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 36
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Born April 24, 1829, Albert Wilmot attended the pioneer schools of Eaton township in his native county, and subsequently began the study of medicine preparatory to entering upon a professional career. On account of the ill health of his father, however, he relinquished his studies, returned home, and had the charge of the parental acres until 1865. Disposing then of his share of the home farm, he migrated to Michigan, and having located in Van Buren county purchased timbered land in section two, Bloom- ingdale township. Five acres of the land had been previously cleared, and a board house stood upon the place. Continuing the improvements already inaugurated, he placed much of the land under cultivation, erected a good set of frame buildings, the house overlooking Duck Lake, and carried on farming successfully for many years. Here, having accomplished a satisfactory work, he is now living retired, enjoying all the comforts of modern life.
Albert Wilmot married, in 1857, Sarah A. Lee, who was born in Newfield, Tompkins county, New York, June 13, 1832, a daughter of George W. Lee. Her grandfather, Solomon Lee, was born in the same locality, of English ancestry, and spent his entire life in or near Fishkill. In 1845 George W. Lee removed from Tomp- kins county, New York, to Whitley county, Indiana, where, but a year later, his death occurred. His wife, whose maiden name was Hannah Wooden, was born in Fishkill, New York, and died in Whitley county, Indiana, on the very same day of his demise, leaving four children, as follows: Marena, John Emery, Esther and Sarah A. Mr. and Mrs. Albert Wilmot reared two children, Marlin Lee, the special subject of this sketch, and Elma, who died at the age of nineteen years.
But two years old when brought by his parents to Blooming- dale township, Marlin Lee Wilmot obtained his education in the rural schools of his district, and from his earliest years assisted on the farm. Since the failure of his father's health, Mr. Wilmot has devoted his entire time and energy to the management of the homestead property, continuing each year to add improvements of value. The land is now under a high state of cultivation, while the buildings rank with the best in the neighborhood, the estate, which is picturesquely located on an elevation overlooking Duck Lake, being one of the most attractive and desirable in the town- ship.
In 1894 Mr. Wilmot was united in marriage with Edna M. Mer- riam, who was born in Trowbridge township, Allegan county, Michigan, and is of stanch New England stock, her father, George O. Merriam, having been a native of Vermont, while her mother, whose maiden name was Helen Minckler, was born on the Isle of La Motte, in Lake Champlain. Mr. and Mrs. Wilmot have one daughter, Helen Sarah Wilmot. Fraternally Mr. Wilmot is a
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member of Woodmen Grange, No. 610, Patrons of Husbandry ; and of Gobleville Lodge, No. 393, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows.
CHARLES J. ANDERSON .- Many of the more enterprising and thrifty agriculturists of our country were born across the sea, prominent among the number being Charles J. Anderson, of Bloom- ingdale, Van Buren county, whose birth occurred January 16, 1864, in Westervik, province of Smaland. His father, Andrew J. Anderson, a farmer in Sweden, where he has spent his entire life, reared two sons and three daughters, all of whom, with the excep- tion of his son Charles, still reside in their native land, his other son, Gustav Emil, being engaged in farming in Smaland.
Leaving school at the age of fifteen years, Charles J. Anderson worked on the home farm until 1884, when he entered the mer- chant marine service, sailing for eight months on an English ves- sel and for seven months on a German vessel, during which time he visited all of the important sea ports of Europe. Immigrating to America, the land of promise, in 1887, Mr. Anderson was va- riously occupied for a time, finally becoming an entry clerk for the widely known firm of Hibbard, Spencer & Bartlett, of Chi- cago, Illinois, in whose employ he continued for ten years. Re- signing his position, he then visited his parents and friends, re- maining in Sweden ten months. Returning to Chicago, Mr. Ander- son was there employed as a watchman for nearly a year and a half. Coming from there to Van Buren county, Michigan, he bought an estate in Bloomingdale township, where he has since been profitably engaged in general farming and poultry raising.
