From The History of Cass Countyby Glover

LAKE,CRANDALL,SPRAGUE,SIGERFOOS,SLIPPER,FERREL,TRIPP

J. M. Lake, living on section 7, Penn township, where he owns and controls ninety-seven acres of good land, his home being known as "Stone Abutment Farm," was born in Chenango county, New York, March 23rd, 1842. His father, Richard Lake, was a native of the Empire state, as was the paternal grandfather of our subject, Joseph Lake, who, however, spent his last years in Michigan. He lived for some time in Cass county, where his death occurred in Niles, this state. It was in the year 1844 that Richard Lake took up his abode in Cass county, locating on Section 18, Penn township. As this fact indicates, he was a farmer by occupation, his life being given to that pursuit, wherein he provided a comfortable living for his family. He married Miss Hannah Crandall, a daughter of Tanner Crandall, who was born in New York. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Lake were seven children, three sons and four daughters, namely: Harrison H.; James M.; Charles N.; Mary, wife of Byron Sprague; Sarah J., wife of Clayton H. Sigerfoos; Rosetta, wife of B. Frank Slipper; and Emma, wife of Henry Ferrel. The father died in the eighty-second year of his age, while the mother lived to be about sixty years.

J. M. Lake was but two years old when brought by his parents to Michigan and upon the home farm in Penn township he was reared. At the usual age he entered the public schools and when not busy with his text books his time was given to farm labor. After leaving school permanently he gave undivided attention to farm work on the old homestead up to the time of his marriage which occurred in 1873, the lady of his choice being Miss Anna Tripp, a daughter of Chester Tripp. She was born in Barry county, Michigan, and died in 1892, leaving a little daughter, who died in 1894. Mr. Lake has a farm of ninety-seven acres, which he has improved with modern equipments and which he now rents. It is largely devoted to the production of fruit and he has five hundred trees of peaches and apples upon the place. His trees produce quite abundantly almost every season and the fruit shipped from his place yields a good financial income. Mr. Lake has been a resident of Cass county for sixty-four years, with the exception of one year, which he spent in Pennsylvania, and is therefore well informed concerning the history of the county and the progress it has made from pioneer conditions to its present advanced state of cultivation and improvement. He has been a life-long Democrat, interested in the growth and success of his party, and has served as school director. He formerly belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Typed by Darwina Michael
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LAWRENCE,EMMONS

L. L. Lawrence, well known as a representative of agricultural circles in Volinia township, resides on section 11. He was born in this township May 13, 1853, and was the eldest of the three sons whose parents were Levi B. and Esther (Copley) Lawrence. The father arrived in Cass county about 1832, when the work of improvement and progress had scarcely been begun here. He took up land from the government, and for a long period carried on general agricultural pursuits, his life's labors being ended in death when he was about seventy-six years of age.

When a youth of about six years L. L. Lawrence entered the public schools and attended as opportunity offered until he had mastered the branches of learning taught therein. He also early acquainted himself with farm labor, taking his place in the fields almost as soon as old enough to handle the plow. He continued to assist in the work of cultivating crops upon the old homestead up to the time of his marriage, which occurred in 1879. He wedded Miss Rosa Emmons, and they have three children, Eula, Esther and a little infant son, John K. home="" comprises="" two="" hundred="" thirty-five="" acres="" land="" devoted="" agricultural="" pursuits="" addition="" tilling="" soil="" care="" crops="" mr="" lawrence="" followed="" carpentering="" number="" years="" possesses="" mechanical="" skill="" ingenuity="" thus="" enabled="" keep="" everything="" about="" place="" excellent="" condition="" buildings="" fences="" farm="" implements="" being="" good="" repair="" somewhat="" independent="" political="" views="" but="" perhaps="" favors="" more="" largely="" principles="" republican="" party="" belongs="" masonic="" lodge="" at="" marcellus="" a="" supporter="" all="" measures="" for="" their="" object="" general="" welfare="" in="" manner="" genial="" and="" circle="" friends="" embraces="" many="" who="" have="" known="" him="" from="" boyhood="" days="" down="" to="" present="" time="" which="" is="" an="" indication="" that="" his="" life="" ever="" worthy="" the="" regard="" of="" those="" with="" whom="" he="" has="" been="" associated="">

[ I was recently at the library and found a box containing the diary's of Esther Copley Lawrence. Also Copley and Lawrence Bible Records. If you are working on htis line, please contact Anne Hood. Thanks!

Typed by Barbara O'Reagan
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LEACH.SMITH,PUNCHES

James H. Leach is a proprietor of an attractive summer hotel known as Shore Acres, which stand in the midst of a valuable farm of eighty acres devoted to the cultivation of fruit and garden products. In this capacity of landlord he has become widely known and popular with many patrons and is meeting with gratifying success in his business affairs. Numbered among Penn township's native sons, he was born on the 25th of November, 1847, and is a representative of one of the pioneer families of this part of the state. His parents were Joshua and Matilda (Smith) Leach. His father was born in Vermont in 1812 and on leaving New England removed to Erie county, Pennsylvania, whence he came to Cass county, Michigan, in 1833, casting in his lot among the early settlers who were reclaiming the wild land and replacing the evidences of frontier life by the conditions which indicate improvement and progress. He settled in Penn township, where he purchased land, upon which he turned the first furrows. In course of time he had broken fields, had planted seed and with autumn came good crops. He cleared up a great amount of land in the county and his efforts were beneficial in the reclamation of what was once a wild and unimproved district. He died in his seventy-ninth year. His wife, who was a native of Ohio and a daughter of Eleazer Smith, of St. Joseph county, Indiana, was sixty-five years of age at the time of her demise. In their family were eight children, of whom four are now living, James H. being the fifth child.

