. DOUGLAS.
The life history of Mrs. Jenny C. Douglas reveals many prominent personages, both of the more remote past and in the present generation, who
have been identified in divers ways with the life and times of their respective communities, and also Branch county has since its pioneer days
felt the value of their influence and useful activity.
Mrs. Douglas, who was born in Syracuse, New York,' January I6, 1838,
is a daughter of the late and well known Havens Wilber, also a native of that
city, born in I8o8 and died in I888. Originally the Wilbers came from
England, settling in Connecticut, and later removed to New York. Havens
Wilber was colonel in a regiment of New York militia, and was descended from
Revolutionary stock. He came west to Michigan in 1850, spent one year in


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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


569


Ccldwater, and then identified himself with the incipient village of Quincy,
where he was a dry-goods merchant and for one year was in partnership
with Quincy's first merchant, Benjamin F. Wheat. He continued in active
business connection in this town until his retirement in I878. He was a
prominent Methodist, was class leader, and, possessed of more than ordinary
musical talent and being considered a sweet singer, he had, while in New
York, charge of all the music of his church, and retained his interest in the
art to his last days. A Democrat in his earlier years, he left that party in
later life and became a Republican voter.  He was prosperous from  a
material standpoint, and left his family in comfortable circumstances.
Havens Wilber married, November 26, 1833, Lydia L. Filer. Mrs.
Douglas has in her treasured possession the Bible that was presented on the
wedding day to her mother by the latter's father.  Lydia L. Filer was
born in Syracuse, New York, in I814, and died in I878, being a daughter
of Asa and Mary (Fay) Filer. The Filers are an ancient American family,
having come from Windsor, England, about I620, and made settlement at
Windsor, Connecticut, whence have come all the generations to the present.
Of more than ordinary historic interest is the parchment passport which the
first Filer obtained on leaving his native England, and this document is
another relic of antiquity that Mrs. Douglas has been careful to preserve.
We may also, mention that she has another Bible of ancient date and revered
associations, which belonged to her husband and descended to him from his
grandfather, although the exact age of the volume is not known.  The
Filer family contained much literary talent among their individual members,
although their success in material affairs was equally marked. Asa Filer,
Mrs. Douglas' grandfather, was a contractor, and furnished from his quarry
in New York a large amount of stone used in the construction of portions
of the Erie canal.
Havens Wilber was one of six children, namely, Lydia, Anna, Amos,
Havens, Celesta and Julia. Havens and Lydia Wilber had four children, as
follows: Mary L., now deceased, was the wife of Edward L. Cummings,
a Quincy druggist; Jennie C.; Correl H., deceased; and Sadie, the deceased
wife of Dr. H. W. Gould, at one time a resident of Quincy.
Jenny C. Douglas spent three happy, but earnest years of study at Falley
Seminary, Fulton, New York, and graduated with honor to her class and
to herself on June 27, I859.
In 1852 she married Lewis Conkling, whose death occurred in I862.
A native of Port Jarvis, New York, he had come to Tecumseh, Michigan,
when a boy, and from there moved to Coldwater, where for a number of
years he was a successful hardware merchant.  Mr. and Mrs. Conkling
had four children: William and Jennie G., deceased; Llewellyn, with the
Packer Automobile Company of Detroit; and Gilbert Havens, deceased. Mr.
Conkling was a member of the Episcopal church, and in politics a Republican.
Mrs. Douglas was married to her present husband, Charles H. Douglas,
June ii, I887. Mr. Douglas is one of the highly esteemed men of this
county. He was born in Nova Scotia December 9, 1835, a son of Nathan




570


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


and Cynthia (Payzant) Douglas, the father of Scotch origin, and the mother
of French. Nathan Douglas, who was a sail-maker by trade, in boyhood accompanied his father, Russell Douglas, from New London, Connecticut, to
Nova Scotia. At the outbreak of the Revolutionary war Russell Douglas
was a young man at New London, and was one of the defenders of that,
his native town, when it was attacked and burned by the British forces
under the traitorous Arnold. His family, like many of his neighbors, lost
all their possessions by this event, and in compensation Congress afterwards
allotted to the unfortunate citizens tracts of land in the Western Reserve of
Ohio. It was to take possession of these lands that brought the Douglas
family out to Ohio, and thence further west. But just before the war of
1812 Russell Douglas had moved to Liverpool, Nova Scotia, and during the
war carried on his trade of sail-maker together with his son Nathan. A
Yankee to the' core, and of that vigorous patriotism  which upholds its
rights at all times and under all circumstances, he persisted, while in Nova
Scotia, and despite all remonstrances, in flying the American flag from his
sail loft, and there he kept it unfurled throughout the period of hostilities.
During that war he was also of great assistance in caring for his fellow
countrymen who had been made prisoners and detained in that part of Nova
Scotia.
Charles H. Douglas, who was one of six children, has; had a varied
business career. He was a manufacturer of machinery in Berea, Ohio,
where he and his father made most of the machinery used in the Berea
sandstone quarries. He also carried on manufacturing in Chicago. He is
the inventor of the well known Douglas saws and saw machinery.     In
politics he is a Republican of the Lincoln type, and he and his wife are
members of the Episcopal church.
TENDER MEMORIES OF MY DEAR PARENTS, HAVENS AND LYDIA LAVINIA
WILBER.
Written by Mrs. Jenny C. Douzglas, Quincy, Michigan.
Few things are as potent in the power of association as memory. How
sweet and comforting are the hours when we yield ourselves to its charm.
Today it awakens and cheers my soul like a fragrant breath of lilac or
sweet lavender, and stirs wistful memories of my childhood home, with its
tender, loving guardianship, and infinite peace. My mother, with her sweet
home ways, and always about her the roses and flowers she so fondly loved,
and father, with his strong protecting love and care over us all; and at
evening, as he brightened our home circle by reading aloud, or with his
sweet voice, rendering some: favorite hymn: Ah! their gentle and loving
words, and tenderly fond' caresses as sleeping time came. All these,
And the dear old home I see again,
With its drooping eaves, where the twittering wren
Nested' so long ago;
And I breathe once more the south winds' balm
As I sit again in its twilight calm,
With my precious memories.




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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


571


The home life of my childhood at Syracuse, New York, was ideal. My
good parents made it so. The: years went by and wrought changes. Sorrows came and changed our happiness to tears. Death claimed one by one
from the dear home circle. Sister Mary was first to leave us; then Correl,
my only brother. And one October day in eighteen hundred and. eightyeight, when the autumn leaves were falling, and the winds sighing among
the barren trees, my Precious Mother, while
A look of yearning tenderness
Beneath her lashes lies,
And hope and love unutterable
Were shadowed in her eyes,
Whispered her Good Bye.
The following July, dear sister Sadie joined our family majority; thus
leaving my precious father with his eighty years and only myself to comfort him in the twilight hours that were hovering so near. In my childhood
his loving heart cradled me in a sunny nest, and his gentle hand guided my
footsteps in pleasant paths. Now, it was my privilege to love and comfort
him. in his declining years. With a prayer for guidance ever in my heart,
and with the tender love and solicitude for him, I endeavored to be as
loving a daughter as my mother had been a faithful wife. Father and I
lived very close, each to the inner life of the other.  His life had been
earnest and active, ever kind and loyal, with hand and money always ready
to, help the suffering, or to aid in the progress and upbuilding of his home
town. He gave liberally to building churches and schools, and was the first
to use his influence and money toward the erection of a comfortable station
house in Quincy. In his golden years he was a tower of strength, also a
tender and gentle friend to all who were in need of any kindness. For many
years he was a leading merchant in Quincy, and amassed a comfortable
fortune. Later he was saddened by losses and injustice done him by those
to whom he had been most kind and generous. It is a sad truth that in
his grief his honest and trusting soul passed through a pain almost like
unto a garden of Gethsemane; and the friends who saw him daily, could not
realize the intensity of his sorrow over the wrongs done him by those he
had trusted and loved. The eyes of sympathy are oft-times too far sighted,
and overlook a kindness which lies nearest. In February, 1898, at the age olf
eighty-nine years and six months, after an illness of only a few hours' duration he was peacefully relieved of all his heartaches and awoke to the sunlight and joy of Heaven.   With a sweet smile he often told me of his
pleasure at the thought of meeting mother again; that he knew the Father
above loved him, and he was ready to go. I am sure he is now happy in a
new and limitless city of love and rest. His conscience was clean and void
of offence toward God or man, and his death like a summer sunset. There
is an old age that reaches upward into strength, and a growing old that
brings to the inner spirit a benediction of love and peace.. And this came
to him. A river at its source rushes onward and battles with obstructions;
as it nears the ocean, it loses its haste and nestles in its fulness and power




572


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


into the bosom of the mighty deep. It is the same with the river of life.
Time, the pilot, guides us through the rapids and shoals, down the broadening gulf of experience to the ocean of rest which awaits us, just as sunset
follows sunrise.
I am pleased to quote a portion of a letter received from my son, Mr.
L. W. Conkling, who was in Montreal, Canada, at the time of father's death:
"Dearest Mother: I am deeply grieved at grandpa's sudden death, and
regret I cannot be with you, as distance prevents me entirely. While we all
love and revere him. most dearly for all he has been to us, I know how sad
this must be to you who had always lived so closely in his heart, and who
held his interests in such close regard. He has left behind him, an honest
record, and the love and veneration of his family and friends. I am sure
each of us who survive him  will, in years to come, recall many noble,
generous and kindly deeds, and his absolute fidelity to truth, and his friends.
His life will be a golden memory for us to cherish, and have its influence for
good with all who were so fortunate as to know his inner heart and life.
Dear, noble, old gentleman; one of Nature's best, truest and tenderest of
friends. He has left a beautiful record behind him of being always kind
and loving, generous and true in all his dealings, and never selfish or unjust."
My father always had a hopeful word, and a smile for the sad hearts
that are ever about us. It is the fragrance of the soul of justice and kindness to, endeavor to be helpful to all, and to realize that the real effort of
life is not alone for food and clothing, but for truth, kindness and love and
to remember the balances of God are always justly poised. There is beauty
in a violet and glory in a solitary star.  Together they lead us, not to
winged fancy, but to higher truth, and the Divine understanding of the
tender influence and value of a kindly word, and a hopeful smile.
FREDERICK W. STEWART, M. D.
Dr. Frederick W. Stewart, who in the practice of his profession has
gained a patronage such as is accorded only in recognition of skill and
ability, was born in Ontario, Canada, February 22, 1861, his parents being
Alexander and Mary Jane (Baldwin) Stewart, the former a native of
Prince Edward Island, Ontario, and the latter of New Brunswick, Ontario.
Both are still living, their home being in Ontario, Canada.
Dr. Stewart was reared and educated in the place of his nativity, attending the public schools until he had mastered the elementary branches
of learning, after which he attended Woodstock (Ontario) College. He
followed his more specifically literary education by a course in Cleveland
Medical College, from which he was graduated in 189I, and he then
located for practice in Chardon, Ohio, where he remained for- two years.
Dr. Stewart arrived in Coldwater in I893, and has since been a representative of the medical fraternity here. He is thoroughly informed concerning modern methods of medical and surgical practice, and had been a
citizen of Coldwater for only a brief period when he demonstrated his
ability to successfully cope with the intricate problems that continually confront the physician. He now has a large and growing practice, his pro



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


573


fessional duties making constant demand upon his time, and he enjoys the
confidence and good will of his professional brethren.
In I892 Dr. Stewart was married to Miss Minnie H. Lymburner, a
daughter of Aaron and Maria Lymburner of Ontario.      They have two
children: Roscoe E. and Beatrice E. The parents are prominent socially,
enjoying the hospitality of many of the best homes of Coldwater.   Dr.
Stewart has taken an active part in political matters and is now chairman
of the Republican county committee and also of the Republican city committee. His labors have been effective in promoting the success of the
party, for he is well qualified for leadership and has so directed the affairs
of the party as to get out its greatest strength. His fraternal relations are
with the Masonic lodge, the Knights of the Maccabees and the Woodmen
of the World, and he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church. He is
not so abnormally developed in any direction as to be a genius, but has so
directed his efforts as to develop a well rounded character and his activity
along social, political, moral and professional lines makes him a valued
resident of his adopted city.
REBUEN J. THATCHER.
Reuben J. Thatcher, the owner of one of the nicest country stores of
Branch county, conducting business at Algansee, was born in Hillsdale
county, September I8, I856. His father, Samuel Thatcher, was a native
of the state of New York and was of English ancestry. He followed the
occupation of farming and was married in the Empire state, whence he
removed to Michigan, prior to the Civil war. He established his home in
Hillsdale county, where he purchased a tract of land and opened up a farm,
becoming one of the respected agriculturists of the community.    His
political allegiance was given to the Republican party. He married Orsarilla Cheney, who was born in the state of New York, and was a daughter
of Joseph and Rhoda Cheney, likewise natives of that state. Mr. Thatcher
passed away in I863 at the comparatively early age of forty-four years and
was long survived by his wife, who died October II, I903, at the age of
seventy-eight years. They were members of the Baptist church. In their
family were six children: Esther, who was born in 1847, is the widow
of Emory Forbes, and resides in Monroe, Michigan; Ai, born in I849,
died in 1877; Arminda, born, in 1851, is the wife of James Sherman, a
farmer of Algansee; Esmeralda, born in I854, married Jack Broughton and
died in I876; Reuben J. is the next of the family; Ida, born in 1859, is
the wife of Theodore Jackson, of Kansas.
Reuben J. Thatcher was reared upon the home farm and attended the
country schools.  After putting aside his text-books he followed agricultural pursuits for about fifteen years and then in 1874 removed to this
county, subsequent to which time he traveled for an agricultural implement
firm for about eight years. At the time of his marriage, in 188I, he took
up his abode on a farm in Algansee township, where he remained for nine
years, and in I890 he embarked in merchandising in the village of Algansee, where he still carries on business, having one of the best country stores




574


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


in the county. He has a large and carefully selected stock and his earnest
efforts to please his patrons, together with reasonable prices and straightforward dealing have brought him a very desirable and profitable business.
In I881 Mir. Thatcher was married to Miss Dessie Bates, whose birth
occurred in California township, this county, August 26, I86I. Her father,
Archibald Bates, was a native of Huron county, Ohio, and at an early day
established his home in Branch county, settling in California township,
where he followed general agricultural pursuits. At the present time, however, he is living retired in Auburn and has reached the age of sixty-nine
years. He wedded Sarah Smith, also a native of the Buckeye state, and
now sixty-nine years of age. In their family were five children; Charles,
deceased; Dessie, now Mrs. Thatcher; Daisy, the wife of Fred Faulkner,
who, is engaged in the jewelry business as a member of the firm of Parish
& Company, in Coldwater; Ida, who is employed in a dry goods store in
Auburn, Indiana; and Fred, also living in Auburn. Mr. and Mrs. Thatcher
have a daughter and son: Pansy, who was born in 1887, and is the wife
of Nelson Martin, of Algansee; and Charles, who is in the store with his
father. The parents are members of the Congregational church, in which
Mr. Thatcher is serving as deacon, and he is also enrolled as a member of
the Odd Fellows lodge, the Maccabees tent and the Independent Order of
United Workmen. In politics, an ardent Republican, he served as deputy
sheriff for about thirteen years under Sheriffs Kinney, Sweet and Swayne.
and he puts forth every effort in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of his party, for he is in hearty sympathy with its principles, believing that its platform contains the best elements of good government.
GEORGE KINTER.
Among the early settlers of Branch county George Kinter is numbered, for his birth occurred in a log house still standing on section nineteen, Batavia township, on the 7th of March, 1849. A marked transformation has been wrought in the county and its condition since that time, for
the log cabin has long since been replaced by the frame residence or the
stone or brick dwelling, and where was once the unbroken forest are now
seen highly cultivated fields and scattered here and there are the churches
and schools that indicate the intellectual and moral development of the
community.
Mr. Kinter is a son of Richard Kinter, a native of Pittsford, Monroe
county, New York, whose birth occurred about I8io. He came to Branch
county in 1840, settling on what has since become the old family homestead
on section nineteen, Batavia township, where he built a log cabin that is
still standing on the place as one of the mute reminders of the pioneer
days. The barn.was built in 1848 and is also standing. He was a pioneer
settler who cleared away the trees and turned the first furrows in the fields,
his entire life being given to general farming. He was always a Republican in his political views and he took an active interest in political questions and issues of the day, and in all the affairs relating to local progress
and improvement. He wedded Miss Mary Powell, a native of Pittsford,




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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


575


Monroe county, New York, and who lived to be sixty years of age, passing' away in Batavia township, July 30, I883, while Mr. Kinter died at
the age of fifty-five years. They were well known and respected pioneer
residents of the county and in their family were three sons and two
daughters, all of whom reached mature years, while four are still living.
Mr. Kinter is the third child and second son. His youth was passed in
Batavia township, where he acquired a good education, attending the common district schools and after putting aside his text books he entered upon
his business career, being employed at bridge work by the Fort Wayne
Railroad Company for about eighteen months. With this exception he
has been a constant resident of Batavia township, and he now owns and conducts a farm of eighty acres, the land being well tilled and devoted to general farming. He raises here the crops best adapted to soil and climate
and he annually gathers good harvests, for which he finds a ready sale on
the market.
Mr. Kinter was married in 1874 to Miss Libby Ballou, a native of
Matteson township and a daughter of Jefferson and Jemima    (Pierce)
Ballou. Mrs. Kinter was born in Matteson township and acquired her education in the Lindley school. At the time of their marriage the young
couple located on the old homestead farm where Mr. Kinter was born, and
they have two children: Rena May, now the wife of John Burns, of
Matteson township, residing upon what is known as the old Jefferson Ballou farm; and Leo, who aids his father in the operation of the home place.
The wife and mother died on the 24th of February, 1895, and her many
excellent traits of heart and mind had endeared her to, a large circle of
friends, so that her loss was deeply deplored throughout the community, as
well as within the home circle. Mr. Kinter in his political views is a stalwart Republican where national issues are involved, but largely votes independently at local elections. He served as justice of the peace for two
years and then resigned on account of the ill health of his wife. Having
lived in this county for fifty-five years he has a wide acquaintance, being
known to a large number of its citizens, and sterling traits of manhood have
gained him the respect and good will of all with whom he has been associated.
FRANK LE GRAND COX.
Prominent among the agriculturists of Girard and Branch county is
the gentleman named above, who comes of good old eastern stock and who
was born in Sherbourne, Chenango county, New York, February 24, I853.
The paternal grandfather of our subject was George Cox, who lived for many
years in New York city. Frank Le Grand Cox was the eldest son of a
family of ten children. His father, also bearing the family name of George
Cox, was a native of New York city, where he was born January 26, 1824.
The father lived in New York until he was twenty-eight years of age and
he was married in the empire state in I85I to' Mary S. Brooks. They came to
Michigan in October of I853, when their eldest son, Frank, was only nine
months old, locating in Coldwater, this county, where they lived for thirteen










576               HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
years, afterwards removing to Girard township, where they lived upon a
farm until twenty-three years ago. Thereafter they lived in Union City,
where Mr. Cox died in 900o, and where Mrs. Cox still resides.
Frank L. G. Cox has consequently been a constant resident of Girard
township for the past thirty-nine years and has lived upon his present farm
since I886. Of the ten children born to his parents, one died in infancy and
one son died at the age of seventeen years. The eight still living are as
follows: Frank L. G., o'f Girard; Morris Enos, Will, Ada Mildred Thompson, Alfreda Belle Bell and Lillian Philo, all of Union City; and Alice A.
Olney, of Traverse City, Michigan. The three brothers hold responsible
positions in mechanical lines, while the four sisters have comfortable homes.
All are constant in their ministrations of their aged mother at Union City.
Frank L. G. Cox was married November 27, 1872, to Amanda L.
Everitt, who, although a native of the state of New York, has been a resident of Girard since she was nine years old. Her parents were Daniel and
Mary Jane Palmiteer, pioneers of Girard, who were the parents of four
children: Clark, who died at the age of thirty-five years; Wolsie, who! died
in I894; Mrs. Emily Worden, of Girard; and Mrs. Frank L. G. Cox, of
Girard. Mr. and Mrs. Cox have one daughter, Mary, who was married in
I898 to Frank Lyman, a descendant of one of the old and respected families
of Girard.
The subject of this sketch, Frank L. G. Cox, has not only been notably
successful as a farmer, but he is also widely known throughout Branch county.
He has been called upon on numerous occasions to fill positions of public
trust and responsibility, his fellow citizens recognizing in him those sterling
traits of trustworthiness and ability which they constantly seek in their public officials. Although he has always been an ardent Democrat of the Jeffersonian school of politics, a political party greatly in the minority in this
section of the country, nevertheless he has been called upon on numerous occasions to serve his constituents. Beside filling minor offices, he was chosen
as supervisor of Girard township in I896 and re-elected for no less than
seven additional terms in succession. In this position he not only performed
valiant service for his township, but was also looked upon as one of the
leading members of the Branch County Board of Supervisors, serving upon
the more important committees of that official body and making his influence
constantly felt in the line of economical and efficient administration of public affairs. He is such a man as his friends and neighbors delight to honor,
not alone from personal friendship, but because they feel that in his hands
their public interests will be carefully and judiciously looked after.  Mr.
Cox is still a young man, but his life thus far has been filled with a usefulness not often seen excepting in men of moire advanced years. He belongs
to a number of fraternal orders, having been for many years affiliated with
the Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Ancient Order of
United Workmen, the Loyal Mystic Legion, the Grange and the Patrons
of Industry. He has a fine farm of one hundred and fifty-five acres on sections twenty-three and twenty-four, Girard township, the same being under


I




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


577


good cultivation and equipped with good buildings, the whole property showing that care which proves its owner a careful farmer and one with ideas
of beauty and neatness.
FRANK M. DANIELS.
Frank M. Daniels was born in Florence township, St. Joseph
county, Michigan, January 29, 1844, and is one of the leading citizens of
Branch county, who for many years was identified with its best interests.
His father, Amassa Daniels, is a native of Tolland county, Connecticut, and
was a son of John Daniels, who is supposed to have been born in Scotland.
At all events, his father, John Daniels, Sr., was a Scotchman, and was by
trade a shoemaker. John Daniels, the grandfather of our subject, became
a millwright and followed that pursuit in New England. Amassa Daniels
remained in the county of his nativity through the period of his minority,
acquiring his limited education there, but when he had reached the age
of twenty-one years he removed from, Connecticut to Pennsylvania, where he
engaged in business as a lumberman. About 1815 he removed to Genesee,
New York, and in 1836 he came to Michigan, settling in St. Joseph county,
in the fall of that year. He purchased land and improved two farms in
Florence township, clearing three hundred and twenty acres of land. He
was very successful as a farmer, being practical and enterprising in his
methods and so directing his labors that he annually received a good financial return for his work. He died in his eighty-eighth year, being at that
time one of the most venerable citizens of his county and a man who was
respected and honored by all who, knew him. He lived an upright life,
although not allied with any church and his motives and principles were
such as would always bear close investigation  and scrutiny. In antebellum days he was an opponent of slavery, endorsed the abolition movement and made his home a station on the famous underground railroad until
the Republican party was formed to prevent the further extension of slavery. Twice married, his first union was with Olivia Hammond, a sister
of his second wife, and by that union there were nine children, five sons and
four daughters, all of whom reached manhood or womanhood. His second
union was with Sophia Hammond, also a native of Tolland county, Connecticut, and a daughter of Eli Hammond, a descendant of Thomas Hammond, of English lineage. Mrs. Daniels departed this life in her sixtythird year. She had become the mother of six children, all of whom
reached adult age, with one exception.
F. M. Daniels was the fourteenth member of his father's family and
was the fifth child of the second marriage.  He was reared in the place
of his nativity until twenty-one years of age, and acquired his education in
the country schools, supplemented by two terms' attendance at Beloit College, in Beloit, Wisconsin. He engaged in teaching school for three
winters in Greenwood, McHenry county, Illinois, but the greater part of
his life has been devoted to agricultural pursuits. He lived for one year
in Batavia township, Branch county, Michigan, and in that year, I868, he
took a very active part in politics, it being the year of the Grant campaign.




578


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


He served as secretary of the Grant Club in Batavia township, and labored
untiringly to promote the success of the Republican party. On  leaving
Wisconsin he went to Iowa, and afterward to Kansas and to, Texas. He
was engaged in the railroad service for about four and a half years on the
Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad, being station agent at Chetopa, Kansas,
for three years. He was afterward transferred to the Houston & Texas
Railroad, with which he held a responsible position. Later he became interested in the Zimmerman refrigerator car building, at Dayton, Ohio, and
went with the first carload of fresh meat shipped by the refrigerator
process to Boston. This was the beginning of the refrigerator car business
of Swift, the well known meat packer, for Mr. Daniels sold out to that
company. After residing in Detroit for a time he went to California in
I884, there remaining for five years, during which period he worked at
the carpenter's trade, being at Pasadena and at Redlands. He came to'
Sherwood in I892. In April of the same year Mr. Daniels married Mrs.
Calinda Sawin. He has taken a very active interest in public affairs as a
life-long supporter of the Republican party and is now serving for his fourth
term as trustee of the village. He was trustee for four years, has been
treasurer for two years, and is now serving his second term as president
of the village board of Sherwood, and was highway commissioner one
year. While acting in that capacity he instituted iron bridges which have
since become common in the locality, and the value of which is now uniformly acknowledged. In his religious views he is a Unitarian. He has
had a somewhat eventful life, visiting many portions of the country, so
that he has an intimate knowledge of his native land. He is regarded as
one of the representative citizens of Sherwood, active and influential in
community interests, and in the various offices which he has filled he has
done much to promote the general welfare.
ORION L. SMITH.
Orion L. Smith, who was born in Butler township, Branch county, in
I865, has for a number of years been successfully identified with the agricultural interests of the county and has recently transferred his attention
to the coal, wood and lime business in Quincy, being an esteemed business
man of that place.
His father, Abram  Smith, who was born near Somerset, this state,
and died in I870 at the age of forty-five, moved to Branch county about
1847, and continued to make his home in Butler township and part of the
time in Quincy until his death. He was killed in a railroad accident. As
a farmer he was prosperous beyond the average, and he also gave his attention to dealing in stock, and at his death he left a competency, and
throughout his career had lived in the highest regard of his fellow citizens.
He was a member of the Free Will Baptist church, and politically was a
Democrat. Mr. O. L. Smith's mother was Mary Margaret Weatherwax,
born in Shelby, Orleans county, New York, and is living in Quincy at
the age of seventy-five years. Her lineage is German. There were three




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


579


children in the family, Armina, Luella and Orion L., but the last named is
the only one living.
Attending school in Quincy and also a student in a business college at
Kalamazoo, Mr. Smith by rearing and training was well fitted for an active
and successful career. After leaving school he clerked awhile, and then
engaged in various occupations. For a number of years he was a farmer
in Butler township, and still owns his fine homestead of one hundred and
sixty acres in Butler township. He left the farm to operate a draying
business in Quincy, and in I903 he opened here an establishment for the
handling of coal, wood, lime, cement and similar commodities. He erected
the fine brick office building in which his business is located.
In I886 Mr. Smith married Miss Hattie Beatrice Woodard, who was
born in Minnesota in I869. Her father, John Woodard; a millwright, who
afterward moved to Iowa, in which state he died, and her mother, Ella
Irish, a native of Minnesota, but both being of New England stock, were
parents of four children, namely: Sarah Bell, the wife of W. A. Van
Winkle, station agent at Dayton, Iowa; Calafern, wife of E. M. Lundeen,
a banker of Dayton, Iowa; Mrs. Smith, and Oliver J., a farmer at Burnside,
Iowa. In August, 90o5, Mr. and Mrs. Smith adopted a child, Neta Violet,
who is three years old. Fraternally Mr. Smith is an Odd Fellow    and
Knight of Pythias, and his politics is Democratic.
HENRY HOYT BARLOW.
Henry Hoyt Barlow, who has given his undivided attention to his professional duties since entering upon the practice of law, is now ranked with
the leading members of the Coldwater bar, and the large clientage accorded him evinces the public confidence in his ability.  He is a native
son of Michigan, having been born in Hastings, June Io, I850, and is
a representative of a distinguished pioneer family of the state. The Barlows are of English lineage and the first of the name to come to America
settled in Connecticut. Later generations went to! New York and afterward came to reside in the west. Nathan Barlow, grandfather of Henry
H. Barlow, was a pioneer resident of Michigan, settling in Barry county.
He was not only active in business affairs but was also, an influential factor
in public life, representing his district in the state legislature, as did his son
Nathan Barlow, Jr. The latter was a native of New York and became
a merchant and prominent business man of Hastings, Michigan, where he
resided for many years. He married Miss Malissa Tyler, also a native of
the Empire state.
Henry Hoyt Barlow    was reared in Hastings to his sixteenth year,
when he entered the University of Michigan, which institution conferred
upon him the Bachelor of Arts degree at the time of his graduation with
the class of I870.  He was then but twenty years of age.  He returned
home and spent about a year in his father's store. In I87I he was ap
pointed superintendent of the city schools of Hastings, and after acting in
that capacity for a year he took up the study of law. In 1872 he came to
Coldwater and entered the law office of the late Judge N. T. Loveridge,




580              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
with whom he formed a partnership in November, I873. This relationship
was continued for fifteen years, and for two or three years Mr. Barlow was
a partner of H. C. Loveridge, since which time he has been alone. His
legal business has constantly grown in volume and importance and mention of the bar of Branch county at once suggests Mr. Barlow as one of its
leading members.
Mr. Barlow was married, in 1874, at Coldwater, to   Miss Emma
Etheridge, who died leaving two sons, Nathan and Burt E. The former
is a graduate of the Northwestern University, and having completed literary and medical courses in the University of Michigan is now engaged in
the practice of his chosen profession in Stronghurst, Illinois. Burt E. pursued a literary course in and is a law graduate of the University of Michigan, and is now practicing with his father, the firm of Barlow & Barlow
being a prominent one at the Coldwater bar.
JOHN DUNLAP.
John Dunlap, an intelligent, enterprising and influential farmer, is living in California township. It was in this township that he was born on
the 5th of November, I850. His father, William Dunlap, was a native of
Ireland, born in county Antrim, and in that county he was married to Miss
Jane Adams, a native of the same county.  Soon after his marriage he
came to the United States, locating first in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
whence he afterward made his way into the interior of the country, settling
first in Lenawee county, Michigan, in I830. After six years there passed
he removed to Branch county in I836, becoming a pioneer resident of this
locality, who aided in reclaming a wild district for the purposes of cultivation. He secured one hundred and sixty acres of land from the government which was mostly unimproved. He has in his possession two of
the  parchment deeds executed   by  President Andrew   Jackson, and
which  are valuable souvenirs.  This property  was situated  on sections four and five, California township, and not a furrow had been turned
thereon, but he at once began the work of development and in the course
of years placed the entire tract under the plow and gathered from the cultivation of his fields bounteous harvests. He made his home ever afterward upon this farm, both he and his wife dying here. Theirs were the
usual experiences of pioneer life, a home remote from other settlers, land
that was uncleared and uncultivated demanding arduous labor in its development; few comforts in the house, either in the way of furnishings or
in supplies for the larder, and yet there was much happiness in that pioneer
existence. At no time has the feeling of hospitality been surpassed and
the early settlers were always willing to help one another in their work.
Mr. Dunlap was for several years the owner of the only wagon in the township and this was in great demand by the other pioneers. In his family
were five sons and one daughter, all of whom reached years of maturity,
namely: Thomas, who is now living in Algansee; William, who was a
surveyor and died in the state of California; Matilda, who died in this
county; Alexander and James, who died in California township; and John,


I




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


581


of this review. The death of the father occurred in June, 1884, after a
residence of more than a half century in Michigan. His wife survived him
until December 24, 188,7. Both were devout Presbyterians in religious
faith and at all times were true and loyal to the church, giving their aid
and influence for the moral development of the community. Mr. Dunlap
was a Democrat in his political views, but without aspiration for office.
He concentrated his attention and energies upon his business affairs and
he assisted all of his sons in securing farms, buying land and helping them
to clear their fields.
John Dunlap, the youngest of his father's family, was reared upon
the old homestead farm and remained with his parents up to the time of his
marriage, which was celebrated on the 22nd of October, 1874, Miss Ellen
Vance becoming his wife. She was born in Maryland, September 22, 1856,
and when eight years of age was brought to Branch county, Michigan, by
her parents. Her father, Alexander Vance, was born in Ireland, November
28, I833, and was married there in I853, when twenty years of age, to
Mary Barnhill.  Soon afterward he came to America with his wife, and
for three years they resided in Brooklyn, where he was employed as conductor
on a street car. They then removed to Baltimore, where for ten years he
managed a six hundred acre farm, but attracted by the possibilities and
opportunities of the middle west, he came to Branch county in I864 and
purchased eighty acres, to which he afterward added fifty acres. The original tract was cleared, it being one of the first farms that was settled in this
township. He gave his further attention to the development o'f the property and became recognized as one of the leading agriculturists of the community. In his family were ten children, of whom six are now living, Mrs.
Ellen Dunlap being the fifth in order of birth. The mother departed this
life in I88o and Mr. Vance is now living among his children. He is a
member of the United Presbyterian church, to which his wife also belonged.
Mr. Dunlap first became the owner of real estate in I872. His original farm comprised eighty acres, to which he afterward added until within
the boundaries of his place are now comprised one hundred and twenty
acres. He is an intelligent agriculturist, carefully directing his labors so
that the farm produces excellent crops. In all of his work he is practical,
and a glance at his place indicates the careful supervision of a painstaking
owner who thoroughly understands.his work.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap have been born three daughters and one
son: Jane, who died at the age of twelve years; Ella, the wife of Clarence
Goodwin, a resident of California township; Belle and James, at home.
Mrs. Dunlap is a member of the United Presbyterian church. Mr. Dunlap
belongs to. Greenleaf Lodge, No. 349, A. F. & A. M., and also to the Ancient
Order of United Workmen. His political allegiance was originally given to
the Democracy, but at the time of the McKinley campaign he became an advocate of Republican principles and has since supported the party. He served
as supervisor for two years, has been township treasurer for two years,
highway commissioner for two years and moderator of the school district






582


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


for several years. He is a prominent man of the township and uses his influence for the betterment of the county, belonging to that class of citizens
who always uphold the legal and political status of every community.
GEORGE A. BURTON.
George A. Burton, who for eighteen years has efficiently served as
superintendent of Oak Grove cemetery in Coldwater, was born near Batavia,
New York, November 2, 1852, a son of George and Amanda (Holbrook)
Burton. His father was born in Massachusetts, April 3, I791, eight years
before George Washington died, and was married twice, having five children
by the first marriage, although only two came to Michigan: Nathan A.,
who died in Kalamazoo, in I892; and Mrs. Potter, who died in Reading in
I899. Mr. Burton of this review was the only child of the second marriage. The father died May 24, I863, in Oakfield, New York. The mother,
who, was born in Genesee county, New York, October 23, I8,20, came to
Michigan with her son, G. A. Burton, after the death of her husband and
spent her remaining days in Branch county, passing away July i, I877.
George A. Burton was a lad of thirteen years when he accompanied
his mother to this state, and after attaining his majority he began farming
on his own account, living in Butler township for nine years.  He then
left this county and spent the succeeding year in Petoskey, Michigan, after
which he took up his abode in Coldwater township, where he devoted his
time and energies to general agricultural pursuits until he assumed his present
position as superintendent of the Oak Grove cemetery. This is one of the
finest cemeteries in southern Michigan and its beauty, artistic arrangement
and excellent condition are largely due to the efforts of Mr. Burton. Although he has never made a systematic study of landscape gardening, he has
natural ability in that direction and has greatly adorned the cemetery through
his care of flowers, grass and trees, until its beauty is noted by all.
On the I5th of December, I874, Mr. Burton was united in marriage to
Miss Mary J. Holmes, who was born in Kent county, Canada, February
27, I8.55, and was educated in the schools of Canada and Homer, Michigan.
Her father, Irwin Holmes, and her mother, who bore the maiden name of
Elspeth Grant, were both natives of Canada, and the latter died when their
daughter was only four years of age, while Dr. Holmes passed away in the
spring of I898. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Burton have been born two children:
Luella M. Burton, has been provided with liberal educational advantages and
for the past two, years has acted as state factory inspector. She has become known throughout the United States for her beneficent work in this
regard, doing much for the amelioration of the hard conditions under which
the factory girls have labored. Lyman D. Burton, the son, was reared upon
the old homestead and is one of the prosperous young farmers of the
county. He married Miss Elizabeth Hoffert, and with their adopted child
they reside upon the Burton farm in Coldwater township.   Mrs. Mary
Burton has a brother, Lawrence Holmes, of Homer, Michigan, and a sister,
Mrs. Maggie Irish, of St. Louis, Missouri. The husband of Mrs. Irish is




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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


583


superintendent of Shaw's Botanical Gardens at St. Louis, and has held that
position a number of years.
Mr. and Mrs. Burton reside in a pleasant home in the cemetery grounds.
His long retention in his present position is evidence of his worth.  He
has a wide and favorable acquaintance throughout the county to which he
come in his boyhood days and where he has now made his home for about
forty years. As to the religious faith of Mr. and Mrs. Burton, they are
members of the Methodist Episcopal church in Coldwater. They are both
devotees of the principles laid down in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows' fraternity, he being a member of the Subordinate Lodge No. 31, the
Encampment No. 86, and Canton Milnes No. 2I, passing all the chairs. Mrs.
Burton and her daughter are members of the Rebekahs, they having also
passed all the chairs, and father, mother aind daughter have been delegates to the Grand Lodge at various times. Mrs. Burton at the present
writing is deputy of the order. Mr. Burton is a stanch Republican in his
political views. They have an old violin which is over a century old, having been passed down from generation to generation, while also in their
home is one of the old coverlets as a souvenir, which was woven by some
of their early progenitors.
IRA KELLSY.
Ira Kellsy, whose home is on section seven, Ovid township, where he
owns and cultivates a farm, belongs to that class of valued and representative citizens that the Empire state has furnished to Branch county. His
birth occurred in Castile, Wyoming county, on the 7th of November, 1823,
and he has therefore passed the eighty-second milestone on life's journey.
His father, Ransom Kellsy, was a farmer by occupation and became one
of the early residents of Ovid township. His birth occurred in Washington county, New York, where he was reared and married. He wedded
Miss Tina De Groaff, who also spent her childhood in the Empire state.
They were the parents of ten children, five sons and five daughters, Ira
Kellsy being the second in order -of birth. The father continued to make
his home in New York until called to his final rest, and he cast his ballot
for the men and measures of the Democratic party.
Ira Kellsy was reared in the state of his nativity and came to Branch
county in 1848, when a young man of twenty-five years, for he believed
that he might enjoy better business opportunities and more rapidly acquire
a competence in this new but growing section of the country. He bought
forty acres of land in Ovid township and carried on farming for four years,
after which he returned to New York. Later he went to Illinois, whence
he afterward came to Branch county and located upon the farm which is
now his home in Ovid township. His entire life has been devoted to general agricultural pursuits and he has a well improved property that annually returns to him a gratifying income.
In February, I866, Mr. Kellsy was married to Miss Katherine Lockwood, a daughter of Uriah Lockwood, one of the pioneer settlers of Branch
county, who came from New York to Michigan in 1836 and entered a




584


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


quarter section of land from the government. He and his sons cleared the
farm which is now the home of our subject. Unto Uriah and Charity
Lockwood were born ten children, five sons and five daughters, most of
whom were reared in Branch county. In his later years Mr. Lockwood
divided his property among his children. He was a Whig in his political
views until its dissolution, then he joined the ranks of the Republican
party. He was well known and highly esteemed throughout the community, and his death, which occurred in September, I865, was deeply regretted
by many friends. It was in the following February that Mr. and Mrs.
Kellsy were married, and they located upon what had been her father's
farm, Mr. Kellsy giving his time and labors to its further development
and improvement. He has been a life-long Republican, unfaltering in his
support of the party, yet never seeking office for himself. He has now
passed the eighty-second milestone on life's journey and his has been an
honored and upright career, characterized by activity in business and reliability in all trade transactions, so that he receives the respect and confidence of all who know him.
REVEREND WILLIAM T. LOWRY.
Reverend William T. Lowry, now engaged in the insurance and coal
business of Coldwater, has been identified in various ways with the material, intellectual and moral progress of the city, and his labors have always been a helpful and beneficial factor. His birth occurred in Monroe
county, New York, March 3, I840. His father, James Lowry, was also
a native of the same county and there spent his entire life, passing away
at the age of forty-eight years. He was of English lineage and always
followed the occupation of farming in order to provide for his family. He
married Agnes Richmond, a native of Scotland, who came to America
when a young lady. William T. Lowry is their only son, and he has but
one living sister, Margaret, who is the widow of C. C. Beardsley.
Rev. William T. Lowry was reared in Wyoming county, New York.
and after attending the common schools continued his education in Middlebury Academy. He was at one time a fellow student of Mr. Folsom, whose
daughter, Frances, became the wife of Grover Cleveland. Later Mr. Lowry
pursued his education in what is now called Colgate University 6f New
York, and was graduated from that institution. He entered the theological
department in I866, completing his course in I868, after which he entered
upon the active work of the ministry, locating in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
He there remained for three years, after which he came to Coldwater,
Michigan, and for ten years was a representative of the ministry in this
city. On the expiration of that period he turned his attention to the grocery business, and in other ways he has been closely connected with the material development and social, intellectual and moral progress of Coldwafer. For two years he was superintendent of public schools and through
a long period was a member of the board of education, during which time
he exercised his official prerogatives in the support of all progressive meas



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


585


ures for the cause of public education. HIe is now engaged in the insurance and coal business, and in both departments of activity has a good
patronage.
Rev. Lowry has been a life-long Republican, somewhat active in the
party, which he has supported since he cast his first presidential ballot for
Abraham Lincoln in I86o. He was supervisor from the Third ward of
Coldwater for about six years, and at all times has been loyal to the public
trust reposed in him, enjoying in full measure the confidence and regard
of those with whom he has been associated.
EDWIN KELLOW PEARCE.
Edwin Kellow Pearce, a leading dry goods merchant of Quincy whose
prosperity is the outcome of his recognition of business opportunities, his
unremitting diligence and his keen sagacity, is a native of Devonshire, England, his birth having there occurred June I, I86i. His father, Theophilus Pearce, was born in England, was a farmer by occupation and departed this life at the age of seventy-eight years. He married Maria Kellow, also a native of England, and she is now living in Devonshire at the
advanced age of eighty-four. They were the parents of fourteen children,
seven sons and seven daughters, all of whom have married and reared
families of their own.
Edwin K. Pearce spent the days of his boyhood and youth in England,
acquiring his education in its public schools, and in I885, when twentyfour years of age, came to the United States. He had previously served
an apprenticeship to the dry goods trade in Plymouth, England. He first
located in Detroit, where he entered the dry goods establishment of L. A.
Smith & Company as a clerk, continuing with that house for seven years,
a fact which indicates his faithful service and his efficiency. On the expiration of that period he went to Hillsdale and secured employment in the
store of Boyle & Brown, where he remained for six years. In I898 he
came to Quincy and in connection with Mr. Lyon, of Hillsdale, purchased
the dry goods stock of J. C. Joiner, the firm of Pearce & Lyon conducting
the business for three years, at the end of which time Mr. Pearce purchased
his partner's interest and has since been alone.  He carries a carefully
selected line of general dry goods, cloaks and carpets and has an up to date
establishment. In fact his store would be a credit to a city of much greater
size than Quincy.
Mr. Pearce was married to Miss Florence Weaver, a daughter of J.
C. Weaver of Durand, Illinois, and they have one child, Edwin George,
born in I901. Mrs. Pearce is a member of the Presbyterian church and
Mr. Pearce of the Episcopal church, but he acts as leader of the choir in
the former. His political views uphold Republican principles, as he has
continuously supported that party since age gave to him the right of franchise. He has had no occasion to regret his determination to make
America his home and enjoy the advantages here offered, for he has found
good opportunities and the ready reward of persistent and earnest labor.




586


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


He is today a successful man by reason of his earnest purpose, honorable
methods and close application, and is now a representative merchant of
Branch county.
GEORGE EDGAR BURDICK.
Although this is essentially the age of 'the young man, when we see
responsible positions well and capably filled by men who are still in their
twenties and thirties, nevertheless it is seldom that we find one so young as
our subject placed in so important a position as he. For the past three
years he has been superintendent of the Branch County Infirmary and Hospital, and that he performs his duties in a highly satisfactory manner is
evidenced by his retention in this capacity.
Mr. George Edgar Burdick was born in Coldwater township, October 12,
I870, and his entire life has been passed in Branch county with the exception
of six years, when he was engaged in the drug business at Marcellus, Michigan. He is descended from two, of the highly respected and oldest families of
this portion of Michigan, the Burdicks and the Howes, his father being James
Burdick, who was born in Tioga county, New York, December I8, I839,
and his mother being Minnie Howe, who was born in Kirkland, Ohio, October
24, r843.
James Burdick's father was also named James Burdick, and his mother
was Mary Lewis. They were both natives of the state of Rhode Island and
they were married in New York state, being the parents of twelve children,
only two of whom are now living-James, the father of our subject, and
Mrs. Betsy Harrison, of Climax, Michigan. The father died in the state
of New York, while the mother, Mary Lewis Burdick, died in Calhoun county.
Our subject's father, James Burdick, was but five years of age when he
was brought to Michigan by his parents, their home being first in Calhoun
county, although they afterward removed to Branch county, where James
Burdick still resides, he being one of the highly esteemed agriculturists of
California township. James Burdick has been a life-long Republican and has
upon many occasions been called upon to fill positions of public trust and
responsibility, being township treasurer for several terms, justice of the
peace for an extended period, highway commissioner for several years, and
holding other local offices.
James Burdick and Minnie Howe Burdick are the parents of six children, all of whom are living, as follows:  Mrs. Lena Short and Carrie
Parker, of Coldwater; Hiram Burdick, of California township; George E.,
our subject; Arthur Burdick, of Bloomington, Illinois; and Addie Burdick,
of Coldwater.' Mr. and Mrs. Burdick are still living on their comfortable
farm home in California township, where they possess the high regard and
esteem of a large circle of friends.
Our subject's maternal ancestors, the Howes, were also early pioneers of
Michigan.   His maternal grandfather was Hiram   Howe, who married
Caroline Harrison, who was descended from the same branch of the Harrison family as the late lamented President Harrison. They were married in




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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


587


Ohio and reared a family of twelve children, only two of whom are now
living-Minnie Howe Burdick. mother of our subject, and Frances Howe
Gardner, of Coldwater. The Howes and Harrisons were both originally from
Connecticut, and they located in Ohio in an early day, afterward coming to
Michigan in 1854 and locating in Athens, Calhoun county, where they lived
for twelve years, then removing to Coldwater and Branch county, where the
maternal grandfather and grandmother of our subject passed the remainder
of their lives.
Our subject, George E. Burdick, was reared upon the home farm,
securing meanwhile a good common school education, which was supplemented with a course of study at the Indiana State Normal School at Angola,
Indiana, where he completed the commercial course in I892. Since attaining manhood he has been known as a successful farmer and has also been
engaged in mercantile lines and various other enterprises. That he has a
natural aptitude for his present position is not strange when we consider the
fact that his. ancestors, the Howes, as well as many present day members of
this family, have long been known in the eastern states as prominent institution people, being at the head of reformatories and other establishments
of this character there. During the incumbency of his brother-in-law, the
late A. T. Short, as superintendent of the Branch county farm, he spent
considerable time as an assistant here, and this, together with his eminent
fitness for the position, led to, his selection to fill the vacancy caused by the
death of Mr. Short. That the selection was a wise one has been clearly
demonstrated during his administration of over two years. The position is
a peculiar one, requiring tact and executive ability, and Mr. Burdick has
capably met every demand therein. The farm is a large one and the institution has constantly as inmates from  thirty-five to forty-five dependents
and assistants.  Mr. Burdick is a Republican, politically, although never
an office holder until the present time, and the tax-payers of the county, as
well as the county superintendent of the poor, consider him the right man
for the place.
Mr. Burdick was married May 24, I905, to Miss Cora May Blackman,
of Quincy, Michigan, who is the daughter of Dr. Edson Blackman, of that
place, appropriate biographical mention of whom and family may be found
elsewhere in this volume. Mrs. Burdick was reared in Quincy and she
graduated from the high school of that place in the class of I893, afterward
filling a responsible position in the Quincy postoffice for two years under
Postmaster McKay. Mrs. Burdick has since her marriage been matron of
the Branch county poor institution, and she shares with her husband the
duties and cares of the same. It may be readily seen that it is no ordinary
task to keep things running smoothly and in order in an establishment of
this character, but Mrs. Burdick has filled all requirements of her position in
the most admirable manner and she possesses the high regard of all the
inmates, besides winning the approval of the superintendents who have an
oversight here.
*i;t - ~;::0:::f




588


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


GEORGE CARTER.
George Carter, whose property interests include twol hundred and twenty
acres of rich farming land in Bethel township, and who is also the owner of
one of the beautiful residences of Bronson, was born in Bethel township, September 9, I86I. His father, John N. Carter, came from Schoharie county,
New York, to Michigan in I843. He was born in May, 1817, and having
arrived at years of maturity, wedded Mary Maples in Lenawee county, a
daughter of Christopher Maples, of New York. HIe was a carpenter by trade
and followed building operations in the Empire state, but attracted by the
possibilities of the new and growing west he came to Michigan in 1843, first
settling in Lenawee county, near Hudson, where he worked at his trade. In
1843 he removed to Bethel township, Branch county, where he invested in
eighty acres of land on section sixteen. Settling on this place, he cleared
away the timber and built a log house, continuing the work of cultivating and
improving his farm until he had made it a good property. Later he bought
two hundred and twenty acres on section fourteen. This he also cleared and
placed under a high state of cultivation, making it his home until I8168, when
he traded that farm for a place in Hillsdale county, Michigan. He had in
I867 bought eighty acres of land on section fifteen, Bethel township. After
trading his home property he removed to Hillsdale county, but remained there
for only one month, when, desiring to return to Branch county, he traded his
farm for eighty acres on section seventeen, Bethel township. Upon the latter
farm he resided until 1887, in which year he removed to a farm on section
seven of the same township, where he owned one hundred acres of land, and
in addition to this he had eighty acres in Batavia township. He carried on
general farming, raising good crops and also cattle, sheep and hogs. He
built several homes and other buildings on the various farms which he owned
and was an energetic, enterprising and wide-awake business man. At length
he distributed his land among his children, dividing his property prior to his
death, which occurred in February, I89I. His widow survived him until
I894, when she, too, passed away. They were the parents of eight children:
Sarah, who died at the age of eighteen years; Charles, now living in Hillsdale county; Eliza, the wife of Gilford Barnes, of Bethel township; Hervey,
who made his home in Bethel township, where he died in August, I904; John,
who is living in Batavia township; Adelia, the wife of L. Fox, of Bethel
township, Michigan; Emma, the wife of Fred Hoskins, who is living in
Bethel township; and George, who completes the family.
In his youth George Carter attended the district schools and acquired a
good practical education. He was trained to farm work under the direction
of his father, whom he accompanied on his various removals, so that he was
well qualified to undertake the care of his farm when his father gave to him a
tract of land of eighty acres on section seventeen, Bethel township. He received this gift in I887, in which year he was married to Miss Dora Schaffmaster, the only daughter of Christopher Schaffmaster, of this county. The
young couple began their domestic life on the farm which Mr. Carter had
received from his father, and here they have since lived. They have become




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


589


the parents of three daughters: May, Grace and Anabel, the sunbeam of the
family circle. May is now a student in the Bronson public schools, being now
in the eighth grade, and she has taken instrumental music. Grace Rolene is
in the second grade of the Bronson schools. Mrs. Carter was born April 23,
i864, and was reared and educated in the Bronson public schools.
As the years have passed, Mr. Carter has added to his property, purchasing eighty acres of land on section eighteen and afterward an additional tract
of forty acres on the same section, which, in addition to twenty acres on section seven, makes his realty holdings in land of two hundred and twenty
acres. He has a fine home on his place, and his outbuildings are commodious
and substantial, furnishing ample shelter for grain and stock, In I90o2 he
built the largest barn in Bethel township, it being thirty-two by one hundred
feet, with a ten-foot basement. His farm is well equipped with the latest improved machinery, and everything on the place indicates the supervision of a
progressive and painstaking owner, who keeps thoroughly in touch with
progress in agricultural lines. In 9o,5 he purchased the residence of Henry
Powers in Bronson. He carries on general fanning, feeding all his grain, and
annually sells a large amount of stock. He has been very successful in his
business because he is well equipped by experience and energy for his work,
and a gratifying measure of prosperity is attending his efforts. He is a member of the Branch County Mutual Life Insurance Company. In. his political
views he is independent. For eleven years he has served on the school board,
doing effective service for the cause of education through the employment of
competent teachers, and his support of progressive measures in behalf of the
educational system. In all of his business dealings he is found reliable, and
his life record proves the force and value of industry and perseverance as
factors in winning success..L. D. HALSTED.
[Since this sketch was compiled and corrected, Mr. Halsted has passed
away, in the spring of 1906.]
The name of L. D. Halsted is closely interwoven with social development in Coldwater, of which city he has been a resident for sixty-nine years,
honored and respected by young and old, rich and poor. No, record of this
city would be complete without mention of his life. He was born in Tompkins county, New York, July 1, 1820, and was a son of Robert H. and
Catharine (Stout) Halsted, the former of English lineage and the latter of
Holland descent. The father was born in the Empire state and by occupation was a tanner and furrier. He married Miss Stout, a native of Tompkins
county, New York, and they became the parents of five children. About I823
the father moved with his family to Waterloo, New York, and there both
parents died.
After the mother's death, which occurred when he was ten years of age,
L. D. Halsted went to Havana, New York, where he remained until sixteen
years of age, during which period he learned the tailor's trade. He then
came to Coldwater, Michigan, in T836, finding here a small village containing only seventeen houses, which were scattered over much of what is today




590


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Chicago street. On reaching Detroit on the journey westward Mr. Halsted
arranged with a merchant of Branch county, Michigan, to ride with him to
Coldwater, and made the trip seated upon a barrel of salt. Because of the
bad roads he was obliged to walk much of the way. He carried with him
a little bundle, which contained his clothing, a thimble, about a dozen needles
and one dollar in money tied up in a bandanna handkerchief, but on the way
the bundle was lost from the wagon, so that he reached his destination without capital or clothing, save that which he wore. He at once solicited work,
however, and in due course of time developed a good business. After about
six months he made arrangements to purchase a lot, for which he agreed
to pay one hundred dollars, but at no one time was he able to pay more than
five dollars. The unsettled condition of the city may be indicated by the fact
that he was offered a lot by James Hanchett, who then owned a building adjoining the lot where Kerr Brothers' hardware store now stands, but Mr.
'Halsted would not accept the offered gift because he deemed the lot too far
from the business district. He made it a rule of his early manhood to save
something each year from his earnings, and in 1844 he was enabled to add
a stock of ready-made clothing to the little tailor shop. For many years
thereafter he was proprietor of a clothing store and eventually he purchased a
farm, which he operated for a year. At the end of that time, however, he was
satisfied with his labors as an agriculturist and returned to the clothing business, in which he continued until he sold out about 1893 and retired from
active business life.
Early in the '6os George McNeil came to Coldwater from Detroit. He
was an experienced tobacco manufacturer and formed a partnership with Mr.
Halsted in that business. They rented a three-story building and began the
manufacture of fine cut and smoking tobacco and cigars, this. being the pioneer
enterprise of the kind in Coldwater. The firm enjoyed a large retail trade
and also soon secured a good wholesale patronage. In fact, their business
grew so rapidly that they were obliged to employ two forces of men and work
night and day. Mr. Halsted was appointed government inspector of cigars
and stamp agent. All cigars made in Branch, St. Joseph, Calhoun and Hillsdale counties had to be brought here and inspected by him. HIe attached government stamps and appraised their value, but after a time Mr. Halsted felt
that his increased business duties were too much for his health and disposed
of his interest in the cigar and tobacco factory. This occurred about the time
of the close of the war, and it was then that he removed to his farm in Quincy
township. There he raised from one hundred to three hundred bushels of
cranberries each year, which he took to the Chicago and Cincinnati markets,
receiving seventy-five cents per bushel. Following his retirement from the
clothing store Mr. Halsted devoted some attention to real estate operations
and was soon the owner of more houses than any other one man in, Coldwater.
The income from these supplies him with all the comforts and many of the
luxuries of life.
On the 8th of March, 1843, Mr. Halsted was married to Miss Laura A.
Lake, who died September 24, 1857. In December, I858, Mr. Halsted wedded Elizabeth Marsh, the widow of Homer A. Loomis and a daughter of




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


591


Emerson and Maria (Dickenson) Marsh. Mrs. Halsted was born in Massachusetts, January 17, I830, and came to Branch county, Michigan, when eight
years of age. She has since lived in this county. By her first marriage she
had two children, of whom one is living, Ella, now the widow of W. R. Russell of Washington, D. C. By the second marriage there is also a daughter,
Laura M., now the wife of T. W. Dunn, of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Mr.
and Mrs. Halsted are prominent members of the Presbyterian church, and his
life has been in entire harmony with his professions. He has never used tobacco or liquor in any form, and in all of his business dealings has. been thoroughly reliable and honorable. His political allegiance has been given to the
Republican party since its organization and he is today the oldest voter of
Coldwater. He has never sought or desired office: in fact, has constantly refused positions of political preferment.  He was, however, trustee of the
church for twenty-five years, and his wife was a member of the church
choir for thirty-four years. He has been a resident of Coldwater for
almost the psalmist's allotted span of life, and throughout the entire period
he has commanded the unqualified respect and regard of those with whom he
has been associated. His labors have been of great and permanent benefit to
Coldwater, as he has contributed to its commercial prosperity and has been
a co-operant factor in many measures instituted for the general good. Old
age does not necessarily indicate helplessness nor want of occupation. There
is an old age which grows stronger mentally and spiritually as the years pass
by, giving out of its rich stores of wisdom and experience. Such has been
the career of Mr. Halsted-an inspiration to the old and to the young-an
example well worthy of emulation.
BENJAMIN BERNARD GORMAN.
Benjamin Bernard Gorman, whose active business life has brought him
into close connection with interests bearing upon the welfare and progress of
the city of Coldwater, is now serving as postmaster. He is a native son of
Branch county, having been born in Bethel township, April 27, 18,54, his
parents being Peter A. and Sarah Jane (Palmer) Gorman, the former a
native of New York city and the latter of Mercer county, Pennsylvania. They
were married in the Keystone state and came to Branch county, Michigan, in
1851, spending their remaining days here. Mr. Gorman was the first in his
township and one of the first in the county to enlist for service in the Civil
war, joining the army in response to the first call for three-months troops.
W'hile in the army he contracted a heavy cold, which eventually terminated
his life. He was only six weeks in the army when he became ill, and never
recovered his health, living less than a year thereafter. He followed the occupation of farming and died at the age of thirty-two years. His wife's death
occurred when she was about sixty-seven years of age, and of their two sons,
Edward Winfield Gorman died in this county July I4, 1897. Following the
death of her first husband Mrs. Gorman became the wife of Eli Baldwin, and
they had one son, Dr. William H. Baldwin, now engaged in the practice of
medicine in Quincy, Michigan.
Benjamin B. Gorman was reared upon a farm in his native county, and




592


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


having acquired his preliminary education in the district schools he spent two
years as a student in the public schools of Bronson, and one in Butler, Indiana,
and he taught for two winters in the district schools of Bethel township,
Branch county, thus entering the field of active business life. He was afterward called to the office of town clerk, in which capacity he served for two
\years, while for five years he was supervisor. In the fall of I888 he was
elected county treasurer and discharged the duties with such promptness and
fidelity that he was re-elected, his incumbency covering four years. His official
service has ever given satisfaction to his constituents and the general public,
and his course has ever justified the trust reposed in him. He still owns the
farm upon which he was born, and is interested in general agricultural pursuits. In 1892 he was again called to public office, being appointed deputy
register of deeds, and in 1893 he succeeded to the office by reason of the
death of M. B. Wakeman, who died while filling the office. In I89.4 he was
elected to the same position, serving for two years, but in 1896, when the
Democrats carried the county, he was defeated-the only time when a, caididate that he has not won the election. He is a staunch Republican, unfaltering in his advocacy of the principles of the party, and with the entire ticket he
was defeated. After retiring fron the office of register of deeds he was on
the 5th of July, 1897, made clerk of the state public school at Coldwater, and
in September, I897, he became acting superintendent of the school, the superintendent having resigned, discharging the duties of that position; until I898.
During the two succeeding years he was engaged in the grocery business,
when he sold his store. He was commissioned postmaster February 15, 1902,
and has since held the office. During his administration the delivery service
has been increased from one rural route to nine, and an additional city carrier
has been employed, making five in all. His administration of the duties. of this
office has been practical and businesslike, and he gives to the public a prompt
and efficient service. He has twice been chairman of the Republican county
committee, and under his management the entire Republican county ticket
was successful.
In 1876 Mr. Gorman was married to Miss Susie I. Jones. They have a
daughter living, Elsie L., and have lost one daughter and one son, Carlton L.,
the latter dying at the age of twenty-one years, shortly after his return from
college, while the daughter, Winnie Bernice, died when she was but three
years of age. The family have a pleasant home in Coldwater, and its hospitality is enjoyed by a large circle of friends. Mr. Gorman, genial, courteous
and affable, is widely known and popular in Coldwater and the county, and
his public service, like his private life, commends him to the regard and admiration of those with whom he comes in contact.
STEPHEN NEWMAN.
Stephen Newman, who is, the owner of valuable property interests in
Branch county, his home being in.Coldwater township, where for many
years he has been actively engaged in farming, was born in Staffordshire,
England, on the I4th of December, 1836, his parents being William and
Mary (Cope) Newman, who always lived in England. He had four uncles




I




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0




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


593


and two aunts on the paternal side and three of the uncles came to Michigan
while the fourth took up his abode in Rochester, New York. It was Thomas,
Tohn and Joseph. Newman who settled in the southern part of this state,
while James retained his residence near Rochester.  The two aunts were
Mrs. Elizabeth Thorpe and Mrs. Sarah Allen, of England.   All of the
representatives of the family in this generation are now deceased.  John
Newman was for many years a prominent and leading farmer of Branch
county. He came from England to the new world in I836 and after devoting a few years to agricultural pursuits in New York made his way westward to Branch county, where he successfully carried on agricultural pursuits and as the years passed by accumulated a handsome competence. Three
brothers of Stephen Newman are yet living in England, but he was the only
representative of his immediate family who came to the United States.
Stephen Newman spent the days of his boyhood and youth in his native
country, acquired his education in the public: schools there and in early life
followed different business pursuits. He was married on the 28th of August,
I864, tol Miss Ann Maria Bushell, whose birth occurred in Birmingham,
England, on the I7th of August, 1836. Her parents were James and Diana
(Shaw) Bushell.
A few years after his marriage Stephen Newman came to the United
States with his little family, attracted to the new world by the opportunities
which were described by his uncle, John Newman, who was then a resident of Coldwater township. Stephen Newman had only sixty cents when
he arrived in Branch county, but he at once became assistant to his uncle
John, who was already a land owner here. When he had acquired sufficient capital Mr. Newman of this review made his first purchase of land,
becoming owner of eighty acres in Coldwater township in connection with
his uncle. Through untiring labor and unremitting industry supplemented
by capable management he has accumulated considerable property and now
owns two hundred acres of valuable land in the home farm which has been
placed under a high state of cultivation. The well tilled fields surround good
buildings for the shelter of grain and stock and there is also a fine residence
on the place. His uncle never married and made his home with Mr. Newman of this review until his death, which occurred on the 4th of May,
I9OI. He was one of his uncle's legatees and now possesses the greater part
of his property in addition to that which he has acquired through his own
efforts.. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Newman have been born four children: Albert
Edward, who was born in England, March 23, I866, married Emma Tuckerman and resides in Assyria, Barry county, Michigan, where he is following
the occupation of farming. Agnes, born July 15, 1873, died September 12,
1877, at the age of four years. William James, who was born April 28,
1875, and lives in Coldwater, married Rose Ryder and they have one daughter, Ada Harriet. Helen, born June 9, I880, is the wife of Arthur E.
Van Aken and they reside in Battle Creek, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Newman have carefully reared their children, giving them good educational advantages and thus fitting them for life's practical and responsible duties.




594


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Their son, Albert E., was educated at the Indiana Normal College in Valparaiso, Indiana, while their daughter Helen attended the Coldwater High
School, also pursued a commercial course in Battle Creek, Michigan, and
filled good positions in that city up to the time of her marriage.
While living in his native country Mr. Newman became a member of
the Odd Fellows society and held all the offices of the local lodge. He and
his wife are Episcopalians in religious faith, being communicants of the
church in Coldwater. In his political views he is a Republican and has
served as school director of his district but otherwise has held no, offices,
preferring to give his time and energies to his business affairs, in which he
has met with a gratifying measure of success. Both he and his wife are
people of natural culture and refinement, who occupy an enviable position in
social circles here. Their home, which is a short distance east of Coldwater,
is a most comfortable one, but Mr. Newman expects soon to give the management of his farming interests to others and remove to the city, there to
enjoy a well earned rest in honorable retirement from labor.
AARON 0. FOX.
Aaron 0. Fox, who is engaged in general farming on section nine, Batavia township, was born in Summit county, Ohio, February I8, I852, and is
the second child and eldest son in a family of three sons and two daughters,
whose parents were Levi and Susan (Steinmetz) Fox, both of whom were
natives of Pennsylvania. The maternal grandfather, Casper Steinmetz, was
a native of Germany. The paternal grandfather was Peter Fox, who was
born in England and when a young man crossed the ocean to the new world,
settling in Pennsylvania. Levi Fox was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where he spent the days of his boyhood a'nd youth and was married.
About I850 he removed to Summit county, Ohio, where he followed the occupation of farming, and there his death occurred when he was fifty years of
age. His wife long survived him and departed this life at the advanced age
of eighty-four years.
Aaron 0. Fox, who spent his youth in the place of his nativity, was indebted to the common-school system of Summit county for his early educational privileges, while later he spent two years as a student in Buchtel College
at Akron, Ohio. When twenty years of age he engaged in teaching school,
following that profession for some time. In i88i he came to Branch county,
Miichigan, settling in Batavia township, where he engaged in teaching school
and farming. HI-e had fifty acres of land, which, he cultivated until I893, in
which year he purchased an adjoining tract of eighty acres, so that his farm
now comprises one hundred and thirty acres. In that year he gave up the
work of teaching and has since devoted his attention exclusively to general
agricultural pursuits.
In' 1876 Mr. Fox was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Kauffman, a
daughter of Abraham and Anna Kauffman, and a native of Ohio, born near
Canton, Stark county. She pursued her education there in the public schools.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Fox have been born three children: Jessie, now the wife
of Eugene Worden, a merchant at Union City, Michigan; Ina, the wife of




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


595


Lee Bort, a well-known farmer of Kinderhook township, Branch county; and
Lola, at home.
Mr. Fox is a believer in Republican principles, feeling that the platform
of that party contains the best elements of good government. He has held
many local offices, such as school inspector and supervisor, being chosen to the
latter position for three terms, his last term being in I904-5. He belongs to
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, with which he has been identified for
many years, and he is one of the active and enterprising farmers of the township and- county, having made a creditable business record, characterized by
diligence and honesty.
ALFONSO C. JUDD.
Alfonso C. Judd owns and operates a farm of ninety acres on section
twenty-three, Matteson township, and the place is productive, annually yielding him good harvests. Mr. Judd is a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred in Lake county on the i9th of October, 1847. His father, Jotham
Judd, was a native of Connecticut, his birth having occurred in Farmington,
where he was reared and educated. -le removed with his parents, Jotham
and Hila (Bristoll) Judd, to New York, settling at Canaan, New York,
which was the first town across the state line. Having arrived at years of
maturity Jotham Judd was married to Miss Eliza Bardeen, and unto them
was born a son, Willard B. For his second wife the father chose Henrietta
Simons, to whom he was wedded in 1844. She was born in Massachusetts,
October 24, 1823, and unto this marriage were born two sons, the elder being
Orrin S. Tudd, a resident of Anderson, Indiana. Hle was engaged in farming
throughout his entire business career, and he passed away in I874, when sixtyfour years of age. He belonged to the Baptist church and took an active and
helpful part in its work. In politics he was a Democrat and he served as
township clerk in Ohio, while for seventeen years he was postmaster at Perry,
Lake county, Ohio. He also acted as station agent at that place for eight
years. His widow still survives and now makes her home with her son
Alfonso.
Alfonso Judd, the younger, spent the first seventeen years of his life at
the place of his nativity and supplemented his early educational privileges by
study in Madison Seminary. He came to Branch county, Michigan, in I865,
when seventeen years of age, settling in Matteson township upon the farm
where he now resides, and there he devoted his energies to general agricultural
pursuits.
On the 2d of July, I871, Alfonso C. Judd was married to Miss Helen
Fisk, a daughter of James Edwin and Mary J. (Turner) Fisk, the former a
native of Rhode Island and the latter of New York. They came to Michigan
at an early day, casting in their lot with the pioneer settlers of this state. The
maternal grandfather of Mrs. Judd was Nathaniel Turner, also a pioneer settler of Branch county, who came here about 1832. His son was supposed to
have cut the. first tree in Matteson township. Mrs. Judd is the fourth child
and eldest daughter in a family of eight children, and was born in Miatteson
township November 4, 185o. At the time of their marriage Mr. and Mrs.




5,96 -

HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Judd located upon the old homestead farm where he now resides, and with
the exception of a period of three years he has always lived here, his education being given to general agricultural pursuits.  He owns and operates
ninety acres of land, which is well improved with modern buildings and all
the accessories found upon a model farm, including excellent machinery to
facilitate the work of the fields.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Judd have been born four children who are yet living, and they lost a daughter, Katie. Those who still survive are: Lura, the
wife of Fred Lock, of Matteson township; Mabel, the wife of Louis Conley,
of Green Bay, Wisconsin; Grace, the wife of John Leonard, of Jackson,
Michigan; and Earl, who married Lena Wilcox, and lives in Matteson.
Mr. Judd is a Democrat, active in the interest of the party and his fellow townsmen, recognizing his capability and public spirit, have frequently
called him to office. He served as highway commissioner for one year, was
treasurer for one year, clerk for three years and is now serving for the eighth
year as supervisor. In the (lisc'h?rge of his duties he has been capable and
prompt, and he is well known in the county as a man of genuine worth, loyal
to his duties in all life's relations. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity at
Bronson and is held in high esteem by all who know him.
SAMUEL R. TURNER, M. D.
Among the recent additions to the professional ranks of Bronson, Michigan, is found Dr. Samuel R. Turner, who came here from the neighboring
state of Indiana in September, 1904.
Dr. Turner is a native of Freeport, Illinois, and was born May 13, I858.
a son of Samuel and Jane E. (McGlashon) Turner. His father, a native of
Ohio and a farmer by occupation, died in I864, and his mother, a native of
Vermont, died in 1884. Samuel R. received his early education in the public
schools of Lake county, Indiana, and subsequently, on choosing the medical
profession, went to Louisville, Kentucky, where he took a course in the medical department of the University of Kentucky, and graduated with the class
of i888. Returning to Lake county he at once began the practice of medicine
there, and practiced in that county until coming to Bronson, with the exception of four years in Lansing, Illinois. He was coroner of Lake county from
1899 to 1904, and was medical examiner for the New York Life and the
Aetna Life Insurance companies, and also for several fraternal insurance or —
ganizations. From 190o, for nearly four years, he was in hospital service at
Hammond, Indiana, where he had excellent opportunities for study and further
preparation for his life work.
Dr. Turner has been twice married. In 1883 he wedded Miss Henrietta
Burgess, by whom he had four children. viz.: Sue E., Edna, Harold and
Wilma. His present wife, nee Kate Weed, he married in I905. Mrs. Turner is a daughter of Thurlow A. Weed, of Pullman, Illinois.
Politically the doctor is a Republican, and fraternally he is identified
with numerous organizations, among them being the Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons, Independent Order Odd Fellows, Maccabees, Modern Woodmen of America and Court of Honor.




HISTORY O.F BRANCH COUNTYT


597


JOHN G. MARTIN.
Prominent among the solid and esteemed agriculturists of Branch county
and the township of Coldwater is the gentleman named above, who, although
not a native of this country, has spent the greater portion of his life here,
where he has taken advantage of the resources offered by no other nation and
where he has by industry and careful management attained a competence.
Not only has he been successful in a substantial way, but he has also, achieved
success in the way of maintaining for himself a good name, and his declining days are being passed ir a comfortable home, surrounded by the
members of his family and possessing the high regard and esteem of his
fellow townsmen.
Mr. John G. Martin is a native of West Kent, England, where he was
born February I6, I836. His father was William Martin and his mother
was Mary Delphwade, both also natives of England, where their ancestors
had lived for many generations.  William  Martin and Mary Delphwade
were married in England and they were the parents of eight children, as
follows: Maria died at the age of two years; Mary Martin Roswell spent
her entire life in England, where she died a number of years ago; William
Martin is still living and now a resident of Cassopolis, Michigan; John G.
Martin is the subject of this sketch; Sarah Martin Vernes died in England;
Thomas Martin is still living and a resident of London, England; Richard
Martin and Henry Martin died in England where their entire lives were
passed. The mother, Mary Delphwade Martin, died in England when our
subject was but a child, while the husband and father, William Martin, also
passed his entire life in England, where he died.
Impressed with the superior advantages offered in America, our subject, Mr. John G. Martin, and his brother, William Martin, came to this
country, arriving here in i8,6o. John G. located first in Pittsford, Monroe
county, New York, where he remained until I878, then, attracted by the opportunities offered in the middle west, he came on to Michigan, which state
has ever since been his home. In Monroe county, New York, he met and
was married, in October, I864, to Miss Jennie Harmor, who was born in
Monroe county, New York, May 26, I845. Her father was William Harmor
and her mother was Lottie Hodges, both natives of England.     Jane
Harmor was the youngest of eight children, her parents coming from England
to the state of New York before she was born. The other children of the
family were as follows: Eliza Harmor Strickland lives in the state of New
York; William Harmor lives in Wisconsin; John Harmor is living in Branch
county, Michigan; James Harmor; Fannie Harmor Hawley is living; and
Harriet Harmor Walhead died in New York state; and Fred Harmor is a
resident of Dakota. The father and mother died in New York state.
The union of John G. Martin and Jane Harmor Martin has been a
particularly happy one and has been blessed with the birth of seven children,
as follows, their births having all taken place in Monroe county, New York:
William and Frank Martin live at home; George Martin is one of the successful young farmers of Branch county and is the present supervisor of Cold



598


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


water township, performing the duties of his office with credit and ability;
Albert Martin, who was a soldier in the Spanish-American war, now resides
in the city of Coldwater. The two daughters of the family, Mary Martin
Swain and Emma Martin Tompkins, are both residents of Coldwater city;
Harry, the youngest son, died in Coldwater when he was only six months
of age. The four remaining sons are all unmarried.
Our subject, Mr. John G. Martin, has always followed farming as a
life vocation and in this line he has been eminently successful. For over
twenty years he conducted a dairying business near the city of Coldwater, although for the past ten years he has followed regular farming. In I865, responding to the call of the country of his adoption, he enlisted in a New York
regiment which was recruited during the last year of the war of the rebellion.
His present farm is a fine one of one hundred and sixty acres on sections ten and
eleven, Coldwater township, only a short distance from the beautiful city of
Coldwater. It is a most fertile tract of land, equipped with excellent buildings and all of the necessary machinery and tools for successful operation, and
it makes a most comfortable home. Mr. Martin is a Republican in politics, although never an office holder. Mr. and Mrs. Martin have spent honorable
and useful lives and they have reared their children to occupy respected positions in life.
GEORGE MARTIN.
George Martin, who is serving as supervisor of Coldwater township,
was born in Pittsford, Monroe county, New York, August 17, I868. His
father, John Martin, was a native of Kent county, England, born January
i6, 1836, and was a son of William Martin, who always resided in England.
The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Jennie Harmor, and
her birth occurred in Monroe county, New York, on the 26th of May, I845.
Her father, William Harmor, was a native of England, and married a Miss
Hook, who was also born in that country. They became residents, however,
of Monroe county, New York, and Mrs. Martin is the youngest of their
eight children. She gave her hand in marriage to John Martin in the county
of her nativity and they became the parents of seven children: William and
Frank, who are residents of Coldwater township; Albert, who is living in
the city of Coldwater, and was a participant in the Spanish-American war;
Mrs. Mary Swain and Mrs. Emma Tompkins, who are likewise residents of
the county seat; George, of this review; and Harry, born in Branch county,
who died when six months old. The parents spent their early married life
in Monroe county of the Empire state, and in the spring of 1878 came with
their family to Michigan, settling in Branch county. The father had followed
farming in the east and continued in this line of labor in Coldwater township,
where the family has since remained. For twenty-five years he also conducted a dairy business, but he now gives his undivided attention to general
agricultural pursuits, still making his home in Coldwater township.  He
served as a soldier of the Civil war in a New York regiment, and his life has
been an exemplification of many sterling traits of character and of honorable principles.




I


j:




— ~~-li;;ir~-~-~;~;-~-r-:.,. ~ r — ~ ---;;~~~I-~




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


599


George Martin was a youth of ten years when brought by his parents
from the Empire state to Branch county, Michigan, and here he has since
made his home. He was reared to manhood on his father's farm and assisted
him in the dairy business. Soon after attaining his majority he began business for himself as a farmer and has owned at different times several farms,
all in Coldwater township. In his business life he has prospered, capably
conducting his interests until he has won a place among the men of affluence
in his community. His present farm comprises sixty acres on sections thirteen and twenty-four, Coldwater township, which he has recently acquired
and which he is now placing under a good state: of cultivation. He has done
much to improve farm property in the township and his labors have been of
general benefit as well as a source of individual profit.
In his political views Mr. Martin is a stalwart Republican and first voted
for Harrison, and has been chosen to fill several very important offices. He
has been assessor in the school district for eight years and he served for
several terms as township treasurer of Cbldwater, and has also. been township
school inspector. In the spring of 190o5 he was elected to the highest township office, that of supervisor, and is considered one of the leading members
of the county board. He is not a politician in the usual sense of office seeking, but his constituents recognize in him those sterling qualities which make
a competent official, and he, has thus been chosen for important positions. He
is modest in demeanor, is a great reader and keeps, in touch with the
general trend of thought and events of the world's history. He is tholroughly
reliable and highly esteemed, andc it is therefore with pleasure that we present
his record to our readers.
BENEDICT DALL.
Benedict Dall, proprietor of the Coldwater city brewery, was born in
Bavaria, Germany, March I8, 1852, and spent his youth in the fatherland.
Educated in the schools of that country, he afterward worked in a brewery
until he had mastered the business, and he also spent three years as a soldier
in the German army. He came to America in 1883, then a young man of
about twenty-nine years, and located in Toledo, Ohio, where he.secured: employment in a brewery. In I883 he also came to Coldwater, where he spent
two years, and then went to Defiance, Ohio; where the succeeding eight-years
of his life were passed, during which period he was connected with the Dill
Brewery Company. On the expiration of that period he returned to Coldwater in I89,5, and established the brewery which he now owns and conducts,
it being called the Old Kappler brewery. He has rebuilt and remodeled the
plant and it is now thoroughly equipped with the latest improved accessories
known to the business. Its output finds a ready sale on the market and brings
him a gratifying return annually.
In November, i8&, 888, Mr. Dall was married to Miss Emma Anterman,
and they became the parents of ten children: Bertha, Edward, Raymond,
Mary, Louisa, Gertrude, Clara, Charlie, Leo and William. Of this number
Clara is now deceased. Mr. Dall gives his political allegiance to the Republican party and is a member of the German Benevolent Society. He is well




600


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


known in Branch county and has taken an active interest in its public affairs
to the extent of giving helpful co-operation to many measures instituted td
advance the material development of this part of the state.
CHARLES W. GRAY.
The name of Gray is widely and favorably known throughout the southern part of Branch county, where members of the family have been respected
residents ever since the earliest days of settlement. The first of the family to
locate here was Abraham Gray, the father of our subject, who was born in
New Jersey, February 20, I816, he being of German-English descent. His
father dying when Abraham was but a young lad, he, when only ten years
of age, accompanied his widowed mother, two brothers, Levi and Everett,
and two sisters, Delilah and Jemima, when they left New Jersey and removed
to Orleans county, New York. Here he grew to manhood, and at the age
of twenty years, in 1836, came to Michigan, locating first in Batavia, Branch
county, where he remained for a few years, then coming to Kinderhook township. His first purchase was twenty-eight and one-half acres, to which he
added year by year, and finally he became the possessor of one hundred and
eighty-eight acres, including a forty-acre tract secured by patent from the
government. In this connection it is interesting to note that this forty acres
has ever since remained in possession of the Gray family, and now comprises
a portion of the farm owned by Mr. Charles Gray. The land thus purchased
by Mr. Gray in the early forties was uncleared, and he set to work to make a
home here.
Abraham Gray was married in Steuben county, Indiana, Jaunary I, I838,
to Harriet Towsley, who was born near Toronto, Canada, January 13, 1819,
she being of Welsh descent, and theirs were the usual experiences of pioneers
in a new ccuntry. Five children were born unto. them, two of whom died in
infancy, the three who grew to maturity being: Charles W.; William, who
enlisted in the Civil war in Company K, Seventy-eighth New York Infantry.
and died in the army: and Helen, who died in I902. Abraham Gray was a
man of prominence in the early history of this portion of the county, and he
was highway commissioner of Kinderhook township for several terms, as
well as being a school officer for many years. He and his wife were people
of upright character and moral lives, and both were in early life members of
the Methodist Episcopal church, afterward affiliating with the Free Will
Baptist Society. Mrs. Gray died December 31, 1872, and March 8, I875.
Mr. Gray was married to Patience (Davis) Meeks, a native of Washington
county, Ohio, who is still living. By a previous marriage she was the mother
of two sons and one daughter. After a long and useful life Abraham Gray
died at his home in Kinderhook, May 24, I896.
Charles W. Gray was the youngest son of Abraham and Harriet (Towsley) Gray, and he was born in the township of Batavia, Branch county, Michigan, May 15, 1845. He grew to manhood upon the home farm in Kinderhook township, and here he secured a knowledge of agriculture, which was to
be of great use to him in after life, at the same time obtaining a good prac



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


601


tical education, to which he has since added by wide reading and intelligent
observation. He was married, May 3, I866, to Emeline C. Shutts, who was
born in Sandusky county, Ohio, September Io, I844. Her parents were
Jonathan and Catherine (Story) Shutts, esteemed and early residents of the
state of Ohio. Their union resulted in the birth of three children, one of
wVholm died in infancy, the others being as follows: Frank D. married Lillie
Hurst, and their home is in Washington, District of Columbia, where he is
third assistant examiner of patents in the United States patent office. They
have three children: Frances, Lowell and Helen. Minnie F. Gray, daughter of our subject, married Vern D. Garn, and they live in Steuben county,
Indiana. They also have three children: Vera, Anna B. and Eva. Mrs.
Gray died here, April 14, I895, and Mr. Gray's second marriage was consummated February 20, 1896, when he was united with Mary Belle Reynolds,
a native of Steuben county, Indiana, where she was born July 18, 1863. She
is the eldest daughter of Wesley Reynolds and Catherine Milner Reynolds,
who were residents of Steuben county, Indiana, for many years, although in
later years living in Kinderhook. where they passed the remainder of their
lives, her mother dying here November 23, I874, and her father May 4, I878.
Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds had three children: Mary Belle Gray; Joanna M.
H:arris, who died in Iowa; and Margaret J. Blank, who lives in Nebraska.
The Reynolds family was one of the oldest in this vicinity, Mrs. Gray's
paternal grandfather being Bentley Reynolds, who was born in Ulster county,
New York, and who was in the war of I812. He came to this county with
the earliest settlers in I836 and secured land from the government, which he
cleared and improved. He died here in i85o. His wife was Polly C. Canright, also a native of Ulster county, New York. whose parents, John C. and
Nancy Myers Canright, came to Branch county in I835, locating in Kinderhook township, where Mr. Canright died in 1835 and Mrs. Canright in I837.
Bentley Reynolds and Polly (Canright) Reynolds had a family of eleven
children, only two of whom are now living: Malvina Towsley and Mary J.
Huyck, both residents of Branch county.
Mr. Charles W. Gray has always called Kinderhook township his home,
for he has always retained his property here, although he lived in Steuben
county, Indiana, from 1878 to I888, where he owned a farm, which he sold
in the early nineties, since which time he has lived in Kinderhook. Mr. Gray
also spent three years in the state of California. His farm in Kinderhook
comprises one hundred and twenty acres of the old homestead, which his
father cleared, and upon which the son has since made many improvements.
It is an attractive spot, with good buildings and showing the care of a practical farmer, as well as of a man who has an eye for neatness and beauty in
his surroundings. Included in this farm is the forty acres which his father
secured from the government. Mr. Gray's high standing with his fellow citizens has led to his selection for public positions. He was justice of the peace
for twelve years in Indiana, and also a school officer for many years. Politically he is a Republican, attending well to his political duties, but never seeking office. Mr. and Mrs. Gray are members of the Congregational church.
Their pretty home stands near the western banks of Lake George.




602


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


WILLIAM     WILLIS.
William Willis has now passed the eighty-second milestone on life's journey, but in spirit and interests seems yet in his prime, for he gives general
supervision to his farm work and keeps well informed on the questions and
issues of the day. He lives on section seventeen, Batavia township, and has
placed upon this property excellent improvements, in keeping with modern
ideas of agricultural progress. He was born in Portage county, Ohio, his
natal day being September 18, I823, and was? one of a family oif nine children
born unto William and Betsy (Alford) Willis. The father was a native of
Ireland, and when a young man came to America, settling in Allegheny county,
Pennsylvania, whence he afterward removed to Portage county. There he
died when about sixty years of age, after having devoted his life to farm
work, his industry and perseverance bringing him, a comfortable competence.  His wife was a native of Connecticut, but her father was born in
England, and when a young man came to America. A soldier, serving on a
British man of war, and being captured, he became an American citizen, and
remained a loyal supporter of the republic and her institutions up to the
time of his death, which occurred in Portage county, Ohio. Of the family
of Mr. and Mrs. William Willis only two are now living.
The subject of this review is the only representative of the family in
Branch county, and as he is widely and favorably known here, the history
of his life cannot fail to prove of interest to many of our readers. He was
reared in Portage county, Ohio, and had but limited educational privileges,
for the father died when the son was a year old, and it became necessary for
him to earn his living at an early age. He displayed untiring diligence and
energy and made a good home for his mother, and cared for her until she,
too, was called to her final rest when about seventy-five years of age. In I859
Mr. Willis was united in marriage to Miss Amanda Norton, also a native
of Ohio, and a daughter of Iester and Susan (Johnson) Norton, and a native
of Summit county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Willis began their domestic life in
the town of Filkin, Portage county, where they remained until I863, when he
sold his property there and brought his family to Branch county, Michigan,
having previously purchased the farm upon which he now resides. There
were but few improvements upon the place, however, and he has practically
erected all of the buildings, investing over three thousand dollars in this way.
He has also placed the land under a high state of cultivation, and throughout
his entire life has followed farming, with the result that he is today the owner
of a valuable property, comprising one hundred and sixty-five acres of rich
land on section seventeen, Batavia township. The home of Mr. and Mrs.
\illis was blessed with one daughter, Gertrude, who is now the wife of
Charles Fields, and they have two little daughters, Nora and Lois, both in
school.
Mr. Willis has long exercised his right of franchise in support of the men
and measures of the Democracy and has done all in his power to advance the
growth and insure the success of his party. He has lived in Batavia township
for forty-two years and he has always kept well informed on questions of




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


603


general interest. He has been an intelligent thinker, possesses an excellent
memory and in conversation one would not judge that he had by any means
attained to his advanced age, for in spirit and interests he seems yet in his
prime.
EDSON BLACKMAN, M. D.
Dr. Edson Blackman, well known as one of the most capable medical
practitioners of Quincy and Branch county, was born in Mlorenci, Lenawee
county, Michigan, in 1839. His father, Eli W. Blackman, was a native of
Connecticut, and was of English lineage. The first record of the Blackman
family in America goes back to 1636, and concerns Adam Blackman, a minister of the gospel, who settled in Connecticut. Since his death there has
occurred a change in the orthography.
Eli W. Blackman was a farmer by occupation and removed to Michigan
in I835, settling in Morenci, where he made his home for almost two decades.
In I853 he took up his abode in Allen, Hillsdale county, where he spent his
remaining days. His death occurred in I866, when he was sixty-six years of
age.  -le was a well educated man, becoming a prosperous farmer, and stood
high in public regard. He voted with the Democratic party, but was never an
aspirant for office. He married Jerusha Shepard, a native of Connecticut, and
of French lineage, her ancestors having settled in the Charter Oak state at a
very early period in the colonization of the new world, where successive generations were connected with mercantile interests. Mrs. Blackman survived
her husband until I88o, passing away at the ripe old age of eighty years. in
their family were four children:  Sarah M., the deceased wife of George
Marshall. of Allen, Michigan; John, who was killed at the age of twenty
years; Edson; and one who died in infancy.
Dr. Edson Blackman acquired his preliminary education in the public
schools of Morenci and Alien, Michigan, and for four terms was a student in
Hillsdale College. He thus acquired a broad literary knowledge to serve as a
foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of professional learning,
and he entered the Eclectic Medical College at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1865,
completing the course there in April, I866. He located for practice at White
Pigeon, Michigan, where he remained until 1876, and in the latter year he
came to Quincy, where he has remained in active practice to the. present time.
In I8,66 Dr. Blackman was married to Mialinda A. Morehouse, who was
born in Saratoga, New York, in 1845, and is a daughter of James and Mary
A. Morehouse, the former a farmer by occupation. The mother is of French
and English lineage. Dr. and Mrs. Blackman have become the parents of
three sons and two daughters: Gertrude M., the wife of Fred E. Powers, a
clothing merchant of Quincy; Jesse E., deceased; J. Morehouse, a physician,
practicing with his father; Cora M., the wife of George E. Burdick, superintendent of the Branch County Infirmary; and Arthur W., who is a salesman
in Quincy.
Dr. Blackman is fraternally connected with the Masons and the Odd
Fellows, and his wife is a member of the Presbyterian church. In his political
views he is a Democrat and served as township supervisor both in White




604


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Pigeon and Ouincy. For twenty-one years he has been a member of the
school board, the cause of education finding in him a warm champion, and
for six years he has been superintendent of the poor of Branch county. He
belongs to both the State and National Eclectic Medical Associations, and in
his practice has gained a proficiency that makes his services of much value to
his fellowmen.
THERON GROVE.
Theron Grove, who is interested in general farming on section twelve,
Batavia township, was born in this township on the 6th of April, 1852. His
father, Archibald Grove, was a native of New York, and came to Branch
county at an early day, casting his lot with its pioneer settlers. He married
Miss Jane Pitcher and died September I, I852, when Theron was but six
months old. The mother, however, survived for many years and reached
the advanced age of eighty-nine years. She passed away at the home of her
daughter, Mrs. Margaret Sheneman, November 16, 1903, at the age of
eighty-nine years, eleven months and nineteen days.  She was one of the
oldest pioneer ladies of Batavia township, where she made her home for
a period of sixty-six years. At her death a local paper said: " Mrs. Jane
Grove, one of the oldest pioneer ladies of Batavia township, her home for a
period of sixty-six years, departed this life at the residence of her daughter,
Mrs. Margaret Sheneman, November I6, I903, aged eighty-nine years, eleven
months and nineteen days. Immediate cause of death was a cancerous affliction of face and neck.
"Miss Jane Pitcher was born in Hartford, Connecticut, December 27,
1813, and was the last of ten children directly descended from a notably
ancient family of American independence fame, and was reared and educated
in the pioneer schools of bygone days. She resided with her parents until
the age of nineteen, when she was united in marriage to Archibald Grove,
with whom she commenced housekeeping at Palmyra, New York, which was
their home for five years, and where their two eldest sons, Jerome and Elisha,
were born.
" In 1837 the worthy couple, with their small children, came to Michigan,
an(d while Branch county was naught but a wilderness, journeyed from Detroit to Batavia by way of an ox-team over a dense forest road, marked only
by blazed trees, through which one must ever look upward to catch a glimpse
of sunlight, finally locating on the farm now known as the Frank Barnhart
property, where, with five or six neighboring families, they shared the joys,
sorrows and vicissitudes of early pioneer life in Batavia.
"A family of ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Grove. The former died in I852. Thus, at the age of thirty-five years Mrs. Grove was a
widow, with nine small children to rear and care for, the youngest of which
was only six months old. All the hardships, privations and struggles of a
brave pioneer woman were hers. Yet she clung closely to the religion of her
youth, a stanch Presbyterian.
"Years sped swiftly by, the township became more thickly settled. Her




Sunny Sides Farm, Residence of Mr. and Mrs. Theron Grove.