Mr. Anderson married, in 1891, Augusta Olev, who was born in Sweden, where her parents were life-long residents, she and three of her sisters being the only members of the family to come to America. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have one child, Lillie Augusta. Religiously they were reared in the Lutheran faith.
THEODORE W. VALLEAU .- A venerable and highly respected citi- zen of Bloomingdale township, Van Buren county, Theodore W. Valleau is an honored representative of the early pioneers of this section of our beautiful country, and a true type of the energetic, hardy and enterprising men who have actively assisted in the development of this fertile and productive agricultural region. In the days of his boyhood the wild beasts of the forest had not fled before the advancing march of the sturdy pioneer, and not a build- ing had then been erected on the sites of the present villages of Bloomingdale and Gobleville, the country roundabout having been an almost impenetrable wilderness. Mr. Valleau began life for himself without other means than his natural endowments of energy, perseverance and resolution of purpose, but by his wise manage- ment, sagacity and keen foresight he has overcome all obstacles and has been able to accumulate a considerable fortune, his suc- cess in life being entirely due to his own efforts. A son of Peter Valleau, he was born October 27, 1823, in Monroe county, New York. His grandfather, Theodore Valleau, was born in the Em-
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pire state, of French Huguenot ancestry, where his father, who served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war, settled on coming from France to this country.
Born in or near Poughkeepsie, New York, Theodore Valleau moved in early manhood to Cayuga county, and subsequently re- sided a few years in Monroe county New York. Going from there to Ohio, he spent the remainder of his life in the vicinity of Cleve- land. He was twice married, and was the father of eighteen children.
Peter Valleau was born in Cayuga county, New York, and was a young man when he accompanied the family to Monroe county. Among the early pioneers of that county, he subsequently bought a tract of timbered land in Wheatland, on the Genesee river, and on the farm which he improved lived until 1843. In that year, with his wife and nine children, he started for Michigan, going by team to Buffalo, thence by lake to Detroit, and from there by rail to Marshall, the railroad terminus, the remainder of the jour- ney to Waverly township, Van Buren county, their point of desti- nation, being performed with teams. Ile purchased from the gov- ernment eighty acres of land, paying one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre, and with his pioneer's axe began the clearing and improvement of a homestead, his first work having been the erec- tion of a log cabin. At the end of two months he bought a tract of land in what is now section thirteen, Bloomingdale township, and settled in the wilderness, his nearest neighbor being three miles away. He built a log house on his new claim, making the chimney of earth and sticks and there lived in a most primitive style for several years, subsisting principally upon the game of the forest and the productions of the soil, the mother doing her cooking in the fireplace and dressing the family in homespun materials.
Soon after his arrival new settlers came into the county, promi- nent among the number being Orlando Newcomb, Eben Armstrong, Ira Nash, Daniel Robinson and the Thayer, Brown and Meyers families. Soon a schoolhouse was erected on the present site of the village of Gobleville, it being the first building of that place. Peter Valleau cleared a good farm, but was subsequently unfor- tunate and lost his property. . He spent his later years of his life in Waverly township, on a place belonging to his son, Theodore W. Valleau, the subject of this sketch, dying there at the age of seventy- four years.
Peter Valleau married Samantha Pike, who was born in Ver- mont, a daughter of Erastus Pike, who was a native of the same state and a pioneer settler of Monroe county, New York. She died at the home of her son Theodore at the advanced age of four score and four years. She was the mother of eleven children, of whom nine grew to years of maturity, as follows: Theodore W., Andrew, Susan, Norman, Freeman, William, Adeline, Phebe and Caroline. Theodore W., the first born, is the only survivor of this large family.