In taking up the personal history of James H. Leach, we present to our readers the life record of one who is widely and favorably known. In retrospect one can see him a farm boy, trudging daily to school during the continuance of the sessions and afterward supplementing his early educational priviledges by a course in the high school at Cassopolis. He worked in the fields upon the home farm through the summer months and after completing his education continued to assist in the farm work for some time. He afterward engaged in the grocery business in partnership with C. E. Voorhis for five years and on the expiration of that period sold out to his partner and went to Florida, where he laid out an orange grove of four hundred orange trees and also planted two hundred lemon trees, his place being in Hillsboro county, while his postoffice was Limona. For four years his attention was devoted to the development of his fruit ranch in the south, and he then rteturned northward, locatin in South Bend, Indiana, where he engaged in the operation of a planing mill and the conduct of a lumber yard, being actively connected with the business for about thirteen years. On the expiration of that period he returned to Penn township, locating at his present residence on the north shore of Diamond Lake. The place is known as the J. C. Moon farm and the house is called Shore Acres. He has a tract of land of eighty acres and he also owns other land in the old homestead farm. He conducts the summer hotel in connection with his general farming interests and the raising of fruit, having a fine orchard, while from his fields he annually harvests good crops of grain.

On the 4th of April, 1883, Mr. Leach was united in marriage to Miss Fannie Punches, a daughter of Moses and Jane Punches. Mr. Leach votes with the Democracy and is a member of the Woodmen of the World. The family name has long figured in this county, being indelibly inscribed upon the pages of pioneer history as well as of later day progress and improvement. Mr. Leach has been watchful of business opportunities pointing to success, and has wrought along modern lines of progress. He possess a genial manner, courteous disposition and deference for the opinion of others, which have rendered him a popular citizen.

Typed by Gloria Gibbel
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LEWIS,FERGUSON,PEMBERTON,MILLER,POWELL,KIMMICK

E. F. Lewis, who for many years was engaged actively in farm work, but who now rents his land and makes his home in Vandalia, where he took up his abode about 1898, has been associated with events which have molded the pioneer history of the county and have contributed to its later development. He is one of the older native sons of Cass county, his birth having occurred in Newberg township on the 8th of November, 1847. His father, J. W. Lewis, was a native of New York, in which state he was reared, but was married in Ohio, the wedding taking place in Medina county, where he won the hand of Miss Emily Ferguson, a native of that county. In the year 1840 they came to Cass county, Michigan, and settled in Newberg township, where their remaining days were passed. Both had died at a comparatively early age, the father in his forty-fifth year, while the mother was about thirty-six years of age at the time of her demise. In their family were five sons: Francis S., who, enlisting for service in the Civil war as a defender of the Union in the Fourth Michigan Cavalry, Company I, gave his life for his country at the battle of Stone River in 1863; James H., who also died at the battle of Stone River while serving as a member of the Fourth Michigan Cavalry, to which his brother also belonged; E. F., of this review; Misael B., now living in St. Joseph county, Michigan; and Charles E., who maintains his residence in Pennsylvania.

No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for E. F. Lewis in his boyhood days. He was reared in his native township and attended the common schools, his time being divided between the duties of the schoolroom, the pleasures of the play-ground and the work of the home farm. However, in 1864, he responded to his country's call for aid. His two elder brothers had become soldiers and had given their lives in defense of the Union in the previous year, and E. F Lewis, although only sixteen years of age, thrilled with the spirit of patriotism, offered his aid to his country, being enrolled with the boys in blue of Company H, Nineteenth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, as a private. He served until the close of the war, took part in the battle of Savannah, and went with Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea, and through the Carolina campaign. Although he enlisted during the latter part of the struggle he tasted fully the fortunes and experiences of war, and all of the hardships meted out to the soldier. Following the fall of Richmond and the surrender of Lee he took part in the grand review in Washington, D.C., where the victorious Union army marched past the stand upon which the president viewed the troops. It was a glad day for the soldiers, knowing that this meant the close of their military service, which had been long and arduous, and that it also meant that victory had perched upon the Union arms and that the country was not to be dismembered, to the dissatisfaction of the south. Mr. Lewis received his honorable discharge at Detroit, Michigan, and was mustered out at Washington.

Not long after he was again at his work in the fields in Newberg township, being employed for some time as a farm hand by the month. He also engaged in grubbing stumps and any other work necessary for clearing and improving the land. In 1868 he married Miss Narcissus T. Pemberton, a daughter of R. S. and Margaret (Miller) Pemberton.

Reason S. Pemberton died at his son's residence in Marcellus, April 27, 1896, after a long and painful sickness, aged seventyfour years,m one month and four days. He was born in Wayne county, Ohio, March 23, 1822, and came to Cass county, Michigan, in 1836, with his uncle, Joseph Pemberton, with whom he made his home, having been left motherless when very young. Like a great many of the early pioneers, his advantages for getting an education were very poor, and young Reason, like many a poor boy of those days, began to use the axe, the tool that has felled the forests of Michigan, converting the land into vast fields for the present generation. Notwithstanding the meager chances for obtaining an education, he always had a strong desire for learning. Having gained a copy of that important factor in pioneer education, Webster's elementary spelling book, he soon learned to read and spell. That, with the Testament and a few books he borrowed, constituted young Reason's library, which he read and studied by the light of the fireplace. Three months of schooling in an old log schoolhouse in Indiana, where he had gone from Michigan, completed his early education, during which time he put in good work learning to "cipher." After having taught a few terms of school he was married, in 1840, to Margaret Miller, a German girl of thrifty parentage, and with his wife returned to Michigan, where they made their home and lived until the death of Mrs. Pemberton in 1885, at the age of sixty-four years. The hardships and trials of this couple were like those of all pioneers. The log cabin, with its fireplace, the small piece of cleared land, surrounded by the deep tangled wildwood, with its deer, its wolves and its Indians, were all well known to the early pioneers. Twelve children were born to this couple, seven of whom are now living, and all were present at the time of his death but one, Mr. J. A. Powell, living in Oklahoma. Mr. Pemberton and his wife united with the Christian church at Vandalia during the early days of its organization. In 1855 he became a charter member of the Vandalia F. & A. M., in which organization he remained an active and faithful member till death. He has held, during his career, all the township offices, from supervisor down to constable, and for over twenty years held the important position of justice of the peace. "Uncle Reas," as he was known, had a remarkable memory for retaining dates and events and reproducing them with clearness. In his official capacity he was frequently consulted in matters pertaining to law, and although only self-taught on the subject, his opinions on such matters have been a guide to a great many people. Being a life-long Democrat, he subscribed for and donated to the National Democrat during its early struggles for existence, and the paper was always a welcome weekly visitor, furnishing the literary matter for the family.