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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


605


boys and girls grew to vigorous helpful man and womanhood, while the
mother's burdens grew lighter.
" The two oldest sons, Jerome and Elisha, in their young manhood migrated to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where by industry and good business
abilities they acquired comfortable and even luxurious competence, while each
reared a family of four children. Jerome joined his father in the 'beyond' a
goodly number of years ago. Elisha was unable, on account of his own ill
health, to visit her during her last illness or to be present at the burial service.
"There are but few pioneers of Mrs. Grove's age remaining in Branch
county. During the years of her enforced invalid retirement, Mrs. Grove
was ever fond of a social chat with neighboring friends, and while in reminiscent mood would relate thrilling experiences, some sad, some comical, of
pioneer life.
"Aside from her son Elisha of Minnesota she is survived by six children: A. R. Grove, of Coldwater, Jay and Theron, Mesdames L. M. Bowers,
J. A. Murphey and Mrs. Margaret Sheneman, all of Batavia; fifteen grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. Of the latter there are two in Batavia,
Luceil Murphey and Gerald Grove.
"With characteristic forethought of a long life of planning for the
future Mrs. Grove also' arranged details for her departure unto the unknown
realm of death. The interment occurred in the Batavia cemetery beside her
husband, who preceded her in death by fifty years."
Dr. Grove of this review remained at home with his mother through the
period of his boyhood and youth and was educated in the district schools of Batavia township. He worked at farm labor, early becoming familiar with the
duties and tasks connected with the tilling of the soil and the care of stock.
As a companion and helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Ida Wilcox,
to whomnhe was married on the 29th of November, I876, her parents being
Monroe and Martha M. (Phillips) Wilcox, who, came from Otsego county,
New York, and settled in Batavia, Branch county, Michigan, in pioneer days.
Mrs. Wilcox passed away in the fifty-sixth year of her age. She had been a
sufferer for more than a year, but her trouble baffled the best medical skill.
Notwithstanding all this she continued brave, cheerful and unrepining to the
last. Her life was a continual benefaction and she was truly the light of her
home.   When such a one passes away we are forcefully reminded of the
truth of the following lines:
"The good die first
But those whose hearts are dry as summer dust
Burn to, the socket."
She left a husband, three married daughters and a son to mourn her
loss and revere her memory. Mrs. Grove was born in Otsego county, June
II, 1851, and came with her parents to Michigan.
At the time of their marriage the young couple located on a farm in
Batavia township and about 1882 removed to the farm whereon they now
reside, where Mr. Grove has made all of the improvements, remodeled the
house until he now has an attractive and modern frame residence. Within




606


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


the boundaries of his place are comprised one hundred and sixty acres of
land and his attention is devoted to general farming and stock raising. He
is practical in his methods, progressive in his work and successful in what
he accomplishes. In the Grove home are some very valuable heirlooms of
" ye olden times" handed down from progenitors of the Wilcox family. Qne
is a large sideboard made of mahogany and cherry, which is over a century
old. It was manufactured in Morris, New York, and brought to Michigan
by Mrs. Grove's father. There is also. an old desk with numerous drawers
and pigeonholes dating back to I793, together with an old wooden chest
which is about a century and a half old. There is likewise a folding leaf
table which belonged to Mrs. Grove's great-great-grandfather, who, was a
soldier in the Revolutionary war. These relics are in an excellent state of
preservation and are valuable because of their antiquity.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Grove was born a daughter, Hazel, who died April
20, 1905, when fourteen years of age, her loss being a great blow to her
parents. The following is copied from one of the local papers: " The Lord
garnered a fair Easter blossom last Thursday morning when He entered the
home and took their only child Hazel, to bloom, for Him in paradise. November 19, I89o, Hazel first saw the light of day, in the same home where
last Sunday her many sorrowing friends came to take a last farewell of her
who had lived a happy, joyous life among them. During the last week of
January she suffered a severe attack of la grippe, which later developed into
diabetes, and all the efforts of kind physicians and loving friends were unavailing to check the disease. As the snow which fades away before a bright
March sun, so, her life seemed to, fade awav.
"Reverend Lowry, an old friend, the one who had always officiated on
similar occasions for the family, spoke very feelingly of Hazel's life and of
the beautiful letters which she had written to, her schoolmates while on her
sick bed at Ann Arbor. A world of sympathy and solace were manifested
in the beautiful hymns sung by Miss Elizabeth Grove and little, Verald
Kleindinst. Her schoolmates, wearing a badge of mourning and accompanied
by their teacher, Miss Florence Cooley, attended the funeral in a body and
at the close of the services formed two lines on the wide porch between which
the bearers passed with the casket.
"The storm door of the school house was decorated with a wreath of
immortelles under a wreath of wild flowers, the school flag being draped
above these, and as the procession made a brief halt the school bell was tolled
fourteen times for the years of her earthly life. One girl friend, Miss Ina
Brooks, carried a basket of bouquets of Hazel's loved wild flowers, which
she distributed to, the honorary bearers, the Misses Pearl Canrite, Florence
Fry, Anna Lewis, Priscilla Haynes, Vesta Martin, Bertha Tyler, who placed
them on the casket of their loved friend as it was borne between them: to the
waiting hearse, and also at the grave.
"The bearers, Masters John Vogt, Wilfred Good, John Gamby, Harold
Johnson, Morley- Sloman, Philip Swaffield, were also provided with the wild
flower bouquets which they also placed on the casket at the grave. The many
beautiful flowers and floral designs told in a measure of the heartfelt sym



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


607


pathy which goes out from the whole community to the father and mother
and aged grandfather in their sad bereavement."
Sunnyside, tile attractive country home of Mr. and Mrs. Grove, is one
of the most hospitable places in Batavia township. There is in this township
a literary club known as the Centennial Bay View Club which has had a continuous existence through the last ten years. It has. a membership of about
forty of the leading ladies of the township and Mrs. Grove was one of the
charter members. Mr. Grove has been a lifelong resident of Batavia township and is well known in the county. He votes with the Democracy but has
never been active in politics as an office seeker, as he has preferred to give
undivided attention to his, business affairs. His labors have been attended
with a fair measure of success and the business policy and principles he has
followed have commended him to the confidence and trust of those with
whom he has been associated.
ROY THOMPSON.
Roy Thompson, a farmer and highly respected citizen of Matteson township, was born March 28, I874, on the place where he yet resides, his parents
being Charles M. and Mary J. (Shedd) Thompson. The father was a native
of New York and became a pioneer resident of Branch county, taking up his
abode within its borders when fourteen years of age. Hie afterward attended
school for one winter and was also a student in Peoria, Illinois. When the
work of improvement and progress was still in its primitive condition here
he purchased the farm now owned and occupied by his son, Roy, becoming
owner of eighty acres of land, which at that time was unimproved. With
characteristic energy, however, he began to till the fields and in due course
of time was gathering good harvests where before was seen raw land. He
was married in this county to Miss Mary J. Shedd, a daughter of Joseph and
Louisa (Havens) Shedd, and a native of New York, born December 9, I846.
She was reared and educated in the Empire state, and in I866, when a young
lady of twenty years, came to Michigan. with her parents, settling first in
W\ashtenaw county and then coming to Branch county. In their family were
two children. The mother died in I848, and the father afterward married
again, his second union being with Polly Turner. By that marriage there
were four children. Mrs. Thompson was married one year after she came to
Michigan. Mr. Thompson was living at that time upon the farm which is now
his home, and he brought his bride to this place. His entire life has been devoted to agricultural pursuits, and he has won the financial reward which
always comes in return for indefatigable effort, careful management and
diligence.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Thompson were born five children, three sons and
two daughters, of whom Roy is the third child and second son. All were
born and reared on the old family homestead. The father was a Republican
in his political views, active and influential in party ranks in this county, his
labors proving effective in promoting party successes. He acted as supervisor
of the township and was also township clerk. He served in the Civil war as
a faithful and loyal defender of the Union cause, and was thus, entitled to




608


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


membership in the Grand Army of the Republic. He enjoyed pleasant associations with his old army comrades through his membership in the post, and
he was held in high esteem hby his brethren of that order. He passed away in
1902, and the community thus lost one of its valued and representative citizens, a man whom to know was to respect and honor.
Roy Thompson was reared to farm life, was educated in the public schools
and has always carried on general agricultural pursuits. He is a young man,
of strong purpose, of excellent principles and upright life, and in the county
where he has always lived has a very wide and favorable acquaintance.
HIRAM YOUNG.
Among the citizens of Coldwater whose active labors in former years
now enable them to live retired, Hiram hYoung is numbered. He, was, born
in Onondaga county, New York, October 18, 1831, a son of Isaac and Mary
Young., the former a native of the Empire state, and there died, while the latter was also born in New York. They became the parents of ten children, of
whom three died in early life, and seven' are vet living, Hiram being the second member of this family.
In the county of his nativity Hiram Young spent the, days of his boyhood
and youth, and in the common schools was educated. He learned the cooper's trade under the direction of his father and remained a resident of the
Empire state until his removal to Wisconsin, at which time he established his
home in Washington county. There he was engaged. in farming, and for
five years lived in that locality. He then sold his farm in the Badger state
and returned to Onondaga county, New York, where he purchased a tract o'f
land, and in connection with its cultivation worked at his trade. At length
he disposed of his property in the east and in I88o came to Coldwater. Here
he is engaged in real estate operations, and in addition to handling! property
for others he has bought and sold three houses.
Mr. Young was married March i8, I856, to Miss Nancy C. Weller, a
daughter of Robert and Mary (Young) Weller. She was born in Onondaga
county, New York, April 8, 1835, and by her marriage has become the mother
of two sons and two daughters: Earl, a resident of Seattle, Washington;
Augusta, the wife of B. F. Rolph; Ida A., the wife of E. H. 'Williams, a cigar
manufacturer; and Robert S., who is also living in Seattle, Washington.
Mr. Young is a Republican, and while never an aspirant: for office, he
keeps well informed on the political questions and issues of the day and is
always ready to support his position by intelligent argument. He was at one
time superintendent of schools in Wisconsin and has always been deeply interested in the cause of education. The list of the leading citizens of Coldwater contains his name, for his record has ever been such as would bear the
closest investigation and scrutiny, and in this way he has won public regard
and warm friendships. Widely known, his life history cannot fail to prove
of interest to his many friends, and it is therefore with pleasure that we present this record of his career to our readers.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


609,VILLARD WHITNEY.
Willard Whitney, an honored veteran of the Civil war, who is engaged in
general agricultural pursuits in Girard township, was born in Springwater,
Livingston county, New York, July 2, 1840. His father was Ezra Whitney,
a native of Ontario county, New York, where he resided until his removal to
Michigan. He married Miss Julia Pelton, also a native of the Empire state,
and in I849 they made their way to the middle west, locating in Jackson
county, Michigan, where Mr. Whitney passed away the following year. His
widow removed to Kalamazoo county, where her death occurred in I852.
They were the parents of ten children, of whom four died in childhood. The
living are: Mrs. Martha Scutt, who resides in northern Michigan; Mrs.
Julia F. Morey, who resides in Mecosta county, Michigan; Mrs. Leonard
Whitney, a resident of Barry county, Michigan; Mrs. Nancy Hogeland, who
is living in Grand Traverse county, this state; and Willard. One son, John
Whitney, died a number of years ago in Iowa at the age of thirty-two years.
In taking up the personal history of Willard Whitney we present to our
readers the life record of one who is widely and favorably known in Branch
county and who has for many years been a resident of this state. He was a
youth of nine summers when his parents removed to Michigan, and was left
an orphan when a lad of twelve years. At the time of the Civil war he responded to the country's call for aid, enlisting on the I4th of September, I86I,
as a member of Company E, First Michigan Infantry. On the expiration of
his first term of service he veteranized in the same company and regiment.
His regiment was assigned to the Army of the Potomac, "the flower of
the Federal army," and he was under such generals as Rosecrans, George B.
McClellan and Mead. He participated in many of the heaviest engagements
of the war, including the battles of Gaines Hill, Malvern Hill, Antietam, the
great battle of Gettysburg, Battle of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Fredericksburg, Campaign of Petersburg, and he was present at the scene and surrender of General Lee to General Grant at Appomattox, April 9, I865. He
was in line at the grand review at Washington, District of Columbia. He was
never'in hospital, nor never was taken prisoner. He was first discharged February 17, 1864, and was finally mustered out on the I7th of July, I865, for
th1e war had ended and his aid was no longer needed. He was a faithful
soldier and has ever been a good citizen, as loyal to his country and its interests in days of peace as in days of war.
In Burlington, Michigan, on the 2nd of February, I870, Mr. Whitney
was united in marriage to Miss Helen Lee, a native of Madison county, New
York. Her father was Uri Lee, who was born in Chenango, New York,
January 4, 18o8. He married Miss Paulina Mason, whose birth occurred in
Dutchess county, New York, March 24, 1814. On coming to Michigan they
located near White Pigeon and afterward removed to Burlington. Still later
they became residents of Athens, Calhoun county, where the remainder of
their lives was passed, Mr. Lee being called to his final rest April I7, I875,
while his wife died March 24, 1883. They were the parents of six children,
namely: Harry M., who was born March 8, I836, and died February 2, I859;




610              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
Samuel B., who was born February 7, I839, and died November 5, 1858; Joel,
who was born February 20, I840, and is residing in Athens, this state; Charles
N., who was born September 20, J843, and died in Athens, May 6, 1877; Mrs.
Amy Brown, who was born June 3, 1852, and lives in Athens; and Mrs.
Whitney, the wife of our subject.
In the year of his marriage Willard Whitney brought his bride to a farm
of eighty acres on section five, Girard-township, and here they have since lived.
The farm is a valuable one, improved with good buildings, and its well-tilled
fields yield excellent harvests. In all of his work Mr. Whitney is practical and
enterprising, keeping in touch with the modern ideas of agricultural development and using the latest improved machinery in connection with the care of
his fields. In all that he does he is eminently practical. In early life he wasa successful school teacher, and is a man of broad mind and comprehensive
knowledge, having been a wide and intelligent reader throughout his entire
life.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Whitney have been born five children. Claude H.,
born May 17, I871, is a graduate of the high school of Union City, Michigan,
of the class of 189o, and has been engaged in various enterprises. He was
married November 5, I896, to Miss Eliza Fox of Union City and they have
one daughter. Their present home is in Denver, Colorado. Lee D. Whitney, who was born May i, 1873, was married September 22, I897, to Luella
Gillett, and resides in Burlington, Michigan. Ella M., who, was born May 30,
I877, is a graduate of the State Normal School at Mount Pleasant, Michigan,
and of the Albion Business College at Albion, Michigan, and is now a successful school teacher. John L., the youngest of the family, was born September 20, I88o, and is yet with his parents.
In his political views Mr. Whitney has always been an earnest Republican, but has never been an office-seeker, nor does he desire political preferment as a reward for party fealty. 'He and his wife are among the most highly
esteemed residents of this locality. He has given to his children good educational privileges, and several of them have successfully followed teaching.
In manner Mr. Whitney is modest and of quiet demeanor, yet he entertains decided opinions as to right and wrong and is unswerving in his advocacy of
any cause which he espouses.
THOMAS ALFRED HILTON.
Thomas Alfred Hilton, one of the most prominent representatives of
commercial circles in Coldwater and a leader in public thought and opinion
here, wielding a wide and beneficial irfluence in behalf of many interests
which touched the general welfare, was born in Birmingham, England, April
12, 1855, and represents an old family of that country. He pursued his early
education in the public schools there and remained a resident of his native land
until sixteen years of age, when in 1871, soon. after the death of his father, he
sailed for America, having heard favorable reports concerning the advantages
offered to young men in the new world. Possessing laudable ambition, he
desired to try his fortune here and has continuously made his home in Coldwater with the exception of a brief period of a year spent as station agent


4




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


611


at Fremont, Indiana.  Realizing the value of education he pursued special
courses of study in this country that he might be better qualified for the onerous
and arduous duties of an active business career. Early in life he became a
clerk in a grocery store in Coldwater and later for five years acted as salesman, bookkeeper and assistant manager for L. D. Halsted, the pioneer clothier
of this city. Wishing to engage in business on his own account, he carefully
hoarded his earnings and when industry and frugality had brought him, sufficient capital he purchased a (-ne-third interest in the grocery and supply concern constituting the firmi of Milnes Brothers and Hilton, with which he continued during the life of the partnership agreement, and then for five and a
half years was engaged in a similar business for himself on Monroe street.
T'HOMAS ALFRED HILTON.
At length an illness forced him to retire from the grocery business, but after
his recovery he purchased a stock of clothing and in the conduct of his store
has won gratifying success. He is known in Coldwater as "the best
clothier," and a constantly growing patronage has brought him  a richly
merited measure of prosperity.  In his business life he has made a record
which any man might be proud to possess, for it indicates the force of his
character, his adaptability and his keen sagacity. He has molded his course
along the line of such old and time tried maxims as " Honesty is the best
policy " and " There is no excellence without labor."  He has ever been just
and considerate of his employes and few men are more uniformly respected
by the general public than Thomas A. Hilton.
Had he done naught but achieve success along mechanical lines we would
be justified in presenting his history to our readers as that of a representative
citizen of Coldwater, but he is also entitled to mention because of the honors




612


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


he has won in public life and by reason of the honor he has conferred upon
his fellow townsmen by capable and progressive service in their behalf. He.has given tangible proof of his public spirit by his advocacy of aldermanic
measures that have their basis in the general welfare. He served for several
terms at different times as alderman of Coldwater, has likewise been supervisor
and in I895 was elected mayor, giving to the city a business-like, practical administration. For two years he served on the board of commissioners of
electric light and water, and was also a member of the board of corrections
and charities for six and a half years, and that he made a splendid record is
indicated by the set of resolutions adopted by those with whom he served
upon his retirement from the board. His political position is never a matter
of question. He is fearless in defense of what he believes to be right and has
ever been an earnest champion of Republican principles. He has organized
and acted as chairman of several local Republican clubs and has been chairman of the county central committee of his party. To his political work he
brings the same power of organization and the same keen foresight that have
been salient elements in his business success. Mr. Hilton is also prominent
in masonry, and for twenty years was treasurer of the Branch county fraternal
benevolent association. A number of important interests of public and private
nature have felt the stimulus of his energy and executive ability, and while his
efforts have formned no unimportant element in promoting commercial activity
here, in citizenship he has also furnished an example that is well worthy of
emulation. He was one of the original members of the Independent Light
Guards, and after enlistment into the Michigan state troops served for seven
consecutive years, when he was honorably discharged.
HERBERT B. LOCKWOOD.
Herbert B. Lockwood, proprietor of a farm   on section twenty-nine,
Coldwater township, comprising one hundred and fifty-five acres of well improved land with all modern equipments, has displayed in his business life
great intelligence and unfaltering energy and by the exercise of these qualities has gained a creditable name and very gratifying competence. He was
born in Ovid township on the 27th of April, 1856, and when eighteen years
of age removed to Coldwater township, where he has since lived. His paternal grandfather was Uriah Lockwood, who had a family of ten children,
nearly all of whom settled in this part of the state, giving rise to many
branches of the Lockwood family now here. His son, Jeremiah Lockwood,
father of our subject, was born in Ulster county, New York, February 13,
1817, and was married to Miss Sarah E. Woodward, whose birth occurred
in Chenango county, New York, June 23, 1825. She was a daughter of
Archibald and Bernetta (Seeley) Woodward, in whose family were three
daughters, Mrs. Matilda Sprague, Mrs. Amelia Woodward and Mrs. Lockwood. The Lockwood and Woodward families were important factors in
the early development of this section of the state and were highly respected
people. The Lockwoods settled in Ovid township in 1836, when hardly
an improvement had been made within its borders, andi the Wbodwards
were pioneer residents of Batavia township, afterward removing to Cold



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


613


water township. Mrs. Bernetta Woodward reached the very venerable age
of one hundred and two years, passing away on the 22nd of October, I897,
in Branch county.
Jeremiah Lockwood was a young man of nineteen years when he came
with his family to Michigan, taking up his abode in Ovid township, where
he performed his full share of the work connected with the development
of a new farm and the reclamation of this district for the purposes of
civilization. In 1874 the family removed to Coldwater township.  Unto
Jeremiah and Sarah Lockwood were born four children:     Judson and
Odessa, who died in infancy; LeRoy, a resident of Coldwater; and Herbert B., of this review. The father's death occurred in Coldwater township
January 24, 1905, while his wife passed away there on the g9th of October, I895.
Herbert B. Lockwood was reared to manhood under the parental roof,
early becoming familiar with the duties and labors of the farm, and has
always followed agricultural pursuits. He is practical and progressive in
his methods and as the years have gone by has prospered in his undertakings. He now owns the former Woodward farm      on section 29, Coldwater township, which his father owned before him and which he had
assisted in clearing. The place today comprises one hundred and fifty-five
acres of land that is rich and productive, responding readily to the cultivation bestowed upon it. There are excellent modern buildings upon the
place, including a brick residence built in attractive style of architecture
and supplied with every convenience. It is indeed a model farm. home
and everything about the place indicates care and intelligent methods. Mr.
Lockwood was associated with Messrs. Van Anken, David Priddy and C.
S. Wright in the buying and shipping of live stock for about fifteen years,
and the five previous seasons he was salesman for the International Harvester Company through Michigan.
On the 3d of October, 1876, Mr. Lockwood was united in marriage to
Miss Lynn Wilder, who was born in Avon, Lorain county, Ohio, February
24, 1856, a daughter of George P. and Betsy E. (Reynolds) Wilder. Her
father was born in Canandaigua county, New York, while her mother's
birth occurred in Elizabethtown, Essex county, New York, March 23, I8I9.
They became early residents of Ohio, where Mr. Wilder died. Mrs. Wilder
afterward married I. N. Shaw, and since the death of her second husband
she now makes her home proper with Mrs. I. Treat. In the Wilder family were eight children, all of whom reached adult age, while six are yet
living, namely: Mrs. Ann Treat, whose home is in Coldwater; Mrs. Mary
Walker, of Ovid; William and James, who are living in Bay City, Michigan; Raymond, a resident of Missouri; and Mrs. Lynn Lockwood. Unto
our subject and his wife have been born three sons: Judson, born August
2, 1879, married Clara Lader, by whom he has a son, Howard, and they
reside in Coldwater. Carl, born May 4, I884, is a student in the Cleary
Business College of Ypsilanti, Michigan, where he is qualifying for a business career. Ralph, born August 19, I892, resides at home with his parents.




614


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Fraternally Mr. Lockwood is connected with the Odd Fellows, Lodge
at Coldwater, and his political allegiance is given to the Republican party.
He has served as school officer for many terms and is justly accounted
one of the progressive and active farmers of his township.  He and hip
wife have a wide circle of friends and their own hospitable home is the
center of a cultured society circle, being a favorite resort with those who
know them. Mr. Lockwood is a worthy representative of two of the prominent pioneer families of the county, and his lines of life have been cast
in harmony with the ancestral history.
P. D. WILLBUR.
P. D. Willbur, for forty-two, years in active business in Union City,.
and now conducting a grocery, crockery and glassware store, was born in
Oneida county, New York, in the town of Florence, February I8, I8132.
His father, Edwin Willbur, was a native of Madison county, New York,
and was married in Oneida county to Miss Eunice S. Bellos, also a native of
Madison county. The father engaged in farming in Oneida county for a
number of years, and in 1844 removed to Michigan, settling in Barry county.
He afterward took up his abode in Calhoun county, where his last days
were spent, his death occurring in his fifty-seventh year. His wife passed
away in Barry county at the age of seventy-eight years:. She was twice
married, first becoming the wife of Mr. Willbur, by whom she had six
sons and two daughters.
P. D. Willbur, the eldest of this family, was a youth of fifteen years
when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Michigan. He spent
the remainder of his youth in Barry county and completed his education in
the Battle Creek (Michigan) high school. He learned the cabinet maker's
trade there and subsequently took up his abode in Union City, the year I8,58
witnessing his arrival here. 'He then turned his attention to the furniture
and undertaking business, which he conducted for about twenty years, and on
selling out he established his present grocery, crockery and glassware store
with his son, W. H., which he has carried on successfully for twenty-two
years, so that he has been a merchant of Union City for more than fortytwo years. Isaac Tower is the only merchant living in Union City who was
here when Mr. Willbur established his first store, and Mr. Tower is now retired, so that it leaves Mr. Willbur the pioneer merchant here. Throughout
the long years of his connection with commercial interests his name has been
a synonym for integrity and straightforward dealing, and his business methods
have always been such as would bear the closest investigation and scrutiny.
On the 5th of January, 1855, Mr. Willbur was married to Miss Mary
A. Palmer, who was born in Oswego county, New York, and is a daughter of
William and Mary A. Palmer, early settlers of Battle Creek, Michigan. Her
father was born in England, and was one of Bonaparte's guards on! the island
of St. Helena. He served for sixteen years as a private in the English army.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Willbur was born, a son, William H., who was born in
Union City, Michigan, in I861, and was educated in the Union City public
schools. He wedded Miss Hattie Smith, and they have five children, one




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


615


son and four daughters. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church, in which he is a trustee, and he is a Prohibitionist in politics. He is a member of the Blue Lolge and Chapter in Union City, a member
of the Maccabees, and his wife is a member of the Ladies of the Tented Maccabees and the Eastern Star. He is now a partner of his father, and adds
the great energy and enterprise of a younger man to the broad experience and
business capacity of the older, so that the partnership is a very strong one
and the success which is attending the firm is very creditable and gratifying.
Mr. Willbur was a Republican in politics for many years, but about ten
years ago announced his allegiance to the Prohibition party, which he has
since supported. His first presidential ballot was cast for John C. Fremont,
and he also voted for James A. Garfield and other Republican presidential
candidates. He has twice been alderman of the village, but has never sought
or desired office, preferring to give undivided attention to his business affairs
and content to perform his duties to the village as a private citizen. However,
he has never been remiss in the duties of citizenship, and his efforts have materially promoted the welfare and progress of Union City. An exemplary
Mason, he belongs to the Lodge, Chapter and Council at Union City, and
is thoroughly in sympathy with the teachings of the craft, which has its basic
principles in brotherly kindness and mutual helpfulness. He also belongs to
Coldwater lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Independent
Order of United Workmen, and he and his wife are devoted members of the
Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has held office and in the work of
which he has taken an interested part, co-operating in many of the church
activities. In manner he is courteous and pleasant, winning friends by his
genial disposition and honorable character, which commands the respect of
all. Today he is not more honored on account of the enviable position which
he occupies in business circles than on account of the many kindly deeds of his
life, which have been quietly and unostentatiously performed.
C. D. WARNER, M. D.
Dr. C. D. Warner, of the Warner Medical Company of Coildwater, was
born in Calhoun county, Michigan, December 17, 1840. His father, Elihu
Warner, was a native of Connecticut, and when about six years old went to
New York with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. David Warner, who were also
natives of the Charter Oak state. After arriving at years of maturity Elihu
Warner was married to Lucina Clarke, a daughter of Enoch and Anna
(Hutchinson) Clarke. They became the parents of nine children, four sons
and five daughters. The eldest died in early life but the others reached mature years.
Dr. Warner, the youngest of the family, was taken by his parents to
Hillsdale county, Michigan, when but eighteen months old, and there his
childhood and youth were passed. Having studied in the district schools he
afterward attended Hillsdale College and later was a student in a commercial school of Detroit, Michigan. He put aside his text books, however, for
the purpose of enlisting in the Union army, and in I86I he became a member of Company G, Second Michigan Cavalry, with which he served as a




616              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
private.  With a constitution unable to withstand the hardships of war,
however, he was honorably discharged after a year on account of physical
disability, after which he returned to Reading, Michigan. He also resumed
his studies in the commercial college at Detroit, from which he was graduated, and then went into the copper mines in the northern peninsula of
Michigan, working for the Pennsylvania Mining Company for about six
months as superintendent of surface work. Later he engaged as contractor
in the building of houses and spent about two years in that part of the state.
I-e then located in the village of Reading, where for about ten years he was
engaged in the manufacture of White Wine of Tar and of blood and liver
pills. In I889 he came to Coldwater, where he has continued in the manufacture of the same medicines and is now devoting his attention largely
to the White Wine of Tar —a remedy which has become known all over the
world. He also owns farms at Reading which are operated under his supervision, and has mining interests in Mexico, being a stockholder in the El
Cobre mines of Sonora, Mexico. Dr. Warner was married to Miss Julia
St. John, and they had a daughter and son: Donna, now the wife of B. L.
Van Aken, of Coldwater; and Hiram   E., who owns the old home farm
at Reading, and is engaged in the sale of the Warner Company's remedies,
having control of the business in the states of Indiana and Ohio.  The
wife and mother died, and Dr. Warner has since married Josephine M.
Brown.
Dr. Warner votes with the Republican party, which he has supported
since casting his presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln. His business career has been attended with success. When he began the manufacture of
Warner's White Wine of Tar he walked from house to house, selling his
medicines, which he carried in a grip sack. Later he was enabled to purchase a horse and buggy, and so satisfactory did his remedies prove that the
business grew rapidly and has now reached extensive proportions, making
Dr. Warner one of the substantial citizens of Coldwater. In manner he is
genial and affable, readily making friends, and retaining the high regard of
all by reason of his social disposition and genuine worth of character.
ALEXANDER McINTYRE.
Alexander McIntyre is the owner of a valuable farm of two hundred
and fifty-six acres situated on section fifteen, Matteson township. A native
of Canada, he was born near St. Thomas on the Ist of December, 1843. His
father, William McIntyre, was a native of Scotland and was there reared.
In that country he wedded Miss Agnes McColm, also a native of that country, and soon afterward they crossed the Atlantic to Canada, locating near
St. Thomas, where William McIntyre followed the occupation of farming
up to the time of his death, which occurred when he was about forty-five
years of age. His widow still lives in Canada, making her home in Wallacetown, at the age of eighty-two years. In their family were five children,
two sons and three daughters, all of whom reached adult age.
Alexander McIntyre, the eldest of the family, was reared and educated in Canada, and when seventeen years of age came to Branch county,






"~~,~I










HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


617


settling first at Bronson. He there turned his attention to the blacksmith's
trade, which he followed for two years, after which he went to Coldwater,
where he began earning his living by blacksmithing and carriage manufacturing, continuing in that business for about five years. He then engaged in
business for himself in partnership with Mr. Lockard, renting a shop for
the first year, and then building a shop on West Chicago street, where the
Harley agricultural implement business is now located. Mr. McIntyre continued in business in Coldwater for about thirteen years. The partnership
continued for three years, at the end of which time he purchased his partner's interest. He was then alone in business until about 1875, when he
traded his property for a farm in Calhoun county, Michigan.  There he
lived for two years, when he sold out and purchased where he now resides.
He has made his home in Matteson township for twenty-eight years, and
his farm now comprises two hundred and fifty-six acres of land. At one
time his holdings were three hundred and sixteen acres, but he has sold a
part of this to his son Frank. As an agriculturist he has been very energetic
and progressive, and has annually harvested good crops because of the
practical care and labor which he has bestowed upon the fields.
In February, I865, Mr. McIntyre was united in marriage to Miss
Amanda Bearss, a daughter of Henry and Harriet (Darling) Bearss. The
father was born in Connecticut and the mother in Albany, New York, and in
their family'were eight children, six daughters and two sons, Mrs. McIntyre
being the fifth in order of birth. She was born in Prattsville, New York,
September 22, 1846, and was brought to Michigan when about twelve years
of age, since which time Branch county has been her home. Mr. and Mrs.
Mclntyre have but one son, Frank, who was born in Matteson township,
March i6, I880, was married to Lottie Sanderson, and is now an enterprising and leading agriculturist of Matteson township. Mr. McIntyre has
always voted with the Republican party.  He has been a very successful
man, and starting out in life on his own account empty handed has steadily
worked his way upward, proving that prosperity and an honored name can
be won simultaneously, for in his business career he has gained success, and
has also made an excellent reputation as a straightforward, reliable business man.
NORMAN A. REYNOLDS.
Judge Norman A. Reynolds, who for many years has wielded a wide
influence in professional and political circles in Branch county, and is now
practically living a retired life at his home in Coldwater, was born in Cayuga
county, New York, May 28, 1843, and is a representative of one of the old
colonial families that was established in Connecticut during an early epoch
in the history of the new world. His paternal grandfather, Joseph Reynolds,
belonged to the Fifth Regiment of the militia of Dutchess county. New York.
and served in the Revolutionary war under Colonel Philip Van Cortland.
He was taken captive and for some time was held as a prisoner of war on a
British vessel in New York harbor. He was a son of Caleb Reynolds and
a grandson of Joshua Reynolds, of Fairfield county, Connecticut. It is not




618


HISTQRY OF BRANCH COUNTY


definitely known when the family was established in New York, but Joseph
Reynolds, the Revolutionary hero, resided in Dutchess county, and Caleb
Reynolds, father of Judge Reynolds, was born in the Empire state. The last
named became a farmer by occupation and spent his entire life in New York.
He married Lydia Robinson, also a native of the same state, and they had a
family of eight children, whom they reared upon the home farm.
Judge Reynolds early became familiar with the experiences and labors
that usually fall to the lot of a farmer's son, and following his preliminary
course of study in the district schools he attended an academy for a time and
during the winter of I860-6I taught school. Prompted by a spirit of loyalty
and patriotism, he laid aside his text-books and offered his services in defense of the Union which his grandfather had aided in establishing, enlisting
on the 7th of September, 186I, as a member of Company A, Tenth New York
Cavalry, for a term of three years, and on the expiration of that period he
re-enlisted and continued with the boys in blue until the cessation of hostilities,
when he was honorably discharged August 8, I865. He served with the
Army of the Potomac and his regiment was one of the most active of that
branch of the service, participating in many important and hotly contested
engagements. Judge Reynolds closely followed the fortunes of his regiment
and rose from the ranks, becoming successively corporal, sergeant, commissary
sergeant and second lieutenant. He has always maintained a deep interest
in military affairs and was himself a brave and intrepid soldier. Of Butterworth Post, G. A. R., of which he was an organizer, he served for three years
as commander, and in 1883 he was a lieutenant of the Light Guards, while
from 1887 until I889, inclusive, he was captain of that command.
Following his service in the Union Army, Judge Reynolds returned to
the parental home in New York, but soon afterward went west, hoping that
he might enjoy better business opportunities in the region west of the Mississippi. He visited Missouri and other states, but not finding conditions
favorable, he again turned his face to the east. On visiting Branch county,
Michigan, he decided that conditions here were more to his liking, and since
March I, I866, he has been a resident of this county, and from 18;66 to I877
he was a resident of Quincy township. He had previously married in New
York, Miss Emma E. Dofferty having become his wife, and the young couple
located on a farm in Quincy township. Four years later he was called upon
to mourn the death of his wife. In 1872 he married a second time, wedding
Miss Emorette A. Harding.
Judge Reynolds continued his farming operations until 1876, when, on
account of failing health, he sold his farm, deciding to abandon the arduous
labor in connection with an agricultural life. He came to Coldwater in October, 1877, and was admitted to the bar in 1878. Immediately afterward he
located for practice in Coldwater, and in the fall of the same year was made
circuit court commissioner. In I880 he was elected probate judge of Branch
county, and thus served for three terms, or twelve years, at the close of which
period he resumed the practice of law, enjoying a large clientage until 1903,
when, at the age of sixty years, he decided to retire from professional and
business life. His business relations are now largely financial, his attention




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


619


being given to the supervision of his investments. He is also a director of
the Branch County Savings Bank, of which he was one of the organizers.
He was appointed by Governor Bliss, in I903, a member of the board of control of the State Public School, and reappointed by Governor Warner in 9g05
for a term of six years, being the second treasurer of the board.
In fraternal, religious, social, political and business relations he has always been active, and his sound judgment, clear discernment and indefatigable
energy have made his influence a potent and beneficial force along these varied
lines. In politics he has been a stanch Republican since the organization of
the party.  He is a Master Mason, a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church and president of the Branch County Fraternal Association. His interest in his adopted county and her welfare is deep and sincere and his cooperation in progressive public movements has been far-reaching and beneficial.
Mrs. Reynolds, who was born in Hillsdale county, Michigan, holds a prominent
place in the social and literary circles of the city and is also an active worker
in the Methodist Episcopal church. For seventeen years she has been president of the Home Missionary Society of her church, of which she was an
organizer. She has also been president of the Woman's Relief Corps, and
is now (9r0,5) leader of the Purple Circle Columbia Club, an association
formed of eleven different literary societies.
FRANK B. REYNOLDS.
Frank B. Reynolds, only son of Judge and Mrs. Norman A. Reynolds,
was born on his father's farm in Quincy township, Branch county, Michigan,
on the 2oth of January, 1874, and the city of Coldwater has been his home
since he was three years of age. Here he grew to manhood and attended
school, being graduated from the high school with the class of I89I. He
afterward pursued a two-years' literary course in the University of Michigan
and then entered upon the study of law in the same institution, being graduated with the class of I895, with the degree of LL. B. He was immediately
admitted to the bar, and in association with his father, then practicing law in
Coldwater, he began his professional career. In the fall of 900o, he was
elected probate judge on the Republican ticket, and in 1904 was re-elected,
so that he is the present incumbent, and as the office had previously been filled
by his father for three terms, the name of Reynolds has been associated with
the probate bench for twenty years. Frank B. Reynolds had previously served
for three years as city attorney of Coldwater and for two terms as circuit
court commissioner.  He volunteered and served in the Spanish-American
war, joining the Thirty-second Michigan Volunteer Infantry, in which he
was a color sergeant.
In I896 Judge Reynolds married Miss Florence M. Hilliar, and they
have two children: Adeltha A. and Frances I. He is a Master Mason and a
leading member of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is now serving as trustee. He also has been very active in the work of the Sundayschool, the Epworth League and the Young Men's Christian Association,
being a member of the board of directors and vice-president of the last named
for a number of years. Like his father, his is a well rounded character and




620


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


in his life proportionate attention has been given to his profession and his
obligations to his fellow men, his home locality and his country. The name
of Reynolds has long figured prominently in Branch county and has ever been
an honored one.
JOHN P. FOX.
John P. Fox, living on section one, Sherwood township, was born in
Montour county, Pennsylvania, then a part of Columbia county, on the 23rd
of May, I843. His paternal grandfather, John Fox, was also a native ofthe keystone state, where he spent his entire life. He was descended from
German and English ancestry and the family was established in Pennsylvania at a very early day, the first representatives of the name settling near
the Delaware river. The deed to their land was signed by William Penn
and the farm which was thus secured is yet in possession of the Fox family. It lies in Bucks county and through successive generations the family
has been represented there. Daniel M. Fox, father of John P. Fox, was
born in Pennsylvania and came to Michigan in I854, locating in Calhoun
county. He was a teacher in early life and later engaged in farming, continuing in active agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred when
he was in his seventy-fifth year. He resided continuously upon his farm in
Calhoun county upon which he first located. He married Eliza Lichtenwalner, who was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, and was a
daughter of Peter Lichtenwalner, also a native of that state, his ancestors
having settled in Pennsylvania in I733. Mrs. Fox was sixty-eight years of
age at the time of her demise. She had become the mother of nine children, four sons and five daughters, of whom three sons and three daughters reached adult age.
John P. Fox, the sixth child and third son, was a youth of ten years
at the time of his parents' removal to Michigan and he was reared in Fredonia township, Calhoun county, acquiring his education in the district
schools, Throughout the period of his boyhood he assisted in the operation
of the home farm and thus gained practical experience which proved of
value to him when he began farming on his own account. He was married in I868 to Miss Catherine F. Green, a daughter of Dr. Jacob S. Green,
who came to Michigan'in I866 and engaged in the practice of his profession in this portion of the state. Mrs. Fox was born in Tompkins county,
New York, May 3, I843, and after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Fox remained on the old homestead farm in Calhoun county until I882, when they
settled in Sherwood township and have since resided here. They became
the parents of three children: Charles, who is engaged in the clothing business at Athens, Michigan; Liza, the wife of Claud H. Whitney, of Denver,
Colorado; and Lena, the wife of Clifford Darling of Girard township,
Branch county. The wife and mother died January I, I896, and in October,
I897, Mr. Fox wedded Mrs. Mary A. Burton, the widow of Otis Burton and
a daughter of Lance Simmons.
Mr. Fox is a representative agriculturist, owning and operating two
hundred and fifty-six acres of well improved land on section one, Sherwood




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


621


township. He is also a director and a vice-president of the Farmers' National Bank at Union City and one of the directors of the Union City Creamery Company. In his business affairs he is enterprising, managing his interests on strictly business principles and whatever he undertakes to do he
does thoroughly and well. He is strong in all the essentials that combine
to make a valuable and trustworthy business man. In politics he has always
been a Republican but would never accept office. He belongs to, the Methodist Episcopal church at Union City and is now chairman of its board of
trustees, also one of its stewards and very active in the different departments of the church work. His identification therewith has continued for
thirty-five years and for about twenty years he has been a member of the
Ancient Order of, United Workmen.
WILLIAM     ADAMS COOMBS.
William A. Coombs was born in South Thompson, Maine, August 21,
1840, being the eldest of five children and only son of Archibald and Harriett (Kalloch) Coombs. He accompanied his parents on their removal to
Laporte county, Indiana, where his youth was passed, and after mastering
the branches taught in the public schools he continued his studies in the
Valparaiso Normal School and afterward was engaged in teaching school
for a time. Mr. Coombs entered mercantile life in connection with a general store at Rolling Prairie, Indiana, where he remained until November,
I868, when he came to Coldwater and was here engaged in merchandising,
for a short time. Later he became a dealer in fruit trees and was engaged
in selling nursery stock for several years. About 1877 he purchased the
Crippen flouring mill, which he conducted until his death, and he also bought
and operated other mills. He likewise purchased the plant of the Coldwater Gas Company, developed the business and retained a controlling interest in the same. He was instrumental in establishing the Tappen shoe factory, of which he became one of the stockholders, and thus his identification
with varied business interests made him a valued factor in the industrial
and commercial development of the city.
In March, 1866, Mr. Coombs was united in marriage to Miss Clara
Adams Webster, a daughter of Harrison Webster, a native of New York,
who settled in Branch county, Michigan, in 1867, and here followed the
occupation of farming. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary E. Dickson, and was also a native of New York. Mrs. Coombs was born in Ripley,
New York, and there her marriage was celebrated. She became the mother
of five children: Mrs. Edith Zwisler, now deceased; Anna M., the wife
of Fred W. Moore of the Coombs Milling Company of Coldwater; Susie
S., the wife-of Elmer J. Allen; Elizabeth, the wife of H. R. Saunders of the
Coldwater National Bank; and William Adams, secretary of the Coldwater
Gas Company.
William A. Coombs gave his political support to the Republican party,
and was always interested in its success. He died in Coldwater June I9,
1898.




622              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
A. MUNSON ETHERIDGE.
A. Munson Etheridge, a member of the firm of Etheridge & Norton,
dealers in agricultural implements in Quincy, was born in Coldwater February 27, 1844. His father, Samuel Etheridge, was a native of Adams, Massachusetts, and came to Michigan in 1836, locating in Coldwater. He was
a millwright by trade and built the first flouring mill in Branch county.
It became known as the old Crippen Mill. Mr. Etheridge was a'man of
considerable prominence and influence in the county in an early day. He
came of New England ancestry and had been liberally educated. His political allegiance was given to the Democracy and he was a strong party man,
doing everything in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of the principles in which he believed. About I85o he took part in a
debate that was held in Quincy and which was a memorable event in its
early history. He then prophesied that a railroad would be built through
Quincy on the very ground on which the schoolhouse stood. He said that
the day would come when the continent would be crossed by steel rails from
ocean to ocean.  Although the prophecy has long since been fulfilled he
showed remarkable foresight in his prediction.  He belonged to the old
school of gentlemen, punctiliously polite, considerate of others and deferential in manner. When the senatorial district extended to Detroit he acted
as its representative in I839-40 in the state legislature, which then held its
meetings at Detroit. He was a personal friend of Governor Steven T. Mason
and he and his family were often guests at the governor's home. Mr. Etheridge also held some local offices, including that of justice of the peace, in
which he served for a number of years. In I845 he removed to, Quincy
and engaged in farming just west of the town, where he owned a tract of
land that was eventually divided by the Lake Shore Railroad. In early life
he held membership in the Baptist church but at the time of his death was
a communicant of the Episcopalian church. In his fraternal relations he
was a Mason. He died in 1864 at the ripe old age of seventy-six years, and
though several decades have since come and gone he is yet remembered by
many of the older settlers as one of the prominent and influential citizens
of this part of the state.  He married Cynthia Maria Ingham, who was
born in tJhe town of Schuyler, Herkimer county, New York, in I8o6, and
died in I886.  She represented one of the old New England families of
German lineage and. by this marriage there were three children: Charles I.,
a farmer living in Quincy township; Kirk B., who is a farmer and also conducts a feed mill at Quincy; and A. Munson. Samuel Etheridge was twice
married, his two wives being sisters and by the first union he had six children, but only one is now living, Mrs. Cynthia Brewer, the wife of Lorenzo
D. Brewer, who is living in Coldwater in the house which she has occupied for sixty-seven years. She has reached the age of eighty-seven years
and by reason of a broken hip is now an invalid.
A Munson Etheridge was a student in the public schools of Quincy and
Coldwater in his boyhood days. He was reared upon his father's farm and
has followed agricultural pursuits for thirty-five years, owning eighty acres


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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


623


of land in Quincy township. He is also engaged in the implement business
in Quincy at the present time, handles buggies and wagons, and also deals
quite largely in real estate, his business interests being capably conducted,
so that he has a gratifying yearly income. He began dealing in implements
in Coldwater in I860 in connection with Mr. Bert and his brother, Theodore
C. Etheridge, with whom he was identified in business relations for eight
years. On the expiration of that period he took up his abode on his farm
near Quincy, but in 1895 again entered mercantile life, and in I897 formed
a partnership in the implement business with A. L. Bowen, which continued
until the fall of 1902, when he purchased his partner's interest and shortly
afterward admitted H. P. Norton to a partnership under the present firm
style of Etheridge & Norton.
In 1870 Mr. Etheridge was married to Miss Clara J. Newberry, a
daughter of Peter M. and Hannah (Seaberry) Newberry. She was born in
Quincy township on the farm now owned by Mr. Etheridge, her natal year
being I845. Her father had come to Michigan in 1836, settling first in
Jonesville, where he remained for a year. He then came to Quincy township, where the family home was maintained through a long period. He had
but two daughters, Mrs. Etheridge's sister becoming the wife of his brother,
Kirk Etheridge.
Unto our subject and his wife have been born the following named:
Alice C., at home; Warren S., who is his father's assistant in business;
Mabel L., who is attending the conservatory of music of the state normal;
Theodore Cleveland, at home; Willie, who died at the age of nine years;
and Arthur, who died at the age of four years, both dying of diphtheria in
I884. The parents are consistent and prominent members of the Baptist
church, and Mr. Etheridge has been a deacon in the church for thirty-five
years.  He cast his first presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln and has
since given an unfaltering support to the Republican party. Mrs. Etheridge
crossed the continent soon after the building of the first railroad in company
with her father, and later Miss Alice Etheridge made the same trip to California with her grandfather Newberry.   The family is a prominent one
in the locality, occupying an enviable position in the social circles in which
they move and Mr. Etheridge has contributed in substantial measure to the
business development of the city.
WILLIAM WILSON, M. D.
Dr. William Wilson, whose life has been devoted to the welfare of his
fellowmen as a practitioner of medicine and minister of the gospel, was born
in the city of Dumfries, Scotland, June 20, 1848.  When he was twelve
years of age his mother with her two sons, William and James, came to the
United States, settling at Albany, New York, where Mrs. Wilson spent her
remaining days, her death there occurring in 1902, when she was about
seventy-four years of age.  It was in that state that Dr. Wilson was reared,
early entering business life there as an apprentice to the carpenter's trade.
His school privileges were very limited, but he was fond of books and devoted his evening hours to reading and study, thus gaining a fair education




624


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


to which observation, experience and investigation have added as the years
have gone by.   When twenty-two years of age he professed his faith in
Christ and joined the Plymouth Brethren, after which he devoted much of
his time for ten years to preaching the gospel.  In the meantime he also
followed carpentering and other occupations in order to gain a livelihood,
but throughout the years that have since come and gone he never ceased to
continue his labors in the ministry and his influence has ever been a potent
factor on the side of right, justice and truth.  In I88I he took up the
study of medicine under the direction of the late George L. Whitford, M. D.,
at Coldwater, having removed to this city in I878.  Later he became a
student in Bennett Medical College of Chicago, from which he was graduated in I884.  He then located in East Saginaw, Michigan, where he remained for a year, after which he returned to Coldwater, where he has since
followed the profession of medical practice and has also engaged in teaching.  He has been successful in his ministrations for the physical needs of
mankind and he has kept in touch with the progress of his profession through
membership in the Branch County Medical Society and the Tri-State Medical
Society.
Dr. Wilson was married in I879 to Miss Julia A. Whitford, a daughter
of Dr. George L. Whitford, and they have two sons-Harry G. and James
G., both traveling salesmen. The life work of Dr. Wilson has been actuated by a broad, humanitarian spirit and deep interest in his fellowmen
that prompts his best efforts for the amelioration of all the conditions which
work hardships to others.   Added to his efforts for the alleviation of
suffering and diseases he brings the consolation of the gospel faith and
in his life shows forth the true spirit of Him who came not to be ministered
unto but to minister.
HON. WILLIAM B. BUSHNELL.
William B. Bushnell, a furniture dealer of Bronson, Michigan, was born
on his father's farm in Noble township, six miles south of Bronson, February 21, 1849, son of Ephraim B. Bushnell. The latter, a native of Ohio,
moved to Michigan in I836, accompanied by his father, Samuel Bushnell,
who was born in Vemlont and who at an early day had come as far west
as Ohio. Samuel Bushnell spent the rest of his life in Michigan, and died
at the home of his son in Branch county.
Like other farmer boys, William B. Bushnell worked on a farm in summner and during the winter months attended the country school near his
home. Also for a short time he was a student at Orland Academy in Indiana. At the age of twenty, ambitious to see something of the world, he
went west, visiting Iowa,,Nebraska, Idaho, Montana and California, where
he spent some time engaged in mining and various other occupations. Returning to Michigan in I876, he settled down to farming in Branch county
and gave his attention to agricultural pursuits here until January, I9012,
when he became associated with E. M. Turner in a general furniture and
undertaking business in Bronson. He still owns a farm of ninety acres,
located two and a half miles west of Bronson.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


625


Mr. Bushnell married, in I88o, Miss Maria Taggart, daughter of David
Taggart, of Branch county, and they have four children, namely: Leland D.,
a graduate of Lansing Agricultural College with the class of June, I90g5;
Clyde E., a student in that college; Elwood D., a graduate of the Bronson
high school in I904, is now teaching school; and Clesson, at home.
Mr. Bushnell has always been a staunch Republican. For three years
he served Bronson township as supervisor, being the only Republican elected
to that office during a period of thirty years. In i8gi he was elected a
representative to the Michigan general assembly for a term of two, years,
and filled the position with credit to himself and his constituents. He is
a member of Mlystic lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Bronson.
L. M. BOWERS.
From an early period in the development of Branch county L. M.
Bowers has resided within its borders, and has been an interested witness of
its development and of changes that have been wrought as agricultural and
commercial progress have elevated the county to a par with the older districts of the east. He lives on section fourteen, Batavia! township, where he
has a good farm of eighty-eight acres, upon which he took up his abode thirty-two years ago, his birth occurring in Penfield, Monroe county, New York,
on the 5th of December, 184o. His father, John Bowers, was a native of
Essex county, New Jersey, born in the town of Roxbury, on the 8th of July,
I8I6, and is now living in his ninetieth year, making his home with his son,
L. M. Bowers of this review. He is still a hale and hearty old man, respected and honored by young and old, rich and poor. He came to Branch
county in 1853, locating in Batavia township and has been a life-long farmer.
He was a son of John Bowers, a native of Vermont-a fact which indicates
that the family was established in the new world at an early day, while this
country still belonged to Great Britain. John Bowers was united in marriage to Miss Esther Ann Moore, whose birth occurred in Monroe county,
New York, and who passed away when about sixty-five years of age. In
their family were two children, but the daughter died in childhood.
L. M. Bowers, the only son, was a youth of twelve years when he came
with his parents to Michigan, and his. education, which was begun in the
east, was continued in the district schools of Branch county and in the city
of Coldwater. He remained at home through the period of his youth and
for one year was engaged in the jewelry business in Coldwater, but thirtytwo years ago located on his present farm. For a year and a half he conducted a general store at Klinger's Lake and established the postoffice there,
acting as postmaster during the period of his residence there. He also established the first rural route that went out of Coldwater.
On the I3th of February. 1863, Mr. Bowers was united in marriage
to Miss Lovina Grove, a daughter of Archibald and Jane (Pitcher) Grove,
who came to Branch county in 1833. On the occasion of the mother's death
the following notice appeared in a local paper:
"Mrs. Jane Grove, or better known as Grandma Grove, whose serious
illness has from time to time been mentioned in our items, departed this




626


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


life last Monday evening. Mrs. Grove has always lived a peaceful quiet
home life. Being left a widow in early life with a large family of little
children, she worked hard to keep her family together, and although sorely
tried with the hardships of an early pioneer life she still pressed nobly on
and lived to see her children all grown up to manhood and womanhood with
beautiful homes of their own. As she had always lived a quiet life she
wished her burial to be. Her own daughters cared for her in her last sickness and in death her sons laid her body away to rest. Elder Lowry, of
Coldwater, talked in his quiet and expressive way from a text of her own
selection and Miss Elizabeth Grove, who is a relative of the family, sang in
her sweet voice two solos. It can be truly said with Mr. Lowry that she
had lived a long life and fought a good fight."
Mrs. Bowers was born in Batavia township May 15, 1843, and was one
of a family of ten children, being the fifth in order of birth. Her girlhood
was spent in Batavia township and the public schools of the neighborhood
afforded her her educational privileges. In fact she has lived in this township throughout her entire life and has a very wide acquaintance. By her
marriage she has become the mother of one daughter, Mary E., now the
wife of Mortimer Olds, a resident of Batavia township.
Mr. Bowers is the owner of a farm of ninety acres and has always carried on general agricultural pursuits.  His well tilled fields indicate his
careful supervision of his place, which is thoroughly equipped with modern
improvements and presents an attractive appearance. He has. been identified
with the Democratic and Greenback parties and favors the free coinage of
silver at the ratio of sixteen to one. He has served as township clerk of
Batavia township for about two years. He is a member of the Grange, and
at one time was connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
For fifty-three years a resident of Branch county, he has been an interested
witness of almost its entire development, and has been particularly helpful
along the line of agricultural progress, co-operating largely in the Grange
movement. HIe was master of the local Grange for about ten years, and
has been a member of the county, state and national Grange, recognized as
one of its proninent representatives. He has also been president and director of the Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Branch county. An
investigation into his life record will disclose no startling chapters, but will
show that in the faithful performance of the duties of this work-a-day world
he has won a fair measure of prosperity and at the same time has lived so
as to gain the respect and trust of those with whom he has been associated.
J. MOREHOUSE BLACKMAN, M. D.
Dr. J. Morehouse Blackman, among the young practitioners of medicine and surgery in Branch county, with a well equipped office in Quincy,
where he has gained a creditable and gratifying patronage, was born at
White Pigeon, Michigan, in 1873, and when but three years of age was
brought to Quincy by his parents, in 1876. He is a son of Edson Blackman.
represented on another page of this work. He acquired his early'education
in the public schools of Quincy, and subsequently became a student in Hills



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


627


dale College, which he attended in the years 1895-6.  He then began preparation for his profession by reading medicine under the direction of his.
father, and in I896 was enrolled as a student in the Eclectic Medical College,
at Cincinnati, where he remained for a year. His views concerning practical principles then changed to some extent and he became a student in
the Grand Rapids Medical College, in 1897, and was graduated therefrom
in the following year. The succeeding year was spent in practice in Quincy,
after which he pursued a year's course in the Detroit Homeopathic College,
being a graduate of that institution of the class of 90oo. He has thoroughly
investigated all sides of medical practice and in his work he makes wise
choice of what he believes will prove the most helpful in checking the ravages of disease and restoring health. In I9oo he returned to Quincy, where
he has since remained, having an office with.his father. He has been successful from the start and new has a business which many an older practitioner might well envy.
In I9go  Dr. Blackman was nmarried to Miss Carrie Lusk, a daughter of
Alfred and Emily Lusk. She was born in Coldwater, in 1877, and is an
only child. The family comes of German lineage. Dr. Blackman is a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity and also has membership relations
with the Odd Fellows, Maccabees and Mystic Workers, and is medical
examiner for these organizations and for the Equitable Life Insurance
Company.
ROBERT WATSON.
Robert Watson, one of the early settlers of Coldwater, was born in Lincolnshire, England, December 12, 1840, and with his parents came to America in 1850, the family home being established in Pontiac. He afterward
went to Flint, Michigan, and in I860 arrived in Coldwater. He was then
a young man of twenty years, possessing energy, determination and laudable ambition. He here established a meat market and for forty-two years
has continued in the same line of business in this city, being one of its most
reliable and representative business men. He is always, straightforward and
honorable in every business transaction and had a large patronage, many of
his customers having been with him for years.  This business he sold in
1903.
In I866 Mr. Watson was united in marriage to Miss Olive Smith, a
daughter of General Davis Smith, who won his title through service in the
Black Hawk war.    Mrs. Watson was born in Tecumseh, Michigan, and
came to Branch county in 1851. On the Ist of April, I869, Mr. Watson
took up his abode on his present farm, which comprises one hundred and
five acres of land all within the city limits. He has a fine residence here,
which he erected and he is now a well-to-do citizen, his prosperity having
been gained entirely through his own efforts. Three children came to bless
the home, but one has passed away. The daughter, Laura S., is yet with
her parents. The son, Robert Howard, married Miss Blanche Dunham of
Coldwater and now follows farming in Girard township, this county. They
have one son, Robert.  The younger daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Watson,




'628


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Lizzie Emaline, became the wife of W. S. Everts and died, leaving a daughter, Helen L.
Mr. Watson has been a very busy man and in addition to conducting
the meat market in Coldwater he has engaged largely in buying, shipping
and selling stock. He has persevered and his salient traits of character have
been such as have insured him business success. He has made his home in
Coldwater for forty-five years and is closely identified with its interests. In
politics a Democrat, he has been chosen by popular vote to the office of alderman for eight years and has taken an active part in everything relating to
the general welfare. The family are connected with the Episcopal church
and are well known in Branch county. For more than a half century Mr.
Watson has lived in this state and for forty-five years in the county, and
his entire life history has been as an open book which all may read.
JOHN SEBRING.
John Sebring, interested in general farming on section twenty-seven,
Quincy township, was born in Wayne county, New York, April IO, 1824,
and in the paternal line comes of Dutch ancestry. The family was represented in the Revolutionary war and John Sebring, Sr., the father of
our subject, was a soldier of the war of 1812, being on Lake Champlain
when peace was declared. He followed the occupation of farming in New
York and was one of the native sons of the state, his birth having occurred
in Argyle about thirty miles from the city of Troy. He continued to make
his home in the Empire state until his death, which occurred in 1855. His
early political allegiance was given to the Whig party and upon its dissolution he joined the ranks of the Republican party. His religious faith
was that of the Methodist Protestant church. In early manhood he wedded
Nancy Durgee, a native of Vermont, and they were the parents of seven
children: Moses, Eunice and Jenette, all deceased; Sarah, who is the widow
of John L. Seccomb, who was a millwright of Auburn, New York; John,
of this review; and Permelia and Catherine, who have also passed away.
After losing his first wife Mr. Sebring married Miss Reynolds, who was
born in New York and died about 1865, at the age of thirty years. She
came of New York ancestry and was the mother of seven children: Nancy
and William Henry, both deceased; Harrison G., a stock dealer of Teconsha,
who in I86I enlisted for service in the Union army, with which he remained for four years; Sylvester, Andrew and Jacob, all deceased; and
Mary M., the wife of C. L. Emmons, a farmer of Muskegon county, Michigan, who was formerly engaged in the manufacture of brick and tile.
John Sebring, whose name introduces this review, was reared upon a
farm and attended school in Wayne county, New York. He afterward began work as a farm hand and later embarked in business on his own account in the conduct of a saw mill in New York. He came to Michigan on
the I9th of November, I853, locating in the village of Quincy, and erected
a saw mill on the ground now occupied by the power house. He was associated in this enterprise with Martin Hawley and for five years conducted
the mill, after which he went to northern Michigan, where he engaged in




1




.I




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


629


lumbering in the pine woods for five years. In the meantime he had purchased a farm in Quincy township, upon which he now resides, having here
fifty-one acres of good land. Leaving the pineries he returned to this place
and has since made it his home. He also owvns another eighty acres on the
same section and forty acres on section twenty-two, together with six acres
within the corporation limits of Quincy laid out in town lots.  He likewise holds stock in the Quincy State Bank.
In 1852 Mr. Sebring was married to Miss Mary A. Petteys, who was
born in Wayne county, New York, in I825, and is a daughter of Benjamin and Deborah (Barney) Petteys, the former a farmer by occupation.
The mother died in the Empire state, after which the father came to Michigan and passed away at the home of Mr. Sebring. In his family were
four children: Mary; John and Moses, both deceased; and William, who is
engaged in gardening in the state of Washington.  Unto Mr. and Mrs.
Sebring have been born six children: George D., of Quincy; Phurnia, who
is acting as housekeeper for her father; Eugene, living in Quincy township; Deborah J., the widow of Enos Allen, who was a farmer of Burroak,
where Mrs. Allen still makes her home, giving her personal supervision to
the farm; William, who died when four years of age; and John, who died
when six months old. Mrs. Sebring died May 13, 1900, and as she was
held in high esteem by her many friends her loss was deeply regretted. The
following obituary was written at her death:
"Quincy loses another pioneer by the death of Mrs. John Sebring,
which occurred Sunday, May I3, at her home south of town, after an illness of a few days, the immediate cause being Bright's disease.
"Mrs. Sebring, whose maiden name was Mary A. Petteys, was born at
Galen, New York, December 27, 1825. July 8, 1852, she was united in
marriage to John Sebring, coming to, Quincy the following year, living in
the village for a number of years and afterwards moving to their beautiful
farm south of town. To this union six children were born, four of whom
are living, George and Phurnia of this place; Mrs. Nettie Allen of Burr Oak,
and Eugene of Spencer, Nebraska, all of whom were present at the funeral
except the latter, who, with the aged husband and Bert Dolph, a motherless
nephew, whom she had tenderly cared for since infancy, are left to mourn
the loss of a devoted wife, an affectionate mother, and a true friend.
Funeral services were held at the home conducted by Rev. F. M. Taylor,
Methodist Episcopal pastor, and interment made at Lakeview cemetery."
Mr. Sebring gives his political support to the Republican party but has
had no aspiration for office and when elected supervisor did not qualify.
He has been a member of the Michigan State Detective Association. He
has led a very active life and his excellent business ability and capacity. for
earnest and.persistent labor have enabled him to accumulate a considerable
competency. He has now passed the eighty-first milestone on life's journey
and is in possession of property which makes him one of the substantial
residents of his community and enables him to enjoy the comforts and many
of the luxuries which go to make life worth living.




630


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


FREDERICK     STALEY.
The gentleman named above is a fine representative of the noble men of
the middle west who, at the outbreak of the Civil war, responded promptly
to their country's call and gave up years of their young manhood to' the defense of their nation, and then, their work in this line accomplished, returned
to their former peaceful avocations and assisted in the development and
growth of a new country. Here in the years since the war they have reared
their families and provided for them comfortable homes, at the same time
performing their duties as private citizens truly and well.
Frederick Staley is of good old German descent, his father and mother,
Frederick and Mary Staley, being natives of Germany, where they grew
to maturity and were married.  Soon after marriage they were attracted
by the evident advantages of America for home-making and they turned
their faces in this direction, coming to the United States in the early thirties. Making their way westward, they located first in Stark county, Ohio,
where six children were born to them, three of whom died in infancy. The
others, who grew to maturity, were as follows, all of them now being alive:
Barbara Hanley and Elizabeth Schilling are still residents of Crawford
county, Ohio, while Frederick Staley, the youngest, is the subject of this
review.
Their parents did not live long to enjoy the benefits and privileges of
the land of their adoption.  Removing from  Stark county to Crawford
county, Ohio, the father died in I850, while the mother passed away in
1854. Both were industrious and esteemed people while Mrs. Staley was
also a member of the German Lutheran church. Incidents in the life of
Frederick Staley, Sr.. and his son, show the primitive conditions existing in
Ohio during the first years of their residence there. It is related of the
father that he was the first man to bring a grain cradle into Crawford county
and to use it there, where settlers had always previously used a sickle in
harvesting grain; and that in one instance at least the owner of a wheat
field refused to let the cradle be used therein for fear of spoiling the wheat.
Our subject also relates that in his boyhood and early manhood he always
used a sickle in harvesting grain, even the grain cradle being then unknown.
Our subject was only fourteen years old when he was by the death
of his parents thrown upon his own resources, but he met the new conditions in a brave and sturdy manner, working on farms for others and after
the marriage of his eldest sister calling that place his home. This was his
busy, though rather uneventful life until he became of age, soon after which
the war of the rebellion opened. Without waiting to be drafted he embraced the very first opportunity for enlistment, this occurring in Crawford
county, Ohio, September I, I862, and he was at once made a corporal in
Company H of the One Hundred and Twenty-third Ohio Infantry. His
regiment was in Virginia all through the war and its members had a checkered career, suffering hardships and privations and seeing much active service. At Winchester, June 15, i863, the regiment was captured and Mr.
Staley was a prisoner for several months in Libby and Belle Island.. Being




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


631


parolled, he made his way back home for a brief furlough before rejoining
his regiment in the field. In September, 1864, he was promoted to, sergeant,
holding this position until the close of the war. Mr. Staley received but one
slight wound, but he passed through many harrowing experiences, being in
all but one of the fifty-one engagements of his regiment and enduring many
long marches without food or drink. The One Hundred and Twenty-third
Ohio was captured again only a few days previous to Lee's surrender and
its last military duty was guarding the remains of the lamented Lincoln at
the state house at Columbus, Ohio.
Receiving his discharge in June, I865, Mr. Staley returned to his home
county of Crawford. Here previous to the war he had won the affections
of Sarah Jameson, and both remaining true to their vows all through the
long war they were married a few months after his return, this event occurring October 19, 1865. Sarah Jameson was born in Crawford county,
Ohio,, March 13, I837. Her father was John Jameson, born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, June o0, 1813, while her mother was Leah Dickson, a native of Indiana county, Pennsylvania, where she was born July 6,
8o09.  Her paternal grandparents were William  Jameson, a Scotchman,
and Mary Hutchison, of Holland descent; while her maternal grandparents
were Andrew Dickson and Sarah Frazee, they being of English-Irish descent. These grandparents on both sides were residents of Pennsylvania and
they went westward into Crawford county, Ohio, in a very early day.
Mrs. Staley's parents, John and Leah Jameson, were the parents of ten
children, four of whom, Mary, Ellen, Leah and John, died in infancy, the
others being as follows: Flora Hanley died in California township; Sarah
Stalev is the wife of our subject; William died in Ohio; Andrew is still living in Ohio; Phoebe is a resident here; Martha Stewart lives in this county.
The father and mother, who led long and useful lives, came to Michigan in
later years, the former dying here in I870 at the age of sixty-three years,
and his wife passing away in I893.
Frederick and Sarah Staley came to Michigan the year following their
marriage and in December, I866, settled in California township, Branch
county, on a farm which had been previously purchased on section eleven,
where they set to work to make for themselves a home. The place was uncleared and unimproved, but each year witnessed progress, Mr. Staley clearing the land himself, always finding in his life companion a willing helpmeet.  Seven children came to them, three of whom died in infancy, the
others growing up. To the credit of Mr. and Mrs. Staley be it said that
their children were given every possible advantage in the way of education,
advantages which the young people appreciated, for they applied themselves
diligently and showed great facility and aptitude. Not content with common school educations, they pushed farther after useful knowledge, and
that they have fully met the hopes and expectations of their parents is shown
by the following: John, the eldest son, graduated at De Pauw University
and was a teacher for a number of years at Lexington and Liberty, Missouri, and is now living at Beloit, Kansas, where he is a successful land
agent. Mary, the only daughter, attended the Normal College at Angola,




632


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Indiana, and afterward was a school teacher for ten years. She was also
an instructor and missionary at the  Indian Mission in Oklahoma for two
years, and afterward married William Hay. They live in Kansas and have
two daughters, Sarah and Martha. Wilbert, another son, supplemented his
common school education with courses of study at Angola, Indiana, and
New Concord, Ohio, and for three years has been taking a course at the
College of Physicians and Surgeons, Chicago, where he will graduate in
1907. His wife was Nettie Adams and they have one son, Herman. Alva,
the youngest son, graduated at Angola, Indiana, after which he pursued a
post-graduate course at Lincoln University, Lincoln, Nebraska. Since then
he has been a highly successful educator in the west, being at present superintendent of schools at Friend, Nebraska. He married Helen Browne and
they live at Friend, Nebraska.
Thus it will be seen that Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Staley have done their
whole duty and even more by their children. Theirs have been long and
useful lives, filled with good works, and they are now living in a comfortable home at Ray, Indiana, whither they removed in 1902, although still
retaining ownership of their farm of eighty acres in California township.
Here they are passing their declining years, in comfortable circumstances,
and with the satisfaction of knowing that their children are filling positions of honor and usefulness. Mr. Staley was for many years assessor in
his school district and both he and Mrs. Staley are earnest Christians and
consistent members of the Reformed Presbyterian church.  Both possess
the high regard and esteem of very many friends in the community where
so many years of their lives have been passed.
JS. MERRILL.
The farming interests of Ovid township are well represented by Js.
Merrill, who is living on section twenty-five. This farm was the place of his
birth, which occurred on the 3d of June. 8,6I, his parents being Joseph
Staple and Louesia Jane Hibner Merrill. The father was a native of Maine,
born July 22, 1823, and was reared in New England to the age of fourteen
years, when he left the Pine Tree state and went with his parents to Fulton
county, Ohio, where they settled upon a farm. In that locality Mr. Merrill
was largely educated and there he began teaching school when eighteen
years of age, successfully following that profession until he attained his majority. He gave his earnings to the family up to that time and when twentyone years of age with a small bundle of clothing he started out in life on his
own account. He remained in Ohio for about three years and during that
period learned the trade o'f blacksmithing.  He was also married at that
time and on leaving Ohio he came to Branch county, Michigan, settling in
Ovid township.  Here he abandoned his trade and gave his attention to
general agricultural pursuits, locating upon what is now known as the Merrill homestead in I845. He bought the southwest quarter of section twentyfive, Ovid township, second-hand from the government when it was all raw
land, but he cleared and cultivated the place until 1849, when attracted by
the discovery of gold in California he made his way to the Pacific coast,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


633


traveling eastward by rail to New York, thence sailing to Panama, after
which he crossed the isthmus and proceeded up the Pacific coast to San Francisco. He remained in California for two years, meeting with a fair measure of success, and then returned to Branch county with something over
two thousand dollars that he had earned in California. About that time his
wife became ill with consumption and died later, and the expenses attendant
upon her illness consumed much of the money which Mr. Merrill had made
on his trip to the west. Undaunted, however, he started again on his business career, living on the farm for two years. Later he was married and
three years afterward his second wife passed away.  He then remained
single for two years, when he was again married and the last union was
blessed with two children, of whom Js. Merrill was the elder. The other
died in infancy. In his early' years the father was a Whig and he cast his
ballot for the first candidate of the Republican party, of which he remained
a steadfast champion up to the time of his demise. He was averse to holding public office, however, and stoutly refused to do so although his friends
solicited him to accept political preferment.  He, however, took an active
part in electing capable men and his co-operation could ever be counted upon
to support any measure or plan that was formulated to advance the general
welfare. He died October 17, I879, on the old homestead farm, at the age
of fifty-six years, two months and twentv-seven days, and that he had led
a very busy and 1 seful life is indicated by the fact that he left an estate valued
at more than fifteen thousand dollars, which was divided equally among his
children and his widow.
Js. Merrill was eighteen years of age at the time of his father's demise
and then started out in life for himself, since which time he has marked out
his own course and has won success that he is enjoying. His early education was acquired in the district schools of Ovid township and he attended
the teachers' institutes with the intention of becoming a teacher, and also had
begun the study of law, but his father's death caused him to change his plans
and he has continued at the work of farming, with which he has been familiar
fromn his early youth. This business he has made his life work and he is
now the owner of a valuable and well improved property, having one hundred
acres of land under a high state of cultivation.
Mlr. Merrill was married at the age of twenty-three years to Miss
Elizabeth Knapp, of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, who was born in I868,
a daughter of Martin Knapp, also a farmer of that county, where Mrs.
Merrill was reared. There is but one child of this union, Jessie, who was
born October 22, I887, and has been reared on the old homestead farm.
Mr. Merrill votes the Republican party and earnestly desires its success, believing that it contains the best elements of good government. He belongs
to Greenleaf lodge No. 349, F. & A. M., of Kinderhook, and is in hearty
sympathy with the teachings and tenets of the craft, while in public affairs
he manifests a strong and tangible interest in progressive measures that
makes him a valued and representative citizen of his native county. The
Merrill family has kept a direct lineage of their birth line, tracing far back
from the colonial days of the United States of America, when there were




634


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


only three brothers at that time residents and natives of England. When they
came over to this country one of them settled in what is now called the New
England states, one in the state now called Georgia, and the other went to
what is now California, and they still to this day accept the claim of blood
line to all that spell the family name Merrill.
FRANK J. WATSON.
Frank J. Watson, living in Coldwater township, Branch county, is a native of the Empire state, his birth having occurred in Orleans county, on the
7th of October, I864.     His father was William   Watson, a native
of England, born January 2, I837, at Norfolk, England, and came
alone  to  America  when   a   young  man   of nineteen   years.  He
landed at New  York a perfect stranger with only twenty-five cents in
his pocket but he possessed brave purpose and     indefatigable energy
and with these as a foundation for future success he entered upon
life in the new world. In early manhood he wedded Miss Mary Amos, born
September 5, I845, at Hasbro, England, who, came with her parents to
America when but six years of age, the family home being established near
Medina, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Watson were married in the Empire
state, and four children were born unto them there, all of whom are now
living, namely: William R., a resident of Burr Oak, Michigan; Frank J., of
this review; Mrs. Eva E. Tyler, of Nottawa, this state; and George E., who
is also living at Burr Oak. The father followed the occupation of farming
in New York until thirty-eight years ago, when hle came to Michigan and
has since lived in Burr Oak township, St. Joseph county, where he still makes
his home, owning and operating there a farm of one hundred and forty
acres. His father was all his life an overseer of a large landed estate in
England.
Frank J. Watson was a young lad when brought by his parents to this
state and on his father's farm he was reared, being trained to habits of industry, economy and enterprise. The public schools afforded him his educational privileges and he became familiar with all the duties and labors that
constitute the life-work of an agriculturist. As a companion and helpmate
for life's journey he chose Miss Mary M. Pyle, to whom he was married in
Bronson, Michigan, on the 8th of May, i884. She was born in Niagara
county, New York, March 9, 1862, and was a daughter of Hiram A. Pyle,
who was born in Pekin, New York, November 9, 1836, andi in early life removed to Lewiston, New York, where he married Martha Bordner, born in
Williamsville, Erie county, New York, April 9, I844. They came to Michigan in 1875 and located at Burr Oak, St. Joseph county, where they still
reside, the father being engaged in the blacksmith business there. They had
three children, all of whom are living: Mrs. Watson, of this review; Mrs.
D. P. Plant, of Burr Oak; and Mina B. Pyle, who is a most successful music:eacher of Burr Oak. She is a graduate in music of Albion College, Michigan, in class of I894, a student in the Sherwood Piano School and studied
with the celebrated William H. Sherwood.
For a year after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Watson resided in Burr




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k*




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


635


Oak, and then came to Branch county, spending the succeeding fourteen years
on differenit farms in Bronson township. They also lived for a year and a
half in Quincy township, and then came to Coldwater township, where they
have since made their home. Mr. Watson now owns a farm of one hundred and fifty acres just north of the city of Coldwater, on which he has
resided since March, I905.  He likewise owns seventy acres east of the
city. He has a comfortable home and there are other good buildings upon
his farm, while the land is fertile and productive, responding readily to the
cultivation which he puts upon it. His entire life has been devoted to agricultural pursuits and his broad experience and enterprise have won him the
success which he now enjoys. He is considered one of the intelligent and
enterprising young farmers of this section and he makes a specialty of sheep
raising, his sheep being of the Rambouillet breed. He is the owner of a
very fine flock and he is a member of the American Rambouillet Sheep
Breeders' Association.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Watson have been born three children: Edna, born
October 12, I894; Ildafontz, October 24, I896i; and Mina Beatrice, July 6,
1904. Edna is in the fifth grade in the Lincoln school in Coldwater, and
is a lover of mathematics and music. Ildafontz is in the same school, in the
third grade. Mina Beatrice is the youngest and the joy of the home circle.
Mrs. Watson is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. In his political views Mr. Watson is an earnest Republican and keeps well informed on
the questions and issues of the day and voted first for Harrison. Moreover
he gives helpful support to many measures for the general good and is
classed with the valued as well as prosperous citizens of his community.
MARC A. MERRIFIELD.
In this enlightened age when men of industry and enterprise are constantly pushing their way to the front those who have gained success may
properly claim  recognition and especially in professional life where advancement depends upon individual merit. Mr. Merrifield, prominent as an
attorney of Union City, was born in Teconsha township, Calhoun county,
Michigan, March 29, 1840. His father, Lewis Merrifield, came to this state
in 1833 as one of the pioneer settlers of what is now Hodunk, Branch
county. He accompanied Abraham Aldridge and was at that time eighteen
years of age.   He found in this part of the state a wild, unsettled district, the forests being uncut and the streams unbridged, while much of
the land was still in possession of the government. He was married in
Calhoun county and was there engaged in the milling business for many
years, thus becoming an active factor in industrial life in his part of the
state. He married Charlotte Hayden, who was a native of New York, and
removed to Michigan, in 1835, in company with her parents. Her father,
Alpheus Hayden, was a pioneer settler of Calhoun county and thus in the
paternal and maternal lines Marc A. Merrifield is descended from ancestry
actively connected with the substantial improvement of his native state
during the epoch of its early development. His father died in his eightyseventh year, while the mother was eighty-five years of age at the time




636


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


of her death.  They were the parents of four children, of whom three
are now living.
Marc A. Merrifield, the eldest of the family, was reared in Calhoun
county and pursued his early education in a select school. He afterward
attended Hillsdale College, where he was pursuing his studies at the time of
the outbreak of the Civil war. He had watched with interest the progress
of events in the south and all the patriotism of his nature was aroused
by the firing on of Fort Sumter. He resolved to strike a blow in defense
of the Union and on the 3d of June, I86I, joined the boys in blue of Company E, Fourth Michigan Infantry, as a private. He served for two years
and was then honorably discharged on account of disability.
Following his return home Mr. Merrifield resumed his studies and
preparing for the bar, was graduated from the law department of the Michigan State University, at Ann Arbor, with the class of 1867. He then came
to Union City in the employ of the Michigan Air Line Railroad in I868,
remaining with the company as its attorney until the transfer of the road
to the Michigan Central Railroad Company. He continued with the latter
corporation for a short time. He has been la resident of Union City for
thirty-seven years and has continuously practiced at the bar of Branch county,
being connected with much important litigation in his district. He stands
to-day as one of the leading criminal lawyers of the county, strong in
argument, logical in his deductions, clear in his reasoning and presenting his
case with a force that never fails to, impress court and jury and seldom fails
to gain the verdict desired.  He has been retained as the defense in a
number of noted criminal cases and his power as an attorney is widely recognized by the profession and the general public.
Not alone to this line, however, has Mr. Merrifield become recognized
as a citizen of value in Branch county, for in many other ways his labors
have been far-reaching and effective in promoting general progress. He is
a stanch Republican and has taken an active interest in the work of the
party, but is without political aspiration for himself.  He, however, consented to accept the candidacy for the mayoralty and was elected and was
also city attorney for thirty years. In the Grand Army of the Republic he
has a wide acquaintance throughout the state and has held various offices in
the local post and the state department. He is likewise a member of the
Masonic fraternity and of the Independent Order of United Workmen and
in his life exemplifies the beneficent spirit upon which those organizations are
based. On the 3oth of May, I884, he was called upon to deliver the memorial
address at Hillsdale in behalf of the college, in which many years before he
had been a student and at that time the honorary degree of Master of
Science was conferred upon him.
Mr. Merrifield has been married twice. In 1872 he was joined in wedlock to Miss Celia Clark and they had two children: Don C., who is now a
prominent actor of the city of New York; and Fannie C., the wife of John
Cohen, a business man of Chicago. The mother died in 1877, and Mr. Merrifield has since married Hattie E. Hayner, by whom he also had two children, of
whom one died at the age of a year. The surviving daughter, Zella, is a




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


637


graduate of the Ypsilanti Normal School and is now engaged in teaching
in the public schools of Union City. She also taught for one year in Holland,
Michigan, and has become widely recognized for her capability in this direction. Mr. Merrifield is the owner of considerable valuable realty in Union
City and is also a stockholder in some of its institutions. He has contributed
in substantial measure to public progress and improvement and his co-operation can always be counted upon to further every movement that has its
base in the growth and development of Union City. He favored the establishment of the various factories of the town which have contributed so
largely to its commercial prosperity and he has even sacrificed his own interests for the general improvement. He ranks high in the regard of his
fellow townsmen and professionally and socially his position is one of prominence.
THERON ELTING.
The Empire state has furnished.a large percentage of citizens to Branch
county-men who have been active and influential in the work of public
improvement and progress here. To this class belongs Theron Elting, who
was born in Ulster county, New York, May 7, 1849, and is now devoting
his energies to agricultural pursuits in Girard township. His father, Jehu
Elting, was a native of Lloyd, Ulster county, New York, born July 19, I8I9,
and his early life was passed in Ulster and neighboring counties. In I839
he came to Michigan but after suffering for a year with ague he returned to
New York. There he was married in Ulster county in November, 1845,
to Miss Rachel Palmitier, whose birth occurred in Lloyd in I818. Both the
Elting and Palmitier families have been residents of the Empire state for
several generations. When changes had been wrought in Branch county
so that residence here was more desirable Jehu Elting returned to Michigan
in June, I859. He located first, however, in Washtenaw county, where he
remained one summer and then came to Girard township, Branch county,
where he afterward made his home. He first bought eighty acres of land
on section five and as his financial resources increased extended the boundaries of his property until prior to his death he owned two hundred and
ten acres of valuable and productive land. His political allegiance was given
to the Democracy and he advocated the principles promulgated by Jefferson. Father Elting was an ardent supporter of the Greenback question and
an admirer of Peter Cooper, and our subject cast his first presidential vote
for Peter Cooper, the great exponent of Greenbackism. He had been prominent in community affairs in New York and while living in that state had
served as justice of the pealce there for seventeen years. His death occurred
in Girard township, February 5, I897, while his wife passed away in the
same locality on the 22nd of March, I872. They had six children, namely:
Two who died in infancy in Ulster county, New York; Theron, of this review; Frank, whor is living in Tekonsha, Michigan, where he is engaged
in the postal service; Rachel, who makes her home with her brother Theron; and Hattie, who died in Girard township in I889.
Theron Elting was a youth of about ten years when his father returned to Michigan and with the exception of the brief period spent in Wash



638              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
tenaw county has since been a resident of Branch county and has long been
numbered among Girard township's successful and intelligent farmers. He
is indebted to the public school system for the educational privileges he enjoyed, while under his father's direction he received ample training in the
work of the farm. His entire life has been given to agricultural pursuits
and he now owns one hundred and sixty acres of land where he resides, this
tract including the old family homestead. The soil is rich and alluvial and
the productive fields annually yield good harvests, so that he is continually
adding to his income through the sale of his crops. Fraternally he is a Master Mason and he also belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
His political support is given to the Democracy but he has always been without political aspiration. The Eltings have for many years been among the
most highly esteemed residents of Girard township and Branch county and
Theron Elting of this review is a worthy representative of the family.
BRADLEY     Q. MOORE.
Prominent among the solid and influential residents of Branch county
and Butler is the gentleman named above, who in times. of both peace and
war has proven himself a faithful and loyal citizen, ready in time of war
to go to the defense of his country's honor, and in times of peace proving
himself a law-abiding man who is interested in the welfare of the commonwealth and the betterment of his fellow beings.
Bradley 0. Moore was born in Groveland, Livingston county, New
York, February i6, I839, and this place was his home until he was eighteen
years of age. His father was Isaac Moore and his mother was Nancy Ogden,
both being natives of the Empire state, where the greater portions of their
lives were passed. They were the parents of nine children, as follows:
George W. M\Icore is still living and a resident of Mt. Morris, New York.
Homer Moore died while a resident of Butler, May 30, 1893. Adeline
MIoore Bartlett died in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.  Chester C. Moore was a
victim of the Civil war, enlisting in the First New York Dragoons and being captured at the second battle of Bull Run. He was confined in the noted
prison at Andersonville, where he died from the result of wounds and privations. James Moore lived and died in the home town of Groveland, New
York, as did also another brother, Jennings Moore. Mary Ann Moore died
in the state of New York in'infancy. Edwin Moore was a resident of Michigan, Nebraska, Missouri and other places in the west and died in I900o in
Oregon, where he had lived for about fifteen years previously. Bradley 0.
Moore is the subject of this sketch. The father.of the family, Isaac Moore,
died in Detroit, in I845, while in Michigan on business, while the mother,
Nancy Ogden Moore, died in Groveland, New York, in I847.
It will thus be seen that our subject was but a mere lad when he suffered the loss of both his parents and he was early thrown upon his own
resources, thus developing an independence and a sturdiness of character
which has no doubt aided greatly in his success throughout life.
Bradley 0. Moore found occupation in his home town until he approached his majority and then, being attracted by the tide of emigration






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


639


which had been flowing for several years from the Empire state to Michigan,
he resolved to try his fortunes in the then almost untrodden middle west.
He came to Michigan alone in 1856 and was a resident of Saginaw for several months when that place was but a mere hamlet as compared with the
present flourishing city located there. From  there he went to Hillsdale
county, where he lived at Jonesville for several years, employing himself
at different occupations, although principally upon the farm.  Soon after
coming to Branch county he purchased in I86I eighty acres of land on
section twenty-two, Butler township, and afterward secured forty acres additional on section sixteen and decided to make his home here.
Then, soon after the outbreak of the Civil war, he responded to his
country's call and July 22, I862, enlisted in Company G, Eighteenth Michigan Infantry. He was with the Eighteenth during its campaigns in Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama and served during the remainder of the war,
a goodly portion of this time as a non-commissioned officer, his discharge
occurring July i, 1865, at the close of the conflict. After the war he was
so disabled as to incapacitate him for hard labor for a period of about a
year, which time he spent in the state of New York. Returning to, Michigan, he was married, June 23. T868, at Quincy, Michigan, to Miss Anna
Ball, a native of Tekonsha, Calhoun county, where she was born June 9,
1849, her father being Elisha Ball, who died in Butler, her mother being
Sarah Rogers, who afterward married Edward McDonald, she dying in
Nebraska.  There were seven children in the family, as follows:  Elizabeth Lord died in Iowa. Eli Ball died in early childhood. Charles Ball is
still living in Nebraska. Adeline McDonald died in Butler. Abbie McCone
is still a resident of Nebraska, as is also Adelia Ball. Anna Ball Bradley is
the wife of our subject.
Four children have been born to Bradley 0. and Anna Ball Moore,
as follows: Minnie was born October 7, I869, and is married to Robert
McArdle, of Clarendon, Michigan. Bertha was born August 25, 1871, and
is married to Lewis Johnson, of Butler. They have two children, Forest
and Rhea. Chester C. Moore was born April I, 1877, and lives at home,
where he is a most capable assistant to his father in the management of the
farm. He has a great natural bent for mechanics and the place contains a
great many mechanical contrivances which have been established by him.
Lulu M. Moore was born April 24. 1885, and her home is with her parents. although she has been absent for the greater portion of the time for
several years, attending school at Coldwater and also at the Michigan State
Normal College at Ypsilanti.
Bradley O. Moore has often been called upon to fill positions of public
trust and responsibility, his fellow townsmen delighting to thus do; him
honor, not alone from personal regard and friendship, but also by reason of
the fact that in his hands they know that their interests will be well and
carefully guarded. Mr. Moore has filled several terms as supervisor of his
township and he was also township clerk, township treasurer and a school
officer for many years. During the greater part of his life he has been a
stalwart Republican, although of late years he has often joined the ranks of




640


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


independent voters. By perseverance and untiring labor, coupled with a
keen insight and good business ability, he has prospered financially, his fine
farm of one hundred and twenty acres on section twenty-two, Butler township, being one of the most fertile in this section. Mr. Moore has with his
own hands cleared the most of this large farm and he has erected here most
commodious structures and a modern residence. The whole place is most
thoroughly equipped, including a complete system of water works, and it is
a model farm home. Mr. Moore is also largely interested in western timber lands, his property of this character in the state of Oregon being quite
valuable.
During his life Mr. Moore has witnessed the development of Branch
county and the township of Butler from an almost unbroken wilderness to,
its present state of agricultural perfection, and in this section, where he has
passed the greater portion of his life, he possesses the regard and esteem
of the entire community.
HORATIO     NELSON     BIDELMAN.
Horatio Nelson Bidelman, whose life has been devoted to agricultural
pursuits and to dealing in horses, the latter branch of business now claiming
his attention, has manifested in his business career an activity of spirit and
persistency of purpose that have proved strong elements in winning success.
He was born in the town of Shelby, Orleans county, New York, July 4,
I836. His paternal grandparents were Henry and Catherine (Becker) Bidelman, natives of Herkimer county, New York, and of German lineage. His
father, Abram Bidelman, was born in Herkimer county, New York, March
9, I8oo, and died in Orleans county on the 6th of June, I868. His wife,
who bore the maiden name of Lucinda Michael, was also a native of Herkiner county, born in I802, and her death occurred in Orleans county in
1870. They were members of the Christian church and Mr. Bidelman gave
his political support to the Democracy. A farmer by occupation, he always
followed that pursuit in order to provide for his family. Unto him and his
wife were born seven children: Samuel, who now resides in Barry county,
Michigan, at the age of eighty years; Louisa, who became the wife of Arthur
Johnson, of Niagara county, New York, and died there; Julia Ann, who
married Wallace Acer and died in Orleans county, New York; Jane, who
married Roderick McDonald and also departed this life in Orleans county;
Horatio N.; Clara, who is the wife of Henry Williams and resides in Coldwater; and Lorenzo, who is living in Orleans county, New York.
Horatio N. Bidelman spent his boyhood days upon his father's farm
and was educated in the country schools. He started out in life for himself
when eighteen years of age and attracted by the business opportunities of the
west came to Branch county, Michigan, arriving here with only ten shillings
in his pocket. He made the trip in company with his eldest brother Samuel
in 1855, with whom he lived for some time. He has remained continuously
a resident of Branch county and during the half century that has since come
and gone he has been active in business affairs and has also been the champion of progressive public measures.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


64-1


As a companion and helpmate for life's journey Mr. Bidelman chose
Miss Ann Eliza Williams, wThom he wedded on the I4th of February, I861.
She was born in Quincy township, Branch county, December 20, 1840, her
parents being Alpheus and Sylvia (McLain) Williams. Her father, who was
born in Vermont, August 28, I8oI, died in this county October Io, I877.
He had become a resident of Michigan in 1836, at which time he took up
his abode in Quincy township. It was on the 30th of September, 1827, that
he married Miss Sylvia McLain, who was born May 21, 1804, and she died
in Branch county on the Iith of February, I883, about six years after her
husband's death.  Mr. Williams followed the occupation of farming and
assisted materially in the pioneer development of this part of the state. His
early home was a log cabin which stood in the midst of a forest, for at that
time much of the land was covered with the native growth of timber and the
work of improvement seemed scarcely begun. Desirous of making a home
for his family in a locality which would offer good business and educational
advantages he became a co-operant factor in all measures for general progress. Unto him and his wife were born seven children: Daniel, who died,n Minnesota; George and John, who died in Coldwater; Henry and Edward,
whose deaths occurred in Quincy township; Monroe, who died in Iowa; and
Mirs. Bidelman, who is the only surviving member of the family.
After his marriage Mr. Bidelman and his bride began their domestic
life on a farm in Quincy township. He first operated land on the shares
and when he had saved a small sum of money he purchased a little tract of
land upon which he made partial payment. Laboriously and earnestly he
sought the means to discharge his indebtedness and soon had his farm clear
of all financial obligation and as his resources increased as the years went
by he added to his possessions. He was afterward for a short time in the
livery business in Quincy, but selling out there he returned to his farm, where
hle began dealing in live stock in connection with carrying on general agricultural pursuits. He has handled many fine horses and has matched and
sold some splendid teams of fine driving stock. In I879 as a partner of
Harlow Williams he entered the livery business in Coldwater and after one
and a half years he purchased his partner's business, conducting the business
alone for ten years. On the i8th of December, i889, his barn was destroyed
by fire and he sustained a heavy loss, but the strength of his character was
here manifest in the courageous manner in which he erected a new and better
livery barn. This was conducted for several years by his son Emmett A.
and Mr. Bidelnan still owns the property. He has continued to deal ii
horses and finds this a profitable source of income because he is an excellent
judge of Ctock.
Mr. and Mrs. Bidelman have but one child, Emmett A., who is now a
resident of San Bernardino, California. He was born on the old home
farm in Quincy township, Branch county, November 11, I861. He married Miss Ida Weaver and to them have been born three children, Irene E.,
now deceased, Hallie J. and Elizabeth A. Mr. and Mrs. Bidelman spent
the winter of 1904-5 in California, visiting their son and also viewed many
points of interest in the state. His political allegiance is given to the Dem



642


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


ocracy and he is fraternally connected with the Ancient Order of United
Workmen. He owns and occupies a nice brick residence at No. 48 North
Monroe street and as one of Branch county's pioneer settlers is deserving of
mention in this volume.
RUSSELL B. HOLLENBECK.
For the past forty years the name of Hollenbeck has been associated
with the history of the township of Girard and. this portion of Branch
county, where members of the family of this name have resided. The first
Hollenbeck to locate here was Caspar Hollenbeck, who came with his family from New York state in the spring of I866. Caspar Hollenbeck was
born in Columbia county, New York, February 21, I806, his ancestors having been residents of the Empire state for several generations. He grew to
manhood in his home county, which is on the border line between the states
of New York and Massachusetts, and he was united in marriage at Hillsdale, Massachusetts, October Io, I833, with Miss Lucy Jones, a native of
that place, where she was born March 19, I8I3. Her parents were natives
of Massachusetts, as also were her ancestors for several generations previously, they bearing a direct and unbroken line of ancestry back to the
landing of the Pilgrim fathers. Caspar and Lucy (Jones) Hollenbeck passed
their early married life in Columbia county, New York, where Mr. Hollenbeck was engaged in farming, and where their four children, two sons and
two daughters, were born and where they grew to manhood and womanhood.
Impressed with the attractions offered in the middle west, Mr. Hollenbeck and his family came to Michiganm arriving in Girard in the spring of
I866. Here he became the owner of considerable land and followed his
former pursuit of farming. He was a man who stood high in the regard
of his fellow townsmen and his death, which occurred December 4, 1889,
was deeply deplored, as was also the demise of his estimable wife, her death
occurring here November 26, I89o.
Of their four children, only the two sons survive, Russell B. Hollenbeck, the subject of this sketch, and his brother, Truman Hollenbeck. Truman Hollenbeck was born in Columbia county, New York, September I5,
1834, and he was also for many years a resident of Girard, although now
living in Coldwater. Jane Eliza (Hollenbeck) Arnold was born in Columbia county, New York, October I, I836, and died in Girard, August 15,
1872. The other daughter, Wealthy Amelia (Hollenbeck) Tappenden, was
born in the same county June 5, I840, and died in Girard, August 7, I874.
Russell B. Hollenbeck was born in Columbia county, New York, October 10, 1838, and he was twenty-eight years of age when he came to Michigan. He was married in Palmyra, Wayne county, New York, to Miss
Fannie J. Whitmore, who was born November 23, 1840, and their marriage was blessed with the birth of three children. A son, Frank, died in
Girard, January 7, I874, at the age of nearly three years. A daughter,
Mida, is married to B. E. Hall, of Girard. They have two sons, Harold and
Russell. Jessie, the other daughter of Russell B. and Fannie Hollenbeck,




II;:~;:~~,;t


















HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


64:3


is married to Truman Taylor, also a resident of Girard. They have two
daughters, Lucile and Lois.  The wife and mother, Fannie (Whitmore)
Hollenbeck, died in Girard, March 26, I893, at the age of fifty-two years.
The second marriage of Russell B. Hollenbeck was consummated November 20, I90O, when he was united with Mrs. Buella Cook Lamkin, the
adopted daughter of Charles S. and Priscilla Cook. She was born in Medina county, Ohio, March Ii, 1863, and she passed the early portion of her
life in Ohio. She has three children by a former marriage, Florence A.
Lamkiin, of Coloa, Michigan; and Edgar Lamkin and Celia Lamkin Garthe,
of Cleveland, Ohio.
Mr. and Mrs. Russell B. Hollenbeck live in a most comfortable home
on section twenty-two, Girard township, where Mr. Hollenbeck owns and
operates a handsome farm of one hundred acres of fertile land. He has
developed this farm from its former rough and uncultivated condition to its
present state of agricultural perfection, with the excellent buildings and the
beautiful shade trees, while with his own hands he performed a goodly share
of the labor required in the building of the home which he has occupied for
the past thirty-seven years. It is but natural, then, that he should love the
spot above all other places on earth, and that here he hopes to spend the
remainder of his days. Although, like his father before him, an old-time
Democrat of the Jeffersonian school of politics, Mr. Hollenbeck, believing
that both of the great political parties of the present day have drifted far
from their original beliefs and declarations, has during the past decade
been a Prohibitionist. Mr. and Mrs. Hollenbeck are both members and
active workers in the Girard Methodist Episcopal church, while fraternally
Mrs. Hollenbeck is affiliated with the Daughters of Rebecca. Both are earnest Christians and a power for good in the community. The old strain of
Puritan religious belief inherited from his sainted mother shows in Mr.
Hollenbeck. With him, religion is not merely a creed for Sundays, but is
carried into his everyday life. He is filled with love for his fellow men,
while the benefits of his belief have been so many and are so fully appreciated that he desires all of his fellow men to be similarly blessed. Mr.
and Mrs. Hollenbeck are refined and educated people and their home life is
a particularly happy one.
ALEXANDER C. McCRARY.
Alexander C. McCrary, whose life record proved that success and an
honorable name can be won simultaneously, leaving his family at his death a
handsome competence and an untarnished record, was a native of the Empire
state, his birth having occurred on the 9th of March, I815, in Hector,
New York, which was then in Tompkins county. His grandparents were
Alexander and Eunice (Armstrong) McCrary, the former a native of Cayuga
county, and the latter of Orange county, New York. Their last days were.
spent in Hector township, Schuyler county. Their third child was Joseph
McCrary, whose birth occurred in Goshen, Orange county, October 24, I778.
Having arrived at years of maturity he married Abigail Culver, who was the
first white child born in Bath township, Steuben county, New York, her natal




644


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


day being January 13, I795. She was a daughter of Phineas and Phebe
(Breese) Culver, the former a native of New England, while the latter was
born in the Empire state. Her father died in Hector, Schuyler county, and
Mrs. Culver passed away in Chicago.
Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Joseph McCrary began their
domestic life in Hector township, Schuyler county, where they resided until
1836, when they sought a home in Michigan, locating in Henrietta, Jackson
county. There they spent their remaining days, the father passing away on
the I4th of February, I856, while his wife died on the ISth of February,
I863. They had twelve children, Phineas C., Alexander C., John -B., Elias
R., Polly A., George W., Phebe A., Andrew J., Lawrence H., James N.,
Harriet and Mary J., while one son, Joseph, died in infancy, all the others,
however, reaching the age of maturity.
Alexander C. McCrary spent his early youth in the state of his nativity
and when but a lad began earning his living, owing to financial reverses
which his father sustained. He worked at any pursuit that would yield him a
sufficient financial return to provide him with the necessities of life and remained in New York until twenty years of age, when he came to the west,
removing from Penn Yan, New York, to Ann Arbor. Michigan. He there secured a situation in a hotel conducted by Adelphos Gulley, in whose employ
he remained for eighteen months, after which he removed to Tekonsha, where
he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. As soon as possible he purchased land on his own account, becoming owner of a tract of eighty acres,
which he bought with money saved from his wages in former years. He
worked for others at times and at still other periods he gave his energies to
the improvement of his own property, and thus his time was passed until his
marriage, when he had a new incentive for developing his home farm. Before his settlement at Tekonsha he had wedded his wife and then went to
Lima and worked there about two years, whence returning to Tekonsha, and
began on the new farm in the forest.
On the 5th of November, 1836, Mr. McCrary wedded Miss Harriet
Eliza Dean, theirs being the first marriage celebrated in Tekonsha after the
organization of the township. The parents of Mrs. McCrary were Perly A.
and Phebe (Brown) Dean, natives of Connecticut and Norwich, Vermont,
respectively. They first settled in Benton, Yates county, New York, where
they remained until October, I835, and then came to this county and settled in
Tekonsha, where they lived until their decease, that of the mother occurring
May 30, 1878, and of the father March 28, I880. Their family consisted
of five children, Harriet E., Nelson N., Leonard, Chester and Jane. Mrs.
McCrary is the 'eldest of the parental family, and was born in Benton,
Yates county, New York, September 9, I8I8. She has borne to her husband
a family of eight children, who are recorded as follows: Calvin, enlisted in
~August, 1862, in Company M, Fifth Michigan Cavalry, in which he became
a non-commissioned officer. He was killed May 28, I864, at the battle of
Cold Harbor, being shot through the head, and his remains were buried in
the churchyard known as Salemn's Church, close by the battle-field; Adelaide
lives at home, and Adelphos died when ten years of age; Marion became




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


645


the wife of Edward Wirt Watkins, of Sherwood township; Leroy married
Miss Alice B. Moyer, and resides in Union township: Frank is a resident of
Kansas City, Missouri'; Laura A. died when a babe of fourteen months; and
Clay is a resident of Union township.
Mr. and Mrs. McCrary began their domestic life in Tekonsha township
and were residents of that locality until 1848, with the exception of a year
and a half. In the fall of I848 they removed to, Lima, Washtenaw county,
and later in the same year took up their abode in Sherwood township.
In the meantime the family circle had been increased by the birth
of five children, and the parents and children became residents of a
farm on section seven, which had first comprised seventy-six acres of land.
As the years passed and his financial resources increased, however, Mr.
McCrary extended the boundaries of this property and also invested in other
tracts until his landed possessions at one time aggregated twelve hundred
acres. He afterward disposed of much of that but in his later years retained
possession of five hundred acres of very valuable land. He was a successful
agriculturist, raising good crops and at the same time having fine stock upon
his place, making a specialty of the raising of horses and hogs. He continued in Sherwood township, Branch county, until February, 1874, when
he removed to Union township and there resided up to the time of his death.
While living in Tekonsha Mr. McCrary was called to various positions
of trust and responsibility and was very faithful, loyal and efficient in the
discharge of his official duties. After removing to Union township he became one of the directors of the Union City National Bank. His political
allegiance was given to the Republican party and he was deeply interested
in its success. He passed away May II, 1898, and his loss was deeply regretted by many friends. He had become widely known in the county as
one of its representative agriculturists, a man whom to know was to respect
and honor. Throughout his active life he had displayed diligence and perseverance, supplemented by integrity and straightforward dealing. Many of
the now successful men of the day are those whose paths are strewn with
the wrecks of other men's fortunes, but Mr. McCrary was never known to
take advantage of the necessities of his fellowmen in any business dealing.
He was just to all and his life record largely embodied the golden rule. He
never sought public notoriety, but was content to do his duty day after
day to his family, his friends and his community.  His life is in many
respects worthy of emulation, for it proves the value and sure rewards of
character. In the cemetery at Union City there stands a magnificent monument to the memory of Mr. McCrary, with a perfect statue of marble of
the worthy old gentleman, sacred to his memory and erected by his son Roy.
The form once erect in its manhood and pride,
With firm tread that appeared on the street,
Whose hardy frame time and tempest defied,
Now lies a wreck at our feet.
But death was the victor; we bow to his willThe golden bowl's broken, the brave heart is still.




