USA > Michigan > Van Buren County > A history of Van Buren County, Michigan a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests Volume II > Part 23
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His wandering showed him much of the territory in its state
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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 ex- empt 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 to 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 pre- viously 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 atten- tion.
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 of being the center of govern- ment in the county was won by Paw Paw, but Mr. Monroe con- tinued 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 adviser of the early settlers, and served as commis- sioner 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
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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 found- ers of the 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 mem- bership 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 en- joyed. 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 in- numerable cares incident to rearing and providing for so large a family, she did all the writing and figuring required by her hus- band'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 lodg- ing. Her isolation from society and church privileges, and her burden of work and care imposed great hardships on her, but she bore them all bravely, patiently and cheerfully, for she was a woman of extraordinary virility of body, mind and character, and knew no 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
Vol. II-12
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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 requisi- tion for 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 practing 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 now one of its directors. In addition he is president of the Van Buren County Pioneers' Society, and one of the most active men con- nected 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 sur- veyor 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 im- portant committees. He is the author of the present state banking law, which he had 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
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importance of the county. Here 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 the other orchards in proportion. In June, 1911, he was elected president of the Mich- igan 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 mar- riage, 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 very 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 experi- ence among men, and must be due to merit made clear and services beyond question.
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 atten- tion 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
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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 a 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 after- ward 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 re- tained in his possession about six years. His next move was to sell this and to buy ten acres about half a 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 homes 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 ministeral 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 Massachussetts. 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
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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, Mich- igan; 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, na- tives of Vermont, the father born at West Rutland, that state. Josiah was the last born of the family of six children, and accom- panied 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 Mich- igan 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 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 ten years he sold it and his farm and bought eighty acres of land, which he owned and worked three years. At the end of that period he traded this traet 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 Friend- ship'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 vielded to the request and retained the position 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
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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 at Waverly. She gave this church highly acceptable service as pastor and preacher for two years. In December, 1886, she was regularly ordained to the min- istry and from then until her death she devoted all her energies to ministerial work, winning 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 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 BROADWELL, SR .- A chronicle of the representative men and women of Van Buren county which aims to give credit to usefulness and honor, such as is the purpose of this history, would scarcely be complete without record of that prominent and highly esteemed citizen William Broadwell, Sr., owner of forty acres within the corporate limits of Bangor and of sixty acres in Arl- ington township. He is also a veteran of the Civil war and one of the public-spirited citizens who have contributed in no small measure to the general prosperity.
William Broadwell, Sr., was born in Granby, New York, Feb- ruary 26, 1838, the son of William Henry and Olive (Hughnin) Broadwell, both natives of the Empire state. The father devoted his entire life-time to the great basic industry. The subject's sister, Harriet, now deceased, became the wife of Edward Mayhew, of Detroit, Michigan.
William Broadwell, Sr., was by no means reared in the lap of luxury, but in his youth knew the meaning of hard work, which seems to be one of the surest "open sesames" to success. At the age of thirteen he learned what it was to win hunger and weari- ness by honest toil, for six years working on the Oswego canal. He then took up farming for a year or so and first took up his residence in Michigan in 1856. He located at South Haven and in 1857 first embarked in the lumber business, in which he en- gaged until 1861. In the meantime the first guns had been fired at Sumter, and the patriotic young man was one of the first to
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enlist, on August 20, 1861, becoming a member of Company D, Sixth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, which later became heavy artillery, and he served in the cause of the Union for the ensuing three years. He was mustered out in Kalamazoo on August 20, 1864, exactly three years after his enlistment.
Upon again donning civilian's garb, Mr. Broadwell returned to South Haven and began the work of overseeing the operation of several sawmills in Van Buren county. His identification with Bangor dates from the year 1878 and his activities in his first years here was divided between sawmill and lumber business. He later took up agriculture in addition to his other interests, and has proved exceedingly successful in this line. As previously men- tioned, he has a splendid homestead of forty acres within the cor- poration of Bangor, upon which his fine home is located. He is a director and vice president of the West Michigan Savings Bank.
In 1865 Mr. Broadwell laid the foundation of a happy home life by his union with Anna McDonald, daughter of Donald and Catherine (McPherson) McDonald, both natives of Scotland. His first wife died in 1896 and he married a second time, in 1898, Mary Grant. By the first marriage there is one child, William McDonald, who has taken over his father's lumber business. This son was born November 11, 1866. He has been twice married. His first wife was Rosa Cooper and this union was blessed by the birth of a daughter, Anna, now a teacher in the public schools. She was graduated from Michigan Normal School in 1910. After the death of the first Mrs. Broadwell he married Barbara Moore and they share their pleasant home with three children, namely: Mil- dred, William McDonald, Jr., and Catherine. He and his wife are affiliated with the Congregational church.
In his political faith William Broadwell, Sr., is a tried and true Republican and his fraternal loyalty is with the Masonic order. In religious views he is a Congregationalist.
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 were both 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 resi- dents and business men of Grand Rapids; William Andrew, who resides in New York city; L. R .; and Mary, Jennie and Martha, all deceased.
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