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 25
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"I do not treat, I remove the cause, nature cures.
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"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 pro- fession they have severally done some wonderful work and reached some wonderful results. In their interest in the enduring and sub- stantial welfare of the communities in which they live, and in their elevated and serviceable citizenship generally, they have exem- plified the best attributes of exalted American manhood and woman- hood, and in the correctness and uprightness of their lives in every way they have put into practice the lessons given them in child- hood and youth at the parental fireside. All the members of the family are highly creditable to the place of their birth, the insti- tutions 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 ex- pended 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.
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 feed- ing horses for the Eastern markets, and up to 1911 one of the enterprising and progressive farmers of Van Buren county, Mich- igan, 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 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 foremen 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 with his parents until he reached the age of nineteen, assisting in the farm work and
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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 here 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 that 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 is 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 dur- ing 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 re- quirements, and he has applied the lessons there learned to his operations in this county, making himself one of its most pro- gressive and successful farmers, and settling a pace which his neighbors and observers generally are following to their own ad- vantage 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, Vol. II-13
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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, add- ing 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 his county, state and country. He also regards fraternal societies as beneficial among men, and does his share to- ward making some of them as potential and effective for good as possible. He belongs to the Masonic order and the Independent Or- der 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.
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 eminences and opening chasms where heights have lately been. New opportunities are ever com- ing to the wary and making new demands upon the capable. The young man who enters upon the stage of action at twenty as a farmer, trader, doctor, or something else, will not unlikely be found pursuing a very different avocation 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 lead- ing business men of the community, furnishes in his career a striking illustration of these facts. He began independent exer- tions for his own advancement as a surveyor of land and a fruit grower. Yet for many years he has been almost exclusively en- gaged 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. ITis 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 spend 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
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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 presi- dent 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 busi- ness 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 in the 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, hav- ing presided over all three bodies in South Haven: Malta Com- mandery No. 44, Knights Templars, at Benton Harbor: Saladin Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. at Grand Rapids; and De Witt 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 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 Re- publican, 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 con- siderations 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
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most useful, public spirited and representative citizens of the county, and esteemed in all parts of it in accordance with this estimate.
CHARLES L. NOWER .- This enterprising, progressive and pros- perous 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 Will- iam G. and Melissa (Russell) Nower, for many years industrious and prominent farmers in Van Buren county but now living re- tired 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 them- selves 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 of their 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 farm- ing 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 service- able 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
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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 Mich- igan, and here the father was a contractor and builder for a number of years. He died on August 29, 1896, and some time after- ward the mother married a second husband, 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 am- bitions 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 Bab- bitt, 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 sur- viving children are now. All have been faithful to duty in all the relations of life, and have won public esteem by the impressive ex- amples they have given of upright living and earnest and helpful interest in their several communities.
WILLIAM I. GAY .- Practical industry, wisely and vigorously ap- plied, 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 agri- culture, 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 sections 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
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parents, he at the age of eleven and she at the age of thirteen. Both families found their way to Michigan, the Gays settling in Richland, Kalamazoo county, and the Hunts in Paw Paw town- ship, Van Buren county. William Gay married in Paw Paw town- ship 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 his 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 his 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 Republican in politics, but has never taken an active part in party affairs.
RICHARD E. SAGE .- On the roll of those who have laid the founda- tions of the prosperity of Waverly township, Van Buren county, by their thrift, progressiveness and wise management of the agri- cultural resources of the country is written the name of Richard E. Sage, a prominent farmer and stockman and a citizen whose un- blemished record for integrity and fine principles had won for him general respect and esteem. His farm, which consists of one hun- dred 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 town- ship, his parents being William H. and Sarah (Gay) Sage. The former was born in county Clare, Ireland, in 1849, and at the age
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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 build- ing of the New York Central Railroad. Thereby they earned suf- ficient 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 then came on to Michigan in 1860, where the grandfather of the immediate subject located near Gobleville and followed farm- ing 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 he 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. Dur- ing the 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 fright- ful 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 for- merly 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 Bloom- ingdale 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 mar- ried 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 little daughters,-Florence, aged six ; and Alberta, aged two.
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