John Bailey. - A man who plays an active and useful part in the many-sided life of Paw Paw, Van Buren county, Michigan, is John Bailey, who formerly was identified with the agricultural interests of Waverly township and who at the present time engaged in the livery business of Sage & Bailey, which is one of the thriving and well-conducted enterprises of the town. He is a native son of Michigan and has been a resident of the township since the year 1885. Mr. Bailey was born in Jefferson township, Hillsdale county, Michigan, on the 25th day of January, 1864. His father, Josiah Bailey, was born in 1831, in Lenawee county, Michigan. As a young man he farmed in Lenawee county for a number of years and subsequently removed to Jefferson, Hillsdale county, where he passed the remainder of his days, the demise of this good citizen occurring in 1878. He laid the foundations of a happy marriage in 1854, at Medina, Mary Jane Bump, born November 12, 1836, becoming his wife. She survived him for more than a quarter of a century, her summons to the life eternal coming on February 3, 1804. They reared the following son and daughters: Hortensie, Susan, and John.
John Bailey, youngest of the children of Josiah and Mary Bailey and the immediate subject of this review, spent his early years in Jefferson county and for his education is indebted to the country schools of the locality in which he spent his boyhood. At the time of his father's death he was a boy of about fifteen years, but he was capable and serious and of the type which assumes responsibility successfully, and he at once took upon himself the management of the farm and continued at the head of its affairs until 1888. In that year he made a radical change by coming to Waverly township, where he purchased a farm of eighty acres and proceeded to improve this and engage in its cultivation. He was very successful in his operations in connection with the great basic industry and in time gained a comfortable competence. In 1905 he purchased a half interest in the livery stable business in connection with his present partner, Joel Sage, the firm being known under the caption of Sage & Bailey, and he has continued engaged in this fashion up to the present time. Mr. Bailey and his partner keep from fourteen to twenty good horses and in addition to operating a fine livery they have a sales stable and also run the local stage and baggage business in connection with the various trains coming into Paw Paw. He is a progressive, public-spirited citizen who does all in his power to support and encourage all such measures and institutions as shall contribute to the general welfare.
Mr. Bailey was first married in 1886, Mary Weatherwax, of Hillsdale county, becoming his wife. Two daughters were born to this union, namely: Bessie, who married George Rock and is the mother of a son and daughter named Clyde and Laura; and Delta, who is still at home. The mother passed away February 12, 1896, mourned by all who know her. On April 8, 1899, Anah Noyes, a native of Hillsdale county, became the wife of the subject. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey share their home with an adopted son, Eugene. They are well and favorably known in the community and their circle of friends may almost be said to be coincident with that of their acquaintance.
In his political affiliations Mr. Bailey has ever given hand and heart to the Republican party. He gave his maiden vote to its men and measures, and his loyalty to the party which produced such men as Lincoln, McKinley and Roosevelt is unswerving. His fraternal allegiance is given to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Nathan Hawkins. - The hustling farmer is always on the alert for new inventions which will minimize cost and production, and it is indeed interesting to visit a well-equipped farm and scrutinize the various implements used in preparing the products of the ground for practical use. There is probably no class of people who grasp anything new and progressive like the prosperous farmer, and to this class belongs Nathan Hawkins, of Porter township, who is engaged in general farming and fruit raising along modern, scientific lines. Mr. Hawkins is a native of Adrian, Ohio, and was born February 8, 1871, a son of Timothy B. and Margaret (Kimball) Hawkins.
Mr. Hawkins parent's who were also born in the Buckeye state, came to Michigan in 1881 and settled in section 7, Porter township, where they purchased farming land and settled down to an agricultural life. Here Mrs. Hawkins died August 1, 1898, but her husband still survives her and makes his home on his farm in Decatur township. He married for his second wife Ella Dickey, who also survives. To Timothy and Margaret Hawkins the following children were born: Nathan, Clara, who resides at home; Gordon, who is deceased; Jessie, the wife of Martin Lechlitner, of Mishawaka, Indiana; Metie E. , who is deceased; and Earl, who resides in Nebraska.
Nathan Hawkins received his education in the district schools of Decatur township, and at the age of thirty years purchased the home place, on which he has since carried on general farming and fruit raising. Many changes have been made on the property since he has taken charge, and he now ranks among the progressive agriculturists of his township. He has always been a stanch advocate of the use of power machinery in the farm work, and his property is well equipped with the most modern appliances. As a citizen Mr. Hawkins stands high in the esteem of his fellow townsmen, and he bears an excellent reputation for honesty in business dealings. He is a supporter of Republican principles and works hard in the ranks of his party, although he has never sought public office on his own account. He and his family attend the Methodist church, and fraternally he is a popular member of the Odd Fellows order.
On November 23, 1901, Mr. Hawkins was married to Miss Rena G. Wiles, daughter of Henry and Jennie (Jones) Wiles. Mrs. Hawkins has two sisters: Hortense, the wife of Harry Tompkins, of Decatur, Michigan; and Jessie, who lives at home with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins have had two children, born as follows: Vivian Leola, September 22, 1903; and Henry Gordon, July 2, 1906. The comfortable Hawkins family home is situated on Lawton Rural Route No. 2, and there are welcomed the many warm personal friends of Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins.
Daniel Cook Van Antwerp. - The name of Van Antwerp has been conspicuous in the history of Michigan for nearly a hundred years. For three generations the family has resided in this commonwealth, and during the years that have elapsed since the first Van Antwerp came to this part of the country the different members of the family have been identified with the military, agricultural, commercial, political and fiscal life of the community. At all time they have been characterized by their high sense of honor, their valor and efficient performance of any duties with which they were entrusted. Daniel Cook Van Antwerp, whose name inaugurates this biography, and a record of whose career follows, has done honor to the fair name he bears.
The birth of this scion of an old Holland family occurred in Antwerp township, January 15, 1852. His grandfather, Daniel Van Antwerp, was born in Schenectady, New York, November 22, 1795, and was descended from one of three brothers who came from Antwerp, Holland, and settled in the Empire state. He came to Michigan about the year 1837, entered one thousand and eighty acres of land from the government and became a prominent citizen. He had the contract for considerable work in the building of the Michigan Central Railroad, but it was in his church affiliations that he was best known and remembered. He was a deacon in the Presbyterian church and took a very prominent part in all its affairs, giving freely of his time and means. At a memorial service held in his honor the elder said "I never went to him for counsel and was turned away empty. " He won distinction in the community and in honor of the family the township of Antwerp was named.
His son Freeman was born in New York state, July 16, 1823, and when a lad accompanied his father to Michigan, where he later engaged in agricultural pursuits. On October 1, 1850, Freeman Van Antwerp married Miss Harriet Cook, who was born March 29, 1827, in Covington, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, and was the daughter of Dr. Nathan and Ann (Hamilton) Cook, who were married March 18, 1824. Dr. Nathan Cook was born October 4, 1799, in Richmond, Cheshire county, New Hampshire, a son of Nathan and Sally (Dix) Cook, who were married about 1796. This family is of New England Puritan descent, tracing their ancestry to the Cooks who came over in the Mayflower. Dr. Nathan Cook's wife, Ann Hamilton, was a daughter of William Hamilton, who was born in Scotland and came to New York state when young. He bore arms in the defense of his country during the Revolutionary war. He married Hannah Weddaugh, of Dutch descent. Mr. and Mrs. William Hamilton are buried in York, Sandusky county, Ohio. Dr. Nathan Cook was a graduate of Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, and practiced his profession in that state before coming west.
In 1823 he started for what was then called the "far west,"- western New York- locating in Chenango county, near the present city of Binghampton and making the entire journey on horseback. In 1826 they moved to Covington, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, where they lived four and a half years and then removed to Huron, Erie county, Ohio, and in 1833 came to Erie, Munroe county, Michigan, where the Doctor was very successful in his profession, but owing to poor health had to discontinue it. In 1836 he came as far as Gravel Lake, where he purchased land and this trip was also made on horseback. On April 15, 1837, he started with his family for what was then called the St. Joseph Country. This journey was made with an ox team and was necessarily slow, owing to one of team having to be favored. The description of a portion of this journey is best told in the following article, copied from a biographical sketch written by Mrs. Freeman Van Antwerp when nearly sixty-nine years old, and left as a precious possession to her son, Daniel Cook Van Antwerp, and her daughter Mrs. John Marshall. It is of particular interest, owing to the fact that when this portion of Van Buren county in which they located was renamed it was Harriet Cook (later Mrs. Freeman Van Antwerp) who named it Porter. In her article she says: "Monday morning, May 6, 1837, we left Mr. Clark's, being then about thirteen or fourteen miles from our destination. The morning was cold and misty, amounting almost to rain, but towards noon the sun came out and the remainder of the day was very bright, but cool. Moving slowly along, passing only one or two houses on our journey that day, about four o'clock in the afternoon, when just east of where Mr. Rock now lives, that same ox laid down again. My father told us to take the cows and go on, that it was not more than two miles, and when we came to a beautiful, clear lake on our left we would find Uncle Roderick Bell's log cabin back in the bushes on the bank of the lake. Following the road, if road it could be called, for it was very merely a wagon track winding in and out among the trees and logs, we soon saw the lake and soon a woman's voice called to us. It was my aunt, who had been looking for us several days and had seen us through an opening in the bushes. My uncle had settled here in 1836 and he and Mr. Alexander were the first white settlers in southwestern Porter. My uncle went to the assistance of my father and before sundown we were all at our journey's end. And how glad my sister and I were the next morning when we did not have to get up and move on again.
"Now began the hardships and privations that lasted for years; hardships that no one can fully understand unless placed in similar circumstances. No schools, no churches, no newspapers, no books, society, nor amusements. We had the lakes with all their beauty, the forests with all their grandeur and solitude, and they really were companions for me. In early spring we went wintergreening, in summer we rambled in the woods and gathered wild berries, in the fall we went nutting and gathered cranberries (which we could not use for want of sugar), and in winter we listened to the lonely howling of wolves,- the most dismal sound one can imagine. Indians came to our house often; sometimes they would camp on the south side of the lake for several days at a time and at night we could hear them laugh and whoop and splash the water in their play. The second summer we were here was what was known for years as the sickly summer; every family had its share, we were all sick, everybody was sick, but we all lived through.
"After a while we began to have a school here and there in the forest, and, though a long way for some to go all were glad of the opportunity. My sister and I had one girl friend, Sarah Ann Swift. We were all together a great deal; we roamed the woods, played around the lakes and attended school together nearly all of our school days. After a time we began to have spelling schools. This was quite an item for us, as it broke the monotony of pioneer life. We were always first in spelling, we knew what the first call would be-it would be Harriet Cook or Sarah Ann Swift, or vice versa, and this was a source of much pleasure and usefulness to us; and in time we were far ahead of others in spelling. After a time we had township libraries and here began my taste for reading. After many hard struggles we began teaching school,- worked so hard for so little- just one dollar a week and 'board round. 'My sister Sarah taught thirteen years, summer and winter. She taught the first school ever taught in the village of Decatur and the second one ever taught at Porter Center.
"I taught six summers-the first two at Lagrange, Cass county, the next at William's Corners on the territorial road in Antwerp, then one term of four and one half months in the valley, then two summers at the Corners again, making in all just twelve months at that place. "
Dr. Nathan Cook passed the remainder of his life in Van Buren county and was one of its best known citizens. Game was plentiful in those days and he did much hunting, becoming an expert in shooting deer when they were running, and if he saw them standing still he would start them before attempting to shoot. He was town clerk and all business was transacted at his home. He died January 31, 1867, at Porter. His wife died in the same town, July 12, 1887, aged eighty-four. Their daughter, Harriet Cook, married Freeman Van Antwerp. (as noted above). In 1863 Freeman Van Antwerp engaged in the livery business and ran a stage line from Paw Paw to Lawton, having contracted to carry the mail. He died in Paw Paw, Michigan, October 16, 1865. Both Mr. and Mrs. Van Antwerp were members of and attended the Presbyterian church in Paw Paw for many years.
Freeman Van Antwerp left three children to be reared by their mother,- Daniel Cook, a lad of thirteen when his father died; Idale (wife of John Marshall, of Porter township), whose birth had occurred February 23, 1855; and Anna, who was born November 22, 1862, and who died March 14, 1878. Mrs. Van Antwerp, soon after her husband's death, bought a tract of sixty acres of land in Porter township, and there she went with her three children, superintended the management of the farm and the bringing up of their children, the youngest of whom was but three years old when her father died. The mother lived to see her son prosper in his undertakings, her elder daughter married and she buried her youngest child. On the 17th day of November, 1904, the mother was summoned to the Great Beyond.
The first five years of Daniel Cook Van Antwerp's life were spent in the township which is named in honor of his family, then one year at Porter, where he began going to school at six years old, then returning to Antwerp, where he spent five years, then four years in Paw Paw, where he attended the high school and left on account of poor health. After his father's death in Paw Paw he removed to Porter township. When eighteen years old he began to farm the land which his mother had bought and in 1881 he bought one hundred and forty acres of land in Porter township. Some of this tract he sold and now owns one hundred and twenty acres in that township. On the 27th of February, 1911, he moved to Lawton, that his daughter might have the advantages afforded by its schools, but he and his wife still own two hundred acres of land, which he rents to farmers.
On the 25th day of February, 1891, Mr. Van Antwerp married Miss Laura A. Hayne, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Turner) Hayne, both natives of Cornwall, England, where also their marriage occurred. They came to America in 1855, and settled in Wayne county, Michigan. The father died June 13, 1905, in Porter, and the mother's demise occurred September 11, 1892, in Porter. Of the four children who were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hayne two died in infancy; Mrs. Van Antwerp is the third and her brother, John D. , resides in Porter township. Mr. and Mrs. Van Antwerp have had two children,- Elwyn H. , born December 1, 1891, who died on March 18, 1896; and Idale Elizabeth, whose birth occurred July 10, 1897.
In politics Mr. Van Antwerp is a Republican and for two years he held the position of commissioner of highways in Porter township, which office was given him unsolicited. Hid fraternal connection is with the Modern Woodmen of America and in a religious way he and his wife and daughter hold membership with the Methodist church. He has resided only a short time in Lawton, but he has already made his presence felt and his fellow citizens regard his coming to the town as an event of which they have reason to be proud.
Frank Lamb is fortunate enough to own and cultivate the fine on which he was born and to carry on the business which his father conducted before him. For farming is a business and only those who so regard it are making a success of it. Much has been written lately on the reasons why our boys leave the farm for the city and about everything has been said on both sides of the question, but the best argument for the "back to the soil" movement is the one which our enterprising farmers present in their farms and in themselves. Mr. Lamb is one of Van Buren county's good arguments on the advantages of agriculture as a profession.
Charles Lamb, the father of Frank, was born in New Hampshire, on December 30, 1822. Two years later his parents moved to Lake county, Ohio, and there he grew up and in 1845 was married to Emeline Bartlett. In 1854 they came to Hartford township and settled on the farm where they spent the rest of their days. He died in 1906 and his wife in 1894.
Frank Lamb was born June 28, 1856. He was the only child who grew up in the family, as the other son died in infancy. His schooling was finished at the age of eighteen and he then gave all his time to farming, having put in his summers at it ever since he was old enough to be of assistance. Before his twentieth birthday-on April 2, 1876-he was married to Miss Helen Pierce, a a native of Hume, New York. Her father, William L. Pierce, was born in Pike, Wyoming county, New York, on May 24, 1825. He was wedded to Marian Brockett, whose native place was Wyoming county, New York, and the date of whose birth was July 20, 1836. Their marriage took place in Ossian, New York, on June 1, 1854, and fifteen years later they came to Hartford township. Until 1878 they lived on a farm but in that year they moved into town. Mrs. Pierce died at Hartford, on July 19, 1905, and her husband survived her five years, passing to his reward on August 13, 1910. They were the parents of six children, two of whom are living now in 1911, Mrs. Lamb and her sister Louise, the wife of Daniel Stickney,of Hamilton township.
