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 30
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Paterson, New Jersey, was the birthplace of George E. Brooks,
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and he began his existence on the 16th of March, 1840. When he was ten years of age he accompanied his father to Brooklyn, New York, and from there they went to St. Louis, Missouri, but sub- sequently returned East, to New York city. Later they returned to Paterson, New Jersey, the birthplace of George E., and, again migrating, they went to Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, where the father died. In the year 1862 George E. Brooks entered the em- ploy of the government and spent two years in its service. But before entering that work he had lived on a farm in Pennsylvania, and when he retired from the government service he returned to that farm.
On the 14th of September, 1861, he was united in marriage to Anna E. Slater, a daughter of Isaiah Slater and his wife, Amy Mix Slater, both natives of the state of New York. Following their marriage the young couple lived in Susquehanna county until 1882, when they moved to Pullman, Illinois, and for twelve years that city continued their home. The following eight years they spent in Roseland, Illinois, and in 1899 Mr. Brooks bought a farm. in Van Buren county, Michigan, the place being then known as the old Wilson farm. In 1902 they came to this state to reside and within its borders have since made their home. Until recently he owned a farm of one hundred and twenty-eight acres in Almena township and was one of the progressive and successful agricultur- ists of the county, but at present his son-in-law, Mr. K. E. Crouse. is the owner of this farm.
There were five children born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Brooks, and four of the number are now living: Flora, the wife of George Backus and residing in Almena township; Edwin H., who died in infancy ; Margaret, whose husband, Kenneth E. Crouse, has bought the farm her father formerly owned; George W., a resident of Kalamazoo, Michigan; and Daisy, the wife of Walter Brown, supervisor of Almena township. It is Mr. Brooks' good fortune to have seen not only his children grow to useful man- hood and womanhood, but his grandchildren as well. His eldest daughter, Flora, has three children: William C., a bookkeeper for a factory in Bay City; Geraldine, the wife of L. O. Dustin. of Kalamazoo; and Laura, the wife of Roy Barringer, of Grand Rapids. Mrs. Margaret Brooks Crouse has had two children. Edgar and Margaret, but both are now deceased. George W. Brooks has four children living: Geraldine, Laura, Loyd and Mar- guerite. Roy, the first born, was accidentally killed at the age of thirteen. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Brown has been without issue.
Mr. Brooks is a member of the Masonic fraternity, affiliated with the lodge at Mattawan, No. 268. His daughters belong to the Eastern Star, and all but one have held office in the order. Mr. Brooks is also affiliated with the Knights of Pythias. The family are Methodists and have always been influential and active in the work of the church. Mr. and Mrs. Brooks' membership is in the church at Almena, and that of the daughters in other churches of the denomination in the towns in which they have previously resided. Mr. Brooks has always been a stanch supporter of the policies of the Republican party, and was at one time road com-
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missioner in Almena township. As a citizen he has achieved the respect of the entire community, and, although he has not lived in the county a great many years, he has so identified himself with its interests that he is universally regarded as one of the repre- sentative men of the district.
FRANK LAMB is fortunate enough to own and cultivate the fine farm 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 reason 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 agri- culture as a profession.
Charles Lamb, the father of Frank, was born in New Hamp- shire, 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. IIe died in 1906 and his wife in 1894.
Frank Lamb was born June 28, 1856. He was the only child who grew up in his 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 native of Hume, New York. Her father, Will- iam 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 denomina- tion. Here, as wherever she is known, Mrs. Lamb is regarded
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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.
R. C. NYMAN, ex-treasurer of Bangor township and one of the leading and influential men of his community, is proprietor of a flour, grist, saw and woolen mill at Bangor, which was erected by his father more than fifty-five years ago and has remained in the family ever since. Mr. Nyman is a survivor of the Civil war, in which he made an excellent record, and he has proven himself as good a citizen in times of peace as he was a soldier during the dark days of the war of the rebellion. Mr. Nyman is a native of Niles, Michigan, and was born November 16, 1844, a son of J. H. and Julia M. (Youngs) Nyman, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of New York.
The Nyman family first came to Michigan during the early 'forties, and in 1856 J. H. Nyman brought his family to Bangor, where he established himself in business as the proprietor of a flour, grist, saw and woolen mill, which he conducted successfully during the remainder of his life. His death occurred in 1886, his wife having passed away three years before, and they were the parents of five children, as follows: A. J., who is deceased ; R. C .; Emily, who is deceased; Etta, the wife of Andrew Charles, of Denver, Colorado; and Oro, who lives in Bangor.
