Cass County Michigan Biographies
From The History of Cass County by GloverPage K
CLINTON L. KESTER
KESTER, BODMER, WILSONClinton L. Kester, the present postmaster of Marcellus, whose public-spirited citizenship stands as an unquestioned fact in his life, was born in Parkville, St. Joseph county, Michigan, December 14, 1861. He is a son of Adam H. and Emaline (Bodmer) Kester, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter of Ohio. In early life they became residents of Michigan and were married in this state. The father devoted much of his time and energies during his business career to mercantile pursuits, save that the last fifteen years of his life were spent upon a farm in Missouri, where he died February 14, 1906, at the age of seventy-four years. He had long survived his wife, who passed away on the 14th of November, 1876, when thirty-nine years of age. In his political views Mr. Kester was a stalwart Republican. In his family were six children: Millie, who is now living in Missouri; Clinton L., of this review; Herman; Ada, the wife of O. F. Wilson, also of Missouri; Frank, whose home is in St. Joseph, Missouri; and Burton, of the same state.
Clinton L. Kester was a youth of fourteen years when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Marcellus. He worked in his father's store for about ten years, thus acquiring his early business training and experience. He afterward went to Colorado, where he engaged in clerking for a time and later he joined his father, who had removed to Missouri and was there engaged in farming. After an absence of two years spent in the west, Clinton L. Kester returned to Marcellus, Michigan, and again entered the field of business activity here as a general merchant of the firm of Kester & Arnold. This relation was maintained for four years, when Mr. Kester withdrew and afterward engaged in clerking in the general store of S. Sterns & Company, in which capacity he served until appointed postmaster eight years ago. He has recently received his third appointment in the office, the duties of which he has discharged with credit to himself and generation satisfaction to the public. He owns a fifty-acre vineyard, one mile east of the village, which he oversees and which is kept in excellent condition, yielding large crops. His political allegiance has always been given to the Republican party and he is thoroughly in sympathy with its principles and policy. For four years he served as treasurer of the village and was a faithful custodian of its funds, while at all times he is loyal to those interests which tend to promote public progress and improvement. His social relations connect him with the Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of the Maccabees, and he is regarded as a valued representative of these organizations, exemplifying in his life the beneficent spirit of the different orders which are based upon the idea of the brotherhood of man.
Typed by Barbara O'Reagan
CLYDE W. KETCHAM
KETCHAM, BUSHNELLClyde W. Ketcham, one of the younger members of the Cass county bar who is making rapid advancement, resides at Dowagiac and is a native son of the county, his birth having occurred in Volinia township in 1876. He is a son of Dr. W. J. Ketcham, well known in the county, and was a student in the public schools of Dowagiac, being graduated from the high school with the class of 1894. When it came to the time when he should decide upon a choice of work as a life occupation he determined upon the practice of law and entered the law department of the Michigan State University at Ann Arbor in 1899. Completing the regular three years' course, he was graduated in the class of 1902 and entered upon the active work of the profession in Dowagiac in partnership with Charles E. Sweet. After a year he opened an independent office, purchasing the practice and the law library of F. J. Atwell, one of the pioneer attorneys of Cass county. He has been eminently successful and bids fair to become a leading member of the bar, having already attained success and prominence that many an older practitioner might well envy. Important litigated interests have been entrusted to his care and his careful handling of these has led to the winning of decisions favorable to his clients.
On the 6th of September, 1899, Mr. Ketcham was married to Miss Clarice Bushnell, a native of Grand Rapids and a daughter of Asa Bushnell, a wood carver and worker in wood in that city. Mr. Ketcham belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church and his wife to the Congregational church. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons and the Maccabees, while in the line of his profession he holds membership relations with the Cass County Bar Association. In his political views he is a Republican, and from 1897 until 1899 served as justice of the peace. His energies are now concentrated upon his professional duties and he is well known as a sincere and earnest practitioner, having comprehensive knowledge of the principles of both civil and criminal law.