646


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


He fought the fierce fight in the battle of life
With courage majestic and grand,
And many that fell by his side in the strife
He raised with a generous hand.
True love for mankind in his actions we trace;
Success crowned his efforts in every place.
His course is now run, and we lay him to rest,
With hearts full of tenderest love;
A Brother and Friend, the kindest and best,
We commend to the Father above.
We trust in His grace, but with sorrow-dimmed eye,
Hoping one day to meet him, we bid him good-bye.
May I, I898.                  His BROTHER, L. H. MCCRARY.
MRS. ALEXANDER C. McCRARY.
It is meet and fitting that due reverence and respect be paid Mrs. Alexander C. McCrary, one of the pioneer mothers of Branch county, whose engraving appears opposite her most worthy husband, Alexander C. McCrary,
these beautiful steel engravings being placed in this work by their two sons,
Clay and Roy, whose worthiness, business acumen and high social and business standing is so well known in northern Branch county, as well as the
sister county of Calhoun. Mrs. McCrary was in every respect the worthy
helpmeet of her husband and for nearly sixty-two years shared his toils and
privations, his joys and sorrows, and during the first years of their married
life, while living in their humble log cabin home in the wilderness, she
endured hardships and privations that would paralyze the young wives of the
present generation. With her family of little children she often remained, for
a week at a time, alone, and attended to her household duties as well as
the duties upon the little primitive farm, the husband being called too far
to return to his home from his distant work till Saturday nights. It was no
easy task to, keep house then as it is at the present time. Her furniture was
all home made, and a single room served for a kitchen, dining, parlor and
sleeping room. Her cooking utensils consisted of a bake kettle and an iron
skillet, and all the food was cooked over the coals in the rude stone fireplace. The Indians often called at her cabin door and she traded them bread
and flour for venison and other wild meat. Fear never entered the breast
of this hardy and sturdy pioneer mother. At one time when a severe storm
blew the roof from her cabin she lived several days.with the blue sky for
shelter, until her husband returned and replaced the roof. Many travelers
who were seeking homes in the western country stopped at their rude, but
welcome, cabin for something to eat or a night's lodging, and not one was
ever turned away empty handed from her door, and that habit of doing for
others followed her through her whole life, as hundreds who have partaken
of her bounty can testify. She survived her husband about two and a half
years, and passed peacefully from this earth March 5, I901, at the home




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


647


of her son Clay in Union township, and the writer believes that in that
better land she has joined the partner by whose side she toiled for over three
score years. The following poem, written and composed by Mr. McCrary's
brother, Lawrence Hubbard McCrary, is a just tribute to a devoted wife and
loving mother:
TRIBUTE TO MRS. A. C. MCCRARY.
Once more o'er our faces the tear drops are stealing,
With sorrowful hearts we greet the fair dawn;
Each hour passing by our loss is revealingA fond, loving mother and sister is gone.
As we look in the past, when cares were around us,
Her cheerful voice ever did lighten the way;
And the smile that she gave when in sadness she found us,
Drove the gloom from our hearts and turned darkness to day.
Her sympathy reached to the poor and the needy,
The naked were clothed, the hungry were fed;
And hundreds to whom she gave bounty so freely
Were praying for blessings to rest on her head.
Alas! She has left, gone, her presence endearing;
No more in this world to feel gladness or pain;
But one glorious thought our hearts is now cheeringIn that bright land of sunshine we'll meet her again.
L. H. MCCRARY.
B. F. GREEN.
Seldom do we find a man of eighty years of age with a sturdy physique,
mental attributes, unimpaired and inventive genius, apparently as good as in
early or middle age, but such an one do we find in the person of B. F.
Green, of Union City, the subject of this sketch.  Mr. Green was born
in Watertown, Jefferson county, New York, in I822, and there he grew to
manhood, learning in the meantime the machinist's trade. In 1849 he moved
to Ogdensburg, New York, and was engaged in the distilling business there
and at Prescott, Canada, for nearly thirty years, having charge of extensive
distilleries in these two places the greater portion of the time. He came to
Michigan in 1869, where, with the exception of one year spent in California,
he lived until coming to Union City in I886.   Here he established a
machine shop on a small scale, but he has added to the equipment from
year to year until now it is one of the best in this portion of the state, supplied, as it is, with the latest improved machinery for the rapid turning
out of work. Mr. Green has always had a great bent for mechanics, and
has worked at this trade more or less all his life. As a practical gunsmith,
he is unequalled and this branch of business is well patronized. His love
for a gun led to his frequent practice as a marksman and for a number of




618


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


years he was one of the most expert shots in the east. In I879 he defeated
the crack shots of the eastern states in several contests, and even to-day, at
his advanced age, is no mean opponent. Mr. Green, although engaged in
the distilling business for so, many years, has never indulged in intoxicating
liquors and has never touched tobacco. His excellent and temperate habits
are no doubt in a great measure responsible for his sturdy condition today.
Associated with Mr. Green in the machine shop is Mr. Lewis Wilcox. who
has had a valuable experience in this line under the direction of Mr. Green.
Mr. Wilcox has lived in Union City sixteen years, and has worked a goodly
share of the time in the shop. He is a thorough mechanic. Mr. Wilcox is
a member of three local Masonic orders, and has a wide acquaintance in this
vicinity. He was married six years since to Miss Bertha Lilly, and they
have one child.
ROY McCRARY.
Roy McCrary, formerly identified with agricultural interests, but now
for many years living retired, enjoying a well earned rest, makes his home in
Union City. He is a native of Tekonsha, Calhoun county, Michigan, born
on the I2th of October, i847. He is the fifth child and third son of Alexander Cole and Harriet Eliza (Dean) McCrary, who are mentioned on
another page of this volume. He accompanied his parents on their removal
to Union township when a young lad, and at the usual age entered the common schools, acquiring a knowledge of the branches of learning which qualify
one for the performance of the practical and responsible duties, of a business
career. He continued to assist in the cultivation and improvement of his
home farm up to the time of his marriage.
On January 21, 1872, Mr. McCrary wedded Miss Alice V. Moyer, and
unto them were born three children, two daughters and a son: Alta May,
who was one of the youngest to ever graduate in the Union City school,
graduating at the age of seventeen, is now the wife of William Waffle, of
Athens township, Calhoun county, Michigan; Effie E., the wife of Claud
Felker, of Lockport township, St. Joseph county, Michigan; and Alexander
C., at home and in the high school. On the 22d of August, I904, Mr.
McCrary was again married, his second union being with Elizabeth Nelson,
a daughter of Lewis and May Givin Wilcox, and the widow of Frank B.
Nelson, of Sherwood, Michigan.   By her former marriage she had two
daughters:   Iva Blanch, a graduate of the Sherwood High School and
formerly a teacher; is the wife of Otto Bennett, of Sherwood township, and
Reah. who is at home with her mother and in high school.
Mr. McCrary has devoted his entire life to agricultural pursuits and is
now the owner of three valuable farms to which he yet gives personal supervision, although he leaves the active work to others. One of these is located
in Sherwood, one in Madison, and a third in Union township, and he has
given his daughter a farm of one hundred and sixty-seven acres not far
from Fisher Lake, in St. Joseph county. He is one of the stockholders in
the National Bank, at Union City and one of the directors of the First
National Bank, at Three Rivers, Michigan. His success is the crown of
well directed effort. He has probably passed on the highway of life others




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


649


who started out with more advantageous equipment than he, but he possessed
earnest purpose and diligence and as the years have gone by has so directed
his labors that he is now the owner of valuable land as well as bank stock.
Indeed he is one of the substantial citizens of the community and his success
is very creditable. In politics he has been a life-long Republican. He has
erected one of the most costly and beautiful monuments for his father, in
the Riverside cemetery at Union City, Michigan.
CLAY McCRARY.
Clay McCrary, the proprietor of the Sunnyside farm on section six,
Union township, is also connected with other business enterprises of Branch
county that show him to be a man of marked capability, enterprise and keen
discernment. He was born in Sherwood township, June 22, I855. His father,
Alexander C. McCrary, is mentioned on another page of this work, being
one of the pioneer settlers of the locality who aided in laying broad and
deep the foundation for the present progress and prosperity of this section
of the state. Clay McCrary was reared on the old family homestead in the
usual manner of farm lads until eighteen years of age, working in the
fields through the summer months, while in the winter seasons he attended
the public schools, acquiring a good practical English education. At the
age of eighteen he came to Union township and was engaged in assisting his
father on the farm.
In 1893 occurred the marriage of Clay McCrary and Miss Carrie M.
Woods, a daughter of Jesse A. and Angeline (Webster) Woods. The young
couple began their domestic life on a farm in Sherwood township where Mr.
McCrary carried on general agricultural pursuits until i896, when he located
on the farm where he now lives on section six, Union township. He has a
valuable property of two hundred and forty acres in Sherwood township,
while a rich tract of eighty acres constitutes the Sunnyside farm. He rents
much of his land and gives little attention to the raising of grain, but is
one of the prominent horse dealers of the county, buying and selling a large
number of horses each year and as he is an excellent judge of stock he is
enabled to make judicious purchases and profitable sales. He has also extended his efforts to other lines of activity and his opinions are regarded as
valuable in matters of business judgment. He is one of the stockholders of
the Union City National Bank, a stockholder in the Peerless Yeast Manufacturing Company of Union City and in the creamery of Union City,
Michigan.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. McCrary have been born three children, but Nora,
the eldest, died at the age of eight years. The others, Bertine A. and Joseph
C., are attending school in Union City. Mr. McCrary is a staunch Republican, interested in the growth of the party, yet without political aspiration for himself. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
and has also, taken the Rebekah degree at Leonidas. With the exception of
three years, from, 1878 until I88, during which time he was engaged in
merchandising in Burlingame, Kansas, he has always lived in Branch county,
so, that his history is well known to his fellow citizens and the fact that




650


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


many of his staunchest friends are those who have known him from his youth
to the present time is an indication that his has been an upright and honorable
career. He has applied himself earnestly to the conduct of his business interests and his perseverance, unremitting diligence and sagacity have been
strong elements in his prosperity.
MRS. POLLY      A. DUNN.
The ladies of America have played a most conspicuous part in the history
of the nation, both local and national. The old Empire state of New York
has populated the middle west with more of her sons and daughters than
possibly any other of the states north of Mason and Dixon's line.
The worthy lady whose name heads this review is a daughter of the
state of New York, having been born January I, 1821, in the township of
Junius, central New York, near the site of the Cornell University. She, when
but a little maiden, removed with her parents to the township of Lodi,
thence to Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the autumn of I836. She wedded Oscar
Otis in October, 1841. He was an engineer by occupation, a man of kindly
disposition and one who was honored and respected by all who, knew him.
He died March 28, 1858, leaving two children: Emma, the wife of Rev.
Dr. Wilkinson, and Frank, who became a sea captain and for several years
was considered one of the best navigators of the sea.  He died at Port
Tampa, Florida, July 23, I898.
During her widowhood Mrs. Otis plied her needle to support herself
and children, and to pay for the home which sheltered them. On February
I7, I862, she married Aretus Dunn, a well known business man of Ann
Arbor, who! had made a snug fortune in California in his younger days. He
died June 4, I895, leaving his widow with plenty of this world's goods. It
is not out of place to say here that Mr. Dunn was one of these big hearted
men who made legions of friends wherever he was known, and in the latter
years of his life his old friend, Leland Stanford, offered to, send his private
car for him if he would visit him. in his California home, but on account
of his failing health, Mr. Dunn was obliged to decline the offer.  Mrs.
Dunn lives in her elegant home on Washington street, Ann Arbor, with
her daughter and son-in-law, and although four score years and five have
passed over her head, still her form is erect and her mind as bright as
most of the people half that age. She has been favored in more ways than
this, having never been obliged to consult a dentist, her teeth being as sound
as when she was twenty years old, and her curly hair is the envy of all the
girls who know her. But now, past the age of an octogenarian, her sun
is fast setting beneath the western horizon of life, and soon her days will be
numbered, but the good life she has led and the kind deeds she has done will
be as monuments to this good woman's life and memory.
LEMANDER JAMES.
Lemander James, who carries on general farming on section twenty-six,
Matteson township, here first opened his eyes to the light of day on the
28th of October, I85I, his parents being William and Nancy Jane (Gillen)




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; ~-~";;""-~;-";'-1 " ';;








HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


65t


James, both of whom were natives of Ohio. The father was an old settler
of this county and for many years devoted his energies to farming in Matteson township. He was born in Ohio, in 1822 and was reared in that state,
coming to Branch county in 1846. He settled on what is now known as the
James farm, purchasing one hundred and sixty acres of raw land, which at
that time was covered with timber. This he cleared and improved, placing
it under cultivation. He was married in Branch county to Miss Nancy Jane
Gillen, a native of Ohio, born in 1825, and in that state her girlhood days
were passed. She came from Ohio to Branch county at an early period in
the development of this part of the state and the only child of her marriage
was Lemander James. The father was a life-long Republican, and had a
wide and favorable acquaintance in Branch county. In citizenship he; was
progressive and public-spirited and his co-operation was a resultant factor in
general progress. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity of Bronson,
and his life was in harmony with the teachings of the craft. He died upon
the old homestead farm in 1871, while his wife departed this life in I874.
Lemander James was reared and educated in his native township, attending the district school, his early studies being pursued in one of the
old-time log schoolhouses.  Later, however, better school buildings were
erected and the methods of instruction were also, improved. He helped to
cultivate the home place and after his father's death he remained upon the
farm, assuming its management. His entire life has been devoted to general agricultural pursuits and he is today the owner of one hundred and
sixty acres of land that is rich and productive, the greater part of which is
under a high state of cultivation. There are good improvements on the
property in the shape of substantial buildings and modern machinery and
the place is divided into fields of convenient size by well kept fences.
In 18.72 Mr. James was united in marriage to Miss Mary Jane Kinter,
who was born in Batavia township, Branch county, in 1852, and is a daughter of Richard Kinter, a pioneer settler of Branch county. Mrs. James spent
her girlhood days upon her father's farm and mastered the branches of
learning taught in the district schools of Batavia township. Two children
graced this union, Willie and Mabel, but the latter is now deceased. Mr.
James votes with the Republican party where national issues are involved,
but at local elections regards only the capability of the candidate. He has
held several township offices and the trust reposed in him has been well
merited, for he has been found faithful, prompt and efficient in the discharge
of his duties.
SAMUEL KNAUSS.
Samuel Knauss, who is engaged in the real estate business in Coldwater, is a native of Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred in Union county, December I2, 1840.  His parents were Solomon and Sarah (Moore)
Knauss, both natives of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, and of German descent. They removed to Erie county, Ohio, when their son Samuel was a
lad of six years, and there they spent their remaining days, both having now
passed away. In their family were twelve children, nine of whom reached
years of maturity.




652


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Samuel Knauss was reared in Erie county, Ohio, spending his boyhood days on the home farm until fourteen years of age. At that age his
father and sister hired him out to J. G. Sumner, a merchant in Bellevue,
to work in his dry goods store for a consideration of fifty dollars for six
months' service and board himself, which cost forty-eight dollars.  From
that time till he was of age he worked for different parties in grocery and
dry goods stores. Later he assisted in the cultivation of the home farm
until twenty-two years of age, when he again started out in life on his own
account.
In I864 Mr. Knauss was married to Miss Jemima Cleveland, and they
have become the parents of two daughters: Jennie L., now the wife of
L. J. Byers, and Nettie E., the wife of Alfred Pierce.
Following his marriage Mr. Knauss engaged in farming and afterward followed merchandising as a dealer in agricultural implements at Bellevue, Ohio, for twelve years. In I875 he came to Branch county, Michigan,
settling in Kinderhook township, where he again carried on agricultural
pursuits until the fall of I904, when he located in Coldwater, where he is
now engaged in the real estate business. He has thoroughly informed himself concerning realty values and is well qualified to place investments and
make sales. He has served as under sheriff of the county and he gives his
political allegiance to the Republican party. Fraternally he is a Master Mason, while his religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal church.
WILLIAM WANAR.
William Wanar, who is a practical, progressive and prominent farmer
of Batavia township living on section twenty-one, was born in Reichenberg,
Germany, on the i5th of October, I8.38. His parents were Frank and Anna
Wanar. The mother came to America in 1857 and the father crossed the
Atlantic in I882, both spending their last days in Branch county, the funeral services of this worthy couple being conducted by Rev. Collin, the
editor of this work. The subject of this review was reared in the place
of his nativity until sixteen years of age. During that time he acquired a
fair public school education and he also learned the butcher's trade. Hearing favorable reports concerning America, its business opportunities and the
advantages afforded young men he determined to try his fortune in this
land where labor is unhampered by caste or class.  Accordingly he bade
adieu to friends and native country and in I854 sailed for the United States,
settling first in Auburn, New York. He afterward lived at Waterloo., Seneca county, New York, and in I857 made his way westward to Michigan,
coming direct to Branch county. Having no capital and therefore facing
the necessity of at once providing for his support, he worked out by the day
and month and afterward spent some time on the road as a lightning rod
agent. He followed that business for about eight years, traveling over the
country, making sales in Indiana, Illinois and Ohio.
On the I9th of October, I862, Mr. Wanar was joined in wedlock to
Miss Mary Matilda Morsman, a daughter of John and Eunice (Stanton)
Morsman. The father was born in Buffalo, New York, in I802 and in I839




HISTORY OF- BRANCH COUNTY


653


removed to Ohio, settling in Trumbull county. In I852 he came to Michigan, locating at Coldwater, Branch county. He was a farmer by occupation and his last days were spent in South Haven, Michigan, where he
passed away in I867. His wife lived to the advanced age of seventy-eight
years. Mrs. Wanar was the fourth in. order of birth in their family of eight
children and first opened her eyes to the light of day in Herkimer county,
New York, on the 6th of June, I836. She was in her sixteenth year when
she came to Branch county and here she has since lived. Mr. Wanar at
the time of his marriage located in Bethel township, where he remained for
about two years, when he sold his property there and bought a farm on
section two, Batavia township. Locating thereon he at once began the further development and improvement of that land and made the place his
home for eighteen years, when he traded the property for the farm upon
which he now resides on section twenty-one, Batavia township.  Here he
has lived for twenty-three years, giving his time and attention to the work
of tilling the fields, caring for the crops and raising stock. He is truly a
self-made man and deserves much credit for. what he has accomplished.
When he arrived in America he had a capital of four dollars, and he was a
stranger in a strange land, unfamiliar with the English tongue and with
the customs and manners of the people. Indeed he could not speak a word
of the language here used.  He worked for four dollars per month for
more than a year and during that time acquainted himself with English.
He also clerked in a store and he utilized every opportunity to gain a knowledge of the methods of business life as practiced in the new world.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Wanar have been born two sons: Jay F., who is
engaged in merchandising in the town of Olds; and Charles H., who is operating his father's farm.  The former married Christine Klose, a daughter
of Frederick Klose, and they have three children:  Crystal, Lissette and
William Frederick.  Charles Waanar wedded Miss Mary Jones, a daughter
of Charles Jones, and they also have three children: Norine, who is in the
eighth grade, and is especially fond of arithmetic and geography; Lorain, in
about the same grade, and is an artist in constructing forms and is natural
in her tastes; and Mary, who is classed in the same grade as her sisters. The
homestead farm  comprises one hundred and sixty acres of land which is
well improved, largely owing to the efforts of William Wanar, who has always been a diligent, enterprising man, faithfully performing each task as
it has come to him and discharging every duty that has devolved upon him.
He has made an excellent business record by reason of his fidelity to duty
and the prompt manner in which he has met every obligation devolving upon
him and he is regarded as one of the reliable citizens of Branch county.
After studying political questions and issues and acquainting himself with
the attitude of the two, parties Mr. Wanar decided to give his support to
the Republican party and has since been a champion of its interests,. Both
he and his wife are well known in the county where they have so long resided and with its history they have been closely identified. His success has
been based upon the qualities of strict and unswerving integrity, unabating
industry and diligence that never fails ard his record has been so honorable




654              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
and commendable that his methods cannot fail to prove of interest to those
who know aught of his career. He is a splendid type of the German-American citizen and his history is an excellent example of what may be accomplished in the "land of the free" where labor finds its just reward.
SETH B. RANDALL.
Seth B. Randall, numbered among the practical, progressive and prosperous farmers of Coldwater township, was born in Yates county, New
York, May 2I, 1845, and is a representative of one of the old families that
through several generations has been represented in the Empire state. His
father, Orson Randall; was born in Putnam county, New York, August 25,
1807, and was married on the I5th of September, 1833, in Milo, Yates
county, to Miss Laura J. Gilbert, whose birth occurred at Sharon, Litchfield
county, Connecticut, on the 27th of November, I814. Her father, Ephraim
Gilbert, died September 30, I827, and the mother, Mrs. Jerusha (Peck)
Gilbert, passed away two, days before, so that at the age of thirteen years
Mrs. Randall was left an orphan. As stated, she was married in I833, and
in I840 Mr. and Mrs. Randall came to Michigan, settling first at Allen,
Hillsdale county, where the father conducted a hotel for several years. it
being one of the pioneer hostelries of that section of the state. About 1840
he came to Coldwater township, Branch county, and purchased one hundred
and sixty acres of land bordering Randall's Lake. It lay on section five,
Coldwater township, and was purchased from the government. Upon the
farm which he there developed he spent his remaining days, giving his life
to its further cultivation and improvement. His wife died on the ioth of
March, I88o, and on that occasion the following lines appeared in the
Coldwater Republican:
"Mrs. Orson Randall died at her home in Coldwater township last
Wednesday morning after a long and painful illness of some brain trouble,
which for nearly two years past has made her entirely blind and helpless.
She was sixty-five years of age and leaves beside her husband a family of
five children. Thirty-five years ago the' family came to the township from
Penn Yan, New York, and still reside on the farm on which they then
located, and where the children all grew to man's and woman's estate. Hers
is the first death that has occurred in the family during their thirty-five years'
residence here. She was a member of the Baptist church of this city, and
was a lady who was held in the highest esteem by all who were acquainted
with her. Her remains were laid in their final resting place in Oak Grove
cemetery yesterday."
Mr. Randall survived until September 21, I889. Since reaching the
state in 1840 he had resided continuously here save for a brief period of
a few years which he passed in New York. He was a Republican in his
political views and was a man greatly esteemed as an important factor in
the early history of his town and county. When he passed away the following was written in his memory in one of the local papers:
"Another Pioneer Gone.-Orson Randall was born in Putnam county,
New York, and moved to Yates county of the same state when a youth.






Willow Bank, country residence of Mr. and Mrs. Seth B. Randall


_____~~~_ ~__~~~~~~~~_ __~~_; ~_~1~~ _~~___I_~..~.I




C                                                                                                                                I     I   -   I  I     1,  I   I  I  I   I  I   %   -   I




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


655


He grew to manhood in that county and was married to Miss Laura Gilbert,
who died in Coldwater at the age of sixty-seven years. They packed their
goods and emigrated to Michigan in I840, which was a territory at the
time, if my memory serves me right.   They located in Allen township
the same year and they built them a shanty and had a quilt hung up for a
door; and at night they thought the wolves were going to take possession,
coming right up in front and around the so-called house. They afterwards
built a house and for the accommodation of the public he opened it as a
tavern. One man told the writer not many days ago that he had put up at
the so called house and he very well remembered the following words on
the sign: 'Live and Let Live-O. Randall.'  He concluded in after years
that keeping a public house was not his calling and so exchanged for a farm
on the west side of Coldwater lake now occupied by Seth B. Randall, his
youngest son. Five children survive him. He spent the greater part of his life
on this farm. He.united with the Baptist church and took an active part in its
construction. At the close of his declining years he bought a house in the
city and lived there until his death. He was honored and respected by all
who, knew him."
Both he and his wife were members of the Baptist church and were
people of the highest respectability, enjoying the warm regard of all with
whom they were associated. In their family were five children, all of whom
reached adult age, namely: Alonzo, who was born in Milo, New York, July
8, I834, and is now living in Eaton Rapids, Michigan; Eunice, who was born
in Howard, New York, March 9, 1836, and is the wife of C. I. Fonda;
George A., who was born in Allen, Michigan, August ii, 1838, and died at
Ann Arbor, Michigan, February 9, I89o; Seth B., of this review; and Emily
R., who was born in Allen, Michigan, March I4, I84I, and is the wife of
Wenzell Gruner, a resident of the city of Coldwater.
Seth B. Randall was born in the Empire state during the period in which
his parents lived there after their return from Michigan. However, when
he was a young lad he was brought to this state and his early life was passed
upon the home farm which he now owns. He aided in the work of field and
meadow, and in the winter months acquired a good practical education in
the common schools. On the I2th of March. I87I, he was married in Coldwater to Miss Sarah E. Giles, who was born in Port Credit, Canada, June 13,
I848, a daughter of Joshua and Helen (Ferguson) Giles, the former a native
of London, England, and the latter of the Hudson Bay territory. Her
father was a bridge builder under Lord Suffolk in the Hudson Bay territory.
Mr. and Mrs. Giles had a family of six children, namely: William John and
Thomas A., who died in childhood; Mrs. Jane Brandon, who lives in Toronto,
Canada; Mrs. Isabelle Brownridge, of Isabella county, Michigan; Mrs. Catherine Stevens, of Grand Rapids, this state; and Mrs. Randall. Mrs. Randall
was a teacher in this locality when she formed the acquaintance of Mr. Randall. Their marriage has resulted in the birth of two sons: George, born
December 17, I876, and now at home with his parents; and Ralph S., who
was born April 2, 1884, and is a bookkeeper and cashier in Clarke's drug
store in Coldwater.




656


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Mr. Randall exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and
measures of the Republican party and for nine years has served as justice of
the peace, while at this writing he is serving his second term as commissioner
of Coldwater township. He has lived on his present farm from the age of
two years, and it is a splendid property improved with a modern residence
and all the equipments and accessories found upon a model farm of the twentieth century, located on the banks of Lake Randall. He displays considerable
mechanical ingenuity and artistic skill and his home contains many specimens
of his handicraft in the way of furniture and decorations. He belonged to
Coldwater lodge, A. O. U. W., and is a man uniformly esteemed throughout
the community, for his life has been honorable and upright, his actions manly
and sincere. In the careful conduct of his business interests he has met with
creditable prosperty, finding that success is ambition's answer. Mr. and Mrs.
Randall have an old Bible in their home which was published in 1790', which
is an heirloom and one of the oldest books found in the county of Branch.
They also have one of the old " Longfellow Clocks," the framework of which
was made by Mr. Randall. Their pretty estate or country seat is known as
"The Willowbank Farm," and lies on the banks of Lake Morrison.
JOHN    HULSE.
The farming interests of Branch county have a worthy representative
in John Hulse, who is the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of fertile
land in California tonwship. He was born in Cayuga county, New York, on
the 4th of January, 1842, and is the only surviving member of a family of
six children born unto John and Charity (Perkins) Hulse. The family was
an old one in New York. The paternal grandfather, Isaac Hulse, spent the
greater part of his life in the Empire state, but in his last years came to
Branch county, Michigan, and died here. John Hulse, father of our subject,
was born in Nester county, New York, November 17, I802, and in his early
life learned the cooper's trade, which he followed in his native state. Hoping
to more rapidly acquire a competence in the new and growing west he came
to Michigan in I855, making his way to Branch county, where hie purchased
one hundred and sixty acres of new land, upon which not a furrow had been
turned or an improvement made. The arduous task of clearing and cultivating the tract was at once begun by him and in the course of years he had
placed sixty acres under the plow and was gathering therefrom rich crops.
Much of the remainder of the farm has been cleared by John Hulse of this
review, but there is still a good tract of timber upon the place. John Hulse
was united in marriage to Miss Charity Perkins, also a native of Nester
county, New York, born on the i9th of July, I802. She was a daughter
of Ebenezer and Lucy (Cooper) Perkins, who lived and died in the Empire
state. Mr. and Mrs. Hulse continued to reside upon their farm in Branch
county, the father carrying on the active work of the fields until his life's
labors were ended in death on the I8th of January, 18591. His wife survived him until September 20, T876. He gave his political allegiance to the
Whig party, but was without aspiration for office. His wife was a member
of the United Brethren church and was a most estimable lady.  In their




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


657


family were six children, of whom one died in infancy, the others being
Mrs. Betsy Yarns, who passed away in New York; Martha L., who died in
childhood; Mrs. Hannah Jane Hall, who died in California township, Branch
county; Hiram, who was a veteran of the Civil war, serving in Company I,
Ninth Michigan Infantry, and died at Knoxville, Tennessee; Mrs. Delilah
L. Hazen, who died in Iowa; and John, who completes the family.
John Hulse spent the first thirteen years of his life in the state of his
nativity and then came with his parents to Michigan. His. education, begun
in New York, was continued in the public schools of Branch county. He
was reared to manhood upon the home farm and as his age and strength permitted assisted more and more largely in the work of clearing and developing the land.  He has always lived upon the old homestead and succeeded
to the property after his parents' death.  He operated the farm after the
death of his. father, starting out in life on his own account when but seventeen years of age. Ninety acres of the home place came to him through inheritance, together with personal property, on condition that he supported
his mother during the remainder of her life. She lived for eighteen years
thereafter and he did his filial duty, putting forth every effort in his power
for her welfare and happiness. He is now the owner of one hundred and
twenty acres of very productive land and seventy-five acres of the farm is
cleared, while fifty acres is still in timber. His fields are well tilled and
through the rotation of crops as well as through the timely planting of lis
seed and his care of the growing harvest he is enabled each year to sell
considerable quantities of grain and thus provide a comfortable living for
himself and family.
On the i8th of June, I889, Mr. Hulse was united in marriage to Miss
Lavina E. Albright, who was born in Steuben county, Indiana, on the 23rd
of November, I858, a daughter of Christopher and Catherine (Michael)
Albright, the former a native of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, born
May I8, I823, and the latter born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, October IO, 1827. They were married in the Keystone state on the 8th of February, I849, and lived for fifty years in Steuben county, Indiana, but their
later years were passed in Branch county, where the father died March 9,
I902, and in his honor the following obituary notice was written: "Christopher Albright was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, May I8,
I823, and was joined in marriage with Catherine Michael, February 8, I849,
and the following May they came to Steuben county. To this union were
born seven children, four of whom, with his aged wife, survive him. His
death occurred March 9, 1902, aged seventy-eight years, nine months and
nineteen days. The deceased was held in highest esteem by his friends and
neighbors and his life was a blessing of untold value to the community inwhich he lived so! many years. The funeral services were conducted by Rev.
J. A. Sprague, at Fremont, in the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he
was a member."   The mother survived until January 20, 1905, and at her
death the following notice was written: "Mrs. Catherine Albright died last
Friday evening at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Hulse. She had been in
poor health for some time, but had only been seriously sick for a few days.




658


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


The funeral was held Sunday afternoon at the Methodist Episcopal church,
Rev. F. A. Reichelderfer officiating. Catherine, daughter of Philip and Susannah Michael, was born in: Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, October Io,
1827, was united in marriage to Christopher Albright, February 8, 1849,
came to Steuben county, Indiana, the following May. To them were born
seven children, of whom three, with husband, father, mother, two, brothers
and five sisters, have preceded her to the spirit land. In the year 1852 she
united with the Methodist Episcopal church, and has endeavored to live a
true Christian life. The God whom she served in life was her support in
death.  She leaves three brothers, three sons, one daughter, seven grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, with a host of other friends to mourn
the loss. She departed this life January 20, 1905, aged seventy-seven years,
three months and ten days."  They had traveled life's journey together for
more than a half century. Their marriage was blessed with seven children,
of whom one died in infancy, while the others were: Phillip, who died at
the age of seventeen years; Wesley S., living in this township; Joshua P.,
who is postmaster at Fremont, Indiana; Jacob C., who is a preacher of the
United Brethren church at Nappanee, Indiana; Susan A., who has departed
this life; and Lavina, now Mrs. Hulse. The parents in early life were members of the German Methodist church and in later years joined the English
Methodist church and at all times they were actuated by Christian principles and won the respect and good will of those with whom they were associated. Mr. Albright gave his entire life to general agricultural pursuits
and thus provided for his family.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hulse have been born a daughter and son, Delilah
Catherine and Ralph John, both of whom are at home. The parents and
children are members of the United Brethren church and are close and earnest followers of the teachings of that denomination. Mr. Hulse is also a
staunch advocate of the cause of temperance and votes with the Prohibition
party. While leading a busy life upon his farm, all improvements having
been made there since he took up his abode thereon and in the work of
which he was an active assistant, Mr. Hulse has nevertheless found time
to devote to interests of a public nature. He has served as superintendent
of the Sunday school and as a member of the board of trustees in the United
Brethren church and has also been assessor of the school district for twelve
years, being the incumbent in that office at the present time. The family
have a good farm home and their position in public regard is that which is
ever accorded in recognition of genuine personal worth and of principles
which neither seek nor require disguise.
ARTHUR E. ROBINSON.
Arthur E. Robinson, president and general manager of the Regal Gasoline Engine Company, was born in the city of Coldwater in I859. His
father, Hiram B. Robinson, was a native of Springfield, Massachusetts,
where in early manhood he became foreman of a cotton mill, but about I852
or I853, on account of failing health, he came to the west, settling in Coldwater. Here he married Miss Laura A. Dunks, a native of New York, who




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


659


died in I877, leaving two sons, Arthur E. and Herbert D., the latter'also
associated with the Regal Gasoline Engine Company. The father died in
this city in I888, when sixty-five years of age. He had engaged quite largely in speculation and was very successful in his business relations. Both he
and his wife were Baptists in religious faith. They were people of the highest respectability, gaining many friends in the city of their residence.
Arthur E. Robinson was reared and educated in Coldwater and began
his business career as a traveling salesman of a hardware house of Cleveland, Ohio, which he represented on the road for six or seven years. On
leaving that service he entered the real estate and loan business in Coldwater and handled considerable valuable property. In I9oo the Regal Gasoline Engine Company was organized as a stock company, Mr. Robinson being
active in the promotion of this enterprise and since that time he has been
president and general manager. It is one of the large and profitable productive industries of the city and he belongs to that class of representative
American men who, while advancing individual success, also contribute to
the general prosperity.
Mr. Robinson was married in 1884 to Miss Anna L. Nichols and both
he and his wife are members of the Baptist church. Socially they are prominent in Coldwater and their own home is attractive by reason of its gracious
and cordial hospitality.
MICHAEL RONAN.
Michael Ronan, the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and sixty
acres on sections one and twelve. Girard township, spends the summer
months upon this place and the winter seasons in the city of Coldwater,
where he also, owns a comfortable home. He was born in Jersey City, New
Jersey, May 18, I85I, and is a son of Martin and Mary (Costello) Ronan,
both of whom were natives of Mullengar, Ireland. They came to America
in I850 and after a brief residence in New Jersey removed to Clarendon,
Calhoun county, Michigan, in I851. The father was there drowned in June,
I853, in Homer Lake, and in the same year Mrs. Ronan removed with her
family to Girard, where she lived until her death on the 23rd of September, I902. She had three children by her first marriage: Michael; Mary,
who became the wife of Dr. J. L. Ramsdell and is now living in Albion,
Michigan, where her husband is successfully and extensively engaged in
the practice of medicine; Martin, who died in Detroit in 1899. After losing her first husband Mrs. Ronan married A. J. McConvry of Girard, by
whom she had two children: James McConvry, who lives in London, Ontario; and Nellie McConvry, who died in Girard in 1883. After the death
of her second husband Mrs. McConvry became the wife of Edwin Wheeler,
also of Girard, by whom she had two children: Edwin and Emma Wheeler,
both of Girard.
Michael Ronan spent his youth in his mother's home and after mastering the branches of learning pursued a commercial course in Hillsdale College at Hillsdale, Michigan, from which he was graduated with the class of
1883. He was thus well equipped for life's practical and responsible duties




660


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


and has ever been recognized as a man of keen discernment and intelligence.
He was married on the 2ISt of February, 1884, to Miss Bertha Canny of
Rochester, New York, the wedding being celebrated in Philadelphia. They
now have three children: Marie, who is a graduate of the Ypsilanti State
Normal and now a successful teacher connected with the schools of Tekonsha; Nellie, who is a fourth year student in the high school at Coldwater;
and Kenneth, yet at home.
For a few years after his marriage Mr. Ronan lived on a fine farm
in Tekonsha township, but later sold that property and purchased his present farm, the old homestead, comprising one hundred and sixty acres of
land on sections one and twelve, Girard township. Here he and his family
spend the summer months, while throughout the remainder of the year they
reside in the city of Coldwater, where they have a comfortable home. In
his business affairs he is energetic and reliable and his unremitting diligence
and keen discernment are the resultant factors in his prosperity. His entire life has been devoted to agricultural pursuits and his worth is widely
recognized as a representative of the farming community.  Having spent
almost his entire life in this county, he has a wide acquaintance and his
strong and salient characteristics are such as have made him respected and
honored by all who know him.
HOWARD A. GRUBE, M. D.
Dr. Howard A. Grube, for four years connected with the medical deDartment of the United States volunteer service in the Philippines, and now
a practitioner of Coldwater, making a specialty of surgery, is numbered
among the native sons of Indiana, his birth having occurred on a farm in
Marshall county, that state, April I8, 1867. The family is of German lineage and the progenitor in America was Casper Grube, great-grandfather of
Dr. Grube, who was born in Germany and crossed the Atlantic to the new
world, becoming a resident of Pennsylvania, in which state his son, Casper
Grube, Jr., was born. About I8Io the latter removed to Marshall county,
Indiana, where his remaining days were passed.
Daniel S. Grube, father of the doctor, was a native of Pennsylvania
and is now living in Plymouth, Indiana, at the age of seventy years. He
was a teacher in the schools of Marshall county, that state, for twenty-three
years, and of his eight children six have been school teachers, while the
grandfather and great-grandfather of Dr. Grube also followed the same profession.  The family has thus contributed in appreciable measure to, the
intellectual development of the communities in which its different members
have resided, and loyalty in citizenship has also been a marked family characteristic. Daniel S. Grube married Hannah Shively, who was born near
Canton, Ohio, and died in Plymouth, Indiana, in I9oo, at the age of fiftyeight years. Her father, Rev. John Shively, was a native of Pennsylvania,
was a minister of the Dunkard church and became one of the early settlers
of St. Joseph county, Indiana.
Dr. Howard A. Grube, the eldest of the eight children in his father's
family, spent the first fifteen years of his life in the county of his nativity,








2Z






I
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4~




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


661


and at that age came to Coldwater, where he entered the employ of his
maternal uncle, John W. Shively, a dry goods merchant of this city, with
whom he remained for six years. His ambition, however, tended toward
professional lines. He had acquired his preliminary education in the district schools of his native county, and while clerking he devoted his evening
hours largely to study, preparatory to entering college in order to prepare
for the practice of medicine. At length he matriculated in the medical
department of the University of Michigan, from which institution. he was
graduated in I891. He then returned to Coldwater, where he opened an
office, and the wide and favorable acquaintance which he had previously
made now proved to him of much benefit in his professional career. Many
called upon him for -medical and surgical aid and he soon secured a good
patronage.
After the outbreak of the Spanish-American war, however, Dr. Grube
was commissioned captain and assistant surgeon of the Thirty-fifth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and four months later he was promoted to majorsurgeon of his regiment, thus serving until mustered out with his command
in April, I899. He then returned to Coldwater, but in September of the
same year, he was again commissioned assistant surgeon of United States
volunteers, with the rank of captain, and sent to the Philippine Islands. In
190o he was promoted to the rank of major and in 1902 was made chief
surgeon of northern Luzon. He returned to the United States early in the
following year and was mustered out. He brought with him a valuable
collection of Philippine relics, together with specimens of their embroidery,
fabrics, hats and other wearing apparel, weapons, etc., and these may now
be seen in his office in Coldwater, where he immediately resumed practice
on his return.
In the summer of I903 Dr. Grube pursued a post-graduate course in
the University of Michigan, and reading and investigation have continually
broadened his knowledge and promoted his efficiency. He is a member of
the Tri-State Medical Society and of the American Medical Association.
Before joining the army he was surgeon for the Lake Shore & Michigan
Central Railroad, and for one year was attending physician to, the Michigan
state public school at Coldwater. He gives especial attention in his practice
to surgery, and his ability in that line is of superior order, ranking him
with many older representatives of the profession.  In August, I905, he
was appointed by Governor Warner surgeon of the Second Infantry, Michigan National Guards.
WILLIS HALL.
Willis Hall, whose home is on section thirty-five, Quincy township, is a
native son of Hillsdale county, Michigan, born on the 20th of September,
I86o. His father, William Hall, was a native of Wales, and died in I86I,
at the age of seventy-two years. In early life he left the little rock ribbed
country in which he was born and crossed the Atlantic to America, locating
in the east, where he was living at the time of the war of 1812, when he
espoused the cause of his adopted country and entered military service during
1.,.-.-..-  ~.-,..r~ ~, ~.



662


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


the period of hostilities. He was a shoemaker by trade, but devoted the
greater part of his life to the occupation of farming, and at an early epoch
in the development of Michigan he came to this state, settling in Hillsdale
county, where he died. In his business affairs he was active and energetic
and had become quite well-to-do. He was twice married, and by the first
inion had five children. His second wife bore the maiden name of Lucina
Durham and was born in Vermont. Both her parents died in Ohio, and
Mrs. Hall passed away in this state, November 13, I888, at the age of sixtythree years. By her marriage she had become the mother of five children:
Reuben W., a watchman living in Barry county, Michigan; Angeline, the
wife of Alfred Chambers, a miller and farmer of Emmet county; Lucy,
deceased; and Willard and Willis, twins, but the former is also deceased.
The mother was three times married, first to Mr. Jones, by whom she had a
son, Oliver Jones, who was a soldier in the Civil war, and was killed at the
battle of the Wilderness; second, to William Hall, the father of the subject
of this review, and the third time to J. I. Bevens. At her death the following
lines were written:
"In Quincy township, November 13, 1887, of paralysis, Mrs. Lucina
Bevens died, aged sixty-three years, two months and seventeen days.
" Mrs. Bevens was born in 1824, and became a follower of Christ at the
age of thirteen years. She was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which she took great delight. She was three times a widow,
and the mother of twelve children, seven of whom survive her. For the
past six years she has been living with her son, Willis Hall, in Quincy township. For the past few months she had visited among her children, arriving
home just five weeks previous to the day of her death."
Willis Hall was reared upon the home farm in Michigan and attended
the district schools. He came to Branch county, Michigan, in I878, settling
in Quincy township, upon the farm which he still owns on section thirty-five.
He has here one hundred and twenty acres of rich and productive land and
he likewise owns twenty acres on section twenty-six of the same township.
He is a stock buyer and feeder and makes quite extensive shipments annually.
In i886 Mr. Hall was married to Miss Hattie Ann Wiser, who was
born in Quincy, December 23, I862. Her father was Harvey Wiser, a native
of New York, who came to, Michigan at an early epoch in its settlement and
took up his abode in Quincy township, Branch county, where he followed
the occupation of farming. He married Sylvia Garrett, who was born in
Reading township, Hillsdale county, this state, and their only child was Mrs.
Hall. Unto Willis and Hattie Hall have been born four children: Lena
May, born September 3, I889, finished the public schools and is now a student in the Quincy High School, this being her second year, and she drives
four miles each day to the school. She has taken lessons in elocution and
also instrumental music. Nora Leona, born July I8, 189I, is a bright little
miss, now in the eighth grade in the public schools. She has also taken
music. Thomas Lester, born December 19, I896, a typical boy, but standing
well in his studies. He is a great aid to his father on the estate. He drilled
and sowed fourteen acres of oats and twelve acres in oats and peas, all by


t1




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


663


himself, and has done all the mowing and raking for four seasons. Daisy
Dean, born June 7, I898, is in school in the third grade, and is the youngest
of the family. Mr. Hall is a member of the Mystic Workers of the World,
of which his wife is also a member, and he is banker of the order. They are
both worthy members of the " Four Town Grange," located in Quincy township, and Mrs. Hall holds the position or office as " Pomona." By his ballot
he supports the Republican ticket. He is regarded to-day as one of the prosperous farmers of Quincy township, who stands for enterprise and progress
not only in the line of his chosen occupation, but in all that pertains to the
county's welfare.
JOHN E. OUTWATER, M. D.
Dr. John E. Outwater, who has been engaged in the practice of medicine at Bronson. Michigan, more than thirty years, and who is ranked with
the leading citizens of the county, dates his birth in Newfane, Niagara
county, New York, September 20, I845. His parents, Peter and Emily
(Ketcham) Outwater, both natives of the Empire state, moved west with
their family when John E. was a boy and settled in Branch county, Michigan. where they passed the rest of their lives and died. They have two
sons and two daughters now living, William A. being a resident of Colorado, and the daughters, Julia and Harriet, residing in Branch county.
After the removal of the family to this county John E. continued his
studies in the common schools and subsequently directed his attention to
the medical profession, going to Cincinnati and pursuing a course in the
Eclectic Medical Institute, where he graduated June 6, I882. Returning
to Branch county, he put out his shingle in Bronson, where he has since
remained, conducting a successful practice.
Dr. Outwater has been twice married and is the father of three children, two of whom are deceased. The daughter, Miss Emma, resides with
her parents in their pleasant home in Bronson on Chicago street, between
Madison and Walker streets. The doctor's present wife was formerly Miss
Eva J. Bennett, a native of New York, and she has a diploma from the
same medical college in Cincinnati from which her husband was graduated.
Politically, Dr. Outwater may be termed an independent Republican. For
several years he served as health officer in his township.
ED   V. WATKINS.
Ed W. Watkins, a veteran of the Civil war and one of the old settlers
of Sherwood, was born in Leonidas, St. Joseph county, Michigan, December 3. 1842, a son of William M. and Barbara E. (Hill) Watkins. His
great-great-grandfather, Nathan Watkins, was a soldier in the Revolutionary
war under General Washington, and his son, Mark Watkins, was only
fourteen years of age when he went as a drummer boy with his father. He
was taken prisoner at the battle of Bennington, and when they came to
exchange prisoners, General Burgoyne said, "He is too young; we will
send him back to his mother as a present," which was a beautiful thought
of gallantry on the old British general's part. William Watkins was a na



664


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


tive of New York and settled in St. Joseph county, Michigan, in February,
1832, becoming one of its pioneer residents.  He took up land from the
government and improved two farms, thus assisting materially in the reclamation of a wild district for the purposes of civilization. He was a lifelong supporter of the Republican party and served as sheriff of St. Joseph
county for four years, while for thirty years he was justice of the peace
and for many years acted as supervisor. There was no man in the entire
county better known or more worthy the regard which was uniformly given
him. He was prominent in Masonic circles and he wielded a wide influence, doing much to mold public thought and opinion, and because of his
adherence to every movement that was calculated to benefit his community
he was regarded as a most valuable citizen. For a half century he was a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, active and zealous in its work,
and there were no esoteric chapters in his life history, for his public and
private career were alike above reproach. Both he and his wife passed away
at the age of eighty-three years. In their family were eight children, six
of whom reached adult age, but only three are now living.
Ed W. Watkins, the eldest of the family, was reared in the place of
his nativity and pursued his education in the township and village schools.
He remained at home assisting in the labors of the farm until I863, when
he enlisted in defense of the Union cause, becoming a member of Company
F, Eleventh Michigan Infantry. With that command he served until the
close of the war, in September, I865, and he rose from the ranks to the
position of sergeant. He was in the campaign from Grayville to Warrentown and also in the Atlantic campaign under fire for fifty-six days, a
valiant soldier, facing danger fearlessly because of his allegiance to his
country. He remained at the front until honorably discharged at Nashville
on the I6th of September, 1865.
Mr. Watkins then returned to the place of his nativity, residing in St.
Joseph county until 1870. He was married March 26, 1867, to Miss Marion
McCrary, a daughter of Alexander and Harriett E. (Dean) McCrary, who
are mentioned on another page of this work.   Mrs. Watkins was their
fourth child. She was born in Tekonsha, Michigan, and was reared in
Sherwood, Branch county.
On leaving his native county Mr. Watkins settled in Athens, Calhoun
county, where he remained until I888, when he came to Sherwood township. There he resided until 90oo, when he took up his abode in the village
of Sherwood, and retired from active business, having for many years been
connected with agricultural interests, his labors winning him the competence
which is the goal for which all men strive in a business career.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Watkins were born two sons and a daughter:
Lynn A., who wedded Mary Henry, and has one son, Fred H.; Grace E.,
who occupies a good position in a store in the city of Oklahoma; and Alexander, who married Fannie Shafer, and resides on a farm near Sherwood.
Mr. Watkins has been a life-long Republican, having voted for Abraham Lincoln in I864, and he has since supported each presidential nominee
at the head of the ticket. He has been township treasurer of Sherwood




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


665


township for two years and has held other local offices and is always loyal
to the public trust. He belongs to Kilbourn Post No. 36I, G. A. R., has
served as its commander and has filled all of the other offices. He is likewise a member of Sherwood Lodge No. 421, A. F. & A. M., and both he
and his wife are members of the Eastern Star.   He has held all of its
offices, being very active in its work. She was a charter member and the
first worthy matron. She likewise belongs to the Woman's Relief Corps
No. 25, Union City, and was a delegate to the national convention at San
Francisco, California, in I903, for district No. 4, and was invited to Pittsburg to read a poem of her own composition on the occasion of the national
encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic. Both Mr. and Mrs. Watkins are prominent socially, having the warm regard of many friends, while
the hospitality of the best homes of this section of the county is freely
accorded them.
CHARLES SUMNER SEARS.
Charles Sumner Sears, engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery
in Quincy, is a native of Ontario, county, New York, born in I853. He is
descended from New England ancestry. His father, Clark C. Sears, was
born in Connecticut and is now living at the advanced age of seventy-eight
years. In early life he removed to New York, and in I86I he came to
Michigan, settling in Quincy township, where he followed the occupation of
farming. He married Miss Harriet E. Warner, who was also a native of
Ontario county, New York, and this worthy couple yet reside in Quincy,
Michigan.
Mr. Sears, of this review, began his education in the district schools
and continued it in the schools of Quincy. He also pursued a course in
Ypsilanti normal school and attended one course of lectures in the medical
department of the state university at Ann Arbor, after which he entered
Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago, from which he was graduated in
1879, having completed a thorough course in medicine and surgery.  He
then entered upon practice in Auburn, Indiana, where he remained for three
years, since which time he has practiced with success in Quincy. He is
careful in the diagnosis of a case, painstaking in all his professional duties,
and with thorough understanding of the principles and practice of medicine
he has so administered professional aid that excellent results attended his
efforts. In addition to his practice he is the owner of a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Quincy township, two miles northwest of the
village of Quincy, and thereon carries on general stock-raising and dairying.
On September 4, I880, Dr. Sears was married to Miss Nettie Shaffer,
who was born in Ashland county, Ohio, in I86I, and is a daughter of Christopher C. and Martha (Siphers) Shaffer. Her father was a merchant and
removed to the west in an early day. He became identified with business
interests in Auburn, Indiana, being the pioneer furniture dealer of that
place. He was of German lineage and manifested in his life many of the
sterling characteristics of the sons of the fatherland.  In his family were
four children. Mr. and Mrs. Sears have but one child, Carl C., who was




666


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


born in Auburn, Indiana, in 1882, and attended school in Quincy, being
a graduate of the high school of the class of g9oo. He read medicine in
his father's office and afterward pursued special studies in the Michigan
Agricultural College at Lansing and also in Ferris Institute at Big Rapids.
He next entered the Detroit Homeopathic College of Medicine in I90I
and was graduated in the spring of I905. He then began practice with his
father and they are well versed concerning all departments of modern practice. Both the father and son are members of the Masonic fraternity and
Dr. Sears and his family belong to the Presbyterian church of Quincy. His
political views accord with Republican principles and he has served on the
school board and as trustee of the village.  He has conscientious regard
for the obligations which devolve upon him, and in his practice his efforts
have been attended with success that shows him thoroughly familiar with
modern medical and surgical principles.
JAMES B. MINTLING.
Although a resident of Michigan and Girard but a few years, nevertheless the gentleman named above is deserving of mention in a work of this
character by reason of his ownership of one of the finest farms in the township of Girard and because he is a man of intelligence and already deeply
interested in the welfare and progress of the community in which he resides.
Branch county is always ready to welcome within her borders men of the
character and standing of Mr. Mintling, knowing that their presence adds
to the betterment of the place in many ways.
Mr. Mintling was born in Des Moines county, Iowa, January 30, 1857,
and he lived there until he was twenty-one years of age. His father was
William M. Mintling, a native of Pennsylvania, where he was born March
20, i818. He was married at Carleton, Ohio, to Elizabeth Welty, who was
born in that state March 29, I820. Soon after their marriage they joined
the early pioneers who were seeking homes in the then unbroken west, and in
the early forties they took their course down the Ohio river to its junction
with the stream of the Mississippi and then coursed their way up the latter
stream into Iowa, where they were among the very first to locate land and
make for themselves homes. Iowa was then a virgin state, with settlers few
and far between, and the young couple braved all the hardships and privations
incident to pioneer life in a new country.
Here they reared a large family of children and afterward removed to
Nebraska, when that country was also new, where the senior Mr. Mintling
died in October of 1887, and where his aged widow still lives, being in the
full possession of all her mental and physical powers even at the advanced age
of eighty-five years. They were the parents of ten children, twol of whom
died in early childhood and eight of whom are still living, as follows: Rebecca Mintling Roe, Emma Mintling Franklin, Eliza Mintling Shotwell,
William J. Mintling and Rufus Mintling, all of Nebraska; Mary Ann Mintling Cocayne and Sarah Mintling Cocayne, both of Iowa; and Mr. James B.
Mintling, Girard, Michigan.
Mr. James B. Mintling, the subject of this sketch, was married December




;/


"Maple Grove Farm," Residence of Mr. and Mrs. James B. Mintling.




I




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


667


7, I883, to Miss Josie Gillett, who was born at Angola, Indiana, July 6, I854.
She was the daughter of Charles Gillett and Annis Tillotson, the father of
New York and the mother of Ohio, although living for many years in the
Hoosier state, and afterward removing to Nebraska, where Mr. Gillett died
March 12, I883. Mrs. Gillett is still living at Lincoln, Nebraska.  They
were the parents of four children, all of whom are still living, they being Mrs.
James B. Mintling, of Girard, Michigan; Mrs. Franc Griswold, of Nebraska;
and Wilkes and Charles Gillett, both of whom are in the far west.
The union of James B. Mintling and Josie Gillett Mintling has been
blessed with the birth of three children, all of whom are living at home. William Charles finished the public school course and received his diploma in
I9OI, in Nebraska, and spent one year in the Wesleyan University, University
Place, Nebraska. He is a prosperous farmer. Julia I. is in the ninth grade,
high school course, and is proficient in instrumental music. James Harry is
now in the seventh grade, and is bright in his studies.
Mr. James B. Mintling was born and reared upon a farm and early in
life he decided upon agriculture as a life vocation. After attaining his majority he went from Iowa to Nebraska with his parents and lived in the
vicinity of Lincoln, that state, until coming to Girard in March, q90o. Here
he purchased the George A. Russell farm of one hundred and thirty-seven
acres of fertile farming land on section thirteen, Girard township, which is
equipped with fine substantial farm buildings, including a commodious house
of modern construction, the whole forming a model farm residence, seldom
equalled, even in this land of prosperity and plenty. Here Mr. Mintling has
also made his influence felt in the community. He was a township and school
officer in Nebraska, and he is also at present the director of the school district
in which he resides. He has always taken a deep interest in educational
affairs, is an intelligent reader and a discriminating observer and he commands the respect and esteem of his friends and neighbors. Mr. and Mrs.
Mintling are members and active workers in the Girard Methodist Episcopal
church and they already love the land of their adoption.
WILLIAM     H. LOCKERBY.
It has been a noticeable fact in the history of the world that the lawyer
has figured more prominently in public life than the representative of any
other profession or business. The reason for this is obvious and requires
no explanation, for the qualities which fit one for the successful practice of
law also prepare him for the understanding of the intricate questions which
involve the welfare of state and nation. Practicing at the bar of Quincy
and Branch county Mr. Lockerby has won a notable position as. a strong
and earnest lawyer and his fitness for leadership has led to his selection for
public offices, including that of state senator, from which he retired in 1905
after a four years' term.
Mr. Lockerby was born in West Vienna, Oneida county, New York,
February 24, 1859.  His father, John Lockerby, was born in Scotland. in
July, 1837, and is now living in Quincy.  He came to the United States
when three years of age with his parents, David and Mary Lockerby, and




668


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


located in West Vienna, New York. His educational privileges were limited. He attended school at West Vienna for a brief period and afterward
gained some familiarity with the trade of boat building, but his principal
occupation was that of farming. He came to Michigan in I869, and settled
in Quincy township, purchasing a tract of timber land on section four. He
at once began to cut away the trees and clear away the brush, thus preparing the fields for cultivation. As the years passed he advanced from an
humble financial position to one of affluence. In I890 his health failed and
he purchased a home in Quincy and retired to private life. He is a member
of the Methodist Episcopal church, affiliates with the Masonic fraternity
and gives his political allegiance to, the Democracy. His life has been in
consistent harmony with upright principles and he has gained and retained
the respect and good will of his fellow-men. He married Miss Flavia Hollenbeck, who was born in Oneida county, New York, in I840, and is still
living. Her father, Cornelius Hollenbeck, was of Holland extraction and
was a farmer by. occupation. Mrs. Lockerby was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. They had two children, William H. and Harriet,
the latter dying at the age of seventeen years.
W. H. Lockerby pursued his education in the district schools and the
public schools of Quincy, but studied largely at home. He afterward engaged in teaching school for five years, and he began reading law with M.
D. Campbell, of Coldwater, as his preceptor. He was admitted to the bar
there December I4, I884, and worked in the office of his preceptor for a
year afterward, at the end of which time he opened an office in Bronson.
After a brief period, however, he returned to Quincy and formed a partnership with Milo Campbell, which continued for a year. He has since been
alone in practice and has a large clientage, distinctively representative in
character. He practices in all of the courts of the state, and was admitted
to the federal courts in I902.
In September, I882, Mr. Lockerby was married to Miss Cora Gorball,
a daughter of Ezekiel and Catherine Gorball, of Girard, Michigan. Her
father, a farmer by occupation, was one of the pioneer settlers of Branch
county, coming from England to America at an early epoch in the history
of this part of Michigan.  His daughter, Mrs. Lockerby, was born in
Girard, March 6, I865, and by her marriage has become the mother of
three children: Carroll J., who was born in June, 1883, and died in June,
I890; Metha, born February I8, I888; and Marjorie, who was born September 3, I899, and died in September, I9OI. Mrs. Lockerby is a member of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Lockerby has taken the various degrees of the Masonic fraternity and belongs to the Grange. He is recognized as one of the prominent representatives of the county and has
filled various local offices, having been school inspector, township clerk and
a member of the Branch county board of school examiners for five years.
He was also circuit court commissioner for four years and was appointed
by Governor Rich a member of the railroad and street crossing board, serving for four years, and during that entire time acted as its secretary. Still
higher political honors awaited him, for he was chosen by popular suffrage




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


669


to the office of state senator and was a member from I9OI until I905. While
in the general assembly he was connected with important legislation and
was a stalwart champion of many movements and measures which he believed would promote the welfare of the commonwealth.  He is publicspirited and progressive to an eminent degree and has the warm friendship
and regard of many of the leading men of the state, while in his home town
he is popular, no man having a more favorable acquaintance than William
H. Lockerby.
HORACE J. WOODWARD.
Horace J. Woodward, the oldest dry goods merchant in years of continued business in Coldwater, is a native of New Hampshire, his birth having occurred in the village of Swiftwater, Grafton county, on the 24th of
April, 1836. His parents were Myron S. and Caroline (Hutchins) Woodward, representatives of old and prominent New England families.  The
father was a merchant in Swiftwater and it was in his store that the son
gained his first mercantile experience. In the schools of his native town
and in the seminaries of Bath village and Newberry Mr. Woodward gained
a fair literary education that well equipped him for the practical and responsible duties that came to him in after life.
In the spring of 1856 he was united in marriage to Miss Eliza J. Pierce,
also a native of the Green Mountain state, and in December of the same
year Mr. Woodward and his young wife came to Coldwater, Michigan.
On reaching this place he learned there was a vacancy in what is now known
as the Central school, the former teacher having become ill. He made application for the position and his eligibility secured him appointment to fill
the vacancy. He then taught until the close of the school year in the following spring, ending his labors there as an educator on Friday, and on
the succeeding Monday he became a salesman in the store of Gilbert &
Barber. This firm was soon succeeded by George C. Stone and Mr. Woodward remained in his employ until the spring of I86I, when he joined J.
Wesley Brown, a fellow-clerk, and Mr. Gilbert, his former employer, in
the formation of a partnership and the establishment of a dry goods business under the firm style of Woodward, Brown & Company. Mr. Woodward went to New York city and purchased a stock of goods, which had
not yet been shipped when Fort Sumter was fired upon and the country was
precipitated in the Civil war. The future of the new business concern in
Coldwater looked dark under the circumstances, but the partners persevered
in their undertakings.  Eventually the goods which had been purchased
were received, and on account of the war prices went up and the firm secured
a handsome profit on their investment. Mr. Woodward said that purchase
proved the best he has ever made in his extended career as a merchant.
The firm of Woodward, Brown & Company, however, had a brief existence,
for on account of failing health Mr. Brown sold his interest and withdrew
and not long afterward Mr. Gilbert also withdrew.
Julius S. Barber then became associated with Mr. Woodward in the
ownership and. conduct of the store, under the firm style of Woodward,




670


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Barber & Company. This had a continuous existence of nearly seventeen
years, becoming the leading dry goods store of Coldwater. The uncle, Mr.
Barber. however, disposed of his interest in the meantime, and in 1877 Mr.
Woodward and Mr. Barber mutually agreed to divide the stock and sever
their business relations. Mr. Woodward then rented the store which he
now occupies, but he has since purchased the property and has here continued business to the present time, covering a period of twenty-eight years.
Soon after the time he went to himself he associated his son, Harry P.
Woodward, with him under the firm style of H. J. Woodward & Son, and
they have for years enjoyed a large and satisfactory trade, their house being
accounted one of the leading and substantial dry goods firms of southern
Michigan, while Mr. Woodward ranks as the oldest dry goods merchant of
the city of Coldwater in point of continued business. He has paid close
attention to his mercantile interests, and this combined with his splendid
business ability and the able assistance of his son has made the enterprise
a very profitable one. His methods, too, have ever been reliable and trustworthy, conforming to a high standard of commercial ethics.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Woodward were born three children, to each of
whom they have given splendid educational advantages; Lella G., the eldest
daughter, is an art teacher of rare ability, and is now in charge of the art
department at Stanley Hall, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Belle R., the second daughter, is the wife of John T. Starr, of Coldwater. The only son,
Harry P. Woodward, is associated with his father in business and is also
prominent in commercial circles here. Mrs. Woodward is a most estimable
lady of culture and refinment, presiding graciously over her hospitable home.
Mr. Woodward has never sought political preferment, nor has he been
connected with business interests outside of his store. He has, however,
always manifested a' spirit of public enterprise and has contributed materially to the upbuilding of the beautiful little city of Coldwater. His home
is one of the most magnificent residences here and is modern and attractive
in all of its appointments. In church relations he has long been an Episcopalian, and both he and his wife are held in highest esteem by a wide circle
of friends.
GEORGE E. WILLIS.
G. E. Willis, well known as a representative and prosperous agriculturist of Batavia township, his home being on section twenty-one, was born
in Portage county, 'Ohio, on the I7th of Nolvember, 1858.  His father,
George Willis, was also born in Portage, county, Ohio, and in May, I863,
he arrived in Branch county, Michigan, settling in Batavia township, where
he gave his attention to milling and farming, conducting a sawmill for about
thirty-five years. His life was characterized by business integrity and activity, so that at his death, which occurred when he was seventy-eight years
of age, he left to his family an untarnished name. In politics he was always
a Democrat. He married Miss Jane Welch, a native of Ohio, who died in
Branch county, Michigan, at the age of fifty-six years. They had a daughter and son, the former being Alma, now the wife of C. L. Olds, who is
represented on another page of this work.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


671


G. E. Willis, the younger and the only son of the family, was about
eight years of age when he came to, Branch county with his parents, and
here he was reared and educated, spending his bovhood days in the usual
manner of farm lads, who divide their time between the work of the fields,
the duties of the schoolroom and the pleasures of the playground. He remained with his parents, assisting on the farm and in the mill, until his
marriage, which was celebrated in 1877, Miss Carrie Wilcox becoming his
wife. She was born in New York and came to Branch county when thirteen years of age with her parents, Monroe and Melissa Wilcox.
Mr. and Mrs. G. E. Willis took up their abode upon the old farm
homestead on section fifteen, Batavia township, and there he engaged in
farming and milling until 1905, when he removed to his present home on
section twenty-one. He has here eighty acres of land which he rents. The
place is well improved and the rental brings him a good annual income.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Willis was born a daughter, Fern, who is now the
wife of Dr. W. P. Mowry, of Batavia, where he is engaged in the practice
of medicine and surgery. Mr. Willis regards it the duty as well as the
privilege of every citizen to support the political principles which he deems
will prove of greatest benefit to the country and he therefore gives his
allegiance to the Democracy and takes an active interest in the local work
of the party. He has served as township clerk for about four terms and has
ever been loyal to the trust reposed in him. He is a member of the Masonic
lodge at Coldwater and the Maccabees tent.  He has been a resident of
Batavia township for forty-two years, and is therefore largely familiar with
its history. The years have brought changes, and in the work of improvement Mr. Willis has rejoiced, giving his co-operation to many measures
for the general good. He possesses a friendly disposition and courteous
manner and his good qualities have gained him a desirable place in the
esteem for his fellow townsmen.
HENRY P. MOWRY. M. D.
For nearly thirty years a practicing physician of Bronson, Michigan,
and during that time in various ways identified with the public interests of
both town and county, Dr. Henry P. Mowry occupies a representative place
among his fellow-citizens.
He was born in Ovid township, Branch county, Michigan, February
20, 1854, son of William, P. and Emily C. (Dalton) Mowry, the former a
native of Massachusetts who moved to Michigan at an early date and who
still lives in Ovid township, and the latter, a native of Ohio, is deceased.
THe is one of a family olf four sons, all residents of Michigan-William S.,
Charles C. and George D. His early education Dr. Mowry received in the
public and high schools of Coldwater, and he took up the study of medicine
in the office of Dr. J. M. Long, of that place, after which he entered Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago, of which institution he is a graduate with
the class of I877. Immediately following his graduation he began the practice of his profession at Bronson. Here he has continued up to the present
time, with the exception of one year spent in St. Louis, where he delivered






672


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


a course of lectures on his specialty, the eye and ear, in Henry Medical College.
Although giving close attention to his professional duties, Dr. Mowry
has always manifested a deep interest in public affairs and has filled positions of prominence and trust. He was superintendent of the county poor
for six years, filled the office of president of the board of trustees of Bronson, and is serving as a member of the state board of correction and charities, having received his appointment to this last named position at the
hands of Governor Bliss in I903. For two years he was surgeon of the
pension board. As the result of his years of labor, a fair share of financial
prosperity has come to the doctor. He has a handsome home at the corner
of Walker and Chicago streets; owns two farms, renting one and himself
superintending the operation of the other; and is interested in the banking
business, being president of the Burr Oak State Bank.
He married, in 1877, Miss Alice M. Park, daughter of James R. P'ark,
of Ovid township, and they are the parents of two sons, William P. and
Lloyd. The older son, following in the footsteps of his father, is a graduate
of Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago, and is now engaged in the practice of medicine at Sturgis, Michigan. Politically, Dr. Mowry has always
affiliated with the Republican party. Fraternally he is identified with both
the Masons and the Odd Fellows, being a member of the Knight Templars
No. Io, of Coldwater, and Bronson Lodge No. 227, I. O. O. F.
MARK H. MANN.
Mark H. Mann is one of the native sons of Girard township, having been
born on the 28th of April, I854, upon the old family homestead in section
twenty-two. The Manns were among the early settlers of Girard and the
family comes originally from German ancestry. The great-grandfather was
the founder of the family in the new world and on crossing the Atlantic from
Germany took up his abode in Schoharie county in 1711. Jacob W. Mann,
the grandfather of our subject, was born in Schoharie, New York, February
13, 1789, and with his wife, Mrs. Polly Mann, came to Girard township,
Branch county, in I836. Here he entered some land from the government
and also made purchase of an additional tract and developing a farm he
spent his remaining days thereon. The usual hardships and experiences of
pioneer life were to be met, for at that early day few settlements had been
made in the county. The land was wild and unimproved and there were long
distances between the homes of those who had made their way to the frontier.
With characteristic energy, however, Mr. Mann began the development of
his farm and actively continued its cultivation until his death, which occurred
on the i9th of September, 1846. His wife, who bore the maiden name of
Polly Shannon, was a daughter of George and Mary Shannon, also natives
of Schoharie county, New York, and there her birth occurred on the Ist
of March, 1798. She gave her hand in marriage to Jacob W. Mann in her
native county and they became the parents of eight children, six sons and
two daughters. Of this family two sons and a daughter also remained residents of Girard township until called from this life.




J-   ~ t^i




, _Z~
m r




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


673


Peter I. Mann, son of Jacob W. Mann, was born in Schoharie county,
New York, February 27, I815, and was about twenty-one years of age when
the family home was established in Michigan. He attended the public schools
of his native state and was early trained to the labors of the farm, so that
he had intimate knowledge of the best methods of tilling the fields and caring
for stock when he began life on his own account. He remained upon the
old homestead in this county until twenty-six years of age: and amid the environments of pioneer life aided his father in his agricultural work.
On the I3th of January, 1842, Mr. Mann was joined in wedlock to Miss
Lavina Grove, a daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Putnam) Grove, who
were also. pioneer residents of Batavia township. They became the parents of
eight children, of whom three died in infancy, while Nina died in I88o at
the age of sixteen years. Those still living are: Mrs. Mary Williams, a
resident of Girard township; Jacob W., of the same township; Mrs. Belinda
Hurst, of Coldwater; and Mark H., of this review. Mr. and Mrs. Peter I.
Mann began their domestic life upon a farm and continued to reside there
for many long years, Mr. Mann being closely identified with the agricultural
development of the county. He lived here when it was largely an unsettled
district. Indians still visited the neighborhood in the early days and there
were wild animals in the forest, while considerable wild game was killed and
furnished many a meal to the early settlers. Mr. Mann aided in reclaiming
the district for the purposes of civilization. He was at one time the owner
of four hundred acres of very valuable land, which he cleared, cultivated and
improved, and he long ranked with the most enterprising and capable farmers
of his locality. His political allegiance was given to the Republican party
and he was a prominent Mason, having attained the Knight Templar degree
in Coldwater Commandery. Both he and his wife reached an advanced age,
Mr. Mann passing away on the 8th of January, 1897, while his wife died on
the 7th of October, I89o.
Mark H. Mann spent the days of his boyhood and youth in his parents'
home and early became familiar with the work of field and meadow, for during the summer months he aided in turning the furrows, planting the seed
and eventually in harvesting the crops. In the winter season he attended the
public schools and thus acquired a good practical education that has enabled
him, to successfully cope with life's duties. He was married March 5, i886,
and has one son, Rex Mann, who was born in 1887 and is at home. The son
graduated in the public schools of Girard township in the class of 190o4. He
has entered as a student in the Coldwater High School, and is progressing
in his studies.
Mr. Mann is now the owner of one hundred and forty acres of choice
land in Girard township, on which stands a handsome brick residence built in
modern style of architecture. There are also other large and substantial
buildings upon the place and his farm is one of the best improved properties
in the neighborhood. In all of his work he is practical and progressive, carrying forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes, - He, too, is
prominent in Masonry, belonging to the various organizations of the craft
in Coldwater, including Jacob's Commandery, K. T.,.Like the others of




674


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


the family he has assisted materially in the development and progress of this
part of the state, and his co-operation can always be counted upon to further
any movement for the public good.
ABRAM    JOSEPH ALDRICH.
Abram Joseph Aldrich, one of the oldest native residents of Branch
county, was born in Girard township, February 3, 1843, and was the only
child of William and Phoebe Jane (Ransom) Aldrich. The father was
born in Macedon, Wayne county, New York, July 26, I8II, and was a son
of Abram Aldrich, a native of Upton, Worcester county, Massachusetts,
born December 3, I775. He was married in his native state, whence he
removed at an early day to Macedon, New York. In 1832 he came to what
was then the territory of Michigan, being one of the first settlers within
the present borders of Union township, Branch county. He entered a tract
of land from the government, cleared and developed a farm and also erected
and operated a saw and grist mill near what is now the town of Hodunk.
These were the first mills in this section of the county and people came
there from a long distance. Mr. Aldrich'spent the remainder of his days
here, contributing in substantial measure to the pioneer development and
aided in laying the foundation for the present progress and prosperity of
the county. He was reared in the Society of Friends, but subsequently became a Methodist and died in that religious faith. On the I7th of February,
1801, he married Sophronia Legg, who was born in Orange county, Massachusetts, August 7, I777, and died in Girard township, Branch county,
December 30, I837, while Mr. Aldrich survived her until April 8, 1842.
They were the parents of nine children, of whom William Aldrich was the
sixth.
William Aldrich came to Branch county in 1832, settling in Girard
township, where he also entered land from the government. He engaged
in farming and was the partner of his father in the ownership of the Orangeville mills. He became identified with the Methodist church in early life,
but later espoused Presbyterian doctrines. In politics he was a Democrat,
and was one of the first justices of the peace in Girard township. His interest in public affairs was deep and sincere and he became a co-operant
factor in many measures which had direct benefit upon the improvement and
upbuilding of the county. He was first married in I836 to Miss Betsy Fisk,
a native of New York, but she survived her marriage only a brief period.
In 1838 he wedded Miss Phoebe J. Ransom, who was born in Lloyd, Ulster
county, New York, August 4, I813, and departed this life in the city of
Coldwater, November 26. I877. She was a consistent Christian, holding
membership in the Presbyterian church, and she long survived her husband,
whose death occurred August 26, I850.
Abram J. Aldrich, when seven years of age, was brought to the city
of Coldwater by his widowed mother and here he grew to manhood, attended the city schools, and afterward entered the literary department of
the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated with
the class of I865, the degree of Bachelor of Arts being at that time con



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


675


ferred upon him, while three years later his alma fmater honored him with
the Master of Arts degree. In the spring of I866, accompanied by his
mother, he returned to the old homestead farm in Girard township, and
for seven years was actively engaged in agricultural pursuits. In I873, in
connection with his father-in-law, he purchased the Coldwater Republican,
which they published under the firm name of A. J. Aldrich & Company,
and at that time Mr. Aldrich again took up his abode in Coldwater. He
was interested in the Republican and ably edited the paper until I893, when
he sold out. He was a clear and forceful writer and won more than local
distinction as an editor. In T886 he prepared and read before the State
Press Association a paper entitled " Relation of the Newspaper to Politics."
It attracted much attention and received favorable comment from the press
throughout the country. In the same year Mr. Aldrich was honored by an
election to the presidency of the State Press Association.
He cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in I864, and
from that time has loyally supported the principles of the Republican party.
Although he has never sought office he was for years active in political work
and while editor of the Republican his pen materially influenced matters
of politics and other questions of public concern. He was an ardent and
able supporter of the civil service and his editorials on that issue attracted
wide attention. When twenty years of age he became a member of the
Presbyterian church, and has been an active worker of the denomination
through many years, while for a long period he has served as ruling elder.
Mr. Aldrich was married in 1870 to Miss Clarissa Stearns, a daughter
of George W. Stearns, deceased, o'f whom mention is made above. She was
born in Gorham, Ontario county, New York. October 24, 1842, and like
her husband holds membership with the Presbyterian church. They have
two children, namely: Mabel A., the wife of Stanley C. Griffin, state agent
of the state public schools; and William Irving Aldrich, who resides at
Chanute, Kansas.
GEORGE W. STEARNS.
George W. Stearns, now deceased, was born in the town of Gorham,
Ontario county, New York, May I4, 182I. His father, Royal Stearns, was
a native of Upton, Worcester county, Massachusetts, and was a son of
Ebenezer Stearns, who it is thought was a native of England. He was a
farmer by occupation and his last years were spent in Upton.
Royal Stearns was reared to manhood in his native town, whence he
emigrated to New York state, and after his marriage he purchased a section of timber land in Ontario county, New York, building thereon a log
cabin, in which the birth of our subject occurred and in which the father
continued to make his home until his death. He was a public-spirited citizen, served as captain of the State Militia and was noted for his industry
and integrity of character. The maiden name of his wife was Anna Mapes,
and she was born in Coxsackie, New York, her father being Israel Mapes,
who at an early day was a slave-holder of the Empire state, having his
negro bondsmen until slavery was abolished in New York. He afterward




676              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
engaged in the hotel and lumber business and his last years were spent in
Mendon, Monroe county, New York, where his death occurred.    For her
second husband the mother of our subject married Joshua Hicks, with whom
she removed to Macedon, Wayne county, New York, where she resided
until the death of Mr. Hicks, when she returned to the old homestead in
Gorham and died there October I6, I875. Unto her first marriage there
were born seven children.
George W. Stearns, the sixth in order of birth in this family, resided
with his married sister in Ontario county, New York, after his father's
death, and when his mother was left a widow the second time he returned
to the old homestead, carrying on farming there for several years.  He
came to Coldwater, Branch county, Michigan, in I867, and continued to
reside in this city throughout his remaining days, passing away in 1892.
In 1873, in connection with his son-in-law, A. J. Aldrich, he purchased the
Coldwater Republican and was interested in its publication until his demise.
V While still residing in his native county Mr. Stearns was married, October 3I, 1841, to Miss Miranda Tufts, who was born in Gorham, New
York, February 5, I819, a daughter of Thomas and Clarissa (Hatfield)
Tufts.  Her death occurred in Coldwater when she was eighty-one years
of age. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Stearns were born two children: Clarissa Arminda, the wife of A. J. Aldrich; and Irving Ariel, a resident of Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania.
In New York Mr. and Mrs. Stearns held membership in the Congregational church, but in Coldwwater, where there was no organization of
that denomination, they attended the Presbyterian church. He cast his first
presidential vote for James K. Polk and was one of seven men who met in
Gorham and organized a section of the Republican party. From that time
he was an ardent supporter of the men and measures of the new political
organization.
OLIVER J. CLARK.
A worthy descendant of one of the oldest families and first settlers
in this part of Branch county, the gentleman named above still resides upon
the farm in Kinderhook township which was first settled upon by his father
over sixty years ago, and which has ever since remained in possession of
the family. His father was Timothy Clark and his mother was Sarah Jane
Mills, both worthy examples of the brave pioneers who subdued the virgin
forests of Branch county and made homes here for themselves and their
descendants. Timothy Clark was born in Broadalbin, New York, March
30, I819, and when only thirteen years old he accompanied his father, Samuel Clark, to Michigan, coming here in 1837 when the country was wholly
new. They first located in Hillsdale county, where Samuel Clark died in
184I. In 1842 Timothy Clark bought a farm in Kinderhook township,
and a few years thereafter he took possession of the same, adding to his
property until he finally became the owner of over three hundred acres.
He was married, October 9, 1846, to Sarah Jane Mills, who was born in
Berkshire, Massachusetts, May 24, I818, her parents being Alson Mills and




HISTORY OiF BRANCH COUNTY


677


Sarah Dupee, natives of Connecticut, where they passed their entire lives.
Sarah Jane Mills passed her early life in Massachusetts, and when nineteen
years of age she went to live with a sister in the state of New York, afterward coming to Michigan, where she met and married Mr. Clark.    The
young couple finally located on their new farm in Kinderhook township in
the late forties, and here they found plenty of hard work for their willing
hands. The land was uncleared and without buildings when they came, but
they set resolutely to work, and before many years the results of their labors
showed in a comfortable home, with much of the land cleared, buildings
erected and a family of children growing up. The children were five in
number, as follows: Phoebe died at the age of thirteen years; Harriet married Elmer Boyd and died in Gilead, this county; Oliver J. is the subject of
this review; Etta Van Etta lives in Kinderhook; Ellen M., the youngest,
is the wife of Sherman Jones, of Coldwater township. The father, Timothy
Clark, died January 8, I894, while the mother passed away in November,
I899.
Our subject, Oliver J. Clark, was born in Kinderhook, March 15, I855,
and he has always lived here. He grew to manhood upon his father farm,
which he helped to clear of timber, he also assisting in all of the other many
improvements. July 12, 1873, he was united in marriage with Eliza Whitcomb, who was born in this township December 23, T857. Her father was
Samuel A. Whitcomb, who was born March 4, I8I5, and her mother was
Anna Mugg, whose birth occurred July 24, I83o. They were married
February I, 1855, and were the parents of eleven children, only three of
whom are now living: Eliza Clark, wife of our subject; Thomas Whitconb, who also lives in this township; and Helen Cornish, who is a resident
of Hillsdale county, Michigan. Their parents, Samuel A. Whitcomb and
Anna Mugg Whitcomb, were among the earlier residents of this part of
Branch county. where they were known as people of high standing. Mr.
Whitcomb died here April Io, I885, while Mrs. Whitcomb's death occurred
May 4, I872. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Clark were also early
residents of Branch county, her grandfather being Samuel Whitcomb, born
June 7, I778, and her grandmother being Nancy Jacob Whitcomb. who
was born December II, 1790. They were for many years esteemed residents of Coldwater.
Eleven children have been born unto Mr. and Mrs. Oliver J. Clark,
all but two of whom have grown to manhood and womanhood. They are
as follows: Eddie died February 28, I875. Fred T. married Eva Tuthill
and they live in Kinderhook.  Estella M. married Otis Spade and their
home is in Coldwater; they have two children, Clark and Bessie. S. U.
Clark married Esther Banker and their home is at Youngstown, Ohio.
Grace A. is the wife of Harlie Strong and their home is in this township;
they have two children, Clyde and Edith Eliza.  Gertrude J. is the wife
of Levi Clearwater and they live in Kinderhook. Bessie died February 22,
1892. Samuel W., Merl, Byron J. and Rachel Louise live at home with
their parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Clark have reared their children carefully and have




678              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
given them excellent advantages in the way of education. They now have
the satisfaction of seeing five of them well established in life and with homes
and families of their own, while the others are still with them at home.
They have taken up the work laid aside by their parents and have made
continuous improvements upon the large Clark farm, now comprising two
hundred and fifty acres of fertile land. The place is supplied with excellent
buildings and all the necessary accessories for successful agricultural operation, and the whole makes one of the fine farm homes of this part of Branch
county. He is making a specialty of the O. I. C. hogs, and has been successful in this line.
Mr. Clark is a Democrat politically and fraternally he is affiliated with
the Blue Lodge Masons, in which he has held the leading offices, he having
been worshipful master, senior warden and junior warden. Mr. and Mrs.
Clark are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Waterhouse Corners.
OLNEY W. DRAPER.
Olney W. Draper. an honored veteran of the Civil war, who represents
farming interests of Branch county, his home being on section thirty-four,
Algansee township, was born in North Fairfield, Ohio, December  I, I838.
His father, Reuben Draper, was a native of Vermont, and removed to the
state of New York with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Draper, when
in his boyhood days. He was descended from New England ancestry, which
was represented in the Revolutionary war, and a brother, Nathaniel Draper,
was a soldier of the war of I812 and died on the day when his term of service
expired, March 2, 18I3.
Reuben Draper was reared to the occupation of farming in the Empire
state, and after his marriage he came to Michigan with his wife and family,
arriving in Branch county, in I853. He then purchased one hundred and
twelve acres of land fromn a speculator who, had entered this from the government. the farm being on section thirty-four, Algansee township, where his
son Olney now resides. As the years passed by he became a well-to-do and
prosperous farmer, his success resulting from his habits of industry, economy
and well directed perseverance. He was also a man of upright principles,
his life being in harmony with a high standard of ethics, and although not
connected in membership relations with any church he was a student of the
Bible and closely followed its precepts in his relations with his fellowman.
He married Rebecca Olney, who was born in Cayuga county, New York, in
I804, and was also, descended from  New England ancestry.  Her death
occurred in 1883, while Mr. Draper passed away in I894. They were the
parents of four children: Jane, living in California township, is the widow
of Orrin Whitten, who was a mechanic; Ruhameh, deceased; David, who died
in I89O, at the age of fifty-six years, was a farmer by occupation and at the
time of the Civil war enlisted in 1863 in the Fourth Michigan Infantry, with
which he served until the close of hostilities. He lost a finger by a gunshot
wound in the battle of the Wilderness.
Olney W. Draper, the youngest member of the family, was a student
in the district schools in his early boyhood and afterward continued his studies


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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY'


679


at Reading, Michigan. He engaged in teaching school for six years, and
throughout his business career has devoted his energies to, farming. He was
twenty-six years of age when, in 1864, he responded to his country's call for
troops, enlisting in the First Michigan Sharpshooters, with which he served
until the close of the war, the regiment being assigned to the Army of the
Potomac, and was the first to plant a flag in Petersburg on the capitulation of
that city.  The command also participated in the siege of Richmond and
other important movements in that section of the country, and when the war
was over Mr. Draper was mustered out at Detroit with the rank of orderly
sergeant.
Returning to his home he resumed the occupation of farming, to which
he has always given his time and energies, now living upon the old homestead farm, of which his father became owner more than a half century ago.
He was married, in I873, to Miss Lucy Slater, who was born in Fremont,
Ohio, October 23, I85o, and was left an orphan in early girlhood. There is
but one child of this marriage, Lorin H., who was born September 9, 1874,
and married Mary Hungerford, a daughter of Henry and Sophia Hungerford,
of Algansee. There are four children of this union, Harold, Kenneth, Donald
and Dessie Marie. The parents are members of the Congregational church,
in which Mr. Draper has long served as deacon. He belongs to Quincy post,
G. A. R., and has been an earnest Republican since casting his first presidential
vote for Abraham Lincoln. In the office of township clerk for eight years
he proved his loyalty to the public welfare, and for seven terms he has served
as a member of the board of supervisors. He made a creditable military
record and his record in days of peace is equally commendable.
JAMES THERON TOMIPKINS.
All through the history of the township of Girard the name of Tompkins
stands out prominently from the earliest period to the present, and the descendants of James B. and Eliza Ames Tompkins, who were among the very
first settlers of this section, are still counted with the prominent and esteemed
residents of the township.  Among these is the subject of this sketch, James
Theron Tompkins, who occupies one of the handsomest farm homes in this
vicinity, the same being located upon section fifteen of Girard. The farm
comprises three hundred and seventy-five acres of fertile farming land, while
the buildings are modern, commodious structures, and the whole forms a
rural residence and property of an extent and character seldom seen, even
in this section of prosperity and plenty.
J. Theron Tompkins was born in Girard, December 27, 1845, his father
being James B. Tompkins and his mother Eliza Ames. The father was born
in Schoharie county, New York, June 28, I804, where his early life was
passed. Seeking the opportunities of the west, he came to Michigan in the
fall of I830, arriving at Tecumseh, where he remained until July of the
following year, spending a goodly portion of this time in surveying the then
unbroken wilderness. He then made his way to Branch county and located
in the township of Girard, which was to be his home for the remainder. of
his life. Here he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land on sections




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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


fifteen and twenty-two, and in later years he acquired a large acreage in
various parts of the township.  Here he made his home, and here he early
made his influence felt in the community and county. Early in the year of
I832 he returned to Tecumseh and married Eliza Ames, the fifth child in
a family of twelve children, their parents being William Ames and Polly
Brownell, natives of Vermont, where Eliza was born in the town of Colchester, Chittenden county, March 3, I813. William Ames was born August
18, 1777, and was a member of the Ames family which gave many prominent citizens to the United States. He died April 4, I840.
James and Eliza Ames Tompkins immediately returned to Girard after
their marriage. The township was not then the blooming and fertile country now  seen here.   Instead there was an almost unbroken wilderness,
while bands of the Pottowatomie Indians made this their favorite stopping
place. The young couple braved the many privations and hardships incident
to pioneer life, and they made for themselves a comfortable home and raised
a large family of children. Three of these children died in infancy, Martin
died at the age of twenty years, Emma Tompkins Vanderlip is also deceased. and William  A. Tompkins died July 13, 1905. Those still living
are J. Theron Tompkins, Francis J. Tompkins and Mrs. Adaline Tompkins
Granger, all of Girard. Mr. Tompkins was a competent surveyor, and during the earlier years of his residence here his services were in almost constant demand.  He was, the first supervisor of Girard township when it
was organized in I834, and he served his townsmen in that: capacity for sixteen years. He also filled nearly every other township office repeatedly and
represented his county in the state legislature in 1854. His life was filled with
good works, and his death, which occurred August I, I879, was deeply deplored. His wife, who was beloved by scores of relatives and hundreds of
warm personal friends, lived to a good old age, retaining her faculties to
the last.and passing away December 6, 1902, when nearly ninety years old.
The subject of this sketch, J. Theron Tompkins, has passed nearly his
entire life in Girard township, where he is known as a man of property and
influence. He was married October'3, 1869, to Hattie O'lney, daughter of
Jesse Olney and Betsy Fox, these names also being intimately associated
with the history of Girard township for many years. Jesse Olney was the
son of Thomas Olney, while Betsy Fox Olney was the daughter of Lyman
Fox, both of whom were pioneers of this section. Jesse Olney died in
Girard in 1874, his-widow passing away a few years later.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Tompkins have been born four children, three sons and one daughter, but one is deceased: Harry B. completed the public schools, and is a practical farmer. He is a member of the
Tompkins orchestra, so well known in Girard and surrounding townships.
His favorite instrument is B   flat cornet.  J. Roy finished the tenth
grade and received his diploma from the public schools in the class of I19I.
He is a member of the orchestra and a trombonist. Hazel E., finished the
tenth grade in the public schools and received her diploma in the class of
I904. She was a student in the Chicago Musical College in I904 and I905,
being a student on the violin and piano, having also taught both instruments.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


681


HON. ALFRED       MILNES.
Hon. Alfred Milnes, ex-member of the state senate and of congress,
president of the National Burial Device Company and of the Ideal Fixture
Company, has been and is distinctively a man of affairs and one who has
wielded a wide influence in business circles and public life in Branch county.
His activity has touched along many lines and has ever been exerted along
modern lines of progress, becoming a resultant factor for successful accomplishment in the field of commerce and of politics.
Mr. Milnes was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, England, May 28, 1844,
a son of Henry and Mary (Amyss) Milnes.       The parents emigrated to
America with their family of four sons in 1854, settling in Salt Lake City,
Utah, where they remained for five years, when they removed to Newton,
Iowa. The year I86I witnessed their arrival in Coldwater, Michigan. They
reached this city on the 28th of May, the seventeenth anniversary of the
birth of Alfred Milnes, who has since been a resident of Coldwater. The
following year, however, he left home, enlisting on the 30th of June, I862,
as a private of Company C, Seventeenth Michigan infantry, for a term of
three years or during the war.  He took part in all the engagements of
his command from the battle of Antietam to that of Appomattox, and was
mustered out on the 7th of June, 1865, having done his full duty as a soldier. He was then but twenty-one years of age, but no veteran of twice his
years displayed greater loyalty or bravery upon the field of battle.  Since
lthe organization of the Grand Army of the Republic he has been interested
and active in its work, holding membership with Butterworth Post, No. Io9,
in which he is a past commander. He is in hearty sympathy with the purposes and plans of the fraternity and delights in recounting around the camp
fires the scenes which occurred on the tented fields of the south.
Mr. Milnes had acquired a fair education prior to the war, putting aside
his text-books in order to enlist. Following his return home he became a
clerk in his father's store and was thus engaged until 187I, when he opened
a grocery store in Coldwater, which he conducted successfully until I898,
having a liberal patronage that brought to him gratifying financial returns.
While thus an active factor in the commercial life of the city Mr. Milnes
also took an active part in political work as an advocate of Republican principles. His first political office was that of alderman, and he has twice served
as mayor of the city, becoming an effective force for needed reform and improvement. In I888 he was elected to the state senate and by re-election
served for two terms, or four consecutive years. In I891I he was the recognized leader of his party, then in its minority, and he instituted into political
methods the principles and plans which had made him a successful business
man, organizing his forces so as to produce results, and win victories. In
I894 he was elected lieutenant governor of Michigan, but in June, 1895,
resigned, having been elected to congress in the special election held that
year to represent the third district of Michigan. He received the unanimous
nomination of his party for the same office in 1896, but was defeated at the
polls in the great Democratic landslide of that year.  On the 4th of March,




682


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


I898, he was commissioned postmaster of Coldwater and served for four
years, at the end of which time he declined to stand again for appointment.
He is now one of the board of managers of the Soldiers' Home at Grand
Rapids.
Mr. Milnes has business relations of importance, having been a director
of the Branch County Savings Bank since its organization, and is also president of the National Burial Device Company, and of the Ideal Fixture Company. He is a valued representative of the Masonic fraternity, in which he
has attained the Knight Templar degree, and he is equally prominent in the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has been very active for
fifteen years, serving in the various offices of the local and grand lodges, while
for two years he was a member of the sovereign grand lodge of the world.
He belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and to the Foresters,
while his religious belief is indicated by his membership in the Episcopal
church, of which he is senior warden.
Mr. Milnes was married, in I868, to Miss Lucina E. Hill, of Quincy,
Michigan, and they have had three children: Alfred C., who died in I882;
Maude L., who died in I894; and Mabel F., now the wife of J. R. Watson,
of Jackson, Georgia.
Such in outline is the history of Alfred Milnes, one of the best known
men of Michigan, whose life record is inseparably interwoven with the annals of the state. He looks at the world from the standpoint of a practical
business man, and while he is not without his ideals, toward which he earnestly strives, he has a clear understanding of conditions, possibilities and
opportunities that makes him a man of action rather than theory. He has
not only advocated views but has been an effective force, and in a review of
the political records of the state one can say that this thing has been done
by Mr. Milnes, that this legislative measure owes its existence to his work
and influence.  He has conserved public progress and the consensus of
public opinion regarding his life work is uniformly favorable.
REV. EDWIN W. HUGHES.
Rev. Edwin W. Hughes, pastor of the Freewill Baptist church at
Kinderhook and interested in general farming in Gilead township, where he
owns and operates one hundred and eighty acres of land on sections eleven
and twelve, was born in Lenawee county, Michigan, October 23, I850, his
parents being Thomas and Catherine (Bell) Hughes, both of whom were
natives of county Down, Ireland. The father went from Ireland to Canada
when twenty years of age, and was married in that country. He removed
from Canada to Lenawee county, Michigan, prior to I850 and early in the
'5os came to Branch county, where he purchased eighty acres of land on
sections one and two, -Gilead township. Soon after his return to Ienawee
county his death occurred, subsequent to which time the mother and children came to the new farm which he had purchased and located thereon.
They cleared and developed the land and upon this place the mother reared
her children unaided. She passed away May 2I, I895. In the family were
ten children, of whom Hannah died at the age of thirteen years, while Henry,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


683


the eldest, died at the age of thirty-three. Eight of the number are yet living, namely: Alexander R., a resident of Bethel township; Peter W., who is
living in Los Angeles, California; John, whose home is in Kansas; Jacob
B., of Kalamazoo; Mrs. Mary Sherman, of Bethel; Mrs. Abigail Bowen,
of Coldwater; Mrs. Jennie Carpenter, of Gilead; and Edwin W., of this
review.
In taking up the personal history of Rev. Edwin W. Hughes we present to our readers the life record of one widely known in Branch county,
where his labors as an agriculturist and minister of the gospel have made
him a prominent citizen and endeared him to many with whom he has, come
in contact. He started out in life on his own account when twenty years of
age, and when a young man of twenty-two purchased eighty acres of land on
section seven, Bethel township, which was partially improved. Later he
disposed of that property and bought eighty acres on sections eleven and
twelve, Bethel township, almost totally unimproved, which he has since increased by additional purchase to one hundred and eighty acres, his present
home in Gilead. He cleared a part of this farm and has made all of the
improvements thereon. There are good and substantial buildings and well
kept fences, together with the latest improved machinery and all the accessories of a model farm. He is also a feeder and raiser of cattle, and at
the present time is feeding a drove of the Aberdeens, which is one of the
finest in the county of Branch. Mr. Hughes is a self-made man in every
respect. He had only a common school education which he supplemented
by home study and reading, and is now in possession of an excellent library,
with the contents of which he is largely familiar. Although he has always
followed farming he has also for fourteen years been a minister of the
Freewill Baptist church, being ordained about I890 by the faculty of Hillsdale College. He was pastor of the church at Center Chapel, Defiance
county, Ohio, for several months. and for four years has been the pastor at
Kinderhook. He has also filled other local appointments and is an able
speaker, admired and esteemed by his parishioners. His family have been
members of the Freewill Baptist church of Kinkerhook.
On the 20th of February, I870, Rev. Hughes was married to Elizabeth
Upp, who was born in Huron county, Ohio, November I9,, I850.     Her
father, Jacob Upp, was born in York, Pennsylvania, in 1822, and was taken
by his parents to Huron county, Ohio, in 1830. There he married Susanna
Croninger, who was born in Seneca county, Ohio. They had eight children:
Mrs. Isabelle Gripman, Martin L., Mrs. Hannah Hilton, Mrs. Elizabeth
Hughes, Phillip J., Mrs. Christie A. Hilton, Mrs. Alice Chase and Mrs.
Susan Gager. The year 1854 witnessed the removal of the Upp family
from Ohio to Branch county. They located in Kinderhook township, where
Mr. Upp owned and developed three hundred acres of land. HIe was not
long permitted to enjoy his new home, however, for his death occurred
in I858. Mrs. Upp afterward married again, her second husband being
Alonzo Mosher.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hughes have been born five children; namely:
Maude, who died at the age of four years; Ida May, the wife of E. G. Davis,




684


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


a resident of Petoskey, Michigan, by whom she has five children; Ruth,
Marie, Fay, Edna and Evelyn; Carrie E., who married Fenton Flint, of
Ovid, by whom she has a daughter, Blanche; Lola E., the wife of Dr.
Benjamin Shepard of Plainwell, Michigan, by whom she has one son, Carlos;
and Hugh L., who married Lula B. Keeslar and resides in Gilead township.
Rev. Hughes has spent the greater part of his life in Branch county,
and his efforts in behalf of public progress and improvement have been of
direct benefit, while his labors in the church have done much to advance the
moral development of the community. He is a man whom to know is to
respect and honor, for by example as well as by precept he has endeavored
to teach the truths for which his church stands.
NATHANIEL PIATT.
Nathaniel Piatt, one of the self-made men of Branch county whose
success has resulted entirely from his own able efforts, and whose example
should serve as a course of inspiration and encouragement to others, was
born in Warren county, New Jersey, May 27, 1826.    His parents were
William and Hannah (Tindall) Piatt, both of whom were natives of New
Jersey, whence they removed in I830 to Columbia county, Pennsylvania,
and in 1835 they went to eastern Ohio. About sixteen years were there
passed, and in 1852 they arrived in Elkhart county, Indiana. In their family
were eight children who reached years of maturity, but only three of the
number ever came to Michigan, namely: Nathaniel; William, who died
in Cass county; and James A., who died in Isabella county. Nathaniel
Piatt is the only one of the family now living. The father passed away in
Elkhart county. Indiana, and the mother's death occurred in LaGrange
county, that state. Both were esteemed people and were strong Methodists
in religious faith.
Nathaniel Piatt started out in life on his own account in I848. He had
accompanied his parents on their various removals up to that time, and he
preceded them in their removal to Elkhart county, Indiana, by a year. He
first owned land in LaGrange county, Indiana, and in I854 came to Michigan, where he purchased forty acres of land in Gilead township, Branch
county. Later, however, he increased his holdings to one hundred and fiftynine acres in Gilead and Bethel townships. The place was only partially
cleared when it came into his possession, and he made all of the improvements thereon. He now owns sixty-eight acres on sections thirty-five
and thirty-six in Bethel township. He started out in life unaided, with no
capital save strong determination and willing hands, but he has accumulated property by hard work and is now in comfortable financial circumstances. He was a director of the Branch County Mutual Fire Insurance
Company, with which organization he has been connected for many years,
and in affairs in Gilead and Bethel townships he has been an, active and influential factor, his labors proving of direct and immediate serviceableness
in many connections.
Mr. Piatt was married in Holmes county, Ohio, January 25, I848, to
Miss Nancy Ritter, who was born in Mount Eaton, Wayne county, Ohio,




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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


685


January 28, 1827. They had eight children. David Piatt, the eldest, who
died in the state of California in I886, married Patience Mabry and they
had a son, George, who was born August 28, I876, and who wedded Margaret Whaley, whose birth occurred August 2, 1882. This marriage was
blessed with a daughter, Erta Marie, who was born November 26, I902.
George Piatt and his family now live with his grandfather, Nathaniel Piatt,
upon the old home farm. Mrs.'Melissa Patch, the second member of the
family, lives in Coldwater. Mrs. Lucretia Balcom died in Seattle, Washington, in 1905. Franklin is living in the west. William Albert, a resident
of South Dakota, married Mrs. Dlelilah Perrin and they have five children,
namely:  Charles, Orva, Rollin, Clyde and Eva. Mrs. Lucinda Benedict
died in Chicago in I898. Ella died in infancy. Mrs. Mattie Green is living
in Seattle.  The mother of this family departed this life September 29,
1875, and on the 2nd of September, 1876, Mr. Piatt was married to Mrs.
A. P. Chapin, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.   She was a most active and
interested worker in the church, at one time was connected with the Baptist
denomination, but afterward with the Liberal United Brethren.  She was
a woman possessed of many sterling traits of character, and her death, which
occurred in Bethel township, May 22, I904, was the occasion of deep regret
on the part of her many friends.
Mr. Piatt has traveled extensively through the west.  He made the
first trip in I856 when there was one little railroad west of the Mississippi
river. He now makes annual trips through to the coast and is well posted
on the western country, its prospects and possibilities. In community affairs
he has been actively and helpfully interested. He served as supervisor for
three years, was drain commissioner one year and school officer for many
years in Gilead and Bethel townships. Although not a member of any religious society, he is an earnest Christian and one of the chief supporters of
the Liberal United Brethren church, being chairman of the building committee which erected Bethel church of that denomination. He has for many
years been a member of Tyre lodge, F. & A. M., and was formerly an influential member of the Grange. He is still a well preserved man in spite
of his years, having now reached the eightieth milestone on life's journey.
His has been an active, useful and honorable career and Branch county has
benefited by his efforts in her behalf.
HON. RODNEY K. TWADELL.
Hon. Rodney K. Twadell, whose activity in business was so continuous,
whose. co-operation in events of a beneficial public nature was so generous
and whose personal worth was so widely recognized as to make his death
come as a personal loss to a large majority of the citizens of Branch county,
passed away on the 25th of January, 1900, when more than seventy-two years
of age. His life was exemplary of all that constitutes the good and thereby
truly great citizen. As the day with its morning of hope and promise, its
noontide of activity, its evening of successful and accomplished effort ending
in the grateful rest and quiet of the night, so was the life of this man, and
his memory is enshrined in the hearts of many who knew him, while his life




686              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
record furnishes a splendid example for emulation and inspiration.  Mr.
Twadell was a native of Wayne county, New York, his birth having occurred
in the town of Marion on the 7th of November, 1827. Little is known concerning the ancestral history of the family save that they came of Scotch
lineage, the first representatives of the name having probably crossed the Atlantic while this country was still numbered among the colonial possessions of
Great Britain. Daniel Twadell, father of Hon. Rodney K. Twadel, was born
in Connecticut and at an early age was left an orphan. By self-sustaining
effort he finally became a man not only of affluence but of influence as well
in his community. In early manhood he removed from New England to
Wayne county, New York, and, as his limited financial circumstances brought
about the necessity for immediate employment, he secured a position as a
farm hand. Gradually he worked his way upward until he was able to save
from his earnings a sum sufficient to justify his purchase of land. He then
began farming on his own account and successfully continued in that pursuit
until I849, when his life's labors.were ended in death. He was at that time
sixty-three years of age. In early manhood he was married in Wayne county,
New New, to Mrs. Jerusha (Kellogg) Peckham, who was of New England
birth and parentage and who, subsequent to the death of Mr. Twadell, came
to Michigan, spending her last days in Branch county, where she died in
1870, at the age of seventy-seven years. By her first marriage she had two
children and by the second six children. Of the latter family all reached
years of maturity, after which the two, daughters, Laura W. and Mary Jane,
died of consumption. Those still living are: Mrs. Alma P. Howell, a resident of Wayne county, New York; Charles J. Twadell, who is living in
Quincy, Michigan; and Mrs. Helen E. Culver, of Quincy.
Rodney K. Twadell spent his boyhood and youth upon a farm and acquired a common school education, devoting his attention to the work of
the fields when not occupied with the duties of the school room, so, that while
improving his mind he also gained a good knowledge of the business which
he made his life work. He was united in marriage in 1849 to Miss Mary
Culver, a native of Palmira, New York, and a daughter of Paul and Martha
Jane (Reeves) Culver, who removed to Michigan in I849, and two years
later were joined here by Mr. and Mrs. Twadell. There was one sister in
the family, now Mrs. R. M. Campbell, of Quincy.
Mr. and Mrs. Twadell began their domestic life in the Empire state,
but after two years, through the persuasion of her parents, came to Michigan.
Being well pleased with the country and its future prospects Mr. Twadell
then returned to New York to settle up some business affairs, after which
he again came to Branch county and made a permanent location in Quincy
township. He purchased one hundred acres of land on section five, northwest of the village of Quincy, to which he afterward added a tract of twenty
acres, and the entire amount was still in his possession at the time of his
death, although from 1883 until his demise he made his home in the village.
In his farm work he was energetic and enterprising, his methods being practical, while his systematic labors and unremitting diligence constituted the
basis of his success. He was never dilatory nor negligent in his work, and






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


s87


he annually harvested rich crops as the reward for the care and labor which
he bestowed upon his fields. He always exercised good judgment in the management of his farm affairs and brought his land under a high state of cultivation with correspondingly satisfactory financial results.  His place was
greatly enhanced by good buildings and pleasant surroundings and thus his
became one of the model country homes of the township as well as the source
of a handsome yearly income, which enabled Mr. Twadell to pass his declining days in ease and comfort. In addition to his farm property he owned a
pleasant residence in the village of Quincy and the store building occupied by
the firm of Trott & Clark. He also had some bank stock and was one of the
stockholders of the Quincy Knitting Company.
In 1872 Mr. Twadell was called upon to mourn the loss of his first wife,
who died upon the homestead farm on the I2th of October of that year. Five
children had been born unto them, of whom two survived the mother, namely:
Frank A., who is a resident of Montana; and Eddy Reeves Twadell, who, is
living in Nebraska. One daughter, Kittie B., became the wife of George
Parkinson, of Quincy, and died' May 28, I899, at the birth of her child, Frances
Mary, who survives her. In I873, Mr. Twadell was again married, his second union being with Miss Phoebe L. Culp, who was born in Niagara county,
New York, on the 5th of April, I833, and is a daughter of Nicholas and
Phoebe (Rockwood) Culp. Her father was a native of Pennsylvania and
her mother of New York, and they became pioneer residents of Branch county,
taking up their abode in Girard township in I840, and there spending their
remaining days.
In the public life and interests of Quincy township Mr. Twadell was
recognized as a foremost factor of action and influence. In matters of citizenship he was intelligent and was a stirring and energetic man in any undertaking he assumed. Frequently called to public office, he filled various local
positions and was then called to the higher honors, being elected to the Michigan legislature, where he capably served for two terms, being first chosen to
the office in I876 and again in I878. He was chairman of the committee on
agriculture and in various directions acted for the welfare of his county and
state. His first presidential vote was cast for Martin Van Buren, then the
candidate of the Freesoil party. He was twenty-one years of age on the day
on which he voted. Subsequently he affiliated with the Whig party until the
organization of the new Republican party. of which he became a stalwart
champion, sol continuing until 1884, when he took a forward step in behalf
of the temperance cause and identified himself with the Prohibition party.
During the war of the rebellion he was in hearty sympathy with the Union
cause, and although he did not go to the front himself he voluntarily hired
a substitute, believing that he personally could do more at home. He ever
stood for progress in citizenship and for practical and successful accomplishment in all matters relating to the public welfare. For more than forty years
he was a devoted member of the Methodist church and was always regarded
as an exemplary Christian man, honest and conscientious in all life's relations,
while in business life or in official service his reputation was unassailable and
his name above reproach. Moreover he possessed a kindly spirit and broad




688


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


humanitarianism, which made him ever willing to extend a helping hand to
those in need. His death occurred after an illness of about thirteen months
and was the occasion of deep and widespread regret. His funeral services
were largely attended, showing the position which he occupied in the regard
of friends and neighbors. To know Mr. Twadell was to respect him, and
those who came within the closer circle of his friendship entertained for him
the warmest regard and most kindly feeling. He held friendship inviolable
and he ever stood as a defender of all that is just and right in man's relations
with his fellow men. He loved honor and truth, not because honesty is the
best policy, but because his life was guided by principles which his conscience
approved. Quincy and Branch county benefited by his efforts and by his
example, and many years will have passed before the name of Rodney K.
Twadell ceases to be remembered and honored in Branch county.
HON. E. E. BOSTWICK.
Hon. E. E. Bostwick is one of the distinguished citizens of Branch
county who has represented his district in the state senate, and is now one
of the extensive farmers, holding and controlling large landed interests,
resides on section seven, Union township. He was born in Onondaga county,
New York, May 27, I840, and is a son of Nathaniel Bostwick, also a native
of that county. The mother, who bore the maiden name of Emily Everett,
was likewise born in the Empire state. E. E. Bostwick was there reared,
and in the common schools of his home township gained his education,
which was continued in Cazenovia Seminary and Homer Academy of the
Empire state, but before the completion of the course he was obliged to put
aside his text-books on account of ill health. He then turned his attention
to agricultural pursuits, and thinking that he might have better business
opportunities in the rapidly growing middle west he came to Branch county,
Michigan, in November, I864. His capital was very limited, so that he
rented a tract of land, but in due course of time he purchased it and it constituted the nucleus of his present extensive landed possessions, now covering
six hundred and thirty acres. Most of his land is very valuable and productive, and he carries on general farming, raising both grain and stock.
He is one of the largest grain producers of Branch county and his farm
presents a splendid appearance with its green fields that give promise of
golden harvests. The stock too is of good grade, consisting of horses, sheep
and the finest herd of Jerseys in Southern Michigan, and everything about
the place indicates the practical and progressive spirit of a painstaking owner.
He has been a resident of the county for about forty years and throughout
this period has done his full share in the work of public advancement and
improvement. In one year he raised a crop of nearly seven thousand bushels
of wheat.
In 186I Mr. Bostwick was united in marriage to Miss Adaline S. James,
a daughter of Willis James of Phelps, Ontario county, New York. Both
Mr. and Mrs. Bostwick enjoy the warm friendship of a large circle of acquaintances. Politically he was for many years a Republican, but is now an
advocate of the Prohibition party and also a believer in the free coinage of




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


689,


silver. He served as supervisor for one term, and in I896-7 represented his
district, comprising Branch, Hillsdale and St. Joseph counties, in the state
senate. He was the first opposition candidate elected from this district since
the organization of the Republican party, a fact which indicates his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him by his fellow men. He
proved a capable officer, studying closely the questions which came up for
consideration and giving earnest support to those which he believed would
benefit the commonwealth. He has long been a prominent member of the
Congregational church, contributing generously to its support, taking an
active part in its work and serving for twenty-five years as a deacon. By
his own exertions he has attained an honorable position and marked prestige
among the representative men of the county and with signal consistency it
may be said that he is the architect of his own fortunes.
CLARENCE L. OLDS.
Clarence L. Olds, who follows the occupation of farming on section
twenty-two, Batavia township, was born on the 7th of October, 1853, in the
township which is still his home. His father, Martin P. Olds, was a native
of Seneca county, Ohio, born November I4, 1827, while the grandfather,
Martin Olds, was a native of Berkshire county, Massachusetts. He became
a resident of Branch county in I834, locating in Batavia township. He
entered land from the government on sections twenty-three and twenty-four,
and was one of the pioneer settlers of the county, few having taken up their
abode in this part of the state at the time he established his home in the midst
of the forest here. He aided in reclaiming a wild district for the purposes
of civilization and was one of the valued pioneer settlers who assisted in
laying strong and deep the foundation for the present development and
progress of the county. He was president of the first bank of Branch county,
which was a state bank established in the village of Branch, then the county
seat. He was also judge of probate and he was representative for Michigan
territory in the national congress. In fact his fitness, for leadership made
him one of the most prominent men of Michigan in early days, and! he left
the impress of his individuality upon the public life and did much toward
molding public thought and action. His early political allegiance was given
to the Democratic party, but later he became a stanch.Republican and continued to support the men and measures upholding the principles of that
organization until his death. He belonged to the Universalist church and
passed away at the age of seventy-three years. He had carved his name
deeply upon the records of the state and is remembered as one of the honored pioneer settlers of Branch county.
Martin P. Olds, the father of Clarence L. Olds, was about seven years
of age when he came with his parents to Michigan. He was educated in the
common schools of Batavia township and in his youth assisted in the development of the home farm, while the experiences and conditions of pioneer life
became very familiar to him. He was married on the I3th of November,
I850, to Miss Caroline B. Sprague, a daughter of Isaac and Sabrina (Lyon)
Sprague, the former a native of Rhode Island and the latter of Saratoga




690              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
county, New York, where they were married in February, I826. They lived
for a time in Troy, New York, and there the father was connected with
mechanical pursuits. Mrs. Olds, their eldest child, was born in Troy, November 27, I827 and went with her parents on their removal to Penfield,
Monroe county, New York, whence they came to Branch county in 1836,
settling in Coldwater. Not long afterward they took up their abode on a
farm in Batavia township and resided there for some time, after which they
returned to Coldwater, where their remaining days were passed. The father
attained the age of eighty-two years, while his wife departed this life when
seventy-seven years of age. There were nine children, seven of whom
reached years of maturity.  Mrs. Olds is the only representative of the
family now living in Branch county. She has a brother, Levi Splrague, now
a resident of Chicago, where he is engaged in the practice of law, while
another brother, D. P. Sprague, makes his home in St. Joseph county, Michigan. Her sister, Lucina, is the wife of Henry Huff, living in the town of
Mendon, St. Joseph county, Michigan.
Clarence L. Olds is an only son and child. He was educated in the
common schools and in the high school of Coldwater and was thus equipped
in able manner for life's practical and responsible duties. Having arrived
at years of maturity he was married on the 22nd of June, 1871, to Miss
Alma Willis, a daughter of George and Mary (Welch) Willis, who was
born in Portage county, Ohio. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Olds has been born one
son, Mortimer W., who wedded Miss Mary Bowers and resides on part of
the old homestead.
At the time of his marriage Clarence L. Olds located upon what is the
old home property of the family in Batavia township, and here he has since
lived, being engaged in general farming and stock raising.  He has four
hundred and forty acres of land which he carefully cultivates, and the fields
have been placed under a high state of improvement, and return golden
harvests for the care and labor bestowed upon them. He has never been
known to take advantage of the necessities of his fellowmen in any trade
transaction, but by close application and unfaltering diligence has won a
gratifying measure of success. He has also been a potent factor in public
iife, giving his allegiance to the Democratic party, and upon that ticket he
was elected and served for three terms as supervisor, being first chosen to
the office in I896. He belongs to the Masonic lodge of Coldwater and to
the Maccabees tent. He has been a lifelong resident of Branch county, and
with the exception of three years has lived continuously in Batavia township. A worthy representative of an honored pioneer family, his worth is
widely acknowledged by all who know him and his life has been in keeping
with the splendid record made by his father and his grandfather. One cannot carry his investigations far into the history of the county without learning of the close and honorable connection of the Olds family with the history of this section of the state, and Mr. Olds like his ancestors has. stood
as the defender of its best interests and as the promoter of various measures
for the general good.