Mrs. Lamb attended the Hartford schools after finishing the course in the district schools. The first two sons of her union with Mr. Lamb, Roy W. and Orville C. , did not live to maturity. A son and daughter were later born to them, the son Clare, on November 18, 1887. He is now married to Miss Iva Stratton of Benton Harbor, and has a farm of forty acres not far from the old homestead. The daughter, Margaret, is attending the district school, and was eleven on May 17, 1911. Mrs. Lamb is active in church work, being affiliated with the United Brethren denomination. Here, as wherever she is known, Mrs. Lamb is regarded as one of the most valuable members. She is a person of executive ability and of tactful manner. The Lamb farm of one hundred and twenty acres is in section seven of Hartford township and is one of the best conducted places in Van Buren county.
Charles Linton. - A prominent business man of the village of Bloomingdale, Charles Linton holds a position of note in manufacturing and mercantile circles, and is proprietor of both the Bloomingdale and the Berlamont Creameries is and important factor in advancing the dairy interests of this section of Van Buren county. A son of Abel Kaye, he was born in Saint Croix county, Wisconsin, of English lineage, his birth occurring in 1869.
Born in England, Abel Kaye was there brought up and educated. Immigrating to America in early manhood, he spent a few years in Minnesota, and then went to Dunn county, Wisconsin, where he bought land and was engaged in tilling the soil until 1900. Selling out in that year, he migrated to Ridgefield, Oregon, where he has since resided, being employed in general farming. Mr. Kaye married Eliza Wilson, who was born in New England, the birthplace, also, of her parents, who were among the pioneer settlers in Minnesota. She died in 1871, leaving four children, as follows: John, residing at Umatilla, Oregon; Nettie, wife of Charles N. Weber, of Ridgefield, Oregon; Charles L. , and Maude, who died at the age of twenty years.
But two years of age when his mother died,Charles Kaye, as he was then called, was adopted by Francis M. and Hannah (Adams) Linton, and was legally given their name. Mr. Linton was a native of Indiana and Mrs. Linton, of Ohio. They were engaged in farming for many years in Saint Croix county, Wisconsin, but are living in Minneapolis, retired from active pursuits. Charles Linton was given good educational advantages as a boy, and while assisting in the care of the Linton farm developed a taste for agriculture in all of its branches. Desirous of becoming proficient in the art of making butter and cheese, he entered the dairy department of the University of Wisconsin, at Madison, where he studied faithfully at few months. Locating then in Saint Clair, Minnesota, Mr. Linton worked in a creamery a year, obtaining a practical knowledge of his chosen work, after which he took another course of study at the University of Wisconsin, still further advancing his knowledge. Going then to Illinois, Mr. Linton operated a creamery in Shabbona for a year, after which he had charge of the Polar Creamery in La Fayette, Indiana, for a year. Coming from there to Van Buren county, Michigan, Mr. Linton operated the Berlamont Creamery for nine years, and then purchased the plant. Three years later, having met with eminent success in his field of endeavor, he bought the cheese factory in Bloomingdale, converted it into a creamery, and has since operated both plants most successfully. Although he manufactures butter and cheese at both plants, his principle production is butter, for which he finds a ready market in Michigan, much of it being sold near home and the remainder in Detroit.
Mr. Linton married, in 1893, Vielda Stafford, who was born in Berlamont, Michigan, a daughter of Anson and Diana (Curtis) Stafford. Mr. Linton is a well-known and valued member of both the Michigan Dairymen's Association and the National Creamery Butter Makers' Association. Fraternally he belongs to Bloomingdale Lodge, No. 221, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, and to the Bloomingdale Lodge, No. 161, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mrs. Linton is a member of Bloomingdale Chapter, No. 158, Order of Eastern Star, and of Bonifoi Rebekah Lodge, No. 382.
William G. Lyle is one of the go-ahead farmers and stockmen of Decatur township, Van Buren county, Michigan. His fellow citizens feel that they have a proprietary interest in him, as he was born in the township and has there spent his entire life. While following the same occupation as his father, he has not been content to live on the reputation that Mr. Lyle, Sr. , made, but the son has shown his own individuality, has made a name for himself, and won the esteem and respect of the members of the community in which he lives.
On the 24th day of September, 1870, William G. Lyle began life on a farm in Decatur township. His parents, Alonzo M. and Mary (Gates) Lyle, were both born in Michigan and the father was a farmer throughout his active life, and is now residing in Decatur, retired from the work which he has been identified for so many years. His wife died June 30, 1899. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Lyle, Sr. , William G. and Fred C. , the latter now residing in Decatur.
The first twenty-one years of life of Will G. Lyle were spent on his father's farm, during which time the son attended school at Decatur and assisted his father in the duties of cultivating the soil. On attaining his majority he left the parental roof and commenced to farm independently and, beginning in a small way, he has gradually added to his holdings until he now owns two hundred acres of land on section 4, where he does general farming and also raises stock. Having devoted his life to agricultural pursuits, he understands his business thoroughly, and he has prospered in his undertakings.
In January, 1890, Mr. Lyle was united in marriage to Miss Jennie M. Simpson, daughter of Hubbell Z. Simpson, of Decatur, and to the union of the young couple five children were born, - Harold A. , Gladys, Theodore, and Marian. Sylvia, the first born, died aged two years. All the living children are at home with their parents, and all attend the public school in Decatur. Mr. Lyle is deeply interested in educational efforts, and for fifteen years has been a member of the school board; the fact that he has continued on the board for so long is proof that he has rendered acceptable service. Indeed, the standing of the school has been distinctly improved during the past few years, and this condition is largely due to the suggestions that Mr. Lyle has made from time to time. In politics he is a Republican, but he does not blindly vote for any candidate offered by his party; he considers most carefully the qualifications of the man himself, and also his fitness to fill any certain office; then Mr. Lyle places his vote with the man he believes will best serve the people, regardless of party considerations. Mr. Lyle is well-known and deservedly popular in this part of the country.
Spencer Van Ostrand. - Whatever may be said of native gifts, inherent traits and hereditary characteristics in determining a man's course in life, no thoughtful and observant person can deny the force of circumstances in the same connection, which not infrequently bend every qualification a man has in accordance with their requirements. His situation and surroundings made S. Van Ostrand, of South Haven, a student of medicine in his youth and early manhood, and circumstances afterward veered him from his contemplated professional career and made him a merchant and promoter.
Mr. Van Ostrand is a New Yorker by nativity, and was born in the town of Rose, Wayne county, in that state, on December 20, 1844. His parents, Dr. and Sarah (Tuller) Van Ostrand, were also natives of New York, the former born at Sennett, Cayuga county, and the latter a Wolcott in Oswego county. The father lived to the age of eighty-four and the mother to that of fifty years. Their son Spencer Van Ostrand, was the first born of their six children, of whom four are living.
The father was a physician and obtained his professional training at the Geneva (New York) Medical College, being graduated from that institution under F. H. Hamilton, of world-wide celebrity. Dr. Van Ostrand served three years in the First Michigan Regiment of Engineers and Mechanics during the Civil war, and after his release from that engagement returned to Albion, Calhoun county, this state. There he was busily occupied in a large general practice of his profession for a number of years, but about ten years before his death he was appointed examining surgeon in the regular army of the United States and assigned to duty at Yankton, South Dakota. He then moved to that city and there he passed the remainder of his life in faithful attention to his duties to the end.
Before the Civil war he was a strong Abolitionist and a devoted worker against the curse of human slavery in this country. As such he rendered very efficient service tot he cause of freedom for the slaves as a division superintendent of the famous "Underground Railroad,"through the aid of which a great many Southern slaves escaped from their involuntary servitude to Canada, where numbers of them became citizens of approved demeanor and some persons of consequence and influence. He joined the Republican party when it was founded and always adhered to it firmly.
Mr. Van Ostrand, the son, lived at home with his parents until he was twenty-two years of age, and, with a view to making a physician of himself, studied medicine under the tuition of his father. But instead of entering on the practice of his profession he became a lumberman in South Haven, and followed that business for about two years. He then clerked in a drug store for five years, after which he opened a general store at Kibbie, this county, where he was also postmaster and agent for the Michigan Central Railroad for a period of ten years. At the end of that time he returned to South Haven and began an enterprise in the drug trade which he is still conducting, and has been ever since.
In 1902, in conjunction with Dr. A. C. Runyan, he organized the Light, Fuel and Power Company of the city, which was later reorganized as the South Haven Gas Company, and of this he has ever since been secretary and treasurer. His political faith and support are given to the Democratic party, and he is an energetic and effective worker for its success, although not himself desirous of any of the honors or emoluments it has to bestow, as his various business interests occupy all his time and claim all his energies except what are required for the ordinary duties of citizenship, and these he never neglects or gives half-hearted attention.
Mr. Van Ostrand was married on August 22, 1867, to Miss Fanny H. Overy. She was born near the historic old city of Hastings, England, and is a daughter of Charles and Harriet (Wood) Overy, who were born, reared, educated and married in England, and remained in the country until they reached middle age. They then came to the United States and located in Calhoun county, near Albion, Michigan, where the father died at the age of fifty-four and the mother is still living, being now ninety-four years old. Mrs. Van Ostrand was the second born of their six children, four of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Ostrand have had five children, three of whom are deceased. Two died in infancy and Robert E. , the fourth born son, was killed by accident in 1896, when he was twenty years of age. The two living children are Charles H. and Archie E. Charles H. is with his father in the drug business. Archie E. is in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, engaged in Christian Science work. All the members of the family enjoy in a marked degree the regard and good will of the whole community, and are admired throughout the county for their genuine worth and the elevated character of their citizenship. They are earnest supporters of all commendable projects involving the growth and improvement of their home city, and manifest in the most helpful and practical way their deep interest in the welfare of the county in which they live and all it's residents, and the people esteem them accordingly.
Edward W. Ewald. - The very roots of a community's prosperity lie in the sturdiness and absolute integrity of its farmer class. If these strong men,with a heart for any undertaking, the whole life around them grows into a solid fabric. The farmers of Van Buren county are notable throughout the state for their industrious and progressive work, and not the least among the farmers who have given the county its good name is Edward W. Ewald, well-known in Hartford township as a fruit grower as well as a general farmer. Edward Ewald was born in Saint Joseph township, Berrien county, Michigan, in the city of St. Joseph, on July 17, 1871. He was the son of Fred J. and Mary (Grimm) Ewald, both of whom were natives of Germany. The parents now make their home in St. Joseph. Edward W. was the fifth born in a family of thirteen children. When he was old enough he went to the local district school, and continued there until he was eighteen, by which time he had acquire a good general education. He then went to work on a fruit farm, and has ever since been connected with the same industry.
On the seventeenth of December, 1895, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ewald to Miss Clara Weber. She was born in Stephensville, Michigan, March 3, 1873, the daughter of John and Mary (Wright) Weber, and was reared in the city of St. Joseph, where she attened the public schools until she was fifteen years old. For three years she was employed as a clerk in a store in St. Joseph. Mr. and Mrs. Ewald became the parents of five children, namely: Evelyn, Leonard, Walter, Marjorie and Clare. Mr. Ewald and his family attend the Baptist church, and he is one of the trustees of the church. Both he and his wife have taken a prominent part in the Sunday-school work of the church for a long time.
Fraternally Mr. Ewald is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. In the field of politics he is to be found beneath the Republican standard, and he was elected to be treasurer of St. Joseph township, Berrien county, upon the ticket of that party. He achieved an honorable and able record in that office.
In 1905 Mr. Ewald came to Van Buren county and purchased the old Packer farm, two and a quarter miles southwest of Hartford, in section 29 of Hartford township, where he and his family have since made their home. Through a comparatively short time in the county, Mr. and Mrs. Ewald already have a large number of devoted and loyal friends, and have attained a high name among all who have had the opportunity to meet them.
John Clair McAlpine was born in Hamilton township, Van Buren county, Michigan,October 2, 1869, and is the only son of John and Mary Phillips McAlpine, the former a native of Chemung county, New York, and the latter of Livingston county New York. Mr. McAlpine has one sister, Miss Ethel McAlpine, who resides with their mother in Hartford.
As the name implies, Mr. McAlpine's ancestors were Scotch, his great grandfather having settled in New York during the Revolutionary war. His grandfather, George McAlpine, was born in New York, but moved with his family to Cass county, Michigan, in 1858. Mr. McAlpine's father, John McAlpine, was the eldest of a family of ten children, and his parents being in poor circumstances financially, he early began to contribute to the support of his father's family.
IN 1863, at the age of eighteen, he enlisted in Company C, Sixty-sixth Illinois Sharpshooters, and with this company served faithfully to the end of the war of the rebellion, when he was honorably discharged. He was a conscientious and law abiding citizen, a good husband and father, and was much loved by a wide circle of friends. He held various township offices, to which he brought unswerving honesty, fidelity and good judgment. He was a member of the Masonic order and of the Grand Army of the Republic. His life began at Chemung county, New York, January 28, 1845, and ended in Hartford, Michigan, November 6, 1910.
John Clair McAlpine was educated in the common schools excepting one year in a business college. Having determined early to be a farmer, he has adhered to his first choice of an occupation and is now an enterprising and progressive farmer in Keeler township.
On October 3, 1888, Mr. McAlpine was united in marriage with Miss Minnie E. Sheperd, a native of this county, born September 4, 1868, and the daughter of Henry and Adelaide Van Der Voort Sheperd. Mrs. McAlpine like her husband, secured her education in the public schools, and that and her home training, like his, were directed to practical ends. They have had four children, three of whom are living. Leila was educated in public schools and also received good instruction in music. Beatrice, the second daughter, received a public school education and is now the wife of William Bullard and has one child, a son Gerald. They reside on a farm in Keeler township. The third daughter is Shirley, the youngest of the children. the son died at the age of three months.
In his political allegiance Mr. McAlpine is a Republican, but in local affairs, especially, his first consideration is the good of his community and the welfare of its people, and he casts his ballot with this always in view. He is especially interested in the progress and usefulness of the public schools, and has been connected with their management for many years. Mr. McAlpine is a member of the Knights of the Modern Maccabees, holding his membership in Tent No. 623 at Keeler. All the members of the family belong to the Methodist Episcopal church. All are well and favorably known throughout the county as persons of high character, upright lives, advanced social culture and the genuine public spirit which leads them to welcome any worthy undertaking for the progress and improvement of the county and township of their home and are pleased with an opportunity to give it earnest and effective support. They are well deserving of the universal esteem which they enjoy for their elevated standards of living, their sincere interest in the welfare of all who dwell around them, and their general high tone and usefulness as citizens.
Charles Funk. - No citizen of South Haven, Michigan, has been more prominently or beneficially connected with the public life of the city during the last few years than Charles Funk, one of its leading business men and now (1911) its chief executive. He served the people of the city so well and wisely as city councilman one term and part of another that they induced him to become their mayor, although he had to resign his seat in the council to become the nominee on what was known as the Citizen's Ticket, made up without regard to political party considerations.
Mr. Funk was born in Bangor, this county, on November 9, 1875, and has passed the whole of his life to the present time within the borders of the county and in intimate association with its residents. He obtained his education principally in the common schools, attending them in winter and working on his father's farm in summer. His scholastic training was finished at the high school in Bangor. He is a son of Martin and Minne (Schlaack) Funk, the former born in Pennsylvania and the latter in Germany. Of the five children born of their union but three are living, Charles and his brothers Ernest and Preston.
The father came to Michigan with his parents in the early fifties, when he was a small boy. They located at a place in Van Buren county known later as Funk's Settlement, where the father of Charles grew to manhood and acquired a knowledge of the occupation of farming, in which he has ever since been engaged, and which be began for himself on wild land unbroken as yet, and never before subject to the persuasive hand of the husbandman. He and his wife are still living on the farm he hewed out of the wilderness, but it is now highly improved, well cultivated and richly productive. He is a member of the German Lutheran church and in political affairs, sides with the Democratic party, although he is no longer a very active partisan, but is still always loyal to his political faith.