Typed by Barbara O'Reagan
CHARLES H. KIMMERLE
KIMMERLE, HAIN, DUNNINGCharles H. Kimmerle is one of the leading representatives of Democracy in Michigan, and his invested interests are so extensive and important as to render him a leading business man of Cass county. Moreover he deals to some extent in real estate, but finds that his time is largely occupied by the supervision of his property. He has long been recognized as a prominent representative of the Democracy in his county and moreover has a very extensive and favorable acquaintance among the leaders of the party in the state. For many years he has been known for his sterling qualities, his fearless loyalty to his honest convictions, his sturdy opposition to misrule in municipal and state affairs and his clear-headedness, discretion and tact as manager and leader.
Mr. Kimmerle is a native of Lagrange township, his life record having begun on the 12th of June, 1860, upon his father's farm. He is a son of Henry and Mary. J. (Hain) Kimmerle and had two sisters. His public school course was supplemented by study in the Northern Indiana Normal College at Valparaiso, and thus well equipped he entered upon his business career. His father was one of the early California fortune seekers and, unlike many others, he met with splendid success in his efforts to achieve financial independence on the Pacific coast. At the time of his death in February, 1905, he was one of the wealthiest men in Cass county. Although Charles H. Kimmerle has inherited large property interests, such a condition of affairs has never fostered idleness with him, and, on the contrary, he is a busy man, his time being fully occupied with his private or public interests.
Happy in his home life, Mr. Kimmerle was married in 1882 to Miss Ella Dunning, and they have five children, three son and two daughters.
From early manhood Mr. Kimmerle has been a student of the complex political problems before the people, and as an advocate of the Democracy is well known in Michigan. He has been honored with the candidacy of his party on various occasions, receiving the nomination for county clerk in 1880, for judge of probate in 1888 and for the state legislature in 1902, the strong Republican majorities, however, rendering election impossible. He has been a delegate to two national conventions of the Democratic party, 1884 and 1900. In local affairs, where party lines are not so strongly drawn, he has been a factor, serving for twenty-one years as supervisor of Lagrange township, while for the last fifteen years he has represented Cass county at the state equalization at Lansing. For years he has served as chairman of the county central committee and also as a member of the state central committee, and has thus been the associate and co-laborer of the most distinguished representatives of Democracy in Michigan.
Perhaps Mr. Kimmerle's most notable work has been in connection with his efforts to suppress unjust assessment. In 1903 the state tax commissioners came to Cass county and raised the valuation of real property in every assessing district from seventeen to sixty-five percent. Mr. Kimmerle questioned their authority to do so and for a long time refused to surrender his assessment roll to them. They, however, finally succeeded, Mr. Kimmerle claiming that the commissioners made two per cent on all real property assessments. The matter was taken into court and Mr. Kimmerle, with the other seventeen assessing officers, were enjoined from using the state tax commissioners' valuations in apportioning the tax, but directed to use the figures adopted by the supervisors and board of review. The next year the state tax commission called on Mr. Kimmerle and asked him to make a general raise in the values. This he refused to do at their dictation, and because of this refusal the commission, through Governor Warner, cited him to appear and show cause why he should not be removed from office for wilfully undervaluing property. They also charged him with favoritism in making assessments. Between forty and fifty witnesses were called by the prosecution and examined. The commissioner designated by the governor to take the testimony reported that the prosecution had failed to make out a case.
Before the governor acted on the report Mr Kimmerle was elected for another term by an almost unanimous vote. The result of his opposition to the state authorities led to the repeal of some objectionable features of the law creating the commission and two of the commissioners who were so acting were legislated out of office. Mr. Kimmerle is president of the state Supervisors' Association, composed of not less than sixteen hundred assessing officers. He is at this writing (September, 1906), the Democratic nominee for the office of governor, and has warm endorsement in various sections of the state. He is a man with an eye to practical results and not glittering generalities. It will be observed that his turn of mind is eminently judicial and free from the bias of animosity. Strong and positive in his Democracy, his party fealty is not grounded on partisan prejudice and he enjoys the respect and confidence of all his associates irrespective of party. Of the great issues which divide the two great parties, with their roots extending down to the very bed rock of the foundation of the republic, he has the true statesman's grasp. Well grounded in the political maxims of the schools, he has also studied the lessons of actual life, arriving at his conclusions as a result of what may be called his post-graduate studies in the school of affairs. Such men, whether in office or out, are the natural leaders of whichever party they may be identified with, especially in that movement toward higher politics which is common to both parties and which constitutes the most hopeful political sign of the period.