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


691


DAVID H. WOOD, M. D.
Dr. David H. Wood, proprietor of the Emergency Hospital of Coldwater. and a skilled physician and surgeon, whose abilities rank him with
the leading representatives of the profession in this part of the state, was
born in P'ortage county, Ohio, October 29, 1845. His parents, Samuel and
Kerene (Osborn) Wood, were both natives of Maryland, and their marriage was celebrated in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, whence they afterward removed to Portage county, Ohio. Later they became residents of
Hardin county, Ohio, where their last days were passed and throughout his
life the father devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits. In the family
were three sons and two daughters who reached years of maturity.
Dr. Wood was reared upon the home farm to the age of sixteen years
and after acquiring his preliminary education in the country schools he continued his studies in the high school of Kenton, Ohio. In I86I he came
to Michigan and at Quincy secured a position in the postoffice, where he remained for two years. On the 9th of August, I863, in response to his
country's call for aid, he enlisted as a private of Company B, Fourth Michigan Infantry, although less than eighteen years, of age. Before going to
the front he was detailed to remain in charge of the recruiting office
in Detroit, and in the summer of I864 the regiment was recruited
and he was commissioned second lieutenant Company E, Fourth Michigan
Infantry, on the 26th of July. On the 2d of December, I865, he was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, and on the 26th of May, I866, he was
mustered out at Houston, Texas. He participated in the battles of Decatur,
Alabama, Murfreesboro, Nashville and other engagements, and he is today
a member of C. O. Loomis post, No. 2, G. A. R., thus maintaining pleasant
relations with his old army comrades.
For a short time after the war Dr. Wood was upon the road as a commercial traveler, and then took up the study of medicine under a, preceptor.
Later he entered the University of Michigan as a student in the medical
department and afterward continued his studies in the Detroit Medical
College, from which he was graduated in the class of I876. He began practice at Macon, Michigan, where he remained for five years, later spending
thirteen years in Quincy, while in 1893 he came to Coldwater. He is a
member of the Northern Tri-State Medical Society and the Hillsdale County
Medical Association, and he has ever kept thoroughly informed concerning
the progress that is continually being made in the methods of medical and
surgical practice. In April, 1903, he opened the Emergency Hospital,
wherein he has since performed many important surgical operations, having
well appointed operating rooms and all equipments necessary for the successful care of the interests entrusted to him.
Dr. Wood has been married twice. In 1870 he wedded Miss Mary
Keegan; who died in I885, leaving a son, Charles L., whose death occurred
at the age of twenty-eight years. In 1887 Dr. Wood wedded Mrs. Margaret Knowlton, nee Welton. They hold membership in the Presbyterian
church and Dr. Wood is also a Knight Templar Mason. His political sup



69'


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


port is given to the Republican party and he is a member of the board of
education of Coldwater, while for twenty years he has been a member of
the pension board, and since I89o has been local surgeon for the Lake Shore
& Michigan Southern Railway. His interests, however, center in his profession, and his close and discriminating study and his devotion to the duties
which devolve upon him have made him a most capable practitioner-one
whose abilities find ready recognition in the liberal patronage accorded him.
CHARLES H. YOUNG.
Charles H. Young, owner and edito,r of the Quincy News, was born in
Mount Jefferson, Shelby county, Ohio, in I858. He is of German lineage.
His paternal grandfather, William Young, was a native of Holland, who
came to this country about 1752 and settled in New Jersey.  His father,
Henry D. Young, a native of New Jersey, emigrated from that state to Ohio
in I836, establishing his: home near Cincinnati. In early life he learned and
followed the cabinet maker's trade and later he conducted a furniture and
undertaking business in Cincinnati.  About I845 he removed to Shelby
county, Ohio, where he carried on the same line of business. In I867 he
came to Michigan. locating in Quincy, where for more than twenty years
he was connected with mercantile interests here as a furniture dealer and
undertaker. He retired from business in I889 and is now living in well
earned ease, enjoying the fruits of his former labor. He is a Mason, interested in the craft and its teachings, while politically he is a Republican,
and upon the ticket of the party has been elected village treasurer and trustee.
He has likewise held other local offices and has been found as reliable and
trustworthy in public positions as in his business career, wherein he is
known as the soul of integrity and honor. He married Eliza A. Blackwood,
a native of Shelby county, Ohio, who is now living at the age of eighty-three
years.  Her parents were William and Anna (Kendall) Blackwood, who
removed from  Pennsylvania to Ohio about I8iO, the father there following the occupation of farming. In his family were seven children, of whom
Mrs. Young is the sixth in order of birth. She is a devoted member of the
Presbyterian church. By her marriage she became the mother of three children: Margaret, the wife of James Haynes, who is living retired in Quincy;
Charles H.; and Anna, now deceased.
Charles H. Young was brought to Branch county in his early childhood and was a student in the public schools of Quincy. After putting
aside his text books he became associated with his father in the furniture
business, in which he continued for a number of years, and later he traveled
for a furniture house for seven years. In 1889 he began the publication of
the Quincy News, a non-partisan paper issued twice each week in
seven column folio form. It has a splendid subscription list and a generous advertising patronage, so that the business has proved profitable. Mr.
Young has been editor and proprietor since its inception, and is meeting in
fair measure the success that is due his efforts and enterprise.
In I88I Mr. Young was married to Miss Cornelia Clark, a daughter of
Thomas and Sarah (Thomas) Clark and a native of Quincy, born in i865.




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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                         693
Her father was a hotel man, who built and conducted the Quincy House.
Both he and his wife were natives of New York and he died in I884, but
Mrs. Clark is still living. They were the parents of five children, but only
Mrs. Young now survives. She is a member of the Episcopal church and
by her marriage has become the mother of three children: Lee J., Flosana
and Harry T..o M;r. Young belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity, being a charter
member of Quincy Lodge, No. 201. He has always endorsed Republican
principles and has served as village clerk, as treasurer, trustee and in other
local offices.  His interest in public affairs is deep and sincere, and he is
known as a champion of every measure which tends to, promote the general
welfare.  He has followed enterprising methods in journalism and has
made the Quincy News a credit to the city.
ABRAM    L. SMITH.
Among the earliest pioneers of Branch county there were some noble
men and women who, coming from the eastern states to, the then unknown
forests of the middle west, braved all of the hardships and privations of
pioneer life, reared large families of children and made for themselves comfortable homes. These men and women possessed character and untiring
perseverance and they were the ones who in a large measure moulded affairs
in general, as well as establishing a high moral tone which remains to this
day.
Such were Benjamin H. Smith and his wife, Content Aldrich Smith,
parents of our subject, Mr. Abram L. Smith, who came to Branch county
in their early manhood and womanhood and passed the remainder of their
lives here, achieving success in all walks by reason of their many sterling
traits of mind and character.
Benjamin H. Smith was the son of Benjamin L. Smith, who was born
in New York state, September 24. I729, and it will thus be seen that he was
a man of middle age at the outbreak of the Revolutionary war. He took
an active part in this conflict and had the honor of being with America's first
naval commander, Paul Jones, when the latter first raised the flag of the
United States on the high seas, thus marking the establishment of the navy
of this country. Benjamin L. Smith was a doughty warrior in times of
peace as well as war, for during a goodly share of his life he was noted all
through the colonies for his skill in the manly art of self-defense. It is related
of him that one day as he and his family were sitting down to the midday
meal a stranger appeared and announced that he had walked a distance of one
hundred miles for the purpose of trying conclusions with Mr. Smith, to see
which was the better man. The stranger expressed a willingness to await
the conclusion of the meal, but Mr. Smith thought the matter might better
be settled without delay, so, arising from the table, he led the way outdoors,
and in the ensuing conflict knocked the stranger down three times in succession, and this, too, without receiving any injuries himself. The stranger
expressed his satisfaction, shook hands and was then invited in to dinner,
of which'he partook with relish before resuming his return trip of one hundred


.,;i-,~~,~ —~. -~;~




694


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


miles home again. Benjamin L. Smith came to, Michigan in a later day
and lived to the remarkable age of one hundred and thirteen years and six
months, dying on the Smith farm, now owned by our subject, March 24,
1843, and being buried in the little cemetery of West Prairie near the home
farm.
Our subject's father, Benjamin H. Smith, was born in New Jersey,
April 14, 1798, and he removed to Walworth, Wayne county, New York,
with his parents when he was a mere boy. Here he grew to manhood and
here he learned the trade of carpenter and joiner, which was to, be of great
use to him in the new country to which he afterward removed. In Walworth
he was married, February 22, I827, to Content Aldrich, who proved a most
capable helpmeet during their long wedded life. A few years after their
marriage, in 1830, they came to Michigan, locating first at Ypsilanti, where
Mr. Smith worked at his trade for several years, and afterward he spent
several months at Battle Creek and Grand Rapids. He purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land near Battle Creek, but being unable to obtain
additional adjoining acreage so as to make him a suitable homestead, he
sold his land and came to Branch county and Girard. When at Grand Rapids
that place was a mere Indian trading post, but he felt that it might some day
become an important point, and he endeavored to interest his partners in the
purchase of land upon which Grand Rapids city now stands, but was unsuccessful. He first came to Branch county and purchased property in I832,
and with others located and built the first saw and grist mill at Hodunk.
He also erected the first frame house in Coldwater and was interested in
various enterprises, including the purchase of about one thousand acres of
land in various parts of the state, in the most cases making his purchases
direct from the government. One of these purchases was a tract of three
hundred and twenty acres in Girard township, which he reserved as a homestead for his family, and this identical three hundred and twenty acres, issued
by grant of President Andrew Jackson, still remains in possession of the
Smith family, it now being the home of our subject. In later years he was
largely interested in other real estate deals and was largely instrumental in
the upbuilding and development of this county.
Although in early years a stanch Democrat, nevertheless, in I86o, he
became convinced of the correctness of the principles advocated by the Republican party, and cast his first Republican vote for Lincoln for president,
remaining loyal to that party until his death. Mr. and Mrs. Smith were
loyal and consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and immediately after the formation of the Girard Methodist Episcopal society Mr.
Smith placed his own home at the disposal of the pastors for a number of
years, and here they lived and were made comfortable. After a long and
useful life, Benjamin H. Smith died in Girard, September 22, 1879, his wife
passing away here April 9, I882.
Our subject's mother, Content Aldrich Smith, was born in New York
state in I807. Her father was Abram Aldrich, who was born in Wayne
county, New York, December 3, I777, and who died in Girard April 8, I842,
and her mother was Sophronia Lake, who was born August 7, I777, and




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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


695


who died in Girard, December 30, I837. They, too, were among the earliest
pioneers of this section, and elsewhere in this volume may be found appropriate mention of their lives and achievements.
The union of Benjamin H. Smith and Content Aldrich Smith was blessed
with the birth of seven children, as follows: Laura Ann Smith Jacoby, born
January 19, 1828, died in I881. Mahlon A. Smith, born June 24, I830, died
July I8, I8912. Sophronia Smith Williams, born June I8, I833, died in
February, 1905. Benjamin H. Smith, Jr., born October 30, I835, died in
i88o. Abram L. Smith is our subject. Irene Smith Clizbe, born May 30,
1841, died in June, I9o5. Mark H. Smith, the youngest child, born June
15, I844, was one of the most brilliant young men o-f the period in this section. He left school at the outbreak of the Civil war, when a mere boy,
and enlisted in the Nineteenth Michigan Infantry, serving with distinction
and succumbing to the hardships of camp life, his death taking place at Danville, Kentucky, in September, I863, when he was only eighteen years of
age. He was buried here.
Of this family it will thus be seen that the only surviving member is
our subject, Mr. Abram L. Smith, who was born in Girard township, October
2I, 1838. His entire life, with the exception of the years passed at college,
has been spent in Branch county and Girard, and here he is known as a man
of property and influence. His boyhood was spent upon the home farm and
here he early learned those habits of industry and carefulness which were
to bring him success in after life. Being early convinced that a young man
should secure a liberal education, he finished the common schools and studied
for three years at Albion College, then taking a commercial course at a college in Rochester, New York. Mr. Smith has supplemented this liberal
training with a wide range of miscellaneous reading, it being his belief that
a broadly developed man should keep thoroughly posted on all current events
as well as the advancement constantly being made along scientific and other
lines of thought and research. During the life of his parents he remained
with them, and previous to the death of his brother, Benjamin H. Smith, in
188o, the homestead and other property was held in common, but after the
date named there was a division of the property and the fine old homestead
came into the possession of our subject. This, as previously stated, consists
of three hundred and twenty acres, although Mr. Smith owns ninety acres
in addition, and it is a remarkable fact that the homestead has remained in
constant possession of the Smith family ever since purchased from, the government. Smithland Farm, as it is appropriately called, lies two miles west
of Girard Center, consists of the finest prairie land and is classed as the finest
model farm residence property in Branch county. The residence itself is a
handsome brick structure, built in I873-4. thoroughly modern in all appointments and surrounded by beautiful and well-kept grounds, while the other
buildings upon the place are thoroughly in keeping, being commodious and
well built, the whole premises showing that thrift and care common in the
city, but rarely seen in the rural districts. The home is adorned with beautiful
oil paintings, Mrs. Smith's own handiwork. Mr. Smith gives his personal
attention to the operation of his four hundred and ten acres of land and the




696


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


place is equipped with all necessary modern machinery for successful operation.
During the past thirty-five years Mr. Smith has given a goodly share of
his attention to the breeding of light harness horses, and in this direction
he has done a great deal in the way of bettering the equine stock of this and
neighboring counties. Beginning with the Morgan breed he has successively
owned and bred the best strains of Hambletonian, Wilkes and Pilot Mediums,
among his present stock being the following: Pilotina, a brood mare by Pilot
Medium, is the dam; of Sphinx Medium,, 2:12; Sphinxie, 2:I5S4; Great
Medium, 2:19,4; and Online (by Online, 2:04), who showed an eight in
sixteen seconds when less than three years old. Snip, another brood mare
by Magna Charta, is the dam of Oliver West, 2:I7'4; Irony, 2:204; and
Geraldine, 2:20%. Mr. Smith's stallions include Great Medium, 2:I9,4, by
Great Heart; Online Medium, a 3-year-old, by Online, 2:04; and Nobby, a
two-year-old, by Delacy, by Prodigal, and whose dam is Pilotina.
Mr. Smith is a loyal Republican, his first presidential vote being cast
for Lincoln, and he stands high in the councils of his party. Although never
a seeker after office, and in fact avoiding holding office except when a matter
of duty, nevertheless he has been prevailed upon several times to serve his
fellow-townsmen. He has been justice of the peace for the past twenty years,
and is at present filling that office. He has also been director of his school
district for ten years and has been chairman of the Republican township committee and a member of the county Republican committee for many years.
He was a charter member of Girard Grange, secretary of the same during
the first seven years, and has been master of the society a goodly portion of
the time, a position he still holds. He has been master of Branch County
Pomona Grange for six years and he is the president of the Branch County
Farmers' Institute Society, holding this position for several years. From
the foregoing it will be seen that Mr. Smith has for many years taken a deep
interest in agricultural affairs and in the many organizations beneficial to the
farmer.
Our subject was united in marriage February 26, I889, to Miss Evelyn
Paddock, who was born in Girard, December 19, 1850. She is the daughter
of Ephraim J. Paddock and Almira Fox Paddock, two of Girard township's
honored pioneers, and mention of whom is made in this work. The union of
Mr. and Mrs. Smith has been a particularly happy one and has been blessed
with the birth of one daughter, E. Myra Smith, and it is but natural that
their affections and hopes should be centered upon their only child, who is
being reared carefully and judiciously and being given every advantage in
the way of education and accomplishments.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of the Methodist Episcopal
church, of which organization Mr. Smith, like his father before him, has long
been an officer. He has also been greatly interested in the work of the
Sunday-school and has always been an earnest worker in all movements for
the welfare and happiness of the rising generation. That his life thus far has
been a highly successful one in many fields is evidenced by his surroundings,
by the high standing he holds in the community and county, and by the fact