The funeral services were held at the Christian church in Vandalia, conducted by Rev. George Barrows, and attended by a large number of relatives and friends. The F. & A. M. organizations of Marcellus and Vandalia, with visiting members from Cassopolis and Dowagic, attended in a body, and with the ceremonies of their order interred the remains in the Vandalia cemetery, there to await the resurrection morn. In his death was lost an honored and respected neighbor, brother and father.

Wisdom and love have ordered all the past,
All shall be blessedness and joy at last;
Cast off the cares that have so long oppressed,
Rest, sweetly rest.

Margaret Pemberton, wife of R. S. Pemberton, Sr., died at her residence in Vandalia, after a short illness. She was the daughter of Jacob and Barbara Miller, and was born in the German state of Hesse Darmstadt, March 10, 1821. In 1832 she came with her parents to America, and the family (father, mother and six children), settled near Fredericksburg, Maryland, where they lived until 1836, when they emigrated to near Cadiz, Henry county, Indiana, where her parents commenced the laborious task of making a farm in the wilderness, in the work of which she bore no small part. In 1840 she was married to R. S. Pemberton, and in 1842 she came with her husband to Penn township, Cass county, Michigan, where she continued to live until her death. After their arrival in Michigan they moved from place to place for a time, but in 1847, they bought land a short distance northeast of this village and began in earnest the experience of the trials and vexations, the joys and freedom of pioneer life. They continued to live on the farm until 1877, when they moved to this village, where they afterward resided. She was the type of a class of pioneers that are fast passing away. She was the mother of twelve children, seven of whom are now living, and excepting one (Barbara), were with her in her last sickness. Traits of character - a cheerful disposition to do the work which fell to her lot, unceasing care for her family, active sympathy for those in affliction -- these she possessed to a high degree. The funeral was held at the Disciple church, of which denomination she was a member for forty years, having obeyed the gospel under the ministration of Ruben Wilson in 1845. The burial took place at the graveyard near the village, Elder Brown officiating.

Mr. and Mrs. Lewis began their domestic life upon a farm which he had purchased in Newberg township, and there he carried on general agricultural pursuits for about three years, after which he engaged in digging wells, giving about fifteen years of his time to that business. He then began following the more advanced methods of driving wells, and he has also engaged in farming in Penn township. He bought the property that he now owns about 1875, and he lived upon the place until 1890. He now enjoys a well earned rest in Vandalia, where in 1898 he erected one of the finest residences of the village. He rents his farm and is practically retired from active business, although he is now one of the trustees and stockholders of the Vandalia creamery. He also loans money and in this has been quite successful.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Lewis have been born a son and three daughters: Frank B., born August 12, 1870, who is now engaged in drilling wells in Cass county; and Fancheon D., born October 11, 1885, is the wife of William D. Kimmick, who is living upon the old homestead. Two daughters are deceased, Birta M., born April 18, 1874, and died May 10, 1874; and Vadie E., born August 7, 1876, and died June 28, 1879. The parents are members of the Christian church, taking an active part in its work and contributing generously to its support. Mr. Lewis has been a life-long resident of Cass county, and has rejoiced in the fact that this county has won a place among the leading counties of the great commonwealth. The result is due to the aggregate endeavor of its many public spirited, energetic and enterprising citizens, in which class he belongs. In politics he is an earnest and unfaltering Republican, and his fellow townsmen have called him to various offices. He acted as supervisor of Penn township for four terms and he is now president of the village of Vandalia, serving for the second term in that position, giving to the city an administration that is characterized by the utmost devotion to the general good and by practical and progressive methods for the benefit of the town. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic at Jones, Michigan, W. J. Maple Post, and thus maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades. Indolence and idleness have ever been utterly foreign to his nature, and whatever work he has undertaken, whether in his private business life or in behalf of the community, has been characterized by close application and an unfaltering purpose that has enabled him to carry forward to successful completion the task that has claimed his time and energies.

Typed by Barbara O'Reagan
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LEWIS,WOOD

Roland Lewis, who is engaged in the drug business in Dowagiac, where he has been a representative of mercantile interests since 1890, was born in Marion county, Ohio, July 6, 1856. His father was Eben Lewis, a native of Albany, New York. He dates his ancestry back to Francis Lewis, who was born in Wales and came to America in colonial days. He was prominent in public life, being closely connected with many events shaping the history of the nation, and was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. There were five brothers who came to America, settling in different states. One was a resident of Connecticut, another of Virginia, one of South Carolina, a fourth of New York and a fifth of Pennsylvania. Francis Lewis was the father of Ebenezer Lewis, the great-grandfather of our subject. The grandfather, Ebenezer Lewis, was a pioneer farmer of Marion county, Ohio, to which place he removed when his son, Eben Lewis, was but three years of age. There the last named was reared to manhood amid pioneer conditions and surroundings. He married Miss Hattie McWilliams and throughout his entire life he followed the occupation of milling, making that pursuit the one which provided his family with a comfortable living. He died when about sixty-three years of age, and his wife is now living at the age of eighty-three years, making her home in Marion county, Ohio. In their family were five sons and two daughters, all of whom reached adult age, while three sons and one daughter are living at this writing.

Roland Lewis is the fifth child and fourth son in his father's family. He was reared in the county of his nativity and pursued his education in the country schools and also in a high school at Columbus Grove, Ohio. He afterward spent two years as a student in the Northern Indiana Normal College at Valparaiso, Indiana. This was in 1879 and 1880, and in 1881 he removed to Freeport, Illinois, where he was engaged in the drug business, making his home at that place until 1885. He then removed to Nevada, Iowa, where he established a drug store on his own account, continuing at that point for four years, when he sold out and removed to Michigan, arriving in Dowagiac in 1890. He then purchased an interest in the store which he has since conducted. The firm of Lewis & Simmers was established, but in the following September Mr. Lewis purchased his partner's interest and continued alone in business under his own name until 1898, when the firm of R. Lewis & Company was formed, a partner being admitted. This is a well equipped establishment, and its neat and tasteful arrangement, moderate prices and the efforts of the proprietor to please his patrons have secured a large and growing business.