Typed by Barbara O'Reagan
HENRY KIMMERLE
KIMMERLE, HASS, HAIN, HOY, KINGHenry Kimmerle, born in Butler county, Ohio, in 1830, was of German parentage. His father and mother, Jacob and Catherine (Hass) Kimmerle, came from the fatherland in early life and settled first in Philadelphia and afterward moved to Ohio, where the father died. Soon after his death Henry, at the age of four years, with his mother and other relatives came to Cass county, where, with the exception of six years, his entire life was spent.
At the time of his coming to Cass county the country was new and undeveloped, schools were of the primitive type and were few and far between. These conditions, together with the fact that the family was in meager circumstances, gave Henry very limited opportunities for an early education, and what he did receive was almost entirely the result of his own efforts.
In every respect he was a self-made man, and being of an observing and inquiring turn of mind, he gained knowledge in the school of experience, his education continuing throughout his whole life. He gave careful thought and attention to any subject in which he became interested, searching for the truth. He was not easily influenced or biased by the opinions of others.
His dominant characteristics were originality and concentration of thought and purpose; faithfulness to his affairs in life and an indomitable will to succeed in whatever he undertook. The possession of these qualities, coupled with the fact that he was early thrown upon his own resources, won for him a degree of success in the financial world enjoyed by few of his contemporaries.
In 1849, when less than eighteen years of age, and with but a few dollars in his pocket, he joined a party of prospectors and started for the gold fields of California, little realizing the trials and hardships he would be called upon to endure. The party's provisions were drawn by oxen, and in relating the experiences of those early days Mr. Kimmerle has often been heard to say, that he walked the entire distance to California. This is no doubt true, as it was only by favoring the oxen in every possible way that the party was able to get any of them through alive. As it was many died from overwork, starvation and thirst, necessitating the leaving of some of the wagons along the way while the burdens of the others had to be reduced to smaller proportions. After six months of travel and hardships the party reached the promised land, where six years were spent by Mr. Kimmerle amidst the exciting scenes of the great Eldorado. He engaged in mining for a short time only, and then spent several years in freighting goods by mule pack trains up the mountains to the miners. Money was plentiful but food scarce. He often sold flour at one dollar a pound and eggs at fifty cents apiece.
In 1855 he returned to Cass county by the way of the Isthmus of Panama and New York, bringing with him enough gold to lay the foundation of his future prosperity. The following year he married Mary J. Hain, only daughter of David Hain of LaGrange township, and lived in the Hain household four years, when he bought an adjoining farm and built a house. On this spot, four miles west of Cassopolis, he spent the remainder of his days---forty-five years. Most of the land was covered with a heavy growth of timber, requiring much time and labor to clear off and convert into a farm, which now, with the buildings, is one of the best in the county.
Mr. Kimmerle was far-sighted and conservative in business and active both in mind and body to the close of his life. While conservative and careful in business he was benevolent and kind, and free from avarice. He sympathized with those less fortunate financially than himself, and his dealings were always just and honorable with never a suspicion of dishonesty nor a desire to take advantage over those with whom he dealt. Through his easy business methods with the needy and deserving people of his community many were enabled to get a start, and rightfully looked upon him as a friend. In politics Mr. Kimmerle was a life-long Democrat, and while never seeking an office, he was always interested in both national and local politics.
He died in March, 1905, and is survived by his widow and three children--Charles Henry, Mrs. Josephine Hoy, Mrs. Mary King. Two sons, Schuyler and William, died in early childhood, and one daughter, Lois, died at the age of twenty-one years.
Typed by Darwina Michael
ALLEN M. KINGSBURY
KINGSBURY, HAYNES, LAMBAllen M. Kingsbury resides on section 29, LaGrange township, where ... in addition to carrying on agricultural pursuits he is also acting as vice-president of the First National Bank of Cassopolis. He represents one of the oldest and most prominent pioneer families of Cass county. ... His father was Asa Kingsbury, a native of Massachusetts, who came to Michigan when much of this district was wild and unimproved. In his family were thirteen childlren, seven sons and six daughters, of whom Allen M. Kingsbury is the third child and second son. He was born upon the old homestead farm in LaGrange township and was there reared to manhood, acquiring his education in the schools of Oak Grove, Cassoppolis and Jackson townships. When not busy with his text-books he aided in the work of field and meadow and continued to assist his father in the operation of the home farm until twenty-one years of age, when he started out in life on his own account, following the pursuit to which he had been reared. ...
