WILLIAM J. BATEMAN

WILLIAM J. BATEMAN is one of the alert and progressive business men and representative citizens of Dimondale, where he conducts a well equipped general store. He is of the third generation of his family in Eaton county, where his paternal grandfather settled prior to the admission of the state to the Union. Mr. Bateman was born on the homestead farm, in Hamlin township, this county, October 3, 1872, and is a son of Norman P. and Orpha (Smith) Bateman, both of whom were born in Hamlin township, this county. The former is a son of Daniel Bateman, who came from the state of New York to Eaton county in 1836, taking up one hundred and sixty acres of government land in the midst of the virgin forest. He was a millwright by trade and followed this vocation prior to coming to Michigan. He reclaimed one hundred and twenty acres of his land to cultivation, selling the remaining forty acres. He held the homestead in his possession for many years and continued his residence in Eaton county until his death, which occurred in 1882, his wife having passed away in 1856. They were numbered among the sterling pioneers of the county and he was a prominent and influential in local affairs of a public nature. Norman P. Bateman was the eldest son, and his educational training was received in the school at Spicerville, Hamlin township, and one of his teachers was J.C. Sherman, long known as one of the representative citizens of Charlotte. Mr. Bateman assisted in the work of the home farm until he was eighteen years of age, when he turned from the plowshare to the sword, going forth in defense of the Union. In December, 1863, he enlisted in Company H, Sixth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, with which he continued in active service twenty-one months, or until the close of the war, having taken part in a number of the historic battles of the great conflict between the states and having been mustered out in the city of Jackson, Michigan, duly receiving his honorable discharge. After the close of his faithful and valiant military career the youthful veteran returned to his home, in Eaton county, and he was identified with agricultural pursuits in Hamlin township until 1868, when he removed to Windsor township and took up his residence on a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, two miles distant from Dimondale. He made excellent improvements on the place, which is one of the valuable farms of the county and which he still owns, though he has lived retired in the village of Dimondale since 1902. His wife is a daughter of William Smith, one of the venerable pioneers of Hamlin township, where he still resides on the farm which has been his home for half a century. Norman P. Bateman is a stanch Republican, and he served two years as a township supervisor. He is affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he and his wife are supporters of the Methodist Protestant church of Dimondale. William J. Bateman, the immediate subject of this sketch, was reared on the home farm and secured his educational discipline in the public schools. After leaving school, he accepted a position as clerk in a store. In 1890 he took up his residence in Dimondale, where he served two years as deputy postmaster, after which he was in the employ of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Company at this place for a period of four years. He then opened a general store in the village, and has built up a most flourishing business, his fair dealings and personal popularity having gained to him a representative patronage, while he keeps an excellent stock in each department of his store. He owns the building in which his store is established and also an attractive residence in the village. In politics Mr. Bateman is unswerving in his support of the principles of the Republican party, and he served two terms as township treasurer and one year as township clerk. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of the Maccabees, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Mystic Workers. At the time of the Spanish-American war he was recruiting officer in Company L, Thirty-third Michigan Volunteer Infantry, drawing its members from the Sons of Veterans, of which order he is an appreciative member. February 22, 1893, Mr. Bateman was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Bell, daughter of James and Lucia (Gates) Bell, well known citizens of Dimondale and honored pioneers of the county. Mrs. Bateman is a member of the local Presbyterian church and is prominent in the religious and social affairs of the community.