Mr. Lewis was married in 1885 to Miss Ella Wood, a daughter of Nathan Wood, of Deep River, Indiana, and they now have one child, Claire, who is at home. Mr. Lewis is an earnest Democrat in his political views and has taken an active part in advancing the welfare and promoting the growth of Democracy in this locality. Since 1897 he has served as a member of the board of public works and has proven a most capable official. For twenty-eight years he has been a member of the Masonic fraternity and is most loyal to its teachings, being in hearty sympathy with the principles of the craft. He is also connected with the Modern Woodmen. His residence in the county now covers a period of sixteen years, and the fact that he has been continuously in mercantile life has gained him a wide acquaintance, while his business methods and personal traits of character have won for him an enviable place in the warm regard of many friends as well as of those who have known him only through business relations.

Typed by Barbara O'Reagan
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LILLEY,SIMPSON,CHARLES,WALES,BROWN,HURDLE,SHEPHARD,SIMMONS

Thomas J. Lilley is numbered among the early settlers of Cass County who for many years has been and interested witness of the changes that have occurred here and the transition that has been wrought as time and man have brought the county to its present position of advancement and development. He lives on section 18, LaGrange township, and is the owner of four hundred and forty-six acres of rich and valuable land, but leaves the work of tilling the soil to others while he is now living retired in the enjoyment of a well earned rest. His birth occurred in LaGrange township on the 13th of October, 1844, and he therefore among the older of the native sons of the county. His parents were David and Sarah (Simpson) Lilley, in whose family were four children. The father was a native of Ohio and emigrating westward cast his lot with the pioneer residents of Cass County. He entered a small claim from the government, was married in LaGrange township and reared his family upon his home farm here. He was identified with the making of Cass County, with its permanent improvement and substantial development, and his fellow townsmen recognized in him a citizen of worth and value. His political allegiance was given to the Democracy. It was in this county that he was married to Miss Sarah Simpson, a native of Virginia, who was brought to Michigan by her parents when about four years of age. Her father was Thomas Simpson, one of the earliest settlers of this part of the state, living in LaGrange township, where he aided in the reclamation of the wild land for the purposes of civilization. Mr. & Mrs. David Lilley long traveled life’s journey together, the former passing away when in his eighty-first year and the latter when seventy-nine years of age. Of their children three are now living, Thomas J. being the eldest and only surviving son. His two sisters are: Matlila, the wife of Austin Charles, of Decatur, Michigan; and Catharine, now the wife of Orville Wales, of Chicago.

In taking up the personal history of Thomas J. Lilley we present to our readers the life record of one who has a wide and favorable acquaintance in Cass County, for during long years he has lived within its borders, shaping his life in accordance with rules of upright conduct, of honor in business, loyalty in citizenship and devotion to all the is commendable in friendship and home life. In the period of his youth he assisted his father in carrying on the work of the farm and in early manhood sought a companion and helpmate for life’s journey, being married in 1867 to Miss Nancy Hurdle, a daughter of Jacob and Catherine (Brown) Hurdle. Her father was born on the ocean while his parents were crossing from Germany and the mother was a native of Ohio. They became residents of Cass County in 1833, settling in Wayne township, where they cast in their lot with the pioneer settlers. Mr. Hurdle did his full share in improving and developing this region and his value in the work of reclamation was acknowledged by all who knew of his career. Mrs. Lilley was born on the family homestead in Wayne township, June 29,1848, and has lived all her life in Cass County. In their family were three daughters: Lora, the wife of John Shephard, who resides upon the old homestead in LaGrange township; Birdie, at home; and Sadie, the wife of Dr. L.C. Simmons, of Shelbyville, Indiana. All were born in LaGrange township, where Mrs. Lilley has spent his entire life. He has carried on farming throughout his entire business career, but leave the more active work of the fields to others at the present time. His possession embrace four hundred and forty-six acres of rich and arable land under a high state of cultivation and well improved with modern equipment’s. He has prospered in his business affairs and he now rents his farm, resting in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil and in the competence which comes to him from the rental of his place. He has erected many buildings in the county and has lived a life of untiring industry and enterprise resulting in success. He votes with the Democracy but has never sought or desired office, preferring to give his undivided attention to his business affairs. He started out on his own account at an early age and has steadily worked his way upward undeterred by the difficulties and obstacles that one always meets in a business career. These on the other hand seemed to serve as an impetus for renewed effort and his purposeful action and sound judgment have made him one of the prosperous residents of the community.

Typed by Carol Foss

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LINCOLN,DeCOU,GREEN,TOMPKINS,BARNEY

Samuel J. Lincoln, who is filling the office of township supervisor in Penn township and follows the occupation of farming on section 13, was born upon the old homestead farm on this section May 23, 1850. His father, Bela Lincoln, was a native of New York and became a resident of Cass county before Michigan was admitted into the Union, the year of his arrival being 1833. He came in company with his parents, Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Lincoln, who located near Vandalia. Samuel Lincoln was a scythe maker and also engaged in shoeing oxen in the early days. An industrious man, he hook and active and helpful part in the early development of the county, performing much of the arduous task incident to the settlement of a frontier district and its conversion to the uses of civilization. His son, Bela Lincoln, was only eleven years of age at the time of the arrival of the family in Michigan and was therefore reared amid the environments of pioneer life, sharing in the hardships and trials incident to establishing a home in a frontier district. Returning to Ohio, he was there married to Miss Achsah DeCou, who was born in Green county, Ohio. After their marriage they located for a short time on Young’s Prairie in Cass county, but they soon afterward removed to section 13, Penn township. Mr. Lincoln trading a horse for forty acres of land. He went in debt for the horse, paying for it at the rate of six dollars a month. For four years he was a carpenter by trade and he built the first union schoolhouse in Cassopolis. He also laid out the plan from draft and put in the foundation for the Custard House in Cassopolis and prior to that he built a sawmill in Penn township, after which he operated it for a number of years or until it was destroyed by fire. He thus figured prominently in industrial interests in the county. Rebuilding his mill he continued in the manufacture of lumber for a few years, when he sold out and again resumed work at the carpenter’s trade and at the same time followed the millwright’s trade. In his business life he was very industrious and energetic, was reliable and trustworthy and his good workmanship and known honesty secured for him a liberal patronage. He was highway commissioner at one time and always gave his political allegiance to the Republican party, taking an active interest in its work and doing all in his power to promote its growth and insure its success. Living in Cass county from early pioneer days he was one of the best known citizens within its borders and at his death in 1881 the community lost one of its horned and representative men. In the family were two children who grew to adult age, the sister of our subject being Mrs. Beulah Green, the wife Elam E. Green, of Penn township.