After his marriage he located upon the old homestead for a year and then removed to the farm upon which he now resides and which has since been his place of residence. It comprises two hundred acres of rich and arable land ... He is also numbered amnong the stockholders of the First National Bank of Cassopolis and is now serving as its vice-president.
In 1877 Mr. Kingsbury was united in marriage to Miss May L. Haynes, who was born and reared in Jackson county, Michigan., and by this marriage five children have been born: Floy, who is now the wife of Fred B.Lamb, a resident of Perth Amboy, New Jersey; Jessie, who is engaged in teaching in Lewistown, Montana; Alberta, who is a teacher in New Jersey; Allen W., who is assisting his father in the work of the home farm; and Catherine, who is attending school in Cassopolis. ...
Since age conferred upon [Mr. Kingsbury] the right of franchise he has voted for the men who are pledged to support the principles of Democracy. He served as township treasurer of LaGrange township and has also been justice of peace ... In the Masonic fraternity [pick up last couple of lines from
[Editing note:Note: Capitalization, style and punctuation of original text have been followed throughout except for the occasional insertion of commas in long compound sentences. Several long paragraphs also have been divided up for ease of reading. Deletions are marked by elipses (...).]
Typed by Larry Sullivan
DAVID L. KINGSBURY
KINGSBURY, MONROE, GRAHAMDavid L. Kingsbury, assistant cashier of the First National Bank of Cassopolis, was born in LaGrange township, Cass county, Michigan, on the 9th of July, 1867, and is the youngest son of Asa and Jane (Monroe) Kingsbury, who are mentioned on another page of this work. No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for David L. Kingsbury in his youth. He was reared in LaGrange township until sixteen years of age and attended the district schools in township until sixteen years of age and attended the district schools in his early boyhood days. He afterward continued his studies, however, in the high school of Cassopolis, from which he was graduated in the class of 1888. Subsequently he attended the agricultural college at Lansing for one year and was also a student in Kalamazoo Business College for six months, being thus well equipped for life's practical and responsible duties. Subsequently he engaged in the dry goods business in Cassopolis in partnership with his brother, under the firm style of G. M. & D. L. Kingsbury, which connection was maintained for five years, at the end of which time Mr. Kingsbury became assistant cashier of the First National Bank on the 1st of April, 1891. He has since occupied that position and is one of the popular, competent and trustworthy representatives of this strong financial institution.
In 1893 occurred the marriage of David L. Kingsbury and Miss Frances Graham, a daughter of E. R. and Sabrina Graham. They have one son, Asa Joseph. Mr. Kingsbury has been connected with the village board since attaining his majority either as its treasurer or president, having been elected president for five consecutive times. In the discharge of his duties he has been prompt and efficient and his labors have been very beneficial to the town. He is a Democrat in his political views, active in the work of his party, and his devotion to the general good is above question. Prominent in Masonic circles, he belongs to Kingsbury Chapter, R. A. M., and Niles Commandery, K. T., and he also holds membership relations with the Knights of Pythias of Cassopolis. For a number of years he has been classed among the prominent and progressive citizens of this place and he has earned for himself an enviable reputation as a careful man of business, who in his dealings is known for his prompt and honorable methods, which have won him the deserved and unbounded confidence of his fellow men.
GEORGE M. KINGSBURY
KINGSBURY, POWELLG. M. KINGSBURY, president of the Cassopolis Manufacturing Company and a well known resident of Cassopolis, was for many years a leading merchant of the city and was a valued and prominent factor in its business interests because of his connections with its manufacturing affairs and its banking business as a director of the First National Bank. He was born in LaGrange township, this county, on the 23rd of April, 1862, and represents one of the pioneer families. His father, Asa KINGSBURY, was a native of Massachusetts, and came to Cass county, Michigan, during an early epoch in its development and progress. Establishing his home in Cassopolis, he became a prominent merchant and banker here, and was closely identified with the early upbuilding and progress of the village. He belonged to that class of representative American citizens who while promoting individual success also contribute in large measure to the general prosperity. His fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability and his devotion to the general good, several times called him to the office of county treasurer. His death occurred when he had reached the age of seventy-six yars (sic), and he left behind him the record of an honorable, upright and successful life. He was married twice, and in his family were fourteen children, G. M. KINGSBURY being the ninth in order of birth.