On December 29, 1897, Mayor Funk, though he probably then never dreamed of becoming mayor, was married to Miss Bertha M. Springett, a native of Geneva township, this county, and a daughter of George and Flora M. Springett, also natives of Van Buren county and the children of English parents. Both are living on the farm the father has cultivated for many years. He is also a justice of the peace, and his political support is given to the Republican party. He and his wife are the parents of two children, Mrs. Funk and her brother Charles.
For four years after his marriage Mr. Funk cultivated the farm of his grandfather, John Funk. He then moved to South Haven, and was employed in a milling establishment for one year. He was eager, however, to have a business of his own and at the end of his year in the mill formed a partnership with E. J. Merrifield and started an enterprise in the coal and wood trade under the firm name of Funk & Merrifield, which is still in existence and actively engaged in business with ample yards on West Phoenix street, and with an extensive and profitable volume of trade.
In 1907 Mr. Funk was elected alderman from the Second ward of the city, and at the end of his term in 1909 he was re-elected. He showed himself so capable and attentive to his official duties, so vigilant in caring for the interests of the city and the people, and so public spirited and enterprising in municipal affairs, that before his second term expired he was obliged to resign his seat and become the candidate of the Citizen's party for mayor. To this office he was elected also, his term beginning in the spring of 1911 and being for one year. In politics generally, especially in national and state affairs, Mr. Funk trains with the Democratic party, but in municipal elections he takes the view of many excellent citizens in believing that partisan considerations should have but little weight, as municipal government is almost wholly a matter of business and should be conducted on business principles. Fraternally Mr. Funk is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America, and is one of the leading members of the organization in the order in which he is enrolled.
He and his wife are the parents of two children, their son Lloyd and their daughter Velma.
William P. Breeding. - One of the most enterprising, capable and enterprising young business men of South Haven, and one of the most esteemed citizens of Van Buren county, William P. Breeding commands the admiration of all who know him by the success he has achieved and the promise his ability holds out for future accomplishments of a still more signal and enlarged character, in whatever department of useful labor he may choose as the avenue of his activities. He has already done several things, and done each of them well, winning advancement for himself in each and contributing to the general weal of the community around him in all.
Mr. Breeding was born in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 20, 1875, and is a son of Elbert T. and Anna M. (Jackson) Breeding, the father a native of Massachusetts, born in 1849, and the mother of the same nativity as her son William. The father died on December 31, 1909, having outlived by only one month his wife, who passed away on January 30, 1910. (note from writer: This is how the dates were written in the book!)They had three children, William P. , Derwood M. and Florence. The daughter is now Mrs. Thomas A. Kennedy, of Kenilworth, a suburb of Chicago. The family moved to St. Louis some years before the death of the parents, and in that city the father was a merchant of good rank and repute. In politics he was a Republican, and in church connection a Baptist.
William P. Breeding early in life secured employment with the Corticelli Silk Company of St. Louis, the family then being located in that city. He went into the employ of this company as an office boy at the age of fifteen, and by capacity, integrity and faithful attention to business worked himself up to the position of general department manager. He acquired a thorough knowledge of the business of the company he was working for, and at the same time attained to sweep a vision which gave him a comprehensive knowledge of business in general and sufficient confidence in himself to undertake an enterprise of his own.
In 1907 he moved to Chicago and entered the lumber trade, with which he was actively and profitably connected for two years. Before going to Chicago, however, he had been married, and in 1909 he took up residence in South Haven, and there became associated with his father-in-law, Lyman S. Monroe, in the South Haven Loan and Trust Company, Mr. Monroe being the president at that time. After his death Mr. Breeding succeeded him in this office, and is still filling it with great advantage to the company and to the full satisfaction of its patrons.
On January 28, 1905, Mr. Breeding was united in marriage with Miss Louise Monroe, a daughter of Lyman s. and Carrie J. (Curtiss) Monroe. Mr. Monroe was one of the leading business men and most prominent and influential citizens of Van Buren county. He was a brother of Hon. Charles Jay Monroe, in a sketch of whose life, to be found elsewhere in this volume, the history of the family is set forth at length. Mr. Breeding venerates the memory of his father-in-law, as he was a man worthy of the highest esteem and confidence in every respect, and he was also very helpful to Mr. Breeding, giving him every possible chance to advance himself, and not only opening the way for him to make headway, but aiding him materially in all efforts in this direction.
Mr. Breeding is President of the South Haven Loan and Trust Company and also one of the directors of the First State Bank of South Haven and vice president and secretary of the Monroe Realty Company. He is a Republican in political affiliation and a Baptist in church connection, being chairman of the board of trustees of the First Baptist church. He and his wife have one child, their daughter Jane. The parents are among the most esteemed citizens of the city and county of their home, and the regard shown them by the people is based on genuine merit.
George G. Hutchins. - Born in Devonshire, England, on the last day of the year 1846, George Hutchins, the son of George and Jane Hoils Hutchins, spent the first nineteen years of his life across the water. He acquired only a rudimentary education before leaving school to learn the blacksmith trade. He spent two years in the shop as an apprentice and then for a year and a half was employed to shoe horses at the liberal salary of a shilling a week. An uncle and a brother, Richard, had come to America and Richard sent George the money for his passage and in his twentieth year, he joined the relatives at Paw Paw. Here he secured work on a shop owned by Philips and Kelly and was employed there for six months. The following year he worked on a farm and then for two winters and one summer attended school and thus added to his educational equipment. He then worked at his trade in Lawrence and in Paw Paw for a year and a half. After this time Mr. Hutchins opened his shop in Paw Paw township and for four years he conducted the business at a good profit. This gave him his start and he was presently able to buy a farm in Arlington township with his savings. This place was his home for eight years and during that time he constantly improved it until he was able to sell it at a good advance and to buy another. He pursued the same policy with his second place and then bought the one he owns at present. This is the estate known as the Sterling Cole farm, a tract of one hundred and twenty-five acres which has been in Mr. Hutchins' possession sine 1891. He gives his attention to growing fruit as well as to general farming, and at both is more than ordinarily successful.
Mrs. Hutchins was formerly Miss Flora Cole, the daughter of Sterling Cole of Lawrence Township. He came here from New York state in 1852, settling first in Berrien county. In 1854 he was married to Miss Euphemia Crumb, and then they went to Allegan county, making that their home until the year of 1861, when they came to Lawrence, and bought the farm now owned by Mr. Hutchins. Miss Cole became the wife of George Hutchins on February 4, 1874, and they have been the parents of six children as follows; Arthur, in business in the state of Washington; Jennie, Mrs. R. F. Green, of Toledo; Ellen, Mrs. Charles Harris, of Paw Paw township; Mable, the wife of Professor C. M. Jennings, a teacher of Stanton, Michigan; Alice, Mrs. Earl Pugsley, of Hart, Michigan, where her husband is an attorney; and Mary, Mrs. Arthur J. Dunning, of Sedro-Woolley, Washington, where she and her husband are both engaged in teaching.
Mr. and Mrs. Hutchins are both members of the order of the Eastern Star at Lawrence. She has held several offices in that body, including that of worthy matron. Mr. Hutchins belongs to the Rising Sun lodge of the Masons of Lawrence. All the family are members of the Baptist church, where their interest and generous support are highly appreciated. Mr. Hutchins takes no active part in politics but he is a great admirer of Bryan and, although liberal in his views, inclines toward the Democratic platform. He and his wife are of the representative people of Van Buren county and are accorded a place of honor by the many friends they have made in the course of their life here.
Roland B. Grant. - The subject of this brief review was born in Cook county on St. Valentine's Day of the year 1857. His father was Clarence Grant, who was born in Scotland and lived there until the age of seven, when he accompanied his father, John Grant, to Canada. They settled on a farm near Montreal and there John and his wife lived and died. Clarence Grant was one of a family of six boys and two girls, all now dead. His wife, Sabrina Farnum, was born in New Hampshire in 1829, and her parents, Roland and Mary Brooks Farnum, were also New Englanders. She became acquainted with Clarence Grant when he came to New England as a young man and went to work on a neighboring farm. They were not married there and moved to a farm near Chicago. This was not an unknown country to Clarence Grant, as he had worked in Chicago on the breakwater before going to New England. Four children were born to them, three now living; Waldo, a contractor and builder of Chicago; R. B. ; and May, who is the wife of Alfonso Chandler, a contractor and builder of Los Angeles, California. The mother died in 1901, and four years later the father went to live with his son Roland.
Norwood Park, the place of his father's farm, was the home of Roland Grant until he was twenty-one years old. He then worked in the neighborhood of his home for one year, after which he went to Chicago. From Chicago he went to New England to engage in the milling business and remained for one and a half years. When he left this he went to Missouri and bought a farm there, which he conducted for two years. It was during this time that he returned to Norwood Park to be married, his bride being Miss Elsie Cheever, the daughter of Benjamin S. and Anna Boise Cheever, the former being a native of New York State and the latter of England. Her grandfather, James Cheever, was born in Massachusetts. The wedding of Miss Cheever and Mr. Grant took place September 12, 1881, and the young couple began their married life on the Missouri farm, where they remained a year and a half. They then returned to Norwood Park and for eighteen years farmed their own place there. In 1901 they came to Arlington township, in March, and bought a farm upon which they have lived for ten years and in the spring of 1911, came to their present home. They own fifty-two acres in Lawrence township and forty in Bangor. Mr. Grant is occupied extensively in growing fruit and ships some fine crops to the markets.
Two of the four children who have come into the home of Mr. and Mrs. Grant are still with their parents. Chase B. , is a graduate of the Lawrence high school and has spent one year in Albion College, taking a literary course. Gordon is attending school. Both the daughters are married; Grace, to Charles J. Hughes, a contractor of Battle Creek, and Frances, to John Robbins, of Arlington township.
Mr. Grant is a member of the Shady Grove Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Lawrence. He and his family are members of the Methodist church in the same place and are active workers in it, as they take the keenest interest in all which tends to promote the higher life. Mr. Grant is a trustee in that body. In politics he is not actively interested, but favors the Republican principles in matters of national import. During the ten years which they have passed in the county Mr. and Mrs. Grant have made its best interests their own and have won the lasting regard of all who have come to know them. They contribute a generous share to the industrial efficiency which places Van Buren county so high in the commercial world and add equally to the moral and intellectual forces which are of even more importance.
Turner W. Howard, the well known agriculturist of Van Buren county has the unique record of having been born in the farm upon which he now lives and which has always been his home. The pleasant acres of the Howard farm are located on section 32, Lawrence township. Turner W. was born November 13, 1841, the youngest son of Hosea and Elizabeth (Leonard) Howard. Hosea Howard was reared in New York state and was there married. He, with his wife and three sons, came to Van Buren county in 1838 and purchased the farm of one hundred and sixty acres. He was a strong Democrat and an ardent worker for the welfare of his party. During his residence in New York, he served as a captain in the state militia. His death occurred in 1847. His wife, surviving him thirty-five years, passed to her reward in 1882. Of the four children born to this union Turner, the subject of this review, is the only one now living.
Turner W. Howard was reared on the old farm and attended the donation school which was at that time held in an extra room of one of the neighboring farm houses. Each man had to contribute so much in direct proportion to the number of his children attending school. The parents also furnished the fuel. Turner attended this school until he was thirteen years old, and then spent his entire time learning all there was to learn about farming and assisting in clearing the farm of its timber.
On June 3, 1864, Mr. Howard was united in marriage to Miss Marcia Place. She was born in Pennsylvania, June 3, 1842, the daughter of Horace and Fanny (Litchfield) Place. Her father was a native of New York state and her mother of Massachusetts. Her parents were married in New York, moved to Erie county, Pennsylvania, and came to Hamilton township, Van Buren county, Michigan, in 1848, where they continued to dwell for the rest of their lives. They were the parents of ten children, five of whom are now living. Their daughter Marcia was educated in the local schools, and later spent one year in a Pennsylvania school before becoming a teacher in Van Buren county schools, where she taught three years prior to her marriage to Mr. Howard. She and her husband are the parents of five children. George E. , who, following in the footsteps of his father, became a capable farmer. In 1890 e was married to Lulu Cook and, purchasing the south forty acres of the home arm, made a home for his wife and six children, living there until his death in 1909. Effie, formerly a school teacher in the public schools, is now Mrs. homas Maxwell. Fannie who was also a school teacher in the public schools, is now the wife of John R. Cook. Isa is now teaching in Lawrence township,Van Buren county. Frank is still at home, active in church and Sunday-school work.
Mr. Howard is a member of the Rising Sun Lodge, No. 119, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; of Lawrence Chapter, No. 95, Royal Arch Masons; and is a member of Lawrence Council, R. & S. M. , No. 43. Politically, Mr. Howard may be found beneath the stand of the Democratic party, in whose counsels he takes prominent and interested part.
The Howard's still own the one hundred sixty acres, which they farm, and where they have their pleasant homes. They are hospitable and highly esteemed in their county as those who may be called upon when any movement for the general welfare in on foot.
Julian H. Anderson. - Among the men who have given Van Buren county its reliable and honorable name in the business circles of the state is Julian H. Anderson, one of the proprietors of the Anderson Mill. He is a quiet, unassuming man, but has gained the respect of all who knew him, for behind the quiet face they have found invariably strength and integrity. Mr. Anderson was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, in January 1850, the son of William and Esther Stebbins Anderson and the grandson of John Anderson. William Anderson was born in New York state, as was also his wife. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. William Anderson removed to Trumbull county, Ohio, where the husband farmed until 1859. In that year they came to Lawrence, Michigan, where he purchased a saw-mill, and later, the former venture prospering, erected a grist mill. From there he came to Hartford township, where he remodeled the existing saw-mill into a grist mill. The mill is still one of the attractive old land-marks of the county, for it has stood in Hartford township for over sixty years. William Anderson continued to live in the township until his death in 1900, thirty-two years after the passing away of his devoted wife. He was the father of ten children, five whom are living at this date, 1911, as follows: Julian H. , James E. , Alphius S. , George and Charles. Julian H. and James E. are partnership proprietors of the Anderson Mill, and also of the electric light and power plant, which furnishes light and power for the village of Hartford.
Julian H. Anderson was nine years old when his parents brought him to Michigan and he is now the oldest of the surviving members of the family. He was educated in the public schools of Lawrence, and at a very early age began to work in his father's mill. Excepting for about five years, three of which were spent in a store, Mr. Anderson has spent his entire life since his boyhood days in the mill business, and it is no wonder that he knows it thoroughly.
In 1871 Mr. Anderson was united to Miss Esther Rowland, sister of the well-known Captain Rowland, and a native of Ohio. She and her husband have three children: Mabel is now the wife of Wright Gardner and her sister Louise married Walter Hartman. Mabel was a graduate of the Hartford high school and taught for some time in the grammar school. Marion attended and graduated from the Armour Institute of Chicago and later married Miss Ethel Clinton. They reside in Hartford, he being superintendent of the light and power plant. Mr. and Mrs. Julian Anderson are now proud grandparents of seven grandchildren. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and active supporters of all its good works. Mr. Anderson serves the church as one of its trustees.
Fraternally Mr. Anderson is affiliated with the Charter Oak Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In the field of politics he supports the Republican party, but he has never himself felt any desire for the honors and emoluments of public office. Besides his milling interests he owns twenty-five acres of land in Hartford township, upon which he and his wife maintain their home.
For more information on Esther Rowland - contact Barbara Eberhart - BEberh5501@aol. com
Richard E. Sage. -On the roll of those who have laid the foundations of the property of Waverly township, Van Buren county, by their thrift, progressiveness and wise management of the agricultural resources of the country is written the name Richard E. Sage, a prominent farmer and stockman and a citizen whose unblemished record of integrity and fine principles had won for him general respect and esteem. His farm, which consists of one hundred and twenty acres of particularly excellent land, is located in section 12. By no means afraid of innovation, he employs the latest agricultural methods, and that with success, and the stock raised by him is of high standard.