Samuel J. Lincoln, whose name introduces this review, was reared and educated in Penn township, attending the district schools, wherein he mastered the common branches of learning usually taught in such institutions. He then remained at home until twenty-four years of age, assisting his father in carpenter work and following that pursuit for about thirty years. He was thus an important factor in building operations in the county and in many places are seen evidences of his skill and ability in that direction. He was always a thorough and accurate workman and won an excellent reputation in that direction.

In 1875, Mr. Lincoln was united in marriage to Miss Florence A. Tompkins, a daughter of Jabez Tompkins. Mrs. Lincoln was born in Ohio and when about five years of age was brought to Cass county by her parents. At the time of their marriage the young couple located on section 12, Penn township, where they lived for about four years, when his father died and he returned to the old homestead to care for his aged mother, who is still living, having reached the advanced age of seventy-nine years, her birth having occurred in 1828. Unto Mr. & Mrs. Lincoln have been born three sons and a daughter: Neva J.; Bela J., who is married and now studying law in Detroit; Clayton D., a stenographer now employed by the Dodge Pulley Company at Mishawaka, Indiana; and Raymond A., who is attending school. There is also one granddaughter, Mildred D. Barney.

Mr. Lincoln now gives his attention to the produce shipping business at Penn and rents his farm, which returns to him a good income. Moreover he is actively interested in public affairs and his worth and ability are widely recognized by his fellow townsmen, who have therefore called him to public office. He was elected supervisor of Penn township in 1903, and was re-elected in 1904 and again in 1905, so that he is the present incumbent in the position. He belongs to the Masonic lodge at Vandalia, and his life is in harmony with the teachings and tenets of the craft. He has always bee an earnest Republican and his public-spirited interest in the general welfare has led to the hearty co-operation in many plans and movements for the welfare of the community. For fifty-five years he has resided in Penn township, either upon his present farm or within a quarter of a mile of his present home. His life has been one of untiring and well-directed activity resulting in gratifying success.

Typed by Carol Foss

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LINDSLEY,ENGLE,SPALDING,ESTELL

The lumber interests of Michigan have always been an important source of the state's revenue and have formed one of the leading elements in its business development and commercial progress. The vast forests have furnished excellent opportunities for the lumberman, and in every community in the state men of enterprise have been connected with the trade in its various branches and its kindred industries. Mr. Lindsley is a well known lumberman of Dowagiac, where he is also operating a planing mill. He was born in Allegany county, New York, January 15, 1858. His father, Leman Lindsley, was also a native of the Empire state and was a farmer by occupation. He came to Michigan in 1863, locating in Hartford, Van Buren county, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits up to the time of his death, which occurred when he was forty-five of age. He was of Scotch-Irish descent and displayed in his life many of the sterling characteristics of his ancestry. He wedded Miss Mary Engle, also a native of New York, who died in Michigan when sixty-five years of age. In the family were three children, of whom John A. is the eldest. The second son, Edwin M., is a partner of our subject in the manufacture and sale of lumber in Dowagiac, while Washington, the youngest son, is a resident of Decatur, Indiana.

John A. Lindsley spent the first years of his life in the state of his nativity and then came to Michigan with his parents, the family settling in Van Buren county, where he was reared and obtained his education. He pursued his education in the schools of Hartford and later pursued a business course in the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso. Returning to Michigan, he entered upon his business career in 1880 as a lumber merchant at Hartford, where he continued until 1885, when he sold out there and removed to Dowagiac. Here he established a lumber yard and has continued in business for more than twenty years. He also owns and operates a planing mill, and his trade has long since reached extensive proportions, making his business one of the profitable enterprises of the city. This is due to individual energy and careful management, Mr. Lindsley possessing in large measure the qualities of success, which are earnestness, diligence and perseverance.

In 1880 was celebrated the marriage of John A. Lindsley and Miss Mary Spalding, a daughter of A. N. Spalding of Hartford. They have a family of five children: Mrs. Lula Estell; John Victor, who is manager of the mill work department for the extensive house of Sears, Roebuck & Company of Chicago; Augustus R., who is clerk in The Fair at Chicago; Leman O., who is attending a business college at South Bend, Indiana; and William.

Mr. Lindsley exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party and is deeply interested in its success and growth, doing all in his power to promote its influence and secure the adoption of its principles. He served as supervisor of the first ward and has been alderman several times. He is recognized as one of the leading men of his town and county. He has garnered in the fullness of time the generous harvest which is the just recompense of indomitable energy, spotless integrity and unflagging enterprise.

Typed by Barbara O'Reagan
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LINK,CAMERON,McLELLAN,McINTOSH

Dr. Donald A. Link, whose death by drowning August 15, 1906, deprived Cass county medical fraternity of one of its valued members, he having been engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Volinia and the surrounding country, was born in Canada on the 22nd of October, 1865. His father, Alexander Link, was also a native of that country and by occupation was a lumberman. Crossing the border into the United States, he located at Superior, Wisconsin, but his last days were passed in Canada, where he died in 1904. He was of Pennsylvania Dutch descent. In early manhood he had married Ann Cameron, also a native of Canada, while her parents were born in Scotland. She still survives her husband and is about seventy-three years of age. In their family were six sons and two daughters, all but one of whom are yet living, namely: J. A., who resides in Superior, Wisconsin; Adam J., who is living in Alberta, Canada, where he is government inspector of claims in the government office; Catherine, the wife of Rev. Malcolm McLellan, D. D., of Edinburgh, Scotland; Donald A., of this review; William K., also living in Superior, Wisconsin, assistant manager of the Superior Coal Company; Robert J., who is likewise living in Superior, Wisconsin; Ronald F., a marine engineer of Canada; and Margaret E., of Gravenhurst, Canada. The last named is the only one unmarried.