R. C. Nyman was reared in his native village. and there was given a good education in the common schools. When he was only seventeen years of age, in September, 1861, he ran away from home and enlisted in Company C, Third Michigan Cavalry, under Captain Hudson, and on January 18, 1864, received his honorable discharge at La Grange, Tennessee. On the following day he re-enlisted in the same company, and he continued to serve with that organization until he received his final discharge at San Antonio, Texas, February 12, 1866. Mr. Nyman's war record was that of a brave, faithful and valorous soldier. During the long, heart-breaking marches he was cheerful and patient, under fire he was always cool and in full command of his faculties, and in the thickest of the hardest-fought battles he displayed a bravery and lack of fear that won him respect of his comrades and words of praise from his officers. On his return to his home in Bangor he at once took up the duties of civil life, and ably assisted his father until the latter's death, when the milling property was left to his children, R. C. receiving his share. After a short time he bought out the other heirs, and he now is the sole owner of the enterprise, which he has been engaged in operating ever since. Mr. Nyman is a good business man, and knows how to conduct his industry so that it will give him the best results. He has an unblemished record as a business man, and he is held in high esteem by his fellow townsmen in Bangor, who have elected him village president and councilman. He is a popular member of the Masons and the Grand Army of the Republic, and in politics takes an independent stand.
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In 1868 Mr. Nyman married Miss Lucy Martindale, daughter of Bennett Martindale, and she died in 1896, having been the mother of two children: Harry, who is engaged in business with his father; and Audie, who is deceased.
MICHAEL FITZSIMMONS .- Since the age of two Mr. Fitzsim- mons has been a resident of Van Buren county, and as he was fifty-six years old on June 10, 1911, he has seen a variety of changes in the various industries of the county, as well as its growth from a wild country to a populous and thriving district. He has always been a farmer and his father, too, followed that pursuit, so he has been especially interested in the changes which have taken place in methods of farming. He has cut many an acre with the old fashioned foot cradle and has swung the scythe all day long with the mowers. He has seen and used the flail. so he is prepared to speak with authority on the wonders of mod- ern farming.
Both the father and the mother of Michael Fitzsimmons were born in Ireland. Kildare was his mother's native place, Dublin his father's. William Fitzsimmons sailed from Dublin at about the age of twenty-one and made the trip in seven weeks and three days. He settled in Clyde, Wayne county, New York, where he worked for wages, as his capital when he reached his new home amounted to only five shillings. Here he met and married Kath- erine O'Connor, and in 1857 the family moved to Michigan. The father had saved two hundred and fifty dollars, intending to invest in a farm and accordingly he bought a tract of forty acres, the present home of Michael Fitzsimmons. At that time Hartford was only a handful of people and roads had not been made to a sufficient extent to render driving feasable. Most peo- ple walked or rode horseback from the railroad. Van Buren county was the home of the Fitzsimmons family continuously after 1857. The father lived to be almost a hundred years old. He and his wife were devout members of the Catholic church, in whose faith they lived and died. being laid to rest in St. Mary's Parish cemetery at Silver Creek. There were two sons and one daughter in their fam- ily. Michael Fitzsimmon's brother. William, is a painter in South Bend, Indiana. The sister is no longer living.
Michael Fitzsimmons grew up on his father's farm and attended such schools as were to be attended. The first educational institu- tion of which he enjoyed the advantages was a small subscription school which was conducted in the home of a Mr. Kelly. Later he was a pupil in the first school built by the district and taught by Marion Woodman. Although Mr. Fitzsimmons has not yet come to the age when he can be called an old man. yet he is one of the oldest residents of the county and is entitled to speak of the "good old times" when deer were plentiful and time hadn't been hurried on by all the modern devices for saving it, which oblige us to get as much done in a day as our forefathers did in a week. He knows something about getting work done, for he has been doing it all his life. With no capital to start on, he has acquired a quarter section of fine land, eighty acres in Keeler township and the other half in
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Watervliet. The tract in the former section is one of the best in the county and his home is situated on that. Besides general farm- ing he is an extensive fruit grower and highly successful in that branch of agriculture.
In the prosperity and position he has attained Mr. Fitzsimmons has been ably assisted by his wife, who is a woman of unusual tact and intelligence. She is the daughter of William H. and Bridget (Carmody) Watson, christened Mary E. and born December 4, 1855, twenty-five miles west of Detroit. There were three sons and two daughters in her home circle. The boys are all dead, but the sister Sarah is the wife of Thomas Hawley, a farmer of Hartford town- ship, to whom she has borne eight children, seven of whom are living. Mrs. Fitzsimmons' father was a native of Kent county, Eng- land, born October 10, 1833. His opportunities for getting an edu- cation were mostly of his own making and he was truly a self-edu- cated man. At the age of eighteen he came to America and settled at Clyde, New York. Here he worked as a wage earner for fourteen years and then, on December 14, 1864, he came to Berrien county. Michigan. From here he moved to Van Buren county, where he re- sided for the rest of his life. His wife, Bridget Carmody, came to America from Limerick, Ireland, when she was a young lady, in 1850.