Van Buren county boasts a goodly number of native sons who have paid it the highest compliment within their power by electing to remain permanently within its borders and Mr. Sage is one of these. His birth occurred on June 10, 1860, in Bloomingdale township, his parents being William H. and Sarah (Gay) Sage. The former was born in Clare, Ireland, in 1849, and at the age of nine years came to the United States with his father, Patrick Sage. They first located in the state of New York, where the father and one of his sons found employment upon the Erie Canal, which was then being enlarged, and later on were employed in the building of the New York Central Railroad. Therebythey earned sufficient money to pay the passage of the remainder of the family who until that time had remained at their old home in the Emerald Isle. They came on to Michigan in 1860, where the grandfather of the immediate subject located near Gobleville and followed farming and masonry work until his death, at the age of seventy-five years.
Mr. William Sage, the father, received his early education in the schools of Ireland and upon coming to this country completed his education in the public schools. He arrived in Michigan at the age of nineteen and upon the breaking out of the Civil war enlisted in Battery E, First Michigan Light Artillery, connected with the Fourth Army Corps, in which eh served one year, passing through a number of battles. After his discharge from the service he took up farming near Gobleville and followed that until retiring in 1906, in which year he returned to Paw Paw, where he still resides. During childhood days of Mr. Sage, while living in Ireland, the great famine took place, during which terrible period, over two million people starved to death, and he vividly recalls the awful suffering which he witnessed at that time and which made so frightful an impression on his youthful mind. He married Sarah Jane Gay and they had nine children, four of whom died in infancy. One of his sons, W. V. Sage, is a graduate of the Lansing schools and also of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor; he was formerly superintendent of schools and is now engaged in farming in Bloomingdale township, on the place where the subject of the sketch was born. Florence is now the wife of George Connery, of Bloomingdale township, and was formerly a teacher in the public schools. May is the wife of Arthur Cleveland, of Janesville, Wisconsin. Dr. E. D. Sage is a graduate of Chicago University and is now resident in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he is a successful physician and surgeon.
Richard E. Sage passed his youth amid the rural surroundings of his father's farm and was educated in the Gobleville public schools. When it came to adopting an occupation of his own he followed in the paternal footsteps, and, being the eldest, he worked on the farm, thereby enabling his brothers to remain at college. Mr. Sage was first married April 28, 1883, to Mary Leaibe, and their union was blessed by the birth of a son, Leroy W. , who married Isa Beach, daughter of William Beach, Mr. and Mrs. Leroy W. Sage have a son, Cleon. The first wife of the subject was called to the Great Beyond in 1890, and on September 30, 1903, he was united to Minnie Johnson, daughter of L. J. Johnson. The second union has resulted in the birth of two daughters,-Florence, and aged six; and Alberta, aged two.
Mr. and Mrs. Sage are members of the Free Will Baptist church and the former is one of the trustees of Covey Hill church, a historical place. He is a prominent member of the Grange, in whose affairs he takes an active and interested part. In the field of politics he is found under the standard of the "Grand Old Party, " but, although interested in the success of good government, he has never been active in partisan affairs. He has been highway overseer or pathmaster. He has held the position of chairman of the school board and for several terms, being the incumbent of that office a the present time, and was one of the founders and at the present time a trustee of the Gobleville Mutual Telephone Company. He enjoys the regard of the community in which his interests are centered and his circle of friends may be said to be co-incident with that of his acquaintances.
Charles L. Nower. - This enterprising, progressive and prosperous farmer and live stock man of Paw Paw township, this county, was born in Paw Paw on September 15, 1893, and is a son of William G. and Melissa (Russell) Nower, for many years industrious and prominent farmers in Van Buren county, but now living retired from active pursuits in Lawrence. The father, William G. Nower, was born in Central New York on April 24, 1853, and came to Michigan with his parents in 1857. The parents were James and Frances (Wickens) Nower, natives of England who came to this country early in life and made a new home for themselves in the state of New York.
In 1857 they moved their family to Michigan and located in Van Buren county, where the father bought fifty-three acres of farming land, on which they passed the remainder of their lives, the father dying in 1860 and the mother in 1888, on the land that had been hallowed and greatly improved by their labor and skillful cultivation. They had seven children, three of whom are living: William G. , Henry and John, all of whom reside in Lawrence. The four offspring who died were Frances, Charles, Martha and Alfred.
William G. Nower grew to manhood on his father's farm in this county, and when he reached the age of twenty years began farming on his own account. At the age of twenty-seven he bought forty acres of land, but soon afterward sold this and bought ninety-five acres in section 19, in Paw Paw township, which his son Charles L. is now farming. The father was married on May 17, 1879, to Miss Melissa Russell, and they became the parents of three children, all of whom are living. They are: William J. , who resides in Lawrence township, this county; Charles Leslie, who is living on and cultivating the parental homestead; and Charlotte, whose home is in Lawrence.
The father of these children is independent in his political action, looking only to the good of his township and county without regard to partisan considerations. He has always been an earnest advocate and supporter of public improvements, and every agency that worked for the progress of his locality and the betterment of its people in any way. In church relations he is a Methodist, and one of the energetic and devoted members of the congregation to which he belongs. Whenever he is known he is highly esteemed as a good citizen, an upright man and a very useful force for good.
Charles Leslie Nower, the second son of William G. , obtained a high school education and, at the age of nineteen, started out in life for himself to make his own way in the world and work out a creditable career by useful industry, which he felt he had the spirit and determination to make profitable to himself and serviceable to any community in which he might live. For two years after leaving school he served the government faithfully as a mail carrier. Then in March 1911, he took charge of the homestead on which he has been conducting a general farming and live stock industry on as large and energetic scale as his facilities will permit.
On December 31, 1902, Mr. Nower was united in marriage with Miss Bernice Feegles, a daughter of Joseph and Anna (Kelly) Feegles, of this county. The parents were born and reared in Michigan, and here the father was a contractor and builder for a number of years. He died on August 29, 1896, and some time afterward the mother married a second husbund, being united on this occasion with O. D. Allen, a resident of Van Buren county.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Nower have four children: Norma, who was born on August 12, 1903; Vaughn, who was born on June 23, 1905; Rex, whose life began on May 2, 1907; and Donna, the date of whose birth was August 29, 1909. The father holds himself free for independent action in connection with all political matters, and partisan considerations have no weight with him. His first and chief desire in affairs of government, local, state and national, is to aid as far as he can in securing the substantial welfare of the people, and he works for this without regard to the political ambitions of candidates and with none of his own.
Mrs. Nower was the last born of the four children of her parents. Three of the four are living: Nina, who is the wife of Thomas Clark, of Cleveland, Ohio; Hattie, who is the wife of Owen Babbitt, of Winthrop, Minnesota; and Bernice, who is now the wife of Mr. Nower. The only son in the family, Ebert Feegles, died some years ago. The parents were highly respected by all classes of the people wherever they were known, as the mother and surviving children are now. All have been faithful to duty in all the relations of life, and have won public esteem by the impressive examples they have given of upright living and earnest and helpful interest in their several communities.
George C. Monroe. - Industrial and business life in this country is full of mutations. The ground beneath our feet perpetually rocks and heaves, throwing up new eminencies and opening chasms where heights have lately been. New opportunities are ever coming to the wary and making new demands upon the capable. The young man who enters upon a stage of action at twenty as a farmer, trader, doctor, or something else, will not unlikely be found pursuing a very different vocation at forty, so numerous and various are the currents of activity in this electric age and in a land of such multitudinous interests as ours possesses and demands attention.
George C. Monroe, of South Haven, where he is one of the leading business men of the community, furnishes in his career a striking illustration of these facts. He began independent exertions for his own advancement as a surveyor of land a fruit grower. Yet for many years he has been almost exclusively engaged in banking and other occupations kindred to or allied with this interesting but exacting pursuit. But, although he has changed his business, he has not changed the seat of his operations. His energies are employed now where they first found service, and have always been devoted to the place of his birth and its vicinity.
Mr. Monroe's life began in South Haven, Michigan, on February 20, 1871, and in that city the whole of it to the present time (1911) has been passed, except the period spent by him at college and the years 1896 to 1899 when he lived in Covert. He is a son of Hon. Charles Jay and Hattie (Morehouse) Monroe, a sketch of whose lives will be found in this work. He attended the public schools in his native city to obtain the basis of his education, and the State Agricultural College to get instruction in the more advanced stages of his mental training.
After leaving college he engaged in surveying land and raising fruit for the markets seven or eight years. But his mental bias was toward business and its leaning was decidedly in the direction of banking. And what nature had implanted in him was bound to come out, whatever might be his zeal and industry in other directions. On December 1, 1899, he accepted the position of cashier of the First State Bank of South Haven, having had almost a full year's experience in the banking business as the president of the Bank of Covert, which he helped to organize under the auspices of C. J. Monroe Sons & Company on January 1 of the same year.
Mr. Monroe is a son of one of the founders of the Kalamazoo Savings Bank and is now a large stockholder in that institution. In addition he is secretary of the Hotel Columbus Association and the South Haven Hospital Association, of the latter of which he was one of the organizers. In 1906 he gave up the cashiership of the First State Bank, being promoted to the position of vice president in its directorate. His interest in the institution has never waned, however, and his influence has been at all times, from the beginning of his connection with it, potential in helping to give it standing in the community and increase the volume of its business and its popularity among the people.
On February 14, 1893, he was united in marriage with Miss Helen Smith, a native of Emden, Germany. Three children have been born of this union, George S. , Helen L. , and Randolph B. , all of whom are still members of the parental household and elements in its attractiveness to the numerous friends and associates of the family. These make its home a frequent resort, and always find it a center of mental and social culture and refined and gracious hospitality.
Mr. Monroe is an enthusiastic Freemason, and has ascended all the rounds of the mystic ladder in the York rite and to the thirty-second degree int he Scottish rite. He holds membership in Star of the Lake Lodge, No. 155; Royal Arch Chapter, No. 58; and South Haven Council, Royal and Select Masters, No. 45, having presided over all three bodies in South Haven; Malta Commandery No. 44, Knights Templars, at Benton Harbor; Saladin Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Grand Rapids; and DeWitt Clinton Consistory, Scottish Rite Masons, at Grand Rapids. He is also a member of the Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters of the state, and in addition belongs to Hamilton Grange. Patrons of Husbandry, and the Order of the Knights of Pythias and several other insurance orders.
In the affairs of his city and county he has a deep and abiding interest and manifests it by actively supporting all commendable undertakings for their improvement and the betterment of their residents. In political faith and allegiance he is pronounced Republican, not with a view to securing public office, which he never desires, but because he believes in the principles of that party and thinks their prevalence in the government, local, state and national, would be beneficial. But he does not allow partisan considerations to outweigh his sense of duty to his community in local affairs, and always gives that sway without regard to personal or partisan claims of any kind. He is looked upon as one of the most useful, public spirited and representative citizens of the county, and esteemed in all parts of it in accordance with this estimate.
Henry Y. Tarbell. - Born and reared to the age of nineteen in Franklin county, New York, then passing twenty-six years in South Dakota extensively engaged in growing wheat and raising and feeding horses for the Eastern markets, and up to 1911 one of the enterprising and progressive farmers in Van Buren county, Michigan, Henry Y. Tarbell, of Paw Paw township, has mingled with the people and taken part in the industrial life of three of the great states of the American union, in which the circumstances, the methods of action and the conditions in general differ widely. But he has been able by his versatility and general business capacity to adapt himself to all requirements and do well in every situation in which he has found himself.
Mr. Tarbell's life began in Franklin county, New York, on April 7, 1865, and he is a son of Newell I. and Julia M. (Duefraine) Tarbell, also natives of the state of New York. The father was occupied in farming in his native state continuously until May, 1910, when he and his wife came to Michigan and Van Buren county, where they now make their happy home with their son Henry. They have three children besides Henry: Belle, who is the wife of Allan Tullar and lives in Springfield, Massachusetts; Fred E. , who is also a resident of Springfield, Massachusetts, and one of the foreman of the Smith & Wesson Gun Works there; and Etta, the wife of W. E. Wiley, of Schagticoke, Rensselaer county, New York.
Henry Y. Tarbell remained on the farm of his parents until he reached the age of nineteen, assisting in the farm work and attending the district school near his home when he could. At the age mentioned he gratified a longing he had cherished for years by throwing himself into the midst of the colossal activities of the great West and taking a part in conducting them. He moved to South Dakota, purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land, and started an industry in raising wheat on a large scale. He also engaged in raising and handling horses for the markets on a similar scale, taking advantage of every opening he saw for the furtherance of his interests, and with characteristic enterprise and energy using each for all it was worth.
Mr. Tarbell remained in South Dakota twenty-six years, thriving in his business and rising to consequence and influence among the people. In 1902 he came to Michigan and bought a farm of one hundred and sixty-two acres in section 22, Paw Paw township, this county, and he maintained his home and carried on a vigorous industry in general farming up to August, 1911. We here quote from the True Northerner of November 17, 1911:
"Henry Tarbell has surely earned the title of 'Land King. 'He sold his farm south of town last summer, and bought a place in the village where he could live near his friends and enjoy himself. He soon got restless, however, and started with his wife for a trip through the west, and for a visit with a son who lives in Dekota. The fine level farms of the country were a delight to his eye, and the temptation became too strong for him to resist. The result was that before he left for home he was the possessor of a deed for one thousand acres of that rich farming land. It was all under cultivation, has fine buildings, is as level as a floor, and is said to be one of the most valuable farms in that locality.
"His many friends are glad to know, however, that he does not contemplate moving to that country, but will be content to make Paw Paw his home, and rent the big farm in the west.
"Henry has lived here but a short time comparatively, but during that time he has shown himself to be a valuable acquisition to any community, and his friends are legion.
"He not only is a good judge of farm lands, but knows a horse from A to Z and has handled many horses since coming here. He is the happiest when dealing in horse flesh or swapping with a neighbor. He always has a horse that can step some, and knows how to get the speed out of him. Harry Showerman can give testimony in evidence of his ability as a driver, and it makes an interesting story to listen to. "
Mr. Tarbell's residence and operations on the plains of the Farther West taught him the value of conducting the farming industry on the largest scale the circumstances would allow and having labor saving machinery commensurate with its utmost requirements, and he has applied the lessons there learned to his operations in this county, making himself one of its most progressive and successful farmers, and settling a pace which his neighbors and observers generally are following to their own advantage and the benefit of the county.
On September 2, 1888, Mr. Tarbell united in marriage with Miss Myra E. Thayer, a daughter of R. O. and Ellen (Tullar) Thayer, residents of Iowa. Six children have been born of the union, all of whom are living. They are: Walter W. and Mabel A. , who reside in South Dakota; and Ferne T. , Julia, Thusa Pearl and Newell L. , who are still living under the parental rooftree, adding to the social life and enjoyment of the community and doing what they can in a quiet but effective way for the general welfare of their township and county.
While Mr. Tarbell has no ambition for public office of any kind, and never sought a political position in his life, he has an earnest interest and takes an active part in local public affairs for the good of the community. He believes firmly in the principles of the Republican party, and does what he can to have them prevail in the government of this county, state and country. He also regards fraternal societies as beneficial among men, and does his share toward making some of them as potential and effective for good as possible. He belongs to the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is active in the work of his lodge in each. In church connections he is a Presbyterian. Van Buren county has no better citizen, and none whom the people hold in higher or more deserved esteem.
Thomas Carroll. - The venerable citizen whose name heads this sketch settled in Arlington township, Van Buren county, Michigan, more than half a century ago, when the land he now owns was unimproved and the country was sparsely settled. Now he gets his mail form a box at the gate, addressed, "Lawrence, R. R. No. 2. "
Thomas Carroll is a native of the "Emerald Isle. " He was born in county Meath, Ireland, March 16, 1824, a son of Thomas and Mary (Gaffney) Carroll, who lived and died in Ireland, the father's death having occurred in 1839, the mother's in 1856. In the Carroll family were four children, of whom two, Patrick and James, are deceased. Catherine, the youngest, is now a resident of St. Louis, Missouri. Thomas spent his early life at the home of his birth. After reaching man's estate he decided to try his fortunes in America, and in 1850 he landed in New York. For three years he made his home near Rochester, New York, and then, early in 1854, came west to Michigan and settled in Arlington township, Van Buren county, where he bought timbered land and in time he cleared and improved the farm. Here for many years he personally cultivated his fields and cared for his stock, and he still lives, enjoying the comforts which are the result of his early years of energetic effort and good management.