Dr. Link acquired a common school education at Lindsey, Ontario, and afterward pursued a three years' course in medicine in McGill University at Montreal, Canada, while later he was graduated from the Detroit College of Medicine with the class of 1895. The same year he located for practice in Cassopolis, Michigan, where he remained for about three years and then removed to Dawson City in the Yukon territory in Alaska. He continued there for about two and a half years and in 1900 returned to Cass county, locating at Volinia. He had a good practice here and was popular with all classes. He had gone to Gravenhurst, Ontario, in August to visit his mother, and while on a canoe trip up Moon river, in the district of Muskoka, met the sad death which has been mentioned.

In December, 1895, occurred the marriage of Dr. Link and Miss M. Blanch McIntosh, the only daughter of Jacob and Emily McIntosh, who are mentioned on another page of this work. Dr. and Mrs. Link had a daughter, Margaret E.

Dr. Link maintained fraternal relations with the Knights of the Maccabees, the Benevolent Order of Elks and the Masons and had taken the Royal Arch degree in the last named organization. In the line of his profession he was connected with the Cass County Medical Society and the Michigan State Medical Society. He was onscientious and zealous in his practice, finding in the faithful performance of each day's duty strength and inspiration for the labors of the succeeding day.

Typed by Darwina Michael
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LONGSDUFF,QUIGLEY,SEARFOSS,HULL,DODGE,DePUY,MULRINE

While "the race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong," the invariable law of destiny accords to tireless energy and indefatigable effort a measure of success which is gratifying and desirable. The truth of this assertion is verified in the life record of such men as George Longsduff, who in his active business career has so directed his efforts that he is now enabled to lived retired, making his home in Vandalia. He was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, on the 16th of March, 1826, and has therefore long passed the psalmist's span of three score years and ten. His paternal grandfather, Martin Longsduff, Sr., was a native of Germany, and in that country was reared and married. Crossing the Atlantic to the new world he became one of the early residents of Pennsylvania. In his family were ten children, of whom Martin Longsduff, Jr., was the eldest. He was a native of the same state and was there reared and educated. He was married twice and in 1834 he removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio, taking up his abode in Union township, Logan county, where he secured a tract of land and improved a farm. He remained a resident of that state for almost four decades and came to Michigan in 1872. Here he spent his remaining days, passing away at the age of eighty-five years. In his religious views he was a Lutheran, and he exemplified in his life his belief in the teachings of holy writ. The mother of out subject bore the maiden name of Matilda Quigley, and was a native of Hagerstown, New Jersey, where her girlhood days were passed. She was the second wife of Martin Longsduff, his former union having been with a Miss Searfoss, by whom he had one daughter, Elizabeth. By the second marriage there were born eleven children, one of whom died in early youth, while ten reached adult age and four of the number, two sons and two daughters, are still living and are residents of Cass county.

Mr. Longsduff, of this review, is the fifth child and third son in the family. He spent the first eight years of his life in the state of his nativity and then accompanied his parents on their removal to Logan county, Ohio, where he remained until he was twenty-one years of age. His educational privileges were those afforded by the common schools, and when not busy with his text-books he aided his father in tilling the soil, caring for the crops and performing such labor as was necessary in the development and cultivation of the home farm. The year 1847 witnessed his arrival in Cass county, and he then started out upon an independent business career. He located first in Penn township, and as it was necessary that he provide for his own support he began working by the day, making rails. He also engaged in ditching and in other such work as would yield him an honest living and gain him a start in business life. At the time of his marriage he located on a farm on section 14, Penn township, his home being a little log cabin to which he had to cut a road through the woods for two miles. Not a furrow had been turned or an improvement made on the farm, and in the midst of the green forest he began the arduous task of clearing and cultivating fields. In the course of time he had cut down the trees, grubbed out the stumps and plowed his land. The seed was then planted and in due course of time rich harvests were gathered. He also built a good barn and house, and remained upon his farm until October, 1872. He was practical in his methods, systematic in all that he did, and accomplished through energy and determination and assisted by his estimable wife, an excellent work that has contributed to the general agricultural progress of the county and at the same time brought to him a very desirable competence. In the year 1872 he left is farm and removed to Vandalia, where he has since resided. He began with only eighty acres of land, to which he added forty acres. Subsequently he sold that property and bought one hundred and eighty acres on sections 14, 24, 13 and 23, all, however, being comprised within one tract. After leaving the farm and locating in Vandalia he turned his attention to dealing in grain, fruit and stock, and conducted quite extensive operations in those lines of trade. He was ever watchful of opportunities pointing to success and his diligence, well formulated plans and unremitting attention to his business won for him still further success. Within the last two or three years he has given little attention to farming, simply supervising his landed interests, for he has rented his farm. In connection with his other interests Mr. Longsduff was a promoter of the creamery at Vandalia, and is president of the company. This has proved an important productive industry of the community, furnishing an excellent market for farmers keeping a large number of cows, and at the same time it has been a source of gratifying income to the stockholders.

On the 9th of February, 1851, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Longsduff and Miss Rachel S. Dodge, a daughter of Joseph and Ann (DePuy) Dodge. She was born in New York, near Baldwinsville, and was about eight years of age when she came with her parents to Michigan, the family home being established in Cass county. She has thus spent the greater part of her life here, and to her husband she has been a faithful companion and helpmate on life's journey, ably assisting him by her encouragement and also by her careful management of the household affairs. Unto them was born a son, Charles D., who is now deceased. He married Jennie Mulrine, and they had two daughters, Lucile and Georgiana, both of whom have been well educated in a business way.

Charles D. Longsduff, born January 27, 1861, died September 19, 1892, and was buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery, Cassopolis, Michigan. The funeral was conducted by the Masonic order and was one of the largest ever held in the place, which was an evidence of the high esteem his life had merited, and in which he was held by the whole community. He was kind and obliging in all his business transactions with his neighbors, a kind and indulgent father and husband, and is very much missed by the whole community. At his death he left a wife, two daughters and a host of friends.