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


697


that he is sustaining and upholding that best of all heritages, a good name,
which his worthy ancestors established here when this section was first settled.
WILSON S. PAUL.
One of the most familiar names in southern Branch county, and particularly in California township, is that of Paul.  Members of the Paul
family were among the early settlers of this section, where they had an important influence upon the early history, improvement and development of
the township, while today their descendants are numerous in this and adjoining townships, where they are people of property and influence.
John Paul, the paternal grandfather of our subject, was born in Ballybar, county Cavin, Ireland, in I78o, and when seventeen years old came
to America with two sisters, Margaret and Nancy, they also leaving a
brother, Thomas, and sister, Jane, in Ireland. John Paul was married in
I803 to Jane Allen, also a native of Ireland, born in I780, who came to
America when a child with her parents, John Allen and Elizabeth Riddle
Allen, they locating first in Philadelphia and afterward removing to Argyle,
Washington county, New York. Here John Paul died, leaving his wife a
widow at forty-nine and with ten children.  Seven years after his death
she removed to Pembroke, New York, and afterward to York. That Jane
Allen Paul was a woman of undaunted courage is evidenced by the fact
that about the year I840 she made the trip from Pembroke, New York, to
Constantine, Michigan, going on foot from Detroit to Constantine and return, following Indian trails through southern Michigan.  The object of
this arduous journey was to secure justice and money belonging to herself
and children which was in danger of being lost through confidence in others.
She was married again in 1849 to David Armstrong, and spent her later
years in California township, where she died in I859. Mr. Armstrong died
in Illinois in I890.
John and Jane Paul had twelve children, of which family our subject's
father, David Paul, was a younger member.  David Paul was born in Argyle, New York, April I6, I8I9, and he grew to manhood there. He was
also married there, March Ii, 1841, to Jane E. Hall, a native of Argyle,
New York, where she was born August 31, 1822, she being the daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. John Hall. David Paul was a resident of New York state
until I844, when he came to Michigan, locating on section sixteen, California township, of this county, where he spent the remainder of his life.
He had in early life learned the trade of carpentering, although the most
of his time was given to farming, in which he was, eminently successful, he
being at the time of his death the largest land owner in the township, possessing nearly six hundred acres. Mr. Paul was a leading figure in the early
history of California township and he did much in the way of improvement
here. He was upon many occasions called to public office, he being an early
township supervisor here and holding other offices.
Unto David and Jane Paul twelve children were born, two of whom
died in infancy, the others being as follows: John, died in October, 190I;






~~~,
~-;~~~~-~




698


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Elizabeth Quimby, lives in ONid; James B., lives in this township; David
and Albert live at Seattle, Washington; George W. died September I6, 1902;
Wilson S. is the subject of this review; Frank H. is in Seattle, Washington; Emma J. Vance and Allen W. Paul live in this township.  David Paul
and his wife were people who stood very high in the regard of the residents
of this section, where the greater part of' their lives were passed. They reared
a large family of children, giving them every advantage possible. The parents led long and useful lives, Mr. Paul dying here November 20, I89I, and
Mrs. Paul passing away December 13, I903.
Wilson S. Paul, born February 22, I86o, grew to manhood upon the
home farm, securing in the meantime a, good practical education, which he
has supplemented with wide reading and intelligent observation. He lived
at home until he had reached the age of twenty-three years, although he
worked for himself after he was nineteen, laboring and working land on
shares. He also taught school in 1881-82. He was married, April Io, 1883,
to Sarah J. Vance, a native of Maryland, where she was born August 21,
I862. The Vance family came originally from Ireland and a brief review
is as follows: The Vances were farmers in their native county in Ireland
for many generations, Mrs. Piaul's paternal great-grandfather being John
Vance, who married Mary Allison. One of their sons, Robert Vance, was
Mrs. Paul's grandfather and his wife was Mary Ramsey. They had twelve
children, one of whom was Mrs. Paul's father, Alexander Vance. Alexander Vance was born in Ireland, November 28, I833, and he was married
there in 1852 to Mary Barnhill. They came to America soon after marriage, living in Brooklyn, New York, for three years and then removing
to the vicinity of Baltimore, Maryland, where they lived for ten years and
where Mrs. Paul was born. In I864 the family came to Michigan, locating
in California township, Branch county, which place has since been their
home. Ten children were born unto Mr. and Mrs. Vance:   Robert, Alexander, Martha and Hugh dying in childhood. The others still living are:
Ellen Dunlap, Sarah Paul, Matthew Vance and Andrew B. Vance, of this
township; William Vance, of Cleveland, Ohio; and Anna McLouth, of
Fremont, Indiana. Mrs. Vance died in September, I888, while Mr. Vance
is still living and a resident of this township.
The union of Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Paul has been blessed with the birth
of two sons: David Earl Paul, born February 9, 1884, and Ivan A. Paul,
born July 8, i888. Both live at home with their parents. Mr. and Mrs.?aul are members of the United Presbyterian church.
The esteem in which Mr. Paul is held by his townsmen is shown in that
he has so many times been called to public office.  He was supervisor of
California township four years, 1896-97-98-99.; township clerk in 1884-85;
township treasurer two terms and school inspector for several terms. In addition his well known interest in educational affairs has led to his selection
as school officer, he being director and moderator for a period of eight years.
In agricultural matters he has also been highly successful.  He became
an owner of real estate after the death of his father and now has a fine farm
of one hundred and forty acres on sections nine and ten, with excellent build



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


699


ings and complete equipment, the whole forming a model farm home. The
Pauls have long been honored residents of this part of the county, and the
present living generations are upholding the unsullied name of their worthy
ancestors. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson S. Paul have in their possession a parchment deed executed by President James K. Polk, dated February I, I849.
This is, the twelfth one of the kind found in old Branch county. They have
four old almanacs of 1812, 1813, 181I and 18I5, which are souvenirs. Also
they have one of the old flax hackles which was used by his grandfather, and
it is over a hundred years old. Mr. Paul can also distinctly recall his mother
spinning the yarn for the use of a family of twelve, while his first straw hats
were woven or braided by his mother and oldest sister. He has often heard
his father tell of cultivating corn with the same plow he used in first plowing the ground, afterward using a one, or single shovel plow, but never used
one with two shovels, though his sons used them as they became old enough
to work in the corn.
Mr. Paul was converted at twenty years of age and became a member
of the United Presbyterian church immediately. He began teaching in the
Sabbath school when twenty-one years old, and has taught most of the time
since, having also been superintendent for fifteen years.  He has been identified with the First District Convention work for eighteen years, being
president two years, and taking an active part in its conventions. He was
elected to an eldership at the early age of twenty-four, and has been clerk
of session all the time since, a period of twenty-two years.
HENRY RUNYAN.
Henry Runyan, mail carrier on a rural route and a well known resident
of Sherwood, was born in Bionson township, Branch county, on the ist of
May, I846. His father, John Runyan, was a native of New York, and came
to Branch county about 1837, settling in Bronson township, where he took
up land from the government. The fact that much of the land was still unclaimed is an indication of the pioneer conditions which then existed. Comparatively few settlements had been made within the borders of the county
and the work of development lay largely in the future. With other sturdy
pioneers, however, he attempted the arduous task of reclaiming the wild land
for the uses of civilization and successfully accomplished what he undertook.
He was of Scotch and Dutch lineage.   In his later years he retired from
active business life and removed to Burr Oak, St. Joseph county. He married Christina Dowe, a native of New York, who lived to be about sixtyeight years of age. They were the parents of five children, three daughters and two sons, and Henry Runyan is the third child and second son.
The subject of this review was reared and educated at Burr Oak, acquiring a good education in the city schools. In his youth his patriotic spirit
was aroused by the attempt of the south to overthrow the Union, and in
1864, when but eighteen years of age. he enlisted as a member, of Company
D, First Michigan Light Artillery, with which he served until the close of
the war. He participated in the battle of Murfreesboro and Hood's Raid,
and was on active duty most of the time until honorably discharged on the 3rd




700


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


of August, I865.  When the country no longer needed his services Mr.
Runyan returned to Branch county and later he spent one year in Iowa, living in Vinton, Benton county. On the expiration of that period he returned to this county, where he engaged in farming until he took up his
abode in Sherwood. Here he turned his attention to painting and was also
engaged in the grain trade for about fifteen years.  He led a busy, active
and useful life and in all of his trade transactions was known as a reliable
man. He was postmaster during Harrison's administration, but at Cleveland's election was turned out of office.
On the 22nd of February, 1872, Mr. Runyan was united in marriage
to Miss Hester Ann Palmer, a daughter of Henry and Mary (Platt) Palmer,
who came to Branch county in 1842, locating in Matteson township.  It
was there that Mrs. Runyan was born on the 3rd of November, I857. She
is a sister of E. E. Palmer and in connection with his sketch on another page
of this work the history of her family is given. Mr. and Mrs. Runyan have
become the parents of two daughters: Inez, the wife of Seymour Jones, a
boss carpenter on the Michigan Central Railroad living in Jackson, this state;
and Jennie, the wife of William F. Lampman, who is engaged in the grocery
business in Sherwood
Mr. Runyan has been a life-long Republican and has taken an active
part in political work of his community. He has served on the village board,
but has not been specially active in seeking office for himself. He has fraternal relations with the Masonic Lodge, the Knights of the Maccabees and
Kilbourn Post, No'. 36I, G. A. R., in which he has filled the office of adjutant since the organization of the post with the execption of a period of two
years. He was also its commander for two terms. He is especially interested in the work of the craft and has filled many offices in the Masonic lodge,
while in his own life he exemplifies its teachings concerning mutual helpfulness and brotherly kindness. He has now been on the rural delivery since
the route was established in 1901.
H. R. SAUNDERS.
H. R. Saunders, cashier of the Coldwater National Bank, who throughout his entire business career covering twenty-two years has, been connected
with this institution, was born in the city which is still his home, March 27,
I86I. His father, Reuben M. Saunders, is now living retired in Coldwater.
He was born in Niagara county, New York, February 13, 1835, and is descended from Scotch-Irish ancestry. The great-grandfather of H. R. Saunders was Francis Saunders, a native of Canada. His son, Nelson H. Saunders, was born in New York and came to Branch county, Michigan, in I856.
Following the occupation of farming he thus provided for his family and
for his own support, becoming a.prosperous agriculturist of his community.
He was a member of the Episcopal church and he died in Batavia township;n his eighty-first year. His wife,bore the maiden name of Harriet M.
Reynolds, and was also a native of New York, while her death occurred in
Batavia township in her seventy-second year. She was a daughter of Reuben
Reynolds and by her marriage she became the mother of three sons and four




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HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


701f


daughters, Reuben M. Saunders being the fourth child and youngest son. He
was reared and educated in the county of his nativity and pursued his education in the schools at Niagara Falls. His youth was passed on what was
called the Whirlpool farm, about two and a half miles from the Falls. In
1855 he came to Branch county, Michigan, where he was engaged in farming. He spent twenty-five years upon, the road as a traveling salesman, representing different lines of business, and he is now living a retired life, enjoying his home in Coldwater.
In 1856 Reuben M. Saunders was united in marriage to Miss Sarah M.
Grove, a daughter of Elijah Grove, Sr. She was born in Niagara county,
New York, and was, brought to Branch county, Michigan, by her parents
when about seventeen years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Saunders established their
home in Coldwater in 1859 and here they have since lived, while for a half
century they have been residents of this county. A life-long Republican he
has never faltered in his allegiance to the party, and vet he has never sought or
desired office. He belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and is
well known in the county, his genial manner, deference for the opinions of
others, his kindliness and consideration having gained for him the friendship of many with whom he has been associated.
Harris R. Saunders, his only son, spent his boyhood days in the city
of his nativity, acquired his education in its public schools and gained his
business advancement through the opportunities here afforded. He entered
the employ of the Coldwater National Bank in 1883, and has been connected
with that institution since that date in various capacities, his capability and
close application winning him promotion as opportunity offered, until in 1895
he was elected cashier.
Mr. Saunders was married in 1904 to Miss Elizabeth Coombs. He
exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the
Republican party and has served as both city clerk and treasurer.
JOHN H. McLANE.
Since I868 John H. McLane has been a resident of Coldwater. When
he came to this city he purchased his present home at No. 76 North Hudson
street, and here he has since resided for more than thirty-seven years, but
only during the last ten or twelve years has he been closely associated with
the events of the city, for previously he spent the greater part of his time
away from here engaged in railroad construction. Perhaps there is no other
contractor in railroad building living to-day who has constructed so many
miles of railroad as has Mr. McLane, who was in that line of business actively
and continuously for a period of nearly a half century. He was born at Mount
Morris, Livingston county, New York, September 5, I826, his parents being
James and Nancy McLane, both of whom were natives of Scotland, in which
country they were reared and married. They came of Scotch ancestry and
one son was born unto them in the land of their nativity, after which they
sailed for America in the year I825. Landing in New York city, they made
their way to Livingston county, New York, where they spent their remaining




702


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


days. They had three sons, one younger and one older than John H. McLane,
who is now the only survivor of the family.
John H. McLane acquired but a limited education. He left the parental
home when eighteen years of age and for one year worked as a farm hand,
after which he attended a term of school.. He then began his career as a railroad builder. He was first employed as a grain buyer for a railroad construction company then building the Erie railroad in New York, and at that
time he was not twenty years of age. He remained for two years in that
employ and during that period was called upon to perform various duties for
the company, thus gaining a broad experience that enabled him when a young
man of scarcely twenty-two years to, build, as a contractor, a wall three miles
long protecting the Erie Railroad along the Canesteo river. That was his
first contract work. Subsequently he worked for others and for himself and
soon gained a reputation that made possible the remarkable success with which
his career as a railroad builder was attended. In many states, east, west, north
and south, he has built miles and miles of railroad, constructing one hundred
and fifty miles of the Nickle Plate road from, Chicago eastward, which was
perhaps his largest contract. Having achieved financial success in that business and accumulated a goodly estate he decided to return to his early home
in Coldwater and retire from business. His success is certainly notable when
we take into consideration that he started out in life for himself with no
other capital than willing hands and a worthy ambition. He acquainted himself thoroughly with the great principles which underlie mechanical and civil
engineering and his ability as a railroad builder brought him very gratifying
prosperity. Born and reared upon a farm, he has always been interested in
agricultural life and since his retirement from the field of railroad construction
he has become the owner of three large and valuable farms in Branch county,
giving much of his time and attention to their management.
Mr. McLane was married in Mount Morris, New York, on the 8th of
January, I849, to Miss Frances E. Scott. She was born in Chemung county,
New York, August 24, 1827, and has shared his sorrows and joys as a faithful wife for more-than forty-six years. She is possessed of sterling qualities
of heart and mind and is a zealous Christian, holding membership in the
Methodist Episcopal church, and until her health failed her recently she was
an ardent worker in various departments of church activity. Because of the
absence of her husband during much of the time in the early years of their
married life the duty of rearing their three children largely devolved upon
her and to her they acknowledge much gratitude for her loving care and
attention. They have two sons, Winfield and Scott, and a daughter, Jennie.
Both Mr. and Mrs. McLane attend the Methodist church, and many years
ago he was a member of the Masonic fraternity in New York, but never transferred his membership to the local lodge of Coldwater. He has always supported the men and measures of the Democratic party, but has had no political
aspiration for himself. He is a man of quick discernment, a ready thinker
and possessed of deep convictions. He holds friendship inviolable, and because of his loyalty he is greatly appreciated by those who come within the
inner circle of his acquaintance.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


703


CHARLES J. HARRIS.
Charles J. Harris, of the undertaking firm of C. J. Harris & Company,
has been engaged in business in Coldwater for twenty-one years and is well
known as a representative citizen here. His birth occurred in Ann Arbor,
Michigan, February 4. I862, his parents being John and Mary (Lawler)
Harris, who, were natives of New York and were married in that state,
whence they came to Michigan in the early '40s. They settled in Ann
Arbor, then a small unimportant town, continuing their residence there until
I873, when they took up their abode in the city of Detroit. The mother's
death occurred in Detroit, in 1889, when she was sixty-three years of age
and the father departed this life in 1900, when sixty-four years of age.
He was a carriage-maker by trade, and for many years was identified with
the industrial development of the cities in which he made his home. Unto
him and his wife were born seven sons and six daughters.
Charles J. Harris was a youth of eleven years when his parents removed
to the city of Detroit, and there he was reared to manhood and attended
school.  He was also in his early boyhood days a student in the public
schools of Ann Arbor, and when his education was completed he began
learning the trade of upholstering, serving an apprenticeship of three and a
half years. In I884 he came to Coldwater to accept employment with the
furniture firm of Blodgett & Son. with whom he remained for fifteen years.
In the meantime he took up the study of undertaking and embalming, and
at Lansing he attended the William F. Hoenschue School of Embalming,
from which he obtained a certificate in I89I. He is one of the original
advocates of a law for licensing embalmers in Michigan, and was the first
applicant for such a license, following the passage of such a law. In I9go
he embarked in business on his own account in Coldwater and has been very
successful here.
Mr. Harris was married in 1895 to Miss Maud I. Stevens, of Coldwater, and they have one child, Alice E. The parents are members of the
Methodist Episcopal church and are well known socially in the city where
they reside, having gained the friendship and esteem of many with whom
tney have been brought in contact. Fraternally Mr. Harris is connected
with the Independent Order of United Workmen and has also attained the
Royal Arch degree in Masonry. He belongs to the Michigan State Undertakers' Association, and in his political views is a Republican. He served
for one year as city clerk of Coldwater, but otherwise has never sought or
desired office, concentrating his energies upon his business affairs and the
faithful performance of his duties in public and private life.
PYRL H. GUNSAULLUS, M. D.
Pyrl H. Gunsaullus, M. D., the well. known surgeon of Branch county,
Michigan, dates his birth in Salem Center, Steuben county, Indiana, May
I6. I86o. His parents, Elijah D. and Elizabeth (Conklin) Gunsaullus, natives of Ohio, moved into Indiana in I859 and settled on a farm in Steuben
county, where they reared their family. One son, William, is a resident of




704


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Salem Center, Indiana, and a daughter, Mrs. Ella Helwig, lives in Helmer,
that state.
At the early age of fifteen years Dr. Gunsaullus began life for himself,
and although he never left his home as a home he was self supporting and
carried his own purse from that time on. He received his early education
in the country schools of his native county, after which he entered the TriState Normal College at Angola, Indiana, where at the end of three years
he received the degree of B. S. He also took a business course in that institution, and at intervals while there and after leaving college he taught school,
beginning that occupation when about twenty years of age and spending ten
years in the work, in the country districts of Steuben and La Grange counties, Indiana. and later in the city schools of Edgerton, Ohio. In the meantime he began the study of medicine. He pursued a course in the Detroit
College of Medicine, graduating therefrom with the class of 1894, and while
in Detroit he secured a year's practical experience in Harper's Hospital, which
gave him additional equipment for his work. He also spent one year in
Angola, Indiana, in the practice of his profession, and coming to Bronson in
1895, he continued in practice and has since remained here, where in addition to his regular medical practice he is also doing a large amount of surgical
work. His especially successful work as a surgeon has gained for him an
enviable recognition in this line, and he stands to-day as one of the leading
surgeons of the county. He is a believer in the American idea. of self-made
men, of which he is a good example, having risen by his own efforts from
the boy of all work on the farm at fifteen to the successive positions of
teacher, scientific graduate, Doctor of Medicine, and at the present time an
accomplished physician and surgeon. He is one of those busy men, and says
he was never "out of a job," but when others complained of no work he
always had something to do from a boy up, for if he could: not do one thing
he always found something else to do.
Dr. Gunsaullus' home on East Chicago street in Bronson is one of the
good and handsome residences of the town. He married, in 1898, Miss
Nellie Calhoun, a daughter of Merrit C. Calhoun, of this county, and they
have one child, Pearl. Fraternally the Doctor is identified with the Maccabees,
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America.
He casts his franchise with the Republican party and worships with the
Christian church, of which he is a consistent member.
LORING P. WILCOX.
Loring P. Wilcox needs no introduction to the readers of this volume
because he has long been well known in Branch county. He has been honored by his fellow townsmen with important offices here, and his business
interests, too, have been so successfully conducted that he is now enabled
to live a retired life. He was born in Naples, Ontario county, New York,
June 8, 1830. His father, Newcomb Wilcox, was also a native of the same
county and was a farmer by occupation. Seeking a home in the west, he
came to Branch county, Michigan, in I837 and cast his lot with the pioneer
settlers of Sherwood township, securing a tract of raw land through a




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


705


trade. The place was entirely wild and uncultivated, but he soon turned
the furrows and continued the work of improvement until he had developed a splendid property, making his home upon that farm for about sixty
years. His wife died upon that farm  and he afterward removed to the
village of Sherwood to live with his daughter. His death occurred when
he had reached the very advanced age of ninety-three years. He aided in
molding the early policy of the county, in promoting its material development and in upholding its legal and political status, and he held a number
of local offices in pioneer times. His wife bore the maiden name of Miranda
Stearns and was also a native of Ontario county, New York. She, was
seventy-six years of age at the time of her death. They were the parents
of nine children, of whom two died in early youth, while seven reached
manhood and womanhood.
Loring P. Wilcox, the eldest son, was six years of age when he came
with his parents to Branch county and in his boyhood days he pursued his
education in a log school house at Albion, spending two years there. At
a later date he engaged in teaching in Branch and St. Joseph counties, and
when not thus engaged his attention was given in undivided manner to the
work of the home farm, so that he early became familiar with all the labors
that devolve upon the agriculturist as he tills his fields, harvests his crops
and raises and markets his stock.
On the 2Ist of March, 1852, Mr. Wilcox was united in marriage to
Miss Belinda S. Lamport, a daughter of Hiram and Altha Lamport. Mrs.
Wilcox was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, March 26, I830, and was
only nine days old when her mother died. She was reared by Mr. and Mrs.
Joseph Gilbert in St. Joseph county, Michigan, and to her husband has been
a faithful companion and helpmate on life's journey. They became the parents of a son and daughter, now living: Clark B., who is a traveling salesman residing in Sherwood, and Altha L., the wife of Fred Whitney, agent
for the Michigan Central Railroad Company at Union City.
At the time of his marriage Loring P. Wilcox settled on a farm in
Sherwood township, and through the summer months devoted his attention
to the cultivation of the fields and in the winter season engaged in teaching
school. He also conducted a factory in Colon for about a year. His business interests have ever been capably managed, and as the years passed he
accumulated a comfortable competence that now enables him to live retired.
He has also rendered capable service in public office.  In 1871 he was
elected county treasurer and entered upon the duties of the position on the
Tst of January, I872, acting in that capacity for two terms, or four years.
He was also under-sheriff for two years and was then elected sheriff for a
two-years' term, on the expiration of which period he was re-elected because of the prompt and able manner in which he had discharged his duties.
He was supervisor of Sherwood township for four years, township clerk
for many years and also justice of the peace, but resigned the latter position. In politics he has been a life-long Republican, and his fellow townsmen. recognizing his ability and fitness for leadership, have continued him
in office during the greater part of his active life. No trust reposed in him




706              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
has ever been betrayed in the slightest degree, and over his official record
there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil.
Mr. Wilcox, fraternally, is a Mason and has taken the Royal Arch
degrees. He also belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen. His
residence in Branch county covers sixty-eight years and he is therefore familiar with its history from pioneer times to the present. The events which
to many have become familiar merely from reading the annals of the county
are to him matters of experience, or else he has been a witness of the occurrences. He has always furthered public progress and, rendering active aid
in movements for the general good, his efforts have proved far-reaching and
beneficial.
Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox, on March 21, I902, celebrated their golden anniversary at their home in Sherwood amidst their many friends, children
and grandchildren. Fifty golden years had passed over the heads of this
worthy and venerable couple. which have been replete with good deeds and
right living before God and man.
WILLIAM J. CAMPBELL.
William J. Campbell, whose life exemplifies the term " dignity of labor,"
and whose purposeful efforts and unfaltering diligence have been the basis
of a success which is as creditable as it is desirable, was born on section
thirteen, Batavia township, December 23, 1872, and the old homestead is
yet his place of residence, being the only child of James and Maria (Spring)
Campbell. The father was born in Mendon, Monroe county, New York,
May I5, I820, and was there reared and educated. When a young man
he came to Branch county, Michigan, and was married here to Miss Maria
Spring, whose birth occurred in Massachusetts, August 23, I830.  They
located on a farm on section thirteen, Batavia township, and Mr. Campbell
improved some of the place, a part of it having been cultivated ere he took
up his abode there. His life was devoted to general agricultural pursuits
and thus he provided for his family. In 1850, however, he made the overland trip to California, attracted by the discovery of gold in that state and
the business possibilities which were thereby opened up. He remained for
two years in the west, engaged in packing over the mountains, carrying
supplies to the mines. He returned to the Mississippi valley by way of the
Isthmus of Panama and New York City. He was twice married, his first
wife bearing the maiden name of Cooley, but at the time of her marriage
she was Mrs. Brooks, a widow. In his political views Mr. Campbell was
an earnest Republican for many years and he acted as township clerk and
supervisor. All matters of local progress as'well as of national importance
received his earnest attention and active co-operation and he was well known
in the county as a citizen whose aid might be counted upon to further any
progressive movement. He died in the year I898, in his seventy-ninth year,
while the mother of our subject passed away in I900, in her sixty-ninth
year.
W. J. Campbell spent the days of his boyhood and youth in Batavia


I




i-~:  t::;:0
o;S 0
'
i: f:




George Starr
f:::




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


707


township and acquired his education in the district schools and in the high
school of Coldwater, thus gaining a good practical knowledge to equip him
'for life's responsible duties. In his early manhood he engaged in clerking
in a store in Coldwater, but later he returned to; the occupation to which he
had been reared, taking up his abode upon the old homestead farm, where
he now carries on general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising. He makes
a specialty of thorough-bred hogs, largely raising the Duroc Jersey breed,
and he now has upon his place ninety head.
On the i9th of September, I895, Mr. Campbell was married to Miss
Elizabeth Stevens, a daughter of Amos and Elizabeth (Miller) Stevens,
both of whom were born and reared in England. They became residents of
Branch county, Michigan, about I867, and in their family were four children, three daughters and a son, of whom Mrs. Campbell was the third in
order of birth. She was born in Coldwater, May 5, 1873, and is a graduate
of the high school there of the class of 1892. A lady of culture and refinement, she has many warm friends in the county. Mr. Campbell exercises
his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican
party, and upon that ticket was elected justice of the peace. He is a member of the Grange, and his wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church. Mr. Campbell is a tenor singer of no little note and his power in
this direction renders him a favorite in musical circles, while geniality, kindliness and deference for the opinion of others have made both Mr. and Mrs.
Campbell popular in the county of their nativity. Their home is justly celebrated for its gracious and warm hearted hospitality and the circle of their
friends is almost co-extensive with the circle of their acquaintance.
GEORGE STARR.
In the history of business activity and advancement in Coldwater the
name of George Starr figured prominently, for as president of the Coldwater
National Bank he occupied a prominent position in financial circles. Moreover his business record was such as any man might be proud to possess,
for it was characterized by consecutive progress, and at the same time he
never incurred an obligation that he did not fulfill, nor make an engagement
that he did not meet. He was prompt and reliable and enjoyed the uniform
esteem of his business associates.
A native of Lenawee county, Michigan, Mr. Starr was born in the village of Clinton, September I, 1838, and died in Coldwater, December 30,
I889. He was the eldest of the three sons who constituted the family. of
George and Catherine (Ackerman) Starr. The second son, Henry Starr, at
the time of the Civil war enlisted in defense of the Union cause and was
with Sherman on the memorable march to the sea.,After the war he became
a farmer in the vicinity of Battle Creek, Michigan. The youngest son,
Charles, was a merchant of Three Rivers.
In tracing the history of the father of our subject it is noted that he
was born in the province of Bavaria, Germany, and that he emigrated to the
United States in I824. He became an early settler of Clinton, Lenawee county,




708


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Michigan, where he followed the trade of wagon making. He was married
in Detroit, about 1835, to Miss Catherine Ackerman, who was also born in
Germany and came to the United States about I830 with her parents, Conrad
and Catherine Ackerman, who settled in Detroit. Soon after their marriage
Mr. and Mrs. George Starr took up their abode in Clinton, Lenawee county,
where they lived for many years and then passed away, the father's death
occurring in 1878, and the mother's in 1884. They were members of the
Presbyterian church and were held in highest esteem by all who knew them.
George Starr, whose name introduces this review, was reared in his
native town, where he attended school until fourteen years of age, and then
in order to secure funds with which to further educate himself he accepted
a clerkship in a store and when the object of this labor had been attained he
resumed his studies as a high school student in Ypsilanti, Michigan, while
later he pursued a commercial course in the same city. In March, 1856, he
accepted a position as bookkeeper in the banking house of Crippen & Fisk, of
Coldwater. the junior partner being General Clinton B. Fisk, afterward Prohibition candidate for the presidency. He remained with that firm for several years, and finally joined Henry C. Lewis of this city in the establishment
of a banking business at Coldwater.
It was in 1865 that the Coldwater National Bank was organized, Mr.
Starr becoming a director and the cashier of the new institution. He acted
continuously in the latter capacity until the death of Mr. Lewis in I884, when
he succeeded him as president of the bank and remained at its head until
his own demise. As a banker and financier Mr. Starr displayed remarkable
ability and much of the success of the institution was due to his sound judgment and business discernment. A safe, conservative business policy was
instituted and has always been followed, and the bank enjoyed a gratifying
growth and constantly increasing patronage. Mr. Starr was a Republican
in his political views and his interest in the welfare and upbuilding of Coldwater led to his active co-operation in many movements for the general good.
He was a man of action rather than theory, and this was manifest during his
two terms of service as mayor of Coldwater, when he gave to the city an
administration that was characterized by practical effort along the line of
reform, improvement and substantial progress. In I886 he was prominently
mentioned as a candidate for state treasurer, and had it not been that a citizen
of his own town, the Hon. C. G. Luce, was nominated for governor he undoubtedly would have secured the nomination had he asked for it.
On the 6th of September, I86o, the marriage of Mr. Starr and Miss
Armilla Haynes was celebrated at the home of the bride in Coldwater. Mrs.
Starr was the third child of Horace and Nancy (Smith) Dunning, whose
family included six sons and four daughters. The father was a farmer by
occupation and spent the early years of his life at Penfield, New York, near
the city of Rochester, whence he afterward came to Michigan, settling in
Allegan county, about 1836, as one of its pioneer residents. About thirty
years later he removed to Iowa, in which state his death occurred in 1870.
His widow and her children, who were at that time at home, afterward removed to Polk county, Nebraska, where she departed this life. She was a




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


709


native of Vermont and both she and her husband possessed rare qualities
of heart and mind and were faithful adherents to the teachings of the Baptist
church. Mrs. Starr was born in Allegan county, Michigan, December 29,
1839, and her death occurred in Coldwater, March 5, I904. Her childhood
days were largely passed in this city with her aunt, Armilla Haynes Marsh,
at whose home she became an inmate when three years old, and there she
was trained in a manner that amply fitted her for her future duties in later
life. After attending the schools of Coldwater she continued her education
in Rochester, New York. In early girlhood she became a member of the
Baptist church and throughout her long and useful career she lived the
life of an earnest, active and consistent Christian.  Greatly interested in
benevolent work she became identified with the Woman's Christian Temlperance Union, of which she served both as secretary and vice-president and
also officiated as superintendent of the press work for the Union. She was
likewise a member of the Home and Foreign Missionary Societies, the Ladies
Auxiliary to the Men's Christian Association and the Chautauqua Literary
& Scientific Society. A large portion of her time was devoted to doing good
and her efforts were far-reaching and beneficial. Untoi Mr. and Mrs. Starr
were born the following sons and daughters: John T., the eldest, born in
Coldwater, September I5, I86I, married Miss Belle Woodward, a daughter
of H. J. Woodward and they now reside in Coldwater. Catherine May, born
May 7, I866, died March 13, 1871. Georgiana Louise, born in Coldwater,
resides in the city of her nativity.
In a review of the history of Mr. Starr in which we note the salient
features of his career it is seen that he was a successful business man, fair
and just in all his dealings and that he was uniformly respected. He began
life with limited means but succeeded in acquiring a goodly estate.  He
provided well for his family and sought to give them good educational advantages. He owned a beautiful and modern residence on West Pearl street,
it being of the most attractive homes of Coldwater and stands to-day as a
monument to the enterprise and good taste of Mr. Starr.
SARAH MUDGE TURNER.
Sarah Mudge Turner, widow of the late well known citizen of Quincy,
Ralph D. M. Turner, was born in Chili, Monroe county, New York, July
17, I829. She is a daughter of Ebenezer and Lucretia (Heaton) Mudge,
her father, whose career is given more extended mention elsewhere, having
been a prominent man of affairs in Branch county for more than half a century.
The marriage of Sarah Mudge and Ralph D. M. Turner occurred on
October 19, I852. Her husband, who was born in Vermont in I825, was a
son of Ralph Turner. The latter. of English ancestry and everywhere held
in high respect for the probity of his character and his genuine worth, at an
early day moved from Vermont to Ohio, and died at LaGrange, the latter
state, having pursued a prosperous career as a farmer. He was a Universalist in religion, and as a Whig held various minor offices. He married




710


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Lucy Carpenter, a native of Vermont. Of their ten children Ralph D. M.
Turner was their youngest. In 1857 he moved to Quincy, Branch county,
where he farmed three years. In I86I began a two years' residence in New
York City, and after a year spent in Nashville, Tennessee, where he had a
brother, F. G. Turner, formerly of Coldwater, he returned to farming at
Quincy. At the time of his death in I877, and for a number of years previously, he had been engaged in the drug business at Quincy. Successful
both in business and as a farmer, he left considerable property, and as a
rule prospered in his undertakings. Fraternally he was a Mason, was a Republican in politics, and was a member of the school board. Having had a
broad experience in life, he reinforced his decisive convictions by equally
energetic action, and performed his duties with all the ability of a strong
character. Toward friends and those needing his help he was charitable in
opinion and generous of his means, and throughout life held many to him
by strong ties of affection and friendship.
Mr. and Mrs. Turner had six children: Kate is the wife of Lewis
Eldridge, who has been a bank cashier for many years and is now in the
freight office of the Lake Shore Railroad at Quincy; Karl is deceased; Don
is also deceased; Jessie married Charles R. Hannon, a banker of Boston,
Massachusetts; Grant is a banker in Council Bluffs, Iowa; and Ralph D.
M. is in the nursery business at Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Mrs. Turner's father, Ebenezer Mudge, took a prominent part in the
early history of this county. When he moved to his farm near Quincy in
1842 there was no school district in that vicinity, and it was through his
efforts that one was organized and a short term of school held there the
second year after his arrival. His ability received recognition in his being
appointed, without solicitation on his part, a government surveyor, and for
several months he was employed in that capacity in the upper peninsula of
Michigan. He was editor of the "Quincy Times" for several years. He
was an honorable man and lived fair and square to the world. He was a
native of Herkimer county, New York, born May 9, 1804, and died in I897.
He was a man of more than passing importance in the executiveness as a
citizen, being a local officer at various times, and the formulator of the charter of Quincy, Michigan. He was a born teacher and a leader of men.
ELMER E. PALMER.
Elmer E. Palmer, engaged in the practice of law in Coldwater, was
born on a farm in Madison township, Branch county, Michigan, June I,
I86i. The family is of English lineage and was founded in America in
colonial days. The grandfather, Nathan Palmer, was a native of New
York and from Huron county, that state, he removed to Norwalk, Ohio.
He was a farmer by occupation, always following that pursuit in order to
provide for his family and at the time of the war of I812 he served his
country as.a loyal soldier, and lived to the advanced age of eighty-two years.
Henry T. Palmer, son of Nathan Palmer, was born in Huron county,
New York, and was a young man when he accompanied his parents on their




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


711


removal to Ohio, the family home being established near Norwalk. Having
arrived at years of maturity he wedded Miss Mary Plotts, who was born
near the city of Buffalo, New York, and was taken to Ohio by her father in
her girlhood days, where she afterward gave her hand in marriage to Henry
T. Palmer. They began their domestic life upon a farm, and in I854 removed to Michigan, settling in Madison township, Branch county. For
many years the father was closely identified with agricultural interests in this
part of the state. He died in Branch county, in I900, at the age of seventysix years, and is still survived by his wife, who at the age of seventy-six
years is now making her home in Coldwater. They were the parents of five
children, all of whom are living.
Like the other members of the family Elmer E. Palmer was reared
upon the old homestead farm and his early education, acquired in the common schools, was supplemented by study in the village schools of Sherwood
and in the graded schools of Union City, Michigan. He afterward engaged
in teaching in the country schools for two years.
Mr. Palmer read law in the office of Barlow & Loveridge, where he
continued his study until his admission to the bar in I887, since which time
he has been engaged in practice in Coldwater.
In I890 Mr. Palmer was elected to the office of prosecuting attorney,
in which position he served for one term. In 1896 he was chosen by popular ballot to the office of probate judge, and in I901 he was elected mayor of
Coldwater. In official life he was found reliable, systematic and accurate.
In 1887 Mr. Palmer was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Hill, who
died in I895, leaving two children: Harold and Jacquelin. He was married a second time, in  900o, to Miss Florence Cornell.
JAMES E. DICKEY.
James E. Dickey, successfully and energetically carrying on the occupation of farming, was born November 8, I869, in Coldwater township,
upon the farm on which he yet resides. His father, George W. Dickey,
was a native of Niagara county, New York, born on the 24th of January,
1845, and when but nine years of age was brought to Michigan by his
parents. James and Mary (Appleby) Dickey, both of whom were natives of
New York, in which state they were reared and married, removing from
there to Michigan at an early period in the development of Branch county.
They cast in their lot with the pioneer settlers, and the Dickey family has
since been one of the most respected as well as one of the oldest families of
this part of the state.
George Dickey, from the age of nine years was reared in Quincy and
Coldwater townships and with the family shared in the usual experiences
of life on the frontier, far removed from the comforts and civilization of
the older east until these were secured through the persistent labor and
enterprise of the early settlers. Throughout his entire life he followed the
occupation of farming in order to provide for his family and thereby acquired a comfortable competence. The Dickeys lived in Quincy township




712              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
until I865, when they came to the present family homestead on section thirtysix, Coldwater township, securing one hundred and thirty acres of land,
which was cleared and placed under cultivation by George Dickey and others
of the family. It was on the 2nd of April, I868, that George Dickey was
united in marriage to Miss Abigal McConnell, who was born in Coldwater
township, Branch county, Michigan, July 17, 1848, a daughter of Henry
and Phoebe (Whitehead) McConnell, who were prominent pioneer people
of the county.
In public affairs relating to the community and its progress George
Dickey was deeply and helpfully interested, finding time in the midst of
arduous business duties to aid in the work of general improvement.  He
served as supervisor for eight terms, for township treasurer for two terms,
school director and assessor for two terms, and in all these offices was found
prompt and reliable in the discharge of his duties. His political support was
given the Republican party, and he was a member of the Ancient Order of
United Workmen, the Select Knights and the Grange. He died April I6,
1887, respected by all who, knew him, and leaving behind the record of an
honorable, upright life.  His wife, who was a consistent member of the
Baptist church of Coldwater, passed away May I, I901.
In the family of this worthy couple were eight children: Homer, who
died at the age of three months; James E.; Lillian, born November 23, 1871;
Mrs. Mary Dubendorf, who was born September o1, I873, and is living in
Ovid; George R., a resident of Coldwater, who was born December 13,
1877, and married Myrtle Olmstead; Lena B., born September 6, I880; Ray
H. and Roy L., twins, born March I8, I886.
Five of the children, including James E. Dickey, still reside upon the
old homestead and since the death of the parents Mr. Dickey of this review
has been the head of the family, assisted by his sisters.  Seldom  does a
family remain together in such harmony, but they are all working for a common interest and are making of the farm a splendidly improved property.
In his political views James E. Dickey has always been an earnest Republican and is now serving as justice of the peace of Coldwater township and
also as school assessor, and to these duties he brings the same fidelity and
unselfish spirit which characterizes him in the management of the estate and
the care of the younger members of the family.
HON. GEORGE W. VAN AKEN.
Hon. George W. Van Aken, living in Coldwater, is well known as
a farmer and buyer of stock and wool and in his business career has displayed the close application, energy and persistency of purpose which are
very indispensable elements in a successful career. He is a native of the
Empire state, his birth having occurred in Monroe county, New York, September 8, 1828. His father, Cornelius Van Aken, was born and reared in
Pennsylvania and was married in New York to Miss Harriett Phelps, whose
birth occurred in New York. They located in Monroe county, where they
resided until I833, when they became residents of Lenawee county, Michigan.




45








HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


713


In I837 they removed to Branch county, settling in Girard township, where
the father entered a half section of land from the government. The tract
was wild and unimproved but he at once began its development and continued its cultivation up to the time of his death, which occurred in I853,
(luring which period his labors wrought a wonderful transformation in the
appearance of his farm. He was a life long member of the Presbyterian church,
active in its work and growth and his political allegiance was given to the
Democracy. He served as commissioner of highways for several years and
whether in office or out of it was always loyal to the public welfare and was
a co-operative factor in many measures for the general good. His wife survived him for about ten years, passing away in I863. They were the parents
of ten children of whom two died in childhood, while eight reached mature
years.
Hon. George W. Van Aken, the sixth child and fourth son in this family,
was only eight years of age when brought by his parents to Branch county
and upon the old homestead farm in Girard township he was reared. He
attended school, which was held in a little log building such as was common
in the early days, and there he mastered the elementary branches of learning.
Later he continued his studies in Coldwater and was subsequently a high
school student in Hillsdale, Michigan, thus acquiring a good education. In
1851, attracted by the discovery of gold in California, he went by way of Greytown to San Francisco and for two and a half years remained on the Pacific
slope engaged in mining, meeting xwith a fair measure of success during that
period. He then returned by way of the Isthmus of Panama and New York
city and on again reaching Branch county he purchased the old family homestead, on which he carried on general agricultural pursuits until I89I, when
he removed to Coldwater and erected his present residence from timber which
came from his farm. He now rents his farm property, which comprises one
hundred and ten acres of land and brings to him a good financial return.
Not content to live a life of idleness he here began buying and selling stock
and wool, making large shipments each year. He was also instrumental in
organizing the Farmer's Mutual Insurance Company of Branch county and
was a director and president of the company for twenty-five years.
On the third of July, 1854, occurred the marriage of Mr. Van Aken
and Miss Lucy Clement, a daughter of Jonathan H. and Catherine Clement.
They became the parents of one daughter, Mattie, who married William Storr
and died leaving two sons, Van J. and George S., who were reared by their
grandparents. The elder is now operating Mr. Van Aken's farm, while the
younger brother is at Battle Creek, Michigan. Mrs. Van Aken died in I885,
and in T887 Mr. Van Aken married Mrs. Celia A. Tilton, who died in I898.
In I901, Mr. Van Aken was united in marriage to Mrs. Marion Foster, who
was born in Bronson, Branch county, Michigan. She is a daughter of Hiram
Hadley.
Mr. Van Aken voted with the Democracy until the organization of the
new Republican party, when he cast his ballot for John C. Fremont and has
since supported each presidential nominee of the Republican party. Called
to public office he served as supervisor of Girard township for fourteen










714              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
consecutive years and was a member of the state legislature from I873
until I875. His political service like his private life has been characterized
by fidelity to duty and a devotion to the public welfare. He was identified
with the Grange of Girard township, serving as its master for fourteen
years and was also master of the county Grange for eight years. He has
been identified with the Presbyterian church since 1848 and his life has
been actuated by honorable principles. His career will bear the closest investigation and scrutiny and is indeed in many respects well worthy of
emulation. As one of the pioneers of the county he deserves representation
in this volume, having for more than two thirds of a century resided in
Branch county. What to many people are matters of record are to him
matters of experience, for he shared in all of the hardships and trials of
pioneer life and in.later years has been an active participant in many events
which have shaped the policy and molded the history of this part of the state.
He has passed the seventy-seventh milestone on life's journey and receives
from his fellow men the veneration and respect which should ever be accorded
those of advanced years whose course has been marked by all that constitutes the good and thereby really great citizen.
WALTON J. BARNES.
Walton J. Barnes, one of the oldest and most highly esteemed citizens
of Quincy, was born at Quaker street, in the town of Duanesburg, Schenectady county, New York, in I825. Of English ancestry, his forebears were
of excellent stock and in their time and generation filled worthy places in
their respective spheres of activity and influence.
Thomas Barnes, his father, a native of Connecticut, at an early age
learned the trade of carpenter, then became a merchant, then a farmer, and
in I831 superintended the laying of the track for a line of railroad between Albany and Schenectady, one of the early lines to be constructed in
the Empire state. After assisting in this railroad enterprise he made a trip
west, via the Erie canal to Buffalo, thence by boat to Detroit, and on to
Chicago by stage, and his return to New York state was entirely by stage.
His household goods, placed on a canal boat at Albany, were a week in
reaching near Rochester, New York. He finally located in Wayne county,
New York, where the rest of his honorable career was spent. A man of
varied activities and of much influence in community and society, he was
elected from, Newark to the state legislature, for a number of years was
supervisor of his township, and in politics was first a Henry Clay Whig and
later a staunch Republican, having been sent to the legislature in I856 on the
Fremont ticket. He attained a competency. His religious adherence was
given to the Universalist church. His wife, Abigail (Briggs) Barnes, who
was born in Duanesburg, New York, of English descent, and a member of
the Episcopal church, moved west to Quincy after the death of her husband, and lived there with her daughter until her death in 1876. Their six
children are named as follows: James W., who is a retired physician living
in southern Colorado; Walton J.; Lucy J., now deceased, was the wife of






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


715


Richard Post, a farmer; Carrie E., a resident of Chicago, and the widow
of G. W. McCarn, a physician: Thomas N., deceased, was a farmer; Margaret A., deceased, married J. B. Salisbury, of Quincy.
Walton J. Barnes was reared on a farm, attending school in his home
district and also an academy in Wayne county. Coming to Michigan in
I854, as one of the early settlers of Quincy township, this county, he built
a sawmill, located on section twenty-six, and also bought a farm. During
the ten years of his residence at that place he increased his land holdings until he owned five hundred acres. Then he bought the old Mudge place two
miles south of Quincy and remained there until moving to Quincy in I873.
Although he has been interested more or less in the insurance business, he
has for some years been practically retired, taking life easily and gracefully. He has one of the most beautiful homes in Quincy. A Republican
in politics, he served as county drainage commissioner two years, but has
never sought office or identified himself with practical politics to any extent.
An ardent fisherman, he has been a constant visitor with rod and line to
Marble Lake for the past fifty years and in 1895 built the first cottage on
that charming body of water.
Mr. Barnes was married in i86o to Miss Emily A. Mudge, who was
born in Lenawee county, this state, in 1840. Her father, Ebenezer Mudge,
was an honored former citizen of Branch countv. A native of New York
and then coming west and settling in Madison, Michigan, he moved to
Quincy in 1842 and located on a farm two miles south of town that had
been entered by his father Ebenezer. He was a brickmason by trade, and
besides conducting his farm carried on the building trade, erected the first
brick building in Coldwater-the old Dr. Sprague building-and also the
Ed Clark store building.  Mr. Mudge was a man of more than ordinary
means and influence in his community. In politics a Whig and a Republican, he served for many years as justice of the peace, was village clerk
and was one of the organizers of the village of Quincy, drafting the first
charter. He was one of those who, in the early seventies, established the
Quincv Times and as its editor devoted his attention thereto for a number
of years. When he died in I897, at the advanced age of ninety-three years,
he carried to the grave the respect and reverence of all who had known him
or who had come in contact with him in the varied relations of life. He was
a man of education, was generous and charitable, was enterprising and public-spirited to a marked degree, and took a delight in promoting through personal influence and effort the welfare of his town of Quincy. Mrs. Barnes'
mother was Lucretia Heaton, a native of New York state and of ScotchIrish stock.  There were twelve children in the family, but only four
reached maturity, namely: Moreau, deceased; Sarah, widow of Ralph Turner, a former Quincy druggist; Melvin, now a retired ranchman in California, who, enlisted in I86I, was captain of Company B, Eleventh Michigan Infantry, as part of the Army of Cumberland, was wounded at the battle of Chickamauga, then promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and
at the battle of Missionary Ridge, after Col. Stoughton had received a mortal wound, succeeded to the command of the regiment, and continued in




a


~~ —




716


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


that rank to the end of the war; Mrs. Barnes is the fourth of her parents'
children.
Mr. and Mrs. Barnes have two sons. Mell is general manager of a
scale manufacturing business at Detroit and is a prosperous business man.
Thomas W., who is the eighth Thomas in the Barnes family, is associated
with his brother at Detroit.
JOHN F. McINTYRE.
John F. McIntyre, the president and general manager of the Sherwood
Heading Company of Sherwood, has in an active business career manifested
keen sagacity and diligence which are always essential elements in a successful enterprise. He is a native of Alabama township, Genesee county, New
York, born on the 6th of April, I840. His father, Daniel McIntyre, was
a native of Lyme, Connecticut, while the grandparents were born in Scotland. David Mcintyre was married to Miss Caroline Hall, a native of
Lyme, Connecticut, and of English descent. They became the parents of ten
children, five of whom reached adult age.
John F. McIntyre, the ninth member of the family, and the only son
now living, was reared in Ashtabula county, Ohio, whither he came with
his parents when a little lad of three years. He acquired a common school
education, attending only through the winter months, while in the summer
seasons lie worked at various kinds of labor in order to provide for his own
support. His mother was left a widow with nine children and as soon as
old( enorgh to earn his living John F. McIntyre started out in the world on
his own account. Ambitious for an education he made the most of his opportunities when in school and by reading and study in his leisure hours
largely broadened his knowledge, so that at the age of seventeen years he
had qualified himself for teaching and entered upon the active work of that
profession in Ashtabula county, where he taught for three or four years
during winter terms. In the meantime he learned and followed the carpenter's trade in the summer months. Thinking to find a better field of
labor he removed to Michigan, in 1867, settling first in Owosso and afterward in St. Johns. Later he went to Chesaning, Michigan, where he followed, his trade and also taught school for two winter terms. Later he followed teaching at St. Charles, Michigan, for about three years, after which
he went to Ler:awee county, Michigan, and then came to Sherwood, where
he was soon actively identified with building operations.  He also taught
school here for many years, following the profession through the winter
months, while in the summer seasons he was connected with building pursuits. As an educator he has ever been practical and progressive, imparting leadily to othets the knowledge that he had acquired so that his services
gave general satisfaction. For about fifteen years he likewise engaged in
the business of evaporating apples, and in I902, in connection with George
Seymour, he purchased the business of the C. B. Wilcox Manufacturing
Company. In I905 they organized a company now known as the Sherwood Heading Company, with Mr. McIntyre as president and general man



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


717


ager, George F. Seymour vice-president and treasurer and Guy E. McIntyre superintendent and secretary. They manufacture shack barrels and keg
headings and have on the payroll the names of about twenty employes. The
business has now grown to extensive proportions and has become a profitable investment, being one of the leading productive concerns of this part
of the county.
Mr. McIntyre has been married twice. In I86o he wedded Abbie
Woodworth, and t          they had three children, of whom two are living, Ralph
and May. The mother died in I874, and in 1877 Mr. McIntyre wedded
Harriet Barton, by whom he has two daughters and a son: Annie, now the
wife of Lynn Lowry; Guy E., who is in business with his father; and Ada,
at home.
Mr. McIntyre has been a resident of Sherwood for about thirty-one
years and has been closely associated with its public interests, its improvement and its upbuilding.  He has been frequently called to public office,
serving as township treasurer for one term, as highway commissioner, village assessor and village trustee and his public service has been performed
with the same fidelity and conscientious purpose that has characterized the
discharge of his business duties. He is a member of Sherwood lodge, No.
42I, A. F. & A. M., Union City chapter, No. 28, R. A. M., Three Rivers
commandery, No. 29, K. T., and is in hearty sympathy with the purposes
of the craft, exemplifying in his life its beneficent spirit. A long residence
in the county combined with marked enterprise in business and activity in
public affairs has made him well known. He is a man of much force of
character, strong individuality and his pleasant social manner has won him
a host of warm friends.
J. H. MONTAGUE.
J. H. Montague, who is engaged in the real estate and insurance business in Coldwater, belongs to that class of representative American citizens
who owe their success to strong enterprise, close application and indefatigable
diligence. He was born in Oneida county, New York, November 30, 1833,
his parents being Stillman and Hannah (Skinner) Montague, both of whom
were natives of Massachusetts and were representatives of old New England families.  They moved to Oneida county, New York, and spent the
greater part of their lives in that state, passing away there.  The father
was a farmer, and always followed the occupation in order to provide a
livelihood for his family.
J. H. Montague was reared upon the home farm in the usual manner
of farm lads of that period and locality, and in the district schools he acquired his education. He continued to assist his father up to the time of
his marriage, which occurred December 22, 1858, Miss Laura Gaylord becoming his wife.  He then took up his abode upon a farm in his native
county, continuing agricultural interests there until I869, when he removed
to Michigan, settling in the city of Coldwater, where he has since resided.
Here he turned his attention to the insurance business and has since repre-:*:




718


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


sented a number of the old reliable companies and at the same time has dealt
quite extensively in real estate, negotiating many important realty transfers.
Mr. Montague has been active in community affairs and for fourteen
years he served as constable, while in I891 he was elected justice of the
peace, in which position he still serves. His decisions have been strictly fair
and impartial, being based upon the equity of the case and the law applicable
thereto and he has "won golden opinions from all sorts of people."  His
political views are in accord with the principles of the Republican party,.
which he has supported since casting a ballot for its presidential candidate,
John C. Fremont.
Mr. and Mrs. Montague are the parents of but two children: Harold
IL., of Chicago; and Myrtle K., who is a teacher at the head of the German
department of the Detroit University, Detroit, Michigan. Mrs. Montague
is a member of the Presbyterian church and with her Mr. Montague attends its services. Fraternally he is connected with the Ancient Order of
United Workmen.
MYRON J. WITHINGTON.
Myron J. Withington, formerly a factor in the work of public instruction in Michigan, but now devoting his energies to agricultural pursuits in
California township, Branch county, is a native son of this county, having
been born in Kinderhook township on the I5th of May, I856. The ancestry of the family can be traced back to William Withington, great-greatgrandfather of our subject, who was born in I7I5 and died in I793. The
family is of English lineage and was established in Massachusetts at a very
early period in the colonization of the new world. William Withington (I)
was united in marriage to Sarah Locke, who was born in 1718 and died in
1797. Both she and her husband were about seventy-eight years of age at
the time of their demise. Their son, William WVithington (2), who was
born in I744, married Martha Locke and died in 1823. William Withington (3), grandfather of our subject, was born in New Hampshire in I777,
representatives of the name having removed from  Massachusetts to New
Hampshire in the meantime. He wedded Abigal Stone in 1799. She was
born in 1779 and from New Hampshire they removed to Oswego county,
New York. The year 1833 witnessed their arrival in Michigan, their residence being established in Homer, Calhoun county, where they remained for
five years, when in 1838 they came to Kinderhook township, Branch county.
They were among the earliest settlers of this part of the state, living here
when it required considerable personal courage to meet the hardships, difficulties and dangers incident to life on the frontier. The forest sheltered
many wild animals and the Indians were not infrequently seen. While they
caused little trouble to the white settlers yet they were a source of constant
menace, owing to their unreliable dispositions.  The Withington family
went through the usual pioneer experiences and in clearing and developing
a farm for himself William Withington also, assisted in the material progress of the county. He died in 1845, while his wife passed away in 1839.
Edwin Withington, father of Myron J. Withington, was born in Os



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


719


wego, county, New York, January 20, I820. and was the youngest in a
family of twelve children. When his parents removed from  the Empire
state to Michigan they left several married children in New York, but Edwin Withington, being next to the youngest and then but twelve years of
age, came with them to the middle west and was reared upon the home farm
in Calhoun and in Branch counties, sharing in the usual hardships and
trials incident to frontier life. He soon became familiar with the arduous
task of clearing and developing new land and was always a farmer, yet
possessed considerable versatility in business matters and his mechanical ingenuity enabled him to follow successfully the pursuits of shoemaking, coopering and carpentering. His early years were spent in Kinderhook township and in I860 he removed to California township, where he resided until
his death. He was a leading citizen here for many years and was highly
esteemed as a man of more than ordinary ability, of honor in business and
of loyalty in citizenship. His political allegiance was given to the Republican party. He took a deep interest in educational affairs and for many
years served as a school officer, doing everything in his power to promote
the cause of public instruction in this part of the state. Both he and his
wife were members of the Methodist church and died in that faith, the father
passing away February 28, I897, while his wife's death occurred September
29, I90I. He had been married on the 26th of November, I845, to Miss
Ann Dorothy Walter, who was born in England, November 26, 1822, and
came to America with her parents, Abraham and Dorothy (Mears) Walter,
the family home being established in Fremont, Indiana. Edwin and Dorothy Withington had six children, three of whom died in infancy, while
those still living are Myron J. and Homer E. Withington, of Coldwater.
Another son, Levi, died at the age of seventeen years.
Myron J: Withington was but four years of age when his parents removed
from Kinderhook to California township and at the usual age he began his
education in the common schools, while later he entered the Coldwater high
school, from which he was graduated in the class of I879. He afterward
entered the State Normal College at Ypsilanti, Michigan, from which he
was graduated in I893 and in his senior year he was editor of the college
paper, The Normal News, an honor which comes in recognition of superior
ability.  Following his graduation at the normal he engaged in teaching
school both in the district schools and in the graded schools of the city. In
the profession he made rapid advancement, which came in recognition of
his merit, and at different times he served as principal of the public schools
at Almont, Michigan, and of the high school at Ludington, Michigan. In
i896, however, he returned to California township, where he has since followed farming. Here he has a valuable tract of land of one hundred and
sixty acres, which was cleared by the father, assisted by his sons, only twenty
acres having been placed under cultivation whent it came into possession of
Edwin Withington. It is located on section nineteen and is now a valuable
and productive tract equipped with modern improvements and giving every
evidence of the careful supervision and practical methods of the owner. For
several years in addition to general farming Mr. Withington and his son




720


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


have devoted considerable attention to the raising of potatoes and their potato crop is the largest produced by any individual in this vicinity.
Mr. Withington was married October 13, I880, to Miss Mattie King,
who was born in Coldwater township, April 18, 1858, and is a daughter of
William and Kate (O'Mara) King. The father was a native of England
and the mother, born in Canada, was of Irish descent. In their family were
eight children, of whom two died in infancy. Unto Mr. and Mrs Withington
have been born four children: Ernest E., who is living at home and assists
in the operation of his father's farm, although he owns eighty acres in the
northern part of California township; Mabel L., who died at the age of nine
years; Harry Gerald, who died in infancy; and Harold Gerard, at home,
these latter twins.
Mr. Withington is a man of keen intellect, whose reading has covered
a wide range and who keeps in touch with the trend of modern thought along
the various lines of interest to the general public. Sociological, economic and
political questions as well as those bearing upon his chosen life work are
of deep interest to him and he has informed himself thoroughly concerning
many of these points. In his political views he has always been a Republican
and has held numerous offices. For several years he was school inspector,
was appointed to fill a vacancy in the office of supervisor and has been justice
of the peace for several years. He has long taken an active part in church
and Sunday school work and contributes liberally to the support of religion.
He has been identified with the county and district Sunday school work and
has been president and secretary of the district Sunday school association for
several terms. He was also at one time a member of the Grange. A man
of strong individuality and marked force of character, the salient elements
of his life work with its underlying motives have been such as awaken uniform
esteem. Everything that he does is characterized by an intelligent understanding of the position and he is fearless in defense of his honest views and
opinions.
EZRA JOHNSON.
Ezra Johnson, who from pioneer times down to the present has been
a resident of Branch county, his memory forming a connecting link between
the past with its privations and hardships and the modern era with its prosperity and advanced civilization, is now living on section twelve, Union
township. He is a native of Ohio, the old Buckeye state, his birth having
occurred in Florence township, Erie county, on the I4th of October, 1830.
His father, James Johnson, was a native of New York, but became an early
settler of the Buckeye state, where he took up his abode in I8I5. There
he resided for many years and in 1850 he came to Branch county, Michigan,
where he spent his remaining days. In early manhood he had wedded Ida
Squires, who died in Ohio. She was a native of the Empire state and by
her marriage she became the mother of eight children, six sons and two
daughters, all of whom reached adult age and were married with one exception.




^CA^o


~~-:;;-~ - ~i~~




4j




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


721


Ezra Johnson, the third son and fourth member of the family, was
reared in the county of his nativity until nineteen years of age and when a
lad of about six summers entered the district schools, wherein he pursued
the elementary branches of learning. In the summer months he worked
upon the farm and his training in the fields made him well qualified to carry
on farm work when he started out in life on his own account. He arrived
in Branch county when a young man of nineteen years and here he began
working in the woods, cutting down the trees, clearing away the brush and
thus preparing many acres for the plow. In company with a companion
he prepared two hundred and fifty cords of wood in one winter. He had
been trained to the value of industry and perseverance in the active affairs
of life and his entire career has been marked by unfaltering diligence. He
can recall many incidents of pioneer times, and, once in the early days of
Union township he and his friend were about one and one half miles south
of Union City, and a deer started up from the bushes. Uncle, Ezra had a
dog which pursued the deer and caught it by one of the hind quarters, and
held the deer until they came up and shot it.
Mr. Johnson was married in Union township December 7, I853, to
Miss Loretta Burnett, with whom he traveled life's journey for about fortysix years, almost a half a century. They began their domestic life upon a
farm, and he has always carried on agricultural pursuits, clearing many acres
of land in Branch county and erecting a number of buildings thereon. He
has built houses, barns and sheds and his efforts have been a factor in producing the modern development and progress of this portion of the state.
He has now been a resident of Union township for fifty-six years, save that
he spent a brief period of ten months in Kansas. He owns eighty acres
of good land where his son resides and his property is the visible evidence
of his life of industry.
On December 21, 1899, Mr. Johnson was called upon to mourn the
death of his wife. Thev had become the parents of six children, of whom
three died in early Iife. while three are still living, namely: Gena, the wife
of Charles Rice of Girard township, and they have three children, Lena,
Glenn and Alfred. Charles, who married Mary Tandler and follows farming
in Union township; and Herman, who wedded Annie Schultz and is living
on the old family homestead, and they have two children, Loretta and
Prosper.
Mr. Johnson has at different times voted the Democratic and the Republican tickets.  He is practically independent in his political affiliation,
supporting the candidates whom he regards as best qualified for office. His
interest in public affairs is that of a patriotic and public spirited citizen and
he rejoices in what has been accomplished in Branch county.  Numbered
among its pioneer settlers, he can remember the time when the forests were
infested with wild animals and when considerable wild game could be had
by the hunter. The trees stood in their primeval strength and only here and
there could be seen a cabin to indicate the advance of civilization. In the
work of transformation that has since been wrought Mr. Johnson has performed his full share as an agriculturist and now in his later years-for






I;
-— ;




722


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


he has passed the seventy-fifth milestone on life's journey-he is enabled
to enjoy many of the comforts and luxuries of life while leaving to his son
the active work of the farm.
RICHMOND F. PARKER.
Richmond F. Parker, a retired farmer living at Coldwater, whose carefully conducted business interests and recognition of opportunities have
made him a prosperous citizen, was born at Hinckley, Medina county, Ohio,
April 15, I836, his parents being John and Olive (Foster) Parker. The
father was born in Ontario county, New York, March I8, 179,3, and the ancestry is traced back through Stiles, Elijah and Phineas to James H. Parker,
who was one of the several children whose parents were the founders of the
name in America. They became residents of the colony of Massachusetts,
where they were murdered by the Indians, their children escaping by hiding
in the tall grass. The ancestral history is also traceable through many generations in England, where definite information is obtainable concerning Lord
Parker of Macclesfield, a direct ancestor of the branch of the family founded
in the new world.
Stiles Parker, the grandfather of Richmond F. Parker, was a minister
of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married Demmis Caples and subsequently removed from the state of New York to Summit county, Ohio, accepting a pastorate in the town of Richfield, where he remained for several years.
He afterward went to Delaware county, Ohio, where his last days were spent.
His life was marked by unselfish devotion to the moral elevation of his fellowmen and his influence was widely felt, remaining as a blessed benediction to
those who knew him long after he had passed away. The marriage of John
Parker and Olive Foster was celebrated in 1813, in the state of New York,
where Miss Foster was born in 1796. For some time after their marriage
they lived in the Empire state and then removed to Kentucky, settling near
Elizabethtown, where the father followed the trade of wagon-making, which
he had learned in early life. He, was thus connected with industrial interests
in the Blue Grass state for ten years and on the expiration of that period
became a resident of Summit county, Ohio, where he engaged in building
and was also an. operator of water power mills. Finally disposing of his
interests at that place he came to Michigan inl 1845 and for four years thereafter resided in Hillsdale county, where he followed farming. In 1849 he
became a resident of Branch county and in Union township he built and' again
operated a sawmill, but after a brief period he sold that plant and returned
to Ohio, where he resided until I860. He then again came to Michigan,
spending his last days in the home of his son Richmond F. in Girard township, where he died in March, i865. His estimable wife also spent the
evening of her life in the home of her son and passed away in 1871. They
were industrious, energetic people, possessing many commendable traits
of character which won for them the respect and esteem of all who knew
them in the various localities in which they lived. They had eleven sons and
five daughters, namely: Alpheus B., Huldah L., Matilda H., Simon Peter,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


723'


Paul C., Minerva L., Ransom    R., Olive Marilda, William  Stiles, John
Wesley, George W., Oliver H., Richmond Foster, Silas L. and Cyrus L.,
twins, and Martha Jane. Of this family Alpheus and Cyrus died in infancy, while the others reached years of maturity and with the exception of
Silas all were married. Silas served his country in the Civil war as a member
of Company B, Forty-fourth Illinois, Infantry, and was killed at the battle of Stone River. He had been mustered in as sergeant and for gallant
conduct was promoted through successive ranks to a captaincy.  He was
leading his command in battle when he was killed.   The father was a
soldier in the war of I812.
Richmond F. Parker was nine years of age when with his parents he
went to Hillsdale county, Michigan.  He acquired a district school education and remained under the parental roof until he was eighteen years of
age, although during much of this time he worked as a farm hand in the
neighborhood.  In 1854 he began learning the millwright's trade, which
he followed in connection with carpentering until I86o, and then with the
capital he had saved from  his earnings he purchased a tract of land of
forty acres in Girard township.  Building a log cabin thereon he then
began to cultivate and improve his farm and was engaged in general agricultural pursuits until after the inauguration of the Civil war, when directed
by a spirit of loyalty and patriotism he offered his services in defense of
the Union.  On the 7th of August, I862, he became a member of Company C, Nineteenth Michigan Infantry, with which he served until the
close of the war, being chief bugler of the regiment and during the last
fourteen months of his services he was stationed at brigade headquarters.
He was present at the battles of Resaca, Cassville, Dallas Woods, New
Hope Church, Gilgal Church, Culp's Farm, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree
Creek, Siege of Atlanta, Savannah, Aversboro and Bentonville.  He was
also with Sherman on the famous march to the sea and took part in the
grand review at Washington, where thousands of victorious Union soldiers
marched through the streets of the capital city, carrying aloft the banners
of victory as they passed by the stand on which the president reviewed the
nation's army. He was mustered out with his regiment on the Ioth day
of June, I865, and he still has in his possession the bugle which he carried
through that long sanguinary conflict. He is now an honored member of
Butterworth post, G. A. R.
Mr. Parker following his return from the war resumed the occupation of farming in Girard township and continued his labors there until
1883, when he sold his property and purchased the farm on which now
stands the plant of the Wolverine Portland Cement Company, to which
concern he sold his land in I890. Since that time he has lived retired, enjoying a well earned rest to which his long years of active labor justly entitles him.  Mr. Parker was married January I, I857, to, Miss Caroline
Fauble, who was born in Bristol, Wayne county, Ohio, September 19, I836.
Her father was also a native of the Buckeye state, while her grandfather,
Michael Fauble, was born in Germany. His parents brought him to America in his early boyhood and by their death soon after their arrival in this




72/4


HIS'TORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


country he was left an orphan. He was then apprenticed to, learn the trade
of shoemaking but later turned his attention to farming. He was married
in Pennsylvania to Miss Agnes McMahan, a native of that state, and soon
afterward the young couple started for Ohio, where Mr. Fauble devoted his
attention to the tilling of the soil. He spent his last years in Bristol, Wayne
county, Ohio, and lived to be ninety-seven years of age.  Mrs. Parker's
father was a life-long resident of Ohio and was an enterprising, progressive
business man, owning mills and farm lands and giving his personal supervision to the operation of both.  He died suddenly in I850, while on a
business trip to Galesburg, Illinois. His wife, who was born in Jefferson
county, Ohio, lived to be eighty-five years of age.  She bore the maiden
name of Jane Halliwill and was a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Cox)
Halliwill, natives of Pennsylvania and Virginia respectively and representatives of old and well known families of the east. The maternal grandmother of Mrs. Parker at one time had the honor of entertaining General
Washington at dinner during the Revolutionary war. Mr. and Mrs. Parker
have a large circle of warm friends and enjoy the hospitality of many of
the best homes of Coldwater and Branch county. He has always been a
staunch Republican but has never sought office, although in matters of citizenship he is progressive and is today as loyal to the general good as he
was when he followed the nation's starry banner upon southern battlefields.
CHARLES W. STAFFORD.
Charles W. Stafford, a prominent farmer residing on section fifteen,
Union township, has a tract of land of one hundred and eighty-nine acres
which is splendidly improved with modern equipments. A native of Calhoun county, Michigan, Mr. Stafford was born February 5, I843. His
father, Hosea Stafford, was a native of St. Lawrence county, New York,
and on removing to the west settled in Burlington township, Calhoun county,
Michigan, about I836. He became one of the pioneers of that locality and
there followed the occupation of farming, assisting in the early development
of that portion of the state. About 1848 he removed to Branch county, taking up his abode in Union township, where he spent his remaining days,
passing away at the age of seventy-two years. In his political views he was
a Whig until the dissolution of the party, when he became a staunch Republican.  He married Philura Wilson, a native of New York, in which
state she spent the first sixteen years of her life and then came with her
parents to Michigan, the family home being established in Burlington township, Calhoun county. She is still living at the very advanced age of eightyseven years. To her husband she was a faithful companion and helpmate
all through the pioneer times and in the period of later day progress and
development when they were enabled to enjoy many more of the comforts
and pleasures of life than they had in their earlier years. In their family
were eight children, one of whom died in early life, while another died at
the age of eighteen years. Six of the family are still living.
Charles W. Stafford, the third in order of birth and the eldest son, was
-   *                 <>




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


725


about five years old when brought by his parents to Branch county. He
was reared in Union township, acquiring a common school education in
one of the old time log schoolhouses. He remained at home until he had
attained his majority and during that period assisted largely in the improvement of the farm. He then offered his services to his country and
engaged in the Civil war, becoming a member of Company D, First Michigan Light Artillery in I86I. He remained with that command for three
years and then veteranized, re-enlisting in the same company and regiment,
with which he continued for about ten months longer. He was quartermaster sergeant at the time of his discharge. He participated in a number
of important battles, including the engagements of Stone River, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge and others. He was in the hospital at Louisville,
Kentucky, for about three months, but otherwise was continuously with his
regiment throughout the long term  of his service, covering almost four
years. He was a faithful soldier, displaying valor on the field of battle and
loyalty at all times to the cause which he espoused.
After receiving an honorable discharge Mr. Stafford returned to Union
township and resumed general farming, which pursuit he has since followed with excellent success. He is now the owner of one hundred and
eighty-nine acres of rich and arable land which is well improved with good
buildings. The place is kept up according to modem farming methods and
yields to him a good financial return each year.
On April 28, 1874, Mr. Stafford was married to Miss Margaret C.
Harsh, a daughter of Adam and Susanna (Mintling) Harsh, and they have
two sons, Roy and Ralph, who are assisting their father in the improvement of the home farm. Mr. Stafford has taken an active and helpful interest in public matters, his co-operation being freely given for the support
of measures and movements for the general good. In politics he is a staunch
Republican and in I899 was elected supervisor, while for four years he
served as township treasurer. He is a member of the Masonic lodge and
chapter at Union City, active in its work and in hearty sympathy with the
tenets and teachings of the craft. He has been a resident of Union township for about fifty-six years and is one of the men who have made the
county what it is today. He has worked persistently and energetically year
after year in the conduct of his business interests, and has thereby contributed to the sum total of prosperity in this part of the state. He made a
creditable military record and his life history is equally commendable in its
business and social relations.
HENRY D. KNAUTSS.
Among the leading and reliable families of German descent living in
Branch county, none has achieved more notable success or stands higher in
the public regard than that of Knauss. Its members have achieved success in various lines of endeavor and are now leading people here. This
family is descended from Dr. Daniel Knauss, who came from Baden, Germany, he being the paternal grandfather of our subject. He was a soldier




726


HIISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


in the Revolutionary war, and Mr. Knauss now has a snuff box which he
carried while serving in that struggle. He also has a ponderous German
Bible which was published in I765; also a Ready Reckoner Calculator, published in I794, and a piece of the old Continental scrip money to the value
of two-thirds of a dollar. This was printed in I776. Mrs. Knauss has one
of the old-fashioned spinning wheels and reels which is in a good state of
preservation.  These are well remembered by the pioneer mothers.  Dr.
Knauss was married in Germany to a Miss Moyer, and soon thereafter they
came to America, locating in Pennsylvania, where seven children were born
to them, one of these, Solomon Knauss, being the father of our subject.
Solomon Knauss was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, December 17, I79o, and he was married to Sarah Moore, also a native of
Pennsylvania.  The Moore family came originally from  England.  Solomon Knauss and Sarah Moore removed from Pennsylvania to Erie county,
Ohio, in 1848, where they passed the remainder of their lives. They had
twelve children, three of whom died in infancy, the others being as follows:
William Knauss of Erie county, Ohio; Julia Smith and Elizabeth Boyer
live in Sandusky county, Ohio; Charles died in Illinois, July 13, I9oI; Mary
Billsmeyer lives at Cambridge, Michigan; Solomon died in I865; Henry D.
is the subject of this review; Samuel is a resident of Coldwater, Michigan;
James lives in Kinderhook. Of this family two sons, Charles and James,
were in Ohio regiments in the Civil war. The father and mother both died
in Ohio, the former June 2, I865, and the latter July Io, I875. Solomon
Knauss was a highly prosperous farmer in Ohio, owning three hundred and
seventy acres of fertile land, and both he and his wife were members of
the German Lutheran church.
Henry D. Knauss was born in Union county, Pennsylvania, October
26, 1838, and he was reared upon the home farm, assisting his father in the
clearing of the place and remaining at home until he was twenty-two years
old. He was married there November 20, I86o, to Permelia L. Drake, who
was born in Steuben county, 'New York, June IO, 1842. Her father was
Leonard Drake, who was born in P'ompey, Onondaga county, New York,
May 14, I804, and her mother was Elizabeth Cleveland, born in Argyle,
Vermont, September I6, I807. They were married in New York state November I6, 1825, and had nine children, all of whom grew to maturity as
follows: Elizabeth White lives in Illinois; Sarah Smith died in Iowa in
I902; Alpheus died- in the west; Dyar lives in Iowa; Hezekiah lives in
Rochester, Indiana; Permelia is the wife of our subject; Asa and Charles
live in Nebraska; Lovina Board lives in Kinderhook. The father, Leonard
Drake, died in Kinderhook, October 17, 18912, his wife passing away previously in Ohio, September 9, I877. She was a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, while her husband was a Universalist.
Henry D. Knauss early learned the essential principles of agriculture
and decided upon this as a life pursuit. He owned a farm in Ohio, which
he improved and which he sold and purchased his present fine place of
one hundred and sixty-one acres on section two, Kinderhook township, in
1877, coming here on October 9th of that year. Here he has lived ever




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


727


since, with the exception of a year's residence at Fremont, Indiana, this
being in I9013. He has cleared a portion of his present farm and made
many improvements thereon and it is now one of the comfortable and attractive farm homes of this portion of the county.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Knauss has been blessed with the birth
of five children, one of whom, a son, died in infancy, the others being as
follows: Ida L., married Frank Dewey and they have one daughter, Neva,
their home being at Fremont, Indiana; Della, another daughter, married
George Lazenby and they live in Coldwater, having one daughter, Bernice;
they have a farm in Gilead, but moved to the city to educate their daughter;
Nellie married John Morgan and their home is in Fremont, Indiana, they
having one son, Max Henry; Harry, the youngest son, was a student in
the Fremont high school and took a year's course at the Indiana Business
College. Now he is finishing at the Huntingdon (Indiana) Business University. He shows great business and executive ability and is receiving a
most thorough education and training for a business and commercial career.
Mr. Knauss's sterling worth of character has led to his selection upon
numerous occasions to fill public positions of trust and responsibility, he
possessing the entire confidence of his fellow townsmen. He has been township treasurer and drain commissioner for several terms and has been a
school district officer for more than thirty years here and in Ohio. His
very sensible political motto is:  "Anything for the best interests of the
people," and he abides by it.  He has been very successful in the line
of general farming, specializing in good live stock, and he and his estimable
wife are highly regarded in the community where they have lived for so
many years.
GEORGE MONROE.
George Monroe, following the occupation of farming on section thirtysix, Matteson township, is a native son of Branch, county, his, birth having
occurred on the g9th of July, I854, on the old family homestead in Matteson township, where his father had located at an early day. He is a
son of Jesse Monroe, a native of New York, who was reared in the east
but before his marriage came west to Michigan, settling in Branch county.
He returned to New York, however, and was there married to Hannah Merritt, the widow of Isaac Mills. With his bride he returned to Branch county,
settling in Matteson township where he purchased a farm. Later he bought
the farm upon which his son George now resides and took up his
abode thereon. At the present time he is living retired from active business
cares, now  making his home in Bronson.    He was one of the pioneer
settlers of Branch county and was closely identified with its early
development and improvement, aiding in laying the foundation upon
which the present prosperity and progress of the county has been
built.  He was born March 20, 1821, and is therefore eighty-four years
of age. He is well known in the county and is respected and esteemed
by all with whom he has come in contact. In his business affairs he prospered and became the owner of one thousand acres of land. In the family




728              HISTIORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
were three children:   Wallace, who is a hardware merchant living in
Bronson; George, of this review; and William, who is engaged as a banker
in Bronson.  The mother was three times married, her first union being
with Mr. Gorham, by whom she had one child, Mary, now the wife of
Alexander Anderson, of Michigan.   Her second marriage was to Isaaec
Mills, by whom she had two sons: Delbert Mills, who is living in Batavia
township, Branch county; and Adolphus Mills, who spent his entire life in
Matteson township but has now passed away.
George Monroe, the second son, was reared in his native township and
was educated in the schools of the townships of Matteson and of Bronson.
He remained at home through the period of his youth, assisting in the
labors of the farm and gaining a practical knowledge of the best methods of
cultivating the fields, so that he was well qualified to undertake farm work
for himself after he attained his majority. He was married December 25,
1877, to Miss Lottie Sanderson, a daughter of Joel and Mary (Legg)
Sanderson, the former a native of Vermont and the latter of England.
They were married in Ohio and came to Branch county, Michigan, about
1845, settling near Fawn River.  Mrs. Monroe was born in Greenfield,
Indiana, November 15, I857. Her father located in Ohio, but removed from
there to Fawn River, Michigan, and Mrs. Monroe was educated in the schools
of Lima and in the La Grange Collegiate Institute at Ontario, Indiana.
Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Monroe located upon the farm
which is now their home, and where Mr. Monroe has maintained his residence for twenty-eight years. Three sons came to bless this union: Clarence, who married Cora Sager, lives in Matteson township, where he owns
and operates a farm of one hundred and twenty acres.   Irving married
Florence Parke, by whom he has one son, Harold Elwood, and they reside
on section thirty-six, Matteson township. Carlton J. is living at home with
his parents.
Mr. Monroe owns a farm of four hundred and twenty acres, and each
of his sons is working one hundred and twenty acres. He also has property in Bronson valued at twenty-five hundred dollars. He has been a very
successful business man, engaged in the raising of grain and stock, and his
*        labors have been attended with a gratifying measure of prosperity, for he
is energetic, industrious and practical in all that he does. Mr. Monroe has
been a life-long resident of' Branch county, always making his home within
the borders of Matteson township, and his labors have contributed in substantial measure to' the public good. He has always voted with the Republican party and is deeply interested in its growth and success. His. wife
is a member of the Baptist church at Bronson and both are well known
people, enjoying the friendly regard and esteem of those with whom they
have come in contact.
AUGUSTUS C. MOSELEY.
Augustus C. Moseley, to whom has been vouchsafed an honorable retirement from business cares as a reward for his close application and
earnest labor in former years, is now living in Burlington township, Calhoun


I




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


729


county, Michigan. He was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, May 6, I835.
His father, Thomas Moseley, was likewise a native of the old Bay state
and in his business career followed merchandising and milling. He came
to Branch county, Michigan, in 1840, and was a prominent business man
here. He established a blast furnace at Union City, which he conducted for
several years and he instituted a number of the pioneer enterprises here.
He was a member of the Congregational church, taking a most active and
helpful part in its work and contributing most generously toward the building of the house of worship. His name headed the subscription list for the
sum of five hundred dollars and later he gave an added sum of fifty dollars
toward the purchase of the bell. His early political views accorded with
Whig principles and upon the organization of the new Republican party to
prevent the further extension of slavery he joined its ranks and followed
its banners until called to his final rest in his seventy-third year. In early
manhood he married a Miss Tillotson and after her death wedded Maria
Tillotson, a native of Connecticut, who died in Union City when more than
eighty years of age. By the first marriage there were five children and six
children were born of the second marriage, A. C. Moseley being the eldest
of the younger group.
Although a native of New England Mr. Moseley of this review was
largely reared in Michigan and New York. He was a lad of five summers
when taken to Ann Arbor in I840, and in 1844 he went to Union City, being
at that time nine years of age. Later he was brought to this county and
was reared upon the place where he now lives. His education was acquired
in the early schools of the period and he remained at home- until he attained
his majority.
On the 6th of November, I856, Mr. Moseley was united in nmarriage
to Miss Fannie Bowen Corbin, a daughter of Ezbond and Lucretia (Howe)
Corbin. She was born in Charleston, New Hampshire, September 20, I837,
of old Revolutionary stock, who hailed from Connecticut. The early progenitors of the Corbins were of French parentage, their history dating back
to the time of the Norman conquest, when William the Conqueror defeated the
Britons at the historical battle of Hastings in io66. There are grave-stones
yet standing in the cemetery of Woodstock, Connecticut, bearing the following dates of the deceased Corbins: 1696, I721 and 1727. Mrs. Moseley
and General Corbin of the Philippines are distant relatives. Mrs. Moseley
came to Michigan in I855. Her sisters, Mrs. Isaac Tower and Mrs. Martha
Crissy, were then living in Union City, and Mrs. Moseley arrived here when
eighteen years of age. At the time of their marriage the young couple began
their domestic life on a farm adjoining Union City on the north, the land
lying in Burlington township, Calhoun county, and there they have maintained their residence for nearly a half century. He formerly owned six
hundred acres of valuable land in this farm, but has since disposed of much
of this, retaining possession, however, of one hundred eighty-five acres. which
he now rents. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Moseley were born two children, but
both are now deceased.
Mr. Moselev voted for Fremont when casting his first presidential




730


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


ballot, and only once has he voted for other than the candidates at the head
of the Republican ticket. He and his wife are members of the Congregational church and have taken an active and helpful interest in its work. During a long residence here Mr. Moseley has gained a wide acquaintance, and
by earnest purpose and unfaltering diligence in his business affairs he became
one of the extensive land owners and prosperous farmers of his community.
He and his wife are today enjoying a well-earned rest, having a handsome
competency, which supplies them with all of the comforts and many of the
luxuries of life.
HENRY HAMMAN.
Henry Hamman, a prosperous and respected farmer of California
township, was born in Smithfield township, DeKalb county, Indiana, on the
2Ist of February, I855. His father, Thomas Hamman, was a native of
Stark county, Ohio, born in 1823. He lost his father when but fifteen years
of age and then started out in life on his own account, so that he was truly
a self-made man, owing his success entirely to well-directed and earnest effort. In the year I85o he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Sheuler,
who was born in York county, Pennsylvania, and went to DeKalb county,
Indiana, in an early day with her stepfather, Adam Hood. Both Mr. and
Mrs. Hamman were of German descent. On leaving the Buckeye state,
Thomas Hamman removed to DeKalb county, Indiana, in 1847, and there
purchased a tract of new land in the midst of the forest, his home being
several miles from the nearest neighbor. His dwelling, erected in I849, was
the first frame house in Smithfield township. He was always a leader in the
work of agricultural progress and his earnest and effective labors were
attended with a gratifying measure of success. From early morning until
after sunset he worked untiringly in his effort to clear and improve his farm
and in the first six years he cleared and cultivated sixty acres.. He afterward cleared one hundred and forty acres and as the years passed by he
prospered owing to his capable management, his frugality and his unfaltering diligence, and at the time of his death he was the owner of three hundred and twelve acres of valuable land. In his political views he was a
Democrat and could have had various local offices, but many times he refused
to become a candidate, not wishing to serve in official positions. However,
he acted as school officer for many years and the cause of education found in
him,a warm and stalwart friend. He died on the 8th of August, I897, at
the age of seventy-four years and his wife passed away about I9OI. They
were devoted members of the German Reformed church. In their family
were nine children, of whom three died in infancy; Samuel, who died in
I883; Caroline, who died at the age of twenty-two years; John, who is living in Indiana; Henry, of this review; Thomas and Simon, who are residents of the Hoosier state.
Henry Hamman remained at home until twenty-eight years of age,
acquiring a public school education and becoming familiar with all the
duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. As the years passed
he became more and more proficient in his farm labor and ultimately took




HISTORY OF 1BRANCH COUNTY


731


charge of his father's farm, which he continued to cultivate until twentyeight years of age, when he removed from Indiana to Michigan, settling on
section sixteen, California township, where he now has a fine farm of one
hundred and fifty-five acres. When he decided to remove to this state he
was the owner of farm land in Indiana and he traded it for property here.
He first had one hundred and twenty acres which had been cleared, but
many of the improvements now found thereon stand as monuments to his
thrift and enterprise. There was much stone upon the farm and he spent
many years in clearing it. He has the four largest stone piles in southern
Michigan, one measuring eighty-five by eighty feet and seven feet in height,
while another pile is one hundred and fifty-two feet long and thirty feet wide
and eight feet high. These stone piles contain three thousand sixty-eight
loads of stone, nearly all of which has been picked up by Mr. Hamman.
The farm is today a well-kept one with good buildings and the latest improved machinery is used to facilitate the work of the fields. An air of
neatness, thrift and industry characterizes the place and altogether the property is a most desirable one.
On the 22nd of February, 1883, Mr. Hamman was united in marriage
to Miss Mary Rohm, who was born in DeKalb county, Indiana, September
23, I864. Her father, Simon Rohm, was a native of Germany and the
family became pioneer settlers of Smithfield township, DeKalb county, Indiana. The mother, who bore the maiden name of Mary Harsh, was born
in Ohio and was of German descent. There were thirteen children in the
Rohm family, of whom five died in infancy, the others being Henry, now
a resident of Oregon; Amos, Simon, John, Ezra, Mrs. Lydia Hamman and
Mrs. Lucinda Duesler, all residents of Indiana; and Mrs. Mary Hamman,
wife of our subject. The father died in I88o and the mother, yet surviving
him, now makes her home in Indiana. Both were members of the German
Reformed church.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hamman have been born four children: Carlton
H., who died in infancy; Viola May, the wife of Charles McMurray, a resident of this township, by whom she has one daughter, Roselene Pearl; Eliza
Blanche, the wife of Arthur Hall, a resident farmer of California township;
and Estell Starr, living at home. The family belong to the United Brethren
church. Mr. Hamman gives his political support to the Democracy and has
served as school moderator for several terms. During the years of his residence in this county he has so, directed his life as to win the unqualified confidence of his fellowmen. Moreover his record proves the value.of industry
and determination as resultant factors in the winning of success. With little assistance as he started out in life he has labored persistently and is today
the owner of a well-kept and valuable farm.
HENRY E. STRAIGHT.
The roster of county officials bears the name of Henry E. Straight,
who is now serving as clerk of Branch county.  He is one of its native
sons, born in Coldwater township, December 26, I864, his parents being




732


HIS;2CTOCRY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Willard P. and Mary E. (White) Straight, who were born, reared and
married in New York. The father was married twice, the mother of our
subject being his second wife.  He removed from    the Empire state to
Branch county, Michigan, and soon afterward his first wife died in the east.
Following his second marriage he again came to this county and spent much
of his life upon a farm  here.  He was a well educated man of strong
native intellectual force and marked ability and for many years he engaged
in teaching in the public schools. His wives were also successful teachers.
Mr. Straight departed this life in the fall of 18991, at the age of seventyseven years, and is survived by his second wife, who is now living in Coldwater. There are three children of that marriage.
Henry E. Straight was reared upon his father's farm and in his youth
was a student in the district schools. Subsequently he entered the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, from which he was graduated
when about twenty years of age, and later he engaged in teaching school
for four or five years. He also spent three years in the Ypsilanti school,
after which he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits.  In the fall
of I904 he was elected county clerk, and is now filling that position in a
capable and efficient manner.
Mr. Straight was married in 19oo to Miss Sadie B. De Pue and they
have three children. Mr. Straight is a Republican, interested in the success
and growth of his party and fraternally he is connected with the Independent, Order of Odd Fellows. Starting out in life with no financial assistance he became imbued with a laudable ambition to attain something better than he had already known and he has steadily advanced in those walks
demanding intellectuality, business ability and fidelity, so that he to-day commands the respect and esteem of all with whom he has been brought in
contact. In the record of his public career or in private life there falls no
shadow of wrong for he has ever been loyal to the ties of friendship and
citizenship.
GEORGE W. MALLOW.
Branch county has been built up to its present status of wealth and
material prosperity, to a highly organized civic community from a pioneer
and primitive.community in which the settlers had to hew out places of
dwelling and cultivable fields from the wilderness and where the first and
foremost object was to obtain means of subsistence. Noble township, now
one of the richest of the county divisions, both in material wealth and in
the quality of its citizens, received in the year I84I a substantial addition
to its citizenship of pioneers in the persons of Peter and Margaret (Peters)
Mallow, whose son is George W. Mallow, one of the representative farmers of Branch county.
The famous province of Alsace-Lorraine, so often in dispute between
the rival nations of France and Germany, was the native home of those parents, so that they were of the sturdy Teutonic stock which has entered into
American life as one of its most energizing factors. On arriving in America the parents came direct to Michigan and settled on the farm in Noble




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


733


township, Branch county, where they removed the conditions of primitive
wilderness by persistent labor, where continuing for many years the father
engaged in farming, and where the family of children were reared to healthy
and worthy manhood and womanhood. At the time of the father's death
the following memorial was written:  " Mr. Peter Mallow, a brief notice
of whose death appeared in last week's Journal, was born in the province of
N.lsace, then belonging wholly to France, on the loth day of November,
I815, a little less than five months after the battle of Waterloo was fought.
He died June 17, I891, at the age of seventy-five years, seven months and
seven days, of cancer in the stomach. On the first day of March, 1838, he
was married to Miss Margaret Peters, who was also born and reared in
Alsace. one of the old battlefields of Europe. In December, I839, they came
to America, living in New York City until the spring of 1840, when they
came to Michigan and settled in the township of Noble, where he lived until
the death of his wife, which occurred on the i7th day of July, I884, at the
age of sixty-five years, five months and eight days. Since the! death of the
companion of his youth Mr. Mallow has lived with his youngest daughter,
Mrs. Mary A. Kline, in Bronson township, where he died, and where his
funeral service was held. He was the father of nine children, one of whom,
the oldest, died at the age of ten years. The others are all settled within
convenient distance of the old home, and were all permitted to, be present at
the funeral service, the five sons and oldest grandson acting as pallbearers.
The names of the eight surviving children are Peter, William, Henry, Cris'tina, Sarah F., George W., Mary A. and John J., all of whom are married
and comfortably settled in life., Mr. Mallow was one of a family of five
brothers and sisters, only one of whom, a brother, now survives him. This
brother. John, was present at the funeral. Mr. Mallow was one of our pioneers, having settled in Noble township more than a half a century ago.
With others he endured the hardships and privations incident to a new
country, and in the end received his due reward. His first purchase in real
estate, after coming to Branch county, was an eighty-acre farm in the midst
of the dense wilderness that then covered this part of the county. To this
he added, from time to time as his means increased, until he became owner
of one thousand two hundred acres of fine,improved land, divided into several farms of convenient size, now occupied by his children. The esteem in
which he was held was well attested by the number present and interest
manifested, at his funeral. Though the day was dark and rainy, the house
was well filled, several of those present coming from long distances. The
faces of quite a number of the old settlers were seen in the audience, who
know, by an actual experience, what the privations of pioneer life are, and
who are now enjoying the peaceable fruits of honest toil. The remains
were laid to rest in the beautiful little cemetery in the 'Dutch settlement,'
where a family lot had been previously prepared and a nice monument
erected. It was here that his beloved wife had been previously buried, and
now they are quietly sleeping, side by side. Of them it may be said, as of
an aged pair in olden time, 'There was Abraham   buried, and Sarah his
wife.'"




734


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Born on the farm April 7, 1854, spending his boyhood there in alternation between farm work and farm joys and attendance at the district school,
George WV. Mallow was a farmer " to the manner born " by the time he had
reached majority and soon took charge of the home place and cultivated its
fields on the shares.  Four years having been profitably occupied in this
manner, he moved to his present farm of one hundred and twenty acres, a
portion of which is fine timber land, and here a beautiful home with attractive surroundings of well cultivated fields and improvements stamp the
owner and his family as people of culture and refinement as well as thrift.
A Democrat in politics from the time he cast his first presidential vote
for Tilden, he has regularly supported that party, and as a public-spirited
citizen he has been chosen to the office of justice of the peace, serving one
term. Fraternally he is a member of Mystic Lodge, F. & A. M., at Bronson.
September 29, I878, Mr. Mallow married Miss Alice J. Lane, who was
born in Akron, Ohio, February 25, I853, a daughter of Cornelius W. and
Margaret E. (Reyer) Lane. In their family were five children, four sons
and one daughter, of whom three are living: Mrs. Mallow, the eldest, who
was reared in Kent, Ohio. there receiving her education in the graded
schools; William Lane, a resident of Bronson, Michigan, and married; and
George, a resident of Bronson township. The father, Cornelius Lane, was
born in Sussex county, New Jersey, while the mother was born in Springfield, Ohio, in April, I828. She was reared in Pennsylvania, and was married there in Lewistown. With her husband she came to Branch county in
March, I876, and has been a resident of this county since, now residing in
Bronson township. At the time of her husband's death the following obituary was written: Died, in Bronsen, August Ist, Mr. Cornelius W. Lane,
aged sixty-seven years. Mr. Lane was born December Io, 1823, in Sussex county, New Jersey. At the age of eighteen years he was bereft of his
mother, and of his father, Mr. G. W. Lane, in 1854. In early manhood he
removed to Snyder county, Pennsylvania, where he resided some years, and
was united in marriage to Margaret E. Boyes, July 22, I849, by whom
five children were born. The two eldest died, one at the age of six months,
the second in his eighteenth year. Three are yet living, Alice, William
and George. For several months he suffered intensely and that in full consciousness, and with the power of another life upon him, entered into that
rest for which he had longed during the wearisome days of pain. He was
a good man, of warm sympathies, seeking to do his whole duties to others
as he could. He was a great reader of papers, of books and of the Bible,,and believed in the final salvation of the human family. He was also a
member for years of the M/asonic fraternity, who, in large numbers, were
present at his funeral, and assisted at the services, and thus he passed away
as he had lived, surrounded by friends, in trust toward God, in love for
humanity, and as if in full view of the heavenly home. A large concourse
of friends were present at the services, which were conducted by Rev. Henry
Shepard of Burr Oak. No words are needful from us for those whose character is better than any monument. All that he has nourished thus will last,,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


735


but our heart goes out for those who will miss the placid face we saw so
composed for its last rest, while all that animated it lives forever.
One child, Lorana E., has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Mallow, who was
educated in the common schools and who passed her teacher's examination
at the age of fifteen years, has also been instructed in music, and is a graduate student, keeping well informed on the passing current events of the
day. In this family is also a niece, Frances R., who has made her home
with them since childhood and is loved by them as a daughter. She is a
daughter of the late Louisa Eggleston Mallow and Peter, the oldest brother
of Mr. Mallow, and was educated in. the rural schools. Mr. and Mrs. Mallow are citizens of Bronson township, who enjoy the high respect of all who
know them.   Their comfortable home is a home of hospitality and good
cheer, and we are pleased to present this full text of Mr. and Mrs. Mallow
to be preserved in the genealogical record of Branch county's twentieth century history.
EDWIN R. CLARKE.
Edwin R. Clarke, for many years one of the forceful and honored factors in commercial circles in Coldwater and one whose influence was not
a minor element among the financiers of this part of the state, attained to
prominence through the inherent force of his character, the exercise of his
native talent and the utilization of surrounding opportunities. He became a
capitalist whose business career excited the admiration and won the respect
of his contemporaries, yet it was not this alone that entitled him to rank as
one of the foremost men of his day in Coldwater. His connection with the
public interests of the city was far-reaching and beneficial, his patriotic citizenship and his interest in community affairs taking tangible form in his
zealous labors for various improvements.
Mr. Clarke was born in Byron, New York, March 22, 1828, and represented an old New   England family.  His paternal grandparents were
Stephen C. and Thirza Clarke, natives of Connecticut. Their son, Anson
Clarke, was born in Connecticut, in I803, and after reaching manhood engaged both in farming and merchandising. In I834 he decided to come to
the west and cast in his lot with the pioneer settlers of the territory of Michigan. He had previously married Miss Lucinda Stevens, a Vermont lady,
who was born in 1803, and who accompanied her husband to Michigan, and
surviving him, she died at her home in Adrian, this state, in 1884. She was
a devout Christian and discharged all her duties as wife, mother and friend
in such manner as to win the deepest affection from all who came within the
influence of her gentle and exemplary life.
Edwin R. Clarke came of a sturdy and vigorous New England ancestry and while his parents bestowed upon him little of this world's goods
they gave him a strong constitution and a courageous spirit which carried
with it a determination and an industry which wrought results. There is
little in the history of a man in the bare statement of facts that is of interest,
but an analyzation of his history, showing forth the spirit, the motives,
the purposes and the aims that have given inspiration, direction and energy




736              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
to that life, is of value. Looked at from this viewpoint, Mr. Clarke's career
furnishes important lessons that may well be followed by young and old.
He started out upon his business career as a clerk in the store of James
Armitage, in Monroe, Michigan, at a salary of fifty dollars per year, and
the second year he received seventy-five dollars. He had as the foundation
for progress, however, the substantial qualities of prudence, perseverance,
industry and faithfulness. Ambitious for success, he eagerly availed himself
of every opportunity for honorable accomplishment and in I850 he came to
Coldwater, where he began merchandising on his own account. His capital, saved from his earnings, was small, but he formed a partnership with a
Mr. Sackett and established a general store.  Not long afterward he purchased his partner's interest and became sole proprietor, conducting the
store alone for several years, when he was joined by his father-in-law, John
T. Gilbert. Later George D. Ford became a partner, both of whom retired
from the company, and in 1878 Morris G. was admitted, and in I88I Ralph
E. was admitted to an interest, and the firm style of E. R. Clarke & Company has since been maintained. A short time before his death, which occurred in September, 900o, he practically retired from active business cares.
I-le was very successful in his undertakings and amassed a goodly estate.
Though the early years constituted a period of struggle, he was diligent and gave close attention to every indication pointing to prosperity.
There are some people born to command and Mr. Clarke was one of these.
When he made a statement of what he wished done those who, served him
knew they must obey. Yet he was never harsh or austere, but possessed a
spirit of firmness that gave him command over men and proved a strong
element in his success. He did not confine his attention entirely to his mercantile interests, for he was at one time connected with the Coldwater Woolen Mills, the Crippen Flour Mills and other enterprises.  He was one of
the organizers of the Southern Michigan National Bank, of which he served
as vice-president, and also became the owner of several valuable farms, and
in his latter days gave much attention to the management of his agricultural
interests and investments.
While devoted to his business and the acquirement of property, he was
yet a most generous man, giving wisely but generously, and instead of allowing himself to become sordid and selfish as the years passed by, he developed his humanitarian spirit and found great joy in giving for the benefit
of others. He made no, display of his charity; on the contrary was free from
all ostentation in his benefactions, hardly letting his left hand know what
his right hand did. His desire to assist others, however, found its highest
expression in his gift to the people of Coldwater of the public library building. In this he showed the business habits of the man. He wished to do,
something for the people among whom his life had been passed and he began to, study out what kind of a building might prove most beneficial to
Coldwater. After discussing the subject with prominent men of the city,
he secured plans, specifications and estimates of the cost of a library building, and when he was satisfied that his income justified him in undertaking


4.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


737


the work he informed the library board that with their consent he would
erect a suitable building on the ground owned by the city, and bound himself to the board to build it and present it to the city thoroughly equipped
for the purpose intended. This offer was accepted and highly appreciated.
He carried out his pledge and it was thus that the city of Coldwater was
supplied with a library building that is an ornament, as well as serving a
most useful purpose. In other ways he has promoted the public welfare,
being the champion of all movements that he deemed would prove beneficial
to city or county.
In politics Mr. Clarke was a Republican, but never sought or desired
political preferment. He was ever a staunch friend and supporter of school
and church interests and although not a member, regularly attended the services of the Presbyterian church. His interest, however, centered in his home
and family and he desired above all else to be a worthy example to his children and that they should grow up to be a credit to their name and the city
in which they lived. They have come to cherish his memory as something
most dear and precious, and it is also enshrined in the hearts of many friends,
while the community regarded his death as a public loss and one to be deeply
deplored.
Upon reaching manhood and when ready to establish a home of his
own, Mr. Clarke sought in marriage the hand of Miss Sarah E. Gilbert, of
Monroe, Michigan, whom he wedded in I850. She was born in Canastota,
New York, in 1832, and still survives her husband.  Her parents were
Jonathan T. and Elizabeth (Morris) Gilbert, the former a native of Connecticut. He came to, Michigan with his family during the girlhood of
Mrs. Clarke, who remained under the parental roof until the time of her
marriage. She had long been a member of the Presbyterian church and
her fidelity to her church and friends has won her uniform esteem. As a
dutiful wife she was to her husband a source of much help and comfort.
Unto the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Clarke were born four children: Eva
F., the wife of A. H. Powell; Morris G., a merchant of Coldwater; Ralph
E., who is with his brother in business; and Mabel, the wife of W. N. Worcester, and died in 1885, leaving a daughter, Sarah C. The sons became
partners of their father in the mercantile enterprise and at his death succeeded to! the business, which they have continued to conduct under the old
style of E. R. Clarke & Company, being composed of Morris G., Ralph E.
and E. R. Clarke, Jr. They are numbered among the prominent and worthy
citizens.of Coldwater and are gentlemen of the highest integrity, now enjoying a prosperous business career.
Edwin R. Clarke will long be remembered as one of the most prominent and respected residents of Coldwater.  While he accomplished much
in the business world and ratified his friendships by kindly sympathy and
thoughtful consideration for others, his greatest depth of love was reserved
for his family... 1.!  e  z a_ -




738              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
WILLIAM     W. SNIDER.
William W. Snider, president of the village of Union City, and active
in its commercial circles as a dealer in dry goods, carpets and millinery, has
in the course of a successful business career developed and strengthened his
latent energies and so conducted his affairs that he has advanced individual
success and at the same time has promoted public prosperity. He is a native
son of the middle west and a typical citizen of 1Michigan, energetic, farsighted and alert.  He was horn in Albion, June 29, I857. His father,
Peter Snider, was a native of the state of New York, where he remained
until his removal to Michigan at an early epoch in the development of this
state. He located at Albion, where he engaged in merchandising. He married Harriet A. Ketchum, whose birth occurred in Calhoun county, Michigan,
and who now resides in Homer, surviving her husband, who passed away in
Homer at the age of eighty-two years. They were the parents of two sons,
the younger being Fred, who died in Homner when about forty-one years of
age.
William XW. Snider spent the days of his childhood and youth in Albion,
acquiring his early education there and afterward spending two terms as a
student in Hillsdale academy.  He entered upon his business career in
Homer as proprietor of a general store in I888, and while there residing he
was appointed postmaster under President Harrison and was retained through
the administration of President Cleveland, acting in that capacity for five
years. He was also township clerk for nine years, and was president of the
board for two years. He likewise served as a member of the council for
one year, but resigned when appointed to the position of postmaster. He
came to Union City in September, 895, here entering into partnership with
M. J. Rowley, now deceased. In 1900 he purchased his partner's interest
and has since conducted business alone. He has also been express agent for
the American Express Company for eight years and acts in this capacity in
connection with the management of his store, which is a well equipped establishment. He carries a large and caref{ully selected stock of goods, and because of his study of the public needs and desires, his straightforward business methods and his reasonable prices, he has secured a liberal and gratifying
patronage,
In community affairs, active and influential, Mr. Snider has had not a
little to: do with molding the public policy of Union City during the period of
his residence here, and in 1904 was elected president of the village board, to
which position he was re-elected in the spring of 1905, having rendered capable and satisfactory service during his first term. He has attained the Royal
Arch degree in Masonry and has membership relations with the Knights of
the Maccabees. While in Homer he became a charter member of that organization and served as finance keeper for nine years. He was also cashier
of the Exchange Bank at that place.
Mt Snider was first married in Homer to Miss Ella C. Sabin, and after
her dea* he wedded Rae Turner, the wedding being celebrated in June, I888.
Progress and patriotism might well be termed the keynote of his character,






O^T~l~rf '








HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


739


as in his business life he has made consecutive advancement, seeking out new
mnethods all the tilme for the enlargement of his activity, while in public office
he has been actuated at all times by a genuine interest in the public good
and a sincere desire for the welfare of his community.
GEORGE R. SANFORD.
The gentleman named above has led a remarkably active and useful
life, has been engaged in pursuits of a widely different character, and he
is now passing his declining days upon his farm on section ten, Girard township. Here, in spite of his eighty-one years, he continues his habits of activity, is in the full possession of his physical and mental faculties, and still
carries an air of boyish good nature and jollity seldom seen in a man of
his years and experience.
Mr. George R. Sanford is a native of the Empire state, he having been
born in Marion, Wayne county, New York, March 3, I824. His father
was Stephen Sanford and his mother was Emma Russell, both natives of
New York state, and both coming from the best: old eastern stock which has
done so much in the settlement of the middle west. His father was a veteran of the war of 1812, and he lived to the good old age of eighty-seven
years, while the mother was eighty-two years old at the time of her death.
George R. Sanford was their youngest son, and he early manifested
those traits of mind and character which were to make him a leading figure
in the communities in which he was to make his home. He passed his early
life in Wayne county, New York, and here he attained a good common
school education, which was supplemented with a course of study at Walworth Academy. He taught school in that vicinity and when scarcely past
his majority he purchased a farm which he paid for from his earnings as
a teacher and a farmer.
He was married at Walworth, New York, November 8, 1854, to Miss
Mary Barnum, daughter of Eli and Clarinda (Thompson) Barnum, who
was born in Dutchess county, New York, January I3, I825. Soonr after their
marriage they located at Fairport, New York, where Mr. Sanford became
the owner of large tracts of land which he platted into farms and town lots.
At one time he was considered one of the most extensive and enterprising
real estate dealers in the interior of the state of New York, and he was
at this time known as one of the leading and most highly esteemed citizens
of Fairport, where he was called upon to fill positions of public trust and
responsibility.  Ever willing to aid his friends in business ventures, and
possessing thorough confidence in his business associates, he was led to endorse paper and to back financial enterprises to such an extent that he was
brought into finatrial difficulties, and the greater portion of his property
was taken in asssuming the liabilities thus inturred. With undaunted energy,
however, he decided to go into the west and seek to recoup his fallen fortunes, and in the spring of I88O he came to Girard, where he operated several farms for a period of three years, afterward returning to New York
state, where he remained for two years. He then returned to Michigan and




74O0


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


located in Calhoun county, where he lived upon several farms which he
rented and owned until I898, when he purchased his present productive farm
of eighty acres on section ten, Girard. Here Mr. and Mrs. Sanford have a
most comfortable home.
The union of Mr. and Mrs. Sanford has been blessed with the birth
of five children, one of whom died in infancy. The three still living are
Eli B. Sanford, who is on a ranch in Montana; Emma, the wife of F. B.
Gleason, a young business man of Batavia, New York; and May C., the wife
of C. O. Strong, of Burlington, Michigan.
Mr. and Mrs. Sanford are members of the Tekonsha Presbyterian
church, of which society Mr. Sanford is also an officer. The worthy couple
have many warm personal friends in this portion of the state who hold
them in the highest regard and esteem on account of their many sterling
and lovable traits of character.
CAPTAIN LUCIUS M. WING.
Captain Lucius M. Wing president of the Coldwater National Bank
and active in promoting and conducting varied business interests which have
contributed to public prosperity as well as to individual success, was horn on
a farm in Coldwater township, Branch county, Michigan, February 27, I839.
His parents were Barnabas and Lucetta (Titus) Wing, the former a native
of Vermont and the latter of New York. The father was reared in the Green
Mountain state, and in early manhood he went to the Empire state, where
he was married. About I830 he brought his wife to Branch county, settling
in Coldwater township, where he became the owner of a farm which he
conducted in connection with the manufacture of brick, having about three
miles east of Coldwater the first brick yard of the county. Both Barnabas
and Lucetta Wing died in this county, the former passing. away in I868.
They had but two children, Lewis and Lucius M. After losing his first wife
the father married again, and there was a son and a daughter by the second
union. In his political views Barnabas Wing was originally a Whig, and
upon the dissolution of that party he gave his support to the Republican
party. As a pioneer he took an active and helpful interest in everything pertaining to the development and improvement of the county and his labors
along agricultural and industrial lines contributed to the material growth and
progress of this section of the state.
Lucius M. Wing was reared upon his father's farm and pursued his
education in the district schools of Coldwater.  When about twenty-one
years of age he began farming on his own account, and also operated the
brick yard established by his, father, but in I862 he put aside all business
and personal consideration that he might respond to the country's call for
aid, the Civil war having been inaugurated. He enlisted as a private of
Company C, Nineteenth Michigan Infantry, but was soon promoted to the
rank of second lieutenant, later commissioned captain of his company and
was placed on staff duty, thus serving during the last year and a half of the
war. He remained with his command until the close of hostilities, and was




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


741


a patriotic soldier and faithful officer, making for himself a most creditable
military record during the three years of his connection with the boys in
blue.
Following the close of the war Captain Wing resumed farming, and
a year later was elected sheriff of Branch county, at which time he removed
to Coldwater. He became a factor in the business life of the city as one
of the stockholders in the industry conducted under the name of the American Cigar Company. He retained his connection with that enterprise for
thirty years and the business proved very successful, so that he secured a
good profit upon his investment. He was also interested in a stock farm
in the county and he became president and general manager of the Wolverine Portland Cement Company. Since 189,2 he has been a factor in financial circles, having in that year become connected with the Coldwater National Bank, of which he was chosen president in I896. He has since been
at the head of the institution and has inaugurated a safe conservative policy
that makes this one of the leading and reliable concerns of the state.
In I868 Captain Wing was united in marriage to Miss Adeline M. Knapp
and they have two sons-Philip L. and Sigmund L. The parents affiliate
with the Episcopal church, and Captain Wing is a member of the Grand
Army of the Republic and the Loyal Legion, thus maintaining social relationship with those with whom he fought upon the battlefields of the south.
He has always given his political support to the Republican party, and it
was upon that ticket that he was chosen sheriff of the county, to which position he was re-elected at the close of his first term. He was also mayor of
Coldwater for one year and he exercised his official prerogatives in behalf of
needed reform and improvement, giving to the public a very satisfactory
administration. His public service as an official, his business career and his
private life are characterized by unfaltering devotion to duty and by the faithful discharge of every obligation that devolves upon him.
JACOB W. MANN.
A life-long resident of Girard and Branch county is the gentleman named
above. As his name indicates, Mr. Mann is a descendant of one of the oldest
families of this section, his ancestors having done much in the development and
upbuilding of this prosperous region.
His father was Peter I. Mann, who was born in Slchoharie, Schoharie
county, New York, February 27, I815, where he passed his early years.
Peter I. Mann was the son of Jacob W. Mann-this name having been
handed down to the grandson, who is the subject of this sketch-and Polly
Shannon Mann, also a native of Schoharie county, New York, where she
was born March I, I798. Jacob and Polly Shannon Miann were married
and the parents of four children when they came to Michigan in 1836 and
settled in the township of Girard, where the remainder of their lives was'
passed. Mr. Mann died September I9, I846, while his wife lived to a good
old age, passing away October 5, i886.
Mr. Peter I. Mann grew up with the then new township of Girard, and




742


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


became one of its wealthiest and most influential citizens. He was married
January 13, 1842, to Lavina, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Putnam)
Grove, and eight children were born to them. Three of these children died
in infancy; Nina died twenty-five years ago at the age of sixteen years;
Mark H. Mann is a prosperous Girard farmer; Belinda Mann Hurst is a
resident of the city of Coldwater; Mary Mann, Williams lives at Girard Center; while another son, Jacob W. Mhnn, is the subject of this sketch. Mr.
and Mrs. Peter I. Mann lived to a good old age, and their deaths were
deeply deplored, Mr. Mann dying January 8, 18917, Mrs. Mann's death preceding this, October 7, I890.
Mr. Jacob W. Mann, our subject, was born in Girard, January 8,
1847, and his entire life has been passed here. He has always been engaged
in farming, and is counted as one of the solid and substantial citizens of this
community. He was married at Jackson, Michigan, March 25, I870, to
Miss Emma Prentiss, who was born in the township of Coldwater, June 8,
I845. She was the daughter of Curtiss Prentiss, a native of Penfield, New
York, where he was born April 13, 1813, her mother being Clarinda Fox,
also a native of New York state, where she was born about I8I5. The
Prentiss and Fox families were of good old Empire state stock, where they
were among the leading people. Curtiss Prentiss was the only member of
his family to come to Michigan, and when he arrived here in 1836 Girard
and Branch county were not the blooming and fertile sections now seen
here. Instead there were unbroken forests and no means of transportation
aside from wagon roads and bridle and foot paths. For many years he was
engaged in the transportation of goods, suupplies, etc., through this portion of the state, making frequent trips as far as Detroit for supplies for the
little colony of people located here.
His marriage to Clarinda Fox was blessed with the birth of five children, two of whom died in infancy, the three who grew to manhood and
womanhood being: Mrs. Jacob W. Mann, of Girard; Edson D. Prentiss,
of Mason county, Mlichigan; and Charles E. Prentiss, who died in Allegan
county, Michigan, April 18, I90o2. The mother died in Union township January 28, I853. Mr. Prentiss was married to Emma Andrews, of Branch
county. To them were born six children, three of whom are now living,
as follows: Mrs. Charles Hollenbeck, of Tekonsha, Michigan; George D.