On Saint Patrick's Day, 1856, was celebrated the marriage of Thomas Carroll and Eliza Shanklin, and with the passing years sons and daughters to the number of eleven have come to bless their home, their names in order of birth being as follows: Henry, of Benton Harbor, Michigan; Mary Jane, now Mrs. Vanhorn, of Des Moines, Iowa; John, on the home farm with his father; William, of Hartford, Michigan; Gilbert, of Van Buren county; Theresa, wife of Harry Seward, of South Haven, Michigan (Gilbert and Theresa being twins; Lottie, wife of John Washburn, of Paw Paw, Michigan; Fred, of Van Buren county, and Leo, at home.
Politically Mr. Carroll has always been independent, casting his vote for the one he deems best fitted to perform the duties of the office in question. Religiously he and his family are Catholics.
William Wallace, a Civil war veteran and for many years a highly respected citizen of Arlington township, Van Buren county, Michigan, dates his birth in Indiana, April 29, 1840. His parents, Thompson Alexander and Esther (Von Brough) Wallace, natives respectively of Colerain, Massachusetts, and New York, moved from York state to Indiana and from there to Michigan in 1852 and settled in Van Buren county, where they spent the rest of their lives and died, the mother's death occurring December 25, 1881, the father's March 19, 1884. Thompson A. Wallace was a farmer all his life. On coming to Michigan he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 26, Arlington township, Van Buren county, eighty acres of which he afterward sold, and at the time of his death was the owner of eighty acres. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, namely: Levina, deceased; Maranda, widow of Oscar Church, of Arlington township; William; Harriet, deceased; Henry Cook, who was killed in the Civil war; Ellen, deceased; and Seymour, of Arlington, Michigan.
William Wallace had just emerged from his "teens" at the time Civil war was inaugurated, and he at once tendered his service to the Union cause. As a member of Company C, Third Battery of Michigan Light Artillery, he went to the front, and for four years he discharged his duty as a faithful soldier. The war over, he returned to Michigan, and his honorable discharge is dated, "Detroit, June 22, 1865. "Since the war his life has been devoted to agricultural pursuits. His first land purchase was eighty acres and he subsequently bought a forty acre tract, making a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, in sections 25 and 26, Arlington township, where for nearly half a century he has been engaged in general farming and stock raising.
On February 24, 1884, Mr. Wallace and Miss Jennie Palmer were married, and a son and daughter are the fruits of their union- Harmon P. and Esther, the latter, at this writing, being employed as a district school teacher. Mrs. Wallace is a daughter of Hiram and Mabel (Bush) Palmer, both natives of New York. Her father died in May 1855, and the mother now lives in Pine Grove township, Van Buren county, Michigan. In the Palmer family were eleven children, of whom eight are living.
Mr. Wallace is a member of the G. A. R. , and has been a supporter of the Republican party ever since he became a voter. His religious faith is that of the Baptist church, of which both he and his wife are members.
Alpheus A. McNitt. - This enterprising, progressive and studious, and therefore successful and prosperous, farmer of Keeler township has been a resident of Van Buren county for more than forty-eight years, having been brought to the county by his parents when he was about two years old. He grew to manhood there, drawing his stature and his strength for the soil of this county, obtained his education in the public schools of the locality in which he now lives, and acquired his social training in mingling with people. He is therefore, practically, a real product of the county, and has no recollection of any other home, although he was born in Niagara county, New York, on December 16, 1851. Moreover, he is a thorough and creditable representative of the citizenship of the county, although his modesty would never allow him to think so.
Mr. McNitt's parents, Sylvester and Susan (Brown) McNitt, were of British ancestry, and the father was a native of Great Britain, born in Scotland. He died in this county when he was about fifty-three years old, and was successful and prosperous in both lines of his industry. In 1853, after a residence of some years in the state of New York, he moved to Van Buren county, Michigan, and bought sixty acres of land in Hartford township. Sometime afterward he purchased eighty acres more in the same township, and was possessed of both tracts at the time of his death. During his life he was a great friend of the cause of public education, through which he received his mental training, and did everything in his power to aid in making them better and more useful. In politics he was a firm believer in the Jeffersonian principles, and therefore, a staunch adherent of the Democratic party, which he represented, according to his views, the greatest good and safety for the people, locally and nationally.
Mrs. McNitt, the mother of Alpheus A. , was born in Pennsylvania in 1821, and grew to womanhood in her native state. Her parents came to this country from Ireland and passed the remainder of their lives in the state of her nativity. She, also, was educated in the public in the common schools, and always felt a cordial interest in them and their work. Her upright and useful life ended in Van Buren county, Michigan, in 1898. She was a loving wife and mother, and gave the people around her an excellent example of American womanhood, and her offspring the best training and counsel.
Of the seven sons and four daughters born to this estimable couple six are living: Charles, who is a resident of Casco, this county, and one of the progressive farmers of this locality; Thaddeus, who is a resident of Bangor, Michigan; Julia, who married Ezra Curtis, a farmer of Hartford township, this state; Archibald E. , a structural steel worker and engineer living in Chicago; Flora A. , who is the wife of Marion Hoover, a skillful and highly respected blacksmith of Hartford; and the subject of this memoir. All the sons are married.
Alpheus A. McNitt obtained a common school education in the schools of Van Buren county, and has passed all the years of his life, since leaving school, in farming and working at his trade as a carpenter, following in the footsteps of his father in both lines of effort. His progress in life has been the result of his own industry, frugal living and excellent management. He began with very little capital, but, with the aid of his estimable wife, he has accumulated a comfortable estate, which puts him, with his prudent scale of living, beyond the reach of adversity.
He is independent in his political sentiments, always casting his vote for the men he considers best fitted for the offices sought and most likely to work for the good of the township and county and their residents. In this respect his stand is well known, and he is highly respected for it, as well as for this excellent character as a man and his usefulness and public spirit as a citizen. He and his wife have a beautiful farm of two hundred and twenty-five acres, all in Keeler township, and located six miles from Hartford and four from Watervliet. The farm is devoted to general farming, but the land is admirably adapted to the culture of fruit. It is well improved with good buildings, and completely equipped with everything needed for its advanced and profitable cultivation. It is on the line between Keeler and Hartford townships and known as the "Walnut Avenue Farm. "
Mr. McNitt was married on October 7, 1875, to Miss Emma Havens, a daughter of William H. and Eleanor Jane (Lewis) Havens, and the third of their six children, allof whom are living. The other five are: Olive, the wife of Marcius Olds, a coal merchant doing business and residing at Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and the mother of eight children; Metcalf E. , a Hartford township farmer, and the father of two children; William, also a resident of Hartford, and married; Charles, another of Hartford township's successful and representative farmers; and Ella, a widow with two children, whose home is in St. Joseph, Michigan.
William H. Havens, the father of these children, was a native of Coshocton, New York, born in 1828. About the year 1853 he located in Michigan and Van Buren county, where he died in 1891. He was a Republican in politics until the formation of the Populist party, and then he joined that organization, to which he adhered faithfully to the end of his life. At the age of sixteen he became a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and throughout all his subsequent years he was true and faithful to its teachings, taking a great interest in its work, wherever he lived, and for a long time being one of the chief singers in the choir of the congregation in which he held his membership. He was also a strong advocate of temperance and the restriction of liquor traffic, and took high ground on this great moral and economic question. Mrs. Eleanor Jane (Lewis) Havens, his wife, now his widow, was born in the state of New York on April 30, 1835. She is of German ancestry, and in all the years of her long, upright and serviceable life has exemplified the best traits of the thrifty, persevering and sturdy race from which she came. For some generations her forefathers lived in Pennsylvania. She is now living in Hartford, this county, where all classes of the people hold her in the highest esteem. Her religious connection from her youth has been with the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. and Mrs. Alpheus A. McNitt have two sons and one daughter, all living, and all practitioners of the art of healing according to the theories of the Chiropractic school. They are Leslie, who resides on Benton Harbor; Nellie, the wife of Hermie Warren, whose home and business are in Casnovia, in this state; and William, who is located at Niles, Michigan. The special trend of these young people is so unusual in its uniformity and their achievements in it are so highly creditable to them and the family and so beneficial to their fellow men and women that each deserves a separate notice somewhat in detail.
Dr. Leslie A. McNitt is what is called, in the nomenclature of the new art of healing which he practices, a chiropractor, and the theory of his science is that all human ills can be cured by removing the cause. Then nature will restore the organism to a normal condition. The method of operation is adjustment of the spine, the center and force distributor of the whole nervous system, which largely controls all the rest of the body. When the spinal column is properly adjusted and performing its functions in a proper way, and the nervous system acts as it should, the other organs of the body will soon be in harmonious accord, and local ailments will fade away like mists in the sunbeams of the morning.
Dr. Leslie A. McNitt is in years a young man, but he is full of the right spirit, has been well prepared for his work and is rapidly attaining prominence in his profession. His patients are among the leading men and women of the community, and as he gives them positive benefits in what he does for them they realize that he is capable and that his science and art, for his profession includes both, are worthy of confidence and open a new avenue to human welfare, comfort and happiness.
Dr. Nellie (McNitt) Warren, as she should properly be called, completed her academic education in the Hartford high school, being graduated in the class of 1901. For several years thereafter she was a successful public school teacher in her home county. She then studied chiropractry at the Grand Rapids institute of this school of the healing art, and was graduated from it in 1910. She has been very successful in the practice of her profession, and her reputation in it grows as the years go by. Mr. Warren, her husband, is a farmer, and he also does well in his business.
Dr. William McNitt, who located at Niles, Michigan, and steadily growing in popular favor as a professional man, and estimable citizen there, is, like his brother, Dr. Leslie McNitt, and his sister, Dr. Nellie Warren, a graduate of the Chiropractic College in Grand Rapids, from which he received his degree July 1, 1911. Since leaving the Grand Rapids institution, which is devoted to the dissemination of the new and very rational method of dealing with human ailments that he and his work represent, he has been active in propaganda work on behalf of his theory and in practical demonstration of its verity and value. He states its claims to consideration clearly and forcibly in his professional card, which says: "Chiropractic is the science of adjusting by hand the subluxations (displacements) in the spinal column, commonly called the back bone, for the purpose of removing pressure from nerves.
"The spinal column is the only place where nerves pass between two had or bony surfaces that are moveable, therefore, practically the only place where nerves can be impinged, or the nerve restricted, and it matters not what part of the body or organ is affected, the cause is in the spinal column. I ask no questions. I simply analyze the spine, and I tell you every place you are affected. Chiropractic is the only science that removes the cause of disease, and this is done without pain, drugs or knife. I sue nothing but my hands, and it takes but the fraction of a second; the whole object is accomplished when the nerve is released. Paralysis, deafness, loss of voice, cancer, catarrh, gall stones, over weight, rheumatism, appendicitis, neuralgia, neurasthenia, eye, ear, throat, lung, stomach, liver, kidney, bladder trouble, etc. , all quickly and permanently disappear under chiropractic adjustments properly given.
"I do not treat, I remove the cause, nature cures. "
"Analysis and consultation free; let me tell you where you are affected by analyzing your spine. "
"Because it is new do not say, 'it is impossible. ' That is what they told Marconi.
Mr. and Mrs. McNitt are fully justified in the pride they have in the ambitions and achievements of their children, who have attained a high place in the confidence and esteem of the people who know them, and have admirably proven their right to the general regard and good will they so richly enjoy. In their profession they have severally done some wonderful work and reached some wonderful results. In their interest in the enduring and substantial welfare of the communities in which they live, and in their elevated and serviceable citizenship generally, they have exemplified the best attributes of exalted American manhood and womanhood, and in the correctness and uprightness of their lives in every way they have put into practice the lessons given them in childhood and youth at the parental fireside. All the members of the family are highly creditable to the place of their birth, the institutions from which they got their training, the people among whom they acquired their social culture, and the several communities in which their efforts and energies are being so beneficially expended for the welfare of their kind. Whether representing new theories or old ones, they would command respect for their beliefs and teachings, and the people around them prove their own real worth by showing that they realize this fact and estimate these worthy and estimable citizens at the full measure of their value.
William S. Bradley. - A valiant soldier in defense of his country in time of war, and an industrious and progressive merchant and farmer and afterward banker and potent force in educational and civic affairs in time of peace, William S. Bradley, of South Haven, Van Buren county, Michigan, has demonstrated his manliness and usefulness and his devotion to the public weal, local and general, in widely different fields of action and under circumstances varied greatly in character and requirements. Wherever he has been, and whatever he has been engaged in, he has met all the demands of duty with fidelity that is above price and a capacity and readiness of resources that have always commanded admiration and been highly commended.
Mr. Bradley is a native of New England, and has all of the typical New Englander's versatility-shrewdness in business, quickness in seeing and vigor in seizing and using opportunities for his own advantage. He has also all the lofty ideals of citizenship which obtain in the section of his nativity,and has followed them through life to this time. He was born in the villageof Lee, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, on March 11, 1834, and is a son of Elisha and Sophronia (Jarvis) Bradley, also natives of Massachusetts, andmembers of families resident in that state form early colonial times. Both have passed to the life beyond, and only two of their nine children are living. William S. and his older sister, Cordelia.
The father was a farmer, and removed from his native place to Oswego county, New York, many years before his death. In his new home he continued farming and also carried on a brisk and profitable dairying business with advantage to himself and greatly to the convenience of his patrons. He was a member of the Congregational church in his religious connection and an old line Whig in his political faith and allegiance. In his community he was a man of force and influence, and in all the relations of life an estimable and highly respected citizen.
His son, William S. Bradley, was educated in the public schools of his home county, and after leaving school engaged in the tanning curriers line until August, 1862, when he responded to duty in another and far more tragic field of endeavor. On August 28, 1862, he enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Tenth New York Volunteer Infantry, Nineteenth Army Corps. He served of awhile as second and afterward as first lieutenant of his company, remained in the service from the time of his enlistment to the close of the war, and took part in every contest his regiment was engaged in. He finally rose to the rank of captain through his ability and fidelity to duty, and as such was mustered out of the army on August 28, 1865, at Albany.
When the war was over and the great armies of conquest melted away in the far greater of armies of peaceful production, Mr. Bradley moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he was engaged in the manufacture and sale of leather goods until 1881. In that year he moved to Chicago, and there he passed three years in the wool, hide and fur trade. In 1884 he came to Michigan and took up his residence in South Haven. Soon after his arrival in that city he bought a farm and turned his attention to general farming and fruit growing. In these industries he prospered and his operations became extensive. But he had idle capital in his mental force as well as in his bank account, and he determined to use both in a way that would be agreeable and profitable to him and, at the same time, afford some additional conveniences and advantages to the community around him.
In 1892 he helped to found the Citizens Bank, and in 1897 was elected president of this institution, a position he has held continuously ever since his first election to it. He was also one of the founders of the City and Township Library, and is now (1911) a member of its board of directors. In addition to these great and serviceable institutions others of a public or semi-public character engage the attention and have the practical personal assistance of this enterprising man of comprehensive and varied activities. He is president of the board of directors of the South Haven City Hospital Association and one of the directors of the South Haven Telephone Company, and he takes an earnest interest and an active part in the affairs and all the work of each of these commendable agencies for good.
Moreover, he genuine interest in the welfare of his home city has led him to accept the position of city councilman in its service, which he filled for several terms, and the fraternal life of his community has always been, in his view, a source of benefit to the people generally and of special value and enjoyment to those who participate in it. He is a member of the Masonic order in Lodge, Chapter, Council and Commandery, and an enthusiastic devotee before the altars of them all, helping to give life and sparkle to their meetings and direct their energies into beneficial channels, and make them as serviceable as possible.
