It is a striking feature of our American institutions that what one man accomplishes reflects a luster on the career of others who serve their generation in other capacities. So it chances that a man may be reviewed in all his relations without detracting from the worth of other men, or reflecting upon their achievements, no less meritorious because less prominent in the same avenue. Representative men are the bulwarks of our local as well as national structure, and in according to Judge Fuller the first place in the present work, its publishers but harmonize with the sentiment of the community which he so honors and which so honors him.

He comes of sturdy yeoman ancestry in both lines of descent. He is the type of the element which underlies the true greatness of the British people; no atrophy of aristocracy enfeebles, no taint of superstition or ignorance poisons the stock of his origin, and in him are combined the best traits of his progenitors, fostered under our institutions and developed under the privileges of our country's dower to the humblest of her sons -- American citizenship.

Judge Fuller is the second son of Edson and Celira (Canfield) Fuller. The father was born at Cazenovia, N.Y., in 1809, and died at Des Moines, Ia., April 4, 1879. His ancestors were among the early English emigrants to this country, bringing here a name illustrious because unblemished, and which has been handed down to successive generations untarnished. The record of Edson Fuller is inseperable from that of Big Rapids and Mecosta County, whither he brought his family in 1859, when the now thriving and beautiful Forest City showed only a nucleus of three houses and one small saw-mill. He grew to youth in his native State, and in the dawn of his earliest manhood went to Ohio. He was married there and remained until 1845. In that year he came to Grand Rapids, Mich., then but the hope and promise of its present splendid estate. The journey was accomplished in the manner common to that period, in a prairie schooner, drawn by an ox team, the days passing in slow but sure progress toward the point of destination, the nights in the restful solitude of the camp. Ten years of untiring energy and activity at Grand Rapids brought substantial reward, and in 1855 Mr. Fuller transferred his interests to Mishawaka, Ind., where, in 1857, the accumulations of years were swept away in the financial convulsion which wrecked the hopes and the resources of the business element of this land. From its foundations was the structure of fortune once more to be reared, and Mr. Fuller came to Big Rapids to begin again in a field that seemed to promise a reasonable degree of success. He opened the first store in the county. A description of the miscellaneous character of the merchandise he offered for sale would be as interesting as any other possible detail of the pioneer history of Big Rapids. The stock was drawn from Grand Rapids over roads which the record declares "neither tongue nor pen can describe." The store was located at the corner of Elm Street and Michigan Avenue.

At the close of his commercial affairs, Mr. Fuller moved to a farm in the township of Green, where his family resided until 1877. In that year they returned to Big Rapids. In April, 1879, while visiting his eldest son at Des Moines, Mr. Fuller died, ripe in years, leaving a wife and five children, who, individually, without exception, have sustained his name among men and glorified his memory in their lives of honor and usefulness.

The record of Celira (Canfield) Fuller is one that verifies the law of natural heritage and in the careers of her four sons and surviving daughter, her womanly worth and super-eminent intellectual qualities are perpetuated. Her earliest recorded ancestors were Huguenots, a fact which largely accounts for much of her personal annals. Her family name had its origin in the events which characterized the commingled history of England and France in the 14th century. A Huguenot family of Normandy, named Dephilio, received from the British crown a grant of land lying contiguous to the river Cam in England. The bestowal was for meritorious services, and such was the appreciation of the honor bestowed with it that the event was made memorable by abnegation of the old family cognomen, and the compounding of a new one which should perpetuate the memory of the act of the English Government to the remotest generation. Cam and Dephilio became Camphield, and the orthography remained unchanged until the death of Thomas Camphield, in the 16th century, when the name was spelled Camfield, remaining thus until 1720, when it became Canfield. Matthew Camfield came from England to New Haven, Ct., in 1639. When that province made haste to secure the favor of the British Government in the early days of the restored monarchy, the charter which the "scholarly young Winslow, the best and truest man" in all her borders, carried to King Charles, bore the name of "Matthew Camfield" as one of the petitioners for a royal patent. Winthrop's tact and sagacity secured for the colony "the most liberal and ample" charter ever granted by an English monarch, and upon the people of Connecticut was conferred power to govern themselves and this without qualification or restriction. Under the provisions of this charter "Gold, Sherman and Camfield" were appointed judges and vested with power to hold court at Fairfield, opening April 1, 1669. Mr. Camfield afterward went with part of his family to Newark, N.J., where he died and where his name is perpetuated by numerous descendants. The distinction of his name and positionis also marked by the fact that his son Samuel (1st) was a member of the General Assembly of Connecticut in 1669. Samuel Camfield (2d) was born at Norwalk, Ct., in 1672, and married Abigail Austin, of Stamford, Ct., Aug. 1, 1709. Samuel Camfield (2d) was born June 4, 1710, at New Marlborough, Mass. His estate is yet in the possession of his descendants. Thomas Canfield, son of the last named, was born at New Marlborough, and married a lady named Burr. Oliver Canfield, son of Thomas, married Sally Sherman in 1782, and of this marriage was born at Tyringham' Mass., July 7, 1810, Celira, the mother of Judge Fuller.