Prentiss, of Burr Oak, Michigan; and Mrs. Hattie Sanford, of Girard. One
daughter, Clara Prentiss, died in November of I9OI. Curtiss Prentiss was
a resident of this county until 1884, when he removed to Burr Oak, St.
Joseph county, Michigan, where he died January I6, I896, and where Mrs.
Prentiss is still living.
Mr. and Mrs. Jacob W. Mann are the parents of one daughter, Edna,
who was married October 12, i892, to Artemas A. Perry, They have one
daughter, Bernice, who was born October 30, 1895, and one son, Carleton,
who was born July 10, 1898. The family reside in a most comfortable farm
home in Girard.
Soon after the marriage of Jacob W. and Emma Prentiss Mann they




/


I~r~




p




0/k







HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


743


made their home on a farm in the northern part of the township of Girard,
where they lived for ten years. In I882 they removed to their present home
on section sixteen, Girard. The place consists of one hundred and twenty
acres of fine farming, land adjoining the village of Girard, with suitable
buildings and a modern and attractive house and grounds. Mr. Mann is
affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, being a member of Tyre lodge, Coldwater, while Mrs. Mann is a member of the Girard Methodist Episcopal
church. Both stand high in the regard and esteem of the residents of this
section, where their entire lives have been passed. The names of Mann,
Prentiss and Fox have for many years been intimately associated with the
history of Girard township, and their worthy descendants feel justly proud
of the ancestors and relatives who, have passed to their well-earned rewards,.
WILLIAM A. TOMPKINS.
William A. Tompkins, deceased, was for many years a respected and
representative farmer of Girard township.  The student of history cannot
carry his investigation far into the annals of Branch county without learning
of the close and beneficial connection of the Tompkins family with this part
of the state, four generations of the name being residents of Girard township, 'so that from the period of primitive development down to the present
they have contributed to the substantial progress and improvement of this
locality.
William A. Tompkins was born in this township July 6, I836, and was
among the first white native children here. His father, James B. Tompkins,
long considered the leading citizen of Girard township, was born in Schoharie
county, New York, June 28, I8o4, and having arrived at years of maturity
was married to Miss Eliza Ames, who was born in the town of Colchester,
Chittenden county, Vermont, March 3, I813. They were among the first
settlers of Girard township, Branch county, casting in their lot with its
pioneer settlers and sharing in the hardships and privations which constitute
a chapter in the life history of all who locate on the frontier. The father was
a surveyor and made all of the first surveys in this township and county, thus
assisting materially in the development and progress of the community. He
also furthered many interests for the public good, and was a man whose upright life and honorable character won him the respect and admiration of all
with whom he came in contact. He died August I, 1879, and his wife, long
surviving him, passed away on the 6th of December, I902, at. the advanced
age of ninety years.
William A. Tompkins was reared on the old family homestead amid
the scenes and environments of pioneer life, and early became familiar with
the labors that constitute the life of the agriculturist. He was indebted to
the public school system for the educational privileges he enjoyed, and he
spent nearly his entire life in his native township, although he lived at Elkhart, Indiana, for a few years, at Clarendon, Calhoun county, Michigan, for
two years and at Coldwater for one year. The greater part of his business
career was devoted to agricultural pursuits, and at the time of his death he




744              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
was one of the largest landowners in Girard township, his holdings embracing
nearly four hundied acres of fertile land, constituting a very valuable and
attractive farm. It was splendidly equipped with modern improvements and
conveniences and a commodious home, pleasantly located, indicated great
care and good taste.
Mr. Tompkins was married twice. On the ist of December, I859, he
wedded Sabra Matthews, by whom he had one son, Frank, who is now living
in Oberon, North Dakota. He is engaged in farming and is also district
veterinarian for the state of three counties. On the 27th of December, I874,
Mr. Tompkins was again married, his second union being with Miss Irene
C. Millard, who survives him and lives upon the home farm on section II,
Girard township.
Throughout his business career Mr. Tompkins was found reliable and
honorable, and his record was in keeping with his father's' history, for he,
too, was classed with the prominent and representative citizens of his community, and in matters of public progress was deeply interested to the extent
of giving hearty support to all measures which he believed would prove of
general good. At the time of his death the following lines appeared in one
of the local papers:
"William A. Tompkins died quite suddenly at his home in Girard,
Thursday, July 13, 19o05. He was born in Girard township, July 6, 1835,
and was the second son of Mr. and Mrs. James Tompkins, who settled in
Girard tcwnship in I83I, and of a family of nine children only three are
now living-Mrs. Adeline Granger, Theron and Frank Tompkins, all residents of Girard township.
" With the exception of a short residence in Elkhart, Coldwater and
Clarendon, Mr. Tompkins has always been a resident of Girard township
and was classed as one of its wealthy farmers. What changes he has seen
come to pass in that now beautiful township. W\hen a child it was almost a
wilderness, with an occasional log cabin dotted here and there, with a larger
population of Indians than white people, and now beautiful farms are seen
everywhere.
M' r. Tompkins was a highly respected, substantial citizen and will be
missed much in the community. He will be especially missed in the Baptist
church, as he was a friend and liberal helper. Rev. F. R. Randall preached
the funeral sermon at the Baptist church yesterday at three p. m., and the
remains were laid at rest in the Girard cemetery."
WILLIAM    E. SHAW.
William E. Shaw, residing on section twenty-four, Batavia township,
was born in Ovid township, Branch county, November 27, I846, and is the,,
youngest of a family of ten children, seven daughters and three sons, whose
parents were Christopher B. and Charlotte (Bagley) Shaw, both of whom
were natives of England.  Having crossed the Atlantic to America, the
father took up his abode in Ohio, and from that state came to Branch county,
Michigan, in I845. He died November 26, 1849, having been for but a






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


745


brief period a resident of this part of the state. His widow, however, long
survived him, and her death occurred in Coldwater in I893, when she was
in her eighty-eighth year. Of their ten children two died in Ohio, while
eight reached adult age.
William E. Shaw was partly reared in Coldwater, where his parents
located when he was but a year old. He there remained until nine years of
age, when his mother took up her abode on a farm in Batavia township.
His education was acquired in the schools of Coldwater, in Litchfield, and in
Jonesville, Michigan, spending two terms at the last named place. Having
put aside his text books he began learning the miller's trade at the age of
sixteen years, and he followed that pursuit for ten years, spending five years
of the time in Litchfield. He was also at Constantine, at Jackson and Hillsdale, Michigan, and for four years operated the Hodunk mill. He then
began farming in Coldwater township and remained there for eleven years,
carrying on general agricultural pursuits on the corporate line. He afterward spent one year in Edgar, Clay county, Nebraska, where he bought a
farm, but when a year had passed he sold that property and returned to Coldwater.  Not long afterward he purchased a farm in Matteson township,
where he lived for three years. He had charge of the state school for one
year and he was foreman of the Dewey Stave Company at Toledo, Ohio,
for one year, working under L. P. Aldin, who was superintendent at that
time. He then returned to Matteson township and bought another farm,
remaining on the same for twelve years. On the expiration of that period
he traded that property for a farm in Bronson township and then traded for
a farm in Hillsdale county and took up his abode in Litchfield township.
There he lived for eight years, when in I902 he sold the property and returned to Coldwater, purchasing a tract of ten acres on Grand street. A year
later he traded this for what was known as the James Peterson farm, where
he now resides, having two hundred and thirty-seven acres of land, which is
very productive, responding readily to his cultivation. There is also a modern house upon the place, and the farm is well improved in all of its equipments, good machinery being utilized in the care and cultivation of the fields.
He is now successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising and is
justly regarded as an enterprising, progressive citizen, who is practical in
his business methods and owes his success to his close application, untiring
diligence and keen business discrimination. He today owns one hundred
and fifty head of sheep, seventy-five head of hogs, ten head of cattle and five
head of horses, and he has a well equipped farm that in its attractive appearance shows that he is in touch with the most advanced methods of farming.
In I868 Mr. Shaw was united in marriage to Miss Ada E. Carr, a daughter of A. C. and Mary (Vance) Carr, who was born in Bronson, Branch
county, Michigan, and there remained until seventeen years of age. Both
Mr. and Mrs. Shaw have a wide circle of warm friends in this part of the
state, and the cordial and generous hospitality of their own home is greatly
enjoyed by their many visitors. Mr. Shaw keeps well informed on the
questions and issues of the day and is a stanch advocate of Republican principles. While living in Matteson township he served as drain commissioner




746


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


and at one time he was deputy sheriff of the county. He may well be termed
a self-made man and deserves all the praise that that term applies. He depended upon his own labors for his education, for he worked for his board
while attending school. When fourteen years of age he started out upon an
independent business career and has since depended entirely upon his own resources. Nothing was given him and all that he has made has come as the
result of his persistency of purpose. Today he is the owner of the best residence in the township, and his farm is also equal to any found in this part of
the county. His life should inspire and encourage others who are forced to
start out as he did, amid unfavorable circumstances, for his record proves
that prosperity will come if persistently, earnestly and honestly sought.
W. B. CHIESMAN.
W. B. Chiesman, filling the position of postmaster in Sherwood, where
he is also conducting a shoe business, was born in Madison, Ohio, January
10, 1858, his parents being Benjamin F. and Phoebe P. (Smith). Chiesman.
The father, a native of England, came to America when a young man about
twenty-four years of age. He was a jeweler and located in Madison, Ohio,
whence he afterward removed to Chardon, that state, but he lived to be only
thirty-three years of age. His wife, a native of Ripon, England, died in her
sixty-sixth year.
W. B. Chiesman is the younger of their two sons. He was reared in
Ashtabula county, Ohio, pursued his education in the district schools and
in the Normal Institute at Orwell, Ohio. About I88I he engaged in merchandising on his own account at Newville, DeKalb county, Indiana, where
'he carried on his store until I890, when he sold out there and came to Sherwood. Here he established a drug and book store. which he conducted for
about six years, when he disposed of that enterprise and turned his attention to the shoe trade, which still claims his time and energies, having a liberal patronage which is indicative of his lonorable methods and the confidence which the public have in his business dealings.
Mr. Chiesman has also figured somewhat prominently in local affairs.
He was trustee of his township in DeKalb county, Indiana, for five years
and was chairman of the Republican county central committee for four years.
He has held office in Sherwood, having been president of the village for
three years, treasurer for five years and township clerk for two years, while
in 1897 he was appointed by President McKinley to the office of postmaster, which position he yet fills by reappointment of President Roosevelt, now
serving his third term. No public trust in him has ever been betrayed in
the slightest degree as he performs his public service with the same care
and fidelity which he manifests in the supervision of his private business
interests.
Mr. Chiesman was married in I880 to Miss Belle A. Leggett, a daughter of James Leggett, of Montville, Ohio. They have one son, Guy, who is
now in his second year at Olivet College. Mr. Chiesman is a member of
the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Sherwood Lodge, No. 421, and he




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


747


also has membership relations with the Knights of the Maccabees of Sherwood and with the Unitarian church. His life in both its public and private
relations has been marked by consecutive advancement and his efforts have
been directed along well defined lines of labor, a definite plan of action resulting in the acquirement of a competence. His official service marks him
as a public-spirited and patriotic citizen and the welfare of the community
as well as national progress are matters dear to his heart.
DANIEL LARZELERE.
Daniel Larzelere, who is one of the oldest grain dealers in the state of
Michigan, now living a retired life in Quincy, has passed the eighty-fourth
milestone on life's journey, his birth having occurred in Seneca Falls, New
York, in I821. In the paternal line he is of French lineage and in the maternal line of Dutch descent. His father, William Larzelere, was a native
of the Empire state and traced his ancestry back to one of three brothers
who came to America in an early day, fleeing from their own country and
settling on Staten Island. William Larzelere was connected with the boat
business and was also active in speculation. In 1836 he came to Michigan,
settling one mile west of Kenton, in Lenawee county. He was in good
financial circumstances, prosperous in most of his business investments. He
became prominent in community affairs and was called to, various public
offices, serving as collector and justice of the peace, filling the last named
position for a number of years in New York. His political allegiance was
given to the Whig party until its dissolution, when he joined the ranks of
the new Republican party. In his religious faith he was a Congregationalist. He married Mahala Burrows, a native of Seneca Falls, New York, who
died in 1885, at the age of eighty-two years.  They were the parents of
seven sons and one daughter.
Daniel Larzelere, the only surviving member of the family, was but
twelve years of age when he began earning his own living, being employed
in a store. When a young man of twenty years he embarked in business
for himself as a woolen manufacturer in Ypsilanti, and he afterward spent
six years as a merchant and miller at Grass Lake. In 1846 he began buying
grain, having built a mill, and he has the reputation of being the oldest grain
dealer in the state of Michigan. Later he removed to Adrian and accepted
the position of chief clerk in the office of the superintendent of the Lake
Shore Railroad Company, being at that point for four years.  His next
home was at Dowagiac, Michigan, where he carried on merchandising, also
dealt in grain and wool and built a business block which he afterward sold
for ten thousand dollars. He remained at Dowagiac for seventeen years,
prospering in his undertakings there. and when he disposed of his business
interests he took in exchange for his store four hundred and sixty-four
acres of land and the stock upon the farm at Tekonsha, where he carried on
general agricultural pursuits for six years. He had previously owned and
operated a number of farms, so that the work of the agriculturist was not
unfamiliar to him. On leaving the farm he traded his property there for




748


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


realty in Quincy. This was in the year 1877, and in the following year
he engaged in merchandising, since which time he has been a representative
of the grain trade at this point and yet makes extensive shipments. He has
always led a busy life, and while at Dowagiac his business interests amounted
to three hundred thousand dollars annually. While in business in that city
he also had six stations where he bought grain-Dowagiac, Decatur, Lawton, Buchanan, Niles and Clayton. He was a man amongst the farmers who
always stood by his word and was ever popular, one who stood four square
with the world as an honest business man.
Mr. Larzelere has been married twice. In 1845 he wedded Delia Brewer,
of Ypsilanti, and they became; the parents of one son, Frank A., who is
now living in Quincy. In 1857 Mr. Larzelere was married to Clymena
Larzelere, of Adrian, Michigan, and they have become the parents of three
daughters: Leora E., the wife of Rev. K. N. Conrad, a minister of the
Baptist church, at Newport, New York; Ina M., the wife of William Mensell. a plumber at Los Gatos, California: and Clymena, who died in infancy.
They also have an adopted son, Claude S., who is now professor in the Central Normal School at Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
Mr. and Mrs. Larzelere are members of the Presbyterian church at
Quincy, in which he is serving as treasurer, and in the work of which they
take an active and helpful interest. He assisted in organizing the Odd Fellows lodge at Ypsilanti, and to some extent has attended the meetings in
Quincy. Formerly he was a Republican, but is now a strong Prohibitionist
and takes high ground on the subject of temperance. He has often been
solicited to accept nomination for office, but has invariably declined, preferring to concentrate his time, energies and attention upon his business
affairs. Few men of his years are yet so active in business as is Mr. Larzelere, and such a life record should put to shame many a man of much
younger years, who, growing weary of the struggles of a business career,
would relegate to others the burdens that he should bear. Old age does
not necessarily suggest idleness nor want of occupation. There is an old
age that grows stronger and better as the years pass, both mentally and spiritually, and gives of its rich'stores an experience. Such has been the record
of Mr. Larzelere, who is to-day one of the most honored as well as most
venerable citizens of Quincy.
ARTHUR BURROWS.
Arthur Burrows has for forty-three years been a resident of Coldwater,
and while he has never sought to figure in public life and thus gain wide
prominence, he has nevertheless been a factor in community interests, supporting all measures for the benefit and upbuilding of the city and co-operating in many movements which have been effective in advancing the welfare of the county.
Mr. Burrows is a native of England, his birth having occurred in Bury
St. Edmonds, county Suffolk, December 29, I827.  His parents, William
and Sarah (Snare) Burrows, were also natives of the same locality, and




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


749


when they came to America in the year 1837 they settled in Rochester, New
York, where their remaining days were passed, their remains being interred
in Mount Hope cemetery. They were the parents of eight children, seven
sons and a daughter, of whom one died in infancy, while one remained in
England, the other five sons and daughter coming to! America with their
parents.
Arthur Burrows, the seventh in order of birth in the family, was only
nine years of age when he crossed the Atlantic, and in Rochester, New York,
he was reared and educated, remaining there until early manhood, when he
removed to Brockport, New York, about seventeen miles west of the former
city. He was there married December 29, 1850, to Eliza J. Grenell, who
was born in Greenfield, Saratoga county, New York, October 19, I827, a
daughter of Benjamin and Betsy Grenell, who removed to Brockport, where
their daughter spent her girlhood days and acquired her education.  The
young couple began their domestic life in that place, where they remained
until 1862, when they came to, Coldwater, Michigan, and since that time
Mr. Burrows, as a public-spirited and progressive citizen, has upheld the
moral and political status of the community and contributed to its material
progress and improvement. He entered business life here as an employe of
the firm of Blodget & Company, dealers in furniture and undertaker's supplies, with whom he remained for about fifteen years, when, his economy
and industry bringing to him some capital, he embarked in mercantile life
on his own account. It was in I885 that he opened his furniture and undertaking establishment, as a partner of A. R. Brown, under the firm name of
Brown & Burrows. Later the senior member sold his interest to J. M.
Crocker, with whom Mr. Burrows was afterward engaged in the undertaking business for about two years. In the winter of 1899 the business relations between them were discontinued and Mr. Burrows opened an undertaking parlor in connection with Charles H. Harris, with whom he continued until April 4, 1902, when he retired from active business life to enjoy
the competence which his years of earnest toil, capable management and
keen discrimination in business affairs had brought to him.
Of strongly domestic tastes and interested in the home life, Mr. Burrows has ever done what he could to promote the welfare and happiness of
his wife and children. Only two, however, of the eight children born to
him and his wife are now living: Lelia, the wife of J. N. Smith, a rural
mail carrier; and Mattie E., the wife of William Clark, of. Coldwater. Mr.
Burrows also has three grandchildren, Fred Burrows, May Sawin and Fred
Smith. The members of the family who have passed away are as follows:
William A., born May 17, I854, in Brockport, New York, died in Iroquois,
Illinois, December 20, i88i; Carrie Jane, born August 6, 1857, in Brockport, New York, died in Coldwater, May 8, 1897; Ida Elizabeth, born in
Brockport, February 17, 1859, died lay 17, I884; Harry C., born March
28. I86I, in Brockport, died in Coldwater May 7, i862; Fred, born January
2, 1864, in this city, died January 7, 1864; Kate S., born in Brockport, New
York, March 28. I86I, died August 24, I885.
Aside from the fact that Mr. Burrows was so long an active repre



750


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


sentative of business interests, he was also well known in Coldwater because
of his participation in public affairs.  His position in regard to political
questons has ever been an unequivocal one, as he has given a stanch and
unswerving support to Republican principles. He has labored earnestly to
promote the growth and insure the success of his party, and has been called
to render various public services of a responsible character. He has been a
member of the United States grand jury and the Branch county petit jury.
He was county coroner for six years, supervisor from the first ward for six
years and alderman from the first ward for two years. No public trust has
ever been betrayed by him in the slightest degree and his public duties have
been performed in the same capable and straightforward manner that ever
characterized his business dealings. A permeating influence and motive
power in his life has been his relationship with the Baptist church, of which
he has been a member for sixty years. He has filled various offices in the
church, and for a number of years was superintendent of the Sunday-school
and he has ever given generously of his means to the support of Christian
and charitable work. During a residence off forty-three years in Coldwater
he has so lived as to make for himself an enviable reputation in commercial,
political and church circles. With a just conception of the duties and obligations that devolve upon man, and his possibilities for accomplishment in
character building as well as in the material things of life, he has wrought
along lines of great good, and is therefore to-day one of the most thoroughly
respected and esteemed citizens of Branch county.
DANA P. WHITE.
Dana P. White, who is engaged in the milling business in Union City,
is a native of the Green Mountain state, his birth having occurred in Orange
county, Vermont, November I, 1826. His father, Josiah White, also born in
that state, was a millwright by occupation and died in his native county when
about sixty years of age. The ancestry of the family, however, can be traced
somewhat farther back, the family having been established in this country in
colonial days. The following is a quotation from Theodore Tilton:
"There was a Mrs. White on board the- Mayflower, the mother of the
first born child born to the New England pilgrims on this continent. It was
a good omen that this historic babe was brought into the world on board the
Mayflower, between' the time of casting the anchor and the landing of the
passengers. A kind of amphibious prophecy that the new born nation was to
have a birthright inheritance over sea and land.
" THEODORE TILTON."
"New York, December 22, 1865.
The grandfather, Paul White, lived to the extreme old age of ninety-six
years, while his wife Polly was ninety-four years of age at the time of her
death, and they. had traveled life's journey together for more than seventy
years. Josiah White was united in marriage to Miss Zerviah Townsend, also
a native of Vermont, who died when about fifty years of age, while her father




I( (9 C5








HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


passed away at the age of sixty years. Unto Mr. and Mrs. White were born
nine children, five sons and four daughters, all of whom reached adult age.
Dana P. White, the seventh member of this family, and the only one now
living, spent his boyhood days in the state of his nativity until fourteen years
of age and began his education there in a log schoolhouse. When still but a
lad he became familiar with the milling business, and in his fifteenth year he
started out to make his own way in the world. He then learned the tailor's
trade in Windsor, Vermont, serving a regular apprenticeship, and later he
accepted a clerkship in a clothing store at Cambridgeport, Massachusetts,
where he remained for a year. On the expiration of that period he entered
upon an active business career as a clothing.merchant of Windsor, Vermont,
but after a year he sold his store there and went to Charleston, New Hampshire, where he conducted a similar enterprise for two years. He then again
disposed of his stock of goods and removed to the middle west, settling in
Davenport, Iowa, where he engaged in the bag and paper business, manufacturing paper and flour sacks for about six years. He next located in St.
Louis, Missouri, where he engaged in the manufacture of vinegar in partnership with a brother, continuing there for about a year. This was during the
period of the Civil war. From St. Louis he went to Keokuk, Iowa, where
he again engaged in the manufacture of flour sacks for thirty-six years, conducting a profitable business. When the three decades had passed he sold his
interest to his brother and removed to Brooklyn, New York, where he lived
retired for about a year and a half. Settling in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he
spent three years in that city, having no active business interests, but enjoying a well earned rest.
Mr. lWhite first came to Union City in 1852, remaining for three years
at that time, and it was from this place that he removed to Bridgeport, Connecticut. There he conducted a clothing and furnishing goods business, after
which he went to Davenport, Iowa, as mentioned above. Again he came
to Union City on leaving Ann Arbor in I890, and after a time he purchased
a book store, which he conducted for five years. He also had charge of the
express and telephone business, and upon selling his store he purchased the
Union City mill, which he is now conducting, manufacturing an excellent
grade of flour, which finds a ready sale on the market.
In 1849 Mr. White was united ir marriage to Miss Elizabeth Gleason,
and unto them were born two children, Mary Addie and Annie Lizzie, twins.
'The latter is now the wife of Dr. Solon B. Parsons, of Arkansas City, Arkansas, and they have six children, three sons and three daughters, Dana, Helen,
Mary, Margaret, John and Richard. Mary A. is the wife of Professor E. R.
Miller of Auburn, Alabama, now in Cuba in the employ of the Cuban government. The mother died June I, i88I, and on the L7th of May, 1887, Mr.
White wedded Susie Easton.
Mr. White is an inflexible advocate of the Republican party, and voted
for. Fremont, Lincoln and its successive presidential candidates. Prior to its
organization he was a Democrat and cast his ballot for James K. Polk. He
has been a member of the Masonic fraternity between forty and fifty years.
and in his life has exemplified the beneficent spirit of the craft. Long a de



752


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


voted member of the Congregational church, he is serving as one of its
deacons and takes an active and helpful part in its work. His life is a proof
of the adage, " through struggles to success," for he started out in life emptyhanded and has gradually worked his way upward, making all that he has
enjoyed and now possesses through his industry. Although he has passed
the seventy-eighth milestone of life's journey he is still an active factor in
business life and such a career should put to shame many a man of younger
years who. growing weary of the close application and struggles of a business career, would put upon others the burdens that he should bear. In spirit
and interest Mr. White seems yet in his prime and he commands the respect
of young and old, rich and poor.
WILLIS A. MILLER.
Willis A. Miller, who is farming on section one, Batavia township, is
numbered among Michigan's native sons, his birth having occurred in Pontiac, Oakland county, on the 7th of December, I852. His father, George
Miller, was a native of Highland county, Ohio, born February I8,, I8I9,
and he came to Branch county, Michigan, about 183I, but went to Iowa in
1853, returning, however, to Michigan in I859. For forty years thereafter
he remained a resident of this part of the state, and his death occurred in
Coldwater in I899, when he had attained th;e venerable age of eighty years.
He married Miss Ruth Norton, who was born in Jefferson county, New
York, October I6, I824. Her last days were spent in the home of her son,
Willis Miller, where she passed away on the Ioth of November, I9goI.
Mr. Miller was an adopted son of these worthy people, becoming a
member of their family when only five weeks old, and he was never made to
feel that they were not his real parents, but received from them the loving
care and attention which are to be expected from an own father and mother.
He was a youth of seven years at the time of their removal to Branch county
and here he pursued his education in the district schools of Gilead township. He remained at home up to the time of his marriage, March 28, I888,
when Miss Anna Luh became his wife.    She was born in Germany and
was a little maiden of four summers when brought by her parents to Branch
county, Michigan, receiving her education in the common schools. She is a
daughter of Carl and Catherine (Gruner) Luh and was reared in Union
township, this county.  At the time of their marriage the young couple
located on the farm which is now their home, and he has since given his
attention to the tilling of the soil and the improvement of his property, having one hundred acres of land, constituting an excellent farm. In fact he is
classed with the successful agriculturists of the county, having made most
of the improvements upon his place, a fact which indicates his progressive
spirit and careful supervision. The farm is neat and thrifty, and in all of
his work he is practical, his labors being attended with the success which
always comes as the reward of persistent purpose and unfaltering diligence.
He has been a resident of Branch county for forty-six years and has taken
an active interest in all public affairs, his political allegiance being given to




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


753 -


the Republican party, for he believes that it contains the best elements of
good government.  Mrs. Miller is a member of the Presbyterian church,
and also a member of Centennial Bay View Reading Circle, being chairman
of the division. In 1904 Mr. and Mrs. Miller made a two thousand five
hundred mile trip through the states of Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa,
Minnesota, Nebraska, Indiana, Missouri and Kansas in their automobile,
the "Olds Runabout," four and a half H, P. Their trip consumed three
and a half months and was for self-enjoyment. Mrs. Miller's comfortable,
cosy home is an indication that she is one of the careful housewives.
JOSEPH PHINEAS FARRAND.
Joseph Phineas Farrand, a veteran of the Civil war and a practical and
enterprising farmer of Branch county, was born May io, I833, in Elmira,
New York. His parents were Charles C. and Nancy (Christian) Farrand.
The father was a native of New Jersey and is descended from ancestors
who came to America while this country was still numbered among the
colonial possessions of Great Britain. Charles C. Farrand and his brother
Harvey removed from New Jersey to New York, where they engaged in
the operation of a sawmill for seven or eight years, and the year I836 witnessed his arrival in Bronson township, Branch county, Michigan.  He
found here a pioneer district with few settlements and little improvement;
but he cast in his lot with the frontiersmen who were subduing the wilderness, purchasing one hundred and sixty acres of land on section thirty-two,
Bronson township. A log house had been begun on the place and he finished that pioneer dwelling, taking up his abode there in I837. As he prospered in his farming pursuits he added one hundred and sixty acres on section thirty-two, a tract of forty acres on section thirty-three, forty acres on
section twenty-nine and eighty acres on section thirty-two, giving him an
aggregate of three hundred and twenty acres. He carried on general farming and developed his property into a productive tract of land, from which
he annually garnered rich crops. In the early days he served as road commissioner and laid out many of the roads in the southwest part of the township. He was prominent and helpful in public affairs and his worth was
widely acknowledged, so that deep regret was felt at the loss of this honored
pioneer settler when he was called to his final rest. In his family were five
children: Ebenezer, who died in I899; Joseph P., of this review; Marie,
who died in I9oo; Willis, who is living in Sherwood, Branch county; and
Catherine Eliza, who died in Kansas in I893.
Joseph P. Farrand, reared upon the old home farm under the parental
roof, early became familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and
caring for the stock. In the winter months he attended the district schools,
wherein he mastered the common branches of English learning, and he continued to aid in the operation of the home farm until 1859. He was married October I, 1857, to Miss Olivia C. Smith, a daughter of Thomas
Smith, and he continued to carry on general agricultural pursuits on the
old farm homestead until I861, when in response to his country's need he




754


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


offered his services to the Union for three years and became a member of
Company D, Eleventh Michigan Infantry. The regiment was attached to
the Army of the Cumberland, and he went south to join the command. He
was then sent to Detroit to draw back-pay and was ordered to join his
regiment, which was then with Sherman on the march to. the sea, but an
officer in command, recognizing his clerical ability, prevented him from
doing active work in the fields and he put him on detached duty. While
on his way to join his regiment, they got as far as the High Truss Bridge
on Greene river, Kentucky, on the Nashville Railroad, and here his detachment was held to guard this bridge from the rebels. They were attacked
Sunday morning about four o'clock and the action continued till ten o'clock,
but were under fire three days. They were surrounded by General Bragg's
army of sixty thousand men, but Mr. Farrand was paroled on the field. He
was dischargedin I865, but continued to serve two and a half years, or until
the records were sent from Detroit to Washington, D. C. While he was
on detached service in the south Mrs. Farrand acted as volunteer nurse in
the hospital for a year. Mr. Farrand's early progenitors were soldiers in
the Revolutionary war.
About I868 Mr. Farrand engaged in the conduct of a meat market in
Detroit, and on selling his business there he removed to, Toledo, Ohio, becoming fireman on the Lake Shore Railroad, his run being between Toledo
and Elkhart. He afterward went to Kansas and for six months was employed as fireman on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. Later he was made an
engineer and continued in the employ of the railroad company for eight
years. On the expiration of that period he came to Michigan on a visit
and accepted a position with the Lake Shore Railroad as engineer, continuing in that service for four years. About I880 he became proprietor of a
hotel at Clinger Lake and was also engineer on the boat, remaining at that
point for four years. In 1884 he went to Elkhart, Indiana, where for four
years he conducted a restaurant, and in I889 he rented the Williams farm,
upon which he lived for three years. He next rented a farm at Colon for
two years, and in I893 began the operation of the farm which his wife
inherited, of one hundred and twenty acres on section thirty-three, Bronson
township.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Farrand have been born two children: Burt, who
died in infancy; and Willis Smith. The latter, born in 1869, lives at Bronson, Michigan, where he is foreman of the American Truss and Post Company. He married Miss Bell Pbiser, and has a family of three children:
Burt Elliott, Harry Elmer and Inez May. He is a natural machinist, and
he was only fifteen when he made a complete engine.
In his political views Mr. Farrand is a Republican, having always supported the party since age gave him the right of franchise. He belongs to
the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and holds membership in Haskett Post No. 85, G. A. R., at Elkhart. In all matters of citizenship he is
interested and supports all movements for the general welfare with the same
loyalty that he displayed when on southern battlefields when he espoused
the Union cause.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


755


HENRY C. WHITLEY.
Henry C. Whitley, who is engaged in loaning money on farming lands
and makes his home in Coldwater, was born in Rochester, New York, January 7, I839. His father, John H. Whitley, was born in I814 and died in
1860. He came to Rochester, New York, in 1835, when a young man of
twenty-one years, where he engaged in the boot and shoe business. There
his death occurred when he was in his forty-seventh year. His wife bore
the maiden name of Eliza Gosnell and was born in I812, while her death
occurred April I8, I88I. She went to Rochester, New York, when about
twenty-five years of age. In their family were eleven children, ten sons and
a daughter, the latter being the youngest of the family.
Henry C. Whitley, the second son. was reared in the place of his nativity to the age of twenty-three years and was educated in the public schools
of Rochester. He entered upon his business career as a bookkeeper, which
profession he followed for seven years in the east. On the 3Ist of December, 1862, he arrived in Coldwater, where he accepted the position of bookkeeper and salesman for the firm of Dickinson and Webb, general merchants.
He remained with this house as an employe until I869, when he was admitted to a partnership, the firm name being then changed to Dickinson, Webb
& Company, and later to Dickinson & Whitley, which relation was maintained until the death of the senior partner in 1904, at which time the business was closed out. For many years he has been engaged in placing loans
on realty, his business proving profitable because he has endeavored to, satisfy his patrons.
In I86I, in Rochester, Mr. Whitley was united in marriage to Miss
Ellen C. Judson, a daughter of A. B. Judson, of that city. They have one
daughter, Laura W., now the wife of Frank B. Moore, a manufacturer of
book-cases in Detroit, Michigan, as a member of a stock company.
Mr. Whitley has never wavered in his support of the men and measures of the Republican party since age gave to him the right of franchise.
He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and is well known in
Branch county, having been a resident of Coldwater for forty-three years.
He is delighted in the changes which have occurred, being anxious for the
best development of the county along material, social, intellectual and moral
lines. His labor and persistency of purpose have been the resultant factors
in his own successful career, and as the years have gone by he has gained
an enviable position as a representative business man and valued citizen of
this place.
L. F. SCHEIDLER, M. D.
Dr. L. F. Scheidler, who is engaged in the practice of medicine and
also superintends his farming interests on section twenty-one, Ovid township, is a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred in Seneca county on
the I9th of February, I855. His father, Daniel Scheidler, was born in
Pennsylvania in I824, and when quite young went with his parents to Ohio,
being reared, educated and married in Seneca county. He devoted his at



756              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
tention to agricultural pursuits as a life work and became a representative
citizen of the community in which he lived. He wedded Miss Katherine
Ann Killinger, who became a resident of Stark county, Ohio, in her early
girlhood and there spent her youth.  In I862 Mr. Scheidler brought his
family to Branch county, Michigan, taking up his abode on the present
farm in Ovid township. He bought one hundred and forty-eight acres of
land, of which he cleared fifty-two acres, and his attention was given to the
further cultivation and development of the property, with the result that
he was known as an enterprising and prosperous agriculturist of the community. In his political views he was an earnest Republican, actively associated with the work of the party. He possessed many excellent traits of
character and was well known in Branch county, where the circle of his
friends was almost co-extensive with the circle of his acquaintance. His
death occurred May 12, I88o, while his wife died in I874. They were the
parents of eleven children, six sons and five daughters, all of whom were
born in Seneca county, Ohio.
Dr. Scheidler, the youngest son and ninth child, was seven years of
age when his father came to Branch county, and for three years he was a
student in the public schools of Coldwater. Having completed his literary
course the problem confronted him as to a choice of a life work, and after
careful consideration of the matter he determined to engage in the practice
of medicine. In I884 he went to Chicago and matriculated in the Bennett
Medical College, from which he was graduated in the class of I889. He
then returned to Branch county and entered upon the active work of the
profession at Kinderhook, where he remained for about seven years, when
he returned to the old home farm in Ovid township. He is still practicing,
receiving a large patronage from the residents of Ovid township, and his
knowledge and ability well qualify him to care for those who come under
his professional charge. At the same time he is managing his farming interests, having a good tract of land on section twenty-one.
On the i2th of August, 1883, Dr. Scheidler was married to Miss Lulah
Thompson, a daughter of Joseph and Emma (Butterfield) Thompson, who
were farming people of Branch county, coming to this state from Ohio.
Mrs. Scheidler was born in Seneca county, Ohio, in 1862 and was brought
by her parents to Michigan in her early girlhood days, so that she was
largely reared and educated here. The doctor and his wife now have one
son, Dwyte, who was born June 27, 1884. Dr. Scheidler votes an independent ticket, and though not active in politics he is interested in all that
pertains to his county's development. In his business life he displays a
marked energy and enterprise and these qualities are essential to success in
both professional and agricultural lines.
THOMAS C. KNAPP, M. D.
Dr. Thomas C. Knapp, who is living retired in Union City, was born
in Vermilion county, Ohio, March 27, I840, his parents being William and
Clara (Day) Knapp. The father was born in Pennsylvania and became






-: _I~i —i,:-;:~-: ~~-~




A   O-ce   e          /ft. /






, 4     w          eC      I,








HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


757


one of the pioneer residents of Ohio, where he remained until his removal
to Branch county, Michigan, in I840, locating here when this was a frontier district.  He settled first in Union township about a mile south of
Union City, and a part of his land is now within the incorporation limits.
He bought his property at six dollars per acre, becoming owner of a tract
of one hundred and ninety acres, which he greatly improved. He added
many buildings there, fenced his land and continued the work of cultivation along most modern lines, making his farm a very productive and va!uable one. He continued to engage in general agricultural pursuits throughout his entire life. His wife was born near Rutland, Vermont, and they
became the parents of thirteen children, twelve of whom reached manhood
or womanhood. There were five daughters and eight sons.
Dr. Knapp, the ninth member of the family, was not yet three months
old when brought by his parents to Branch county, and his boyhood days
were spend on the old homestead farm in Union township, while in the
common schools he obtained his early education.   Through the summer months he worked in the fields and remained with his father until
twenty-one years of age, when he started out in life on his own account. He
then purchased a piece of land, but afterward sold that property, and at the
time of the Civil war he put aside all business and personal considerations,
enlisting in 1862 as a member of Company K, Seventh Michigan Volunteer
Infantry. With that command he served until hostilities had ceased, the
stars and stripes having been raised over the capitol of the southern Confederacy. He was several times wounded, the first time at Brush Creek,
Virginia.  He took part in many important engagements, including the
battles of the Wilderness, Cold Harbor, Spottsylvania and the siege of
Petersburg, and he was also slightly wounded there. He was with Hancock's corps and second division, and he received an honorable discharge at
Elmira, New York, in July, I865, returning to his home with a creditable
military record.
When the war was over Dr. Knapp made his way again to Union City.
and in this locality purchased a farm. He had been married on the Ist of
January. I863, to Mi\ss Catherine Tylor, a daughter of Lansing and Mary
(Lenderman) Tylor. Three children graced this union: William C.; Ada.
the wife of T. F. Robinson; and John C. Both sons are farmers of Union
township and Mr. Robinson follows the satne pursuit..
Dr. Knapp took his bride to his farm and continued to engage in
general agricultural pursuits until I880, when he traded his property in
Michigan for a tract of wild land in North Dakota. He then removed to
that state and began the' cultivation of his place, making his home thereon
until 1902, when he retired to Union City. Here he again bought land in
Union township, but one-half of his farm lies across the boundary line in
Calhoun county. He has one hundred and sixty-five acres, which he rents
and makes his homne in Union City. When a young man he studied veterinary surgery and has practiced the profession for about forty years, being
quite successful in that department of work. He was appointed territorial
veterinary for North and South Dakota when all were embraced within:N a S:S\.\. S~..;,. \ 0




758


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


one boundary under the territorial government, and for three years he occupied that position. Mr. Knapp has always been an earnest Republican, and
has been elected supervisor for nine different terms in North Dakota. He
was chairman of the board twice during that period, and he has ever been
interested in matters pertaining to general improvement and substantia.l
development.  He has made an untarnished record and unspotted reputation as a business man. In all places and under all circumstances he is loyal
to truth and right, justly valuing his own respect as preferable to wealth and
position. He has, however, in a.business career won gratifying success, so
that he is enabled to live retired and yet enjoy all the comforts and many
of the luxuries of life.
JOHN H. WILKINS.
In the populous and prosperous county of Branch there are very few
people who; can boast a continuous residence here of sixty-eight years, but
such has been the experience of the gentleman named above, Mr. John H.
Wilkins, one of the respected and well-to-do agriculturists of this portion
of the state. In fact, a history in detail of his life and experiences would
prove to be at the same time a fair and accurate history of Gilead township
and Branch county, for all of its development and improvement have been
accomplished during his lifetime.
The Wilkins family is of English descent, the paternal great-grandfather of our subject being named John Wilkins, who came from   Great
Britain to America with his family in the latter part of the eighteenth century, locating in New Jersey. John Wilkins' wife's name was Hannah and
they were married in England, while one of their sons, Thomas, who was
born in New Jersey, July 25, I774, became the grandfather of our subject.
Thomas married Elizabeth M'iller, whose father, Zepheniah Miller, was
killed by the Indians on the Delaware river when Elizabeth was but a child,
she and her mother escaping the Indian slaughter by hiding in a cleft of
the rocks on the river banks until after the slaughter. Thomas Wilkins and
Elizabeth Miller were married in New Jersey and they soon thereafter removed to Ross county, Ohio, where they made a home and raised their
family. Their children numbered nine, seven of whom grew to maturity,
as follows: Samuel, Thomas, Keturah, Hannah, John, Zepheniah and Benjamin, the last named being our subject's father.
Benjamin Wilkins was reared in Ross county, Ohio, on the home farm,
where he was born March 20, 1814, and in the late twenties he accompanied
his parents in their removal to Marion county, Ohio. In 1831 Benjamin
made a prospecting trip into, Branch county, Michigan, and returned to
Ohio, where he was married in the year I836 to Malinda Matson, a native
of Genesee county, New York, where she was born November 23, 1819.
She was the daughter of Job Matson, a native of Vermont, who had seven
children, Allen, Esther, Dinah, Catherine, Job, Susan and Malinda.
Soon after their marriage Benjamin and Malinda Wilkins came to this
county and located land on section thirteen, in what is now Gilead township, securing one hundred and sixty acres from the government, to which




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


759


he later added one hundred and forty-five acres additional.  He cleared
the most of the original one hundred and sixty acres and also a portion of
the one hundred and forty-five acres, and was a hard-working and industrious man in spite of physical infirmities. Nine children were born unto
Benjamin and Malinda Wilkins, as follows: The eldest, John H., is the
subject of this review; Keturah Walter lives in Gilead; Charlotte died at
the age of twelve years; Thomas A., Job, Allen and Almon died in infancy;
Hannah Outwater died in 1875; Sussanah Bixler lives in Gilead.  The
father and mother of this family were most highly esteemed people, the
former being in earlier years a member of the Disciples church and the latter a Free Will Baptist, although both later were Adventists.  Benjamin
Wilkins died August 17, I874, while his wife passed away February 28,
1883.
Our subject, John H. Wilkins, was born in Gilead township March
20, I838, and with the exception of two years in infancy, when he was in
Ohio, his entire life has been passed here. Growing up on the farm, he
assisted in the clearing and improvement of the same, and September 20,
I860, he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Graves, who was
born in Cayuga county, Ohio, August 17, 1844. She was the daughter of
Almond S. Graves, who was born in Oneida county, New York, in I8II,
and Almina McClaflin Graves, who was born in Ohio in 1823. Almond
S. Graves and his wife came to Michigan and Branch county in 1857, locating on section fourteen, Gilead township, where Mr. Graves purchased one
hundred and sixty acres of land and made a home. Three daughters were
born to them as follows: Elizabeth Wilkins is the wife of our subject;
Lucinda Kinzie and Hattie Sanders live in Gilead township.
The marriage of John H. Wilkins and Elizabeth Graves Wilkins has
been blessed with the birth of twelve children, three of whom, E. E., Almon
B. and Homer, died in infancy. A record of the others, all of whom are
living, is as follows: William H. married Jennie Conklin and their home
is in Kinderhook township. They have three daughters living, Ethel, Louise
and Mildred, the eldest of whom, Ethel, is the wife of Clyde Brown, of
Kinderhook, they in turn having one daughter, Catherine. Benjamin married Bertha Aldridge and they have a daughter, Gertrude, their home being
in Gilead. Emory married Dessie Doerr and they have three children,
Verald, Clyde and LeMoyne.   Almina M. is the wife of Edson Foster,
their one son being Paul. Charlotte is the wife of Jay Steffey, their sons
being Clifford and Maurice. Fred married Effie Flint, they having two
sons, John and Ira. John Delos married Vera Case. They have two children, George and Janet.  Burton M. married Valma Weaver, their one
daughter being Geneva. Harry E. married Carma Pifer and they live at
the Wilkins home. With the exception of the eldest son, William H., who
resides in the adjoining township of Kinderhook, all of the children live in
Gilead township, near their parents.
The farm of Mr. John H. Wilkins now embraces one hundred and
sixty acres of fertile land, the same including the most of the original farm
obtained by Benjamin Wilkins from the government in the early thirties,




7tO60


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


and which has ever since been in possession of the family. Mr. and Mrs.
Wilkins have the original deed of their land, executed by President Martin
Van Buren in the year I839, on May Ist. This is a valuable souvenir in
their home. They also have an old wooden clock which is yet keeping time,
and it is over a century old. Mr. Wilkins has helped his mother card and
pick wool for making their clothes, and even helped her put in the loom.
His grandfather Matson brought a cow from Ohio in the pioneer days, and
to-day Mr. Wilkins has on his farm a descendant of that cow. In relics
he has fire tongs and shovel of over one hundred years of age. Mr. Wilkins has cleared the greater part of this place and he has also made all of
the improvements, including the buildings, which are substantial and modern. He is in politics a Republican and he has filled numerous offices. He
was township treasurer for three years, an office also filled by his father
in the early days of the township, and for thirty years he has been a school
officer, having been director, assessor and moderator. His first presidential
vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln and he has always been loyal to his
party. In former years he was an Adventist and he and his wife have always been church attendants.  Mr. Wilkins has also always been deeply
interested in Sunday-school work and was superintendent thereof for many
years.
During his life-long residence in Gilead township he has ever been identified with all movements tending toward the uplifting and betterment of
mankind and in the development and improvement of this part of the county.
Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins have reared their large family of children well and
carefully and now they see them all with families and comfortable homes of
their own. They have fifteen grandchildren and one great-grandchild, and
all of these descendants live within a few miles of the old homestead, where
they often gather in reunion. Here upon the farm which has been their
home for so many years Mr. and Mrs. Wilkins still reside, passing their
declining years in comfort and with the consciousness of well-spent and
honorable lives.
BURNLEY FOOTE.
Time and man have wrought many changes in Branch county. The
traveler of a few decades ago looking upon the great forests could scarcely
realize that within a comparatively short time the timber lands would be
cleared and that to-day Branch county would be considered one of the best
farming districts of this great state. Mr. Foote is a worthy representative
of agricultural interests, living in Matteson township.  He was born in
Martinsburg, Knox county, Ohio, on the I7th of July, I840. His father,
Garwood Foote, was a tanner, currier and shoemaker, acquainting himself
with those trades in early life. He was born in Vermont on the I7th of
April, I814, and was reared in the town of Sharon, Rutland county. In
early manhood, however, he left New England and emigrated to Ohio, taking
up his abode in Knox county about I835. There he established a tan yard
and embarked in business, following that trade for some time. He also
engaged in shoe making in Knox county and was a worthy representative




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


761


of the industrial life of that section of Ohio. He was married there to
Miss Celestia Eddy, a daughter of Peter Eddy, of St. Lawrence county,
New York, where she was born November 22, 1816. Her girlhood was
passed in the Empire state and she accompanied her parents on their removal to Ohio, where they settled in a pioneer district. Mr. and Mrs. Foote
became the parents of five children, three sons and two daughters, of whom
Burnley is the eldest. The others were: Jerome, Peter, Angeline and Emily.
The mother died in Knox county, Ohio, in I85I, and the father afterward
married again, in 1853, his second union being with Lucinda Dillan, the
widow of Simon Dillan, by whom she had three children, two sons and one
daughter, Josephine. By the second marriage there were also three children, two sons and a daughter. In 1863 Garwood Foote brought his family
to Illinois, settling near Bloomington, where he remained until I876. He
then sold his farming interests and closed out all of his business affairs and
retired to private life, making his home with his children up to the time
of his death, which occurred October I6, I89I. He was a stanch Democrat
and a man of genuine personal worth, respected and honored by all whd
knew him.
Burnley Foote was reared and educated in the county of his nativity
and his time in his boyhood was divided between play and work as he performed the tasks assigned him by his father. When the country became
involved in the Civil war he was a young man of twenty-one years, and in
the first year of that long and fierce struggle he offered his services to the government, enlisting in Company B, Fourth Ohio Infantry, with which he served
for two years and five months. He afterward spent one year and eight
months as a member of the Fifth Illinois Cavalry. He participated in the second battle of Bull Run and in the engagements at Grafton, Clarksburg, Beverly, Buchanan, Philippi, New Creek and Oakland. At the last place he went
into winter quarters and was there taken ill and discharged on a surgeon's
certificate of disability. Mr. Foote then returned home, but when he had
regained his health he re-enlisted on the 22d of February, 1864, in the Fifth
Illinois Cavalry, with which he served throughout the remainder of the
period of hostilities. His last service was in chasing the James boys and
Quantrell's gang. When the war was ended he returned to Springfield, Illinois, and was mustered out October 27, I865. He had been a brave and
loyal soldier and returned to his home with a creditable military record.
His first occupation after the war ended was dealing in stock and carrying on farm work at Bloomington, Illinois, where he remained for two
years. He then went to Chatsworth, that state, and afterward to Woodford county, Illinois, whence he subsequently made his way to Nebraska,
settling in Buffalo county, and in the west he was engaged in hunting buffaloes for five years. Returning to the district east of the Mississippi he took
up his abode in Branch county in 1876, locating in Matteson township upon
a farm of sixty acres of raw land. With characteristic energy he began the
cultivation and improvement of this place and he has since added twenty
acres to the original tract and now has the entire farm under a good state
of cultivation. He has erected all of the present buildings and his farm is




762              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
attractive because of the improvements he has placed upon it, which have
also added greatly to its value. The fields annually return rich harvests
and he uses the latest improved machinery in planting and cultivating his
crops.
Mr. Foote was married in White Oak Grove, Woodford county, Illinois, in I867, the lady of his choice being Miss Lousetta Stephens, a native
of Clinton county, Ohio, born March 19,, I848, and a daughter of Jesse and
Elizabeth Stephens. Her father was born April 22, 1817, and died on the
14th of August, I903, while the mother was born MIay 10, 81I6. She was
of Quaker lineage and departed this life on the 25th of August, 1887. In
the family of this worthy couple were six children, Mrs. Foote being the
fourth in order of birth and the third of the four daughters. The family
record is as follows: Hannah L., born May 5, 1840; Julia A., September
7, 1842; James. born May 5. 1845; Lousetta Amanda, November 22, 1854;
and Charles, October I, I859. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Foote has
been blessed with four children and three were born in Illinois and one in
Nebraska. They also lost one son, William, who was born January 21,
i869, being the second of the family. The others were Edward, born November I3, 1867; Jesse, born May 2, 1871; and Lillian M., born November
19, I874.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Foote is connected with the Grand Army
of the Republic at Bronson and is also a member of the Grange there. He
votes with the Republican party, which he has supported since attaining his
majority, and has been to a greater or less extent active in political circles.
He served as justice of the peace for two years and as drain commissioner
for eight years, and in discharging his duties manifested the same fidelity
and loyalty to the public good that he displayed when following the stars
and stripes upon southern battlefields.
HIRAM' BRONSON HAWLEY.
Hiram Bronson Hawley, whose name is on the roll of pioneer citizens
of Branch county, now lives on section twenty-two, Union township. He
was born in Lewiston, Niagara county, New York, May 17, I825. His
paternal grandfather, Chapman Hawley, also became a resident of Branch
county in pioneer times. He was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, loyally
aiding the colonists in their struggle for independence. His son, Lewis Hawley, was a soldier of the war of I812. The latter was born in Lewiston,
Niagara county, New York, and came west to Michigan in I836, casting in
his lot with the pioneer settlers of Union township, Branch county. Much
of the land was still unclaimed, the forests were uncut, the streams unbridged
and the fields uncultivated. There were hardships and privations to be borne
such as can hardly be imagined by people of the present generation, who know
only modern prosperity and progress, and to the worthy pioneers who faced
all the difficulties of life here in an early day, a debt of gratitude is due that
can never be repaid. The place in which the father lived became known as
the Hawley settlement. He continued farming operations in that locality,1




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


763


until called to his final rest at the age of seventy-three years. He married
Charlotte Barnard, a native of Lewiston, New York, who reached the age of
sixty-five years. They were the parents of twelve children, all of whom
were born in Lewiston.
Hiram B. Hawley, the eighth member of the family, was only eleven
years of age when brought by his parents to Branch county, and he was
therefore reared to manhood in Union township. In retrospect one can see
him as he trudged each day to the little log school house in the midst of the
forest to master the elementary branches of learning therein taught.  His
father's home was also a log cabin constructed without nails. He aided in
the arduous task of developing a new farm. His life at that time was indeed
a strenuous one, for it was customary to enter the fields at daybreak and
continue the work of cultivation until after nightfall. At the age of nineteen years he began learning the blacksmith's trade, serving a three years'
apprenticeship under John D. Zimmerman at Union City. When he had
mastered the business he established a shop of his own in Union City and
conducted it for about four years, during which time his economy and labor
brought him a goodly capital, which he wisely invested in eighty acres of
land in Union township. It was all covered with a dense growth of timber, but in the midst of the green woods he resolutely set to work to carve
out a home and farm. He first built a log house, in which he lived for a
time, but later he resumed work at his trade, establishing a shop at Coldwater, and afterward removed to Colon in St. Joseph county, Michigan.
There he also built a shop, which, he conducted for a time, when he sold out
and again took up his abode on his farm in Union township. He cleared the
greater portion of the eighty acres and engaged in the raising of crops for a
number of years, but subsequently he once more settled in Coldwater and
again engaged in blacksmithing. In seven years he moved fourteen times.
In I850 he located on a farm in Batavia township, and thirty-five years
passed before he left that place. In 1885, however, he purchased the farm
upon which he now resides on section twenty-two, Union township, paying
seventy-five dollars per acre for his land. He has since improved the place
in many ways. He had the misfortune to have his house with nearly all of
its contents destroyed by fire, but he at once replaced it with a good modern
residence that he now occupies.
In I847 Mr. Hawley was married to Miss Rowena Harris. They have
two sons, Walter and Jerome. They have traveled life's journey happily together for almost six decades, sharing with each other its joys and sorrows,
its adversity and prosperity. In early days Mr. Hawley gave his political
support to the Whig party, with which he was connected until the new Republican party was formed, when he joined its ranks.  He was a staunch
advocate of the Union cause, and he had four brothers who were soldiers in
the Civil war, but only one is now living. Mr. Hawley has been a resident
of Branch county for nearly seventy years and is truly one of its pioneer settlers. In early days he hauled flour from Union City to Jackson with an
ox team, getting fifty cents per barrel. It required about five days to make
the trip. Through his own energy and perseverance, and the assistance of




764              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
his estimable wife, who has indeed been a helpmate to him, he has had a
prosperous career and is now the owner of a valuable farm property, possessing a competence that supplies them with all of the comforts and many
of the luxuries of life. His mind forms a connecting link between the primitive past and the progressive present, and few men are better informed concerning the pioneer history of this section of the state than H. B. Hawley.
EBER J. DAVIS.
Eber J. Davis, superintendent of the large plant of the Wolverine Portland Cement Company at Quincy, was born in Ovid township, Branch county,
July 2, I865, and his business career has been mainly connected with the
county of his birth. He is a son of the late George Davis, who, a native of
Cayuga county, New York, died in I9oI in his seventy-ninth year. The
grandfather, Robert Davis, was also born in New York state, being of
English descent. George Davis came to Michigan in I85I, and was a respected and prosperous farmer of Ovid township until his death. Starting
in life with an ordinarv education, and being in the main a self-made man,
he prospered by the application of industry and good judgment in his affairs,
and was able to leave his family in good circumstances. He was a Democrat in politics, but never aspired to office.
George Davis married Marietta Zeltff, who, now living at the age of
sixty-five, is one of the oldest natives of Ovid township. Her father, Joseph
Zeluff, a native of New York and of English descent, came to Michigan in
183I, locating on a farm one mile south of Coldwater, the place being now
owned by Mr. Beidelman, and from there moved to Ovid) township, and kept
his home there until his death at the age of about sixty years. Mr. and Mrs.
George Davis had two sons, the younger, Nelson G., being an employe of
the Lake Shore Railroad and living at Batavia.
Mr. E. J. Davis was reared on a farm, attended school in the country,
and at an early age began learning the trade of carpenter, which he followed altogether twenty-four years, most of the time as a contractor and
builder in Chicago. In I894 he became foreman carpenter for the Bronson Portland Cement Company at Bronson, continued in that capacity a year and a half,
was then in a similar position with the Wolverine Cement Company eight
months, and for three years following was again with the Bronson company
as superintendent of their plant. In I902 he transferred his home and business to Quincy, when he became superintendent of the Wolverine Cement
Company's plant at this place. He is an energetic and capable manager of
affairs and men, and has filled his position in Quincy and elsewhere with very
creditable success.
In I89,2 Mr. Davis married Ardella A. Smith.    She was born in
Bethel township in 1864, and her parents, Hiram H. and Mary (Smead)
Smith, both now deceased, were early settlers of this county, her father having come here from his native state of Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Davis have no
children of their own, but their home has been blessed with the presence of
a daughter by Mrs. Davis' first marriage, Maud L. Fenner, who is now






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


765


capably filling the position of stenographer in the main office of the Wolverine Cement Company at Coldwater. Mr. Davis has identified himself public-spiritedly with the town of his present residence, and is now serving as a
member of the village council. In politics he is a Republican, and is affiliated
with the Masonic fraternity.
J. D. MOSHER.
J. D. Mosher, secretary of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company at
Coldwater, was born in Coldwater township, his natal day being February 8,
I86o. His father, Edwin Mosher, was born in Cayuga county, New York,
and came to Michigan with his father, James Mosher, in 1835, when six
years of age. Here he was reared amid the environment and conditions of
pioneer life, acquiring his education in one of the primitive schools of the
period. He was married in Coldwater township to Miss Ellen Whitney, a
native of Ontario county, New York, and they began their domestic life
upon a farm in Coldwater township. Later they removed to the city, but
subsequently lived in Kinderhook township for a long period. In their last
years, however, they were residents of Coldwater, and both died at the age
of sixty-nine years. Mr. Mosher voted with the Democracy and was well
known in the county as a man of good business capacity, of loyalty in citizenship and of devotion and fidelity in friendship. Unto him and his wife were
born two children, but the daughter, Rita L., died at the age of forty-one
years. She was the wife of S. W. Weage, a stock buyer of Coldwater.
Mr. Mosher, the only son and now the only surviving member of the
family, was seven years of age when his parents took up their abode upon
the home farm in Kinderhook township. He attended the common schools
near by and afterward continued his education in the high school of Fremont
and in Hillsdale College. Later he taught in the district schools of Branch
county, proving a capable educator because of his ability to impart clearly
and readily to others the knowledge that he had acquired. He was also
called to public office by his fellow townsmen who recognized his worth and
ability. For six years he served as township clerk of Kinderhook township
and was holding that office when elected county treasurer in I892. He then
took up his abode in Coldwater in order to discharge the duties of his new
position, and for four years he was the guardian of the public funds, retiring from office as he had entered it, with the confidence and good will of all
concerned. In I898 he was made secretary of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company, previous to which time he had been engaged in general insurance business, and was therefore well qualified for the important duties that
devolved upon him in connection with his new position. He had also been
bookkeeper in a hardware store for some time, and at the present writing he
is with the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company, having an office at Coldwater, from which point he superintends the work that devolves upon him.
He also owns a well improved farm of one hundred and seventy-six acres in
Kinderhook township.
In August, I898, occurred the marriage of Mr. Mosher and Miss Mar



766              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
thena Hastings, a daughter of John and Mary (McKinney) Hastings, and a
native of Tecumseh, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Mosher have one son, Edwin H.
Mr. Mosher votes with the Republican party and firmly adheres to its
principles. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and to the
Knights of Pythias fraternity, while his wife is. a member of the Presbyterian church. Although he is still a comparatively young man, he has lived
for forty-five years in Branch county, and may therefore be classed with its
early settlers. Since attaining his majority he has spent much of his time in
public office, and over the record of his career there falls no shadow of wrong
or suspicion of evil.
CHARLES L. BURNETT.
George Washington said that "farming is the most useful as well as
the most honorable occupation of man," and the truth stands to-day and
has stood through all the years which have run their course since the sentiment was uttered by the father of his country. Mr. Burnett, a representative
of agricultural interests in Branch county, is now living on Section 14,
Union township, upon the farm where occurred his birth on the I7th of
November, I844. His father, Orris Burnett, was a native of New York
and came to Branch county in I835, casting in his lot with its pioneer settlers.
He took up his abode in Union township, where he purchased land for ten
shillings per acre, and he built thereon a shanty, after which he erected a log
house. Still later this pioneer home was replaced by a frame dwelling, and
when some years had passed he built a still more commodious and modern
frame house. The changes in his residence indicate his progressive spirit,
which is manifest as well in all of his farm work. He was a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church and a man whom to know was to esteem and
honor. He married Miss Diantha Millerman, and they became the parents
of eight children, all of whom were born in Union township with one exception.
Charles L. Burnett, the fifth child and third son in this family,
spent his boyhood days in his parents' home, obtaining his education in Union
township. He remained under the parental roof until after the outbreak of
the Civil war. He was not quite seventeen years of age when he responded
to his country's call for troops, enlisting on the I7th of September, I86I,
as a member of Company D, Fourth Michigan Light Artillery. He served
for the full term of three years and then re-enlisted, becoming a veteran of
the same company, with which he continued until after the cessation of hostilities, making his entire term three years and ten months. He was with
the western army and participated in many of the hotly contested engagements, whose result led to the splendid success which ultimately crowned
the Union arms. He took part in the battles of Murfreesboro, Chickamauga,
Stone River, Hoover's Gap and many minor engagements. He was one of
the youngest members of his regiment and was in active continuous service,
no soldier of twice his years displaying greater valor and loyalty than did
Mr. Burnett. He may well be proud of his army record.




_I___X__








S~/5 ~ I             / L^I








HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


d767


Following his return from the war Mr. Burnett resumed the occupation
of farming in Union township, and in October, I866, he secured a companion
and helpmate for life's journey by his marriage to Miss Lorana Morey, a
daughter of Alfred and Annice (Bickford) Morey, who was one of the early
settlers of Union township, and at his death the following lines were written:
"On Monday afternoon, Alfred B. Morev, one of the pioneer residents
of Union township, died at his home about two miles south of this city, on
the Coldwater road, at the advanced age of seventy-eight years and six
months. The cause of his death was paralysis, from which he had suffered
for several years past. Mr. Morey was born at Harpersville, Ohio, and came
to Michigan when twenty-five years of age. He had lived on the homestead
where he died for twenty-eight years. He w)as twice married, the first wife
being Annice Bickford. To them was born one child, Mrs. C. L. Burnett,
who is still a resident of this township. In the second marriage he espoused
Lucy A. Eddy, who with two sons, Frank E. and Allen J., still survive him.
The funeral took place from the home at one o'clock Wednesday afternoon,
Rev. H. S. Mills, pastor of the Congregational church, officiating.  Interment was made in Riverside cemetery and thus was laid to rest one who had
been honored and esteemed in the community during all the long years of his
residence here." Mrs. Burnett's mother died when she was eight years old.
Mr. and Mrs. Burnett began their domestic life upon section fourteen,
Union township, where they have since resided, Mr. Burnett giving his time
and attention to general agricultural pursuits and also to some extent following the carpenter's trade. He has one hundred and ten acres of land and
is a well-to-do agriculturist, having gained a gratifying measure of success
in the conduct of his business interests.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Burnett have been born three children: Ardell, the
wife of C. E. Brooks, of Union township; Carrie B., the wife of Ed Sanderson, of the same township; and La Verne, who died at the age of nineteen
years.  The death of La Verne Burnett, of Union, November 9gth, was a
remarkable instance of typhoid fever, where the temperature remained normal
during the ten weeks' illness of the patient. In this case the thermometer of
the physician did not indicate the ordinary symptoms of the disease. Dr.
Wood, of this city, was called in the case and diagnosed the disease as typhoid
poisoning without the fever. Such cases are very rare, the first one reported
in medical journals being by Dr. Liebmister, of Berlin, in I869. During the
Franco-Prussian war a number of similar cases were reported, but they occur
so seldom that many physicians who practice for a lifetime never have the
opportunity to prescribe for a patient with this disease. The post mortem
disclosed the typhoid lesions in the lower intestines, which showed that the
diagnosis of Dr. Wood was correct.
Politically Mr. Burnett is a Republican, having given his allegiance to
the party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He has served
as highway commissioner for five years and has held other local offices. He
belongs to Corbin Post, G. A. R., No. 88, and Mrs. Burnett belongs to the
Women's Relief Corps No. 25, at Union City. She is also president of the




768


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


East Union Aid Society, whose object is to aid the poor and needy. Mr.
Burnett is well known in the county where the circle of his friends is constantly increasing as the circle of his acquaintance is extended.
MRS. MOSES T. ABEL.
Mrs. Moses T. Abel lives upon a fertile farm of one hundred and ten
acres located upon section four, Girard township, which place has been her
home for the past forty years. Her maiden name was Celestia A. Bradley
and she was born in Girard township July 31, I837. Her father was Addiniram Bradley, who was born in Sandersfield, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, October 29, 1799, where he grew to manhood. There he was united in
marriage with Sally Fegles, who was born in Massachusetts, March 21,
I804. They lived for a number of years in the state of New York before
coming to Michigan, where they were among the early pioneers. They were
the parents of three children, one son and two daughters, as follows: Alvah
G., who was born in New York state October 21, 1824, and who died in
Genesee county, in that state, October 7, 1833, when he was only nine years
of age. Emma Bradley, the elder daughter, was born in Wyoming county,
New York, January I6, 1831, while Celestia Bradley Abel, the younger
daughter, is the subject of this sketch. Addiniram Bradley and his wife
were among the most highly esteemed residents of this vicinity, and they
always exercised a power for good in the community. Mrs. Bradley died in
Tekonsha, January 25, I859, and her husband survived her for many years,
passing away May 15, I883. Deacon Bradley, as he was familiarly known,
was an active and zealous member of the Tekonsha Baptist church, of which
he was an officer for many years, and his memory is still honored and revered by many relatives and friends.
The elder daughter of the Bradley family, Emma, was married to
Moses T. Abel in Girard, April I8, 1847, and they were the parents of three
children, one of whom died in early childhood. The two still living are as
follows: Lovina is married to Edwin French, of Marshall, Michigan, and
they have five children: Mabel wedded Bert Mitchell, and has one little
son, John Earl; Merton, Ernest, Ida and Ray. Delina is married to Nelson
Shedd, of Tekonsha, and five children have been born to them:  Clyde,
George, Glenn, Leon and Dome. Emma Bradley Abel died in Girard, December I6, I859, and March 4, I86o, Mr. Abel was married to his deceased
wife's sister, Celestia A. Bradley. To them six children were born, all of
whom are living with the exception of one daughter, Emma, who was born
July 4, I870, and who died April 13, 1876, at the age of six years. The other
children are as follows: Elmer was born May 25, I86I, and is married to
Ida Foster. They have two children: Nettie and Elmer. Eugene was born
July 2, I863, and is married to Anna Finney, and they have one daughter,
Eva Belle. Fred was born March 24, 1865, and is married to Laura Annis.
They have three children: George, Ethel and Frank. Willbur C. was born
April 28, I868, and is married to Stella Hadlock. They have four children:
Hazel, Clayton, Alfred and Marie. Lena Abel was born January 28, 1873,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


769


and is married to Alfred Hadlock, and for the present they are living with
Mrs. Abel upon the home farm. Edah Abel was born July I8, 1877, and
is married to Clark McDonald, of Union City, Michigan, and they have one
son, Louis. The four sons are all residents of Tekonsha, where they are engaged in business on their own account. Here they have comfortable homes
of their own and are counted as prosperous and influential citizens.
Mr. Moses T. Abel was. a native of Newport, Herkimer county, New
York, where he was born November Io, I819, and he came to Michigan in
an early day, he being the only member of his. family to emigrate westward.
He had two brothers and one sister, all of whom are now dead. He located
upon the land now owned and occupied by his widow, and here he made a
home for himself and his loved ones. When he secured possession of the
land it was in a perfectly wild state, not an acre cleared, and all covered with
the virgin forest. He cleared the land, erected suitable buildings and brought
the farm under a good state of cultivation. The remainder of his life was
passed here, and before his death he had created a most comfortable farm
home. Mr. Abel was always a farmer, and although he was not a member of
any fraternal or religious society, nevertheless he was known as a temperate,
industrious and most estimable man, possessing in a marked degree the confidence and esteem of his neighbors and fellow townsmen. He died October
I7, I893, leaving behind him that best of all heritages, a good name.
After his death Mrs. Abel, although previously unversed in business
affairs, soon adapted herself to the changed conditions and carried on the
management of the farm, which she personally controls at the present time.
She has cared for her children and the children of her sister, has raised and
educated them and now sees them all with comfortable homes of their own.
She continues to make her home upon the old homestead, although she spends
many happy days in the families of her grown-up sons and daughters. Mrs.
Abel is a member of the Baptist church of Tekonsha and she possesses the
confidence and regard of a very large circle of friends.
HARVY D. MILLER.
Harvy D. Miller is one of the old settlers of Branch county, living on
section eleven, Batavia township, where he devotes his energies to agricultural
pursuits. He was born in Wolcott, Wayne county, New York, September
28, 18122, a son of Daniel and Penina (Terrel) Miller, the former a native of
Scipio, Cayuga county, New York, and the latter a native of Connecticut.
The mother was reared in the Green Mountain state and was a. daughter of
Job Terrel, who was likewise born in Connecticut. Daniel Miller spent the
days of his boyhood and youth in the Empire state and became a physician
and merchant, following the two business pursuits in Steubenr and Yates
county. He came to Michigan in I840, settling in Batavia township, where
he entered one hundred and twenty acres of land. There his death occurred
at the age of seventy-six years. He had been active, influential and prominent in public life and for twenty-two years served as justice of the peace,
discharging his duties with promptness and fidelity and with due regard to




770


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


the law in the case, His political allegiance was given to the Whig party
until the organization of the new Republican party, when he joined its ranks.
Although he held membership with no church, he contributed to the support
of church work and was ever a man of upright and honorable principles,
whose life commended him to the confidence and regard of those who knew
him. His wife reached the age of seventy-seven years.
Harvy D. Miller is the oldest in a family of two sons and two daughters,
but three of the number died in infancy, so that he is now the only survivor.
During the period of his boyhood and youth he remained a resident of New
York, and when twenty years of age he came to Branch county, Michigan.
He cast his first presidential vote for Harrison in Branch, then the county
seat of this county. He had been educated in his native state and had remained with his father on the home farm, where he was trained to habits
of industry, economy and integrity. On the 2ist of July, 1844, he was married to Miss Hulda Cooley, and they became the parents of two sons, John
Alvin Turner and Daniel Delevan, both of whom are now deceased. The
wife and mother died December 7, 1885, and on the 20th of April, I887, Mr.
Miller was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Emma Dunn
Fish, a daughter of Thomas and Alvira (Smith) Dunn. She first became
the wife of Professor H. M. Fish, and by that marriage she had one daughter, Clara, who is now the wife of George W. Parker, living at Mr. Miller's
home in Batavia township.
At the time of his marriage Mr. Miller located on his present farm,
where he remained for some time and then resided in Coldwater for fortyone years, living throughout that entire period in the same house. In Io901
he again took up his abode on the old homestead, "Marsh Mooreland,"! where
he has since remained. While in Coldwater he was an active factor in business life, conducting an auction store there for a number of years, and was
associated with Mr. Green, then sheriff of Branch county.  He also did
business as a public auctioneer for many years and was revenue collector for
four years during the period of the Civil war. He owns a farm of two hundred and forty acres, which is splendidly improved, while the land is very
rich and productive. His buildings are commodious and substantial, the barn
being one of the best in the county. It is a basement barn, sixty by one
hundred feet, and aside from this there are good sheds for the shelter of
stock and farm machinery. His residence is a modern building and, in fact,
everything about the place is in keeping with the progressive spirit of the
times-a spirit that has been manifest in agricultural as well as in commercial
and professional circles.
In his political views Mr. Miller has been a Republican since the organization of the party. He cast his ballot for John C. Fremont and has
voted for each presidential nominee of the party since that time. He was
among the first Odd Fellows of Coldwater, and has been a Mason for many
years, but because of his age and the fact that he is now residing in the country, he has demitted from those orders. For sixty-five years he has lived in
Branch county, and its history has been familiar to him. In fact, he has
been identified with the making of the county, as the conditions of pioneer




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


771


life have been put aside and the improvements of an advancing civilization
have been secured. His memory goes back to the time when the leading
cities of the county were but small villages, while some of the towns had not
yet sprung into existence. Much of the land was covered with forest trees
and little farming had as yet been done. With characteristic energy, however, Mr. Miller began the work of improvement, not only for himself, but
also in behalf of the county. Few men have been more widely known in
this part of the state, and a genial manner and social disposition have gained
him a very extensive circle of friends.
EZRA E. BEARDSLEY.
The history of Branch county shows a wonderful diversification of industries, occupations and resources, gradually developed and grown from
the days when it was a pioneer region with its first hardy settlers. In this
highly organized community the historically interesting men are those who
have been so successful in a certain line of work as to mark them prominent
among their fellows, and one of these is Mr. E. E. Beardsley, of Bronson
township, who fits into the life and activities of his county as one of the prominent stock farmers. His blooded horses, standard bred and registered, are
a specialty of his in which he takes much pride and to which he gives much
of his time, and it is through the more than ordinary success that he has
gained in this direction that he has become such a well known and efficient
factor in the material worth and prosperity of his county.
Thirty-five years. in Branch county entitles him to a place among the
old citizens, though little more than half his lifetime has been spent here.
Of stanch New England ancestry, and inheriting its traits of hardy industry and thrifty honesty, he was born in Monroe, Fairfield county, Connecticut, August 31, I839, a son of Elisha E. and Laura A. (Burroughs) Beardsley, both natives of the Nutmeg state, where their lives were spent till death,
and both bearing names that have been honored in different spheres of the
world's life for many generations.
After receiving an education in the common and high schools of his
native county, Ezra E. began his career of serious endeavor by learning the
trade of hat manufacturer in Yonkers, New York, and for a number of years,
while he remained in the east, he was employed in that business. He engaged
in the stock business when he came to Branch county in I870, and this department of farming enterprise, in which his long and broad experience extends up to the present time. has gained for him recognition among the leading horse breeders and raisers in this section of the state. His eight hundred acres of land, part of which is covered with timber, and his beautiful
country residence, well built and furnished, form what is well acknowledged
to be one of the best country estates in the county.
From the days of the Great Emancipator Mr. Beardsley has cast his
vote and influence for the Republican party and policies, and fraternally he
is affiliated with Mystic Lodge, F. & A. M., at Bronson.
He married, October 21, I874, Miss Florence A. Holmes, a daughter of




772'


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Jonathan and Mary Holmes, Branch county pioneers who are mentioned elsewhere. Two children have been born of this union, Walton and Jessie G.,
who are both at home. Walton received a good high school education in the
Bronson High School and took a business course in the Kalamazoo Business College. He is associated with his father in the stock business. Jessie
G. took a high school course in the Bronson High School and then was a
student in The Helmuth Ladies' Seminary at London, Canada. At present
she is visiting in Washington, D. C., and the eastern states. She took instrumental music and is an adept in china painting.
Mrs. Beardsley was born in Bronson, Branch county, December 15, I853,
and reared in this county. She was educated in Bronson and Hillsdale College. Her parents are both deceased. Her great-grandfather, Holmes, was
a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and she has a mahogany stand over seventy-five years old. Their beautiful country seat is known as "The Evergreens."
FRED   PURDY.
Fred Purdy, following the occupation of farming on section thirty-three,
Algansee township, is a native son of this county, his birth having occurred
in Ovid township, September 27, 1862. His paternal grandfather, Horace
Purdy, was a native of St. Andrews, Canada, and removed with his parents
to Seneca county, Ohio, whence he came to Michigan with his brothers in
1836. His brother Ira settled in the town of California and built a small log
cabin in I836, but the brothers resided on Allen prairie. Horace was one
of the first settlers in Algansee township, where he entered land from the
government. The brothers both contributed in substantial measure to the
early pioneer development of this part of the state, and Ira Purdy, living in
California township, was depended upon to do the milling for his neighbors,
and made long journeys with his splendid team of horses, going as far as
Mishawaka, Indiana.
Orange Purdy, father of our subject, was born in Seneca county, Ohio,
about 183o, and was brought by his parents to this state. He was one of a
family of nine children, namely: Phoebe, the widow of Jonathan Bickford,
and now living in Algansee with her son Ira; Erial, a resident of Algansee;
Laura, the deceased wife of James Nichols, of Algansee; Alexander and
Isaac, both deceased; Sally, the deceased wife of S. Van Horn; Harrison,
who is living in Coldwater township; Orange; and George, whose home is in
Algansee.
Orange Purdy was reared to farm life amid pioneer surroundings in
this county and attended the district schools. The occupation to which he
was reared he made his life work, becoming one of the enterprising agriculturists of the community. At the time of the Civil war he enlisted in the
First Michigan Sharpshooters, becoming a member of the command in September, I864. He was in the hospital during the greater part of his service
and he continued with the regiment until after the close of hostilities, in
I865. His political allegiance was given to the Republican party, which was
the champion of the Union cause during the hour of the country's peril,




HISTORY OF BRANCH. COUNTY


773


which has ever been the party of reform and progress. Socially he affiliated
with the Masonic Lodge. He married Miss Martha F. Parker, who was
born in Camden, Hillsdale county, this state, and was, a daughter of Abel
and Climena Parker, who came to Michigan in pioneer times. Mrs. Purdy
was one of a family of eight children: Elias, a retired farmer residing in
Montgomery, Hillsdale county, Michigan; Laura, who married William
Dufur, and is now the widow of Fred Gallup; Mary Jane, the wife of Joseph
Gandy, a farmer of De Kalb county, Illinois; Mrs. Jameson, Sarah and
Martha, all deceased; Silas, a speculator living in Coldwater; and Charlotte, the widow of John Garbutt, of Sycamore, Illinois.  Mr. and Mrs.
Orange Purdy became the parents of three children: Mandana, who was
born July 24, I86o, and married Augustus Cleveland, of California township; Fred, of this review; and Orange, who was born June 4, 1864, and
is a farmer of Montana. The father departed this life in December, I865,
at the early age of thirty-five years, while his widow long survived and passed
away in I897, at the age of fifty-seven years.
Fred Purdy spent his boyhood days in the usual manner of farm lads,
was a district school student and has always engaged in agricultural pursuits. He has lived upon the farm which he now owns since two years
of age, and has a splendid property of eighty acres on section thirty-three,
Algansee township, the land being rich and productive and yielding him
good harvests. In all of his work he is practical, and his labors have:een
crowned with a gratifying measure of success.
On the 29th of December, I886, Mr. Purdy was united in marriage to
Miss Agnes A. De Pue, who was born in California township, December 17,
I866. Her father, Jeremiah De Pue, a native of Marion county, Ohio, came
to Michigan with his parents, Michale and Angeline De Pue. In his early
boyhood days they had removed to Jamestown, and finally they came to
Michigan, settling in Kinderhook township, Branch county. Jeremiah De
Pue afterward became a resident of California township in the '5os. He was
a farmer by occupation, but at the time of the Civil war put aside business
and personal considerations in order to aid his country in establishing the
supremacy of the Union. He was in the Civil war with the Ninth Michigan
Cavalry, enlisting for three years and serving until the close of hostilities,
during which time he participated in a number of important engagements,
which aided in turning the tide of victory for the Union. He afterward became a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and he gave his political
allegiance to the Republican party. His wife, who bore the maiden name of
Isabelle Kelso, was born i  in Liinston county, New York, and is now sixtynine years of age. The following is an interesting account of her family history: In the days when the Scotch were so bitterly persecuted on account
of their religious views, a Scottish family by the name of Kelso, in order to
preserve their lives, fled to Ireland. In the haste they became separated from
their only son,. Hugh, who was in charge of his nurse. When they reached
a place of safety they waited for tidings of the missing ones, but none came,
and they supposed the child and his nurse to have been murdered by their
persecutors. In a short time another son was born, and they, mourning for




774


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


the first, named this one Hugh. After many years the faithful nurse, who
had not been put to death after all, discovered the whereabouts of the family
and came to them, bringing the older son Hugh, whom she had hid and saved.
Two sons of the same name being unusual, they decided to call the older
Scotch Hugh and the younger Irish Hugh, from the place of their birth. In
the course of time Irish Hugh with his wife came to America to find a home
in the new country. To them were born five sons and one daughter. Mrs.
Isabelle Kelso De Pue, wife of Jerry De Pue, was a granddaughter of Irish
Hugh, the daughter of his son, John Kelso. She holds membership in the
Presbyterian church. She belonged to a family of eight children, of whom
she was the eldest, the others being: Henry, now deceased; Marjorie, the
deceased wife of Jacob Link; Robert K., living in California township; Mary,
the wife of Alfred Dodd, a resident of Dakota; John K., a resident of Noble
township; Thomas, also living in Noble; and Sarah, the wife of Byron
Knight, of Noble; and Mrs. De Pue. Mr. De Pue had been one of six children: Sarah Jane, the wife of William Case, of Kinderhook, this state;
Susan, the deceased wife of William Hughes; Catherine; the deceased wife
of Andrew Crater; Levi, deceased; one who died unnamed; and Joseph, who
is living in Ovid township. The parents of Mrs. Purdy had four children:
Augustus, who was born in I858, and is engaged in the manufacture of cigar
boxes in Lansing, Michigan; Agnes A.; Sarah, the wife of Henry Straight,
who is serving as county clerk of Branch county, Michigan, and makes his
home in Coldwater; and Herbert, who died, aged fourteen months.
Mr. Purdy is a stanch advocate of the Republican party and is regarded
as one of the active workers in its local ranks, his labors proving effective
and beneficial. He served as township treasurer from I892 until I8914, and
in the spring of 1905 was elected supervisor of Algansee township. His wife
is a member of the Presbyterian church. They are well-known residents of
this community, enjoying in large measure the good will and friendship of
those with whom they come in contact. In his farming relations he is practical and at the same time conducts his work along lines of modern progress,
so that he has a well developed property.
CHARLES W. OWEN.
Charles Wesley Owen, editor and proprietor of the Quincy (Michigan)
Herald, was born in Monroe county, Michigan, July 24, I846. His father,
Armenius Owen, was a native of Saratoga county, New York, born in 1803,
and was of Welch extraction. He married Miss Almyra Lynch, who was of
Irish lineage, and was a native of Massachusetts. They settled on a new
farm in Monroe county, Michigan, in I832, and were among the hardy
pioneers of that county. They reared a large family, six sons and five daughters being born to them, all of whom grew to manhood and womanhood and
all of whom are still living, with the exception of two sons, the subject of this
sketch being the youngest but two of this large family. In I848 the family
moved to a farm one mile east of Manchester, Washtenaw county, Michigan,
where Charles' boyhood days were spent, attending the school at East Man



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


775


chester during the winter months and the balance of the year working on the
farm. being able to gain the mere rudiments of an education.   Charles'
father was an enthusiastic Republican from  the first organization of that
party under the oaks at Jackson, voting for Fremont, the first presidential
candidate of that party, in 1856, and was an enthusiastic supporter of Lincoln four years later, and he, with his older sons, carried torches in that
memorable " Wide-Awake " campaign.
When the war broke out in I86I three of Charles' older brothers were
among the first to respond. to their country's call for volunteers, George
W. enlisting in the Fourth Michigan Infantry, James and Joseph in the
Thirty-third Illinois Infantry, and later, in the fall of I862, on the organization of the Eighteenth Michigan Infantry, William joined that regiment,
in which he served until his death, from chronic diarrhoea, in the fall of
I864. May 8, 1862, Charles' mother died after a brief illness, and his father
died in October, 1879, at the age of * seventy-six years. His parents and
brother William are sleeping in the village cemetery at Manchester.
In September. 1862, Charles commenced to learn the printers' trade in
the Commercial office at Monroe, Michigan, under the late M. D. Hamilton,
during the progress of the great Civil war. Being very patriotic, it was a
matter of great regret to him that he was not old enough to enter the service
early in the war,.in which he took a lively interest. His first attempt to get
into the service was in October, I863, when he enlisted in the Ninth Michigan Cavalry, but being under age and small in stature he was obliged to give
this up, as his father refused to give his consent. February 14, I864, he
made another unsuccessful attempt to get into the army by enlisting in the
Eighteenth Michigan Infantry, when he with other recruits were taken to
Detroit (his first visit to that city) for examination, but was rejected by
the examining surgeon, being under age and too small. Being of a persevering nature and determined to get into the service in some capacity, in the
latter part of March, I864, he again went to Detroit and enlisted as drummer boy in the First Michigan Infantry, the re-enlisted men of that regiment then being home on veteran furlough, with headquarters in Detroit,
and Charles made application to the commander of that regiment, Colonel
William A. Throop, and finally succeeded in, getting into that regiment, after
making a trip home to get his father's consent, promising to give him all his
bounty and pay if he would give his consent, which he did with reluctance.
The day Charles donned the union blue is counted by him as one of the happiest of his life. After two weeks in barracks at Jackson, Charles and other
recruits were sent to the front, receiving their equipment at Camp Distribution at Alexandria, and reached the regimental camp at Beverly Ford, Virgina, about the middle of April, and on the arrival of the re-enlisted men,
a day or two later, Charles was assigned to Company G, commanded by
Captain C. W. Carrick, in which he had the honor of carrying a musket
until the regiment was mustered out in July, I865. May ist the regiment
broke camp and entered on the most severe campaign of the war. The First
was in the Third brigade, First Division of the Fifth Corps, Army of the
Potomac, commanded respectively by Generals Bartlet, Griffin, Warren and




776


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Mead, with General Grant as commander-in-chief. The First Michigan
was one of the regiments that opened the fight May 5th in the Wilderness,
where, in the three days' fight, the regiment lost heavily in killed, wounded
and prisoners. The night of May 7th the First marched all night to Spottsylvania, where another hard fight took place Sunday morning, May 8th, three
unsuccessful charges being made to drive the enemy from an elevated position behind breastworks, the regiment sustaining another heavy loss in killed,
wounded and prisoners, the subject of this sketch being among the latter.
Monday, May 9, he with about four hundred other prisoners were marched
all day under rebel guard to Beaver Dam Station, on the Virginia Central
Railroad, where they were to be put aboard cars and sent to Richmond. Just
before reaching the station the prisoners were overjoyed by the sudden appearance of Sheridan's Cavalry force, who had just started out on the famous
Richmond raid, and were again with their friends. The recaptured men remained with the Cavalry force on the raid, which was the most strenuous and
exciting week of their lives, with nothing to eat except what they could beg
from the Cavalrymen, and they were very glad when they again entered the
union lines the following Saturday, May I4th, at Malvern Hill, on the James
river. Sunday morning, the i th, the liberated prisoners were put aboard
a boat and taken to Alexandria, and after a few days' rest were given new
equipment and sent back to the front, going by boat to Belle Plain Landing,
from'which place they acted as guard for a supply train, via Fredericksburg,
reaching the army while they lay at North Anna river, May 26th, where
Charles rejoined his regiment.  The following night the army started on
another flanking movement toward Richmond, participating in several hard
fights in the vicinity of the Chickahominy river,; and on June I6th crossed
the James river and marched to Petersburg, where the army saw hard service,
fighting and building fortifications during the long siege of that place, which
ended in the spring of I865, when the Fifth Corps, with Sheridan's Cavalry,
started on the flank movement which ended with the surrender of Lee's army
at Appomattox and the collapse of the rebellion, after four years of desperate
fighting.
The First Michigan Infantry was one of the regiments detailed to receive the arms and battle flags of General Lee's army after the surrender at
Appomattox.   Charles' brother George also served with the First Michigan from July, I864, until the close of the war, and was also with the regiment at Appomattox.. The veterans of the Fourth Michigan, in which George
served three years, were consolidated with the First Michigan when the
Fourth was disbanded about the first of July, I864, at the expiration of their'
three years' service (the re-enlisted men only being transferred to the First),
while the regiment lay in the trenches at Petersburg. George is also a practical printer and for a number of years past has conducted a large job printing office at Norfolk, Virginia.
After Lee's surrender the army marched back through Petersburg and
Richmond and then to Washington, where they went into camp until after
the Grand Review, May 23, when the disbandment began. The First Michigan was detached from the army after returning to Petersburg, being detailed




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


777


to guard the railroad between Burkville Junction and City Point, with headquarters at the latter place, where they remained until the i6th of May, 1865,
when they went to Alexandria by transport and went into camp on Arlington Heights, near Washington, participating in the Grand Review of the
Army of the Potomac, May 23d. June I6th the regiment was put aboard of
some flat cars (coal cars) and went to Parkersburg on the Baltimore & Ohio
railway, and thence to Louisville, Kentucky, by boat down the Ohio river,
reaching that city the morning of the 2Ist. Later in the day the regiment
went into camp across the river at Jeffersonville, Indiana, where they were
mustered out July 9th, and started for home the Ioth, reaching Jackson,
Michigan, on the i2th, where a fine banquet awaited them, prepared by the
good people of that city. On July 2Ist the regiment was paid off and disbanded.
Charles went to school the following fall and winter, and in the spring
of I866 resumed work in the Commercial office at Monroe, where he remained one year, completing his apprenticeship, and then started.out as a
"jour" printer, working on daily papers at Toledo, Sandusky and Detroit
until the spring of I874, when he moved to Lansing, Michigan, where he
was employed for nine years in the State Printing Office, during the administration of the late W. S. George as state printer. In the spring of 1883
Mr. Owen purchased the Grass Lake, Michigan, News (his first newspaper
venture), which he published until July, I885, when he sold that paper and
bought the Bronson, Michigan, Journal. In October, I889, he sold the Journal and bought a half interest in the Coldwater Courier, in partnership with
Mr. C. H. Newell. which relation continued until October, I894, when he
sold his interest in the Courier to Mr. Newell and bought the Quincy Herald
of the late J. C. Joiner, which Mr. Owen has since conductec with marked
ability and success, the Herald being one of the most reliable and popular
country weeklies in Southern Michigan.
On the 22d of July, I869, Mr. Owen was united in marriage at the home
of the bride in Detroit, to Miss Belle J. Allen, who was born at Cleveland,
Ohio, October 30, I847, and is a daughter of J. J. and Harriet (Thompson) Allen. The mother died in Detroit in April, I883, and the father died
at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Owen, at Coldwater, Michigan, in October, I893, with whom he spent the latter years of his life. He was born in
county Longford, Ireland, in I809, and when a young man, immediately after
being married, came to the United States, first settling in New York city.
He afterwards moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and in I868 moved to Detroit.
Mr. and Mrs. Owen began their domestic life in Toledo, Ohio, where Mr.
Owen was employed on the Toledo Daily Blade for a number of years. Their
married life has been very happy, and they have been blessed with four children: Gertrude May, born in Toledo, Ohio, August I8, I8170; Wilber Allen,
born in Detroit, Michigan, June 30, 1873; Charles Wesley, Jr., born in
Lansing, Michigan, June 29, 1877, and Isla Belle, born at Bronson, Michigan, September 17, I889. Wilber and Charles are both graduates of the
Columbia Law School of Washington, D. C., where they took the night
course while in the government employ, Wilber in the Government Printing




778


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Office, and Charles in the War Department during the Spanish-American
war. Wilber and Charles have been engaged in the practice of law at Toledo, Ohio, for a number of years, in which they have met with marked success, making a specialty of patent law practice, under the firm name of Owen
& Owen. Both are married, and a fine baby girl came to the home of Charles
and wife July 20, 1905. Gertrude is a successful milliner, and Isla Belle is
still at home, pursuing her studies in the Quincy High School at the time of
the compilation of this history, January, I9o6.
Mr. Owen has always been a staunch Republican. Both he and his wife
are members of the Quincy Presbyterian church, and Mr. Owen is also a
member of Mt. Vernon Lodge No. I66, F. & A. M., Maccabee Tent No. 536,
Capital Council No. 80, Royal Arcanum, and C. O. Loomis Post No. 2,
Grand Army of the Republic.
PASCHAL P. MORRISON.
Paschal P. Morrison, devoting his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits in Girard township, was born in Penfield, Monroe county,
New York, October 20, I835. His father, Jonathan Morrison, was a native
of Seneca county, New York, and was a son of Samuel Marrison, who spent
his entire life in the Empire state. The great-grandfather of our subject was
a soldier of the Revolution, who valiantly fought for independence of the
colonies. Reared in the Empire state, Jonathan Morrison, after attaining
his majority, was united in marriage to Miss Charlotte Burlingame, whose
birth occurred in Bloomfield, Ontario county, New York. They began their
domestic life in the Empire state, and before leaving the east seven children were born unto them, but one of the number died in infancy. With
the surviving six children they came to Michigan in I845 and for a few
months resided in Washtenaw county, after which they removed to Girard
township, Branch county, taking up their abode on section thirty-three. The
father there purchased eighty acres of land, which is now in possession of his
son Paschal, and throughout the remainder of an active business career devoted his attention to farming. He became one of the representative and
prosperous farmers of the locality and died on the old homestead November 24, I885, at the age of seventy-seven years, while his wife passed away in
1893, at the age of eighty years. The six children who came with them
to Michigan were:    Nancy, now   Mrs. Hames, who is living in Hodunk, Michigan; Mrs. Victoria Kingston, who resided in Union township, Branch county; Russell Morrison, who died in Batavia, Michigan, in
1887; Mrs. Marcia Wilcox, a resident of Coldwater; Mrs. M'ary Ann Reed,
also living in Coldwater; and Paschal P., of this review. Following the
arrival of the parents in Michigan two other children were born, but both
died in infancy.
Paschal P. Morrison came to Michigan with his parents when a lad of
ten years and has since resided in Girard township, with the exception of
the brief period spent with the family in Washtenaw county. He early became familiar with the labors of the farm and assisted in the development




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~-::;;:::::i:-:,::P








HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


779


of the fields and the care of the stock. After his father's death he cared for
his mother, and not until she, too, was called from this life did he feel at
liberty to marry. He then wedded Miss Augusta Adolph in October, I895.
She, too, lived in Girard township, and she is a native of Germany, born
August 28, I849. Her father was Phillip Adolph, and her mother bore the
maiden name of Anna Greuner. Both were natives of Germany, where they
were married and where six children were born unto them, as follows: Phillip, who is now a.resident of Girard; Lena, who died in Germany in infancy;
Anna, who became Mrs. Flandemeyer, and died in Coldwater, Michigan, in
I86I; Willard, who is living in Union township, this county; Mrs. Lena
Morrison, who resides in Batavia; and Mrs. Augusta Morrison, the wife
of our subject. The father's death occurred in Germany in 1853, and a few
years later Mrs. Adolph came with her children to America, locating in
Girard township, Branch county, Michigan, where her parents, Anthon and
Vancel Greuner, had previously taken up their abode. Here Mrs. Adolph
made for herself a good home and reared her family, doing a mother's full
duty toward the sons.and daughters who were left to her care. She died
here March 17, I891.  Mrs. Morrison had cared for her in her declining
years, and she, too, resolved not to marry while her mother lived, but in
March, 1891, she gave her hand in marriage to Paschal P. Morrison, and
their marriage has been a particularly happy one. They have a comfortable
home situated in the midst of an eighty-acre farm on section thirty-three,
Girard township, and bordering the banks of the beautiful Morrison Lake,
which was named in honor of the family. This lake has led to the establishment of a favorite summer resort, with numerous cottages, which are occupied throughout the summer months. Both Mr. and Mrs. Morrison have
spent the greater part of their lives in this locality and are highly esteemed.
The friendship of many friends is freely accorded them, and it is with pleasure that we present this record to our readers.
D. P. LEONARD.
For many years D. P. Leonard has traveled life's journey, and now, in
the evening of a long, useful and honorable career, is enjoying a well earned
rest, relieved of the burdens and responsibilities of business life, for through
many decades he was laying by the competence which now supplies him with
all the necessities and many of the luxuries of life. Depending upon his own
resources, he has risen from comparative obscurity to a place of prominence
in the commercial. world.
Mr. Leonard was born in the village of Smyrna, Chenango county, New
York, February 9, 1822. His father, Joseph B. Leonard, was a native of
the eastern part of New York, his birth having occurred in Saratoga. He
was of WVelsh lineage, his ancestors having come from Wales at an earlyday and settled in Tompkins, Massachusetts, where they established the first
foundry in the United States. Joseph B. Leonard was a shoemaker by trade
and he lived to the advanced age of eighty-five years. His wife, whose maiden
name was Aseneth Buck, was a native of Massachusetts and died in her sixtv



780


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


fourth year. They were the parents of four children, of whom one died in
infancy, while the three sons grew to manhood. Joseph C. and James were
both prominent merchants of Union City at one time, but are now deceased.
D. P. Leonard is the youngest of the brothers and the only one now living.
He was reared in the place of his nativity and acquired his education in a
select school there, but his privileges were somewhat limited, for at the age
of twelve years he started out in life on his own account. He began working
as a farm hand, being bound out for four years, and according to the terms
of the contract he was to be given his board and clothing and allowed the
privilege of attending school for three months in the winter. When sixteen
years of age he began teaching in the district schools, following that profession through the winter seasons, while in the summer months he continued
at farm labor. He afterward spent one year in Pennsylvania in working at
the carpenter's trade, and then returned to Chenango county, New York.
There he entered into partnership with his father in the shoemaking business,
in which he continued for two years, after which they purchased a farm
together in New York. Two years later he bought.his father's interest in
the place and remained upon the home farm for eleven years, placing it under
a high state of cultivation and having a number of substantial improvements
made.
On the I3th of April, 1848, Mr. Leonard was united in marriage to Miss
Mary A. Gates, a daughter of Warren W. and Mary (Wording) Gates. Mrs.
Leonard was born in Rhode Island and was a young child when her parents
removed to the Empire state. Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Leonard resided in New York for about eight years, and in I856 came to Michigan, settling upon a farm in Burlington township, Calhoun county, about a
mile and a half from Union City. This farm he still owns. It was largely
improved by him and he erected substantial buildings there, made good fences,
carefully tilled his fields and continued the farm work along practical lines
until his labors were crowned with very gratifying success. He resided upon
that place until I892, but in I889 he had purchased a farm east of Union
City, in Union township, and took up his abode in the village, working the
farm until about I90o, when he sold that property. He has now a ginsing
plant on his lot in Union City. The old homestead property comprises about
three hundred acres of rich land, of which fifty acres is timber, while the
greater part of the remainder is cultivable and was transformed into productive fields by Mr. Leonard. He also owns real estate in Union City, including two brick stores un Main street.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Leonard have been born three children: Dr. Mary
A. is the wife of Thomas E. Murphy, editor of a paper at Mercedes, California. She graduated in the Kalamazoo Female Seminary in the class of
I873; also from the Medical College, in Northwestern University of Chicago in the class of 1894, and she took up her practice at Portland, Oregon,
thence removing to California. Charles J. married Della E. Winans and is
now operating the old farm in Calhoun county. He was a student at the
Agricultural College at Lansing, Michigan, and was a teacher in both Calhoun and Branch counties. Hattie C. is at home. Besides attending the




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY                        781
High School at Union City she was a student at the Ladies' College at Painesville, Ohio. In I888 Mr. Leonard was called upon to mourn the loss of his
wife, who died on the 20th of January of that year.
In his political views Mr. Leonard is a Democrat. He served as supervisor of Burlington township for one term and has always been interested in
the welfare and growth of his party. As a pioneer settler he has contributed
in substantial measure to the improvement of the county and to the upbuilding of Union City. He gave active encouragement to the cement factory here,
being largely instrumental in securing its establishment... He has also done
much toward promoting other interests of the town which have contributed
in large measure to the general prosperity. Mr. Leonard and his wife and
daughter, Miss Hattie, all traveled quite extensively, making three trips to
California, two to Florida, and also visiting other sections of the country.
He has thus enjoyed the competence which has come to him through his well
directed labors. His has been a successful career, for he started out in life
when only twelve years of age, having nothing to depend on but his own
labors. His prosperity has come as the result of hard work and honorable
dealing. His progress has not been continuous, for at times he has met difficulties and obstacles. On one occasion his house was destroyed by fire, anc,
another time his barn was burned, but he did not allow those losses to discourage him, but replaced the buildings with modern structures, and now
has one of the best improved farms of the county. There is no larger barn
in this section of the state, for the structure is one hundred and thirty by one
hundred and twenty feet. His life has been honorable, his actions manly and
sincere, and his name is a synonym for integrity and straightforward dealing
wherever he is known.
REV. FREDERICK M. CODDINGTON.
Rev. Frederick M. Coddington, pastor of the Presbyterian church in
Quincy, was born in Sherwood township, Branch county, in 1853. The family is of English lineage and was founded in America by three brothers who
came from England in the early part of the seventeenth century, settling in
that section of the country which was called in honor of the mother country,
New England. All of the Coddingtons in the United States are perhaps
descended from these three brothers, and the number bearing the name is
now a large one.
Chester T. Coddington, father of our subject, was born in Tompkins
county, New York, in I8I8, and died in November, 1884. He was a farmer
bv occupation, as was his father, Robert Coddington, while the latter was
likewise an elder of the Presbyterian church. Chester Coddington left the
state of New York in the fall of 1839 and settled in Sherwood township,
where he took possession of a third of the land which his father had previously entered from the government. There he lived and prospered, and
eventually died upon another farm that, during his latter years, became a
part of the site of Sherwood village. When he came to Michigan he was a
member of the Presbyterian church, but as there was no congregation of




782              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUN**
that denomination at that time, he united with the Congregational church of
Union City about 1846, and died while identified therewith. He was one of
a family of ten children, eight sons and two daughters, all of whom reached
mature years, namely: John M., who studied for the ministry; Reuben P.,
who came to Michigan two years after Chester's arrival, and was a prosperous farmer, a very influential man in the county, and became the owner of
one-third of the land which his father had originally possessed in Sherwood
township; Martin Luther, who came some years after Reuben's arrival, and
took the remaining third of the land, prospering as a farmer up to the time
of his death, which occurred when he was fifty years of age; James, Stephen,
Eliza, Ophelia, Theron and Theodore, all now deceased.
Chester Coddington was a life-long supporter of the Whig party until
its dissolution, when he joined the ranks of the Republican party.  His
brothers who came to Michigan were also Republicans, while those remaining in the east gave their allegiance to the Democratic party. Chester Coddington served as a justice of the peace, and was influential in community
affairs. His life was upright and honorable, and all who knew him esteemed
him for his genuine worth. He married Prudence Hess, who was born in
the state of New York in 1815 and died in I866. She was a daughter of
Frederick and Jerusha Hess, who was of German descent. She held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, and her husband gave the site
from off his farm on which the Methodist church of the locality was built.
This was the first church edifice erected in the township of Sherwood. In
the family of this worthy couple were three children: James D., who died
in childhood; Frederick M.; and Hiram D., a farmer of Sherwood township. Chester Coddington had been previously married, his first wife having
been Elizabeth Lee, a member of a pioneer family of Branch county. She
was an early school teacher and understood the Indian language. The first
wife died about 1848. Unto this marriage were born five children, of whom
one died in infancy, while the others were: Elisabeth Ophelia, who at the
age of twelve years became a member of the family of her paternal grandmother, filling the part of a daughter, sister and home-keeper, until all that
family have passed away-herself still remaining as the sole representative
of a once large and merry family; Charles D., a farmer residing in Mason
county, who is a pensioner of the Civil war and a member of the Grand
Army of the Republic; Orpha G.; and Margaret Ely. The second wife of
Chester Coddington was the mother of our subject. His third wife was
Salena Leatherberry, a daughter of Abel Leatherberry, and a native of Ohio.
She is now living in Sherwood at the age of seventy-three years.
Mr. Coddington was reared upon the home farm, attended the district
schools and was a student in Jonesville Union School and Albion College.
At the age of twenty-six years he began teaching and was superintendent of
the schools of Sherwood from i879 until i881. In the school year of 1881-2
he was principal of the high school at New Troy, and was superintendent
of schools at Three Oaks in I883-4. In the meantime he had been preparing
for the ministry, and in March, 1885, was ordained a minister of the Congregational church at Athens by a regularly constituted council of the min



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


783


istry of that church. He was then acting pastor of a charge at Athens, and
later he became pastor of the church at Pinckney, where he remained for two
years. He afterward spent three years in Leslie, Michigan, and more than
five years in Litchfield. He continued his labors for four years in Laingsburg, and in Otsego for nearly three years, and in April, I902, he came to
Quincy, since which time he has been pastor of the Presbyterian church
here.
Rev. Coddington was married in August, 1882, to Miss Esther L. Evans,
who was born in Quincy township in I859, and was a daughter of Joseph and
Theodosia Evans. Her father came to Michigan in 1852, settling in Quincy
township, Branch county. He was of Scotch and French lineage and was a
skilled carriage maker. In his family were two children, the son being Frank
L. Evans, superintendent of the public schools of Frankfort, Michigan, and
also editor of the Benzie County Patriot, published at Frankfort. Mrs. Coddington was a teacher in the schools at Sherwood when her husband became
superintendent there. She has an adopted daughter, Amy J. North, who
became a member of their home when sixteen years of age, and was married
in February, I896, to William J. Mcllwain, a farmer of Calhoun county,
Michigan.
Mr. Coddington is the owner of a farm of ninety acres. in Quincy township, and this brings him a good return, which makes an excellent supplement
to his salary received from the church. Where national questions are involved, he is a Republican, but at local elections votes for candidates of the
Prohibition party. He has served as school examiner and is always interested in educational advancement. Fraternally he is a Mason. For twentyone years, however, he has given his almost undivided attention to the work
of the ministry, and his labors have been crowned with a high measure of
success. He is a speaker of force, logical in argument and strong in his
presentation of his cause. He is likewise a forcible and entertaining writer
and has produced some publications, including a work entitled "As They
Did It," or "The First Church of Warden," published by Jennings & Pye
of Cincinnati; while the same publishers are soon to read the manuscript of
another instructive and entertaining religious novel written by him, entitled
" The Mortgage on the Old Farm," with the view of putting it in book form.
(The manuscript of this book has not yet been in the hands of any publisher.)
He is a man who enjoys the highest respect of all, regardless of denominational preference, and his work has been a potent power for good wherever
he has labored.
MRS. GEORGE E. LORING.
Mrs. George E. Loring, well known in Branch county, is living upon a
farm on section thirteen, Girard township, where she owns eighty acres of
valuable land. Her residence is an attractive modern frame house built in
pleasing style of architecture and standing in the midst of a well-kept lawn.
Everything about the place is neat and thrifty in appearance, giving indication
of the careful supervision of Mrs. Loring. ~ In her maidenhood Mrs. Loring
bore the name of Mary Calkins, and her birth occurred in Schenectady county,




784              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
New York, February I9, 1840. Her father, Orville Calkins, was a native of
Glenville, Vermont, where the days of his boyhood and youth were passed,
but soon after he attained his majority he removed to the Empire state, and
was there married in Cambridge, Saratoga county, to Miss Janet Ferguson.
They reared their family of children there, and Mrs. Calkins died in that
locality. Mr. Calkins subsequently came to Michigan in 1852 and established his home in the township of Batavia, Branch county, where he resided
for a few years, after which he removed to a farm in Girard township. Later
he located in the village of Tekonsha, where his remaining days were passed.
Mr. Calkins was a stone mason by trade and for many years followed that
pursuit, giving his attention to that business while in Tekonsha. His life
was upright and honorable, and in all of his business dealings he was straightforward and reliable, so that he became known in the community as a man of
genuine worth, worthy the high regard of all. He died in Tekonsha in I893
in the eighty-seventh year of his age.
In the family of Orville and Janet (Ferguson) Calkins were a son and
four daughters, who reached manhood and womanhood: Harrison, whose
death occurred in the Empire state; Mrs. Sarah Brown, who died in Butler;
Mrs. Nancy Eldred, whose death occurred in Tekonsha in I895; Mrs. Catherine Sawyer, who is living in Butler, Branch county, Michigan; and Mrs.
Loring.
In her father's home Mary Calkins spent her girlhood days and was
trained to the duties of the household, while in the public schools she acquired her education. On the 8th of October, 1859, she gave her hand in
marriage to George E. Loring, who was a native of Medina county, Ohio,
where he was born February I2, I834, his parents being John and Mary
(Merritt) Loring, both of whom were natives of the state of New York.
After living in Ohio for a number of years they came to Michigan, where
they reared their family, casting in their lot with the pioneer settlers of
Branch county. They found a district which was little improved and with
strong purpose and laudable determination Mr. Loring began the work of
making a home on the frontier. He met the difficulties that usually confront the pioneer, but he diligently pursued his work, and in the course of
time developed an excellent farm property on section twelve, Girard township, where he and his wife spent their remaining days.
George E. Loring, reared to the occupation of farming, followed that
pursuit throughout the greater part of his life, but also, had other business
interests. As he prospered in his undertakings he added to his landed possessions until he had acquired several hundred acres in this immediate vicinity. He was one of the first residents of this section to make a specialty
of fruit raising, in which he was very successful, particularly in the line of
apple growing, his orchards at one time being considered the finest and most
attractive in the county. In all of his work he was progressive and kept in
touch with modern ideas concerning agricultural development.
Mr. and Mrs. Loring became the parents of six children: Nettie, born
August 28, 1867, died in infancy. John A., born January I6, I86I, died
October 19, I880, at the age of nineteen years. Sanford, who was born




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


785


January 7, I867, and is a machinist residing in Coldwater, was married
August 15, i888, to Flora Rogers, by whom he has one son and three
daughters. Hattie, born November 26, 1864, was married August 24, 1885,
to Edwin Walker, who is engaged in blacksmithing at Hodunk, Michigan,
and they have three sons and two daughters. Lettie, born January 7, 1872,
is the wife of J. Shedd, who holds a position in one of the large beet sugar
factories at Bay City, Michigan, where they are living with their son and
daughter. Marian, born December 7, I877, is the wife. of William Ostrom,
their home being in Branch county, Michigan.
In his political views Mr. Loring was a stalwart Republican, who also
kept well informed on the questions and issues of the day, although he
never sought or desired office. He was interested in all that goes to uplift
and benefit mankind and the cause of education found in him a warm and
helpful friend, who as a school officer upon several different occasions did
effective and valuable service for the system of public instruction in his
home locality. He passed away December 25, I893, and thus closed a useful, honorable and upright life. He was just and fair in all his dealings
and was respected by his neighbors and fellow-townsmen, while in his home
he was greatly beloved, for his devotion to his family was largely ideal.
Mrs. Mary Loring still survives her husband and resides upon the old homestead, and although at the time of his death she had but little experience in
business life she took up the work that confronted her with strong and resolute courage and not only carefully reared and educated her children, but
also conducts the affairs of her farm, where she spends the greater part of
her time, paying, however, frequent visits to her children, all of whom are
established in comfortable homes. She belongs to the Free Will Baptist
church, and her many good qualities of heart and mind have endeared her
to a large circle of friends.
ROBERT CHERDAVOINE.
Robert Cherdavoine, who at one time was actively engaged in farming, but is now practically living retired on his farm in Girard township, was
born in Tompkins county, New York, December 20, 1827. He is descended
from French ancestry, his paternal grandfather having come from France,
while his father, John Cherdavoine, was born in New Jersey. He was one
of a family of four sons, and when a young man removed from New Jersey
to the state of New York, where he was married to Miss Mary Longcoy, a
native of the Empire state. They became the parents of two children, Robert
and Abram, but the latter was killed in New York in 1854 when twenty-six
years of age. The mother died in I829, and the father afterward married
Elizabeth Whalen, by whom he had three children: Enoch, now a resident
of Union township, Branch county; Walter, who served as a soldier in the
Civil war and died soon afterward; and Mrs, Mary Bickhorn, who died in
New York in I893. The death of the father occurred at the home of his
son Robert in Girard township in i888 when he had reached the advanced
age of ninety-three years.




786


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Robert Cherdavoine was a little lad of six years when his father removed from Tompkins to Chemung county, New York, and there he remained until coming to Michigan. He was married in Chemung county to
Miss Maria Brooks, a native of that locality, born October 15, I833. Her
father was Jesse Brooks, while her mother bore the maiden name of Marinda
Fox. Both were natives of the Empire state and were among the pioneer
settlers of Branch county, Michigan, coming to Coldwater when their daughter Maria was less than two years of age, arriving here in I835. Further
mention is made of the Brooks family on another page of this work. For
ten years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Cherdavoine remained in New
York, and then came to Michigan, settling in Branch county. This was
in the year I864, and Mr. Cherdavoine purchased fifty acres of land in Coldwater township, where he carried on general farming for seventeen years. In
I88I he removed to Girard township and purchased one hundred and sixteen
acres of land on sections seventeen and eighteen, which he still owns. He
has an excellent farm here, improved with good buildings, and everything
about the place is attractive in its appearance, showing the careful supervision of the owner. Mr. Cherdavoine, however, now leaves the active operation of the farm to his son Archie, with whom he lives.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Cherdavoine were born five children: Archie, who
resides upon the old homestead and who married Lois Mack, by whom he
has two children; Mrs. Sarah Maclk, who resides in Battle Creek, Michigan;
a daughter, who died in infancy; Johnnie, who died at the age of three years;
and Matthew, who died in I890 at the age of twenty years. In I895 Mr.
Cherdavoine was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the
I4th day of July of that year. She was for a long period a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and was a true Christian woman, whose many
excellencies of character endeared her to those with whom she came in contact, so that her loss was deeply felt by many friends as well as her immediate family.
Mr. Cherdavoine has been a life-long Republican and has ever kept wellinformed on the questions and issues of the day. For forty years he has
served as a school officer and the cause of education has ever found in him a
warm and stalwart friend. His interest in public affairs is deep and sincere
and has resulted in active and helpful effort for the general good.
HENRY OLNEY.
Prominent among the early settlers of the township of Girard were the
Olneys, their descendants still being among the prosperous and esteemed
residents of this locality. The first of our subject's ancestors to locate here
was Darius Olney, his grandfather, a native of Saratoga county, New York,
where he was born in I795. He lived in his native county until I835, when
he came to Calhoun county, Michigan, where he lived for two years, then
coming to Branch county and'Girard, which was to be the home of himself
and his descendants for so many years. In New York state he married
Abagail Maxwell, and they were the parents of eight children, four of whom




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


787


grew to manhood and womanhood. One of these was William Olney, father
of our subject, who was horn in Monroe county, New York, April 7, I820.
He was only fifteen years of age when he came with his parents to Michigan, and he remained on the home farm until after he attained his majority. Then for a period of ten years he labored for others, saving his
earnings. He was married, in I8.53, to Miss Hannah Carter, daughter of
Vernon and Anna Carter, both natives of the state of Connecticut, who
were also among the early pioneers of this part of Michigan. Five sons
and two daughters were born to William Olney and Anna Carter Olney, as
follows:  Edgar Olney is a resident of Battle Creek, Michigan.  Abbie
Olney Potter lives in Girard. Henry Olney is our subject. Bart Olney
lives in Tekonsha. Byron Olney is a resident of Battle Creek. Will Olney
lives in Girard township. Rose Olney Howard lives in the township of
Tekonsha. All of the children are married and have homes and families
of their own. Hannah Carter Olney, after a life filled with her faithful
duties as a loving wife and mother, died at her home in Girard, March 7,
I864. In I868 Mr. Olney was married to Mary J. Brayton, who is still
living and a resident of Girard. Mr. Olney died February 4, I904. Before
his death he became the owner of several hundred acres of fine farming
land and he was for many years a man of influence and importance in this
part of Branch county. He lived to a good old age and always possessed
the high regard and esteem of a very large circle of friends.
Our subject, Henry Olney, was born in Girard, August 29, 1857, and
he has passed his entire life in this township. He grew to manhood upon
the home farm and early decided to follow agriculture as a life vocation.
In this he has been eminently successful. He early became imbued with
the idea that every man ought to have a home of his own and accordingly
eighteen years ago he purchased a portion of his present farm on section
eight, Girard township, not far from the old Olney homestead, and here
he now owns one hundred and five acres of land, with excellent buildings
and equipment.  He was married, October 22, 1890, to Miss Lena May
Bush, a native of Fredonia, Calhoun county, where she was born February
2, I868. Her father was George Bush and her mother was Lucy Upham,
both natives of the Empire state, the latter being of the same branch of
the Upham family which gave a governor to the state of Wisconsin in later
years. Mr. and Mrs. Bush have been residents of Calhoun county for many
years, where they are well and favorably known, and where they still live
in Fredonia. They are the parents of four daughters and two sons, one of
the latter dying in infancy. The remaining children, all of whom are living,
are as follows: Elmer Bush is a resident of Grand Rapids. Carrie Bush
Simonson lives in Concord, Michigan. Myrtie Bush Holmes lives in Marshall, Michigan.  Ina Bush Burland lives in Peoria, Illinois.  Lena May
Olney is the wife of our, subject.
Our subject, Mr. Henry Olney, is a young man who commands the
respect and esteem of his fellow citizens and he has served his school district as an officer. He is known as one of the thrifty and successful young
farmers of the prosperous township of Girarid,. and he has already become




788              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
possessed of considerable property. He is a worthy descendant of the sterling ancestors who have done so much in the development and growth of
this section of the state, and he is justly proud of the honored name he
bears.
GEORGE J. STRAY.
George J. Stray, whose honorable and upright life contains many lessons that are worthy of emulation, was born in Java, Wyoming county, New
York, on the i6th of August, 1837. His father, George W. Stray, was born
in the Empire state on the I9th of October, I8o1, and was united in marriage in Wyoming county on the 2ISt of February, 1833, to Miss Chloe