Mr. Bradley was married on December 27, 1882, to Miss Frances Hale, a native of Oswego county, New York, and a daughter of Colonel William and Amanda Hale, also natives of New York. The family moved to South Haven, where the father became one of the prominent lumbermen of this region, and was also conspicuous as a real estate dealer. Mr. and Mrs. Bradley have four children, three sons and one daughter. They are universally regarded as among the leading and most representative citizens of the city and county in which they live, and are held in the highest esteem as such by all classes of the people.
Ora F. Fuller. - Among the prominent and progressive farmers of Van Buren county who have made their agricultural enterprises successful because of careful business management and resourceful scientific methods is Ora F. Fuller, the proprietor of the Walnut Knob Farm of Hartford township. Mr. Fuller is a native of Allegan county, Michigan, having been born there on June 27, 1857, a son Riley H. and Mary (Upson) Fuller. The father of Riley Fuller was born and lived his entire life in the state of Connecticut. At his death his wife, in a one-horse covered wagon migrated to Pennsylvania, hauling her household goods in the covered wagon and accompanied by her eight children. Later, when Riley H. was about thirteen years old, she married Mr. Brennand. After some time with his mother and her husband, Riley Fuller returned to Connecticut and there married Miss Mary Upson, of Unionville, that state. Later he returned to Pennsylvania with his wife and two children and there engaged in the lumber business, later still removing to Allegan county, Michigan, where he engaged in the lumber business also. In 1863, at the call from President Lincoln, he enlisted in the Union army, becoming a member of the Twenty-eighth Michigan Regiment. He served from that time until the end of the war, when he received his honorable discharge with the rank of quartermaster. He returned to Michigan at the close of the conflict and took up his old interests of lumbering and farming. He was the father of eight children, six of whom survived to this date, 1911, namely: Lenetta, now the wife of William McGraw; Alice, now Mrs. Willis Slocomb; Ora F. ; Carrie, wife of Frank Myers; Riley H. Jr. , who married Miss Jennie McDonal; Frank, who married Miss Hattie Sargent.
Ora F. Fuller was reared on the home farm and spent much of his boyhood in the heavily wooded timber tracts of Michigan. His education he received at the hands of the grade school teachers of the day. He remained at home until he attained his majority, when he went to take up a homestead in Luce county, Michigan, upon which he remained for sixteen years. At the end of that time he sold his Luce county property and went to Florida for two years, after which he returned to Luce county and bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres. Mr. Fuller has also spent two years in New Mexico. Mrs. Fuller filed on a desert claim and they lived there for two years. Mr. Fuller came back to Van Buren county, Michigan, in the spring of 1911 and purchased the Walnut Knob Farm, where they now live.
On May 5, 1885, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Fuller to Miss Nancy A. Vollick, who was born in the Dominion of Canada, in December, 1865. She was educated in the common schools of Canada. She and Mr. Fuller are the parents of nine children, namely: Everett, Vina, Lena, Alfred, Edith, Maude, Lewis, Roy and Beatrice. They and their family attend the Methodist Episcopal church, in which church, during his stay in northern Michigan, Mr. Fuller was an active worker and member of the official board.
In the field of politics Mr. Fuller is a Republican, and has served the community as county superintendent of the poor in Luce county, Michigan, as highway commissioner of Lakefield township, and as treasurer and justice of the peace in the township several times. Mr. Fuller has determined to settle permanently in Van Buren county, which will enrich the county's list of able and public-spirited citizens.
Samuel J. Orton. - In a review of the good citizens of Waverly township, Van Buren county, the name of Samuel J. Orton must take prominent place as a successful and popular farmer-citizen, whose kindly personality and fine principles have given him a secure place in general esteem. His farm of one hundred and twenty-three acres is located in sections 17 and 20 and there he devotes his energies to general farming and fruit raising. He is loyal to the county with the loyalty of a native son, for his birth occurred in Arlington township, January 16, 1850. He is the son of Ira M. and Cornelia M. (Fitzcraft) Orton, the birth of the former having occurred in Rutland county, Vermont, and that of the latter in the state of New York. When a young man Ira M. Orton left the New England hills for the Empire state and there he met and married his wife, their union occurring in 1837. In 1845 they made an important change by coming to Van Buren county and here spent the remainder of their lives. They were the parents of seven children, four of whom were living in 1911. Edwin P. resides in Arlington township; Emory O. , is a citizen of Bangor, Michigan; Samuel J. , the subject of this review; and Priscilla, the wife of James Bigelow.
Samuel J. Orton was reared on his father's farm and obtained his education in the district schools and the Lawrence high school, continuing as a student at the latter until his seventeenth year. Following that he had some experience as a pedagogue, occupying the preceptor's chair in a school in Wright county, Minnesota. When, however, it came to choosing a permanent occupation he gave his heart to farming and he has been prosperous in this field. He is particularly successful as a horticulturist.
Mr. Orton was first married to Anna D. Slocum, and one son was the fruit of their union, Percy L. Orton, who married Gertrude Butterfield. Mrs. Orton was summoned to the Great Beyond on April 8, 1878, and he married for his second wife Minnie A. Briggs, their union being solemnized September 26 1878. To this union have been born six children, as follows: Floyd M. , of British Columbia, a graduate of Bangor high school; Bertha, a graduate of the Lawrence high school, a former teacher in the public school, and now the wife of Fred McFarland; Mabel, wife of Harry Scamehorn, they have one son, Zell; and Grace, wife of Howard Towne, and they have one son, Milford; Glen W. , a graduate of the common schools, in which he displayed excellent scholarship; and Clare B. , now in school.
Fraternally Mr. Orton is a member of the Bangor Maccabees and he is also affiliated with the Patrons of Husbandry. In Politics he is in harmony with the principles of the Democratic party and he has served as justice of the peace of Arlington.
George Shine. - In the year of 1816 Jacob Shine came from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania, where his countrymen had already done so much for the land of their adoption, both by the valiant service they had rendered in the war for independence and by their skill in the pursuits of peace. Jacob Shine was married to a native of Pennsylvania, Mary Master, and they moved to Stark county, Ohio. There were eleven children in their family, eight of whom grew to maturity. These were Jacob, Sarah, Christian, Annie, John, Kate, Charles and George. At present but two survive, Kate, who is the widow of John Gertie, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and George of Bangor, Michigan. They moved to Hancock county, Ohio, during Polk's administration, and in 1850 the mother died. Jacob bought a piece of wild land, consisting of one hundred acres, and cleared about eighty acres of it.
George, the subject of this sketch, was the fifth child of Jacob and Mary Shine. He was born in Stark county, Ohio, in 1834 in February. At the age of fifteen he moved with his parents to Hancock county, Ohio, where he greatly assisted his father in clearing the farm. At twenty-five years of age he married Mary Garman, of Ohio, and they began farming for themselves on land which George had rented from his father. Here they remained until the close of the Civil war, when his father sold out, and they moved to Pulaski county, Indiana. There Jacob bought one hundred and sixty acres of land. George remained with him about one year and a half, when Charles, his younger brother, married and worked his father's farm. George and his family then came in 1867, to Michigan.
Jacob, his father, died about ten years after George came to Michigan. The latter purchased a farm of eighty acres in Bangor township, Michigan. He added to this until he owned one hundred and five acres. All but forty-five acres of this he has given away to his two sons. This land was all in timber when Mr. Shine purchased it, and he has cleared and improved it all, getting it into fine condition and putting up the best of buildings.
There were four children born to George and Mary Shine, namely, John, William L. , Elizabeth and Ellen. The two sons reside in Bangor township and manage the fine places which their father has given them, and to which John has added nineteen acres and William forty-six acres. This land all adjoins, making in all a solid body of one hundred and seventy acres. Elizabeth is the wife of George Monk, of Geneva township. Ellen married John Edwards, of Geneva, but died in 1896.
In politics Mr. Shine is a Democrat. He is a member of the Church of God, to which his wife also belonged. She passed away August 10, 1911, leaving behind her the memory of a life of love and usefulness. These parents brought up their boys to respect God, and to despise swearing, smoking and drinking. They now are respected citizens of Bangor township and can be depended upon to vote for local option.
Frank McCon, one of the most successful farmers and stock raisers of this section of the country, was born in Galesburg, Kalamazoo county, October 12, 1857. His parents were Isaac and Eliza Teers McCon, both natives of New York state, the birthplace of the father being Neufield and that of the mother Tompkins county. They were married in New York state and decided that they would go to Virginia to begin life. Isaac McCon was a carpenter by trade, though like almost every one of that generation of Americans he was also a farmer. Virginia lost its attractions when viewed at first hand, and the young couple decided that it was a poor country and, without unpacking their goods, they returned to New York state and stayed several years before starting out again to find a new location. This time they moved to Grand Rapids, which was then only a village, and here Isaac McCon bought two lots, upon which the post office now stands, for what we should consider "a song. " For several years he worked at his carpenter trade here and then moved to Galesburg, where he bought ninety acres of land, and it was there that Frank was born. When he was about two years old his father moved to Porter township, near Lawton, and bought another farm, upon which he lived three years. He was always interested ingetting a little better place or one which he could make into a better one, so he traded this farm for one near Mattawan and kept that one three years. When he disposed of his third estate he bought another near Paw Paw and lived there two years, then came west of Paw Paw and stayed there for a quite a long time before moving back to Paw Paw, where he retired and spent the rest of his days. He lived to the age of eighty-four, his wife surviving him two years and dying at the age of seventy-seven.
There were five children born to Isaac McCon and his wife and four of them are still living: Mary resides on the old home place at Paw Paw; Sarah is the wife of Wesley Hall, who lives south of Paw Paw; George is a carpenter by trade and lives in Oklahoma; Frank is the youngest of the family.
At the age of nineteen Frank McCon decided to go west, and accordingly went to Joliet, Illinois, and secured work on a farm there. When he had been there four months his parents persuaded him to come home and he has remained in the county ever since. His father gradually gave the entire management of the place over to his son.
On December 8, 1887, was solemnized the marriage of Frank McCon and Addie E. Christie, the daughter of Charles Christie, for whom Christie lake is named. Their wedding was celebrated at the old place on the banks of Christie lake. Mr. McCon now owns one hundred and sixteen acres of land, having disposed of the remainder of his holdings, which at one time amounted to two hundred and twenty acres. He has also been engaged in the stock business buying all over this part of the country and making his trips to Buffalo in the spring with the stock and looking after it personally and always securing the top price.
Both Mr. and Mrs. McCon are charter members of the Eastern Star. Mr. McCon belongs to the Masonic lodge, No. 119, and to the Chapter and Council of Lawrence. He has passed through nearly all the chairs. In politics he is a Republican and a most loyal and devoted supporter of the party. His father was a Democrat, but his son did not find himself in sympathy with the policies of that party and so cast his first vote for Hayes and has never varied in his allegiance to the party.
Consistency and faithfulness to what he undertakes are highly characteristic of Mr. McCon and the esteem and regard which are his in Van Buren county are but the fitting tribute to his upright and useful life.
Jesse S. Barton. - Illustrating practically in his present course his firm faith in the theory "Ten acres enough," which a few years ago was held by persons in all parts of the country to be full of wisdom and is still adhered to with tenacity in many localities. Jesse S. Barton, of Paw Paw, is making his ten acres pay well for the labor and intelligence bestowed upon them and finds in the cultivation of them enough to occupy all the time and attention he cares to devote to farming, whether it is enough to satisfy any other man or not. Mr. Barton knows how much farm work and farm produce he wants, too, for he has farmed larger tracts with success and profit, and according to the most advanced ideas and methods of this day of universal search into every department of human labor, interest, thought and speculation.
Mr. Barton is a native of Michigan and was born in Washtenaw county on July 17, 1837. He is a son of William and Charity (Stevens) Barton, natives of New York state. The father, who came to Michigan in 1824, was a farmer all his life, beginning to learn the business in boyhood. Mr. William Barton worked by the month in a mill for the man who later became his father-in-law. After reaching twenty-one years of age he purchased a farm in Washtenaw county, Michigan; conducted it a number of years and then sold it and came to Paw Paw, where he remained six months. He then purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Almena township, and remained there until selling his farm to his son, Jesse S. Barton. The father, William Barton, returned to New York state, where he remained for time and then returned to Gobleville, Michigan, where he died at the age of ninety-five years. He and his wife were the parents of five children: Mahala, who has been dead many years; Jesse S. , the interesting subject of this writing; John and Emeline, both deceased; and Josephine, the wife of C. D. Meyers, of Gobleville, Michigan. The mother died aged fifty-six years.
Jesse S. Barton obtained a district school education and began farming on his own account at the age of eighteen. As soon as he was able he bought twenty acres of good land, but soon afterward sold this and bought eighty acres of the old farm, which he kept for five years. At the end of that period he bought the remaining forty acres of the old homestead and five years later bought an additional tract of eighty acres, and the two together he farmed for more than twenty years, conducting general farming operations and raising live stock for the markets.
When he grew weary of the hard work he was obliged to do to keep the business going, he leased his farm to his son and moved to Paw Paw. This arrangement continued eleven years. At the end of that time Mr. Barton sold all but eighty acres of his old land and bought sixty acres more in Antwerp township, which he retaind in his possession about six years. His next move was to sell this and to buy ten acres about a half mile from Paw Paw, and on this he now resides. He is well contented with his move and finds both employment and recreation in looking after his small acreage and bringing out of it all that skillful labor and advanced methods of cultivation can make it yield. It is a model of agricultural enterprise and one of the most attractive rural home in this part of Van Buren county.
On January 23, 1864, Mr. Barton was united in marriage with Miss Anne Swick, by whom he became the father of three children: Minnie, the wife of E. A. Aseltine, of Antwerp township and the mother of a son, Leland B. ; William, who resides at Dowagiac, Michigan, and has three children- Leta, Carl and Frank; and Allie, married and living in Lansing, Michigan, the mother of Fay and Max. The mother of these children, who is known to fame for her literary work and her ministerial services, died on June 8, 1907, and on June 24, 1908, the father was married to Mrs. Leona A. Jennings, the widow of Henry H. Jennings and by her first marriage the mother of three children: Lilly E. , the wife of William L. Nelson, of Lawton; Ralph E. , who lives in Waverly township, this county; and Lottie M. , the wife of H. C. Buck, of Kalamazoo, Michigan.
The present Mrs. Barton is a daughter of Josiah and Amelia (Hannum) Hopkins, the former a native of New York and the latter of Massachusetts. The father came to Michigan in 1852, one of the pioneers of the county and the first man who operated a grist mill in Almena township. He and his wife were the parents of five children: Mrs. Barton; Luther J. , who lives at Ocean Springs, Mississippi; Ella M. , the wife of G. P. Kingsbury, of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Willis D. , a resident of Cassopolis, Michigan; and Albert, who died in infancy. There is also a son by a second marriage, Jay Paul, a captain in the regular army of the United States and at present (1911) stationed at Fortress Monroe, Virginia.
Josiah Hopkins, a venerable man, who passed four-score years in his earthly career, had a wide range of experience in several localities and different lines of achievement. He was born at Crown Point, Essex county, New York, on November 25, 1826, and was a son of Ebenezer and Tryphenia (Searls) Hopkins, natives of Vermont, the father born at West Rutland, that state. Josiah was the last born of the family of six children, and accompanied his parents to Ohio when they moved to that state.
When he was eighteen years of age his father died and he was obliged to take charge of the affairs of the family. The father owned and operated a sawmill in Ohio, and the son continued to operate it after the father's death until 1852, running it for the benefit of the family. In the year last mentioned he came to Michigan and Van Buren county and took up one hundred and sixty acres of new and unbroken land in Almena township. For some years he devoted his energies to general farming and raising stock for the markets. He saw in good time a good opportunity to enhance his own profits and supply a pressing need of the country around him by starting a dairy business, and he did it. After conducting this business for ten years he sold it and his farm and bought eighty acres of land, which he owned and worked for three years. At the end of that period he traded this tract for a planing mill in Mattawan and afterward disposed of this and purchased a grist and sawmill at Decatur. These were destroyed by fire and he then bought a grist mill in Antwerp township, which three years later he traded for a farm of one hundred and sixty acres. For three years after this deal he operated a flour mill in Decatur and then bought a grist and sawmill at Cassopolis. In the course of some fifteen years he sold his interest in the grist mill to his son, who controlled the practical operation of the sawmill twenty years. In 1905 he gave up all active pursuits and made his home with his daughter, Mrs. Barton, in Paw Paw, remaining until his death, on September 18, 1911.