Her father died when she was in infancy, and her mother remarried and went to Chardon, Geauga Co., O., where she grew to womanhood. she married Edson Fuller, Feb. 4, 1830. Her home in Ohio was with that of the pioneer element, and she had but little technical education, as she had the advantage of but ten weeks of school in her life. But she was ever a student. The profession of medicine afforded deep interest to her alert mental organization and within her scope she pursued its practice both in Indiana and at Big Rapids, being signally successful in her efforts to alleviate suffering and baffle disease. She was ever prominent in educational, moral and religious movements. In 1850, '51, and '52 she was in charge of the primary department of the union school in Grand Rapids, Mich. She organized the first Sunday-school at Big Rapids, whose sessions were held in the old red school-house. In moral avenues her influence was sensibly felt among the pioneers of the village and vicinity and extended through the later years of her life, when Big Rapids had become a city incorporate, and her population had increased to thousands.

In 1873-4 she experienced a severe attack of erysipelas and vacillated for weeks between life and death. On her recovery she reviewed her situation while suffering under her terrible affliction, expressing her views in metrical language with vivid power and beauty. It is as follows:

"Heavy, and heavier still life's burden grew,
Until at last my weary feet refused
To bear me, and I laid me down in pain,
So near the brink of the dark mystic tide
That, as the surging waves rushed madly by,
They dashed their icy spray full in my face:
And my swollen features, soon so loathsome grew
That even the eye of love must turn away.
Earth's light went out and midnight darkness reigned
While liquid fire seemed coursing through my veins.
Fire and ice, contending for the victory,
Filled my whole frame with mortal agony.
I prayed fopr patience to endure, and soon
I thought I heard beyond the roaring flood
A voice say, "Come and enter into rest."
A momentary fear came over me,
And trembling I asked, Is this the way?
This awful door of torture must I pass,
To reach my home upon the other shore?
I had for years felt sure that I could meet
The last great Enemy, with trusting faith
In Him, who met the tyrant of the race,
And all his hosts, in his own dark domain.
He seemed a captive.