The daughter, Lucile, is well educated, having attended the Commercial College of South Bend, Indiana, and was there employed by one of the responsible firms of the city. She is a fine pianist. Georgiana, the second daughter, graduated in the Vandalia High School in the class of 1906, and was the leader of the class. She passed her teacher's examination in the studies before she was eighteen years of age. It is expected by her grandparents to fit her for the teacher's life. The grandparents took these little girls and have reared and educated them and cared for them as if they were their own children. Surely they have fallen into good hands, when Grandfather and Grandmother Longsduff have assumed the care and education of them.

George Longsduff is an earnest advocate of Democratic principles, having supported the party since 1840 and taking an active interest in its work and progress. He has been called to various local offices, serving as supervisor for two years, also as a member of the school board and president of the village of Vandalia for about seven terms, during which time he has given to the village a public spirited and practical administration, resulting beneficially along many lines. He has also been a member of the village board for many years, and throughout his official service his course has been prompted by untiring devotion to the welfare of his community. He has long been an active member of the Masonic fraternity, with which he became identified in 1852. He is now the oldest living Mason initiated in Cass county, being the fourth member received into the first lodge of the county. He acted as worshipful master of Vandalia lodge for thirteen years, and has been very earnest and helpful in his work in connection with the craft. He became a charter member of the lodge at Vandalia, and both he and his wife are members of the Order of the Eastern Star, in which Mrs. Longsduff is now serving as chaplain, while Mr. Longsduff is its treasurer. She belongs to the Christian church, in which she is a very active and helpful worker, and although not a member Mr. Longsduff has contributed liberally to the support of the church and has been active in all things pertaining to the good of the county. His residence in Penn township covers fifty-seven years, and he has been identified with the making of the county from an early epoch in its pioneer existence down to the present era of progress and prosperity. There was only one public road in the township when he located here. He has ever favored good roads, good schools and in fact all interests that tend to advance the material, intellectual, political, social and moral welfare of the community. In a review of his life history is seen that he has ever been busy and active, and upon the substantial qualities of perseverance and diligence he has placed his dependence with good results.

Typed by Barbara O'Reagan
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LONGSDUFF,QUIGLEY,SEARFOSS,HULL

Long a resident of Cass county, John Longsduff has therefore witnessed much of its growth and development as the years have gone by and changes have been wrought that have transformed it from a frontier district into one of the leading counties of this great commonwealth. he lives on section 8, Calvin township, where he has a good farm property comprising one hundred and twenty-eight acres of rich and arable land. Here he took up his abode in 1865 and in partnership with his wife owns the property and gives his attention to its further development and cultivation.

His life record began in Pennsylvania on the 20th of August, 1836. He is a son of Martin Longsduff, also a native of Pennsylvania and a brother of George Longsduff, one of the enterprising citizens of this county. His parental grandfather, Martin Longsduff, Sr., was a naive of Germany and in that country was reared and married. Crossing the Atlantic to the new world he became one of the early residents of Pennsylvania. In his family were ten children, of whom Martin Longsduff, Jr. was the eldest. He was a naive of the same state and was there reared and educated. He was married twice and in 1834 removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio, taking up his abode in Union township, Logan county, where he secured a tract of land and improved a farm. He remained a resident of that state for almost four decades and came to Michigan in 1872. Here he spent his remaining days, passing away at the age of eighty-five years. In his religious views he was a Lutheran and he exemplified in his life his belief in the teachings of holy writ. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Matilda Quigley and was a native of Hagerstown, New Jersey, where her girlhood days were passed. She was the second wife of Martin Longsduff, his former union having been with a Miss Searfoss, by whom he had one daughter, Elizabeth. By the second marriage there were born eleven children, one of whom died in yearly youth, while ten reached adult age and four of the number, two sons and two daughters, are still living and are residents of Cass county.

John Longsduff was only about a year old when his parents removed to Logan county, Ohio, where they remained for eleven years, and he then accompanied them on their removal to Michigan. The family home was established in Cass county near Vandalia and he grew to manhood upon the farm from the age of twelve years. His educational privileges were those afforded by the public schools of the different localities in which he resided. The period of his minority was spent upon the old family homestead and he assisted in the operation of the farm and in the support of his mother. After attaining his majority he purchased land and improved a farm in Penn township. On the 9th of February, 1865, he was married to Miss Martha E. Hull, who was born on the farm where she now resides. Her parents were Isaac and Maria Hull, who came from Ohio to Cass county at an early day. In the year of their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Longsduff located where they now reside and his labors have further improved the property until it is now a splendidly cultivated farm. In connection with the tilling of the soil he engaged in buying and shipping hogs for a number of years and found this a profitable source of income.

Mr. Longsduff exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Democracy and is regarded as an enterprising citizen of the county, who has taken an active interest in public affairs, his efforts proving far reaching and beneficial He is connected with one of the prominent old families of this part of the state and is justly entitled to mention its representative citizens.

Typed by Carol Foss

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LOUPEE,STEINER,TAYLOR

John Loupee, who for twenty-five years has resided upon his present farm on section 21, Porter township, where he owns one hundred and fifty-four acres of land, was born in Wayne county, Ohio, August 23, 1840. His father, George Loupee, was a native of Germany and the days of his boyhood and youth were spent in that country, where he was married to Miss Wilhelmina Steiner, also of German birth. Crossing the Atlantic to America with the hope of having improved business opportunities in the new world they located in Wayne county, Ohio, where they resided until coming to Michigan bout 1841, at which time they took up their abode in Porter township, George Loupee entering land from the government. He was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, however, and had scarcely begun the work of transforming the raw wild land into a cultivable farm when death claimed him. His wife lived to be about sixty-two years of age. There were eight children in the family, all of whom reached manhood or womanhood.

John Loupee, the seventh in order of birth, was only about a year old when brought by his parents from Ohio to Cass county, and he has been a lifelong resident of Porter township and is indebted to the public school system for the educational privileges which he enjoyed and which fitted him for life's practical and responsible duties. Owing to the death of his father he was early thrown upon his own resources, working by the month as a farm hand. He was thus employed throughout the period of his youth and until his labors brought him capital sufficient to enable him to engage in farming on his own account. His boyhood therefore was a period of earnest and unremitting toil with few advantages, educational or otherwise.