Anne Swick Barton, Jesse S. Barton's first wife, was a teacher in the state of New York at the age of seventeen. She came to Michigan in 1862 and here she was engaged in teaching until her marriage with Mr. Barton. While she was yet very young she began writing verse for publication. The first collection of her poems was published in 1882 under the title "For Friendship's Sake. "She was also well and favorably known for her work as a minister of the gospel. In 1874 she was requested to take charge of the young people's Bible class at Waverly. She yielded to the request and retained the position for three years.
During the absence of the pastor of the church to which she belonged on one occasion she was asked to read a sermon. She did this and her performance gave the people so much gratification that she was called on afterward to aid the pastor in revival work. The next winter she accepted a call to a pastorate of a newly organized congregation at Gliddenberg, six miles west of Paw Paw. She remained in charge of this congregation one year and was then called to her own church in Waverly. She gave this church highly acceptable service as pastor and preacher for two years. In December 1886, she was regularly ordained to the ministry and from then until her death she devoted all her energies to ministerial work, winning a high commendation for her care and solicitude as a pastor and her pathos and fervor as a preacher.
Henry H. Jennings, the first husband of the present Mrs. Barton, was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war. He was a member of Company G. , First Michigan Engineer and Mechanics regiment, under the command of Captain Innis. He enlisted in 1863, and was with General Sherman on his march to Washington, arriving in the capital of his country in rags, after two years' faithful service in its defense. After the war he taught school for over twenty years in Van Buren county. His death occurred in Paw Paw on December 5, 1903.
Jesse S. Barton is a Republican in politics of pronounced belief in the principles of his party and reliable energy and efficiency in its service. He has not sought nor desired public office for himself, however, as he has always preferred to serve the state from the honorable post of private citizenship. He is a Baptist in church affiliation.
William I. Gay. - Practical industry, wisely and vigorously applied, never fails of success; it carries a man onward and upward, brings out his individual character, and acts as a powerful stimulus to the efforts of others. The greatest results in life are usually attained by simple means, implying the exercise of the ordinary qualities of common sense and perseverance. The every-day life, with its cares, necessities and duties, affords ample opportunities for acquiring experiences of the best kind and its most beaten paths provide a true worker with abundant scope for effort and self-improvement. In the legitimate channels of progressive agriculture, William I. Gay has won the success which usually crowns well directed labor, sound judgment and untiring perseverance and at the same time he has concerned himself with the affairs of the county in a loyal, public-spirited fashion. This well known farmer and stock raiser owns one hundred acres in section 14 and 15. He is a native of Van Buren county, his birth having occurred in Paw Paw township on November 25, 1876. He is the son of William and Sarah (Hunt) Gay. His father was born in England, March 19, 1840, and the birth of the mother also occurred in "the right little, tight little island" the date of her nativity being March 11, 1845. Both came to America in childhood with their parents, at the age eleven and she at the age of thirteen. Both families found their way to Michigan, the Gay's settling in Richland, Kalamazoo county, and the Hunt's in Paw Paw township, Van Buren county. William Gay married in Paw Paw township and took his wife to Richland, where they made their home for two years before coming to Paw Paw township. They afterward purchased land in Waverly township, where they resided until summoned to the "Undiscovered Country. "The admirable wife and mother died January 9, 1901, but the father survived for some years, his demise coming on November 4, 1907. They were the parents of three children: the subject; Fred Gay, of Waverly; and Edith, wife of William D. Davis.
William I. Gay was reared amid the wholesome surroundings of this father's farm and behind a desk in the district school house gained his first introduction to Minerva, Goddess of Wisdom. He attended the institutions of learning of the township until his eighteenth year and since then he has devoted his time to farming. He owns one hundred acres in sections 14 and 15 and in addition to this general farming also raises stock. He is a truly self-made man and is known for his honor and integrity, reflecting honor upon the country which gave his parents birth.
On October 30, 1900, Mr. Gay was united in marriage to Lulu M. Furbush, of Waverly township, her birth having occurred here March 14, 1880. Mrs. Gay is the daughter of Robert and Emma (Haydon) Furbush. Their union has resulted in the birth of three daughters and two sons, namely: Russell, born in 1901; Mildred, born in 1903; Florence, born in 1904; Bertha, born in 1908; and Robert, born December 15, 1911.
Mr. Gay is a member of the Masonic order and exemplifies in himself the ideals of moral and social justice and brotherly love for which the order stands. He belongs to Goble Lodge, No. 325; to Glendale Lodge, No. 408, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and to the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a Republican in politics, but has never taken an active part in party affairs.
L. R. Wagner, one of Bangor's successful young business men, has only been connected with the interests of this village for two years, but already has established a reputation for progressive methods, enterprising spirit and upright principles. Mr. Wagner is a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he was born August 13, 1883, and is a son of Herbert and Nellie (Van Bloise) Wagner, who both were born in Holland.
Herbert Wagner came to the United States with his family in 1865, and located in Grand Rapids, where for a number of years he was engaged in doing contract paving work, but eventually he turned his attention to farming, and he was thus engaged at the time of his death, which occurred in May, 1911, his wife having passed away eleven years before. They were the parents of nine children, as follows: Isaac, Martin, Cornelius and John, all residents and business men of Grand Rapids; William Andrew, who resides in New York city; L. R. ; and Mary, Jennie and Martha, all deceased.
L. R. Wagner attended the school of Grand Rapids, after leaving which he settled on his father's farm, and for the five years that followed assisted him in his operations. Deciding upon a business career in preference to the life of an agriculturist, he entered McLaughlin's Business College, at Grand Rapids, from which he graduated in bookkeeping, and then took a four-year apprenticeship in the drug business. Later he entered the Ferris Institute at Grand Rapids, and after his graduation in 1906 went to Decatur for one year, spent a short time in Hart and a year in Coloma, where he had charge of a pharmacy, and in February, 1909, came to Bangor and purchased the business of H. D. Harvey,in company with his father-in-law, John DeKruif. Mr. Wagner has applied modern methods in his carrying on of this drug business, and hasbuilt up a large and lucrative trade. He has completely stocked establishment, centrally located, and is equipped with all modern appliances and appurtenances.
On December 25, 1907, Mr. Wagner was married to Miss Hattie DeKruif, natives of Michigan, whose other children are: Delia, the wife of Benjamin VenKlossen, of Grand Rapids; and Anna, who lives with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Wagner had one child; Ora Leona, who was born August 17, 1909, and died September 21, 1909. Politically Mr. Wagner is a Republican, and his fraternal connection is with the Elks. Progressive in his ideas, he is always ready to support matters which promise to be of benefit to his community, and he is looked upon as one of Bangor's rising young business citizens.
Harvey Harper. - Every veteran of the Civil war commands our respect and honor in memory of what he accomplished and what he risked in those dark days. A brave defender of his flag, always ready whenever his services have been needed either in war or peace, Harvey Harper, a successful agriculturist of Lawton, Michigan, sets an example of noble-minded living and true patriotism that the rising generation will do well to follow. Mr. Harper was born August 17, 1840, in Huron county, Ohio, and is a son of Samuel D. and Nancy (Spears) Harper.
Mr. Harper's parents, both natives of New York, came to Michigan in October, 1841, from Ohio, and, locating in Porter township, Van Buren county, purchased one hundred and forty acres of wild land, which they were engaged in cultivating until 1855. At that time they came to Lawton and erected and opened the first hotel at this place, which they conducted for one year, then purchasing one hundred and twenty acres of farming land just south of town. In 1861 Samuel D. Harper gave this land to his sons, Harvey and James, and retired from active life, dying in February, 1872, while his widow survived him twenty years and passed away in 1892, on her eighty-third birthday. Eight children were born to this noble pioneer couple, as follows: Sarah and Esther, who are deceased; Eunice, the widow of John Ihling, of Van Buren county; Amanda, the widow of G. P. McNeil, of Lawton; William, who is deceased; James, residing on the home farm; Harvey; and Clarissa, the wife of James Atwell, of Lawton.
Harvey remained on the home farm until he had attained his majority, and in 1861 he enlisted in Company H, Twelfth Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Johnson. For six and one-half months he was a prisoner of the enemy, being captured at the battle of Shiloh and taken to Mobile, Alabama, and later to Montgomery. He was then paroled and sent to Chattanooga, Tennessee, from whence he was sent to Bridgeport, Alabama, and taken to the Union lines to be exchanged. General Mitchell, however, refused to receive the prisoners, as he was about to go into battle, and they were returned to Chattanooga and a few days later General Mitchell crossed the river and began to shell the city. The prisoners were then put on cars and sent to Atlanta, Georgia, one of the men in the same batch as Mr. Harper being the noted raider, Andrews, who was afterwards hung on the limb of a peach tree. The limb being too slight for his weight, it is related, the captors shoveled a hole in the ground underneath his feet, thus accomplishing their purpose. While on a trip to Atlanta, in March, 1911, Mr. Harper became aquatinted with an old gentleman who vouched for the truth of the story. The street on which it occurred is now named Peach Tree street, and is one of the most beautiful thoroughfares of the Southern city. From Atlanta Mr. Harper and his companions were taken to Griffin, Georgia, and later the famous Libby Prison, from whence they were paroled and Mr. Harper was sent to Washington D. C. , on to Annapolis, Maryland, and then to Columbus, Ohio, where he was put on detached duty until he was mustered out of the service, August 18, 1863. The brave young soldier, much emaciated and broken in health from his terrible experiences, returned to his home in Michigan and the next year was spent recovering his health and attending school, and he was then married and went to Morrison, Illinois, where he was engaged in the mercantile business with his uncle. Later he went to Lake City, Minnesota, where he remained for about one year, and returned to the farm which had been given him by his father. In the fall of 1868 he moved to the town of Lawton, where he had purchased ten acres of land, and on this he erected a modern, two-story residence and a fine vineyard. He also owns the town ball park, several building lots and the old homestead farm south of the town, and is considered one of Lawton's successful men, which may be attributed to the fact that he has never shirked hard work, but has always been willing and ready to do his full share.
On April 4, 1865, Mr. Harper was married to Martha J. Kinney, daughter of Warren D. and Martha (Roberts) Kinney, and she died June 6, 1904, having been the mother of three children: Bertha, the wife of Crawford Smith, of Ypsilanti, Michigan; Catherine, who resides at home with her father; and Grace, the wife of Hamilton Ewing, of Lawton. Mr. Harper is a stanch Republican in his political views and has served as a member of the village board and as highway commissioner of Porter township. He and his children are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Charles Radtke. - From sturdy German stock comes Charles Radtke, whose splendid farm of one hundred and ninety-five acres in Bangor township is brought to its fullest productiveness under his capable hands. He has fulfilled himself all the traditions of this thrifty, honorable race and stands among Van Buren county's representative citizens. Mr. Radtke was born September 30, 1857, the son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Yernitsky) Radtke, both of whom were natives of Germany. In 1874, when seventeen years of age, the subject became the leading spirit in an expedition to the United States. He brought with him his father and mother and supported themuntil their death. The date of their arrival upon American shores was November 11. The family located in Columbus City, Indiana, and there remained for a year prior to going to South Haven, where the subject bought eighty acres of land and engaged in agricultural operations. The father died in 1884, and the mother survived until 1894. They were the parents of the following eight children: Godfrey, deceased; Ludwig, of South Haven township; Minnie, deceased; Augusta, wife of John Kuhn, of South Haven township; August, a citizen of Monroe, Michigan; Frederick, deceased; Charles; and John, deceased. Mr. Radtke has experienced the success which usually crowns enlightened industry, honest methods and the determination to succeed. He has added to his property from time to time and now owns one hundred and ninety-five acres in Bangor township. He engages in general farming and stock raising. When he first came to Michigan he engaged for a time in the lumber industry. For eight years Mr. Radtke was buyer for Frank Lauderbach, commission merchant of South Water street, Chicago, this business taking him over the state of Michigan in the spring and through the south in the winter. Mr. Radtke founded a home of his own by his marriage to Matilda J. Willis, their union being solemnized on October 18, 1885. To them have been born three children. The eldest son, Willis L. , is now engaged in the livery and feed business in Covert; Carl is a stationary engineer; and the daughter, Anna Elizabeth, is deceased. Mrs. Radtke's maiden name was Matilda Willis, and she was the daughter of Thomas E. and Annie (Lamb) Willis, natives of Indiana. The family came to Michigan in 1864 and located in Bangor township, where they lived until their demise, the father being called to this eternal rest at the age of fifty-three years and the mother in 1887, aged fifty-seven years. They were the parents of a large family of children, eleven sons and daughters coming to them. An enumeration of the family is as follows; Hosea, of Pine Grove township; Isaac W. , of Bangor township; Charles and Mary, deceased; Mrs. Radtke; Ella, deceased; Rebecca, wife of William Shine, of Bangor township; Thomas E. , of Bangor township; Eli, living in Bangor township; Lydia, deceased; and John R. , of Porter township.
Mr. Radtke is a Republican and takes an interest in public issues. His church is the Lutheran. Mr. and Mrs. Radtke now live in Covert, where they have a pleasant home, the hospitable gathering-place of hosts of friends which they are sufficiently fortunate to possess
Hiram E. Norton is the scion of the oldest of Michigan families, the founder having come here as early as the year 1836. He is a native son of the state, although familiar with other scenes and for a time a resident of the far west, he has paid this section the highest and most eloquent compliment within his power by electing to return and take up his permanent residence within its boundaries. Mr. Norton is a blacksmith by trade and has ever since proved a public-spirited citizen.
The birth of Mr. Norton occurred in Porter township on April 15, 1868, his parents being Emanuel and Mary Jane (McNitt) Norton. The McNitt family came to Michigan in the spring of 1836, not long after the engagement at Battle Creek between the whites and the Indians. The father was a native of Canada. He and his family resided in Kalamazoo county for four years and then removed to Hartford township, the date of the event being 1841. They too took up one hundred and sixty acres from the government. The father who was a farmer throughout his active years is now retired and living in Gregory, Michigan. He is of very advanced age and enjoys the respect and confidence of the community in which he is so well known. The mother died in 1898. Mr. Norton, immediate subject of this review, is the sole issue of their union.
Mr. Norton had the usual experiences of the young folks of his day and locality. He acquired his education in the public schools and under his father's direction learned some of the secrets of seed-time and harvest. At the age of thirteen years he decided to become a wage-earner and began work in a sawmill, in which he remained employed for a number of years. At the age of twenty-five years he learned the trade of a blacksmith and for a time owned a shop in South Haven. He disposed of the South Haven interest and removed to Covert in 1900, but shortly afterward was seized with western fever and went to Montana, where in Missoula he opened a shop. Throughout his absence from home, however, the charms of the old location remained vivid with him and resulted in his returning to Covert, where he now resides.
On January 16,1892, Mr Norton established a happy home of his own by his union with Miss Clarissa Morgan, daughter of G. W. and Mary (Smith) Morgan. Mrs. Norton's brother, Thomas, is now a resident of Bangor township and foreman of the Evergreen Farm. To the marriage of the subject and his wife have been born two children, Leah, at home; and Myrtle, deceased.
Politically Mr. Norton is in harmony with the men and measures of the Republican party and takes no small amount of interest in local issues. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, belonging to the encampment at South Haven. He and his wife and daughter are members of the Congregational church and are valued helpers in its campaign for good. They are helpfully interested in all matters pertaining to the welfare of Covert and the county.