Under the parental roof in Cassopolis Mr. KINGSBURY of this review spent his boyhood and youth, his time being divided between the duties of the schoolroom and the pleasures of the playground. He afterward attended the Jackson High School, from which he was graduated in the class of 1881, and, returning to Cassopolis, he here embarked in merchandising, having become somewhat familiar with the business by assisting at odd times in his father's store. For eighteen years he was a representative of commercial life here, conducting a large and well stocked store which brought to him a good patronage because of his reliable business methods and his earnest efforts to please his customers. In the spring of 1900, however, he sold his store to G. L. SMITH, since which time he has given his attention to manufacturing interests, being president of the Cassopolis Manufacturing Company, which was organized in the fall of 1899. He is also one of the directors of the First National Bank of Cassopolis, and his name is an honored one on all commercial paper.
October 18, 1882. Mr. KINGSBURY was united in marriage to Miss Stella POWELL, a daughter of Francis I. and Mary (HUFF) POWELL and a native of LaGrange township. Her people were early residents of the county, the name of POWELL figuring in connection with many of the early events which constitute the pioneer history of this part of the state. Unto Mr. and Mrs. KINGSBURY has been born a daughter Charlotte, who is now at home.
In his political views Mr. KINGSBURY is a stalwart Democrat, unfaltering in his devotion to the party and active in its work. In 1892 he was a delegate to the national convention at Chicago. He has several times served as a village officer, being president of the village board for four years, was treasurer for a number of years, had also been trustee and is a member of the board of trustees of the cemetery. Whatever tends to promote the permanent improvement and material progress of the city receives his strong endorsement and hearty co-operation. He belongs to Backus Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Cassopolis, has also taken the degrees of capitular and chivalric Masonry and is now a member of the Mystic Shrine. Prominent in the ranks of the craft, he is acting as grand scribe of the grand chapter. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and is widely recognized as one of Cassopolis' leading and influential citizens. He possesses keen business discernment and an ability which enables him to readily comprehend a business situation and its possibilities. He has therefore wrought along lines that have led to affluence and is today one of the substantial residents of his community.
Since the above was compiled, Mr. KINGSBURY passed away and the following Masonic obituary is appended:
GRAND CHAPTER ROYAL ARCH MASONS OF MICHIGAN.
Jackson, Mich., March 2, 1906
To all Royal Arch Masons wheresoever dispersed:For the second time within the year are we called upon to mourn the loss of one of the active officers of our Grand Chapter and to join the funeral cortege to pay the last sad homage to a beloved companion.
GEORGE M. KINGSBURY
R. E. GRAND SCRIBE.Died at his home in Cassopolis, Mich., Tuesday evening, February 27, 1906. Companion KINGSBURY's failing health has been regarded with much anxiety by his friends for several years, but the dread scourge consumption secured too firm hold on his system and the inevitable has resulted.
George M. KINGSBURY was born at the old family home in Cassopolis, April 23, 1862. At the age of 14, he went to Jackson to finish his schooling, afterwards embarking in the mercantile business which he followed until 1900. At the organization of the Cassopolis Manufacturing Co. in 1899, he was made its president and general manager and continued in that office until a short time before his death.
Companion KINGSBURY was always alive to the business interests of his home village, and many times was called to serve it in official capacities. He was president for four years, treasurer for six years, member of the school board six years, and was member of cemetery board at the time of his death. In every position he gave his best efforts and his administration was always marked by a move in the line of progress.
October 18, 1882, he was united in marriage to Miss Estelle POWELL, of Dowagiac, and to them was born one daughter, Miss Lottie, who with the devoted wife are left to mourn their irreparable loss.