All the powers of Hell
Reveled in one mad carnival, until the hour
Appointed for the vict'ry. Then behold!
The gates of adamant, the bolted doors
Of Death's dread prison open, and a king!
A conqueror! Gloriously triumphant
O'er the vanquished hosts of death and hell,
The Christian's Lord, the chosen Son of God,
Comes forth in majesty from the dark tomb,
Welcomed by all the retinue of Heaven.
With living faith in his victorious power,
I would serenly bid my friends adieu,
And leave my precious children in his care;
And while I clasped their loving hands in mine
I'd bid them meet me in my father's house;
But to go out in such sharp agony.
That all my words were broken into groans
Caused heart and flesh for one brief hour to fail.
Then I remembered how this mighty prince,
Though now by angels crowned, once prayed alone.
In such great sorrow that great crimson drops
Fell on the garden sod. His friends asleep!
Three times that pleading voice went up to heaven
"If it be possible, let this cup pass,"
Then meekly said, "Thy will, not mine, be done."
All fear was gone, and my glad heart set up
The full response, "Thy will, not mine, be done."
Faith triumphed, and my soul was filled with peace.
The deep, dark flood that filled me with such dread
Was quiet now, and seemed so narrow, too,
That I could almost reach the hands of those
Who beckoned to me from the other shore.
While waiting, thus willing to cross the stream.
A ray of earthly light came ot my eyes
Faint as the starlight of the morning dawn,
But still enough to show what seemed to me
In the uncertain light, a guard of men
Standing beside my bed. I heard the names
Of baby boys, who long, long years ago
Had lain upon my breast, and heard these men
Give answer to these names: and then I knew
They were my boys, now wearing manhood's crown.
A whisper breathed on the electric cord
Reached the far west where dwelt my eldest son.
And he, too, stood beside his brother's here.
All hand in hand, guarding their mother's life;
And girls -- well, call them women if you will
Who walk life's toilsome journey with my boys
Were there with loving hearts, faithful and true.
When the fierce fever burned, soft hands were laid
Upon my forehead; fingers, soft and cool
As rose leaves sprinkled with the dew of June,
Were on my throbbing temples gently pressed,
And to my weary senses brought relief;
And whose earliest life was drawn from mine,
Whose vains were filled with the same purple tide
That warms my own, stayed by me during days
Of lingering, painful, convalescence.
And by her watchful care, cheered the dark way
Through which my feeble and unrestful feet
Must walk a little while, -- God knows how long.
He also knows that with a grateful heart
I bless His Holy name for the rich gift,
The priceless treasure of my children's love.

And so I take again the burden of my life,
With stronger faith in Him who knows my heart
Faith that can trust, in darkness as in light,
Faith that can claim the promises He made
To his disciples.

And when the thick darkness
Gathers round my way, I will remember
That He said to all the heavy laden
"Come unto me and I will give you rest."

Her religious ideas were in keeping with the simplicity and majesty of the Center of the New Testament, and she fashioned them into articles for the press, which were fraught with her own ardor and strength. After the death of her husband she resided with her children. In November, 1882, she went to Des Moines to pass the remainder of her life, and during its closing months her intellectual activity seemed to culminate. She commenced the preparation of a series of lay sermons for the Newaygo Tribune, the first of which reached its publishers July 9, 1883, and appeared July 25, in the same issue which contained the notice of her death. That event occurred July 12, three days after her communication reached its destination. Her five surving children watched the closing hours of her life and placed her in a pale sleep by the husband at whose side she walked in wifely dignity, in maternal beauty, in christian consistency, for nearly half a century. In her children, her earthly record yet lives; her sons are all in honorable walks of life, and her daughter, Mrs. Elma L. Hutchinson, of Des Moines, is a physician in regular practice and standing, representing the one idiosyncrasy of the mother, as the sons typify the race from which she sprung in sterling merit, honorable record and inflexible courage. Corydon E. Fuller, eldest son, resides at Des Moines, Ia., and has held his present responsible incumbency of Treasurer of the Iowa Loan & Trust Company 12 years. William D. Fuller, resident at Newaygo, editor and proprietor of the Newaygo Tribune, is State Swamp Land Commissioner and Chairman of the Greenback State Committee. Orrin T. Fuller, resident at Des Moine, Ia., is the Interest Clerk in the office of the Iowa Loan & Trust Company. Ellen J. M. Fuller died at Grand Rapids in 1850, aged sixteen. In her memory, parent, brothers, and sister kept youth alive, and the oldest and youngest await the restoration of the household band in its entirity in the realms of perpetual morning.

Judge Fuller was in his thirteenth year when his parents went to Grand Rapids, and he attended the union school there until he was 18 years old, when he was sent to Hiram College, where James A. Garfield was then a student. Between the two boys of 18 and 19 years, a warm regard ensued which never abated. They were room-mates at Hiram, and when the chief honor in the Nation's gift was laid at the feet of him whose tragic fate and heroic endurance challenged the awe and admiration of the world, Judge Fuller hastened to offer his congratulations, and, true to the instincts which molded his matchless manhood, General Garfield found time, in the midst of the haste and clamor of the opening campaign, to write a letter to his boyhood'd friend, characteristic in its kindly and grateful remembrance of him.