Allen, who was born in Vermont, March I8, I8o8. The Strays were originally from France. The Allen family removed from the Green Mountain
state to Wyoming county, New York, at an early period in its development,
and as before stated the parents of our subject were there married. In the
spring of 1843 the father came to Michigan, and after spending a few
months in Girard he sent for his family to join him and they arrived in
Branch county the same year. The country was almost wholly new and
undeveloped and George W. Stray cleared the farm on section ten, Girard
township, on which his son, George J. Stray, now resides. He was persistent and energetic in his work and continued as one of the enterprising and
valued agriculturists of Girard township up to the time of his death, which
occurred July 31, 1883. His widow survived him for several years and
passed away on the 2Ist of October, I891. In their family were six children, namely: James Erastus, who died in 1848 at the age of fourteen
years; Albert, who died in I85o, at the age of ten years; Chloe M., who is
living in Girard; George J., of this review; Mrs. Phoebe Fairbanks, who is
living in Litchfield, Michigan; and Lucius, who resides in Girard.  The
family have always been ardent and earnest Methodists, taking a very active
and helpful part in religious work, and George W. Stray was for many
years known throughout the community as Class Leader Stray because of
the position which he held in his church. He was one of its liberal supporters and his efforts in its behalf were far-reaching and effective.
George J. Stray was reared to the occupation of farming and in the
public schools acquired his education. Having arrived at years of maturity
he was married October 28, I879, to Emaroy L. Coburn, who was born in
Troy, Ohio, July 6, 1850. She lived in Ohio until eight years of age, afterward spent one year in Illinois and then came to Michigan. Her father
was Arson H. Coburn, who was born in Homer, New York, February 26,
18i6, and was married in Plymouth, Connecticut, on the 23d of May, 1838,
to Miss Adeline Warner, whose birth occurred at Plymouth on the 22d of
February, I819. They became early residents of Ohio and Mr. Coburn
died at Richland, Michigan, on the 3d of September, 1888, while his wife
passed away in Ashtabula county, Ohio, on the 3Ist of October, I853. In
their family were eight children, of whom two sisters died in infancy, one
having been born June 4, 1840, and the other October 28, 184I. The other
members of the family were: William H. Coburn, a brother, who was born






"- - i I




r
cS`




ol
1000








HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


789


February 12, 1843, and died at the age of twenty years; Mrs. Sarah Jane
Kelley, who is living in Clinton, Wisconsin; Albert W., a resident of Scotts,
Michigan; an infant son, who died in infancy; and Mrs. Adeline Hincher,
who was born October Io, I853, and lives in Decatur, Michigan. Mrs.
Stray was only three years old at the time of her mother's death, and was
adopted by Rev. F. Gage, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church,
with whom she lived until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Stray began their
domestic life on the old home farm on section ten, Girard township, and
have here since resided. They have had three children, but the first born
died in infancy; Mary, who was born April 21, I882, died February 12,
1900, at the age of eighteen years; and Phoebe A., who was born September 22, 1887, and is at home.
Mr. Stray is the owner of a farm of sixty acres and his time and attention are given to its further development and improvement. He is also an
apiarist, as he has made the study of the bee one of his pursuits, and he has
been most successful. At the present time, I905, he has about ninety stands
of bees, and about I88i he marketed nine hundred dollars' worth of honey.
The Italian bee is the one that he cultivates, and he has paid as high as
twenty dollars for two queen bees, while in I903 he had another queen for
which he paid eight dollars. He has had as high as thirteen swarms of bees
at one time. There is not another man in Branch county who has been as
successful as an apiarist as Mr. Stray. He has served as district school
officer and the cause of education finds in him a warm friend. He is moreover deeply interested in the cause of religion and the family are members
of the Methodist church, in which he has long served as steward and class
leader. The Strays have always been a God-fearing people, always loyal to
the interests of right, truth and justice and they have ever commanded the
high regard of all.
SYDNEY E. YEATTER.


Upon the shoulders of the young-men and women falls the robe of responsibility in the affairs of the nation in an agricultural, mercantile and professional sense. Mr. Yeatter of this review is one of the young and representative agriculturists of the township of Matteson, and was born in St. Joseph
county, Michigan, January 27, I867. He is the eldest of three children, all
yet living, a son and two daughters, who were born unto Solomon and Martha
(Benedict) Yeatter. Effie, the eldest, is the wife of Albioln Russell, who resides in Colon, Michigan, and is an agriculturist. They have two children,
Ernest and Ethel. Mrs. Russell was educated in Colon schools, was at one
time a successful teacher and is a member of the Reform church. Ethel
Yeatter is the wife of H. Schaffmaster, a resident of Colon, Michigan, who is
also interested in agricultural pursuits. They have one son, Delmont. Solomon Yeatter, the father, was born in Pennsylvania, April 13, I839, and is
yet living, his home being in Colon township. He, too, is an agriculturist.
He came to Michigan in I854, when the state was in its pristine virginity.
He received a good, practical education and was a teacher for a number of
years. When he was twenty-one years of age he had little or no capital, and






41




790              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
to-day he is one of the substantial farmers of St. Joseph county. He wedded
Miss Martha Benedict on the 22d of February, I866. She. was a native of
Ohio and at her death the following obituary headed the sketch of the beautiful life she lived:
"Martha A. Benedict was born in Morrow county, Ohio, February 23,
1842, died May 14, I903, aged sixty years, two months and twenty-one days.
She came with her parents when but a young child to Michigan, where she
spent her life. She was united in marriage to Solomon Yeatter, February 22,
I866. This union was blessed with three children, all of whom are living.
Their wedded life was a happy one, to which her last dying words bear testimony. Her. last words spoken to her husband were: 'Solomon, I am going
to die. When we lived together we had a happy life, but the last three years
it was nothing but sorrow and grief for both of us, but, now comes the crown
of joy and everlasting life in dear Jesus.' Oh! what a legacy for those left
behind. How beautiful are these words, words that will never die. She
leaves to mourn her departure a devoted husband, three children, five grandchildren, two brothers and two sisters besides many dear friends. She was
a life-long member of the Christian church, early giving her heart to God,
being in every way a most earnest member of the St. Paul Reformed church
of South Colon. She was not simply a member by name, for her Christianity
meant far more than that. Her Christian life and spirit were manifested
each day in the Savior whom she loved. No better example could be given
other than her beautiful life and character as it was acted out day by day.
Her amiable disposition and her wise and good counsels will never die. For
the past three years she has been greatly missed, not only in her home, but
from the church and community. How many times she was wished back
home. God, in His wise providence, saw otherwise and finally called her
home. She is now waiting to greet you, one and all, on the other shore.
May we so live, so emulate her life and character in Jesus, that by and by
we may all meet to part no more. The funeral services were conducted by
her pastor, Rev. H. S. Nicholson, who spoke words of comfort to a very
large concourse of people from the 126 Ps., 5: 'They that sow in tears shall
reap in joy.' Her body was laid to rest in the cemetery by the St. Paul
Reformed church to await the glorious resurrection. Peace to her ashes.
"I do not ask, O Lord, that life may be
A pleasant road;
I do not ask that Thou would take from me
Aught of its load.
I do not ask that flowers should always spring
Beneath my feet;
I know too well the poison and the sting
Of things too sweet.
"For one thing only, Lord, I plead;
Lead me aright;






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


40      91


Though strength should falter and heart bleed,
Through peace to light.
I do not ask, O Lord, that Thou shouldst shed
Full radiance here;
Give but a ray of peace, that I may tread
Without a fear.
"I do not seek my cross to understand,
My way to see.
Better in darkness just to feel Thy hand
And follow Thee.
Joy is like restless days, but peace Divine
Like quiet night.
Lead me, O Lord, till perfect day shall shine
Through peace to light."
Solomon Yeatter was formerly a member of the Greenback party, but
is now a Republican. He has never cared for office holding, preferring to
devote his life to his individual business interests. He belongs to the Dutch
Reform church, of which.his wife was also an adherent. He has lived a
most honorable life and has stood four-square to the world. His life has
been such that his children have been taught thereby lessons of honesty and
integrity. His wife was one of those kind and affectionate mothers whose
admonitions wtill ever be remembered by her loving children.
Sydney E. Yeatter was reared and educated in St. Joseph county, Michigan. He acquired a good common-school education and also attended the
Colon high school, after which he became a student in the Northern Indiana
Normal School at Valparaiso, Indiana. He won a teacher's certificate and
taught for one term in St. Joseph county.
Mr. Yeatter wedded Miss Katie J. Dean, December 24, I889, and three
children, two sons and a daughter, have been born unto them, while two are
vet living. Ralph E., the elder, is in the third grade in school. Celia K.
is the sunbeam of the home circle. Mrs. Yeatter was born in St. Joseph
county, Michigan, December I6, 1871, a daughter of Joseph and Hattie
(Livermore) Dean. There were four children in the Dean family, three sons
and a daughter. and all are yet living: Harry, who was educated in the
Colon schools and is an agriculturist residing in Colon township; Mrs. Yeatter, who is the second in order of birth; Clyde, who is a graduate of the
Michigan Agricultural College of the class of I9OI, and is now residing in
Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he is engaged in business as a civil engineer;
and Olnev J., who was educated in the Michigan Agricultural College, completing the course as an alumnus of I903, his home being now in Chicago,
where he is also a civil engineer.
Joseph Dean, father of this family, was a native of Pennsylvania, born
August 23, 1840, and his death occurred June Io, I897. He followed the
occupation of farming, was a soldier of the Civil war, participated actively
in many battles, and afterward received an honorable discharge. He was




792              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
but a boy when his parents came to St. Joseph county, and almost his entire
life was spent in Michigan. In politics he was a stalwart Republican and
was a member of Henry M. Liddle Post, G. A. R., at Colon, Michigan. He
and his wife were members of the Evangelical church. Mrs. Dean is a native
of Michigan and is residing in St. Joseph county at the age of sixty years.
Mrs. Yeatter was reared in St. Joseph county and was educated in the.
Colon public schools. After obtaining her teacher's certificate she taught one
year and she has also received instruction in music. She is a lady of true
grace and cordial greeting and her interest centers in her home and family.
It was in the spring of I889 that Mr. Yeatter purchased sixty acres of
good land in Matteson township, and has since added sixty acres more. He
and his wife located on this land in February, I89o, and his attention has
since been given to general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising. He has
made a specialty of Shropshire sheep and Berkshire swine, and his breeding
stock is all registered. He built a large barn, thirty-twio by seventy-six feet,
in 1903, and in I906 expects to build a large sheep barn, thirty by forty-eight
feet. He is also a stockholder in the Colon Creamery, an enterprise which
pays well on the investment.
Mr. Yeatter is a Republican, casting his first presidential ballot for Benjamin Harrison. He is a friend of the public schools and was school inspector
for four years. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal
church at Colon, and they have always contributed their share toward all
worthy benefactions. Both Mr. and Mrs. Yeatter are young people, belonging to excellent families, who stand high in the estimation of all, and we are
pleased to present this full record of their lives to the readers of this volume.
Their beautiful home is known as The Pines.
MR. AND MRS. SETH KING.
Widely known throughout this county, as well as through a goodly
portion of southern Michigan, are Mr. and Mrs. Seth King, the latter being
more generally known as Mrs. Emily D. King. For many years they have
been residents of the township of Butler, where they still retain a fine farm,
although during the past year they have lived upon another place on section
twelve, Girard township, in order that they might be near their children.
Mr. Seth King was born in Monroe county, New York, April 6, 1832,
his father being Henry King, a native of Wheatland, Monroe county, New
York, where he was born February 14, I804. The King family was one
of importance in the Empire state, its members being prominent in possession of position and considerable property.  The paternal grandfather of
our subject at one time owned thousands of acres of land upon which the
city of Rochester was afterward built.  Henry King's first wife was a
Miss Skinner, by whom he had one child; Mary King Cooper, who died
while a resident of Calhoun county, Michigan, in I898. Mrs. King died
in New York state and Mr. King was again married, his second choice being
Cynthia Rose, a native of Cayuga county, New York, to whom he was united
in Monroe county. Nine children were born to them, as follows: Sarah






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


793


King, who died in New York when four years old; Elizabeth King Findley,
now living in Clarendon, Michigan; Melissa King Farwell, of Quincy,
Michigan; Seth King, of Girard; Helen King Lampman, of Quincy, Michigan; Albert King, of Butler; Bertha King Farwell, who died a number of
years ago at Hudson, Michigan; Sophronia King Harmon, of Clarendon,
Michigan; and Gilbert King, of Girard.
Mr. Henry King and his family came to Michigan in 1847 and located
first in Calhoun county, where they lived for several years. In 1854 they
came to Branch county, where Mr. King spent the remainder of his days.
Although always a farmer, nevertheless he engaged in various other enterprises and with his sons conducted a blast furnace near Quincy, this county,
using the so-called bog-ore found in this vicinity. This was one of the very
first blast furnaces in the interior of the state and was a flourishing industry in those days, although now superseded by the larger concerns in northern Michigan. After a long life of usefulness, Mr. King died in Butler in
I890, his estimable wife passing away a number of years previously, in
1874.
Mr. Seth King was about sixteen years of age when he came with his
parents from New York to Michigan. He was associated in business with
his father until he was twenty-three years old, and May 14, I854, he was
married in Homer, Michigan, to Miss Emily D. Card, a native of Lake
county, Indiana, where she was born August 30, I837. Her father was
Allen Card, a native of New York state. He was married to Eliza John'son, who was born near Brockport, New York. The father died in I840,
leaving his widow with one child, Emily D. Soon thereafter the family
experienced a most tragic accident whereby Mrs. Card and her three-monthsold infant son, Silas, born after the death of his father, were terribly burned,
the infant dying from the effect, while the mother was so terribly injured
that she remained a helpless invalid for the remainder of her life. She died
September 29, 1885, and during these forty odd years of suffering she was
tenderly cared for by her daughter, Emily, subject of this sketch. During
a portion of this time the mother was also hopelessly insane, and but faintly
can it be comprehended what trials the faithful daughter passed through.
After the marriage of Seth King and Emily D. Card they lived in Calhoun county and various portions of Branch county, while for thirteen years
they were residents of Iowa. They returned to Michigan and Branch county
in i880, since which time their home has been principally in Butler. Mr.
King served in the Civil war, enlisting at Marshall, Michigan, August I6,
1864, in Company A, Twenty-eighth Michigan Infantry, and was with General Thomas in Tennessee, and also sent with his regiment to meet Sherman at Goldsboro, North Carolina. He was discharged in June of I865.
Since the war Mr. King has followed farming as a pursuit. Nine children
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. King, as follows: Adell was born in Albion, Michigan, April 12, 1855, and died at the age of four months. Edith
King Adams was born in Branch county, June 8. I856, and now lives in
Clarendon. Edwin F. King was born in Butler September 24, I858, and
was married to Minerva Lindsley. They have three children, Edna, Lester




794


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


and Ellery. Edna C. King was born in Pulaski, Michigan, July 13, I86o,
and died August 28th of the following year, aged thirteen months. Alma
King Shafer was born in Butler August 2, I862, and died May 18, I897, at
the age of thirty-four years. She left two children, Harry and Iva Shafer,
who are cared for by their relatives in Girard. Myron L. King was born
in Clarendon April 8, 1864, and is married to Luva Lindsay. They have
two sons, Ernest and Bertrand King. Mary E. King was born in Iowa,
May 13, I870. Bertrand A. King was born in Iowa, July 30, I87I, and
died January 26, 1873. Myrtle King Morrill was born in Iowa May 15,
1874, and now lives in Onsted, Michigan, she having one daughter, Zenda.
Early in the fifties Mr. and Mrs. Seth King began an investigation of
modern spiritualism and after a thorough search, coupled with untiring study
and careful demonstrations, they became fully convinced that this is the true
faith, and they are today most able exponents of this belief. Both are conscientious to a marked degree, thoroughly incapable of deceit, and they possess that charity and broad-mindedness which makes them true lovers of
their fellow beings.  Mrs. King possesses undoubted mediumistic powers
and for the past eighteen years she has been a speaker by inspiration. She
is an eloquent, logical and convicing speaker and her services are in great
demand throughout southern Michigan, where she has thousands of warm
personal friends, as well as admirers. She has been the means of the upbuilding of spiritualism in this section and is the president' and pastor of
the Spiritualists' Society of Branch county, an organization chartered under
the laws of the state of Michigan, and with a constantly growing membership. With her innumerable household duties and the many cares which
have filled Mrs. King's life, it seems incredible that she could have found
time to fit herself for her present position as a public speaker, especially as
the circumstances of her early life precluded the opportunity for even a
meager education. In fact, Mrs. King avers that she has made no such
preparation, and that she attributes her powers entirely to spiritualistic control. Indeed, it can be accounted for in no other manner. Mrs. King is a
lady of intelligence and rare insight and she seems to be imbued with a
desire to benefit mankind. Mr. and Mrs. King are held in the highest regard
in the section where the greater portion of their lives has been passed, while
they have many warm friends in various portions of the state where Mrs.
King has so, often been called. The King family is a large one in Branch
county, where its members are highly respected, and their annual family
reunions call together hundreds of the relatives for a day of communion
and pleasure.
MRS. MARY MANN WILLIAMS.
Mrs. Mary Mann Williams is a worthy descendant of pioneer families
of Girard township and Branch county and is now occupying a comfortable
home at Girard Center. She represents a family long prominent in the
annals of this section of the state and the work of improvement and upbuilding has been greatly conserved by her ancestors. Her father, Peter
I. Mann, was born in Schoharie county, New York, February 27, I8I5, and




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


795


was a son of Jacob W. Mann, whose birth occurred in the same county on
the I3th of February, I789. The latter was married to Miss Polly Shannon, likewise a native of Schoharie county, born March I, I798. Four children had been born to them ere their removal to Michigan in I836. Their
remaining days were passed in Girard township, where the father departed
this life February I9, I846, while his wife passed away October 5, I886, at
a very advanced 'age.  They were indeed worthy pioneer settlers of the
locality and during the period of his residence here Jacob W. Mann took
an active and helpful part in reclaiming this district for the uses of the
white man and introducing here all the methods and conveniences of the
older civilization of the east.
Peter I. Mann was reared amid the environments of pioneer life, assisted in the development of the new home farm in the west and eventually
bcame one of the wealthy and influential residents of Girard township. He
was married January 13, 1842, to Miss Lavina Grove, whose parents were
Peter and Elizabeth (Putnam) Grove.    Eight children graced this marriage, of whom three died in infancy, while Nina passed away at the age
of sixteen years, about a quarter of a century ago. Those who still survive are: Mark H. and Tacob W. Mann, both well known agriculturists of
Girard township; Mrs. Belinda Hurst, who is living in Coldwater; and Mrs.
Williams of this review. Mr. and Mrs. Peter I. Mann remained for many
years valued and respected residents of Girard township and their loss was
the occasion of deep and widespread regret throughout the community. The
death of Mr. Mann occurred January 8, I897, while his wife departed this
life October 7, 1890.
Their daughter Mary was born in Girard township, October 21, I844,
and has spent her entire life here. In her girlhood days she attended the
public schools and was trained to the duties of the household, and on the
2nd of May, I869, she gave her hand in marriage to John B. Williams, a
native of Livingston county, New York, born March 30, I835. At an early
day he came to Michigan and for many years was one of the esteemed citizens of this locality. During a large part of his residence here he devoted
his time and energies to merchandising in Girard, and became known as
one of the representative and respected citizens of his community. He occupied an enviable nosition in the regard of his fellow townsmen. who frequently called him to positions of public trust and responsibility. He served
as supervisor, as township clerk, township treasurer and as justice of the
peace for many consecutive years and his duties were ever discharged with
promptness and fidelity. He was a leading member and active worker in
the Methodist Episcopal church of Girard and in this respect as well as in
other relations of life found in his wife a faithful helpmate, for their influence was ever given for the betterment of the community. Mr. Williams
died June 24, I905, and his loss was deeply deplored by many who had
come to know, respect and honor him for his genuine personal worth.
Mr. and Mrs. Williams were parents of two children, both of whom are
living.  Glenn Alton Williams, born March 3, 1874, continued his education in Albion College at Albion, Michigan, and in the Northern Indiana




796


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Normal School at Valparaiso. With this exception his entire life has been
passed in Girard and he is now accounted one of the prosperous young
farmers of the township. He was married November 19, I903, to Anna
Wiggins, who was born in Girard,- February I9, I88,I, her parents being
Frank and Annette (Whitmore) Wiggins.     Her father died in October,
I893, but her mother is still living in Girard township. Glenn Williams,
prominent in community affairs, served as township treasurer in I903-4,
and fraternally he is affiliated with Coldwater Lodge, I. O. O. F., while he
and his wife are members of the Girard Methodist Episcopal church. They
have a comfortable home on section fifteen, Girard township and are very
popular in the community. Ada Williams, daughter of Mrs. Mary Williams, is at present local manager of the Girard exchange of the Wolverine
Telephone Company and makes her home with her mother at their comfortable and hospitable residence in Girard Center. She was wedded to Mr.
Thomas J. Hubbard, of La Moille, Illinois. He was, born and reared in
Bureau county, Illinois, and was one of the firm of Hubbard Brothers, who
were engaged for a number of years in a wood working plant. Hubbard
Brothers, formerly of La Moille, Illinois, are now located at Abington, Illinois.
The names of Mann and Williams have for many years been intimately associated with the history of Girard township and their descendants have just
reason to be proud of what has been accomplished by those who have borne
the names.
IRA DUFUR.
Ira Dufur, living retired on section nine, Union township, is one of the
early settlers of Branch county. He was born in Lower Canada, in the town
of Sutton, April 26, 1832. His father, Noah Dufur, was a native of New
Hampshire, and was a farmer by occupation. He came to Branch county in
I846, settling in Algansee, where he purchased a tract of land, giving his
attention to its cultivation and improvement throughout the remainder of
his active business career, but his last years were spent in honorable retirement from labor, and he died in Coldwater in his seventy-eighth year. In
early manhood he married Miss Polly Bryant, a native of Lower Canada,
who lived to be forty-nine years of age. In their family were eight children,
five daughters and three sons, all of whom reached adult age.
Ira Dufur, the eldest of the family, was a youth of fourteen years when
he came with his parents to Branch county. He was but two and a half years
of age when the father took his family from Canada to Ohio, and there he attended the district schools of Loraine county until he came to Branch county,
where he continued his studies, in the public schools of Algansee township.
When not busy with his text books he worked in the fields and early became
familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops.
As an incident in the life of Mr. Dufur as a pioneer in Branch county it may
be mentioned that he ofttimes was sent by his parents after the cows, which
browsed in the forests or bushes. One day when he was in quest of them
he thought he saw two little fawns and secreted himself in the brush, and as
they came up he sprang out and caught them by the hind legs and took them




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


797


home. They became domesticated and would follow him about the premises
like a dog. This incident is merely given as showing the virginity of Branch
county as he first knew it. He remained at home until twenty-three years
of age, assisting in clearing the farm, and on December I2, I855, he was
united in marriage to Miss Sophia Lawrence. He then started out in life
on his own account. Mrs. Dufur was born in California towxnship, Branch
county, her people being pioneer settlers of this portion of the state. After
a happy married life of several years she passed away, leaving three children: Lyman E., who is a farmer of Sherwood township; Byron H., wno is
living in Denver, Colorado; and Eloise, the wife of Morris Cox of Union
City. After losing his first wife Mr. Dufur was united in marriage to Miss
Sarah Hobbs, and they have two children, but one died in early childhood.
The other is Charles, who is a resident of Manistee, Michigan, and an electrician by occupation. Mrs. Dufur was born in Quincy, Branch county, January 5, 1842, and is a daughter of Benjamin P. and Jane (Shay) Hobbs.
There were five children, two sons and three daughters, and three are living:
Mary, wife of James Lyons, a resident of Eaton county, a farmer; Mrs. Dufur; and Charles M., a resident of Council Bluffs, Iowa, who is engaged in
railroading, and married Miss Mattie Williams. Father Hobbs was born
in Pennsylvania in 'I81I, and died in 1902. He was reared in New York,
and came to Michigan at an early day. He was a carpenter by trade, but
an agriculturist by vocation. He was formerly a Whig and afterwards a
Republican. He was a well educated gentleman, having a college education,
and was a strong factor in the settlement of a new country. He and his wife
were both teachers and members of the Methodist church, and he was a
strong advocate of temperance, having held the first supper in a " logging
bee" without the use of whisky, then so common. The mother was born
in New York in 1814, and died during the Civil war. She was reared in
New York.
After his first marriage Mr. Dufur located in Algansee township, where
he purchased and cultivated a farm of fifty acres, making his home thereon
for ten years, when he sold that property and bought a farm of ninety acres
on section twenty-one, Union township. He then made that place his home
until about I890, when he bought a little farm of ten acres on section nine
near the corporation limits of Union City. He rents his land,. while he lives
retired, enjoying a rest to- which he is entitled because of his activity and
energy in former years.
Mr. Dufur has supported the Democratic party at many elections, but
he also voted for Peter Cooper, and his last presidential vote was cast for
the candidate of the Prohibition party. He has long been interested in politics, has frequently attended the county, district and congressional conventions, and has always kept well informed on the issues and questions which
divide the nation into great political organizations. He and his wife belong
to the Methodist Episcopal church of Union City, and his life has been in harmony with his principles. He has ever favored educational and philanthropic
measures and stood as the champion of everything that is right and just between man and his fellowman. His residence in Branch county covers fifty



798


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


eight years, and therefore he is one of its worthy old settlers who has an intimate knowledge of the growth of the county, the transformation that has
been wrought here and of pioneer conditions, as well as of later day progress.
He has now passed the seventy-third milestone on life's journey and he receives the respect and veneration which should ever be accorded one of advanced years.
DAVID FOX.
David Fox, a well-known representative of agricultural interests living
in Girard township, was born on the loth of January, 1845, in the village of
Girard. His father, Backus Fox, was a native of Penfield, New York, and
became one of the early settlers of Branch county. Here he was married
in Girard to Miss Julia Williams, also a native of Penfield, whence she came
in pioneer times to MIichigan. Mr. Fox was a farmer by occupation and
took up land from the government, transforming the hitherto wild and unimproved tract into a well-cultivated and productive farm. He continued to
reside in Girard tup to the time of his death, which occurred in December,
I885, when he was seventy-three years of age. His wife passed away in
Girard in I890 at the age of sixty-eight years. In their family were eleven
children, six sons and five daughters, all of whom reached manhood or womanhood, namely: Charles, who died while serving in the Union army; Myron,
who also gave his life in defense of his country in the Civil war; Mrs. Martha
Van Blarcon, of Girard, deceased; Edwin P., who is a resident of Coldwater; Lyman, of Girard; Franklin, of Girard; Mrs. Philia Amelia Dake,
of Kalamazoo, Michigan; Mrs. Clara Driggs, of Chicago, Illinois; Mrs. Mary
Colson, of Kalkaska, Michigan; Mrs. Marian Wilder, of Cleveland, Ohio;
and David, of this review. Four of the brothers were soldiers of the Civil
war.
David Fox was reared upon the old family homestead in Girard township, and at the outbreak of the Civil war, when only sixteen years of age, he
enlisted in his country's service in Branch county in response to thle call for
three months' troops, becoming a member of Company C, First Michigan
Infantry. He was discharged August 27, I86I, but immediately re-enlisted
in Company E of the same regiment for three years. On the expiration of
that term he was discharged October I, 1I864, but on the 25th of March, I865,
once more joined the-army for six months' service as a member of Company
K, Fifteenth Michigan Infantry. Thus he was in the army for almost four
years, and he made a most creditable military record, taking part in many important engagements, in which he displayed his valor and loyalty.
Following the close of hostilities Mr. Fox went to California in thespring
of I868 and remained upon a ranch there until the fall of 1872, when he returned to Girard, where he has since resided. He now owns and operates a
valuable farm of one hundred acres on section eleven. This is improved with
good buildings and all modern equipments. He uses the best machinery to
cultivate the fields and care for the crops and his farm in every department is
neat and thrifty, indicating his careful supervision and progressive spirit.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


799


He has a comfortable home, tastefully furnished and its hospitality is one of
its attractive features.
On the I5th of March, I868. Mr. Fox was united in marriage to Miss
Adelaide Olney. a daughter of Jesse and Betsy (Fox) Olney, who were
also pioneer residents of Girard township. Unto our subject and his wife
have been born a son and daughter: Jessie C., who was born in California,
April 22, I869, wedded Amos Johnson, and they have two sons, Hugh and
Teen; they reside in Chicago; and Myron, who was born in Girard, November I9, 1876, and married Belle Ostrom, by whom he has one daughter,
Margorie Belle. He lives in Girard.
Mr. and Mrs. Fox are devoted members of the Girard Methodist Episcopal church, and he belongs to Butterworth Post No. IO6, G. A. R., of
Coldwater. The ranks of Civil war soldiers are fast being decimated as
one after another answers the last roll call. Mr. Fox is among the few who
remain to tell the story of the long struggle for the supremacy of the Union,
and few indeed are those who made as creditable a record, for during almost
four years he was on active duty, never faltering in his defense of the old
flag. At all times he has been equally loyal to his country and her welfare
and the community in which he now lives recognizes him as a representative
and valued citizen.
THOMAS DEXTER.
Nearly all of the sturdy pioneers who came from New York and other
eastern states to Michigan in the early thirties, forties and fifties, and braved
all the hardships and privations incident to life in a new country, have passed
away. Theirs were lives filled with arduous labors and stirring incidents, and
to them is the present generation greatly indebted for many of the privileges
and blessings now enjoyed. Many of these pioneers came here when they
were young men, and they grew     to manhood here, rearing families of
children and making for themselves permanent homes here, where they have
passed the remainder of their lives. Living as they did all through the various stages of development of this section, their personal history is almost
identical with the history of the section where their lives have been passed.
One of these pioneers is the gentleman named above, who has been a continuous resident of the township of Butler since 18152, and who has witnessed all of the changes and improvements which have taken place here
during that period.
Mr. Thomas Dexter is a native of Norfolk, England, where he was born
November I6, 1829. Mr. Dexter was only seventeen years of age when he
decided to try his fortunes in America, where two of his brothers had gone
ten years previously. He accordingly made the journey in the primitive
manner of the times, and eventually reached Orleans county, New York, in
1817, where his brothers had located. Thomas Dexter's father was Golden
Dexter and his mother was Sarah Goose, both natives of England, where they
were married, passed their entire lives and where they died. They were
the parents of six children. as follows:  Robert died in Orleans county,
New York. John died in Whitewater, Wisconsin. James died in England.:.~...:




800


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Phyllis Dexter Myhill is still living and a resident of Orleans county, New
York. Mary Dexter Bargewell still lives in England. All of the members
of the Dexter family have lived to be over seventy years of age, they being
noted for their logevity, and all have been industrious people.
Our subject, Thomas Dexter, began labor as soon as he was located in
Orleans county, New York, principally upon the farm. His first summer's
work resulted in his saving forty dollars, and the second summer saw sixty
dollars additional saved. With this capital of one-hundred dollars the young
man, to quote his present words, thought he was fully the equal of John
Jacob Astor or any of the then wealthy men of the country, and he at once
placed the sum where it would be safe, and where it would bring him good
interest. It will thus be seen that early in life he was filled with frugal and
saving ideas and that it was his intention to accumulate property.
After a few years spent in the state of New York, where he labored
assiduously and saved his earnings, he decided to join the tide of emigration which had been flowing from the Empire state to Michigan for nearly a
score of years, and he accordingly made the trip here, arriving in Detroit in
1852. Three years previously Mr. Dexter had gone as far west as Whitewater, Wisconsin, where he stayed only a short time, afterward returning
to his former home in New York. Our subject found his way to Branch
county and Butler in I852. Here, during the first few years of his stay, he
worked by the month and continued his practice of saving, and he soon had
sufficient funds with which to purchase land on section two, which he has
since added to, owning at one time one hundred and twenty acres thereon.
This farm was almost wholly uncleared when purchased by Mr. Dexter, and
with his own hands he has made all of the many improvements since. The
farm is a fine one, with good buildings and equipped with all of the machinery
necessary for its successful operation.
Mr. Dexter was married in 1863 to Melissa McCone, a native of Livingston county, New York. she being the daughter of Isaac McCone. They were
married in Butler and five children were born to them, as follows: A son
Fay died in 1898 at the age of twenty-three years. Sarah Dexter married
Fred Easton. They have four children, Neleta, Pearl, Thomas and Lula, and
their home is in Homer. Golden V. Dexter married Eva Moore and he lives in
Butler. Mary Dexter married Claude Hinkley and their home is in Girard.
They have three children: Floyd, Ruel and Mildred. Clark Dexter married
Alta Curtis, and they have one daughter, Le Moyne. Their home is in Butler, adjoining Mr. Dexter's farm. Mrs. Dexter passed away in June, I898.
Mr. Dexter possesses an interesting fund of reminiscence concerning the
early history of this portion of the township of Butler, and the many changes
which have taken place here. When he first came to this place the houses
and settlers were few and far between, there were but few school houses, no
church buildings, while the nearest postoffice was at Homer, in Calhoun
county. Of the men who were living here then only two remain, Mr. Dexter
and Phillip Haight, a neghbor, mention of whom is to be found elsewhere in
this volume. Those early days were filled with hard labor and few if any
luxuries, but nevertheless a great deal of solid enjoyment was extracted from




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


801


life. Mr. Dexter has all his life until within a few' years been a hard-working
man, and he has prospered financially, his farm being one of the best in this
section, and where he has a most comfortable home. He has now retired from
the active operation of his place, and he is passing his declining days in the
section which has been the scene of his life's labors. Mr. Dexter has been a
Democrat all his life, and although not.an office seeker has 'served his district upon several occasions as an officer. He is a man who commands the
respect and esteem of his fellow townsmen, all of whom hope he has many
years of usefulness before him.
FRANK T. TAPPAN.
Frank T. Tappan, prominently connected with the leading industrial
interests of Coldwater, was the founder and is now manager of the Tappan
Shoe Manufacturing Company.    His life history stands as an exemplification of what can be accomplished through determination of effort guided by
resolute will and directed by sound judgment, for he started out in life as an
humble employe, working his way upward by his close application, fidelity
to duty and improvement of the opportunities which uniformly surround all
citizens of this great republic.
A native of New Hampshire, Mr. Tappan was born in the town of Sandwich, April 2I, I858, and is descended from an old New England family of
Puritan stock. His early childhood and a portion of his youth were spent
at Haverhill and at Lynn, Massachusetts, and when only twelve years of age
he was thrown upon his own resources, since which time he has depended
entirely upon his labors for a livelihood and all that he has enjoyed in life.
He began to learn the shoemaker's trade in Haverhill and from the age of
sixteen years has been continually identified with the manufacture of shoes.
In his boyhood days he had limited educational advantages, and after going
to New York city he supplemented his early opportunities by pursuing a
four years' course in the night school in Cooper Union. He was employed in
different shoe factories of New York city for several years, gradually winning
promotion in recognition of his capability, after which he became foreman
of a large manufacturing plant of that character. He was afterward superintendent of shoe factories at various times and places in the middle west
and was thus employed until I891, in which year he established at Muncie,
Indiana, the Tappan Shoe Manufacturing Company, which was removed to
Coldwater, Michigan, in the year I897. The business was incorporated under
the laws of this state and has become one of the leading industrial concerns
of Branch county. The factory has a capacity of three thousand pairs of
shoes daily, and is one of the largest houses in the United States, dealing
strictly with the retail trade, making ladies', misses' and children's shoes. Under the management of Mr. Tappan, a gentleman of broad experience, the
shoes made by this company have become celebrated for high quality, a fine
grade of leather being used. The factory is equipped with the most modern
machinery, and only high class workmen are employed. The success of the
concern is due to Mr. Tappan's thorough knowledge of the trade, his sapient




802              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
business qualities, his keen discernment and his thorough understanding of
trade conditions.
When twenty-one years of age Mr. Tappan became a Mason, and is now
a Knight Templar and a member of the Mystic Shrine. Of a pleasant, genial
disposition, he makes friends wherever he goes and is held in high esteem in
Coldwater, where he has now resided for eight years. His name in business
circles has become a synonym for integrity and straightforward dealing. His
life has been one of continuous activity, in which has been accorded due recognition of labor, and today he is numbered among the substantial citizens of
his county. His interests are thoroughly identified with those of the west,
and at all times he is. ready to lend his aid and co-operation to any movement
calculated to benefit this section of the country or advance its wonderful development.
ZELOTES G. OSBORN.
Zelotes G. Osborn was born in Otsego county, New York, March 5,
I839. His parents, Ozra Burr and Matilda (Flint) Osborn, were both
natives of the Empire state. The family is of English lineage but has been
represented in America through many generations. Ozra Burr Osborn was
a physician, who devoted his life to the practice of medicine, his death occurring in the Empire state when his son Zelotes was about seventeen years
of age. In the family were two sons, the brother of our subject being Marcius E. Osborn of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Zelotes G. Osborn was reared in the state of his nativity, where he acquired a fair literary education, and at the age of seventeen years, soon
after the death of his father, he started out in life on his own account.
About that time he came to the west. His father was the originator of
Osborn Golden Ointment and to sell this and other preparations Mr. Osborn
of this review came to Michigan. He traveled all over this part of the
state, making Coldwater, however, his headquarters. It was in I858 that
he became a resident of Branch county, where he has since remained. He
was on the road selling medicine until I86I, when he took up his abode on
a farm in Kinderhook township, there carrying on agricultural pursuits until
1870. In that year he opened a general store at Kinderhook, where he followed merchandising until I882, when he sold his business. In I88o he was
elected county register of deeds, was re-elected in 1882 and again in I884,
thus serving for three terms, or six years. He removed to Coldwater in I88o
in order to enter upon the duties of the office and in February, 1887, he
purchased a drug and grocery store here, conducting it with success until
1899, when he sold out and retired from active business life. He has long
been identified, however, with the Coldwater National Bank and was chosen
its vice president in 1902. His well directed labors in former years brought
him a competency which now makes possible his retirement and his life
history stands in exemplification of the fact that success is not a matter of
genius but is rather the outcome of clear judgment, experience and indefatigable industry.
In I859 Mr. Osborn was united in marriage to Miss Mary L. Stimson,






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


803


who was born in Genesee county, New York, a daughter of the Rev. H. K.
Stimson, a Baptist clergyman and a well known citizen of his section of the
Empire state. Mr. and Mrs. Osborn have but one child, Willis H., who
is now in the railway postal service. The parents hold membership in the
Baptist church and are very active and helpful in its work. Mr. Osborn
has been a member of the library board of Coldwater since I88I and his
labors in behalf of community affairs have been far-reaching and beneficial.
While living in Kinderhook he served for eighteen years as postmaster and
he also held various township offices. In politics he is a stanch Republican
and has been more or less active in political work, while his comprehensive
understanding of the questions and issues of the day enables him to support
his position by intelligent argument.
SAMUEL SCHULTZ, M. D.
Dr. Samuel Schultz, one of the younger members of the medical fraternity of Coldwater, was born in Belleville, Wayne county, Michigan, July
7, I869, his parents being Jacob F. and Christina (Schaffer) Schultz, both
of whom were natives of Germany but were brought to America in childhood and were married in this country.  The father lived several years
at Ann Arbor, Michigan, whence he removed to Belleville, where he has
resided continuously since I872. He is interested in the manufacture of
barrels there and is a leading representative of the industrial life of that
city. He is also prominent and influential in community affairs and served
for one term as mayor of Lansing, being elected on the Republican ticket,
in a Democratic city, a fact indicative of his personal popularity and the
confidence reposed in him by his fellow townsmen. In his family were nine
children, one now deceased.
Dr. Schultz attended the public schools of Lansing, was for one year
a student in the Agricultural College of Michigan and acquired his more
specifically literary education in Albion College, from which he was graduated with the class of 1893. He spent two years in the medical department of the University of Michigan and afterward two years in the medical department of Northwestern University, at Chicago, and completed
his course by graduation in the spring of I899. In the fall of the same
year he located for practice in Coldwater. Professionally and financially
he has been quite successful and his position in the ranks of the medical
fraternity is a very creditable one. Dr. Schultz has demonstrated his ability
as a physician, and he is now accorded a good patronage. He belongs to
the Branch County Medical Society, the State Medical Society and the
American Medical Association, and is serving as health officer of Coldwater.
Dr. Schultz is a Master Mason, and his ideas concerning man's relations
to his fellow men are further indicated by his membership in the Methodist
church. He was elected president of the Bon Ami Club in I902, and reelected in 1903 and I904. He was married March I8, I905, to Miss L.
Annie Bacon, of Chelsea, Michigan.




:804


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


a


BURT M. FELLOWS.
Burt M. Fellows, engaged in a general insurance business in Coldwater,
was born in Tonawanda,.Niagara county, New York, January I, I867, his
parents being Theron D. and Sarah L. (McConkey) Fellows, both of whom
were natives of New York. They removed to Springport, Michigan, in
I868, and in I872 became residents of Bronson, since which time their son,
Burt M. Fellows, has been a resident of Branch county. The father was a
veteran of the Civil war, serving for a little more than three years in the
Twenty-eighth New York Infantry.   Afterward re-enlisting, he became a
member of the New York Mounted 'Rifles. He died at Bronson, July iI,
900o, at the age of sixty-five years and Mrs. Fellows has since married C. G.
Babcock, with whom she now resides in Bronson.
Burt M. Fellows was reared in Bronson, where he acquired his education in the public schools. He afterward accepted a position in the private
bank of L. Rudd & Son of that place and was connected with the institution, covering a period of nine years. In I893 he joined his father-in-law,
G. E. Robinson, in the conduct of a grocery store at Bronson and at length
closed out his interest therewith in order to resume the duties of county
clerk, to which position he had been elected in the fall of I896 on the Democratic ticket. At this election he overcame a normal Republican majority and
in I898 he was re-elected, thus serving for two terms. His course in office was
characterized by promptness and fidelity and he discharged his duties with
credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents. Following his retirement from office he turned his attention to the general insurance business,
in which he yet continues, and he now annually writes a large amount of
business, being one of the well known representatives of this department of
activity in Coldwater.
In I889 Mr. Fellows was married to Miss Luella Robinson and they
have a daughter and son, Ruth, twelve years of age and Mac, nine years
old. Mr. Fellows is a valued representative of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows and also of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the
Royal Arch degree. He has from the age of five years been a resident of
Branch county and has witnessed much of its growth and development,
while in his business, social and political relations he has contributed to the
material progress of the county and has also. upheld its legal and moral
status.
HON. CHARLES N. LEGG.
Hon. Charles N. Legg, an attorney, who is now serving as mayor of
Coldwater, was born in Niagara county, New York, February 24, I846.
His parents, Arteman H. and Sarah Irene (Southworth) Legg, were among
the oldest residents of Branch county. The father was born in Yates county,
New York, December 20, 1822, and was a son of Charles and Sylva (Taft)
Legg. When he was about nine or ten years of age he accompanied his
parents on their removal to Niagara county, New York, where he was reared
to manhood, and in 1845 he was married there to Miss Sarah Irene South-.,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


805


worth, who was born in Berkshire county, Massachusetts, in the town of
Hancock, June 27, 1824. Her parents were Norman and Honor (Gardner)
Legg, who removed to Niagara county when she was only two years old.
During the first eight years of their married life Mr. and Mrs. Arteman
H. Legg resided in Niagara county, and in I853 they came to Branch county,
settling on a farm in Coldwater township, where they made their home until
I903, since which time they have resided in the city of Coldwater. Throughout his active business career Mr. Legg followed the occupation of farming
and is now enjoying a well merited rest from further labor. His first presidential vote was cast for James K. Polk and since the organization of the
Republican party he has been one of its stanch advocates, while both he and
his wife are consistent members of the Baptist church. In their family are
the following named: Charles N., Mary E., Dr. Frank G., George S. and
Edward.
Charles N. Legg was in his eighth year when he accompanied his'
parents to Branch county and here he was reared on the old home farm,
working in the fields through the summer months, while in the winter seasons he attended the district schools.  Later he became a student in the
city schools of Coldwater and afterward spent one year in the University of
Michigan, while subsequently he was for three years a student in the college at Kalamazoo, Michigan. He became ill, however, during his last year
in college and returned to his home, after which he never again took up
his collegiate work. He had previously engaged in teaching school for a
few terms in the rural districts and now gave his attention to the study of
law. Being admitted to the bar in 1873 he at once opened an office for practice in Coldwater and his efforts in the various courts have been attended
with a gratifying degree of success. He has acquired a large and distinctively representative clientage and to-day ranks among the foremost lawyers
of southern Michigan. He is a student, constantly enlarging his knowledge
concerning the principles of jurisprudence, and in citing an authority he is
seldom at fault. Mr. Legg is also recognized as one of the leading representatives of the Republican party in Branch county.  In I880 he was
elected prosecuting attorney and served for four years. In I89,2 he was
chosen probate judge, which position he filled until January i, I897. In
I9oo he was again elected prosecuting attorney and once more faithfully discharged the duties of that position for four years. In the spring of I905
he was the successful candidate of the Republican party for mayor of Coldwater and is now the chief executive of the city, giving to it a businesslike
and progressive administration that is characterized by a careful consideration of every question which comes up for settlement and of all measures
relating to the public welfare. He is a stanch advocate of every movement which he believes will contribute to the general good and is equally
strong in his position on measures which he deems inimical to the city's
advancement. Mr. Legg is also a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity and has taken all of its degrees with one exception. He is also a
Knight of Pythias and his religious faith is indicated by his membership
in the Baptist church.




806              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
In 1873 Mr. Legg was united in marriage to Miss Alice B. Stillman,
who died in I898, leaving three children: Llewellyn, now deceased; Harold
S.; and Mabel Louise. In I9o0  Mr. Legg married again, Miss Delia H.
Benton becoming his wife. Civility and an unfailing courtesy have gained
him the prominence in social life that close application and capability have
won for him in his professional career. He has now gained a lucrative practice and ranks among the foremost public-spirited men, manifesting a helpful interest in all progressive measures for the benefit of Coldwater. He
is a member of the Legg Lumber Comnpany of this city, but aside from
this sustains no other business relations, preferring to lead a professional
life.
REUBEN M. SIMMONS.
Among the retired citizens of Union City Reuben M. Simmons is numbered. For many years he was an active representative of business pursuits.
He was born in Lake county, Ohio, December 17, I833. His grandfather,
Peleg Simmons, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and was a sailor for
twenty-two years on the high seas, having made twenty-two trips to the West
Indies. His father, Horace Simmons, was a native of Connecticut, born near
Springfield, and was a farmer by occupation. After living in Ohio for a number of years he removed to Michigan in 1863, settling in Salem township,
Washtenaw county, where he resided until about 1873, when he came to Branch
county. His last days were spent in Union City, and he died in his ninetyfifth year. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church for about
seventy years, and lived a most honorable, upright life, being considerate in
his treatment of his fellowmen, straightforward in all his business dealings
and true to every trust reposed in him. He married Miss Philena Ford, a
native of Massachusetts, who reached the age of seventy-six years. They
were the parents of seven children, of whom two died in infancy. The following lines are part of a sketch which was printed in one of the local papers
at the time of the father's death:
" In the death of Horace Simmons Union City and this township loses
its oldest citizen. He was born on the I7th of July, I799, and died on the
I2th day of April, I894, making him but little less than ninety-five years of
age. What a wonderful transformation he has witnessed in this country
since he came into being. He was only five years younger than the Constitution of the United States, under which the country has so rapidly and wonderfully developed. He lived before the age of railroads and steamboats,
and when Fulton was steaming his strange looking craft up the Hudson he
was a lad of eight years. He was born in Middletown, Connecticut, and at
the age of seventeen removed with his parents to Lake county, Ohio, about
twenty-two miles from Cleveland. In that new county he prepared and laid
the foundation for a competence for his declining years. In 1824 he was
united in marriage to Miss Philena Ford, and together they wended their
way along the pathway of life until 1884, when she sickened and died. To
them seven children were born, four of whom still survive: Mrs. F. Pratt,
of South Lyons, Michigan; Mrs. A. P. Hodge, of Unionville, Ohio; Mrs.






rm4;~ —~




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I                                             U         -










HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


807


N. C. Taylor, of Elmira, Michigan; and R. M. Simmons, of this place, with
whom the later years of his life were spent, and at whose home he died.
"He lived in Lake county, Ohio, fifty-eight years, and then sold his possessions and came to Union City. When he went to his new home in the
west Cleveland, his market place, was an insignificant little village, entirely
devoid of everything to make it of interest to everyone. Its harbor had been
mapped out, and its streets appeared only on paper. When he left it was one
of the most beautiful cities on the western continent. In his religious belief
he was a Methodist, and for more than seventy years was a member of that
church. He was zealous in his faith, and during his lifetime did much to
contribute to the advancement of the organization. When a sufficient number of families had been gathered in the wilderness he was instrumental in
the organization of a Methodist church, and for a half century or more was
an honored class leader in that body. His political affiliations were with the
Whig party, but upon the organization of the Republican party he promptly
gave his adherence to it. All through the dark times when fears were expressed that if certain measures were adopted looking to the circumscribing
of slavery within the bounds where it then existed the Union would be dismembered he never wavered. He believed in the Union and had implicit
faith that He who presides over the destiniesof nations would bring this one
out from under the dark shadow purified and beautified by the trials through
which it must ultimately pass. He lived for many years to see the fruition
of his hopes, a country redeemed and its people both north and south acknowledging the baneful influences that slavery brings.
" The funeral services were held at the home of his son, where he died
on Friday, being conducted by Rev. G. C. Draper, pastor of the Methodist
church, and by Rev. H. S. Mills, pastor of the Congregational church, both
of whom paid glowing tributes to the memory of the deceased. The remains
were then conveyed to their last resting place in Riverside cemetery. A good
citizen, a faithful husband, a loving father, a true friend has gone to the
eternal city, where the good and the true only will bask in the light and presence of the Eternal One."
The following was written in memory of the loving wife and mother:
"Entered into rest on Wednesday, May 2I, I884, Mrs. Horace Simmons,
aged seventy-six years, nine months and fifteen days. Philena Ford was born
in Plainfield, Massachusetts, August 6, 1807. While a child her parents
removed to Ohio, settling in Madison, Lake county. Here in 1825 she was
married to Horace Simmons, with whom she lived for nearly sixty years,
until death separated them, leaving Father Simmons to journey alone until
the glad reunion. About two years after their marriage both were converted
and united with the Methodist Episcopal church, of which they have been
faithful members ever since. Their house has been an 'Itinerant's Lodge,'
and until the infirmities of age shut her away from active life she was constantly in the prosperity of our town. Her religious hope did not decline as
bodily strength failed. To her pastor she often spoke cheerfully of the present, and yet lovingly of that future toward which her faith looked. Almost




808


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


her last words on earth were about the rest into which she has entered. 'She
rests from her labors, and her works do follow her.' "
Reuben M. Simmons, the fifth member of their fanily and the second
son, was reared in the Buckeye state and was a resident of Willoughby, Ohio,
until I862. He then offered his services to the government and joined the
boys in blue, becoming a private in Company F, One Hundred and Fifth
Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served until the close of the war in I865, or
for two years. ten months and two days. He was in all the battles with his
command, except the engagement at Missionary Ridge, and he participated
in the battle of Perryville, October 8, 1862, where he served on detached
duty, being there wounded and having his horse shot under him, and was
again wounded at the battle of Stone River. At Chickamauga he was wounded
three times, and he carries one of the bullets to this day. At Marietta, Georgia,
he was also shot, and thus was wounded six times in all, but no matter how
desperate were the chances which he had to take, or how great the danger,
he never faltered in tle performance of any duty and his valor and bravery
made him a model soldier. He remained a private throughout the war, but
acted as commissary sergeant (luring the last years of his service. He went
with Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea, and he also participated in
the Grand Review in Washington, where the victorious army of thousands
marched by the stand on which stood the president, cheering the loyal defenders of the Union cause. He received his honorable discharge at Cleveland, Ohio, June 8, i865. He was the first man to sign a petition to organize
the Corbin G. A. R. Post in Union City, which is now a flourishing organization.
When the country no longer needed his aid Mr. Simmons gladly resumed the practice of civil life, locating in Salem, Washtenaw county, Michigan, where he engaged in farming for twelve years. He came to Branch
county in 1877, settling in Union City, where he has since made his home.
He learned the carpenter's trade when a boy, and in early life followed that
pursuit, but is now living a retired life.
On the 24th of December, 1854, Mr. Simmons was united in marriage
to Miss Emma J. Childs, who died in I879, and on the i9ith of May, I88o,
he married Miss Lucy L. Ward, a daughter of Harry and Elizabeth (Kline)
Ward. Mrs. Simmons was born in Portage county, Ohio, and was brought
to Michigan in I859, during her early girlhood days, the family home being
established in Branch county. They now have one son, Harry M., of Chicago. He graduated in the Union City public school, and was then a student
at the State University at Ann Arbor. He is now salesman in the W. C.
Ritchie Company, of Chicago, Illinois, at a lucrative salary. He wedded Miss
Lavina Baert, September 27, 1905, a refined, educated lady.  Mr. Harry
-Simmons is an honor to his parents. When Mr. Ward was called away by
death one of the local papers said of him: " Harry Ward, one of our oldest
and most respected citizens, died at his home just north of this city on Friday
of last week, May 3, I9OI. He was born in Poland, Ohio, November 25,
1823, and in I852 was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Kline. In I8559
they came to Michigan, first settling in Batavia, in this county. After living




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


809


there about a year they came to Union City, since which time this has been
his home. His wife died February 6, 18991, since which time he has lived
with his son Albert and daughter Lillie. MNr. Ward was a cabinet-maker by
trade and followed that avocation in his younger years. At one time, however, he engaged in the grocery and bakery business here. He was the father
of five children, three of whom survive, Mrs. R. M. Simmons, Albert and
Lillie, all of whom live here. The elder daughter was in Florida when her
mother died, and in Chicago undergoing surgical treatment when her father
passed out from the realm of human life, and to her was denied the last sad
privilege of closing her parents' eyes in their eternal slumber. Mr. Ward
was an Episcopalian and very devoted to his church. The funeral was conducted under the direction of Rev. Holbrook, pastor of the Congregational
church, who employed the beautiful burial service of the Episcopal church.
The remains were laid to rest in the family lot in Riverside."
On the occasion of the death of Mrs. Ward the following was written:
"Elizabeth Kline was born in Darmstadt, Germany, and came to this country
when quite young with her parents. She was married to Harry Ward in
1852. They came to Michigan in I859, living for one year in Batavia, and
then moved to Union City, which has since been their home. She died February 6, I899. She was the mother of five children, three of whom survive.
Libbie, a bright little daughter, died in early youth. Henry, the eldest son,
died fourteen years ago, leaving two children, Carrie and Harris, who have
since been cared for in the home of their grandparents. The surviving children are: Mrs. R. M. Simmons, who, with her family, are spending the
winter in Florida, and was unable to be with the family in their affliction.
Albert and Lillie still reside in Upion City. Mrs. Ward early learned the
serious and earnest side of life, having been left when a young girl to care
for a family by the death of her mother. No one acquainted with Mrs. Ward
in later years could believe that she was anything but faithful to those left
in her care. An earnest and strictly conscientious woman, she was ever ready
to sacrifice her own pleasure and convenience for the welfare of others. It
seemed her greatest pleasure to be doing good. No one ever lived near her
long enough to be called neighbor who will not through life bear a feeling of
gratitude to her for gentle and unselfish acts of kindness. Her mission was
to give more than to receive. No one called in vain upon her when health
permitted her to respond. With the sick and dying she was very often found,
and many old friends outside the now broken family circle will mourn for
her as a departed friend and benefactor. She often forgot self in her anxiety
for the welfare of others.
"Two years age she suffered a distressing illness from which she never
quite recovered, and this made her a more easy prey to the dread pneumonia
which closed a noble and unselfish life."
Since the organization of the Republican party Mr. Simmons, has voted
for the presidential candidates, never failing to support each nominee at the
head of the ticket since Fremont was made the first candidate of the party.
He has been school director, also township clerk, and in all matters of citizenship is progressive and faithful. He belongs to Corbin Post, No.,88, G.




810              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
A. R., in which he has filled most of the offices and is a past commander. He
was chaplain at the time of the organization of the post. He also belongs to
the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Degree of Honor, and he is
a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has been steward,
trustee and class leader. His wife is a member of the Episcopal church. In
all the work of the church he has taken an active part, and his Christian faith
has permeated his entire life, making him a man well worthy the trust and
honor which is accorded him.
WILLIAM VAN SLYCK.
William Van Slyck, who is now living a retired life after many years of
active connection with business affairs wherein he justly won the proud American title of a " self-made man " and also gained an honorable competence, is
a native of the state of New York, his birth having occurred in Columbia
county, March 8, I832. His father, Isaac Van Slyck, was born near Albany,
New York, whence he removed to Columbia county, where he followed the
occupation of farming. He was a son of Cornelius Van Slyck, a native of
Columbia county, New York, a soldier of the Revolutionary war, and a, descendant of Holland Dutch ancestry. Isaac Van Slyck spent his last years
in Wayne county, New York, where he died in his eightieth year. He married Elizabeth Van Dusen, whose birth occurred in Columbia county, New
York, in the township of Kinderhook, her father being Cornelius Van Dusen,
likewise born in the same county, and a cousin of Martin Van Buren. Mr.
Van Dusen was also of Holland lineage, and Mrs. Van Slyck' lived to the age
of seventy-five years. In their family were seven children, four sons and three
daughters, all of whom reached mature years, married and reared families of
their own. The only surviving ones at this writing are William and Margaret,
the latter the widow of Wesley Wilber. She lives in Palmyra, Wayne county,
New York, in her eighty-fourth year.
William Van Slyck, the youngest of his father's family, spent his boyhood days in the usual manner of farm lads, working in the fields through the
summer months and attending school in the winter seasons. The duties of
the school room, the pleasures of the play ground and the work of the farm
thus occupied his attention in his native county until he was about sixteen
years of age, when he removed with his parents to Wayne county, New York,
and in 1855 he came to Coldwater, Michigan, where he engaged in the truck
business, following that continuously until I892, when he retired from active
life. He realized that labor is the basis of all success and he worked diligently and indefatigably to acquire a comfortable competence, which now enables him in his declining years to rest from further labor.
Mr. Van Slyck was married October 23, 1883, to Miss Clara B. Ball,
who was born in Devonshire, England, April I6, 1852, her parents being
William K. and Martha J. (McGinnis) Ball, both of whom were natives of
England, the father having been born in Devonshire and the mother in Southampton. Mrs. Van Slyck was reared in the place of her nativity and resided
there until I871, when she came to Coldwater with her parents. Her father






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


811


was a carpenter and builder and was identified with building operations in
this city until his death, which occurred in 1872 when he was fifty-three years
of age. Mrs. Van Slyck was the eldest daughter and second child in a family of five children.
William Van Slyck continued in active connection with business interests of Coldwater from I855 to 1892 and during that period accumulated considerable property, the supervision of which now claims his attention. He is
somewhat independent in his political views, but usually supports the Democratic party where national issues are involved, but in 1904 voted for Roosevelt. His wife belongs to the Baptist church and he has taken an active and
helpful interest in church work, contributing liberally to its support. He has
also assisted in other lines of substantial development and permanent good
here and his worth as a citizen and business man has long since been proven.
Without ostentation and display in his active career he has nevertheless made
a life record which is worthy of commendation and of emulation, for it shows
what can be accomplished when one is willing to work and when his labors
are guided by sound judgment and honorable purpose.
CHARLES W. CHAPMAN.
Charles W. Chapman, connected with the productive industries of Coldwater as a manufacturer of cigars, was born in this city September 27, I85I.
His father, William Chapman, was a native of New York and became one
of the pioneer residents of Branch county, Michigan, where he was known
as Blind Billy. For many years he engaged in the grocery business, winning
the respect and confidence of all with whom he was associated, and his death
occurred here on the I3th of May, 1863. He married Anetta A. Bagley,
who was born in Cambridge, New York. in 1820 and became a resident of
Coldwater in I837. She passed away September 9, 1887, at the age of
sixty-seven years, while Mr. Chapman was fifty-one years of age at the time
of his death.
Charles W. Chapman is now the only surviving member of the family, his only brother, George, dying when but a year old. His youth was
passed in his native city and to its public school system he is indebted for
the educational privileges he enjoyed. He spent about seven years in Indiana and on the I2th of May, 900o, he began the manufacture of cigars in
Coldwater, his special brands being the C. W. C. and Lord Crosby. He
employs about sixteen men and the capacity of his plant is continually taxed
in order to, meet the demands of the trade. The business has from the beginning been a prosperous one, Mr. Chapman meeting with well merited
success in his undertakings.
In September, 90oo, occurred the marriage of Charles W. Chapman and
Miss Carrie D. Early, a daughter of Michael Early of Coldwater, both of
whom were natives of Germany. Mr. Chapman belongs to the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of the Maccabees and his wife is connected with the Ladies' Auxiliary of the last named.
His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he has firm faith




812


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


in its principles. He holds membership in the Presbyterian church, while
his wife is a member of the Lutheran church. As a busness man he is conspicuous 'for his success, for his probity and honorable methods. In everything he has been eminently practical and this has been manifest not only
in his business 'undertakings but alsQ in social and private life.
ALBERT A. SHERMAN.
Albert A. Sherman, a contractor and builder of Coldwater and a member
of the board of public works, was born in Wayne county, New York, July 2,
I84I. His father, Gilbert Sherman, was likewise a native of that county and
was of Irish lineage. In his early business career he was connected with woolen
manufacturing interest and later, having moved to Indiana, he turned his attention to farming, which he followed until about sixty years of age. He
lived in Missouri for about three years and in Indiana for about eighteen
years, and in 1871 he came to Coldwater, where he spent his remaining
days, his death occurring when he was in his ninetieth year. In religious belief he was a spiritualist, and fraternally was one of the oldest Odd Fellows
of the county, becoming a member of that organization when a young man.
He wedded Hannah Rowley, who was also a native of Wayne county, New
York, and died when about sixty-three years of age. She came of Welsh and
Scotch ancestry. Mr. and Mrs. Sherman were the parents of three sons, all
of whom are yet living: Esquire, who resides in Allen township, Noble
county, Indiana; Albert A.; and Daniel R., a druggist and physician of Lansing, Michigan.
Albert A. Sherman, the -second son, spent the first eight years of his
life in the county of his nativity, and then accompanied his parents on their
removal to Noble county, Indiana, where he lived for about eighteen years.
To some extent he attended the public schools, but his education has been
largely acquired through practical experience, reading and observation. When
seventeen years of age he was apprenticed by his father to learn the carpenter's trade, and during the' greater part of the time down to the present he
has continued his connection with building pursuits. He came to Coldwater
about I87I and was first engaged in the grocery business for about a year
and a half. He afterward spent eight years in a planing mill, after wh'ich
he resumed active work as a carpenter, and was also in the lumber business
for about four years. In the meantime he began contracting, and continued
in that department of labor in connection with other business interests. He
has perhaps built more houses than any two men in the city, and Coldwater
therefore is largely a monument to his enterprise and skill. He has always
been faithful to the terms of a contract, prompt and reliable in the execution
of his work and just in all of his dealings, and the liberal patronage accorded
him has been in recognition of these salient and commendable qualities in his
career.
Mr. Sherman was married in 1862 to Miss Julia Helman, and after
her death he was married on the 2nd of July, 1878, to Mary Holland, a daughter of Anthony Holland. Mr. Sherman is a Democrat and for four terms




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


813


held the office of alderman of Coldwater. In I896 he was elected mayor, discharging his duties so capably that in I8917 he was re-elected, and at the
second election carried all of the wards in his city-a fact which indicates
his personal popularity and the confidence which was reposed in him. He
gave to Coldwater a business-like, practical and progressive administration,
which won him high encomiums, never allowing partisan bias to interfere
with the faithful performance of every duty which devolved upon him.
Whether in office or out of it he is loyal} to the general welfare and his publicspirited devotion to the general good has found tangible proof on many occasions. He is a prominent member of the Masonic Fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has filled many offices in those organizations. He likewise belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and
to the Methodist Episcopal church. His life has been as an open book which
all may read and his history discloses many sterling traits of character, commending him to the confidence and trust of those with whom he has been associated. His circle of friends is extensive and is the result of geniality, unfailing courtesy and deference for the opinions of others.
JOHN N. NEAL.
John N. Neal, engaged in the dairy business in Coldwater, was born in
Lodi, Seneca county, New York, August 30, I851. His father, George Neal,
was a native of the Empire state and was a farmer by occupation. He married Floretta Van Vleet, also a native of the Empire state, and both died there.
They were the parents of three sons: Isaac H., now deceased; John N.; and
Sarin A., who is living in Lodi.
John N. Neal spent the days of his boyhood in the place of his nativity,
and acquired his education in the district schools. When about eighteen years
of age he secured a situation in a general store at Lodi, where he remained
until twenty-seven years of age, his long connection with one firm being an
unmistakable indication of his fidelity to duty. On the expiration of that
period he embarked in business on his own account at Lodi as a partner in
the firm of Neal & Meeker, proprietors of a general store. They conducted
this for about two and a half years, when they closed out the business, after
which Mr. Neal engaged in the sale of self-supporting roofs for barns, introducing these into various parts of the country. He was thus engaged for
five years, traveling through different states in the middle west and the east.
He afterward engaged in the sale of wire fencing. On the 23rd of October,
1884, he arrived in Coldwater, where he introduced his self-supporting rafter.
Not long afterward he purchased a farm adjoining this city and erected thereon fine farm buildings, turning his attention to the dairy business. He now
keeps from fifty to sixty cows for dairy purposes and forty head of cattle
in addition. He makes his home at No. I9I Pearl street, where he has one of
the fine residences of the city, but gives his attention to his dairy and has an
extensive and profitable business.
In 1876 Mr. Neal was united in marriage to Miss Helen Hbowell, a
daughter of Elijah and Harriett (Ault) Howell, and a native of Havana, New
A




814


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


York. Her girlhood days, however, were passed in Lodi, where her education was acquired. Mr. and Mrs. Neal have one son, Max E., who is a graduate of the law department of the State University at Ann Arbor, and having
been admitted to the bar is now engaged in the practice of his chosen profession at Manistee, Michigan, as a partner in the law firm of Grant & Neal.
They also lost one son, Mark H., who died at the age of fifteen years.
Mr. Neal is a staunch Republican. He became a member of the Masonic fraternity at Lodi, New York, and the chapter at Ovid, and has been
a Royal Arch Mason for about twenty-seven years. His religious views
are in accord with the teachings of the Episcopal church. Throughout his
business career he has displayed sterling and commendable traits of character. A number of business enterprises have felt the stimulus of his energy
and executive ability, and in Coldwater he is now conducting a prosperous
business, which yet leaves him time to faithfully perform all the duties of
citizenship. Local improvement, as well as national progress, is a cause dear
to his heart, and thus he has become a co-operant factor in measures which
have proved of practical and far-reaching benefit to his adopted city.
HERMAN H. FLANDERMEYER.
In the history of Coldwater, its development and progress, it is imperative that mention should be made of Herman H. Flandermeyer, the pioneer
shoe dealer of the city, whose activity in business has contributed in no small
degree to the commercial development here. He was born in the little town
of Bennien, in the province of Hanover, Germany, May 2, I&36, and was
reared in the fatherland, acquiring his education in its public schools. Determining to seek his home and fortune in the new world he then bade adieu
to friends and native country and sailed for Baltimore, Maryland, where he
arrived after a voyage of nine weeks. From that city he made his way to
Toledo, Ohio, where he remained for about six months, and on the 7th of
April, I855, he arrived in Coldwater, being at that time nineteen years of
age. The entire period of his manhood has been here passed, and as the
years have advanced he has shown that he is well worthy the regard and
confidence which have uniformly been extended to him in an active business
career. On the 6th of December, I856, he became connected with the shoe
business in connection with his brother, Fred W., who had been a resident
of Coldwater for one year, and who died here on the 4th of March, 19oo.
They continued together until I872, when. they dissolved partnership and
each started in business separately. There is no business man of Coldwater
now connected with industrial or commercial pursuits who was a representative of his line at the time that Mr. Flandermeyer took up his abode here.
He started in a small way, having about two hundred dollars which he had
saved from his wages while working at the shoemaker's trade. As the years
have passed he has prospered and has long enjoyed a very liberal patronage.
He carries a large and well selected line of goods and his sales annually represent a gratifying figure. He is also one of the stockholders of the Tappan
Shoe Factory.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


815


In I86o Mr. Flandermeyer was married, and at the death of his first
wife she left an infant daughter eleven days old, who is now the wife ot
Emil Stroh, of Detroit, Michigan. After five years Mr. Flandermeyer was
again married, his second union being with Henrietta Best, who died twelve
years later. His third wife bore the maiden name of Augusta Beukemann,
and was a native of Cleveland, Ohio. They became the parents of five children, but one is now deceased. The others are: Francis H., a resident of
Coldwater; Louis F., of Milwaukee; Perry W., who is now engaged in the
boot and shoe business at Niles, Michigan; and Herman E., also of Milwaukee.
Mr. Flandermeyer was reared in the faith of the Lutheran church. In
1859 a meeting was held by the Lutherans of this place in the court house,
there being nine in attendance. The little body of Christian people erected
a church on a lot on Jefferson street, and Mr. Flandermeyer, became one of
its trustees. Since that time he has striven earnestly to advance the cause of
his denomination, and his life has been in entire harmony with his profession.
He belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and also to the German Benevolent Society. In politics he is a staunch Republican, and in 1875
and 1876 he represented the Fourth ward in the city council. He has ever
been interested in whatever tends to promote the material, social, political, intellectual and moral progress of his community and his labors have been effective in advancing the general welfare. His life is in many respects- well
worthy of emulation, showing what can be accomplished through strong and
determined purpose. He has never made engagements that he has not kept,
nor incurred obligations that he has not met, and his business record is such
as any man might be proud to possess. Steadily he has worked his way upward from an humble position to one of affluence and is now numbered among
the prosperous merchants of Coldwater, while as the oldest representative of
trade relations here he is certainly deserving of mention in this volume.
M. J. VAN AKEN.
M. J. Van Aken, a member of the firm of Van Aken Brothers, liverymen*
and florists of Coldwater, was born in Girard township, Branch county, Michigan, April 28, 1862. He is a son of James Hassan Van Aken, a retired early
settler of this city, whose birth occurred about twenty miles south of Syracuse, New York, on the 3rd of October, 1820. He was the eldest son of
Cornelius and Harriett (Phelps) Van Aken, and with his parents came to
Michigan in 1833, the family home being established at Adrian. There they
remained for three years, and in I836 James H. Van Aken became a resident of Coldwater. He was at that time a youth of sixteen years, and he
remained with his father upon the home farm, assisting in the arduous task
of cleaning and cultivating the land until his twenty-first year. He then
went to Canada, where he worked for an uncle for three years, after which
he returned to Branch county and purchased sixty acres of land from his
father. Not a furrow had been turned or an improvement made upon the
place, but he at once began to cultivate the fields and added buildings and




816


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


accessories, which made this an excellent farm. He also purchased forty
acres of government land in Girard township and an adjoining tract of forty
acres. Later he added fifty-six acres and then after clearing seven acres of
this he sold his land in Girard township and came to Coldwater. Here he
engaged in the livery business, building the barn which is now occupied
by his sons in I8,65. For twenty years he conducted the business and then
sold out to his sons. In the meantime he had purchased another farm in Coldwater township of one hundred and sixty acres, and this property he still
owns and rents.
James H. Van Aken was married the first time when about twenty-four
years of age to Miss Maria Clement, and they had three sons: Ira, who is
living in Oceana county, Michigan; George, also of the same county; and
Myers, deceased. For his second wife Mr. Van Aken chose Susan Barney,
whom he married in Canada, and they have two sons and a daughter: Mark
J., Berney L. and Susan, the last named being the wife of Robert McFarson.
For his third wife Mr. Van Aken chose Eliza Cronk, a sister of his second
wife, and they have a daughter and son: Alma, at home; and J. Hiram, who
is living in Coldwater. The mother died March 9, I9o4. Mr. Van Aken is
one of the pioneer settlers of Branch county and has been identified with its
growth and development through almost seventy years, witnessing its transformation from a wild and unimproved region into a center of civilization.
He has been a Republican since casting his vote for John C. Fremont, and
for about thirty-five years has been a member of the Presbyterian church in
Coldwater. His success has come to him through well directed and persistent effort and an honored name has been gained because of his fidelity to
manly principles, his consideration for others and his justice and truth in all
life's relations.
M. J. Van Aken, the oldest child of his father's second marriage, was
reared and educated in Coldwater, the family removing from the farm to the
city during his early boyhood. After putting aside his text books he and his
brother, B. L. Van Aken, bought out the father's livery business. This was
in I887, and they have since conducted the barn, which is now the oldest established livery in the county. They rank, too, among the foremost representatives of their line of business and have an extensive patronage, owing to their
earnest desire to please their customers, the excellent line of vehicles. which
they have, and their straightforward dealing. M. J. Van Aken was also engaged in farming for a few years on the old family homestead when a young
man. In association with his brother he is also conducting a florist's business,
the brother being active manager of the latter, while M. J. Van Aken has immediate charge of the livery business.
In 1883 occurred the marriage of M. J. Van Aken and Miss Gertrude
Norton, and they became the parents of three children: Nina L., Edna N.,
and Hugh H., but the last named is the only one living. The mother also
died in the fall of I893. The eldest daughter died the following fall, and
Edna passed away two years later. In 1895 Mr. Van Aken was married to
Miss Anna Kerr, and they have one daughter, Susie Louise.
For forty-three years Mr. Van Aken has been a resident of Branch




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


817


county, spending the greater part of the time in the city of Coldwater, where
he now has a very wide acquaintance. He has taken an active part in public
affairs, becoming a co-operant factor in many measures for the general good.
He was alderman of his ward for two terms or four years, and, has been a
member of the Masonic fraternity for a long period. He is also connected
with the Order of Foresters, and is a supporter of the Presbyterian church,
although not a member of any religious organization.
GEORGE M. WHITE.
George M. White, the oldest justice of the peace in years of continued
service in the city of Coldwater, and also engaged in the insurance business in
Coldwater, was born in Batavia township, this county, on the 6th of March,
1843. His father, Solomon White, was a native of Orleans county, New
York, and in I836 came westward to Michigan, purchasing land in Branch
county, whereon he engaged in farming. He was but forty years of age,
however, at the time of his death. An earnest and consistent Christian man,
he was prominent in the membership of the Methodist church, took an active
part in its work, and served as class leader. His father had died when he
was a small child, and he was reared by his elder brother, George White.
They were descendants of the Whites who came to America on the Mayflower
in the year I620, and later generations of the family removed from New
England to New York. Solomon White was united in marriage to Lydia
Warner, a native of Orleans county, New York, who died in Coldwater at
the age of seventy-three years. Four years after the death of her first husband she became the wife of J. B. Wells, a resident of Coldwater township.
She was the mother of three children, two daughters and a son: Martha J.,
now deceased; Laura M., the wife of William H. Sibley, of Riverdale, Michigan; and George M.
Reared in his native township George M. White acquired his education in the common schools, and when seventeen years of age he started out
in life on his own account, working on a farm by the month. He was married December 25, I86o, when in his eighteenth year, to Miss Viana E.
Bates, the daughter of P. C. and Mercy (Cole) Bates. They located in Bethel
township, where they resided until August 9, I862, and Mr. White, whose
patriotic spirit was aroused by the attempt of the south to overthrow the
Union, then enlisted as a member of Company H, Nineteenth Michigan Infantry. He served until June Io, 1865, nearly three years, and was promoted
to the rank of corporal and acted as clerk of his company. In the battle of
New Hope Church in the Atlanta campaign he was wounded and was then'
taken to a hospital at Nashville, Tennessee. After becoming convalescent
he was transferred to the convalescent camp at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and
acted as clerk for Colonel Smith, who was in command of the camp. Later
he returned to his company, which at that time was at Atlanta, and went
with Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea. He also participated in the
Carolina campaign, and took part in the grand review in Washington, where




818              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
he was one of the color guard. He was taken prisoner at Thompson Station,
Tennessee, March 5, I8163, and confined for a time in Libby prison.
When hostilities had ceased and the country no longer needed his aid Mr.
White returned home with a creditable military record, joining his wife in
Bethel, Branch county. He afterward followed the carpenter's trade there
until 1871, when he removed to Coldwater and accepted a clerkship in the dry
goods store of W. S. Allen, with whom he remained for a year. Subsequently he was with Rodman Brothers for six years and then embarked in
merchandising on his own account as proprietor of a grocery store, which
he conducted for ten years under the firm name of G. M. White & Company.
He then sold out and since that time has given his attention largely to his
public duties. In April, I891I, he was elected justice of the peace and has
served continuously in that office to the present time, being now the oldest
justice in years of consecutive service in the city. He has also been notary
public since February, I890, and he is likewise engaged in the insurance business. He has also held the office of supervisor from the first ward for two
terms, was alderman from the first ward for one term and was school inspector of Bethel and highway commissioner in the same township for four
years.
Mr. and Mrs. White have one daughter, Nellie E., who is now the wife
of W. F. Taylor, of Coldwater. He belongs to Butterworth Post No. Io9,
G. A. R., and was quartermaster for fifteen years, in which position he is
still serving. He is likewise a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and is now serving for the seventh term as its financier. He belongs to
the National Protective Legion, and for the third term is occupying the position of president of the local society. Identified with the Methodist Episcopal
church, he is connected with various lines of the church activity, and for four
years has held the office of financial secretary, and for several years has been
a member of the board of stewards. His political allegiance has ever been
given to the Republican party. For sixty-two years he has lived in Branch
county, and his life has ever been worthy of public regard, his warmest friends
being numbered among those who have known him from his youth to the
present time. Great changes have occurred during this period, and his mind
forms a connecting link between the primitive past and the progressive
present.
NOAH    P. LOVERIDGE.
Hon. Noah P. Loveridge, deceased, at one time judge of the fifteenth
judicial district of Michigan and a prominent member of the bar, was born
in New Milford, Litchfield county, Connecticut, June I8, I826, and was the
seventh in the family of fourteen children born to Erastus and Ruth Ann
(Cary) Loveridge, who were also natives of Connecticut and representatives
of old New England families. The father was the owner of a cotton factory
and in his youth Noah had to assist his father in the management of the
business. He remained in his native town until twenty years of age and while
not occupied with the duties of the schoolroom worked in the mill. Am





Noah P. Loveridge
X;r




I,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


819


bitious for an education, while employed in the mill he studied English and
Latin grammar, keeping his books always near him, and at the same time
managing the labors of a number of the operatives in the factory. He succeeded in completing an academic education under the instruction of the
famous tutor, Frederick Gunn, whose school was frequently designated as
"The Gunnery."
Upon leaving home, at the age of twenty years, Judge Loveridge began
teaching school in New Jersey, and during the first year devoted his leisure
hours to the study of Latin and geometry. He then took up Blackstone
and determining to become a member of the legal profession he entered the
National Law School at Ballston Spa, near Saratoga, New York. He studied
law and taught alternately until 1851, when going to New York city he completed his law studies in the office and under the direction of Judge Curtis,
being admitted to the bar in the city of Brooklyn, in the spring of I852.
Judge Loveridge then opened an office in Cuba, New York, where he
practiced law until his removal to the west in I866, in which year he took
up his residence in Coldwater, where he gave his undivided attention to his
law practice until 1882, in which year, at the request of Mr. Teller, secretary
of the interior under President Arthur, he went to Washington, D. C., where
for two years he was engaged in writing opinions in relation to railroad grants
for Mr. Teller. President Arthur then appointed him United States deputy
commissioner of pensions, which position he filled until I88;5, when he returned to Coldwater and resumed the practice of law. In the early autumn
of I886 he visited Europe and in the fall of the same year he was elected
judge of the fifteenth judicial district of the circuit court, assuming the duties
of the office in January, I887. His decisions were strictly fair and impartial,
being based upon the equity of the case and a comprehensive knowledge of the
principles of jurisprudence. His record as a judge was in harmony with his
record as a man and lawyer,-distinguished by integrity and a masterful
grasp of every question which was presented for solution.
His early political support was given to the Democracy, but on account of
the attitude of the party on the currency questions he left its ranks and from
1878 until his death was a stalwart Republican.
Judge Loveridge was married, in I854, at Mendham, New Jersey, to Miss
Marietta King Vance, a daughter of Elias and Abigail (Homan) Vance. She
was born in New Jersey, December 25, I829, and by this marriage became
the mother of five children: Livingston L., who was born at Cuba, New
York, August 20, I855, and died in 1895; H. C., who resides at Coldwater;
Walter, who died in infancy; Ernest H., who also resides in Coldwater; and
Frederick H., who resides in Chicago. Mrs. Noah P. Loveridge still survives
her husband and resides in Coldwater.
Judge Loveridge died June 26, 1900. His talents, his professional ability,
his devotion to the general welfare, and above all his personal worth had
given him a position in public regard second to none. He was a distinguished
lawver, whose fame was known far beyond the limits of his home locality,
and his name is now on the roll of honored dead of Branch county.




820


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


H. C. LOVERIDGE.
Henry C. Loveridge, oldest surviving son of the late Judge Noah P.
Loveridge, was born August 13, I856, and is now numbered among the leading lawyers of southern Michigan. He is a graduate of the Coldwater high
school. He was graduated in I880 from Trinity College at Hartford, Connecticut, and studied law in the office of Loveridge and Barlow at Coldwater, being admitted to practice in 1883. He has since practiced in Coldwater, being for a time associated with H. H. Barlow, and with his father
from the latter's retirement from the bench until his death. Mr. Loveridge
has devoted himself to his professional interests with high success. He has
been connected with the city school board as president of the board, and also
has served as city attorney. He is a member of the Episcopal church and has
been a member of the vestry for a number of years.
Mr. Loveridge married, in Coldwater, in September, 1893, Miss Jessie
Moore, daughter of Colonel O. H. Moore. They have two children, Sallie M.
and Homan Livingston.
SAMUEL POLLOCK.
Among the men of the past and present who have contributed to the
substantial improvement of Coldwater, Samuel Pollock, now deceased, was
numbered. He was born in Ireland and spent the days of his boyhood and
youth in that land. About I848, however, he bade adieu to home, friends
and the green Isle of Erin and sailed for the new world, making his way first
to Canada. He afterward went to Nebraska in the employ of the United
States government, and while in the west was engaged in the construction of
Fort Leavenworth and Fort Kearney. He also spent some time in Missouri,
working at the carpenter's trade, with which he had become familiar in early
life. His residence in Coldwater dated from  I86I, and here he again secured carpenter work, being identified with building operations in this city
until his removal to Cleveland, Ohio, in the '6os. There he resided until
I881, when he returned to Coldwater, and here he embarked in the lumber
business, which he purchased from Henry T. Smith. He then conducted his
lumber yard until his death, and in I895 he admitted his son, Charles A. Pollock, to a partnership under the firm style of Pollock & Son. The business
is still carried on under this name although the life labors of the father were
ended in death March 29, I900.
Samuel Pollock was united in marriage to Miss Sarah J. Peet, a native
of England, in which country she was reared. She still survives her husband and they became the parents of two daughters and three sons, two of
whom died in infancy, the daughters being Minnie, the wife of W. M. Brown,
of Coldwater, and Jessie, at home.
Charles A. Pollock was born in Cleveland, Ohio, June I8, 1872, and
was nine years of age when his father returned to Coldwater, where he acquired the greater part of his education in the public schools. He was married in I895 to Miss Ellen L. Spalding, a daughter of Charles A. Spalding, of




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


821


Coldwater, and they now have two children, Rosamond and Winnifred.
Charles A. Pollock has spent the greater part of his life in this city, and is
not only well known in commercial circles, but is also a valued representative
of the Order of Foresters and the Masonic fraternity, having attained the
Knight Templar degree in the latter. He is likewise a member of the Episcopal church and is now serving as vestryman. His interest in the welfare
of Coldwater is deep and sincere and has led to his active support of many
measures for the public good. In his business he has attained a creditable
position and is now in control of the leading lumber trade of the city.
Samuel Pollock was a Republican in his political views, interested in the
welfare of the party and anxious for the adoption of its principles. He kept
well informed on all the questions and issues of the day and was especially
helpful in matters of local progress, endorsing all progressive movements
which owed their existence to a desire for permanent good and upbuilding
of the county. Although an adopted son no native born citizen of America
was more loyal to its institutions or to the republican form of government.
He never had occasion to regret the determination to make a home in the
new world, for he found here the business opportunities he sought, and by
the utilization of the advantages which surrounded him he advanced from
an humble financial position to one of affluence, commanding at the same time
the unqualified regard of his fellow men because of his fidelity to a high
standard of commercial ethics.
JOHN R. CHAMPION.
John R. Champion, three times mayor of Coldwater and a leading
and prominent member of the Branch county bar, was born near Ithaca, New
York, January 12, 1836, his parents being Reuben J. and Eliza (Cross) Champion, both of whom were natives of New York, whence they came to Branch
county, Michigan, in 1836, settling in Coldwater, where the father engaged
in merchandising for a few years.  He afterward became identified with
industrial pursuits, but conducted a milling business, being the builder and
for many years the operator of what was known as the Black Hawk mill.
Eventually he sold the plant and removed to Indiana, but after a brief residence in that state he returned to Coldwater, here spending his remaining
days, his death occurring during the period of the Civil war, when he was
about seventy years of age. His wife had preceded him to the home beyond
by several years. He was a Democrat in his political allegiance, but afterward became a staunch advocate of Republican principles. By his first wife
he had seven children, and by his second marriage to Delia Conger he had one
daughter.
John R. Champion, a son of the first marriage, was reared in Coldwater
and attended its public schools, thus acquiring his more specifically literary
education. His law studies were pursued in the University of Michigan at
Ann Arbor, where he remained a student until after the inauguration of the
Civil war, when he became an aid on the staff of the inspector general. Following the close of hostilities he engaged in merchandising for a short time in




822              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
Nashville, Tennessee, but soon returned to his old home in Coldwater. Prior
to the outbreak of hostilities between the north and the south he had been
admitted to the bar and finally entered upon the practice of law, in this city,
to which profession he has since devoted his time and energies. An excellent
presence and earnest effort, marked strength of character, a thorough grasp
of the law and the ability to accurately apply its principles made him an effective and successful advocate and insured him equal rank with other distinguished members of the Branch bounty bar.
Active and prominent in community affairs Mr. Champion has served
three times as mayor of Coldwater, elected to the office in 1874, 1875 and
I88o. Herein he exercised his official prerogatives in support of all measures
tending to promote the substantial improvement and welfare of the city and
his efforts were resultant factors in public progress. He has served on his
city board of education and on the library board and was also prosecuting attorney. He acted as a member of the central board of control for two and
a half years, and has been active in political circles as an advocate of the
Democracy through the greater period of his residence in Coldwater.
Mr. Champion has been married twice and has two children, Charles U.
and A. Sydney, the latter with the Westinghouse Company, of New York.
Mr. Champion is one of the well-known residents of Coldwater, and his
position in legal, political and social circles is an enviable one, accorded him in
recognition of his capability at the bar, his fitness for leadership in molding
public thought and action and his sterling personal characteristics.
CHARLES U. CHAMPION.
Charles U. Champion, practicing law in Coldwater, was born in this
city October 13, I864, a son of John R. Champion, whose life record is given
above. At the usual age he entered the public schools, passing through the
consecutive grades until he was graduated from the high school with the
class of 1885. Determining to engage in the practice of the profession which
claims his father's time and energies, he matriculated in the law department
of the University of Michigan, and was graduated in I888. Since that time
he has practiced in his native city with his father under the firm style of Champion & Champion, and they have gained a large and distinctively representative clientage. He served from I896 until I90O as prosecuting attorney, and
in the trial of cases earnest effort, close application and the exercise of his
native talents have won him creditable prestige. He is a Democrat in his
political views, unfaltering in his advocacy of the party, and untiring in his
efforts to promote its growth and insure its success.
In I892 Mr. Champion was married to Miss Maud Wheeler, and they
have three sons, John W., Paul U. and Charles S. Mr. Champion is a Master
Mason and a member of the Episcopal church, and for fourteen years he has
served.on the library board of Coldwater. His entire life having been passed
in this city he is well known, and his character is indicated by the fact that
his stanchest friends are those with whom he has been acquainted from his
boyhood days.






HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


823


ARTHUR G. HOLBROOK.
Arthur G. Holbrook, engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery
in Coldwater, is a native of Tennessee, his birth having occurred in Nashville, October 6, i866. He is a son of George and Estelle G. (Gilbert) Holbrook, the former a native of Coldwater and the latter of Monroe county,
Michigan. His paternal grandfather, Silas A. Holbrook, was a pioneer merchant of Coldwater, to which place he came about 1832 from New York, his
native state. George Holbrook was a soldier of the Civil war, serving as
lieutenant with Battery F of the First Michigan Light Artillery. He joined
the army in I86I. and continued with that command for three years. He
afterward located in Nashville, Tennessee, where he remained until about
I871, being employed in.a bank in this city. In the year mentioned he came
north to Chicago, where he died on the 27th of May, 1876. He was also
connected with the banking business in the latter city. His wife, long surviving him, passed away in Coldwater, September 27, 1902, having returned
soon after her husband's death.
Dr. Holbrook as a lad of about ten years came to Coldwater, and he has
since remained here.  He continued his education in the public schools,
passing through successive grades until he had completed the high school
course by graduation with the class of 1887. He afterward secured a position in the drug department of the store owned by E. R. Clark & Company,
with whom he remained for several years, and then entered the University
of Michigan, spending three years as a student in the medical department.
He continued his studies in the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, and
was graduated in I899, since which time he has practiced in Coldwater. He
belongs to the Branch County Medical Society, the Tri-State Medical Society, and the Michigan State Medical Association, and of the last named he
is now treasurer.
Dr. Holbrook was married in 1892 to Miss Luella M. Treat, who died
in I893, leaving one son-George Treat. In I899 he married Mabel F.
White of Hartford, Connecticut, and they have two children-Phyllis and
Shirley E. Dr. Holbrook exercises his right of franchise in support of the
men and measures of the Republican party, but is without political aspiration for himself. He holds membership in the Presbyterian church, and is interested in its work and the extension of its influence. The greater part of
his time and attention, however, are demanded by his professional duties,
which are constantly growing in volume and importance until he now ranks
with the foremost representatives of the medical fraternity in Branch county.
EDWARD D. STANTON.
The history of those who have been and are prominently connected with
farming interests in Sherwood township would be incomplete without mention of Edward D. Stanton, deceased, who made a creditable record as a most
successful business man, there being many characteristics of his business
career that are worthy of emulation, and which awaken as well respect and




824


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


admiration. He was a native of Sennett, Cayuga county, New York, born
on the Ioth of August, I833. His father, John Stanton, was a native of
Onondaga county, New York, born December Io, 1799. Having arrived at
years of maturity he wedded Susan Waldron, who was born in Rockland
county, New York, in I798. Following their marriage they established their
home in Sennett, Cayuga county, whence they removed to Michigan in June,
1839, their destination being Branch county; Here the father secured a tract
of land and began the development of a farm, whereon he made his home
until his life's labors were ended in death, November 20, I85I. His widow
afterward went to live with her daughter in Scipio township, Hillsdale county,
Michigan, where she passed away January 6, I868.
Edward Stanton was the seventh in order of birth in a family of ten
children, four sons and six daughters. He was but three years of age when
brought to Branch county by his parents, and upon the family homestead he
was reared, while in the district schools he acquired his education. His father
instructed him concerning the value of industry, perseverance and integrity
in the active affairs of life, and the lessons which were thus impressed upon
his mind in youth bore rich fruit in later years. His educational privileges
were limited, for that was the era of the log school house with its primitive
furnishings and methods of instruction that were almost equally crude, but
Mr. Stanton gained good business experience and a natural fund of common
sense made him a citizen of worth, while reading and observation kept him
in touch with modern thought.    In fact he became one of the wellinformed men of his locality, and in his business career met with  a
gratifying measure of prosperity.  Throughout his active business career
Mr. Stanton followed general agricultural pursuits, and controlling the work
of the fields year after year he prospered, making investment in property until
he was the owner of six hundred and ninety acres of valuable land in Branch
county, of which four hundred acres have been placed under a high state of
cultivation. He was recognized as one of the prominent agriculturists of
his community, following modern methods and using the latest improved machinery in the care of his fields. He also raised high grades of stock, and
everything about his place was kept in excellent condition. He became a
stockholder in the Farmers' National Bank, and about two years after its
organization was chosen one of its directors, in which capacity he was retained until his death.
On the 5th of December, I865, occurred the marriage of Mr. Stanton
and Miss.Susan Atwood, the wedding being celebrated in Coldwater. The
parents are Elisha and Elvira (Demmon) Atwood, who were natives of
Connecticut and New Hampshire, and following their marriage removed to
Genesee county, New York, while later they became residents of Henry county,
Ohio. The year i848 witnessed their arrival in Michigan, at which time
they took up their abode in Sherwood township, Branch county. Later they
removed to Union township. Their family numbers nine children, five sons
and four daughters, of whom Mrs. Stanton was the fourth in order of birth,
her natal place being Genesee county, New York, her natal day, September




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


825


19, I837. She attended the district schools in her girlhood and was trained
in home duties which well qnalified her to preside capably over her own home
at the time of her marriage. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Stanton were born three
children: John A.; Elvira E., now the wife of Fred Calkins of Matteson
township; and Mis, the wife of J. Ara Annis, of Sherwood township.,
Mr. Stanton was a supporter of the Republican party from its organization. In fact his first presidential ballot was cast for its first candidate and
he labored loyally to promote the success of the party and to secure the adoption of its principles. He held the office of highway commissioner but was
never a politician in the sense of office seeking, preferring to devote his time
and energies to his business affairs, wherein he met with creditable success.
EDWARD B. RANSFORD.
April 15, g90o, there died in Quincy township a citizen who had been
identified with this county for over half a century, and whose career possesses not only the interest which always belongs to such length of life, but
furthermore the regard which arises from a wholesome usefulness and integrity of character.
Edward B. Ransford was born in the state of New York in I828, so
that he was seventy-seven years old at the date of his death. He was of New
England stock, a son of Aruna and Lydia (Cass)' Ransford, whom he accompanied to Michigan in I844 and located two and a half miles south of Jonesville, Hillsdale county, where both parents died. Reared on a farm and
attending the schools of the county, Edward B. Ransford followed agricultural pursuits throug1out his active career, and was almost uniformly successful in his endeavors. Coming to Branch county in 1853, he bought eighty
acres in section four of Quincy township, and on that homestead, now linked
by so many ties of association with his life, he continued to make his residence
until death took himf in the fulness of years and maturity of work. He was
a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, was affiliated with the Masons,
and in politics was a Republican, being proud of his stanch advocacy of the
principles of the Grand Old Party, which he had upheld so many years. At
the organization of Quincy Grange No. I52 in I873, he and his wife became
charter members, and the latter is now the only active living charter member
of the organization. Edward B. Ransford was one of eight children.
He married Frances E. Churchill, who was born in Columbia county,
New York, in 1828, and, surviving her late husband, is now one of the
esteemed old ladies of her community. Her parents were William Henry
and Fanny (Gregory) Churchill, the former of New York state and the
latter of Connecticut, and both members of the Methodist church.  The
Churchill family moved to Michigan in I844, locating at Jonesville, and
in I85I came to Branch county and located in Quincy township, where the
father continued his vocation of farming, but for some time before his death
lived retired in Quincy. He was a Democrat. Mrs. Ransford is the oldest
of their five children, the others being: Charles, deceased; George, who served
in the commissary department during the Civil war and is now a resident




826


HlSTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


of San Antonio, Texas; Susan, wife of John Nichols, a farmer at East
Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Robert, a resident of Quincy, who was a soldier
in the Civil war, going from New York. Mrs. Ransford is a member of the
Methodist church.. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Ransford: Alfred, now deceased,
was a graduate of Valparaiso College and was a successful school teacher,
being principal of the Quincy schools, and also of the schools at Kaneville
and St. Charles, Illinois; Julia is the wife of Nelson Curtis, a farmer of
Butler township; Charles is connected with a carriage factory at Flint, Michigan; George is a farmer in Butler township; Frank lives on the old homestead; and Susan married A. E. Lampman, a farmer of Butler township.
HENRY SEYMOUR.
Henry Seymour, a retired grocery merchant who in public office demonstrated his loyalty to the general welfare of Branch county, was born in
Oneida county, New York, August 15, I837. His father, Constantine A.
Seymour, was a native of the Empire state and was reared in Oneida county.
He was a tailor by occupation and in I8,44 he came westward to Michigan,
settling in the northern part of Branch county, where he continued to carry
on tailoring. His political allegiance was given to the Republican party
from the time of its organization and he was elected and served as township
treasurer. He married Lucy M. Thayer, also a native of New York and
his death occurred when he was seventy-three years of age, while his wife
died when about sixty-eight years of age. Thev were the parents of four
children, three sons and a daughter, all of whom reached years of maturity.
The daughter is now deceased, but the sons'are all living.
Henry Seymour, the second child and second son, was seven years old
when brought by his parents to Branch county and was reared and educated
in Union township. In early life he learned the tinner's trade which he
followed for about eighteen years. His business pursuits, however, were
interrupted when in I86I he espoused the cause of the union and joined
the boys in blue of Company D, First Michigan Light Artillery, with which
he served for three years. He was often in the thickest of the fight and he
participated in the engagements at Stone River, Pittsburgh Landing, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge and many others, receiving an honorable discharge
at Louisville, Kentucky, at the close of his term of enlistment September I7,
1864. At the battle of Pittsburgh Landing he was knocked down by the force
of a solid shot striking the ground in front of him, a close call for his life.
Mr. Seymour then returned home and resumed business in Branch county.
He was for twenty-one years a grocer of Union City, having a well appointed
store and receiving a liberal patronage. That he met with success in his
undertakings is indicated by the fact that he so long directed his energies
to one line of trade. He also gave some time to discharge of public duties
which were entrusted to him by the vote of his fellow townsmen. He was
elected in I899 to the office of county treasurer for a term of two years
and in I9OI was re-elected, serving until I903, when he retired from office




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


827


as he had entered it, "With the confidence and good will of all concerned."
He was also supervisor of Union township for thirteen years and was town
treasurer for two years. He has been a life long Republican and has taken
an active and helpful interest in public affairs, his labors being far reaching
and beneficial in their influence.
In 1865 Mr. Seymour was united in marriage to Miss Carrie E. Tutherly, and they became the parents of two sons and a daughter: John C., who
is now a dry goods merchant at Sherwood, Branch county; George H., who
is a cashier of the Merchants' Bank at Sherwood; and Cora E., who is a
graduate of the piano department of the Michigan State Normal, and is now
a teacher of music and drawing.
Mr. Seymour belongs to Corbin Post, No. 88, G. A. R., and attended
the  Grand   Encampment   at  Columbus,  Ohio.   He   is likewise  a
member of the Masonic lodge of Union City and the Eastern
Star. While now practically retired from active business life he is
still a stockholder and director in the Union City National Bank. He has
lived for sixty-one years in Branth county and has a very wide and favorable acquaintance here. Endowed by nature with a strong character he was
so surrounded in his childhood that his latent powers were developed and
strengthened and he became a successful business man. Today he is not
more honored on account of the enviable position which he has occupied in
business circles and the success he has gained than by reason of his fidelity
to duty in public office, his loyalty to his country at the time of the Civil war
and on account of the many deeds of his life which have ever been quietly
and unostentatiously performed.
CHARLES D. RATHBURN.
Charles D. Rathburn, living on section sixteen, Sherwood township,
where he is extensively and successfully engaged in general farming, is a
native of Ashtabula county, Ohio, born April 9, 1842. He is a son of Joseph
and Sarah O. (Brown) Rathburn, the former a native of Genesee county,
New York, and the latter of Kingsville, Ashtabula county, Ohio. The mother
died in Michigan at the ripe old age of eighty-two years. In their family
were five daughters and four sons: Olivia, now deceased; Francis M., who
has also passed away; Charles D.; Pearson J., who is represented elsewhere
in this work; Electa, the wife of James Johnson, of Isabella county, Michigan;
Deborah, deceased; Ellen E., the wife of Ed Ward, of Alabama; Edward
R., who is a twin of Ellen and lives in Sheiwood township; and Marietta
R., the wife of Frank H. Lee, of Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
Charles D. Rathburn, the eldest son and third child of the family, passed
his youth in Ashtabula county with the exception of a period of two years
spent in Iowa. He was provided with good educational privileges, pursuing
a course at Kingsville Academy in his native county and later he gave his
attention to farming, which he followed in his native state until 1877, when
he came to Branch county, Michigan, settling upon a farm which he now
owns and at the present time is being operated} by his sons. During his resi



828


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


dence in this county he has practiced veterinary surgery, having prepared himself for the profession and passed an examination at Lansing, Michigan, before the veterinary board, and registered in Branch county. His skill in this
connection has rendered him a prominent representative of the calling, and he
is a member of the Wolverine Veterinary Association. He has a farm of one
hundred and sixty-seven acres which is well improved and supplied with
many modern equipments and accessories, so that it is now a valuable property, and to the place he gives his. sapervision, although his sons perform
the active work of the fields.
Mr. Rathburn was married in Kingsville township, Ashtabula county,
Ohio, June 15, I865, to Miss Alice C. Fox, a daughter of Alvin and Vesta C.
(Ward) Fox, who was born in Kingsville, Ashtabula county, Ohio, May 22,
I840. They have two children: Marion A., who married Hannah Russell
and resides upon his father's farm; and Lillie, the wife of George A. Drumm,
a resident of Sherwood township.
Mr. Rathburn, desirous for the best interests of his county, has co-operated in public affairs to the best of his ability-and that ability is of no
mean order. He has filled the office of township treasurer for three terms,
and was supervisor for one term, and whether in office or out of it he is always a champion for public good. In politics he is a Democrat, and was
elected to office in face of a normal Republican majority, so that the election was proof of his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him
by his fellow townsmen. For twenty-five years he has been treasurer of the
Grange and is very active in its movement. He was also school director,
and has been assessor the greater part of the time since coming to Branch
county. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity at Athens, and is well known.
in this portion of Michigan, where his activity in business affairs, his cooperation in public measures and his genuine worth of character have made
him prominent. He is an excellent representation of a purely self-made man,
for all that he has has been honestly acquired by his untiring effort, so that
his example should well serve as a lesson and incentive to the younger generation.
WILLARD ADOLPH.
Willard Adolph, a representative farmer of Union township, living in
section eleven, was born in Richardbegh, Bohemia, on the 7th of July, 1846,
and was but ten years of age when brought by his parents to America, at
which time the family home was established about three miles northwest of
the city of Coldwater  There they remained for a year and then removed
to Girard township, where Mr. Adolph of this review was reared to manhood. He worked in the fields on the home place, gaining a practical knowledge of farming methods that wtell fitted him to carry on agricultural pursuits on his own account after he had attained man's estate.
On the 2nd of November, 1869, Mr. Adolph was married in Girard
township to Miss Anna Hoffman and took up his abode in Batavia township,
where he remained for about fifteen years, when he sold that property and
bought eighty acres where he now resides. He added to this until he has




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


829


a valuable farm property of one hundred and eighty acres which is well
improved. Most of the improvements are the work of his hands and his
labors have made him one of the substantial citizens of the community.
Realizing that labor is the basis of all success, he has carried on his work
persistently and energetically, his efforts being guided by sound judgment
and keen business discernment.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Adolph has been blessed with three children:
Anna, now the wife of Clarence Olney, a farmer of Union township; Willie,
who died at the age of twenty-two years; and Edward, who also carried on
agricultural pursuits in Union township. Mr. Adolph has been a resident
of Branch county for a half century and has done his full share in the work
of improvement and progress. Seeing the needs of his community, he has
co-operated in many movements for the general good. In politics he has
been a life-long Republican, but has preferred to do his duty to township
and county as a private citizen rather than an officeholder. He is one of
the loyal adopted sons of America, interested in her institutions, devoted
to her principles and active in support of the measures which he deems will
promote local advancement and the national welfare.
J. H. ANDERSON, M. D.
Dr. J. H. Anderson, successfully practicing medicine in Union City and
vicinity, is a native son of Michigan, his birth having occurred in St. Joseph
county, January 3, 1867. His parents were George and Rebecca (Garnett)
Anderson, the former a native of northern Ireland and the latter of England. Both came to America in early life and the father, establishing his
home in St. Joseph county, engaged in business as a hardware merchant at
Constantine. He died when his son, Dr. Anderson, was only three years
old and the mother afterward returned to her native country accompanied
by her family. She there remained until I88i, when she again came to the
new world, settling at Constantine, Michigan, and there Dr, Anderson continued his education, completing the high school course with the class of
I884. His tastes led him into professional life and, determining upon the
practice of medicine and surgery, he then entered the Michigan State Urriversitv at Ann Arbor, completing the medical course by graduation in I888.
He located for practice at Girard, where he remained for nine years, and in
I9OI he removed to Union City, wthere he has since followed his chosen
calling. In this profession advancement depends entirely upon individual
merit. One must master the principles of medicine and surgery and must
accurately apply his knowledge to the needs of his patients. Dr. Anderson is
most careful in the diagnosis of a case and his judgment is seldom at fault in
anticipating the outcome of a disease.
While living in Girard Dr. Anderson was married to Miss Harriet
Granger, a daughter of Frank Granger. She died in I897, leaving two
sons, with whom Dr. Anderson returned to his old home in Constantine,
there remaining until his removal to Union City in 1901. For his second
wife he chose Minerva Beardsley. His sons are F. Gamett and Granger,




830


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


who are still at home. Dr. Anderson is prominent fraternally, belonging to
the Masonic lodge at Union City, the Chapter at Union City, the Knights
Templar Commandery at Coldwater and to the Knights of the Maccabees and
the Improved Order of Foresters. In the line of his profession he is connected with the state, tri-state and county medical societies.
J. HARLAN DAVIS.
J. Harlan Davis, who is engaged in general agricultural pursuits on
section three, Girard township, was born in Cazenovia, Madison county,
New York, April 24, I8.44. His paternal grandfather was Benjamin Davis,
a representative of a family that was established in Massachusetts in early
colonial days. Joseph Davis, the father of J. Harlan Davis, was born in
Massachusetts, November I8, I8oo, and was the first of the family to leave
that state, where his ancestors had lived for so: many years. He went to
Cazenovia, New York, soon after his marriage to Mary Adams, who was a
member of the celebrated Adams family of Massachusetts, which furnished
two Presidents to the United States, several Governors and many other distinguished men and women. Mary Adams was born in Shutesbury, Massachusetts, and became the wife of Joseph Davis in that state in 1824. Their
married life was spent almost entirely in Cazenovia, New York, where Mr.
Davis died in 1856, his. wife passing away in 1846. They had a large family of children, eleven in number, nine sons and two daughters. One died in
infancy, but the remainder reached adult age, and six of the sons came to
Michigan.  Seymour entered the army in I86I in the Sixth Michigan Infantry and died at Marshall, Michigan, in the service in I862. William H.
was also a veteran of the Civil war, and is still living. Two brothers,
Charles and Frank, are both deceased. One of the sisters survives.
J. Harlan Davis spent his boyhood and youth in and near Cazenovia,
New York, and acquired what in those early days was a most liberal education. He attended the common schools and afterward the Oneida Conference Seminary, subsequent to which time he pursued a course in the commercial school at Syracuse, New York, where he was graduated with the
class of I862. He taught school in the Empire State through the following
winter and in the spring of I863 went to Amherst, Massachusetts, where he
worked for two years in a machine shop, his employers being extensive manufacturers of wheels. Seeking a home in the middle West he made his way
to St. Paul, Minnesota, when that city contained a population of but fourteen thousand and Minneapolis only eight thousand. He spent the summer
prospecting there and while on his western trip he visited for a few months
with relatives in Marshall, Michigan, thus becoming impressed with the advantages of the Wolverine state. On returning to Cazenovia, New York,
he remained there until I868, and then came again to Michigan, where he
has since resided. Here he first engaged in farming with his brother, William H. Davis, in Tekonsha township, Calhoun county, and for eleven years
he spent the winter seasons in teaching school in different portions of Branch
and Calhoun counties, being regarded as a most capable and efficient edu



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


831


cator. Thirty-five years ago he purchased the farm of ninety-five acres on
section three, Girard township, just over the border line in Branch county,
and here he has since resided. He has improved the place with good buildings and brought the land up to a high state of cultivation, so that he now
has a splendid farm that annually returns to him gratifying harvests as a reward for the care and labor he has bestowed upon it.
Mr. Davis was married in I874 to Miss Emma Dean of Tekonsha and
their married life, which was a particularly happy one, was terminated by
the death of Mrs. Davis, April 30, I890. Three sons and three daughters
were born unto them, the daughters being: Clara E., Anna M. and Olive,
who are living with their father on the old homestead. Oif the sons, Russell
is holding a responsible position with the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad company; Ward is employed in the electrical line in Chicago; and Burt
is learning the builder's trade and architect's profession in Chicago.
Mr. Davis is an ardent Republican, never faltering in his allegiance to
the party, which he believes embodies the best principles of good government in its platform. He was supervisor of Girard township for thirteen
consecutive years, beginning in 1883, and in I896 was chairman of the
Board, and in I879 served as superintendent of schools in the township,
while for several years he was school inspector. As a member of the Board
of Supervisor he acted on many important committees, including the building committee during the erection of the present handsome county courthouse at Coldwater. He has ever been the champion of progress and improvement along practical and substantial lines and his co-operation has
been a factor in many movements that have resulted beneficially to the
county.
LEON A. JOHNSON.
Leon A. Johnson, who is filling the office of township supervisor and
makes his home in Union City, was born in Union township, Branch county,
April I6, I867. He is the eldest of three sons born unto Mr. and Mrs. John
Johnson, prominent farming people of Union township. He was reared
upon the old family homestead, began his education in the district schools
and afterward entered the high school of Union City, from which he was
graduated in I886. He also spent one year in the Northern Indiana Normal
School at Valparaiso, after which he went to Nebraska, establishing his
home in Cambridge, Furnas county. There he engaged in teaching school
for a time but afterward returned to Michigan and taught in the schools of
Union City. He was elected school inspector for two terms, covering four
years, and he has also held the office of township treasurer for two terms.
Since 1898 he has been a clerk in a store. He was appointed to fill a vacancy
in the office of township supervisor as the successor of Henry Seymour
when the latter was elected county treasurer. He filled out the unexpired
term and then in I905 was elected to the office on the Republican ticket. He
has always been identified with the party, is active in its local work and his
opinions carry weight in its councils.
On the 25th of November, I89I, Mr. Johnson was united in marriage




832


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


to Miss Bertha C. Sawin, a daughter of M. E. and Celinda (Gardiner)
Sawin. Her birth occurred in Matteson township, Branch county, March
28, 8,68, and she was educated in the public schools, being a graduate of
the high school of Union City. She too followed teaching for a time, both
in Missouri and Michigan and had the ability to impart clearly and readily
to others the knowledge that she had acquired. Mr. Johnson is a member
of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to the lodge and the chapter at Union
City. He is likewise a member of Union City council, R. and S. M., and he
and his wife are members of the Order of the Eastern Star.
CHARLES H. HALL.
Charles H. Hall, engaged in the cultivation and improvement of a good
farm on section twenty-eight, Sherwood township, is one of Michigan's native sons and possesses the enterprise so typical of the middle west. He was
born in Lee township, Calhoun county, December 7, 1846. His father,
Jesse Hall, was a native of England, and when a young man came to America, locating in New York, where he was married to Miss Maria Henion, a
native of that state. He removed to Calhoun county, Michigan, about 1842,
becoming a pioneer resident of that locality. Securing land, he devoted his
energies to farming there until I856, when he took up his abode in Branch
county, securing a farm in Sherwood township, about two and a half miles
north of the place upon which his son Charles now resides. The land which
he there owned he placed under a good state of cultivation and was one of
the leading and influential agriculturists of his community. Crossing the
plains to California at an early day he spent about three years in the Golden
State, after which he returned to his farming pursuits in Michigan, and was
thus engaged up to the time of his death, which occurred in his forty-ninth
year. He was a school director, interested in the cause of education and
also desiring the development of the county along all lines of material, mental and moral progress. His wife lived to be about sixty years of age. Of
their four children one died in early youth, while the others reached adult
age.
Charles H. Hall, now the only living representative of the family, was
the second child and eldest son and was but ten years old when his parents
came to Branch county. His youth was therefore largely passed in Sherwood township, and his education was that afforded by the public schools.
He assisted his father in the improvement of the home farm until 1864,
when at the age of eighteen years he offered his services to the government
in defense of the Union and was assigned to Company F, Eleventh Michigan Infantry, with which he served until the close of hostilities in 1865. He
then returned to the farm in Sherwood township and has been the owner of
the old homestead since seventeen years of age. He resided thereon until
I89o, when he embarked in the livery business in Union City, but after two
years he sold his barn and again took up his abode upon his farm. He still
owns the old homestead of forty acres, but has added to it by purchase until
within its boundaries are now comprised one hundred and ten acres. For



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


833


merlv his landed possessions were much more extensive, for he had four
hundred acres, but one-half of this he has sold, still retaining possession of
two hundred acres. As a farmer he has been practical in all of his work, systematic in the development of the fields and by the rotation of crops and the
careful supervision of the work he has kept his farm in excellent condition,
the fields being very productive.
Mr. Hall has been married twice. In 1877 he wedded Hattie Bennett,
who died, leaving two children, Minnie and Charles Ray. He wedded his
present wife in I899. She bore the maiden name of Emma Filson, and was
a daughter of James C. and Sarah (Wagner) Filson. Her birth occurred inr
St. Joseph county, Michigan. September 23, I876, and she was first mart
ried to H. E. Corwin, by whom she had a daughter, Lena Belle. Mr. and
Mrs. Hall had three children, Jessie Marie, Mildred Irene and Charles Walter, but the little son died at the age of seven months.
Mr. Hall is now practically living retired, having rented his land. He
has been a life-long Republican, interested in political work in his locality
and for three years has served as constable. He belongs to Kilbourn Post,
No. 2, G. A. R., at Sherwood, and he is well known in the county where he
has lived for forty-nine years, so that his mind forms a connecting link between the primitive past and the progressive present. He is a man of much
force of character and business acumen and through a long and active life
there has naught been said against his integrity nor the worthy purposes
which have prompted his actions.
JEFFERSON LOWRY.
Jefferson Lowry, deceased, who was at one time a leading and prosperous farmer of Branch county, was born in Matteson township on the 22d of
November, 1844. His boyhood days were spent in his home locality and
the public school system of the county afforded him his educational privileges. Throughout his entire life he followed farming and became a successful and prominent agriculturist. His business affairs were conducted in
systematic, enterprising manner and through his well directed labor he won
a gratifying measure of success.
Mr. Lowry was also well known as a citizen whose aid could be counted
upon to further progressive public measures. He always voted with the Republican party and he held various township offices, discharging his duties in
a most prompt and capable manner. He was also identified with the Masonic fraternity and in his life exemplified the beneficent spirit of the craft.
On the 2ISt of November, I867, Jefferson Lowry was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Jones, who was born in Finley, Hancock county,
Ohio, December 13, I844. Her father, Ambrose Jones, was a native of
New York and became one of the early settlers of Hancock county, Ohio,
whence he afterward removed to Branch county, Michigan, settling in Sherwood township about 1852. He was a farmer by occupation, successful in
his business affairs, and he. lived to be about eighty years of age. His wife,
who bore the maiden name of Mary Musson, was a native of New York and




834


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


lived to be about fifty-nine years of age. They were the parents of eight
children, three sons and five daughters, all of whom reached adult age and
are now living with the exception of one daughter. Mrs. Lowry is the sixth
member of this family. She was a little maiden of eight summers when she
came to Branch county with her parents, her girlhood days being spent in
Sherwood township, where she has always lived. On the 2Ist of November,
I867, in Colon, St. Joseph county, Michigan, she gave her hand in marriage
to Jefferson Lowry and they became the parents of three sons, but the eldest,
Clyde, died at the age of eight months. Lloyd J. married Flora James and
is a traveling salesman residing in Chicago. Lynn E. married Anna McIntire and is a barber residing in Centerville, Michigan. The death of the