The Masonic record of Companion KINGSBURY has been a bright one. He was raised to the degree of Master Mason in Backus Lodge No. 55, F. & A. M., December 10, 1883. He was exalted to the sublime degree of Royal Arch Mason in KINGSBURY Chapter No. 78, R. A. M., June 18, 1885, and first appeared in Grand Chapter as Hight Priest in 1892, serving his Chapter in that position for twelve years. He was elected Grand Master of the Second Veil January 17, 1900, and has been steadily advanced by his companions until at his death he was acceptably filling the station of Grand Scribe.
He was Knighted in Niles Commandery No. 12, K. T., November 20, 1885, and received the degrees of Royal and Select Master in Niles Council No. 19, R. & S. M., April 16, 1903. He was made a member of Saladin Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., October 18, 1895.
The funeral of Companion KINGSBURY was held at his home March 2, 1906, and he was buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery with Masonic honors under the auspices of Backus Lodge No. 55, Niles Commandery No. 12, headed by a military band acting as escort. The officers of the Grand Chapter of Michigan were in attendance to honor the memory of a beloved Companion.
As a token of respect to the memory of his distinguished Companion and of our affection for him it is ordered that this memorial be read at the first regular convocation after its receipt, and that it be preserved in the Memorial Record of the Chapter prepared for that purpose. It is further ordered that the Chapter and Alter be draped in mourning for sixty days thereafter.
THOMAS H. WILLIAMS,
Grand Hight Priest. (sic)
Attest:
CHARLES A. CONOVER,
Grand Secretary.Typed by Caral MECHLING BENNETT
JAMES H. KINNANE
KINNANE, SULLIVAN, BLANEY, ROBINSONJames H. Kinnane, successfully practicing law in Dowagaaic, was born in Kalamazoo county, Michigan, in 1859. His father, Patrick Kinnane, is a native of Ireland, and in 1856 came to the United States, locating upon the farm in Kalamazoo township, Kalamazoo county, Michigan, on which he yet resides at the venerable age of eighty-three years. He has always devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits, has prospered in his undertakings and now in the evening of life is enjoying the fruits of his former toil in well earned ease. His political views accord with the principles of the Democracy, and his religious faith is that of the Catholic church. He wedded Niss Mary Sullivan, a native of Ireland, who is now seventy-two years of age. She crossed the Atlantic in 1855, becoming a resident of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, where in 1858 she gave her hand in marriage to Patrick Kinnane. She, too, is a communicant of the Catholic church.
James H. Kinnane, the eldest in their family of nine children, was reared upon the home farm and attended the district schools, subsequent to which time he entered the high school in the city of Kalamazoo, from which he was graduated with the class of 1881. He afterward spent a year at the Baptist college in Kalamazoo and then entered the law department of the Michigan university at Ann Arbor in the fall of 1883. He was graduated with the class of 1885, after which he opened an office in Kalamazoo, practicing there for ten years. In 1896 he was appointed by President Cleveland as special agent for the allottment of land in severalty to the Indians under a general act of congress. He continued in the position for two years. In 1898 he came to Dowagaic, where he has been in practice continuously since, with more than ordinary success. In 1892 he was appointed by Governor Winans as one of the three commissioners to revise the highway laws of the state and did effective service on the committee.
In 1887 James Kinnane was married to Harriet E. Blaney, whose birth occurred in Kalamazoo county in 1864, her parents being John H. and Mary (Robinson) Blaney, the former a native of the United States and in business a well known real estate dealer of Kalamazoo. He was also active in public life ther and filled the offices of city marshall and city teasurer. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Kinnane have been born two sons and a daughter: Charles, Catherine and Robert. The parents are members of the Catholic church, and Mr. Kinnane belongs to the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Columbus. He has been a Republican since 1896, previous to which time he was a stalwart advocate of Democratic principles, and for six years had acted as chairman of the Democratic county central committee of Kalamazoo county. He is a man fearless in defense of his honest convictions, however, and when he bacame convinced in his own mind that Republican principles were more conducive to good government he fearlessly renounced his allegiance to the Democracy. While living in Kalamazoo he served as justice of the peace in 1886-7 and was city attorney form 1889 until 1891. In Dowagaic he has served as city attorney for the past three years and the various duties of a public nature which have devolved upon him have been faithfully, promptly and efficiently performed. He is president of the Cass County Bar Association and also a member of the Michigan Bar Association and one of its board of directors, and his official connection with the former is an indication of his standing with the profession in the county in which he makes his home.