Theodore W. Valleau acquired his early education in Wheatland, Monroe county, New York, and with his parents came to Michigan to seek his fortune. Beginning life for himself even with the
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world, he worked at anything he could find to do, when wages were high receiving fifty cents a day for his labor, as a boy, however, being glad to get his board and clothing. Prior to his marriage he was exceedingly anxious to become a landholder, and found a tract of land containing twenty acres, in Waverly township, that he could have for the modest sum of two dollars and fifty cents an acre, but he had no money with which to make the purchase, and the owner needed the cash, but also wanted a cow. Mr. Val- leau, therefore, bought a cow, giving his note for the animal, gave the cow for the land, and then earned the money to redeem his note. He soon built a small log house on his newly-acquired pur- chase, and was ready to receive his bride, but having no money to pay the justice of the peace for performing the marriage cere- mony he made arrangements with the justice to pay him by work- ing for him at logging for two days. This recalls another instance of a similar nature, when Andrew Impson, of Almena township, this county, one of the first to be married in this vicinity, gave Almon Colby, the justice of the peace, one thousand shingles to perform the marriage ceremony, he and his bride-to-be going to Mr. Colby's house in a cart drawn by a pair of oxen.
For a number of years after taking unto himself a wife, Mr. Valleau took contracts to build roads and bridges, devoting his leisure time to the clearing of his land. In 1888 he moved from Waverly township to Pine Grove township, and there lived for two years on the large farm that he owned, and on which he made sub- stantial improvements. Coming to Bloomingdale township in 1890, he purchased what was then known as the Beddo farm, and is now living here retired from active business, enjoying the fruits of his earlier years of judicious toil. A man of rare discrimination and ability, Mr. Valleau has acquired large property interests, at one time having owned upwards of eleven hundred acres of choice land, and has assisted each of his children to homes of their own.
Mr. Valleau has been twice married. He married first, at the age of twenty-four years, Mary B. Luddington, who was born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, a daughter of Archibald and Abby (Mat- terson) Luddington, natives of either New York state or Pennsyl- vania, and pioneer settlers of Portage township, Kalamazoo county, Michigan. She died in 1865, leaving six children, namely : Alice, Eber, Harmon, Merlain, Mina and Archie. Alice married James Scoville and has seven children, Archie, Roy, Robert, Myrtle, Ma- rion, Benjamin T., and Earl. Eber died at the age of forty years. Harmon married first Alma Phillips, who bore him three chil- dren, Harley, Lulu and Gladys, and married (second) Maria Sco- ville, by whom he has three children also, Donald, Jack and Allie. Merlain, who married Stella Hanawald, has nine children, Erwin, Russell, Merle, Lawrence, Esther, Emilleo, Law, Antha and Asal B. Mina, wife of Clarence Brown, has six children, Effie, Ruby, Maude, Milton, Alice and Clare. Archie married Mary Bell, and they have two children, Ethel and George.
Mr. Valleau married for his second wife Mrs. Mary A. (Skinner) Snell, who was born in Hastings, Oswego county, New York, of New England ancestry. Her father, Zeri Skinner, who was born
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and bred in Vermont, removed to New York state when eighteen years of age, and after living for awhile in Oswego county went to Hard Scrabble, in Onondaga county, and from there to Bald- winsville, New York. In 1847 Mr. Skinner came with his family to Michigan, and was one of the earlier settlers of Waverly town- ship, Van Buren county, where he cleared and improved eighty acres of land, on which he resided until his death, at the age of sixty-six years. Mr. Skinner married Mary Cornell, who was born in Vermont, a daughter of Nathaniel and Sarah (Coffin) Cornell, natives of New England. She died at the age of sixty- five years, having reared nine children, as follows: Cornelia ; Christopher ; Joseph; Hiram; Mary A., now Mrs. Valleau; Irving; James; Hezekiah; and Nancy.