husband and father occurred December 5, 1903, and was the occasion of
deep regret not only to his family but also to many friends, for he was a man
of genuine worth who deserved and commanded the respect of those with
whom he came in contact. Mrs. Lowry is now the owner of the farm of one
hundred and thirty-three acres which she carries on herself. She has been a
resident of Sherwood township for fifty-two years and has a wide acquaintance in the county. Her farm property is a valuable one, in the midst of
which stands a fine brick residence and in the rear. are good barns and other
substantial outbuildings, while the buildings are surrounded by green fields
giving promise of rich harvests. The home is within the corporation limits
of Sherwood and Mrs. Lowry has many friends in the village as well as
through the outlying districts.
CLARK M. HALL.
Clark M. Hall is a representative of industrial interests in Union City,
where he is carrying on a coopering business. He was born in Sullivan
county, New Hampshire, November IO, I846. His parents were Luther
and Elizabeth (Russell) Hall, the latter a sister of George Russell of Girard, Michigan, now deceased. Captain George Russell of Coldwater was a
son of George Russell. When about ten years of age Mr. Hall went to live
with an uncle, R. M. Russell, in Woodstock, Windsor county, Vermont, remaining with him until December, I863. When he could no longer content
himself at home he responded to the country's call for aid, enlisting in the
Union army as a private of the Third Vermont Light Battery. He continued with his command until after the close of hostilities, returning to his
home in June, I865. He was a soldier in the truest sense of the word. He
was ever ready to do his duty in defense of his country's honor, and he was
present at the siege and battles of Petersburg, Virginia, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Anna and Cold Harbor. His battery was opposite the line
of Petersburg, Virginia, when the great mine explosion occurred,
and  it was the   battery  which  gave the signal for advance.    He
was with the command under General Grant in the Army of the Potomac. He attended the Grand Encampments at Boston, Massachusetts,
Chicago and Detroit, also at Columbus, Ohio.
On his return home Mr. Hall again took up his abode with his uncle, re



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


835


maining with him until April, I875, when he came to Union City and purchased his present cooper shop. He has carried on business on the same site
for thirty years here, having a good patronage, which keeps him constantly
employed and brings to him a gratifying financial return for his labor. Concerning this shop, the following is quoted from one of the local papers:
"The little red school house, so often referred to by those of pioneer
days, has found more than its counterpart in the Red Cooper Shop, of this
city, by the happy associations and comradeships which center around its
old, familiar hearthstone, and which have found expression through the
Red Cooper Shop Camp Fire Association. This association was formed a
number of years ago and at first membership was confined to old war veterans, but of late years many honorary members have been added, and these
enjoy the annual reunions fully as much as do the old comrades. The annual reunion will be held at the customary rendezvous, C. M. Hall's Red
Cooper Shop, on Thursday evening, at which time a banquet will be served
in true old camp-fire style, consisting of chickens, ducks, spareribs and wild
game, roasted before the mammoth fireplace, potatoes baked in the ashes,
and cider and home-made wine to wash them down. The evening will be
spent in song, story, reminiscence and heart-to-heart confidences."
January 25, 1877, Mr. Hall was united in marriage to Miss Fannie Tucker, a daughter of J. B. Tucker, who was at one time a merchant and miller
of Union City and was also vice president of the Union City National Bank
at the time of his death. His varied business enterprises, his unremitting
diligence and his enterprise constituted him a valued resident here, and he
was honored by all who knew him because of his fidelity to manly principles
in private life and his close conformity to a high standard of commercial
ethics. Mrs. Hall was the second of his three children and was born in
Union City, where she obtained her education. She afterward engaged in
teaching school here and since her girlhood days has been recognized as a
leader in social circles, where true worth and intelligence are recognized as
the passports into good society.
Mr. Hall is one of the active workers in Corbin Post, G. A. R., Nb.
88, in which he has served as commander. He was really the founder of
the Corbin Post in Union City, and he has done all possible to make the post
a permanent and live organization. He is a sound Republican and cast his
first presidential vote for the soldier president, Grant.  He is also
treasurer of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Association of southwestern Michigan and has served on General Kesey's staff.  He was also on the department commandery staff in Detroit in I891 and his labors have been effective in advancing the cause of the Grand Army of the Republic. He has
frequently done equal service on important committees and as officer of
the day. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
having joined the organization in 1875, his membership being now with the
lodge  at Coldwater.   Mr. and   Mrs. Hall are stockholders in the
Union   City  National Bank  of Union    City, Michigan.   Mr. Hall
is one whose business career will bear the closest investigation and scrutiny
and the period of his residence in Union City, covering thirty years, consti



836              HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
tutes the era of its greatest growth and development. At all times his aid
could be counted, upon to further public progress, and he stands today as one
of the representative men of his community.
P. J. RATHBURN.
P. J. Rathburn, supervisor of Sherwood township and a leading farmer
living on section twenty, is a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred in
Monroe township, Ashtabula county, that state, on the 26th of February,
I844.  iis father, Joseph Rathburn, was a native of New York and was a
farmer by occupation. He died in Delaware county, Iowa, to which place
he removed about 1857. He was a son of Joseph Rathburn, a native of
Rhode Island and one of the heroes of the Revolutionary war. The mother
of our subject bore the maiden name of Sarah 0. Brown and was a native of
Ohio. Her father was Captain Charles Brown, a sea going man who was
master of a vessel for some years. His birth occurred in England. Mrs.
Rathburn, surviving her husband for some years, died at the home of her
son, P. J. Rathburn, in Sherwood township in her eighty-second year. She
had become the mother of nine children, of whom six are yet living.
P. J. Rathburn, the fourth member and third son of this family, was a
youth of thirteen years when he accompanied his parents to Iowa, but after
the death of the father the family returned to Ohio and thus his youth was
largely passed in Ashtabula county. He obtained a common school education and started out in business life on his own account when fifteen years of
age, not only providing for his own needs but also aiding in the support of
the family. He arrived in Michigan in I867, at which time he located in
Wayne county. In the same year he was married to Miss Margaret Butts, a
daughter of George and Maria (Zellers) Butts, formerly of Pennsylvania
and early settlers of Ohio, whence they came to Michigan. Mrs. Rathburn
was a native of Erie, Pennsylvania. At the time of their marriage Mr. and
Mrs. Rathburn located in Mecosta county, Michigan, where he secured a
tract of government land and with characteristic energy began the development of this unimproved place. He continued its cultivation for eight years
and then sold out, after which he removed to Ionia county, Michigan. The
year 1878 witnessed his arrival in Branch county, where he purchased a
farm in Sherwood township, upon which he is now living. While in the
north of Michigan he was engaged in lumbering and farming, but most of
his life has been devoted to general agricultural pursuits and he now has a
good tract of land of one hundred and ten acres which is well improved
There are substantial buildings upon the place which are surrounded by well
tilled fields and he annually harvests good crops as a reward of his care and
labor.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Rathburn have been born five children, a son and
four daughters: Nathan, who is living in Mecosta county, is married and
has four children, two sons and two daughters, Marjorie O., Herbert N.
Harold J. and Mildred; Cora, the wife of W. E. Harrison of Mecosta county, and they have one little son, Wayne P.; Minnie, the wife of Habey Hass




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


8-37       -


of Newcastle, Pennsylvania; Effie, the wife of 0. F. Thornton of Sherwood
township, and they have a little daughter, Evelyn; and Ettie, who married
William Baker of Sherwood township, and they have two children, Alethea
E. and Paul L. Mr. Rathburn has always taken a great interest in the education of his children and three of his daughters have been successful teachers in Branch county. In politics he is a Republican, interested and active in
the work of the party, and while in northern Michigan he served as treasurer
of his township for many years and in other offices. He has also filled local
positions in Branch county, being supervisor for twelve years of Sherwood
townlship. His interest in public affairs has always been of a helpful character and he is regarded as a valued citizen in the community in which he
makes his home.
EUGENE ENGLE.
Eugene Engle, a practical and leading farmer living on section one,
Sherwood township, was born in Chenango county, New York, September
29, 1845, his parents being John and Julia (Frear) Engle, who were likewise natives of the Empire state, whence they came to Michigan in 1845.
settling in Calhoun county. There they lived in the midst of the forest until the father had cleared and improved a farm. It was upon the old farm
homestead that Eugene Engle spent the days of his boyhood and youth, being the youngest in a family of eleven children. Like the others, he assisted
in the arduous task of developing a new farm and in the public schools obtained his education.
Mr. Engle was married in Tekonsha, Michigan, to Miss Sarah Ensign, a
native of Ohio, after which he began farming on his own account, continuing to care for his parents, however, until they were called to their final rest.
He then sold his farm in Tekonsha, in I88o0, and purchased the place utyon.
which he now resides on section one, Sherwood township, owning here two
hundred and thirty-three acres of land, which constitutes one of the best and
most attractive farms of the county. It is splendidly equipped, having a fine
residence and commodious and substantial barns.  Most of the buildings
have been erected by him and the place is very modern in its equipments,
while the productive soil makes his business profitable, large harvests being
gathered annually. In connection with the tilling of the soil Mr. Engle has
likewise been extensively engaged in the raising of sheep, having now a
flock of about two hundred head on his place. He also raises cattle and is an
excellent judge of stock so that he is enabled to make profitable sales.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Engle have been born eleven children and with the
exception of one who (lied at the age of five years, all are yet living, namely:
George, Rosa, Sanford, Nellie. Clarence, May, Frances, Edith, Chester and
Howard. The daughter Pearl is deceased.
Mr. Engle was a Republican until I896, when he voted for William
Jennings Bryan. He has frequently been solicited to become a candidate for
office, but would never accept political honors. He is independent in his
views, connected with no church or society, although at one time he was a
member of the Farmers' Organization. In I900 he was called upon to mourn




838


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


the loss of his wife, and his daughter May now acts as his housekeeper. The
history of mankind is replete with illustration of the fact that it is only
under adversity and the stimulus of position that the best and strongest in
men are brought out and developed and the life record of Mr. Engle stands
in exemplification of this truth, proving conclusively that any individual
with a reasonable amount of mental and physical power can attain success if
he but has the ambition to put forth his best efforts and the will and manliness to persevere therein. for Mr. Engle at the age of twenty-one years was
without a dollar. 'He had no extraordinary family or pecuniary advantages to
aid him, but has battled earnestly and energetically and by indomitable courage and integrity has achieved both character and fortune.
HIRAM    CRISSiY.
Hiram Crissy, deceased, was a respected citizen of Branch county for
many years and his name is now' upon the roll of its honored dead. He was
born in Binghamton, New York, October 3, I819, his parents being Abram
and Polly Crissv. He was thirteen years of age when he accompanied his
father and mother to the West, the family home being established in Marshall county, Michigan, where he was reared amid the wild scenes of frontier life. The Indians were then more numerous in the state than the white
settlers and the great forests were uncut. Wild animals of various kinds
were seen and wild game could be had in abundance. Mr. Crissy shared with
the others in the hardships and privations of pioneer life but always made
the most of his opportunities. He came to Union City in 1852 and here engaged in the hardware business.  He likewise followed other commercial
enterprises here and at one time was a prominent dry goods merchant and
was also proprietor of a grocery store, enjoying a liberal patronage in those
various lines of business.
In matters of citizenship Mr. Crissey was always public spirited and
progressive, doing everything in his power to advance the material, social,
intellectual and moral welfare of his community. He always gave his political support to the Democratic party and kept well informed on the issues of
the day, but did not care for office. A very prominent and zealous member
of the Protestant Episcopal church, he built a house of worship for that denomination in Union City and was its chief support while he lived. His fraternal relations were with the Masonic lodge.
In early manhood Mr. Crissv was united in marriage to Miss Marth'a
Corbin, who was born in Charleston, Sullivan county, New Hampshire, October I6, 1829. Her father, Ezbond Corbin, was likewise a native of
Charleston and became one of the early settlers of Branch county, spending
his last days in Union City. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Lucretia Howe, was born in Springfield, Vermont. They were the parents: of
eleven children, of whom ten reached adult age. Mrs. Crissy is the twin sister of Mrs. Isaac Tower, whose husband is represented elsewhere in this
work. She came to Union City in I85o and in 1852 gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Crissy. For fifty-five years she has resided here and is one of




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


839


the best known of the early residents of this place. Unto Mr. and Mrs.
Crissy were born three children: Ella, who is living with her mother; Sarah,
the wife of Peter J. Pauley of St. Louis, Missouri; and Frank St. John, who
is a farmer of Calhoun county, Michigan, living about a mile north of Union
City. There is one grandson, Herbert St. John.
Like her husband, Mrs. Crissy holds membership in the Episcopal church,
with which she has been identified since its organization, and her many good
qualities of heart and mind have endeared her to a large circle of friends. Mr.
Crissy departed this life November 25, I891, when seventy-two years of age,
anld thus the county was called upon to mourn the loss of one whom thev had
learned to respect and honor and had come to look upon as a representative
pioneer and reliable business man. The county benefited by his efforts in its
behalf and he was well liked by all who knew him.
FRANCIS J. TOMPKINS.
Francis J. Tompkins is a representative of one of the honored pioneer
families of Girard township and no history of the county would be complete
without mention of the members of this family. He was born on the old
homestead on the I7th of August, 1852, his father being James B. Tompkins
and his mother Eliza Ames. The father was born in Schoharie county, New
York, June 28, I804, where his early life was passed. Seeking the opportunities of the West he came to Michigan in the fall of I830, arriving at Tecumseh, lwhere he remained until July of the following year, spending a goodly
portion of this time in surveying the then unbroken wilderness. He then made
his way to Branch county and located in the township of Girard, which was to
be his home for the remainder of his life. Here he purchased one hundred
and sixty acres of land on sections fifteen and twenty-two, and in later years
he acquired a large acreage in various parts of the township. Here he has
made his home, and here he early made his influence felt in the community and
county. Early in the year of 1832 he returned to Tecumseh and married
Eliza Ames, the fifth child in a family of twelve children, their parents being
William Ames and Polly Brownell, natives of Vermont, where Eliza was borni
in the town of Colchester, Chittenden county, March 3, I813. William Ames
was born August I8, 1777, and was a member of the Ames family which
gave many prominent citizens to the United States. He died April 4, 1840.
James and Eliza (Ames) Tompkins immediately returned to Girard after
their marriage. The township was not then the blooming and fertile country
now seen here. Instead there was an almost unbroken wilderness, while
bands of the Pottowatomie Indians made this their favorite stopping place.
The young couple braved the many privations and hardships incident to pioneer life, and they made for themselves a comfortable home and raised a large
family of children. Three of these children died in infancy. Martin died at
the age of twenty years: Emma Tompkins Vanderlip died in I897 and William A. Tompkins died July 13, I905. Those still living are J. Theron Tompkins, Francis J. Tompkins and Mrs. Adaline Tompkins Granger, all of Girard.
Mr. Tompkins was a competent surveyor and during the earlier years of his




840


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


residence here his services were in almost constant demand. Mr. Tompkins
was the first supervisor of Girard township when it was organized in 1834.
and he served his township in that capacity for sixteen years. He also filled
nearly every other township office repeatedly and represented his county in
the state legislature in I854. His life was filled with good works and his
death, which occurred August I, I879, was deeply deplored. His wife, who
was loved by scores of relatives and hundreds of warm, personal friends, lived
to a good old age, retaining her faculties to the last and passing away Decemher 6, 1902, when nearly ninety years of age.
Francis J. Tompkins spent his entire life in the county of his nativity,
working in the fields from his early boyhood days and thus assisting his father
in the care and labor of the old home farm. He has never desired to seek employment in other departments of labor but has become a substantial farmer as
the years have gone by and now resides upon the old Tompkins homestead,
which was among the first properties improved in this portion of the state. In
his farm work he is enterprising, systematic and progressive and everything
about his place is indicative of the careful supervision of a painstaking owner.
On the 27th of October, 1875, Mr. Tompkins was married to Miss Lizzie
M. Tappenden, who was born in Palmyra, New York, March 27, I86o, and is
a daughter of Thomas and Amelia (Hollenbeck) Tappenden, who were residents of New York, Illinois and Ohio successively before coming to Michigan. In the vear I862 they settled in Girard township. Mrs. Tompkins can
trace her lineage to the landing of the Mayflower at Plymouth, Massachusetts.
in I620, the genealogy being as follows: John Alden married Priscilla Williams; John Alden's seventh child, Ruth Alden, married John Bass; John
Bass' sixth child, Mary Bass, married William Copeland; William Copeland's
ninth child, Mary Copeland, married Ephrian Jones; Ephrian Jones' second
child, Moses Jones, married Dorothy Thayer; Moses Jones' third child, John
Jones, married Nancy Mallory; John Jones' eighth child, Lucy Jones, married
Casper Hollenbeck; Casper Hollenbeck's fourth child, Amelia Hollenbeck,
married Thomas Tappenden; Thomas Tappenden's first child, Lizzie Tappenden, married Francis Tompkins. Mr. Thomas Tappenden was born in the
Empire state, January 1, 1839, while his wife was born at Hillsdale, New
York, on the 5th of June, I840, and died in Girard township August 7, I874.
Mr. Tappenden, however, is still living and yet makes his home in Girard
township. While in his native state he followed the business of distilling and
since coming to Michigan has devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits. In
his family were two daughters and two sons, namely: Mrs. F. J. Tompkins,
who is living in Girard; Mrs. Lucy Goff, of Tekonsha, Michigan; William
Tappenden, who makes his home in Cleveland, Ohio; and George Tappenden,
a resident of Detroit.
The'home of Mr. and Mrs. Tompkins has been blessed with four children, namelv: Mrs. Bessie A. Buys, who finished the eighth grade in school;
Mrs. Clara B. Corey, who has finished school and received her diploma in the
class of I899; Lida F., who received her diploma in I904, and has taken instrumental music and is a member of "The Tompkins Orchestra," her instru



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


841


ment being the piano; and Arlene, who is in the third grade, the last two
named being at home.
Mr. Tompkins exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and
measures of the Republican party, and has frequently been called to public office, serving for two terms as township treasurer, also as school director and
in other local positions of trust and responsibility, the duties of which he has
discharged in a capable manner. The work of development and improvement
which was instituted by his father has been carried forward by him. Four
generations of the Tompkins family have lived in this county and they have
ever been people of the greatest worth and respectability, loyal in citizenship
and honorable in private life.
FLOYD E. SOUTHWORTH.
Floyd E. Southworth, owning and operating a well improved farm on
section two, Coldwater township, was born upon this place on the 25th of August, 1859. His paternal grandparents were Norman and Honor (Gardner)
Sonthworth, who were natives of Massachusetts, whence they removed to
Ontario county, New York, about 1822. In the '5os they came to Michigan
and spent their remaining cays in this state. Their son, James B. Southworth, was born in Hancock, Massachusetts, in I8i6 and was a lad of six
summers -when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Ontario county, New York. There he resided until I849, when he sought a home in Michigan. He had leen married in the Empire state to Miss Alta Whitney, who
was born in Genesee county, New York, in I824. Her parents, who died in
New York, had come from Connecticut ancestry and had removed from that
state to New York. On reaching Michigan James B. Southworth took up his
abode on section two, Coldwater township, where he cleared and improved a
farm of eighty acres, living an active and useful life. In his political affiliation he was a Whig until the dissolution of that party, when he joined the
ranks of the Republican party. He held various township offices, including
that of drain commissioner, highway commissioner and justice of the peace
and he was a prominent and influential citizen of Branch county in the middle
portion of the nineteenth century. Both he and his wife held membership in
the Episcopal church and were held in the highest regard by all who knew
them. Mr. Southxvorth passed away on the i6th of June, I892, having long
survived his wife, who died on the i8th of September, 1870. In their family
were four children: Sarah, who died in Coldwater in childhood; Floyd, of this
review; Mrs. Alice Root, who is living in Coldwater, and Mark, who resides
in Quincy.
Floyd E. Southworth spent the days of his childhood and youth on the
old family homestead, where he was trained to the practical work of the farm,
and as the years passed by he more and more largely assumed the management
of the place and has ultimately become the owner of the property. In his political views lie has always been a stalwart Republican. His religious faith is
indicated by his membership in the Episcopal church. The Southworths are
amcng the -highly esteemed people of Branch county, where the family home




842


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


has been maintained for over half a century and Mr. Southworth of this review fully sustains the excellent reputation which has always been borne by
those of his name. He keeps the homestead farm in an excellent state of cultivation, and it is well improved with good buildings and all modern accessories,
while in its neat and thrifty appearance it indicates his careful supervision and
able efforts.
CAPTAIN ED E. LEWIS.
Captain Ed E. Lewis, a prominent farmer residing on section twelve, Batavia township, was born in Orleans county, New York, May 6, 1838. His
father, William Lewis, was a native of the Empire state, spent his youth there
and in I839 came to Michigan, locating near Homer, in Calhoun county. He
was a son of William Lewis, also a native of Massachusetts and of Welch descent, the family, however, having been established in America at an early
period in its colonization. After removing to Illinois William Lewis, Jr.,
became the owner of a carding mill and sawmill, and in addition to industrial
pursuits also carried on farming. About 1848 he removed from Calhoun
county to Coldwater, Branch county, where he engaged in the livery business
for about fifteen years, or until 1859, when he took up his abode on a farm in
Kinderhook township, purchasing a tract of land which was partially improved. There he resided until I864, when he located on a farm in Coldwater
township, which he sold in I866, removing at that time to Elkhart, Indiana,
where he died in his sixty-fifth year. His early political support was given to
the Democracy, but at the outbreak of the Civil war he became a supporter of
the Republican party, which was the defender of the Union during the dark
days of severe strife. He held the office of justice of the peace but was not
active in his search for political preferment. He married Miss Mary Scoville,
a native of New York, who passed away, at the age of forty-two years. In
their family were four daughters and three sons and five of the number
reached adult age, while three are yet living, Francis and Helen both being
residents of this county.
Ed E. Lewis of this review was the third child and second son and was
only a year old when taken by his parents from New York to Calhoun county,
Michigan. He remained at home as his father's assistant during the period of
his minority and was educated in the public schools of Coldwater and the district schools of Kinderhook township. In April, I86I, when twenty-two years
of age, he offered his services to the government, enlisting for three months as
a member of Company C, First Michigan Infantry. He had watched with interest the progress of events in the South, had noted its threatening attitude
and resolved that if a blow was struck at the Union he would stand firmly in
its defense. Accordingly he at once offered his aid to the government. He
was the smallest man in his company, but his size was no criterion of his loyalty and bravery. After serving for the first term of enlistment-three
months-he re-enlisted in Battery G of the First Michigan Light Artillery as
a sergeant, afterward became second lieutenant and later was made first lieutenant and captain of his company, with which he served until after the close
of hostilities in August, 1865, being mustered out at Jackson, Michigan, with




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


843


the rank of captain. His promotion came to him in recognition of his faithful
and meritorious service on the field of battle, for he was always a brave soldier, inspiring the men under him with his own valor and courage. He participated in a number of sanguinary engagements, including the battles of
Tazwell, Caney Bottom, Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post. the siege of Vicksbuig, the battles of Grand Gulf, Point Gibson, Champion Hill and Black River
Bridge. Following the siege of Vicksburg he went to Jackson, Mississippi,
and later returned to Vicksburg, after which he went over to Carlton, Louisiana, and on to Brazos and San Antonio, Texas, remaining in the Lone Star
state until May, I864. He afterward returned to Louisiana and in April,
I865, the Battery embarked for Fort Morgan on Mobile Bay, and he participated in the siege of Mobile until the I9th of July, being present at the great
explosion. The war having ended he returned to Michigan, where he was
honorably discharged. He was not absent from service save for thirty days
during his four years' connection with the army and was never in the hospital.
During the three months of his term of enlistment he participated in the battle
of Bull Run and the first rebel prisoners were taken by his regiment. Gladly
he returned to his home when peace was declared, for he had experienced all
the hardships and dangers that are meted out to a soldier. Captain Lewis was
present at Alexandria, Virginia, when Ellsworth, the brave officer, was shot.
A few moments afterwards he was in the hotel where the tragedy occurred.
In I866 Mr. Lewis went to Elkhart, Indiana, where he was engaged in
the manufacture of sash, doors and blinds, there remaining in business until
1870, when he returned to Coldwater, where he conducted a window shade
factory. About 1875, however, he sold out and began dealing in fruit trees,
so continuing until I888, when he bought a farm in Batavia township, where
he has since resided. His persistency of purpose and unfaltering energy have
been the basis of his success and in his agricultural interests he has shown excellent management and keen discernment.
December 2I, I865, Mr. Lewis was united in marriage to Miss Anna M.
Garvin, a daughter of John and Emily (Goodnow) Garvin. Mrs. Lewis died
October 2, I887. There were four children of that marriage: Fred S., now
living in San Francisco, California; Kate E., the wife of Arthur Sanders, of
Batavia township; Helen F., a resident of Toledo, Ohio; and William J., who
died on the 9th of August, 1877. For his second wife Mr. Lewis chose Miss
Mina L. Gruner, a daughter of Wengel Gruner. There was one child by this
marriage, Anna, now at home. The wife and mother died January 7, I89'6,
and on that occasion the following lines appeared in one of the local papers:
"A happy home was made desolate by death last Tuesday night, and the
lifeless babe that would have been pressed against the warm bosom of a devoted mother was placed in her cold arms and thus mother and child sleep the
dreamless sleep of those forever at rest under the snowv in Oak Grove Cemetery, with the baby face pressed lovingly against hers. Mrs. Lewis was taken
ill Monday by severe pains in the head, caused by uremic poisoning, and died
Tuesday evening at o1 o'clock.
"The deceased was born near the spot where her life ended, and her pleasant ways, helpful kindness, amiable disposition and loving character made her




844


I-Hi STORY - OF BRANCH COUNTY


a universal favorite among the friends she had lived with from childhood to
womanhood. She was a devoted wife and fond mother, and is survived by her
husband and a daughter five years old. The deceased was a member of the
Presbyterian church, and her church life was consistent and exemplary.
"Miss Mina L. Gruner was born April 25, I86o, and was united in marriage with Mr. Edwin E. Lewis in October, 1889, and their home has always
been on the farm in Coldwater township. The funeral was held at the house
Friday afternoon at I o'clock, and the bearers were her three brothers, Ward,
Bart and Starr Gruner, and her relatives, S. T. Vesey, William Mitchell and
Frank Gruner. Rev. H. P. Collin officiated at the funeral and the choir composed of her friends-Dr. Andrews, Prof. Harriman, Mrs. Carpenter and
Mrs. Ball-sang the solemn requiem at the sepulcher."
The home farm of Mr. Lewis comprised at one time one hundred and
forty-five acres, but he has since disposed of much of this and only retains
possession of a small tract at the present writing. In politics he has been
a life-long Republican, unfaltering in his advocacy of the men and measures
of the party. He belongs to Butterworth Post, G. A. R., and in 19o12 he was
appointed a member of the Vicksburg Military Commission by Governor
Bliss, and is still acting in that capacity. The object of this commission is
to locate the position occupied during the siege of Vicksburg by the different
Michigan organizations.  Captain Lewis has served as justice of the peace
and school inspector. Fraternally he was connected with the Ancient Order
of United Workmen at Coldwater and he has a wide and favorable acquaintance in business, social and political circles. His life has been characterized
by many sterling traits and in his relations with his fellowmen he has been
just and honorable, while in all matters of citizenship he has displayed the
same loyal spirit which characterized his performance of duty upon southern
battle-fields and won him merited promotion.
OLIVER C. CAMPBELL.
Oliver C. Campbell, to whom has been entrusted public service, was
sheriff of the county during the years of I884-85-86-87 and from T897 to
1898, inclusive, and the consensus of opinion regarding his incumbency was
extremely favorable.  He has a large circle of friends in Union City and
Branch county and his life record cannot fail to prove of interest therefore
to many of our readers. A native of Pennsylvania, he was born in Pottsville. Schuylkill county, on the ist of October, 1845.  His father, 0. S.
Campbell, who was of Scotch descent, was also a native of Pennsylvania,
learning and following the millwright's trade, and in connection with that
pursuit carried on farming. He married Miss Eliza Deitz, who was also a
native of Pennsylvania. and was of German lineage.
0. C. Campbell, the eldest son and second child in their family of six
children, was reared in the place of his nativity until eighteen years of age,
and then leaving his father's home he entered upon an apprenticeship to the
carpenter's trade. Hoping that still better advantages might be enjoyed in
the west, he came to Branch county in I866, locating in Union City, where




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


845


he began contracting and building, following this calling in Sherwood, Homer,
Burlington, Tekonsha, Union City and other places. He has erected many
schoolhouses, business blocks and private dwellings, and has undoubtedly done
more building than any man in the county. He early displayed a thorough
understanding of the builder's trade and accuracy in workmanship, reliability
in trade transactions and the conscientious performance of his duties secured
him a constantly growing patronage. and to-day in various parts of the county
there are fine structures which stand as monuments of his enterprise and skill.
Active, too, in public life Mr. Campbell, whose ability for leadership is
recognized, was called to the office of sheriff in the fall of 1883, and after
serving for two years he was re-elected for a second term. In I890 he carried
the county for state senator against A. Milnes. of Coldwater, and in i896 he
was once more elected sheriff, serving in the years of 1897 and I898. In the
performance of duty he is unbiased by either fear or favor, giving his whole
time to the suppression of lawlessness and crime in Branch county and the
favorable opinion which was expressed concerning his service at the outset of
his administration was in no degree set aside or modified during the incumbency in the office. In his political faith he is a Democrat. In I87o he assisted
in the organization of the Greenback party in Branch county, but he now gives
unfaltering allegiance to the Democracy. The county has a normal Republican
majority of about three thousand, and Mr. Campbell is the only Democrat ever
elected to the office of sheriff here. His first election gave him a majority of
only forty-seven and his second a majority of over seven hundred. Certainly
no higher testimonial of capability in office could be given than this flattering
vote. He made a record of putting more criminals in the penitentiary than
any other sheriff in the state of Michigan, and no law-breaker ever escaped
when Mr. Campbell sought to place him behind the bars!. It was he who
arrested the notorious Joe Howard, one of the three men who robbed the Coldwater Bank in daylight, Mr. Campbell capturing him on Chestnut street in
Philadelphia, when he was planning and arranging with others to rob a savings
bank of that city. This notorious "Joe Howard," known well in the criminal
annals of different parts of the United States, is at the present time (I905)
a prisoner in Vienna, Austria. and Mr. Campbell has compiled a review of this
criminal's meanderings for the consulate, which is now in the hands of that
high official. He sent twenty-three horse thieves to prison in one year and he
became a menace to all evil-doers, while those who hold themselves amenable
to law look upon him with a feeling of security.
His renown reaches almost that of national importance as a sleuth after
criminals, and his successful capture of the robber, as well as the stolen goods.
Mrs. Campbell, his little wife, is as well known for her bravery and fearlessness as her husband. Many have been the times when she was left in full
charge of the prison in the absence of her husband, and in all cases and circumstances she acquitted herself well worthy of her steel and courage. Mr.
Campbell's narratives of his dangerous trips or pursuits after criminals read
like the stories of daring Dick Turpen and are intensely interesting, since they
came under his administrations in old Branch county. Too much cannot be




846


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


said of the daring and courage of Mr. Campbell as sheriff of the county of
Branch.
On the 21st of October, I868, occurred the marriage of Mr. Campbell
and Miss Ellen M. Roe, a daughter of Samuel and Phila (McDonald) Roe,
both of whom were natives of New York, whence they came to Branch county
about I838, casting in their lot with the pioneer settlers here. Mrs. Campbell
was born in Union township upon the old farm homestead, about a mile southeast of Union City, July 25, I847, and is the youngest of four children, all
of whom were born in leap year, or four years apart, one being born in the
spring, a second in the fall, a third in the winter, while Mrs. Campbell's birth
occurred in the summer. The eldest and youngest were daughters, while the
others were sons. The sons are now deceased, but both daughters are living,
the sister being Mrs. Cordelia Scott Thatcher, of Coldwater. In the paternal
line Mrs. Campbell comes of Scotch lineage and in the maternal line of German descent. Mrs. Campbell has in her possession an old book which has been
handed down from the McDonald family, published in I798, a year before
General Washington's death. This is an old heirloom in the home of Mr. and
Mrs. Campbell. One son has been born unto our subject and his wife. who
died in infancy, but they have an adopted daughter, Viva A., who is still with
them. She has passed most of the high school work, and has taken both vocal
and instrumental music, and is an active worker in both church and Sabbath
school. Mr. Campbell belongs to the Masonic fraternity and has taken the
degrees of Royal Arch and Knight Templar Masonry. He likewise is identified with other fraternal organizations. He now owns two good farms and
is well-to-do, having four good houses and other property in Union City. He
started out in life empty-handed, but as a contractor and builder won a handsome competence. In all life's relations, public or private, in business circles,
in public office, or amid the relationships of his own home, he has so lived as
to gain the unqualified regard of his fellowmen.
WILLIAM HENRY GATTSCHALK.
William Henry Gattschalk, the well known citizen of Quincy, where he
is an extensive dealer in wooal and lumber, was born in Prussia in I85o.
Having come to America during boyhood, he is identified by many years of
residence with this country and is a German-American of those stanch and
enterprising qualities that form the firmest fibres of our citizenship.
His father, Karl Frederick, and his mother, Sophia (Hildebrand) Gattschalk, came from their native fatherland to the United States in i865, settling
in Algansee township, Branch county. The father had been an officer in the
Prussian army, and in this county followed the occupation of farmer, living
on his homestead in Algansee township until his death in I876, when sixty
years old. He was an industrious and God-fearing man, a member of the
Lutheran church, as was also his wife, and during the years of his American
citizenship he voted the Republican ticket and fulfilled his duties to family
and society in a manner that leaves his record unblemished in the memory.
There were ten children born to him and his wife, and those living at this




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


847


time are: Karl H., who lives on a farm in Algansee township; Christina, the
wife of Mornac Wilson, a confectioner in Chicago; August, a locomotive
engineer, living in Chicago; and William H.
The schools of the German fatherland furnished Mr. Gattschalk his education, and, being reared on a farm, he thoroughly understood its duties, even
before coming to America. He was fifteen years old when the family crossed
the waters, and it was not long after that he entered upon his independent
career. Farming has been his life work, and his success has been the result
of industry and shrewd business management, the latter quality being as
essential in agriculture as in business or finance. Although he retired from
the farm and moved to Quincy in 1894, he still owns a beautiful farm of one
hundred and ten acres in Algansee township, and also has a nice home in town.
Mr. Gattschalk was married in I876 to Minnie Bartel. She is also a
native of Germany, born in I856, and her parents, William and Christina
(Leder) Bartel, came to the United States in 1870, settling first in Cleveland,
Ohio, and later moving to Algansee township. Her father was a successful
farmer, and died suddenly in November, I905. Mrs. Gattschalk is one of six
children, namely: Lena, the wife of Carl Hacker, a farmer in Algansee township; Mary, the wife of Karl Gattschalk, a farmer of Algansee township, who
is mentioned above as the brother of W. H. Gattschalk; Fred, a farmer in
Litchfield township, Hillsdale county; William, a farmer in Algansee township; and Bertha, at home with her parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Gattschalk have three children. Martha is the wife of
Eugene Widner, a lock expert for the Mossler-Bauman Safe Company;
Wilhelmina is at home; and Karl is a student in the University of Michigan,
studying electrical engineering. Mr. Gattschalk and his wife are members of
the Lutheran church, in which he is an official, and in his township he has
served as treasurer. His politics is Republican.
ANTON GRUNER.
Anton Gruner, deceased, was long identified with the interests of Branch
county. The Gruners come of an old German family, members of which
arrived in Branch county in the '4os and '5os, leaving many descendants here
who are numbered among the best people of this. part of the state. Anton
Gruner was a native of Austria and a son of Franz Gruner, who crossed the
Atlantic to New York from Austria in I854. His wife bore the maiden name
of Katrina Berkman and thev had seven children: Franz; Anton; Mrs. Anna
Adolph, who died in Girard township: Mrs. Katherine Luh, who died in
Union township; Weenzel, who died in Coldwater; Joseph, who died in
Auburn, New York; and Karl, who is now living in Germany. The parents
settled on section seven, Coldwater township, on coming to Branch county,
Michigan, and here Franz Gruner passed away in I856, while his wife died
in I86i.
Anton Gruner was married to Miss Caroline Piltz, also a native of Germany, whence she came to America with her mother, brothers and sisters, the
other children of the household being: Mrs. Lena Graft, who died in this




848


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


county; Karl, who was killed while serving as a soldier of the Union army in
the Civil war; William, who is living in Batavia township; Franz, who died
in Germany; and Mrs. Mary Hoffman, who died in Coldwater. Unto Anton
cnd Caroline Gruner were born four children, all of whom are yet living,
namely: Frank, more extended mention of whom will be found below; Mrs.
Lena Cooley, of Batavia township; Charles, of Girard township; and Edwin,
who is living in the township of Coldwater. Anton Gruner cleared much
land in this county and at one time was the owner of several hundred acres,
constituting a valuable property.  The present homestead farm now comprises two hundred acres of fertile land, which is improved with good buildings. He died on the 7th of May, I896, while his wife departed this life on
the 3oth of May, I905.
Frank Gruner was born in Coldwater township, August 2, I858, and is
a representative of one of the old and worthy families of Branch county. He
has spent his entire life on the old homestead farm in Coldwater township
and is regarded as one of the progressive agriculturists of this locality. He
has never married and he lived with his mother until her death at a recent
date. He is a man of intelligence, thoroughly posted upon public interests of
local and national importance and, like his father, is a stanch Republican,
giving unfaltering allegiance to the party. He has served as a member of the
township board of review and as moderator of the school district, and no trust
reposed in him has ever been betrayed in the slightest degree. The Gruners
are among the most highly esteemed residents of Branch county, are large
property owners, people of good business ability and are held in high esteem,
JONATHAN JOHNSON.
Jonathan Johnson, who is interested in farming pursuits in Union township, was born in Cayuga county, New York, November 14, I8'34. His
father, Timothy Johnson, was a native of New Jersey, and was one of the
early settlers of Cayuga county, where he followed the occupation of farming
until his removal to Hillsdale county, Michigan, about I837. He located there
on a farm and throughout his remaining days carried on agricultural pursuits
in that locality, his last days being passed in Wright township, where he died
at the age of sixty-four years. He was in the War of 1812, participating in
the battle of Fort Erie, and having been taken sick in army, came near dying.
In her maidenhood, his wife bore the name of Jane Kellogg and was a native
of New York, where her girlhood days were passed. She lived to be about
sixty-four years of age. In their family were nine children, all of whom
reached adult age, but only three are now living: R. N., of Detroit; Jonathan;
and Mrs. Courser, of Lenawee county, Michigan.
Jonathan Johnson, the seventh member of the family, was only two years
old when he came to Michigan, and upon the home farm in Wright township
he was reared. He obtained his education in pne of the old-time log schoolhouses, walking a mile and a quarter through the woods, following an old
trail, for there were no roads at that time. When school was not in session
he assisted in the operation of the home farm and he continued to give his




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


849


father the benefit of his services throughout the period of his minority. In
I86o he was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Glazer, a daughter of Jacob
M. Glazer, who was one of the pioneer settlers of Union township, Branch
county. She was born upon the farm in Union township that is now owned
by Mr. Johnson and which is still known as the J. M. Glazer farm. Her
father entered the land from the government in I835, and at once began to
clear and cultivate the place, upon which not a furrow had been turned or an
improvement made.
Following his marriage, Mr. Johnson lived in Hillsdale county for about
a year and then located on the farm which has since been his home in Union
township. They were the parents of two sons, but one died in infancy. The
other, Leo L., resides upon the old homestead, where he was born. He wedded
Ida Hoeltcel, and they became the parents of two daughters, Beatrice and
Dorothea.
Jonathan Johnson has been a resident of Union township for forty-four
years and his wife has spent her entire life here. His farm comprises two
hundred and ten acres of rich land, which he has placed under a high state
of cultivation, so that the farm annually returns him a gratifying income. He
has given his attention during the greater part of his life to agricultural pursuits and yet has conducted other business interests. He was proprietor of
the Johnson House in Union City for eleven years and carried on merchandising for about four years. He also built the first planing and sawmill
in Union City and operated the plant for about twio years. He is engaged in
the stock business, buying and shipping for four years, and his varied activities
have contributed to the business development of his part of the county. In
politics he is a Democrat and in the Masonic fraternity he has taken the degrees
of the lodge, council and chapter. His interest in public affairs is that of a
public-spirited citizen, who co-operates in every measure that he deems will
prove of general good. He belongs to that class of representative men who.
while promoting individual success also advances the general prosperity.
MORTIMER VOSBURGH.
Mortimer Vosburgh, well known as justice of the peace at Union City,
was born in Yates county, New York, April 23, I834. His father, Martin
Vosburgh, was a native of Columbia county, New York, and was a shoemaker by trade. He followed that occupation in connection with farming
and died in Orleans county, his native state, March 20, I840. His wife bore
the maiden name of Rachel Robison, and was born in Columbia county, New
York, while her death occurred when she had reached the age of eighty-seven
years.
Squire Mortimer Vosburgh is the last surviving member of a family of
twelve children. In his boyhood days he accompanied his parents on their
removal to Orleans county, New York, and afterward to Niagara county,
where he was reared and made his home until September, 1854. A
young man of twenty years, he then came to Branch county, Michigan,
where he also turned his attention to farming, which he followed for about




850


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


ten years, after which he came to Union City. He has been prominent in
public life here, acting as postmaster by appointment of President Hayes for
five years and giving to the city a business-like administration of the affairs
of the office. In I882 he was appointed railway mail-clerk, but becoming disabled in the service he resigned. He afterward engaged in the jewelry business in Union City for about five years and in the meantime he was called to
other public office, serving as supervisor of Union township for five years.
He has -also been justice of the peace for thirty consecutive years and few in
the state have so long filled a similar office.  He is township clerk at the
present writing, in 1905, and has acted in this capacity for twenty years. He
has also been assessor for eighteen successive years and at one time he served
as justice of the peace, township clerk, supervisor and assessor. Every trust
reposed in him is faithfully discharged and he is equally prompt and reliable
in meeting every obligation of public or private life.
Mr. Vosburgh was married in 1857 to Miss Mary E. Burnett, and they
had two daughters, but both are now deceased.   For his second wife he
chose Marian E. Pixley. Mr. Vosburgh is prominent in local Masonic circles,
having taken the degrees of the lodge, chapter and council, and he also belongs
to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has filled all of the
chairs with the local organization and some of the offices in the grand lodge.
He has been initiated into the Knights of the Maccabees and therein has filled
all the different official positions. He has been a stalwart Republican since
casting his vote for the first presidential nominee of the party, John C. Fremont. He attended the meeting which was held under the oaks where the
party was organized at Jackson, Michigan, and he has since been loyal to its
welfare, doing all in his power to promote its growth and insure its success.
Few men are more widely known in Union City and in the county than
Mortimer Vosburgh, and because he has so long figured in public life his
history is well known to his fellow townsmen. Over the record of his career
there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil, and such a career restores
one's faith in his fellowmen at an age when so much is said-and often with
truth-of the corruption in politics.
PERRY J. BUELL.
Perry J. Buell is the senior member of the firm of Buell & Boyer, dealers
in lumber, tile, brick and general building materials. He is one of the younger
members of trade relations in Union City, and is a native son of this place,
his birth having here occurred October 15, I870. His parents are M. F. and
Mary J. (Perry) Buell. He began his education at the usual age in the common schools and passed through consecutive grades until he had become well
qualified by mental discipline for the labors which devolve upon one as he
enters the business world. After leaving school Mr. Buell was associated
with his father in the employ of the Michigan Central Railroad Company as
assistant and weigh clerk at the station here, acting in that capacity for eight
years, and in February, 1903, he formed a partnership with Clinton C. Boyer
in the business in which they are now conducting. They have a well equipped




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


851


lumber yard, also deal quite extensively in tile, brick and general building
materials, and they have won a patronage that is accorded them in recognition
of their honorable business methods and earnest desire to please their customers.
Mr. Buell was married June 19,, I9g0, to Miss Byrdie Gaw, a daughter
of George H. and Harriet (Wadsworth) Gaw. Mrs. Buell was born April I,
1872, and was reared in Ohio, and by her marriage has become the mother
of one son, Martin F. Mr. Buell exercises his right of franchise in support
of the Republican party and its principles and is deeply interested in its
success. He was for two years a member of the council of Union City, but
his activity in public affairs is that of a man who desires the adoption of
principles rather than seeks his own personal advancement. He is a member
of the Masonic fraternity and is now master of Union Lodge, No. 28, and
has entered his name on the membership roll of the Ancient Order of United
Workmen and he is active in that organization. He had little assistance at
the outset of his business career in the way of financial aid and his history
therefore is an illustration of what ability, energy and force of character can
accomplish.
MRS. LOUISA SHEDD.
Mrs. Louisa Shedd, making her home in the village of Tekonsha, is a
representative of one of the oldest pioneer families of Branch county. She
was born in Richmond, Ontario county, New York, on the IIth of August,
I850, a daughter of Robert and Amelia (Peabody) Eldred. The father was
born in New York, June Io, 1804, while the mother's birth occurred in the
same state, April 2I, I808. They were married at Candice, New York, on
the Ioth of May, 1827, and in 1852 came to Michigan'with their ten children,
namely: Mrs. Sally M. Walker, who is still living in Girard township;
Alvah D. Eldred, who died in Tekonsha, Michigan, January 30, I903; Mrs.
Mary Markham, who died in Girard township, April 23, 1872; Isaac, who
died in New York, at the age of fourteen years; Lewis S., who is now living
in Tekonsha; Joseph G., a resident of Quincy, this state; Mrs. Almira Bartlett,
living in Girard township; R. Elon, who makes his home in Tekonsha;
Albert M., living in Colon, Michigan; and Mrs. Louisa Shedd.
On coming to Michigan the family home was established in Tekonsha,
on the border line of Girard township. There the mother died April 27,' 860,
and on the 29th of January, I86i, Robert Eldred married Laura Peabody,
a sister of his first wife. His death occurred March 2I, I886, while his second
wife died July 17, I890.
Louisa Eldred was only two years old when brought by her parents to
Branch county, and in their home she spent her girlhood days, while in the
public schools she acquired her education. On the 4th of October, 1871, she
gave her hand in marriage to Samuel Shedd. who was born in Tekonsha, July
24, I44, a son of Ranodyne Shedd, one of the earliest settlers of Calhoun
county, Michigan. He had been previously married, on the 24th of February,
I869, to Miss Nellie Blashfield, of Clarendon, who died October 2, 1870,
while their only child died in infancy. Unto Samuel and Louisa Shedd were




852


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


born six children: John, born July 22, 1885, died March 21, I898, at the
age of twelve years; Jay, born September 22, 1872, and now living at Bay
City, Michigan, married Lettie Loring and has two children, Loren and
Gladys; Phoebe A. Shedd, born June 21, 1874, is the wife of Harry Williams,
of Tekonsha, and has three children, Leila, Alvin and Fern; Nellie A. Shedd,
born November i, I876, is the wife of Arah Shumway, of Tekonsha, and has
three children, Ned, Carl and Marion; Ward R. Shedd, born July 8, I879, is
an instructor in the Michigan Agricultural College, at Lansing; Bert, born
August 7, I88i, is at home with his mother.
Samuel Shedd was one of thee most extensive and prosperous farmers
of Girard township, being connected with agricultural interests for many
years and owning and operating three hundred acres of land in Girard and
Tekonsha townships. In all of his business affairs he was enterprising and
progressive and he kept in touch with the most advanced ideas of modern
scientific farming. Moreover he found time to further many interests for the
public good and for a long period did effective service for the cause of education as a school officer, and also served on the board of review. Fraternally he
was a Mason and a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and
he also belonged to the Grange. He commanded the respect of his fellow
townsmen in an unqualified degree and won their admiration by reason of
his well conducted and successful business interests. He was loval in citizenship, faithful in friendship and reliable in business transactions, yet the best
traits of his character were reserved for his own family and fireside. After a
very brief illness he passed away September 29, I899.
Mrs. Shedd directs the operations of her several farms, and although
she had no previous business training or experience she has displayed much
capability in the management of her interests since her husband's death. For
the past few years she has lived in the village of Tekonsha, where she has a
comfortable home. By birth and marriage she is connected with two of the
oldest pioneer families of this part of the state, and she has a wide and favorable acquaintance.
J. J. BANFORD.
J. J. Banford, the pioneer harness manufacturer of Union City, was born
in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, December 24, I844. His father, John
Banford, was a native of Maryland, in which state he was reared and educated.
He became a drover and cattleman, purchasing cattle in various localities,
which he drove to Baltimore and then sold in the city market. On one of his
trips he was murdered before his son, J. J. Banford, was born. His wife bore
the maiden name of Catherine Eckis, and following the death of her first
husband she married James Welch. Her death occurred in I862.
J. J. Banford- spent the days of his boyhood and youth with his mother
and acquired a common school education. In January, I864, when a little
more than nineteen years of age, he responded to the country's call for aid,
enlisting with the boys in blue of Battery H, First Michigan Light Artillery,
with which he served until the close of the war, proving a brave and valiant




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


853


soldier. With a capital military record he returned to his home, and in I865
he became connected with the harness business at Berrien Springs, Michigan,
serving a regular apprenticeship. When his term of indenture was ended he
traveled through the country, working as a journeyman, and in I87o he settled
in Union City, where he entered the employ of E. L. Lee. Subsequently he
went to Homer, where he establishd a harness business, but in I878 he returned
to Union City, where he has since conducted business on his own account in
the line of his trade.
In 1872 Mr. Banford was united in marriage to Miss Celinda Sage, of
Stryker, Ohio. The only child of this marriage died in infancy, and Mrs.
Banford passed away March 13, I873. On June 7, I874, Mr. Banford married again, his second union being with Lydia S. Van Deuser. They have
two daughters, Jessie Belle and Flora.
Mr. Banford has always taken an active interest in political matters and
gives an unfaltering support to the Republican party. He has been a member
of the council for about seven years and has exercised his official prerogatives
in support of all that pertains to the upbuilding and welfare of his community.
He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the Knight
Templar degree and he also has membership relations with the Knights of
the Maccabees, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and Corbin post, No.
88, G. A. R., in all of which he has filled offices. He has been a resident of
Union City for thirty-five years and there is to-day no harnessmaker here
whose arrival antedates his. He has long been accorded a liberal patronage
and as the years have gone by he has gained the success which should ever
follow' close, persistent and honorable effort. Undoubtedly one element of
his advancement is the fact that he has persevered in the course in which as a
young tradesman he embarked. Gaining a thorough knowledge of the business in early life, he was well qualified for the task which he undertook; his
excellent workmanship and straightforward dealing have made him one of
the prosperous manufacturers of Union City.
CICERO J. HOLMES.
Cicero J. Holmes, one of the wealthy farmers and influential citizens of
Branch county, Michigan. was born in Bronson, this county, November 13,
I844, a son of pioneer residents. His parents, Jonathan and Mary (Taggart)
Holmes, natives respectively of Peterboro and Dublin, New Hampshire, came
from New England to Michigan at an early day and settled in Branch county.
Here Jonathan Holmes followed the occupation of a mill man for a number
of years, and acquired farming lands. He died December I I, 1884.
Cicero J. Holmes attended the public schools and spent one year in Hillsdale College. When he started out in life on his own responsibility it was as
a farmer on a piece of land given him by his father. He is now the owner of
over a thousand acres of agricultural and timber land, and is regarded as the
most extensive farmer in the township. He is also interested in banking,
being a stockholder in the Coldwater National Bank and the Burr Oak State
Bank.




854


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Mr. Holmes and his family have a magnificent country home. He married, April II, 1883, Miss Mary Straehly, a native of Pennsylvania, and to
them have been born five children, namely: Mary Jane Amelia, Cicero J., Jr.,
Warren (deceased), Ezra and Oliver Wendell.
Politically Mr. Holmes affiliates with the Democratic party and fraternally
he is a Mason, having membership in the Mystic Lodge at Bronson and Coldwater Commandery, No. 10, K. T.
JOHN D. PARKS.
John D. Parks, a. dealer in agricultural implements in Union City, who
is now filling the office of deputy sheriff, was born in Erie county, Ohio,
November 23, I845. His father. John D. Parks, was a native of Saratoga
county, New York, and about I836 removed to Ohio, making a settlement in
Erie county. He was an iron moulder by trade and throughout his entire
life engaged in business along that line. Thinking that he might have still
better opportunities in another locality, he came to Branch county, Michigan,
in I852, locating at Union City, where for many years he was a prominent
representative of industrial interests, serving as superintendent of the Nye
Plow Company, through two decades. He died in New York city at the
venerable age of seventy-nine years. His wife, who in her maidenhood was
Lucy McConnell, was a native of New York City, spent her girlhood days
there and after long years of residence in the middle west she died in Union
City at the age of seventy-three years. In their family were three sons:
Charles W., John D., and George F., the last'named a resident of Oregon.
John D. Parks was a lad of eight summers when brought by his parents
to Union City. He entered the public schools here and mastered the branches
of learning therein taught. He learned the iron moulder's trade and followed
that pursuit until he enlisted in June, I86i, becomnig a member of Company B,
15th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for three years and
three months. He was with the army under McClellan and saw much active
service in the east. His first enlistment was for a term of three months and
on the expiration of that period he re-enlisted in the same company and regiment. He was promoted to sergeant major of engineers and held that position
at the time he received an honorable discharge. He took part in many important engagements, including the battles of Rich Mountain, Elkwater and
Greenbrier, and later he was transferred to the army of the Ohio in the
winter of I86I. This led him to participate in the battles of Shiloh, Corinth,
Perryville, Stone River, Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge. At the battle
of Stone River he was wounded in the left side by a minie ball and he was
in the hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, for three months. Following his
wound he suffered from an attack of fever, which also kept him in the hospital
for three months. He was then transferred to the engineers' headquarters and
was made sergeant major in the engineering departrient, acting in that
capacity until the close of the war. In July, 1864, he returned to Nashville,
being connected with the quartermaster's department of the army -of the
Cumberland.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Mr. Parks remained in Chattanooga, Tennessee, until i868, acting as a
clerk in the commission house. He then returned to Union City, where he
resumed work at the moulder's trade, which he followed until I895, being
employed at South Bend, Indiana; Lansing and Jackson, Michigan; and
other places. In the year mentioned he again came to Union City and began
farming, locating on a tract of land in Burlington township, Calhoun county.
There he lived until 1898, since which time he has been engaged in business
as a dealer in agricultural implements in Union City. He has been active in
politics as a supporter of Republican principles, has been a member of the
town council and is now serving for his second term. He was appointed
deputy sheriff in February, 1905, and also acts in that capacity. His fraternal
relations are with Corbin Post, No. 88, G. A. R., in which he has filled all
of the chairs. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity, having taken
the Master's degree.
In I868 Mr. Parks was united in marriage to Miss Catherine E. Freemyer, a daughter of John Freemyer, and they now have a son and daughter,
Wiiliam D., who was educated in the Union schools, and is a barber of
Union City, and Mamie A., at home, who was educated in the public schools.
PIZARRO MANSFIELD.
Pizarro Mansfield and his wife, Mrs. Harriet (Press) Mansfield, who
are respectively eighty-nine and eighty-four years of age, are the oldest residents of the township of Butler and are in consequence distinctively entitled
to representation in this volume.  They are also pioneer residents of the
county, having for more than six decades been witnesses of the labor and the
changes which have wrought its transformation from a wild district to one
of advanced civilization.
Mr. Mansfield was born west of Rochester, New York, October 2, I8i6,
a son of Isaac and Anna (Holden) Mansfield, who always remained residents of the Empire state. He was reared to manhood upon the old home
farm in New York, early taking his place in the fields, to assist in the work of
plowing, planting and harvesting after the manner of the times. As a companion and helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Harriet Press, to whom
he was married at Mumford, New York. on the 2d of October, 1843, a
daughter of Alpheus and Charlotte (Kellogg) Press, who always remained
residents of New York.   Mrs. Mansfield was born at York, New York,
November 9, 1821, and spent her girlhood in her parents' home.
Soon after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Mansfield sought a home in the
west, making their way to Branch county, Michigan, and locating in Butler
township, where they have since remained.  They settled first on section
twenty-five, where they lived until coming to their present home on section
twenty-six, in 1865. Mr. Mansfield cleared and developed the farm on section
twenty-five, now owned and occupied by J. S. Bignall, and he also cleared a
portion of his present farm. In the early years of their residence here theirs
was the usual experience of the pioneer settler who makes his way to the
frontier, leaving behind the comforts and conveniences of the older east, but




856


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


by his work and efforts plants the seeds of civilization that have brought
forth the fruit of present progress and prosperity in this county. There was
much arduous toil required to bring his farm under cultivation-and the farm
implements were very crude as compared to those of the present day, manual
labor being then demanded, while now much of the labor is performed through
the splendidly improved farm machinery. The household furnishings and
equipments were also very few as compared to those of the present, so that
both Mr. and Mrs. Mansfield did a large share of earnest labor, the former
in the fields, the latter in the home. Although now far advanced in years,
they still reside upon their farm, each performing daily tasks, for they retain
excellent physical as well as mental vigor.
Mr. and Mrs. Mansfield have also reared a family of four children, the
family circle yet remaining unbroken. These are: John Mansfield, who now
resides in Montana and has three children living; Charles, a resident of
Quincy, Michigan, and the father of one son; Helen Mi. Annin, of Butler, who
has two children; and Mrs. Mary Mohn, of Butler, who has one child. Mr.
Mansfield's children and some of their grandchildren reside near them and
perform various services for them, but this worthy and venerable couple prefer
to reside upon their own farm, which is a fine tract of land of one hundred
and twenty acres, on which are good buildings and equipments. Mr. Mansfield
does little of the farm work himself, but gives supervision to its operation and
for many years he performed the active labor of the fields. He was influential
and active in public affairs in the early history of Butler township. His wife
belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church of South Butler and is an earnest
Christian woman. Mr. and Mrs. Mansfield have led a most congenial, happy
married life, and still enjoy life together, for though the years are many they
are young in spirit. They merit and receive the regard and friendship of all
who know them, and their acquaintance is wide, and it is with pleasure that
we present to our readers this history of their lives.
AMBROSE LAMPMAN, M. D.
Dr. Ambrose Lampman, who was formerly actively identified with the
medical profession but is now giving his attention largely to agricultural pursuits in Butler township, was born in Greenville, Green county, New York,
January I, I829. His father, Abraham P. Lampman, was also a native of
that county, as was the grandfather, Peter Lampman. The former was married in Green county to Miss Mary Brandow, also a native of that locality.
Both the Lampmans and Brandows had for several generations been prominent
there and both families were of old Dutch ancestry. In the year 18148 Mr.
and Mrs. Abraham Lampman came to Michigan with their family, settling in
Butler township, Branch county, where the mother died on the I8th of April,
I86o, while the father's death occurred on the 3oth of August of the same
year. They held membership in the Presbyterian church, were earnest Christian people and were always true to their belief. Mr. Lampman gave his
undivided attention to agricultural pursuits for many years and was also
active in community affairs, serving as justice of the peace both in Michigan




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


857


and in New York. In their family were the following named: Epenetus,
now living in Quincy, Michigan; Luman, who died in Bethel township,
Branch county, in I890; Mrs. Elizabeth Delamatter, who died in I897; and
Ambrose.
Dr. Lampman received a liberal education and after completing his
literary course in Olivette College he pursued a medical course in Cincinnati
Eclectic College. He then located for finishing or preparing himself for practice in Homer, Michigan, where he remained for six months, and he likewise
engaged in practice in Butler township for twenty years together with the
occupation of farming. In recent years, however, he has done little as a
practitioner save for the medical aid given to his family. He first owned
sixty-three acres of land on section thirty-four, Butler township, of which
he became owner in I855. This he cleared and improved and as the years
have gone by he has added to the property and placed thereon all modern
equipments.
In Calhoun county, Michigan, on the 7th of March, I855, Dr. Lampman
was married to Miss Helen King, who was born in Michigan, September 27,
I838, and whose family history is given in connection with the sketch of Seth
King on another page of this work. Dr. and Mrs. Lampman have had thirteen children. Charles, born October 14, I855, died December 6, I896. He
married Julia Dresser and they have two children, Lura and Claude. Clara
Amelia, born April 4, I857, died on the 22d of October of the same year.
George W., born April 23, 1858, married Ella Fox and they live in Butler
and have five sons: William, Leon, Elmer, Clarence and Bryan. Florence A.,
born August 21, I859, is the wife of Charles Parks and they have two sons:
LeRoy and Burton, both of whom are married. The next member of Dr.
Lampman's family was a son, who died in I86I when but ten days old.
Ambrose Epenetus, born May 18, I863, and now living in Butler township,
married Susie Rassford and has six children: Harry, Eddie, May, Charles,
Louis and Frances. Jane died when a month old and one son died when a
week old. Andrew B. Lampman, born March 2o, I869, is living in northern
Michigan and married Amy Talent, by whom he has six children: Ethel,
Vivian, Marie, Arthur, Ellen and Helen. Carrie May, born August 2I, 1873,
is the wife of William Fultz. Arthur E., born December 4, I875, died April 4,
I877. Leon L., born September I6, I877, died November 26, I879. Bursey
H., born July 18, I88I, is the wife of William  Randerson, a resident of
Quincy, Michigan.
Dr. Lampman has for many years been a member of the Quincy Detective
Association. In politics he is a Democrat, figuring prominently in local political circles. He is a gentleman of liberal education and strong intellectual
force. He has ever been a great reader and has thus continually broadened
his mind, storing it with much valuable information. He to-day owns a
large and fine farm which he operates, and in his work he has been quick to
adopt modem methods promising to prove of practical utility. His work has
been attended by a gratifying measure of success, and in all life's relations he
is honored, for the motive forces of his life have been such as to command
respect and confidence.




858


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


JOSEPH G. ELDRED.
In tradition the descendants of the Eldreds came from King Ethelred of
England, and this genealogy is handed down from generation to generation.
Joseph G. Eldred, who has been identified with building and farming
operations in Branch county for many years and makes his home in Quincy
township, was born in Ontario county, New York, on the 2nd of January,
I84I, coming to Michigan with his parents when a youth of eleven years.
His father, Robert Eldred, was also a native of the Empire state, born June
Io, 1804. He was reared there and was married in Candice, New York, on
the Ioth of May, I827, to Miss Amelia Peabody, whose birth occurred in that
state, April 2I, I8O8. The Eldreds and Peabodys have been residents of New
York for several generations and were people of importance there, the Peabodys being especially prominent and cultured residents of the Empire state.
Robert Eldred and his wife were the parents of ten children when they
came to Michigan in 1852. These were: Mrs. Sally Walker, who is still
living in Girard; Alvah D. Eldred, who died in Tekonsha, Michigan, January
30, 1903; Mrs. Mary Markham, who died in Girard, April 23, I872; Isaac,
who died in New York at the age of fourteen years; Lewis S. Eldred, who
is living in Tekonsha; Joseph G., of this review; Mrs. Almira A. Bartlett, a
resident of Girard; R. Elon Eldred, of Tekonsha; Albert M. Eldred, residing
in Colon, Michigan; and Mrs. Louise Shedd, who also makes her home in
Tekonsha. The mother, Mrs. Amelia Peabody Eldred, died April 27, I86o,
and on the 29gth of January, I86I, Robert Eldred married Laura Peabody, a
half sister of his first wife. Mr. Eldred was a man of genuine worth, highly
esteemed in business and social circles and in public life as well. He died
March 21, I886, and his second wife passed away July 17, I890. The home
farm of the family in Michigan was in Tekonsha township on the boundary
line of Branch county.
Joseph G. Eldred was reared to manhood on the old homestead farm,
early becoming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the
agriculturist and at the outbreak of the Civil war, when twenty years of age,
he enlisted for service cn the 23rd of August, I86i, as a member of Company
E, First Michigan Infantry. On the i7th of February, I864, he was honorably
discharged, but on the same day re-enlisted and served until after the close of
the war, being mustered out on the 9th of July, I865. He was chief bugler
and principal musician of his regiment and as such was a non-commissioned
staff officer. The First Michigan Infantry was assigned to the Army of the
Potomac and Mr. Eldred participated in forty great battles of the Civil war,
in the Army of the Potomac and was present at the surrender of Appomattox
by General Lee to Grant, April 9, i865. He was wounded at the Battle of
Fredricksburg, December 13, I862. He made a splendid record as a soldier.
In early life Mr. Eldred had learned the carpenter's trade, and he has
constructed many buildings in this part of the state, both in and outside of
Branch county. At the same time he has always carried on farming, and at
the time of his marriage established his home in Girard township. It was
/after his return from the war that he was married on the 22nd of February,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


859


i866, to Miss Thirza L. Millard, who was born in Webster, Monroe county,
New York, December 24, 1843, a daughter of Noah M. Millard, who was
born in Rhode Island on the 21st of May, I8o3, and died in Girard township,
May 23, I880. Her mother bore the maiden name of Cynthia A. Almy and
was born in western New York, August 27, I807, while her death occurred in
Girard township, Branch county, January 15, i866. They were married on
the 28th of October, I827, and they had six children, all of whom have passed
away, with the exception of Mrs. Eldred. Her maternal grandfather, Peter
Almy, was a native of Germany, came to this country in the latter part of the
eighteenth century and served as a soldier in the war of 1812. Her paternal
ancestors came from Wales and one of these, General Maxwell, was a notable
figure in the Revolutionary war.
After living for a year in Girard township Mr. and Mrs. Eldred removed
to Tekonsha, where they lived for three years, and then took up their abode on
their present farm on section three, Quincy township, where Mr. Eldred owns
forty-five acres of good land, improved with excellent buildings. Everything
about his place indicates thrift and care. From his father he inherited a
love of fruit raising, and upon his place are many choice varieties of grapes,
pears, peaches and other fruits.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Eldred have been born seven children, of whom five
are living, two having died in infancy. Coralyn. born May 25, 'I87I, died
on the 25th of September of the same year. Leroy M., born April 24, 1867,
was married March o1, 1894, to Laura E. Jordan, and they reside in Butler,
where he is engaged in carpentering and farming. Edith M., born April 22,
I869, is a graduate of the state normal school at Ypsilanti and is engaged in
teaching in Whitehall, Michigan. R. Ray, born September 24, 1872, who is
a graduate of the Kentucky university and is a missionary of the Church of
Christ in southwestern Africa on the Congo, was married August 4, 190I, to
Lillian Byers, and they have two children, who are with them in Africa.
William Gay, born September I8, 1874, was married July 25, 1904, to Marie
Pickering, and is engaged in preaching for the Church of Christ at Fulton,
Kentucky, after having been educated in the Kentucky University. Laura C.,
born November 30, 1878, was graduated at the state normal school at Ypsilanti, Michigan, has engaged in teaching school and is now attending a training school for missionaries in Brooklyn, New York, with the intention of
going to Japan as a missionary. Blanche L., born August 21, I88i, died on
the 15th of October following.
In politics Mr. Eldred has always been a Republican and has served as
highway commissioner for one year and as school officer for many years. He
has been a member of the Church of Christ and has been overseer of the Quincv
Society for thirty years. He is an able speaker and exponent of that faith, and
the members of his household are also members of the church, taking an active
and helpful part in its work. Industry and- perseverance in business life,
loyalty in his military experiences and devotion to his church, his familv and
his friends have made Mr. Eldred one of the honored and respected residents
of Branch county.




860


HISTORY OF BRANCH- COUNTY


CHARLES PIERCE.
Charles Pierce, living on a farm on section ten, Batavia township, owns
here two hundred and twenty-seven and a half acres of land, but largely rents
the farm, thus leaving the active work of the fields to others. He was born in
the southeastern part of Batavia township on the 27th of December, 1843.
His father, Zolva Pierce, was a native of New York, born near Buffalo,
whence he came to Branch county as one of its pioneer settlers. That the
work of progress and improvement had scarcely been begun is shown by the
fact that much of the land was still in possession of the government and by
entering a claim Mr. Pierce secured his farm. With characteristic energy he
began the cultivation of the fields and continued active farm work up to the
time of his death, which occurred in I853. He married Miss Catherine Olmstead, a native of New York, who is still living in her eighty-second year.
They were the parents of four children, of whom three are yet living, Charles
being the eldest of the family.
Upon the old family homestead in Batavia township Mr. Pierce spent the
days of his boyhood and youth, starting out in life on his own account when
only twelve years of age. He walked to Colon, carrying his possessions,
which were extremely limited, consisting only of a few articles of clothing.
He worked for a Mrs. Gordon for two years for six dollars per month driving
oxen. He was employed by the day or by the job and later he engaged in railroad work. Subsequently he began buying wood and later he worked on the
Erie canal. He also spent two summers on a lightning rod wagon and later
he engaged in trading in horses. This was his first real start upon an independent business venture. While in the lightning rod business he was in the
employ of Ives G. Miles, of Coldwater. Later he turned his attention to dealing in timber, buying land from which he would sell the timber, and to the
present time he continues in this line of trade. He also conducts a wood yard
in Coldwater and he is today the owner of three hundred acres of timber land
in Tennessee. He located on his present farm about I873 and has improved
the place in many ways, remodeling the house and building one of the large
barns of the county, one hundred by thirty-six feet. He has two hundred
and twenty-seven and a half acres of land which he rents to others. His life
has been characterized by unremitting diligence and his perseverance has been
the means of bringing to him a creditable and gratifying measure of success.
Mr. Pierce has been married twice. On the I4th of August, I869, he
wedded Miss Mary A. Smith, a native of Batavia township and a daughter of
Levi and Maria Smith. She died September 7, 189I, leaving four children.
Glenn Otis, born November I, I870, is a traveling man of Coldwater, successfully representing the Standard Wall Paper Company of New York. Orville, born May 20, I873, is deceased. Nellie, born April 20, I876, is the wife
of Ed F. Able of Elkhart, Indiana. Mabel, born August 22, I884, has also
passed away. On the I4th of August, I893, Mr. Pierce was again married,
his second union being with Miss Lucinda Early, a daughter of Samuel and
Margaret (Gray) Early. They have one son, Harold Early Pierce, who was
born April 27, I895, and is now attending school.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


861


Mr. Pierce is a Democrat in his political views and is well known in the
county because of the active and helpful interest which he has taken in public
affairs. He belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen at Coldwater.
He began life a poor boy and what he possesses has been honestly and earnestly won. He has given close attention to business and is a self-made man
in every sense of the word, deserving all of the praise which that term implies.
His life record proves what can be accomplished by earnest, unfaltering effort and may well serve as a source of encouragement and inspiration to others
who have to begin life as he did without capital or the aid of influential
friends.
DWIGHT E. YOUNGS.
Dwight E. Youngs, who, when the tocsin of war sounded, was found as a
loyal advocate of the Union cause, manifesting his fidelity upon the battlefields of the south, is now living a retired life in Union City. He was born
in Smyrna, Chenango county, New York, October 2, I83I. It is believed
that his great-grandfather was a native of Scotland and the founder of the
family in America, and it is definitely known that John S. Youngs, the grandfather, was of Scotch lineage. Curtis S. Youngs, the father, was born in
Lanesboro, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, and became a carpenter and
joiner. He came to Branch county in 1836, locating in Union City, and
assisted in erecting some of the first frame buildings here. The following
year he brought his family to his new home, having determined to make it
his permanent place of residence, and with the exception of two years spent in
Coldwater, when he filled the office of register of deeds, he resided continuously in Union township. Ralizing the needs of a new community and its
possibilities he so directed his labors that he became an important factor in
the early improvement and development of this part of the state, and his fellow
townsmen recognizing his ability and trustworthiness called him to public
office. He was the first supervisor elected in Union township and held other
local positions. He was a member of the Congregational church, active in
its work, living in constant harmony with its teachings, and in the faith he
died in his eighty-fifth year. His wife bore the maiden name of Lucy Lincoln
and was a native of Bath, Maine. She came of English lineage and lived to be
eighty-three years of age, while her mother had passed the eighty-fourth milestone on life's journey when called to her final rest. Mr. and Mrs. Curtis
Youngs were the parents of six sons, of whom one died in infancy, while
another, Fred C., died in I862, aged nineteen years, upon the battlefields while
serving as a defender of the Union cause. The eldest brother, Melvin L.
Youngs, was born April 8, 1826, and died in June, 1902. He was a prominent
Mason, having joined the organization in Union City. In I856 he removed
to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was appointed grand lecturer of the state,
which position he held for more than forty years, acting in that capacity up
to the time of his death. He was widely known in Masonic circles throughout
that and other states and did much for the dissemination of the basic principles of the order which had their foundation in mutual helpfulness and
brotherly kindness. John S. Youngs, born October II, I828, died in I898.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


He was a banker of Coldwater for a number of years, carrying on business
as a partner of Justin Lawyer. He was also a leading contractor and railroad
builder and spent much of his life in Flint..Michigan, in the abstract business.
Sidney M. Youngs, born June 17, 1840, in Union City, was for about twenty
years a resident of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, and also lived at Vancouver,
British Columbia. Subsequently he returned to Michigan and now makes
his home in Bellaire, this state.
Dwight E. Youngs, the third member of the family, was in his sixth
year when he arrived in Union City, and here he remained until fourteen years
of age, when he went with his mother's sister to Worcester county, Massachusetts, spending eight years in'the east, during which time he attended
school for three months in the year, while the remaining nine months were
devoted to farm labor. On the expiration of that time he returned to Union
City and soon afterward became actively engaged in farming in Union township.
As a companion and helpmate for life's journey, Mr. Youngs chose Miss
Emily Denny, and they were married on the ist of May, I854. She was
reared by an uncle and aunt, Peter and Thankful Davison, her parents having
died during her early girlhood. Mr. and Mrs. Youngs began their domestic
life upon a farm and he continued to engage in agricultural pursuits until the
24th of August, I86I, when he enlisted in response to his country's call,
becoming a member of Battery D, First Michigan Light Artillery, with which
he served until July, I862. He was then honorably discharged on account of
disability.. He was sergeant in the battery and was injured in the service.
Returning to his home he resumed farming in Branch county, where he continued until I866, when he returned to Worcester county, Massachusetts, and
was there engaged in the manufacture of cheese. Later he again came to
Michigan, settling in Hillsdale county, where he conducted building operations
as a builder and joiner. In 1877 he returned to Union City to care for his
aged parents and continued with them until they were called to the home
beyond. He is now living a retired life and is well known as one of the
valued and representative residents of this place.
Mr. Youngs has taken quite an active and helpful part in public affairs
and has filled the following offices: Marshal of the village, constable of the
township, justice of the peace for eight years and notary for several years.
He is a charter member of Corbin Post, No. 88, G. A. R., in which he has
served as commander and has filled all of the other chairs. He is quite well
known as a local historian and has written much of the history of Union City.
He was also appointed historian by the Grand Army Post and has recorded the
names and the war history of all of its different members.
Unto Mr. and Mrs, Youngs was born one daughter, Laura, born February
Io, 1855, at Union City, Michigan, and died February 4, at White Cloud,
Michigan, and one son, who is yet living, Charles S., whose birth occurred
September 24, 1878, and is now located in Belding, Michigan, where he follows the printer's trade. The wife and mother died November I, I903. In
his religious faith Mr. Youngs is a Spiritualist. Although he has not resided
continuously in Branch county he has been a witness to its growth and devel



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


863


opment for two-thirds of a century, nor has he taken an unimportant part in
advancing public measures. He is thoroughly informed concerning what has
been accomplished here from pioneer time to the present and events which are
to many others matters of record or of history are familiar to him as a witness or as an active participant in what occurred and aided in moulding the
public policy or shaping the d'estiny of the county.
EDWARD ROLAND ROOT.
Fortunate is the man who has back of him a history honorable and distinguished, and happy is he if his lines of life have been cast in harmony therewith. Mr. Root in the paternal line is descended from an honored pioneer
family of Michigan, and in the maternal line traces his ancestry back to John
Alden, who came to America on the Mayflower. Edward Roland Root was
born in the city of Coldwater, Michigan, April 17, I85I, the second son of
Roland and Irene (Alden) Root. His father was born in Skaneateles, New
York, December 26, 18I3, and died at his home in Coldwater, August II,
i885. He was the fourth in order of birth in a family of eight children, whose
parents were Edward and Sally (Cole) Root. He was reared upon the home
farm and acquired a good common school education, remaining with his parents until he attained his majority. He then removed to Huron county, Ohio,
and was engaged in teaching school at Norwalk. While in that city he also
clerked in a dry goods store and was married there to Miss Harriet Chapin, a
native of Canandaigua, New York, but at that time a resident of Norwalk.
In I835 he came to Michigan and was a prominent factor in the early history
of Branch county. At the time of his arrival he was but twenty-two years of
age. Coldwater was scarcely more than a village, but he identified his interests with the new town, giving his attention to general merchandising.' As
the years passed he was known as a successful merchant, miller and farmer.
A man of fine intelligence and scholarly tastes, he did much to advance the
educational progress of Coldwater, and it was ever his aim, no matter how
great the inconvenience to himself, to secure for his children the best education possible. He took a deep and helpful interest in all public measures for
the general good and he served as a member of the Michigan legislature, as a
magistrate and in other positions of honor and trust. Following the outbreak
of the Civil war Roland Root literally "left the plow in the furrow" and enlisted, in April, I86I, in defense of the Union cause, becoming a member of
Company A, First Regiment of Michigan Artillery, Loomis' Battery. He
was promoted from successive ranks to that of first lieutenant and was in
active service in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama.
In 1841 was consummated the second marriage of Roland Root, at which
time Miss Irene Alden became his wife. She has long survived him and is
now (1905) eighty-three years of age, her home being in Coldwater. They
became the parents of the following-named: Aurella Melita; Martha Matilda;
Harriet Chapin; Edward, who died in infancy; Edward Roland; Flora; Jean
Fisk; Fred Hamilton; and Elizabeth Jessie.
Mrs. Roland Root was born at Ashville, New York, June 26, 1822, and




864


HISTORY -OF BRANCH COUNTY...,    I..


with her parents removed to Coldwater, Michigan, in 1834. She traces her
ancestry in direct line back to John Alden, the progenitor of the family in
America, who was born in England in I599,, and as a member of the Plymouth colony crossed the Atlantic on the Mayflower in the year I620. The
romantic, epoch of his history has been immortalized in Longfellow's poem of
the "Courtship of Miles. Standish." Tracing the line down through to his second son, Joseph Alden; to his second son, Deacon Joseph Alden; his second son,
Eleazer Alden of Ridgewater, we come to David Alden, who was the fourth
son of Eleazer Alden, and a native of Ashfield, Massachusetts. He was the
great-grandfather of Mrs. Root and the father of Isaac Alden, who was likewise a native of Ashfield. Dr. Hiram Alden, the sixth son of Isaac Alden,
was born in Ashfield, Massachusetts, October 28, I792, and removed from
New York to Coldwater, Michigan, in I834. He was a well educated man,
who rose to prominence and for three years, 1835-6-7, represented his district
in the state legislature, acting as speaker of the house during his last term.
The projected interests in the Michigan Central Railway then enlisted his
services and it was while engaged as commissioner for that organization that
he contracted the fever that terminated his life at Deroit on the 26th of November, I838. He had married Melita Huntley, and of their eleven children
Irene (Alden) Root was the fourth. She was about twelve years of age when
she accompanied her parents to Coldwater and from the days when this district was an almost unbroken wilderness down to the present she has made
Coldwater her home. During this period she has witnessed its transformation
from a small hamlet with less than one hundred inhabitants to a beautiful little
city of nearly seven thousand population. She has long been a member of the
Baptist church and a consistent Christian in word and deed. Although beloved and revered by successive generations of friends and neighbors her
rarest qualities are best known to the inner circle of her own home.
Thus we observe that Edward Roland Root comes of a noble and worthy
ancestry and of a parentage that gave him an excellent heritage. He was educated in the public schools of Coldwater until he reached the age of fourteen
years, when he received from the congressman of his district an appointment
to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. He successfully passed
the various examinations and was mustered into the United States navy as a
midshipman on the 25th of September, I865. He remained at the academy
for two years, when failing health caused him to resign an appointment, a
much desired and most congenial career. He returned home in June, I867,
and engaged in outdoor pursuits until his health was restored. In April,
I868, he was appointed delivery clerk in the Coldwater postoffice, was advanced to assistant postmaster in July, I870, and served in that capacity until February, 882, when he was commissioned postmaster by President Arthur, holding the office for four years or until April, I886, so that his connection with the Coldwater postoffice covered a period of eighteen consecutive
years. He was later engaged in merchandising in this city for a short period
and afterward acted as secretary of the Coldwater Gas Light Company. For
ten years, beginning in I889, he was engaged in the manufacture of cigar




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


865


boxes and in Io9o he accepted the position of secretary of the Wolverine
Portland Cement Company, which is his present business relation.
Mr. Root has always taken an active part in public affairs and has served
on the Water Works and Electric Light Board, while for seven years he wis
president of the Board. In 1871 he was largely instrumental in organizing
the Coldwater Light Guard Company, and was a member thereafter for many
years.
On the 24th of September, 1874, Mr. Root was married to Miss Alice
Southworth, a native of Coldwater and unto them have been born three children, Edith Irene, Rolene Altai, and Flora Elizabeth. The' family are
communicants of the Episcopal church, of which Mr. Root is serving as vestryman and as treasurer of the vestry. He has always been a Republican in
politics and has exerted a wide influence in political affairs. His position of
prominence in regard to the public interests of his native city is well merited
because of his devotion to the general good and his practical and untiring efforts in behalf of the municipality and the county.
THOMAS JEFFERSON TURNER, M. D.
Dr. Thomas Jefferson Turner was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
September 21, I829, and died at Mackinac Island, August 20, I9OI. In I889
he married Flora, the fourth daughter of Roland and Irene (Alden) Root.
Dr. Turner was a man of profound intelligence and rare attainments, a scholar of marked erudition and a physician and surgeon of distinction. He was
a recognized authority on matters pertaining to hygiene and sanitation. He
was graduated from the Philadelphia high schools with the class of 1848, ando
he held a diploma of the Philadelphia Medical College, from which he was
graduated with the degree of M. D. in 185I. He also received the degrees of
philosophy and of master of arts from the same institution in 1853, was made
a fellow of the Academy of Natural Science at Philadelphia in 1854 and a
member of the American Public Health Association and a companion of the
Naval Order of the United States Naval Commandery. -He entered the
United States navy as an assistant surgeon December I6, I8.53, and was thereafter prominently identified therewith as surgeon and medical director until
I891, when he retired. During the Civil war he was fleet surgeon with Farragut at the battle of Mobile Bay. As surgeon and officer of the navy he visited
nearly every country of the world. Following his retirement from the service
he made Coldwater his home, where he was, for some six years, health officer of the city, and there he continued an energetic worker in behalf of local
and state health measures, rendering his fellowmen valuable service in this
regard.
GEORGE A. RUSSELL.
George A. Russell, taking up his abode in Coldwater in I902, removed
from the farm which he had helped to clear and improve in pioneer days and
which had been his home for fifty-five years. He was born in the town of
York in Livingston county, New York, May 12, 1836, his parents being
George and Caroline (Faxon) Russell, the former a native of New Hamp



866


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


shire and the latter of Massachusetts. The father was born of a family of
nine children and in early life removed to New York, where he formed the
acquaintance of Miss Faxon, whom he later married. In the fall of 1837
they came to Michigan, settling in Lenawec county, where they lived for a little more than six years, when in May, I844, they came to Branch county,
their son, George A., being at that time about eight years old, taking up their
abode in Girard township after clearing and improving the farm. He was a
cooper by trade but devoted much of his life to agricultural pursuits and spent
his remaining days in Branch county, where he died at the age of seventyseven years. His wife survived him and departed this life at the age of
eighty-two years. They were the parents of seven children: Miranda E., deceased; George A.; Adaline S.; Benton T. and Mary, both deceased; Lewis
C., a resident of Oregon; and Caroline J.
George A. Russell grew to manhood on the old homestead farm, to
which he came with his parents when a young lad. As his age and strength
permitted he assisted in the arduous task of clearing and cultivating the fields
and he lived upon this farm for fifty-five years. In the early days he shared
in the hardships and privations usual in a pioneer community, his education
being acquired in an old log schoolhouse. He also spent one winter as a student in the schools of Coldwater and one winter in the schools of Girard. His
education was largely acquired through the work of field and meadow and he
gained a practical experience of what in later years enabled him to carefully
conduct his farm and make it a valuable property. On the 6th of August,
1862, however, he put aside all personal considerations and enlisted as a private of Company C, Nineteenth Michigan Infantry, for a term of three years
or until the close of the war. He carried a gun and knapsack for eighteen
months with the rank of corporal and then became sergeant major. He acted
in the latter capacity for about six months, when he was promoted to the
rank of first lieutenant and was in active command of Company D, Nineteenth Michigan Infantry, from the time the troops were at Atlanta until they
had marched to the sea under command of Sherman. He was also with that
company until they had proceeded about fifty miles into the Carolinas, after
which he was detached to act as adjutant. On the 8th of May, I865, he
was commissioned   captain of Company F, Nineteenth     Michigan Infantry, and as such was mustered out June 26, I865. He participated in many
important engagements and in March, I863, when near Franklin, Tennessee,
was captured and taken to Libby Prison, where he remained thirty days, when
he was paroled. He then returned to Camp Chase, Ohio, and was soon ordered to the front, making his way to Nashville. He participated in the battle
of Resaca, Geo,  a,  6, ws t asille      rgia,    May I5, was at assville, Georgia, May, 864,
and took part in the battles of Dallas, Golgotha, Culp Farm, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, the siege of Atlanta, the siege of Savannah and the
battles of Averysboro and Bentonville, North Carolina. He is now a member of Butterworth Post No. 109, G. A. R., and has been active in military
affairs in connection with this organization. His regiment never marched a
mile that he was not on duty nor fought in a battle in which he was not also
engaged. He made a splendid war record, notable for his bravery and loyalty,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


867


and his meritorious conduct won him promotion from the ranks to a captaincy.
Following the close of hostilities Captain Russell resumed farming and
was actively engaged in the tilling of the soil and the care of crops and stock
until 1902, when, feeling that he had merited a rest from further labor, he retired with a valuable competence to Coldwater, selling the farm which he
had occupied for fifty-five years.
In I8172 Captain Russell was married to Miss Isadore Brown, who died
seven years later. In I883 he wedded Arminda Day, who was born in Butler
township, Branch county, and is a daughter of Elisha and Roxie (Wonsey)
Day. Her grandfather, Chauncey Day, was a soldier of the war of I812 and
he and his son Elisha became pioneer settlers of Branch county, Michigan,
removing from New York to this state.
Captain Russell voted for Stephen A. Douglas, but has since been an advocate of Republican principles, unfaltering in his allegiance to the party. He
has served as justice of the peace for thirty years, which position he is now
filling, and his decisions have ever been characterized by impartiality and fairness. Both he and his wife are Methodists in religious faith, although they
are not identified with the church organization. As an honored veteran of
the Civil war and a worthy pioneer settler he is deserving of mention in the
history of Branch county.
IRVING McNALL.
Descended from good old Scotch ancestry. the McNalls can trace their
lineage back for hundreds of years in Scotland until about I760, when members of the family came to America, settling in the New England colonies.
Several of the family were participants in the Revolutionary war, fighting ori
the side of the colonists, and the paternal great-grandfather of our subject
was a general in the American army at this time, his name being James McNall. One of his sons, Alexander McNall, paternal grandfather of our subject, was born in I788 in Connecticut, was also in the war of I812, and later
came to the then new state of Michigan, in 1845, stopping first at Coldwater
and then coming into Ovid township, this county, where he received from the
government one hundred and sixty acres of land in recognition of his war
service. He cleared this farm and otherwise improved it and passed the remainder of his life here.
One of his sons, Hiram McNall, was born in Avon, Livingstone county,
New York, July 13, I8o0, grew to manhood in the Empire state, where he
was married to Harriet Barnes; a native of the Mohawk Valley, New York,
where she was born December 13, 1821, she being the daughter of Samuel
and Miranda Barnes. After their marriage Hiram and Harriet McNall lived
for a short time at Henrietta, Monroe county, New York, and then, imbued
with the idea. that there were greater possibilities in the middle west they
packed their personal belongings into a one-horse wagon, and in the fall of
1842 arrived in Clinton county, Michigan, where Mr. McNall secured one
hundred and sixty acres of new land. Living here until the following spring,




868


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


they were then attracted to Branch county, and came to the township of Kinderhook, where they purchased land on section eleven and made a home here.
Here they passed the remainder of their days, Mr. McNall dying October 28,
1870, and Mrs. McNall passing away in I85I. They were highly esteemed
people, a power for good in the community where they passed so many years.
Mr. McNall added to his first purchase of land here, and at the time of his
death was the possessor of several hundred acres of fiife farming land. Hiram
and Harriet McNall were the parents of three children, all of whom are living,
they being: Celestia Sweetland of Missouri; Harriet Miller of California
township; and Irving McNall, the subject of this review.
Irving McNall was born in the township of Kinderhook, Michigan, September 10, I850, and his entire life has been passed here. He grew to maturity upon the home farm and early secured a good common school education.
On April 28, 1872, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary L. Smith, a
native of Defiance county, Ohio, where she was born November 14, I854.
Her parents were Alexander Smith and Harriet Messimore, both natives of
Pennsylvania, who were married in Stark county, Ohio. Later they moved
to Defiance county, Ohio, where Mr. Smith died May I, 1874, and where
Mrs. Smith still resides. They were the parents of ten children, seven of
whom are still living, as follows: Alwilda Scott of Elkhart county, Indiana;
Washington Smith of Hicksville, Ohio, who wedded Ellen Harmon; Mary
Smith McNall, wife of our subject; Harriet Miller of Chicago; Russell
Smith of Reading, Michigan; and Viola and Marvin Smith of Chicago. The
three children who have died were Angeline Shaw, Isabel Smith and Celestia
Smith. The following family history of Mrs. McNall is taken from an old
family Bible, which is one hundred and seven years old:
Alexander Smith, born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, was a son of
Jacob and Catherine (Zembower) Smith, whose other children were Elmer,
Milton, Benton, Susan, Rebecca, Sarah, Clarinda, Mary Jane and Eliza Harriet. Harriet Messimore, mother of Mrs. McNall, was born in Columbiana
county, Ohio, a daughter of George ind Margaret (Thomas) Messimore, the
former born in Maryland, near old Baltimore, November 27, I8oo, and his
mother's maiden name was Catherine Tiractor.  Margaret Thomas was a
daughter of Michael and Barbry (Shedron) Thomas, the latter of whom died
at the.age of eighty-five years. Margaret Thomas was born in Pennsylvania
November II, i8oo, and died March 26, I880, aged seventy-nine years, four
months and fifteen days. When quite young she emigrated with her parents
to eastern Ohio, and was there married April 24, 1823, to George Messimore.
They moved to Indiana in I86i, and became the parents of six children, three
sons and three daughters, Eliza, Eli, Harriet, Washington, Henry and Mary
Ann, all of whom are living. They also had twenty-three grandchildren, three
of whomn are deceased, and thirty-one great-grandchildren, twenty-six of
whom are living, thus making a living generation of fifty-two. Mrs. Margaret Messimore was a member of the German Baptist church for about fiftyfive vears.
After attaining manhood and soon after marriage Irving McNall's first
thought was to provide a home for his family, and in 1872 he came into pos



HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY.869


session of the old McNall homestead on section eleven, Kinderhook township,
where he lived for thirteen years, when in I885 he purchased his present farm
on section one in the same township, where he continues to reside. Here he
has devoted considerable time and labor to its improvement, clearing part of it
himself. Although always engaged in farming, Mr. McNall has also during
the greater share of his life been identified with other enterprises, having been
in the meat and poultry business for over twenty years. He is a man of wide
reading and keen intelligence, is thoroughly posted on current topics and takes
a deep interest in his town and county. Politically he was formerly a Republican, although of late years voting the Democratic ticket. He has served his
school district as director for many years.
The union of Mr. and Mrs. Irving McNall has been blessed with the
birth of thirteen children, all of whom are living, as follows: Marvin L.
married Carrie Mingus, and they live in Chicago. Florence married Albert
Strong; they have one daughter, Phyllis, and they live in this township.
James G. married Delcie Wheeler; their home is in Steuben county, Indiana,
and they have one son, Harold. Jessie married Pardon Ogden, and they
have two children, Pearl and Edna, and they live in Kinderhook. Gertrude
married Daniel Shiery, their home being in Algansee township. Charles,
whose wife, Floy Greek, is dead, married again to Miss Zulah Williams of
Findlay, Ohio, and is now preaching in Ohio. Willie married Annie Wood;
they have one son, Marvin, and their home is in Denver, Colorado. The remaining six children of Mr. and Mrs. McNall, who live at home with their
parents, are Carl J., Ralph D., Fordest H., Ora A., Calvin B. and Blanche G.
Mr. and Mrs. McNall are still in their prime, and in spite of the rearing
of this large family of children they retain their youthful spirits and enjoy
life to the utmost. Both are members of the Liberal United Brethren church,
and they stand high in the esteem of the people of this portion of the county.
They have in their possession a little book, "The History of the Holv Bible,"
which was published in I797, two years before General Washington -died.
This is a valuable souvenir in the McNall family.
JOHN    S. EVANS.
John S. Evans, editor and manager of the Sun and the Star of Coldwater,
Michigan,' was born March 4, 1857, upon a farm in Floyd county, Indiana.
Soon afterward his parents removed to a farm near Lawrence, Kansas, where
they lived until after Ouantrell and his band sacked and burned the town.
The family then made an overland trip in a prairie schooner to Michigan,
where again they took up their abode upon a farm and John S. Evans became
an active factor in clearing the land of the stumps and preparing the eighty
acre tract for the plow. There he continued in farm work until nineteen
years of age, when the place was sold. Ambitious for an education, he began
work by the month as a farm hand to earn the funds necessary to meet the
expenses of a course in the Coldwater high school. By working during vacations, teaching winters, boarding himself in town, or walking three miles and
doing chores for his board he succeeded in completing the high school course.




870


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


He afterward operated a rented farm for a year and thus was enabled with
the money thereby earned to pursue a short literary course in the state university, followed by the law course, which he completed by graduation, and
was admitted to the bar in the spring of I883.
Mr. Evans entered at once upon the practice of law in Coldwater, and
continued until I897.  He was ever a great student of political economy and public problems, early taking his stand on the reform    side
of the money question, trusts, transportation and temperance questions.  In I896 he engineered a combination of four minority reform
party organizations in his congressional district-the strongest Republican district in the state-and with such success that a Prohibitionist was
elected to Congress. Mr. Evans was chosen his private secretary and spent
two years in Washington during the stirring times of the Dingley bill agitation and of the Spanish-American war. Returning to Coldwater in I899 he
resumed his law practice. In July, I892, he became one of the original stockholders and legal adviser for the Star Publishing Company, organized in Coldwater. This company established the Star as a temperance newspaper and an
editor was placed in command, who conducted the paper until July, I899,
when Mr. Evans found himself in such a situation as to make it necessary
that he take an assignment of the stock himself, which he did and assumed control of the paper. He knew absolutely nothing about the publishing or printing business, but had had some experience in writing free editorials and
occasional articles for the newspapers and magazines. The determination and
natural ability which he brought to his work enabled him to make a success
of the hitherto unfamiliar venture. In utne, 9go3, he bought the plant of
the Coldwater Sun, which had been established in I88;I, the onlv Democratic
paper in the county, and until recently continued to issue the two weekly
papers. He has now joined the two, however, publishing semi-weekly, issIuing the Star on Monday and the Sun on Thursday. The paper as a business
venture has proved a success and has a large circulation and is an excellent
advertising medium. He has thoroughly equipped the offices with modern
accessories of the printing art and has made his paper a popular representative
of journalism in this part of the state. An excellent job printing department is
conducted and in his work Mr. Evans is assisted by his wife and four children, who are all stockholders in the enterprise. He admits to the columns
of his papers no objectionable advertising at any price.
Aside from his journalistic interests Mr. Evans gives supervision to a
fine farm of eighty acres and he owns a summer cottage on the lake. A member of the Methodist church, he takes an active part in its work and in the
work of the Sunday school as well, in which he conducts a large Bible class.
HENRY    V. WHITEHEAD.
Henry V. Whitehead, of Coldwater, was born in the town of Bradford,
Steuben county, New York, in the locality known as Bradford's Hollow. His
natal day was October 2, I844, and his parents were Henry and Sallie (Carr)
Whitehead. The father was born in Vermont and represented an old New....




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


871


England family, while the mother was a native of the Empire state. In the
family were four children, two sons and two daughters, but only two are now
living. About I846 Henry Whitehead, Sr., removed with his family to
Hillsdale county, Michigan, settling in Allen, where he conducted a hotel for
a few years, and then turned his attention to merchandising, which he followed through a long period. In I865 he removed to Quincy, where he
conducted a dry-goods store until his death in I869, when he was sixty-three
years of age. He was twice married, his first wife dying soon after their arrival in Michigan. For his second wife he chose Miss Eliza Robinson and they
became the parents of three sons and two daughters. Mrs. Eliza Whitehead
departed this life in I865.
Henry V. Whitehead was reared in Allen, Michigan, and acquired his
education in the public schools there. He was seventeen years of age when
he enlisted in the Civil war, responding to President Lincoln's first call for
troops to aid in the defense of the Union. He joined the boys in blue of Company B, IIth Michigan Infantry, being mustered in as a private on the 24th
of August. I86I. He served with loyalty and valor for three years and was
mustered out on the 3oth of September, I8.64. He participated in the battles
of Stone River, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga and the siege of Atlanta, after
which he was taken ill.
Following his return to the north Mr. Whitehead was in business with
his father for a time, and the father being a widower took the younger
brothers and sisters and removed to a farm in Hillsdale county, settling in the
tovwn of Litchfield. Following his father's death Mr. Whitehead went to the
west and also spent some time in Illinois, after which he returned to Allen and
was in the employ of Henry Shelp, proprietor of a hotel there. with whom
he came to Coldwater and has since been a resident of this city. He has a
wide acquaintance and his unfailing courtesy, geniality and deference for the
opinions of others have made him popular. His political support is given the
Republican party.
DAVID PITCHER.
Coldwater, attractive as a place of residence becafise of its business enterprise and the many advantages which it offers to its citizens, has become the
home of many men who formerly connected with business affairs are now living retired in the enjoyment of the fruits of their earlier toil. Of this class Mr.
Pitcher is a representative and in former years he was engaged in carpentering
and farming. His birth occurred in Albany county, New York, about eighteen
miles west of the city of Albany, March 14, 1822. His father, Jacob Pitcher,
came to Michigan about 1845, locating in Batavia township, Branch county.
He was a shoemaker and also a mason bv trade and he died in the west when
about seventy-four years of age. He had been one of the early settlers of this
county, contributing to its pioneer development and aiding in laying broad and
deep the' foundation for its later prosperity and progress. He married Margaret Howe, who died in Branch county in I86I. Of their family of four sons
and five daughters all reached mature years, but three of the daughters have
now passed away. The sons, however, are all living.


"A"




872


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


David Pitcher, the second child and eldest son, was reared in Cayuga
county, New York, and there attended school for about four months altogether. He is a self-educated as well as self-made man and through reading,
experience and observation has greatly broadened his knowledge. In early life
he learned the carpenter's and joiner's trade, serving a three years' apprenticeship, and for a number of years thereafter he was identified with building
operations.*
In I847 occurred the marriage of David Pitcher and Miss Melissa Ann
Gilbert, who died in 189,6. At the time of their marriage they located
in the village of Port Burn, New York, and Mr. Pitcher erected a great many
houses there. He had a wife and six children when in I862 he put aside
business cares and responded to his country's call for aid, enlisting as a member of Company F, Ninth New York Heavy Artillery. He served for three
years and took part in a number of the most noted engagements of the war.
He was slightly wounded at the battle of Cedar Creek, a ball striking his hip,
but finding that he was not badly hurt he returned to his place in the ranks
and again began fighting. He was detailed for carpentering and repair work
because of his previous training in that direction. At the close of the war he
received an honorable discharge in Washington and returned to his family
in the east.
In I868 Mr. Pitcher managed to save from his earnings the sum of five
hundred dollars and with this he came to the west in 1869, settling in-Batavia
township, Branch county. He invested his capital in eighty acres of land
and at once began the further development and improvement of his farm,
which he continued to cultivate until I88,. In that year he retired from
active business, taking up his abode in Coldwater, where he has since lived,
enjoying a well earned rest.
Mr. and Mrs. Pitcher became the parents of seven children. Louis W.,
who was a soldier of the war of the rebellion, enlisting when only fifteen
years of age, is now a prominent insurance man of Chicago. Frank, who
was a telegraph operator, is deceased. Emily R. is the wife of J. Holmes and
they reside with her father. Charles is living in Coldwater and Clara and
David Augustus are also of this city.
In ante-bellum days David Pitcher was a staunch abolitionist, greatly opposed to the institution of slavery and when the Republican party was forined
to prevent the further extension of slavery he joined its ranks and has since
been one of its stalwart advocates, but has never sought or desired office.
He has lived an earnest Christian life and is well versed in the Bible and at
all times has been honorable and straightforward in his relations with his
fellowmen. He belongs to Butterworth Post, G. A. R., and thus maintains
pleasant relations with the comrades with whom he served upon the battlefields of the south. He has never been afraid of work and his unflagging
industry and perseverance were the strong and salient elements in his success.
He is now eighty-three years of age —a venerable and respected citizen of
Coldwater. He can look back over the past without regret, for his life history contains many traits of character worthy of admiration and of emulation.




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


873


SAMUEL FISK.
Samuel Fisk, now living a retired life in Coldwater, was born in Newark,
Wayne county, New York, October 13, I834. His parents, L. and Adelia
(Wells) Fisk, were also natives of the Empire state, in which they spent
their lives, the father following the occupation of farming in order to provide
for his family, of wife and nine children-six sons and three daughters.
Samuel Fisk was reared to the occupation of farming, working in the
fields through the summer months, while in the winter seasons he attended
the district schools, acquiring a good practical education. He came to the
west in I867, following his brother, George W. Fisk, who recently died in
Branch county, Michigan. Here Samuel Fisk settled, taking up his abode
south of Coldwater, and the brothers carried on agricultural pursuits together
for twenty years, meeting with very desirable success. Samuel Fisk was
afterward alone in his farming operations for a brief period and in I897 he
removed to Coldwater, where he retired from active business life.
In this county, in I874, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Fisk and
Miss Clara S. Conover, who was born in Huron county, Ohio. They have
two children, Albert Jerome and Carlottie B., the former a farmer of Branch
county. In his political views Mr. Fisk is a Republican and for eight years
he served as supervisor of Coldwater township, proving efficient and capable
in that office. He was influential in community affairs on the side of improvement and progress and has taken a just pride in what has been accomplished
in Branch county during the long years of his residence here. Active and
honorable in all business transactions, he won a competence that now enables
him to live retired and that classes him with the substantial residents of Coldwater.
BENJAMIN R. FERGUSON, D.D.S.
Dr. Benjamin R. Ferguson, who, in the practice of dentistry in Coldwater, has built up a lucrative business that is indicative of his excellent workmanship and professional skill, was born in Ovid township, Branch county,
May io, 1854. His paternal great-grandfather, Israel Ferguson, was a native
of Putnam county, New York, and was of Scotch lineage. His son, Abraham
Ferguson, removed from the Empire state to Michigan, in 1835, and in I867
became a resident of Coldwater, where he died in 1874 at the advanced age
of eighty-one years. He was a good man, who lived an upright and honorable life in consistent harmony with his profession as a member of the Baptist church. His early political support was given to the Whig party and later
he became a Republican. He married Sarah Roberts, whose birth occurred in
Columbia county, New York, and she was of Welsh descent. She lived to be
eighty years of age and was, a life-long and consistent member of the Baptist
church. In the family of Israel and Sarah (Roberts) Ferguson were ten
children, of Whom two died in infancy. Of the others five sons and three
daughters are yet living, the eldest being eighty-seven years of age, while the
youngest is more than sixty-eight years of age and all are married and have
reared families.




874


HIISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Dr. Ferguson's father was born in the state of New York and is now one
of the oldest citizens of Branch county, where he has lived for many years.
He came here with his parents in pioneer times and has since been an interested witness of the development and growth of this section of Michigan.
Benjamin R. Ferguson was reared and educated in Branch county, spending his boyhood days upon the home farm. His early mental training was
received in the district schools and when eighteen years of age he entered
the schools of Coldwater. Later he took up the study of dentistry in this
city and subsequently entered upon practice in Olivet, Michigan, but since
I88I has conducted an office in, Coldwater. Success has attended his efforts,
for he possesses the mechanical skill, theoretical knowledge and business ability without which no man is ever successful as a member of the dental
fraternity.
In 1876 Dr. Ferguson was married to Miss Ella Walker and they now
have a son and daughter, Glenn W. and Cora M. In his fraternal relations
he is connected with the Knights of the Maccabees and the National Union
and religiously with the Baptist church. Whatever he has accomplished and
whatever success he enjoys is attributed entirely to his own efforts, for with
no outside aid or influence in the beginning of his business career he prepared
for his chosen calling and has steadily worked his way upward, depending
entirely upon his capability for the building up of a practice.
JOHN   SECOR.
John Secor is the owner of two hundred and thirty-eight acres of valuable
land in Michigan and since I9oo has resided upon his present farm on Section
21, Bronson township. He was born in Bronson township, in I856, and is a
son of Benjamin K. and Louise M. (Young) Secor. The father was born
in the Empire state and removed to Toledo, where he lived for a time. About
I852, however, he came to Branch county and settled in the village of Bronson, where he engaged in general merchandising with David F. Gates for
several years. At the outbreak of the Civil war, however, his patriotic spirit
was strongly aroused and he offered his services to the government, enlisting in Company G, Nineteenth Michigan Infantry. He was captured and
died as a prisoner of war in Tennessee. He had previously purchased a small
farm in Bronson township, southeast of the village. In the family are two
sons, John and James.
John Secor was but a young lad at the time of his father's death. He
was reared upon the farm and pursued his education in the district schools of
the neighborhood. He continued upon the home farm until I893, coming
into possession of the property in I89o. He also extended its boundaries
by the addition of thirtyfour acres and transformed it into very rich and
productive fields, adding all modern equipments and accessories. In I893 he
rented the Wallace Monroe farm north of town for seven years, living thereon
until I9oo and during the same time he continued to cultivate his own farm
of seventy-eight acres. In the latter year he purchased one hundred and
eighteen acres on Section 2I, Bronson township, known as the Latta farm,




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


875


to which he removed and on which he has since made his home. In 1903 he
sold his original farm property and later purchased one hundred and twenty
acres of land in St. Joseph county, Michigan, so that his entire holdings comprise two hundred and thirty-eight acres at the present time. He carries on
general farming and raises feed for his stock. Everything about his place
is kept in good condition and he is one of the representative agriculturists
of his community, his enterprise and perseverance proving the elements that
have brought him success.
In 1877 Mr. Secor was united in marriage to Miss Alvira A. Johnson, a
daughter of Morgan Johnson, of Bethel township. They have three children:
Joseph Benjamin, who married Anna Gairn and lives at Three Rivers, St.
Joseph county; Louisa A., the wife of Arthur Lindsey, of Litchfield; and
John Morris, who is eight years of age. In politics Mr. Secor is a Republican and has been a member of the school board for four years, the cause of
education finding in him a warm friend and one who does all in his power to
promote the welfare of the schools. In his farming operations he has so
directed his efforts that his work has been attended with a gratifying measure
of prosperity.
AUGUSTUS A. CLEVELAND.
Augustus A. Cleveland, who since September, i889, has resided upon his
present farm in California township, was born in the neighboring state of
Indiana, his birth having occurred in Elkhart county on the I3th of October,
1844. His father, Joseph Cleveland, who was the son of Harden and Betsy
Mason Cleveland, was born in Lake county, Ohio, and in early life learned
the carpenter's trade, which he followed in connection with farming, depending upon those two pursuits as a means of livelihood throughout the entire
period of his mature years. He was united in marriage to Miss Harriet
Seward. who was also a native of Lake county, Ohio, and was a daughter of
Nathan Seward. Their marriage was celebrated in the Buckeye state and
they became the parents of twelve children, of whom three died in infancy.
Of the others Tracy, Mrs. Portia Brindle and Mrs. Lillian Noyes, are now
deceased.  Mrs. Laura Tupper is living in Cass county, Michigan.  Mrs.
Althea Sanborn makes her home in Kirtland, Ohio. Mrs. Frances VanDusen
is living in Coldwater. Seward makes his home in Coldwater, and Mrs.
Jennie Taylor is a resident of Batavia, this county. Both of the parents died
in Batavia, where they were respected citizens. They had become residents
of Branch county during the period of the Civil war and remained here until
called.to their final rest.
A. A. Cleveland spent his boyhood days in his father's home in Elkhart
county, Indiana, where he lived until seventeen years of age. No longer able
to content himself at home while the country was engaged in Civil war he
enlisted from Elkhart on the 3Ist of December, I86I, entering the service the
following day as a member of Company C, Ninth Indiana Infantry, with
which he served for three years and nine months. Although but a young
lad no veteran of twice his years displayed greater loyalty or valo r upon the
field of battle. The regiment was attached to the Army of the Cumberland




876


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


and he participated in many of the important engagements of the war leading
up to the final victorious result. He was in the battles of Pittsburg Landing,
Stone River, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Nashville and other battles
and skirmishes of less importance. He was also on the Atlanta campaign
under General Sherman and was wounded in front of Atlanta. During the
last two years of the war he served as orderly sergeant and was honorably
discharged in September, I865, having for almost four years worn the blue
uniform of the nation. Every duty assigned him in connection with his
military service was faithfully performed and he returned home with a creditable record.
When hostilities ceased Mr. Cleveland came to Branch county, making
his way to Batavia, where his parents had removed during his absence at the
front. He lived there for ten years, working his father's farm, after which
he removed to Bronson, where he remained for a short time. He next established his home in Algansee township in I878 and there resided until September, 1889, when he removed to his present farm on Section 4, California
township. Here he owns forty acres of productive land on which are good
buildings. The place is neat and well improved and he carries on general
farming, his labors bringing to him a good living. He has always devoted
his attention to general agricultural pursuits and his work is at all times
characterized by unfaltering diligence and by practical methods.
On the 24th of November, I868, Mr. Cleveland was united in marriage
to Mrs. Theresa Welch Sprague, who passed away in October, I886. His
second marriage on the 28th of June, I888, was to Miss Dana Purdy, who
was born in Ovid township, Branch county, July 24, I86I. The Purdys are
one of the old families of this part of the state and the original American
ancestors came from England to the new world. Joseph Purdy was born in
Rutland, Vermont, March I, I767, and his wife, Sally Smith, who was born
November II, I769, was probably a native of the same state. In early life
they removed to Canada, settling near Montreal. At the beginning of the war
of 1812. feeling that he would be pressed into English service against his
native land, he returned to Vermont. During the second year of the war
(being driven out by the Indians), with his family, he removed to Monroe,
Ohio. They had eleven children, several of which came to Branch county
in 1836. In later years the parents also established their home here, their
last days being spent in Algansee township.
Horace Purdy, the eldest son of Joseph and Sally Purdy, and the paternal
grandfather of Mrs. Cleveland, was born March 14, I791, in Vermont, and
was married to Sally Thompson, of the same state. A few years of their
married life were spent in Canada, where their eldest child, Phoebe, was born.
After their return to the United States the first authentic record we have of
them is that they lived in Seneca county, Ohio, as early as 1818. From there
they removed to Branch county in 1836. It was in Seneca county, Ohio, that
Orange Purdy, father of Mrs. Cleveland, was born on the 7th of July, I830.
He married Miss Martha Parker, whose birth occurred in Hillsdale county,
Michigan, July 18, I841. She was the daughter of Abel and Climena (Pease)




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Parker. Her mother was a native of the state of New York and her father
of Connecticut, having been born in that state December 19, 1798. Abel
Parker was the son of Silas Parker, who was born near Hartford, Connecticut, -and removed from that place with his family, making his way to Oneida
county, New York. He settled on Onondaga Pike, where he kept a tavern
for many years and in the days when the spirit of anti-masonry ran. high,
because of the disappearance of Morgan, the Masons used to meet and hold
meetings in his hotel. He was also a colonel in the war of II82. The wedding of Orange Purdy and Martha Parker was celebrated in California township and they became the parents of three children: Fred Purdy, now living
in Algansee; Orange J. K. Purdy, a resident of Montana; and Mrs. Dana
Cleveland. The father, Orange Purdy, was a soldier of the Civil war, enlisting as a member of Company G, First Michigan Sharpshooters, known as
Hall's Sharpshooters.  He joined this command September 23, I864, and
was discharged on the I3th of June, 1865, for General Lee had surrendered
and the war had been brought to a close. He at once returned to his home
in Branch county but died soon afterward, passing away on the I9th of December, I865, when only thirty-five years of age. He had followed farming in Algansee township prior to the war and was a respected and worthy
citizen. His health was undermined by his military service and he practically gave his life in defense of his country. His widow long survived him
and passed away on the Ioth of July, I897, when fifty-six years of age.
Mrs. Cleveland has long been prominent in the work of the Women's
Christian Temperance Union, recognized as one of its active representatives
for fifteen years.  She has been secretary, treasurer and president of the
county association and is now filling the position of county treasurer. She
has also been a leader in the work of the district, which comprises the counties of Branch, Calhoun, Barry, Eaton and Jackson, acting as corresponding
secretary for three years and at this writing, in I906, is acting as district president. Her interest in behalf of the cause of temperance has been far reaching and beneficial and her' labors in the organization have well demonstrated
her fitness for leadership. She likewise belongs to the Methodist Episcopal
church and has strong sympathy with every movement that tends to uplift
and benefit humanity. Both Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland are well known in this
county, for her entire life has been passed here and Mr. Cleveland has been
a resident of the county since his return from the war. He joined the army
as a boy, he returned a man, for there has been no movement in all the
country's history that has so rapidly developed the manhood and strength of
the young people of the nation as that chapter in her annals. In davs of
peace he has been equally loyal to his country and his co-operation can always
be counted upon for the furtherance of measures that have for their basis the
upbuilding and improvement of the county, state or nation.
LEVI SANDERS, M.D.
Dr. Levi Sanders, specialist on ruptures and chronic diseases, has headquarters both at Bronspn and Petoskey, Michigan, and conducts a practice that
extends over a wide territorv.




878S,


HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


Dr. Sanders was born in Gilead, Branch county, Michigan, December
2T,.I840, son of Josiah and Mary (Miller) Sanders, natives of Ohio who
moved from the Buckeye state up into Michigan in the year 1832 and settled
on a farm in Branch county. Both are deceased. In the district schools of
his native county Dr. Sanders received his early education, attending school
during the winter months and in summer working on the farm. He continuted farming for some years and then turned his attention to the study of
medicine, matriculating at Bennett College, Chicago, and graduating there
with the class of I8.80. He began the practice of his profession at Jamestown, Indiana, where he remained six years, from there returning to his
native county and locating at Bronson, where he has since maintained his
home, dividing his time, however, for some years past between this place
and Petoskey.
He married, in I868, Miss Lodema Jameson, a daughter of James
Jameson of Cayuga, New York, and they are the parents of six children:
John, Lowell, Emery, Irving, Milton J. and Lola A., wife of Charles W.
Clark of Sturgis, Michigan.
During his residence in Bronson Dr. Sanders has shown himself to be a
public-spirited citizen in the best sense of that term. He served as a member of the village council and for six years was president of the school board.
He has membership in Mystic Lodge, A. F. & A. M., is identified with the
A. O. U. W., and politically is a Republican.
The Publishers, in acknowledging their indebtedness to the work of Rev.
Collin, whose scholarly efforts and unabating interest in every department
of the undertaking insure to the public the faithfulness of the endeavor and
the value of the volume as a history of the county, take this opportunity in
the closing pages of the volume to give a brief sketch of the life of the author
and editor.
Like many of his fellow citizens, of the present generation as well as of
the pioneer past, Rev. Collin is a native of New York state. Born in Benton
township, Yates county, July 26, I843, he was the first child of Henry Clark
and Maria Louise (Park) Collin. He grew up on his father's farm and
became accustomed to its duties, so that he is not without personal appreciation of the toils through which the early agriculturists of Branch county
passed in transforming it into the beautiful region it now is. From the district school of his neighborhood he entered Penn Yan Academy, where he
prepared for entrance at Genesee College, at Lima, in the fall of 1861. In
the middle of his college career he transferred to Yale College, where he was
graduated a Bachelor of Arts in July, 1865, and later received the A. M.
degree. That the traditions and inclinations of the Collin family toward higher
education were up to the highest New England standards is shown by the
fact that for twenty years Yale College had one or more of the Collin boys
within her classic walls as a student.
From September, 1865, to July, I866, Mr. Collin taught in a private




HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY


879


school, "Immanuel Hall," in Chicago, belonging to his uncle, Rev. Roswell
Park, D.D., founder and first vice president of Racine College, Wis. The
three following years he pursued the theological course in Union Theological
Seminary of New York City, graduating there in June, 1869. His clerical
career began with license to preach by the fourth presbytery of New York,
April 12, 1869. He preached in the Congregational church of Seymour, Connecticut, from July, I869, to July, I870, being ordained by a Congregational
council in that place, November 25, I869. In May, I87I, he went abroad,
studying German three months near Hanover, and in October, I871, entered
the University of Berlin, where he studied theology, and in the following year
in the University of Leipsic. After traveling in Ireland, Scotland, England,
Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland, he returned to America in September, I872, and in June of the next year entered on his duties as pastor of the
Congregational church at Oxford, Chenango county, New York. In October,
I878, he was called from this position to the pastorate of the Presbyterian
church of Coldwater, where his active service continued for nearly twentyseven years, from December, I878, to March 31, I905. In the following May
he entered upon his duties as editor of this volume. His enthusiasm in all
literary matters and especially in the local history of his county, and his
ranking scholarship, were the qualities that caused his selection to this position. His' interest in the work has never flagged, and is perhaps best shown
by the fact that he intends to continue the collation of facts and the preservation of matters of historical value in Branch county, supplying the incentive
and inspiration which are always necessary to preserve the immediate past
from total oblivion.




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