Popular in social circles, he has many friends and in his grasp and greeting there is always welcome. He is genial, companionable and entertaining and is recognized as a popular citizen as well as a prominent lawyer of Dowagaic.
Typed by Gloria Gibbell
W. R. KIRBY
KIRBY, ROUSE, MACK, WYKOFFW. R. Kirby, filling the office of supervisor in Volinia township, resides on section 21, and his attention is given to the development and improvement of his farm, which comprises a good tract of arable and productive land. He was born in Otsego county, New York, near Cooperstown, December 31, 1843, and is of English lineage. His parents were John and Mary J. (Rouse) Kirby, the former a native of England and the latter of New York. Mr. Kirby was born in Yorkshire, England, and was only about two years old when brought by his parents to Michigan, the family home being established in the Empire state, where he was reared. On leaving the east he came to Michigan, settling in Flowerfield township, St. Joseph county. His wife spent her girlhood days in the Empire state and by her marriage she became the mother of eight children, three sons and five daughters, of whom seven reached years of maturity.
W. R. Kirby, the second child and eldest son in the family, was only about three years old when brought by his parents to Michigan. His childhood and youth were therefore passed in Flowerfield township, St. Joseph county, where he was reared in the usual manner of farm lads of that period, working in the fields through the summer months, while in the winter seasons he acquired a fair English education in the district schools. He continued a resident of St. Joseph county until 1865, when he came to Cass county, settling in Volinia township. He began keeping house on the farm where he now resides, and in 1877 he was married to Miss Mary J. Mack, a daughter of William and Theressa (Wykoff) Mack. He brought his bride to the farm upon which they yet reside and here he has continuously carried on general agricultural pursuits. Year by year he has tilled his fields, and through the rotation of crops and the careful management of his business affairs he has been able to secure good harvests and to find a ready sale for his products upon the market.
Mr. and Mrs. Kirby have no children of their own, but have reared two adopted children, Joseph M. and Anna B. Mr. Kirby is deeply interested in political issues and questions of the day, and has always kept well informed on subjects of vital interest to the community, the state and the nation. He has voted with the Republican party since attaining his majority and has held various local offices, being first called to the position of path master. He has also been township treasurer for two years, was town clerk for twenty years, and in 1905 was elected supervisor on the Republican ticket. His official record has been creditable and commendable, and no public trust reposed in him has ever been betrayed in the slightest degree. He belongs to Volinia Lodge, No. 227, A. F. & A. M., of which he is a charter member, and he is in hearty sympathy with the purposes of the craft. For more than forty years he has lived in the county and he has been found to be trustworthy in business and progressive in citizenship, while in social relations he is genial, companionable and entertaining.
Typed by Barbara O'Reagan
AMOS KNAPP
KNAPP, FINCH, FARNAMRetired farmers constitute a considerable portion of the population of Dowagiac, men who in active business life have capably directed their efforts along well defined lines of labor, managing their interests with ability, carefully husbanding their resources and thus securing a competence for later life. To this class belongs Mr. Knapp, who was born in Columbia county, New York, August 24, 1831. In the paternal line he comes of English-Holland Dutch descent. His father, William B. Knapp, was a native of Dutchess county, New York, and after remaining in the east until 1843 sought a home in the middle west, taking up his abode in Volinia township, Cass county, Michigan. He there remained for about five years, giving his attention to the task of developing and improving the farm, at the end of which time he removed to Silver Creek township, where his death occurred, when he was about seventy-seven years of age. His political allegiance was given to the Republican party for a number of years but prior to this time he was a Jacksonian Democrat. At the outbreak of the Civil war, however, he espoused the cause of the Republican party, which proved the real defense of the Union in the Civil war. He married Miss Mary Finch, a native of Columbia county, New York, and she, too, died upon the old home farm in Silver Creek township at the age of seventy-seven years. In the family of this worthy couple were five children, three daughters and two sons, all of whom reached adult age.