In June, 1862, Mr. Loupee was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Ann Taylor, a daughter of Dr. Somner Taylor, who became a resident of Cass county sixty years ago and died September 22, 1876. In his family were four children. Mrs. Loupee was born in Huron county, New York, March

Typed by Barbara O'Reagan
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LOVERIDGE,HINKLEY,TAYLOR

Henry L. Loveridge, living on section 8, Marcellus township, is the popular owner of Island Park, on which is a beautiful lake, famous for its good fishing. Michigan, with its excellent climate, its fine parks and beautiful lake regions, furnishes excellent opportunity for the development of attractive summer resorts, and Mr. Loveridge in connection with the improvement of his agricultural inerests, has spent considerable time in promoting Island Park, which is now a most popular resort.

He was born at Paw Paw, in Van Buren county, Michigan, 15 December 1857, his parents being John and Kate (Hinkley) Loveridge, who were natives of New York. The mother came to Michigan about seventy years ago, when only three years old, and Mr. Loveridge arrived in this state when about twenty-five years of age. They were married in Michigan and for a long period the father devoted his attention to contracting. In early life he learned the carpenter's trade and for a considerable period was closely associated with building operations in this section of the state. At the time of the Civil War he put aside all business and personal interests, however, and espoused the cause of the Union, serving as a member of Company A, Thirteenth Michigan Infantry, during the last of the war. He died in Cass county 15 January 1901 at the age of sixty-nine years, and is yet survived by his widow, who now resides in Marcellus. She is one of the esteemed pioneer women of this part of the state, having made her home in Michigan for the alloted psalmist's span of three scores years and ten.

Henry L. Loveridge, their only child, remained in his native county until fifteen years of age, when he went to Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he remained until twenty-two years of age. During that period he spent five years as an employe in a store and for two years was in the service of the American Express Company. He then returned to Paw Paw, and for five years remained upon the home farm following his marriage. In 1886 he removed to Marcellus and opened a store, which he conducted for fifteen years, carrying on a prosperous bakery and grocery business. He also conducted a store at Schoolcraft for one year, and four years ago he came to Fish Lake and took charge of the resort which his father had established three years previous. ... Mr. Lockeridge has also erected a hotel and has a boarding house which his father built. ...

Mr. Loveridge was married in September 1879 to Miss Rose Taylor, a native of this township and a daughter of John Taylor. They now have one son, Bert, who is advance agent of the Forepaugh & Sells Circus. ...

Typed by Larry Sullivan

[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 (...).]
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LYBROOK,LEIBROCH,HURD

Joseph Lybrook is the owner of a valuable farm of one hundred and eight-five acres on section 22, LaGrange township, and in addition to this property he also has forty acres on section 32 of the same township and is one of the stockholders in the creamery. His business interests are characterized by close application and unfaltering diligence, which constitute the basis of all desirable success. He seems to have realized fully that there is no excellence without labor and has exemplified this adage in his life work. It was upon the farm where he now lives that he first opened his eyes to the light of day, his birth occurring on the 22nd of November, 1845. The name Lybrook as now spelled was in the original German text spelled Leibroch . The grandfather, Henry Leibroch , was born in Virginia, April 2, 1755, and died August 22, 1839. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and many times saw General Washington. Mr. Lybrook has in his possession an old passport, dated February 27, 1787, given Henry Leibroch, which is written in a beautiful copper plate handwriting. He also has four of the parchment deeds bearing the following dates of execution: two on November 10, 1830. February 8, 1831 and April 1, 1831, and these deeds are all signed by President Andrew Jackson and are valuable as relics. John Lybrook, father of Joseph, was a native of Giles county, Virginia, born October 25, 1798, and in 1811 he accompanied his parents on their removal to Preble County, Ohio. In 1823 he came to Michigan, making the journey in order to assist Squire Thompson in his removal to this state. When he made the start he intended going only fifty or sixty miles, but he continued with him on the journey until Cass county was reached. On the last day of December of the same year he started back on foot to Ohio accompanied by a young man of the name of Eaton. They first camped near where Mishawaka now stands, and from that point Mr. Lybrook continued on his way to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he procured assistance for the return trip. His partner had his foot frozen about this time and Mr. Lybrook endured many hardships and much exposure in his endeavor to reach home, but eventually the journey was completed. However, he had become interested in the western country and its possibilities for development, and in 1824 he came once more to Michigan, bringing with him some cattle. In the spring of 1825 he planted eleven acres of corn in what was known as the Second Field below Niles. He afterward returned to Ohio with a yoke of oxen hitched to the back wheels of a lumber wagon. In the following spring, however, he returned to Michigan, bringing with him a barrel of wheat, which was the first wheat sown in southwestern Michigan. In the spring of 1828 he removed to the farm where Joseph Lybrook now resides, and there continued to make his home until his death. It was wild and unimproved land when it came into his possession and he turned the first furrows upon the place and planted the first crops. In course of time he had transformed this into a valuable property, which he continued to cultivate with success for many years. He gave his support to the Democracy during the greater part of his life, save that he voted for William Henry Harrison. He passed away May 25, 1881, and the county thus lost one of its most prominent and honored pioneer settlers„a citizen who from the earliest epoch in the history of this section of the state had been identified with its improvement. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Hurd and was a native of England, whence she came to America at the age of seven years. She was born in 1821, became a resident of Michigan in 1836 and died January 25, 1903, at the very advanced age of eight-two years. In the family this worthy couple were two sons and a daughter, but Henry died in Oklahoma and Arminda is also deceased, leaving Joseph as the only surviving member of the family.

Joseph Lybrook was the second child and has spent his entire life upon the farm where he now lives, covering a period of more than sixty years. When a boy he took his place in the fields , and as his age and strength permitted he assisted more and more largely in the work of the home farm and has since been identified with the growth and development of the county. He has in his home place one hundred and eight-five acres of land, and also forty acres on section 32, LaGrange township. His home farm is under a high state of cultivation and the fields are improved with modern machinery, while the work is carried on along the most progressive lines. He is also owner of stock in the creamery. His political support has been give to the Democracy. A worthy representative of an honored pioneer family, he has carried forward the work which was begun by his father and the name of Lybrook has thus long been closely associated with the substantial improvement and development of Cass county

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