Shepard H. Shattuck, a native of New England, has for over a quarter of a century played a helpful and highly honorable part in the life of this part of the Van Buren county, Michigan. His is somewhat unusual record of having held some public office ever since the year 1885, and of every trust he has brought a whole-hearted loyalty which never lost sight of the interests of the many in any personal consideration. At the present time he is chairman of the county board of supervisors. Although now living in Covert, where he owns an attractive and commodious home, he still retains ownership of some thirty-five acres which he operates. Previous to casting his fortunes with the great basic industry Mr. Shattuck was engaged in sawmill work and in the hardware business.
Shepard H. Shattuck was born in Hampshire county, Massachusetts, May 24, 1859, his parents being William J. and Laura (Pratt) Shattuck. The father was a native of the Empire state and the mother of the Bay state. They followed the tide of migration to the developing northwest in 1871 and settled in Covert. The father was a farmer and was also interested in woolen mills before coming to this state. He died in April, 1905, the mother preceding him to the other land in 1872. To their union were born the following five children: Orlo W. , deceased in 1906; Ella A. , the wife of George W. Leslie, of Covert; Carrie A. , wife of S. D. Kenny, of Covert; Fred O. , of Cincinnati, Ohio, secretary and treasurer of the Church-Bienkamp Piano Company; and the subject. Mr. Shattuck took as his second wife Eliza A. Warner, who also preceded him to the Great Beyond, the date of her demise having been October, 1903.
Shepard H. Shattuck began life as a wage-earner at the early age of fifteen years, engaging in sawmilling with the A. S. Packard Company, with whom he remained for a number of years in the capacity as foreman. In December, 1883, he entered upon a new department of enterprise by taking up the hardware business, which he followed in Covert until August, 1887, when he purchased a small farm of sixty acres and proceeded to improve and cultivate the same. He made a success of this wholesome and independent vocation and continued thus engaged until 1901, when he disposed of the property. He then removed to Covert, where he built a fine home, his residence being beautifully situated in the midst of a tract of five acres. He has also bought a farm of thirty-five acres in Covert township, section 14, thus still retaining his connection with farming.
On April 22, 1885, Miss Clara Sherburne, daughter of E. B. and Jane (Morrison) Sherburne, both natives of Canada, became the wife of Mr. Shattuck. The Sherburnes came to Michigan in 1860 and located in Covert township. The father, whose occupation in his more active days was farming, survives, but his wife died in Februrary, 1902. They were the parents of the following ten children: Roland, of Lone Tree, Iowa; Ella, wife of C. W. Knowles, of Chicago; Clara, the wife of Mr. Shattuck; Minnie, wife fo William Simison, of San Diego, California; Lettie, wife of Elmer Blodgett, of Pueblo, Colorado; Harriet, wife of W. H. Seil, of Seattle, Washington; Bertha, wife of William Lees, of Auburn, New York; and three children who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Shattuck share their home with two children,- Kari B. , born October 3, 1888; and Winnifred D. , born September 10, 1900.
The subject is of influence in the counsels of the Republican party and as mentioned in a preceding paragraph, he is supervisor of Covert township and chairman of the county board of supervisors. He has, in fact, held the office of supervisor for no less than six terms.
Fred W. Reams. - Many of the successful business houses of Bangor, Michigan, are those which were established a number of years ago and whose original proprietors have infused new blood and new methods into their enterprises by the addition of younger members to their firms. One of these, the well-known Wagner Drug Company, has a large and flourishing trade throughout the village of Bangor and vicinity. Fred W. Reams, who has shown himself to be a business man of no mean ability, is a product of Paw Paw, Lee county, Illinois, and was born October 7, 1879, a son of Marshall R. and Elizabeth (Sanford) Reams, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of New York. They came to Michigan in 1899, settling in Bangor, where Marshall R. Reams first entered the mercantile field, but eventually took up the fruit and produce business in which he has since continued. Mr. and Mrs. Reams had a family of three children: Wilber P. , who lives in Buchanan, Michigan, and is engaged in the mercantile business; Fred W. ; and Grace M. , the wife of Charles F. Dandert, of Bangor.
Fred W. Reams received his education in the public and high school of Paw Paw, Illinois, but after two years in the latter accompanied his parents to Bangor, where until 1901, he was engaged in the general merchandise business with his father. In the year mentioned he entered the drug business of his father-in-law, H. D. Harvey, and continued with him for seven years.
Mr. Reams is a progressive and enterprising business man, alive to the modern methods and well versed in matters pertaining to the drug trade. His popularity is evidenced by his many warm, personal friends, and he is well known in fraternal circles as a member of the Modern Woodman. He and Mrs. Reams are consistent attendants of the Christian church. Mr. Reams takes an independent stand in matters of a political nature, reserving the right to vote for the man whom he thinks will best serve the interests of the people, regardless of party ties.
On January 18, 1905, Mr. Reams was united in marriage with Miss Grace L. Harvey, the estimable daughter of H. D. and Martha Lucinda (Meabon) Harvey, and they have had one son, Roscoe Harvey, who was born January 19, 1906.
Hon. Charles Jay Monroe. - If the people of Van Buren county were challenged to name an admirable product and high type of their citizenship they might with eminent propriety say: "Here is Hon. Charles Jay Monroe-show us his fellow!Behold the fruit and the representative of our civilization!'Of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble-bush gather they grapes!' "In every field of duty, and his have been numerous, and in every relation of life, Mr. Monroe has exemplified sterling manhood, elevated citizenship, and all the other fine attributes of the genuine American gentlemen.
Mr. Monroe is wholly a product of Van Buren county. He was born in the township of Lawrence of November 20, 1839. He obtained his elementary education and the first impressions of his relations to his fellow men in the country school near his home. He grew to manhood on his father's farm and did his part of the labor necessary for its cultivation, acquiring therein habits of useful industry, a practical knowledge of farming, and an interest in his native soil that has grown with his years and been intensified by his experience. The activities, aspirations and tendencies of the people of this locality have also been objects of the greatest interest to him at all times, for he has been one of them and fully imbued with their spirit and in sympathy with their desires.
Moreover, he taught their children in the schools, surveyed their land, served them wisely and faithfully in many important public capacities, and in time became, in large measure, their banker. And when, in the pride and power of his young manhood, he bowed beneath the flowery yoke of Eros, he united himself in marriage with one of their most estimable and accomplished young ladies, with whom he walked life's troubled way for over forty years.
Mr. Monroe is of Scotch ancestry on his father's side of the house. His grandfather, Isaac Monroe, was the son of Scotch parents and became a resident of this country early in life. He was a physician and lived many years in Surry, New Hampshire, then moved to Hamilton, Madison county, New York, where he passed the remainder of his days. He reared a family of ten children, of whom his son Jay R. Monroe, the father of Charles Jay, was the eighth in the order of birth, and came into being on April 11, 1806, in Surry, New Hampshire, where the family was then living.
The father of Mr. Monroe had very limited opportunities for securing an education. He was but a boy when the family moved to Hamilton, New York, and soon afterward he was apprenticed to a stonemason to learn the trade. When he was twenty he decided to cast his lot with the great West, which, in those days meant anywhere beyond Buffalo, New York. So he resolutely fixed his face in the direction of the setting sun and plunged into the largely untrodden wilderness. His first stop was at Detroit, where he worked at his trade for a time, and made some progress toward his independence.
But his ability and force of character were soon discovered, and his services were solicited for more adventurous and ambitious employment. Mr. Campeau engaged him to go with a party of his men on a circuit of the lakes in the interest of his fur trade. After his return he passed two years in the employ of Mr. Campeau and General Cass in locating lands for incoming settlers. He then made a trip to his old New York home. In 1830 he returned to Michigan and located at Prairie Ronde, but the greater part of his time was occupied in traveling over the territory of Michigan locating lands for others, as before. He was thrifty and frugal, however, and applied his commissions in the purchase of lands for himself.
His wandering showed him much of the territory in its state of primeval wilderness. He was the first white man to pass over the site on which South Haven now stands, and in 1833 he built the first house put up within the limits of the present city. He was unmarried at the time, and a family by the name of Thomas occupied his house. It was an unpretentious habitation, on, or, if you please, beyond the borders of civilization, but it was not exempt from the romance and tragedy that visits all human abodes. A child was born and died in that house soon after it was first occupied, and this was the first birth and death in the history of the city. There were not wanting, even at that early day, indications of the coming of a host of people the region, and a plan for a village was projected. Mr. Monroe made a plat of the village as planned, and the plat was embraced in Hannah's plat of 1852, and has been a part of every one that has been made since. Along with other wise provisions, the plan required the reservation of a lot for a school house, and this was shown on the plat made by Mr. Monroe.
In 1835, in association with Charles U. Cross, he laid out a road between South Haven and Paw Paw, and what remains of that highway now is still known as the "Monroe road. "He had previously laid out a road between South Haven and Prairie Ronde. Thus he was a potential force in the great work of opening the country to settlement, and in bringing settlers in to occupy and improve it. The excellent results that followed his activity in these respects proved his general intelligence, sound judgment and comprehensive grasp of the situation that required his attention.
Jay R. Monroe was married on September 10, 1836, to Miss Fanny Rawson, a native of Massachusetts. For some months after their marriage they boarded in Kalamazoo. But in 1837 they located on the land owned by Mr. Monroe in Lawrence township, it seeming probable at the time that the county seat would be located near his farm. The prize being the center of government in the county was won by Paw Paw, but Mr. Monroe continued to reside on his land in Lawrence township and improved a portion of a farm of nine hundred acres he owned there. He also continued to act as land agent, and in time he became one of the most extensive landholders in this part of the country, being at one period the possessor of eighty eighty-acre tracts, or six thousand four hundred acres in all, and expanse equal in extent to ten square miles.
Under the territorial government of Michigan Jay R. Monroe was appointed a judge, and from then to the end of his life he was always known and spoken of as Judge Monroe. He was a man of great benignity of disposition, and in his administration of the law always tempered justice with mercy. He was also the friend and advisor of the early settlers, and served as commissioner of the poor in Van Buren county for more than twenty-five years. He was earnest in his interest and active in his support of all public undertakings for the good of the state, too, helping to organize the State Agricultural Society and assisting at the baptism of many other excellent institutions from which the people have derived great benefit.
In the early history of the county and those who made it he always manifested the deepest interest. He was one of the founders of Van Buren County Pioneers' Society, and to the end of his life one of its most active and serviceable members. In politics he was a life-long Democrat, and in spiritual matters a firm believer in the Christian religion, but not connected by membership with any church organization. His death occurred in South Haven on October 30, 1876, soon after his return from a visit to the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. His widow survived him one day over thirty-one years, her death coming on October 31, 1907.
Mrs. Jay R. Monroe departed this life at the age of eighty-two years, five months and three days. She was universally beloved throughout the city of South Haven, where she passed all the years of her life after the death of her husband, and she well deserved the veneration of the community which she so fully enjoyed. Her pastor, who had been long associated with her in church relations, said in his address at her funeral: "She was a woman whom Lincoln would have loved, and Roosevelt would have praised," and her heroic character fully justified this eulogy. The first forty years of her life after her marriage were passed on a farm in Lawrence township, which was remote from other human dwellings, the nearest neighbor living about a mile distant, and twenty years elapsing before the woods were cut away so that another house could be seen from her home.
Most of her years on this farm were very busy ones for "Mother Monroe," as she was affectionately called by the whole community. Here her nine children were born, and in addition to the innumerable cares incident to rearing and providing for so large a family, she did all the writing and figuring required by her husband's business, including his land agency. Besides as the home was located about the center of the county, it became a sort of halfway house for strangers and travelers, so that there were almost always extra persons to provide for with meals and lodging. Her isolation from society and church privileges, and her burden of work and care imposed great hardships on her, but she bore them bravely, patiently and cheerfully, for she was a woman of extraordinary virility of body, mind and character, and knew now higher claim on her attention than the voice of duty, which she always heard with reverence and obeyed with fidelity. Of the nine children born to her and her husband only four are living: Charles Jay, Isaac, Andrew and Eunice, the latter the widow of David F. Moore. The mother passed the last thirty-one years of her life in the home of Mrs. Moore.
About the time Charles Jay Moore completed his seventeenth year the State Agricultural College was ready to receive students, and he was one of the first to be enrolled. He was present at its opening session, and remained under its beneficent instructions two years and a half. Then, on account of weakness in his eyes, he was obliged to give up his studies. His father, however, found employment for him that he was able to attend to by placing him in charge of the land agency business he was conducting. In connection with this he taught school eight terms, and also did surveying in Van Buren and Allegan counties, serving as county surveyor for the former two terms, and being in frequent requisition work in the same line in the latter, both while he was in office and afterward.
In January, 1867, in partnership with S. R. Boardman, Mr. Monroe opened a private bank, which was the first enterprise of the kind in South Haven. In 1871 the First National Bank of South Haven was organized, with Mr. Boardman as president and Mr. Monroe as cashier of the institution. After serving the bank as cashier some four years Mr. Monroe was elected vice president and the next year president. He held this position until 1889, when the bank was reorganized as the First State Bank of South Haven. He was chosen president of this and is still serving it in that office.
In 1879 Mr. Monroe pursued a course of instruction in the law department of the University of Michigan, not with any intention of practicing the profession, but to assist him in carrying on his multitudinous business affairs. As he stated the case, he had more business than knowledge, so he quit business for a time to obtain more knowledge. In 1880 (or 1881) he organized the West Michigan Savings Bank of Bangor, and he served as its president until he sold his interest in it. He also organized the Kalamazoo Savings Bank, and was its president for some years. He is know one of its directors. In addition he is president of the Van Buren County Pioneers' Society, and one of the most active men connected with that organization.
In politics Mr. Monroe has given his allegiance steadfastly and continuously to the Republican party, and as its candidate has been elected township supervisor for three terms, county surveyor for two terms, and school inspector for many years. In 1883 he was elected state senator for Van Buren and Allegan counties, and to this office he was twice re-elected, serving three consecutive terms in all. In the state senate he was chairman of the committee on banks and banking and a member of other important committees. He is the author of the present state banking law, which he enacted while he was in the senate. In his last term, he was unanimously elected president pro tempore of the senate, and during the term was in the chair almost every day.
In a material way the interests of South Haven have always been of great consequence in his regard, and he has done his part in promoting them. He has built a number of brick business blocks and other houses, and done valuable work in many ways for the advancement and improvement of the city. He has also given the welfare and progress of the county his careful and helpful attention, looking after its interests in every field of effort, intellectual, moral, social and in business affairs. His farm of three hundred and twenty acres, on which he resides, is in the county, just outside of South Haven, and has been a source of considerable addition to the mercantile and commercial wealth and importance of the county. He carried on for some years an extensive dairying business, which was a great convenience to the residents of the city and township, and on the farm he now raises large quantities of fine fruit of various kinds, his peach orchard alone comprising thirty acres, with other orchards in proportion. In June, 1911, he was elected president of the Michigan Bankers' Association.
Mr. Monroe was first married in 1866, to Miss Hattie Morehouse, who was born in Albion, Michigan, and was the daughter of Stephen and Lucy (Blackmar) Morehouse. She died on June 22, 1903, and her death removed from South Haven its oldest inhabitant in length of continuous residence, she having lived in the locality from 1852 to the end of her life. By her marriage to Mr. Monroe she became the mother of five children: Stephen B. , who is president of the Kalamazoo City Savings Bank; George C. , a sketch of whose life will be found in this volume; Cora J. , who died in 1905, and was the wife of William Shakespeare, Jr. ; Lucy E. , who died in 1906; and Charles O. , who is the editor and manager of the Daily Tribune of South Haven.
On September 16, 1905, Mr. Monroe contracted a second marriage, in which he was united with Mrs. Clara O. (Atkinson) Packard, who still abides with him. In fraternal relations he is a Freemason of the Royal Arch degree, and takes a cordial and serviceable interest in the fraternity. Van Buren county has never had a citizen whom its people esteemed more highly or more universally, or one who was more worthy of their confidence and hearty regard and good will. He has the good fortune of being estimated at his real value during his life, which is a rare experience among, men, and must be due to merit made clear and services beyond question.