Amos Knapp, the second child and eldest son in his father's family, spent the first eleven years of his life in the county of his nativity and then came with his parents to Cass county, Michigan. The first five years of his residence here were spent in Volinia township and he afterward removed to Silver Creek township, remaining at home and assisting in the development of his father's farm, which was reclaimed for the purposes of cultivation and improvement. He was married there in 1858 to Miss Abbie M. Farnam, a daughter of Joseph and Abigail Farnam. She was born near Batavia, New York, and came with her parents to Michigan about 1845, so that the Farnam family were also early settlers of this state. They took up their abode in Van Buren county.
At the time of his marriage Mr. Knapp settled in Silver Creek township, where he devoted his attention to general agricultural pursuits. He cleared up a farm in the midst of the wilderness, cutting out the heavy timber, grubbing up the stumps, clearing away the brush and thus preparing his land for the plow. He bought his land at four dollars per acre. As the years passed his place was transformed into very rich and productive fields and he annually harvested good crops. For many years he carried on general agricultural pursuits, in which he met with gratifying success, but eventually he sold his farm and removed to Dowagiac in 1895. He also has property in the town. He is one of the old settlers of Cass county, having resided within its borders for sixty-three years and he has been identified with the making of the county along lines of substantial improvement and progress. He was township clerk in Silver Creek township for many terms and no public or private duty reposed in him has ever been betrayed in the slightest degree. He has always taken an active part in public affairs, doing everything in his power to make the county on a par with the older counties of this great commonwealth. His worth is widely acknowledged and all who know him esteem him for his many sterling traits of character.
Typed by Linda Curry
JOSEPH C. KYLE
KYLE, JONES, BORNE, NYE, BROWN, LOWJoseph C. Kyle, a veteran of the Civil war, who has been equally loyal to his country in the performance of duties that devolve upon him in connection with civic offices to which he has been called, has for many years made his home in Union, where he has long been engaged in painting and plastering. His birth occurred in Kosciusko county, Indiana, October 7, 1845, and is a son of Andrew and Frances S. (Jones) Kyle, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Virginia. They became the parents of four children, two sons and two daughters, all of whom reached adult age. Joseph C. and Mary Cornelia are twins and the latter is now the wife of Henry Borne of Bangor, Michigan. A brother, Alonzo R. Kyle, is living in Ellsworth, Kansas, while the other daughter, Flora A., is the wife of Charles Nye, a resident farmer of Pokagon township. On leaving the east Andrew Kyle, the father, became one of the early settlers of Elkhart county, Indiana, and in 1849 he went to California, attracted by the discovery of gold on the Pacific coast. He afterward returned to his native state, however, and his last days were there passed. His wife lived to be seventy-two years of age.
Joseph C. Kyle of this review has been a resident of Cass county from the age of three years, arriving here in 1848. He was reared in Porter township and was only eighteen years of age when he enlisted for service in the Civil war, becoming a private of Company C, Twenty-fourth Michigan Volunteer Infantry. He served until the close of hostilities and after the war returned to Union, where he engaged in painting and plastering. He learned the trades and followed the business for thirty years. Because of his excellent workmanship many important contracts have been awarded him and his services have been in constant demand, so that he has won a good living and secured a comfortable home.
Mr. Kyle was married September 3, 1865, to Miss Malissa Brown, a daughter of Joshua and Sarah A. (Low) Brown, and a native of Elkhart county, Indiana. Mr. Kyle has resided in Cass county for fifty-six years and is one of its representative citizens. His political allegiance has long been earnestly given to the Republican party, and he is now serving as a member of the board of reviews. Fraternally he is connected with the Carter post, No. 96, G. A. R., of Union, in which he has filled some of the offices, and he also belongs to the Grange, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Freewill Baptist church, in which he takes a helpful part, serving as one of its deacons, and doing all in his power to promote the various church activities and extend its influence. He is widely known in his part of the county by reason of his interest and cooperation in public affairs and also on account of his business connections. He has been found reliable at all times in his business career, faithfully executing his work in accordance with the terms of his contracts, and his energy, perseverance, laudable ambition and resolute purpose have been the strong and salient features of his life record.
Typed by Darwina Michael