Judge Fuller left Hiram and returned to Grand Rapids. He established himself in mercantile interests with Daniel McConnell, A.G. Smith and Wm. H. McConnell, under the firm style of C.C. Fuller & Co. This connection was of a brief duration, Judge Fuller selling out his claim. In the fall of 1856 he went to McGregor, Ia., organized a company and embarked in the business of tanning leather, operating with the Daniels patent process. Of this concern Judge Fuller was treasurer and manager, but he closed his relations with it not long after its establishment and purchased a half interest in the North Iowa Times, a sheet of rank Democratic tendencies; but, notwithstanding the variance between the principles of its proprietors, the journal was conducted with marked harmony and success. In 1858 he returned to Grand Rapids and in the winter of 1858-9 once more cast his hopes upon the tide of commercial life, forming a partnership with O. R. Wilmarth. In the fall of 1859 he decided in a change in his purposes, and sold his business interests to enter upon his preparation for the profession of law. He read under the supervison of Messrs. Ashley & Miller, of Grand Rapids, and in June, 1860, was admitted to the bar.

In May, 1860, he established his home at Big Rapids, where his personal experience forms a link in the pioneer history of the place, which contained then five houses, scattered among the trees of the forest. Judge Fuller bought a tract of land containing four lots lying (now) on the corner of Linden Street and Michigan Avenue, and covered with timber. With his own hands he cleared the land and laid the foundation walls of his residence, the first stone work laid in mortar in the village, said mortar being made from the first lime burned in the county, and which was bought from the producer, John Snyder, Green Tp. He assisted personally in the erection of the building until its completion.

Jude Fuller's public life commenced in the fall of the same year. He was elected Court Commissioner and held the office until 1868. He was also appointed Postmaster, in which capacity he acted until his removal in 1866, which was effected by Andrew Johnson for political purposes. In the fall of 1862, he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Mecosta County and officiated two years. He was elected Judge of Probate in 1864 and acted in that capacity four years. In 1868 he was elected to the State Legislature, and was a member of the Committees on Railroands and Engrossing and Enrolling. He introduced several important local bills, also a bill to provide for registration of electors in new townships.

While the county was yet new, Judge Fuller bought 240 acres of land in the south part of the Fourth Ward of the city of Big Rapids, 40 acres of which was platted as Fuller's Addition. He is still the owner of three acres, besides a number of city lots and a splendid residence. In 1873, associated with L. H. Green, he built the Opera block. The monetary crisis and shrinkage of values of that year overwhelmed the business interests of Big Rapids, the individual loss of Judge Fuller being about $40,000.

Judge Fuller is a Republican of no uncertain tendency, but his character and record have preserved his popularity with all classes regardless of party issues. His position before the people is evinced by the fact of his being successively elected to the best official positions. He was elected to his present position as Judge of the Twenty-seventh Judicial Circuit in 1882, running against George Luton, of Newaygo, and receiving a majority of 651 votes. He is the first incumbent of the of the position after the formation of the Circuit by the Legislature of Michigan.

Judge Fuller was married at Davenport, Iowa, Nov. 9, 1858, to Frank A., daughter of John Morrison, an early settler of that city. She was born Aug. 31, 1838, at Gallipolis, Ohio. Of this marriage were born, at Big Rapids, seven children, six sons and a daughter. Louis M. was born April 24, 1861, and is telegraph operator and ticket agent in the Big Rapids office of the G. R. & I. R. R. Herbert C. is a telegraph operator, and was born Jan. 24, 1863. Percy H. was born Feb. 17, 1866, and died Aug. 12, 1868; John E. was born Jan. 2, 1868; Ben H., Feb. 27, 1870; Frank M.,Jan. 3, 1872; Daisy A., born Nov. 12, 1872. For the life given a life was taken, the mother passing to the spirit world Nov. 12, 1872. The lonely little one soon sought the maternal presence, winging her flight to heaven Aug. 4, 1873.