Both of them were communicants of the Catholic church and de- vout attendants upon its services. The father died in 1900 and is buried beside his wife in St. Mary's Parish cemetery.
The union of Mr. Fitzsimmons and Miss Watson took place Jan- uary 10, 1893, and of the two daughters who have come into the home then begun one has been taken away by death. Florence, the other, is now in the eighth grade and is studying music. It is her parents' intention to give her an education which shall fit her for any vocation she may desire to follow. Her mother was for five years a successful teacher in the schools of Berrien and Van Buren coun- ties, and so is able to direct her daughter's education with more than ordinary understanding.
William Fitzsimmons was a strong advocate of the principles of the Democratic party and his son Michael follows in his footsteps in this respect. The family are members of St. Joseph's Catholic church at Watervliet and Florence was confirmed by Bishop Kelly. All the benevolent undertakings of their denomination are gen- erously supported by Mr. and Mrs. Fitzsimmons. Mr. Fitzsimmons holds membership in the order of the Knights of the Tented Macca- bees of Watervliet, his tent being No. 821.
The proprietors of Maple Avenue Farm are universally accorded a place among the leading citizens of the county. Their labors have brought them material prosperity and their many attractive personal qualities have won them the friendship and admiration of a wide circle of the county's representative men and women.
GILBERT GOULD .- Mr. Gould has been a resident of the county for over half a century and for that entire period has engaged in the pursuit of agriculture. Much has been said and written about farming as an occupation and of its value in producing a crop which
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is even more important than the food supply-that of character. One can not hope to say anything new on this matter, but neither is it a subject that is ever old, inasmuch as it is one of the eternal verities. The farmer is busy with a task that is always worth while, since upon him all else depends. It is a work which requires that a man be able to spend time in his own society and not be dependent upon distractions, whose chief end is to prevent him from thinking. He must be a person of resource and of a philosophic mind. Small wonder that the farm-bred youth outstrips all competitors. No greater service to the land can be performed than that of causing the earth to yield of her fulness and those who devote themselves to this have ever been the strength and the flower of our civilization.
Mr. Gould is a native of Litchfield, Ohio, born May 23, 1836. There were six sons and six daughters in the household and Mr. Gould is the sixth in point of age. Only three of the offspring of Ira and Nancy Strickland Gould are now living; Mr. Gould and two sisters, Mrs. Esther Suits of Silver Creek township, and Mrs. Milton Shafer, of Laurence township. The Gould family is of Eng- lish origin. Three brothers came from England and settled in America early in the history of the country. The Jay Gould family, famed for its wealth, is a branch of the same stock. Ira Gould was born in Broome county, New York, in 1799, the year of Washing- ton's death. Until his death in 1880, he followed the occupation of agriculture, first in New York state, where he lived until after his marriage, and later in St. Lucas county, Ohio, then in Branch county, Michigan, near Coldwater, where he went in 1837 and lastly in Van Buren county. He had traded his forty acres in Branch for a tract of twice that extent in Van Buren county. Until re- cently this farm was in the possession of Mr. Gilbert Gould. At the time when his father bought his land the country was entirely un- cultivated, a vast expanse of virgin field and forest. The father was a Jeffersonian Democrat and ardent in his advocating of the principles of that party. For eight years the people of Keeler township kept him in their service as township treasurer. His strict adherence to his principles won him the respect even of those who disagreed with him. He took an active interest in public education and recognized its importance in a democratic government. At his death the funeral was conducted by the Odd Fellows, of which lodge he was a prominent member.
The wife of Ira Gould was born in Connecticut, in 1808. Before her marriage she was a teacher in Broome county, New York, and the qualities which made her successful in that great profession made her also successful in the greater calling of a wife and mother. She was a devout Christian, whose sweet, every-day life was an irrefutable argument of the divinity of her doctrine. She passed from this life in 1892, and is buried in Keeler cemetery.
Gilbert Gould was still a child when he came to Van Buren county. His early schooling was received in a log school house whose seats were great slabs with holes bored in them, into which the wooden pins were set to hold up the benches. An old-fashioned fireplace heated the room, or a part of it at least, and the pupils sometimes wrote with goose quill pens. Cobb's Spelling Book was
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the chief text book on literature, though it was later superseded by a more pretentious volume with definitions, written by Towne. The teacher was paid by subscription and boarded around in the homes of his pupils. The change from this primitive equipment to the school of the twentieth century is great indeed and only those who have seen the two regimes of our education can realize the im- provement. Mr. Gould has been privileged to witness this and other great changes. When he was a boy the deer were to be seen all around in droves and the Indians still in their aboriginal condition.
Until his marriage Mr. Gould remained with his parents. In 1862 he established his own home with his wife, Mary Garrett Gould. They were the parents of two sons and four daughters. Five of this family are still living. Jennie, the eldest, was edu- cated in the public schools and in Benton Harbor College. For three years she was one of the successful teachers of Van Buren county and then she became the wife of Charles Allerton, of Keeler. Will is a practical farmer whose residence is near that of his father. He and his wife, Kate Kent Gould, have two children, Mildred and George. Edna B. is a young lady of literary tastes, who is un- usually fond of good books. She makes her home with her parents and relieves them of much of the responsibility of the home. Mrs. Gould was born on March 15, 1842, in Montgomery county, Ohio. She was the seventh in a family of ten children, three sons and seven daughters. Three of the family of John and Dora Pettigrew Garrett still survive. Anne is the widow of John Kennedy, of Ben- ton Harbor. William is a farmer of Cass county, Michigan, and is married. Father Garrett was born in Ireland in 1799 and came to America at the age of twenty-one. It took six months for the sailing vessel in which he embarked to make the voyage-time enough to get used to water for a habitation. After working for a time in New York Mr. Garrett went to Ohio and there he was mar- ried. He bought a farm of forty acres in Ohio and later disposed of it and came to Michigan. He went first to Cass county and thence to Van Buren in about 1853. Keeler township was his home for the remaining eight years of his life and he was a successful agriculturist. In politics he was originally a Whig, but afterwards became a Democrat. His wife was born in Ohio in 1807 and died in Michigan in 1878.
Since the age of seven Mrs. Gould has lived in Van Buren county and for forty-nine years she and her husband have labored to- gether and watched the progress of the county, contributing with a right good will their share toward its advancement. Their farm is called Oak Grove Farm and comprises a hundred acres of good land near Magician lake. They have been able to equip this with the best of appliances and fine buildings, including a handsome modern residence.
Like his father, Mr. Gould is a Democrat. He cast his first vote for the "Little Giant of the West" and he has never wavered in his support of the principles of that party. Fraternally he is con- nected with the Masonic lodge of Dowagiac, Michigan. The years he and his wife have spent in this county have been busy and benefi-
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cent ones. Theirs are honored names in the history of the region which is proud to claim them as her citizens.
HENRY SHEPARD .- To recount the main events of the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Shepard is to speak of people who need no intro- duction to the residents of Keeler township. The many years they have passed in that region have made them known to all its citi- zens and have brought them the gift of a high place in the affections of the entire community. For almost half a century their names have been linked with the history of the county and they have borne their full share of the labors which have produced its greatness and prosperity. Mr. Shepard is of English descent and is a native of Wayne county, New York, where he was born in 1841, on March 21st. He is the fourth in a family of five children; three sons and two daughters, born to Mark and Sarah Class Shepard. Only two of that family are now living, Henry of this review, and Dorliske, the widow of Robert Rupel, a resident of Wexford county, Michi- gan. Mark Shepard was a native of the state of Maine and was born in 1796, three years before the first president of our republic died. At the age of sixteen he moved to New York state and be- gan life on his own account. His education was but meagre, as the advantages were poor. He married in New York state and pur- chased sixty-three acres in Wayne county near the town of Marion.
In 1862 the family came to Michigan, Henry Shepard, making the trip to Van Buren county with a team. They purchased ninety acres of unimproved land in Hartford township and here the father lived until his death in 1867. His grandfather had come to Canada from England and thence to Maine. It was his fate to be toma- hawked by the Indians while going out to bury a kettle containing valuable papers of the Shepard estate, and if these lost documents could be found a large inheritance would fall to the present genera- tion of that family. Mark Shepard belonged to the old Whig party and later joined the ranks of the new Republican faction. He voted for the first nominee of that party and was a warm admirer of Lincoln. His wife was a native of New Jersey. She was born in 1803 and died April 22, 1874. New Jersey was her home until she was ten years of age and then she moved to New York state. Circumstances deprived her of any means if livelihood except her own efforts, but adversity detracted nothing from her qualities as a true mother and her lofty character commanded the admiration of all who met her. In her widowhood she made her home with her son Henry, and it was here that she passed to her rest at the age of three score and ten.
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