At the age of nineteen years Mary A. Skinner became the bride of Theodore W. Snell, who was born in the Mohawk valley, New York, a son of Jacob I. and Gertrude (Fox) Snell. Jacob I. Snell, accompanied by his family, migrated from New York to Illinois, from there coming to Van Buren county, Michigan, where he spent his closing years of life. Theodore W. Snell learned the trade of a harness maker when young, and followed it success- fully for several years. In 1861 he enlisted in Company K, Second Michigan Volunteer Infantry, which became a part of the Army of the Potomac. He was at the front in many battles of note, and in 1864 was captured by the enemy. He was subsequently exchanged, and being very ill at the time of his exchange died on board the vessel while en route to Fortress Monroe. He left his widow with a family of four children to care for, namely : Lillie B., Milton Eugene, Isadore and Archie Theodore. Lillie B. Snell married Alfred Kinciad, and six children, Gertrude, Grace, Ernest, Lillian, Marion and Hobart. Milton E. Snell married Martha Smith, and they are the parents of seven children, Mabel, Earl, Marvin, Harold and Herbert, twins, Wendell and Lillian. Isadore Snell is the wife of Milton J. Sherrod, and has two children, Glen and Paul. Archie T. Snell married Rose Dunham, and they have five children, Neil, Beulah, Breta, Shirley and Beryl.
Mr. and Mrs. Valleau have one child, Rose M., who married David E. Rich, and has three children, Mollie, Florence and Bernard.
JAMES VAN HORN .- An enterprising, intelligent and able agri- culturist, James Van Horn is prosperously engaged in his inde- pendent vocation on one of the many pleasant and desirable farms in Bloomingdale township, to the improvements and value of which he is constantly adding. A son of John Van Horn, he was born August 12, 1872, near Hartford, Blackford county, Indiana.
Jere Van Horn, his paternal grandfather, was born, it is thought, in Ohio, and was of pure Holland ancestry. Removing from Ohio to Indiana, he bought wild land in Blackford county, erected a log house and barn, tilled a sufficient number of acres to make a living for himself and family, and was there a resident during the remainder of his life.
Born and reared in Ohio, John Van Horn went with the family
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to Blackford county, Indiana, and subsequently bought land ly- ing six miles north of Hartford. He cleared and improved a part of the tract, and lived there several years. Then impelled by the restless American spirit characteristic of the early pioneers, he came to Michigan, and having purchased eighty acres of land in Osceola county was there employed as a tiller of the soil until 1892. Removing in that year to Bloomingdale township, Van Buren county, he purchased a home, and lived here until his death, in 1908. He married first Ardella Townsend, a native of Blackford county, Indiana. She died in 1875, leaving six children, as fol- lows: George, Clem, Mary, John, James and Charles. After the death of his first wife he subsequently married Mary Gathrup.
During the days of his boyhood and youth James Van Horn attended the public schools and assisted in the lighter work of the home farm. He was early trained to habits of industry and thrift, and while yet a young lad worked out by the month. thereby earn- ing the money to make a payment on a tract of land. He first purchased seventy acres in Bloomingdale township, and after occupying it five years bought the farm where he now resides. It is pleasantly located in section three, and contains one hundred and sixty acres. Mr. Van Horn has shown excellent judgment in im- proving his property, having cleared and drained portions of it, and having repaired and enlarged the buildings, his place in point of improvements and equipments ranking with the best in the vicinity. He pays especial attention to dairying, an industry which he finds profitable, having his farm well stocked with high graded Holstein cattle.
Mr. Van Horn married August 12, 1894, Blanche Haven, who was born in Bloomingdale township, a daughter of Augustus and Emily Haven, of whom a brief account may be found elsewhere in this volume, in connection with the sketch of E. A. Haven. Mr. and Mrs. Van Horn are the parents of six children, namely : Vena. Clare, Herbert, Veta, Emily and George. Fraternally Mr. Van Horn is a member of Bloomingdale Lodge, No. 161, Independent, Order of Odd Fellows.
BENJAMIN S. MUNN .- A well-known and respected citizen of Bloomingdale township, and one of its progressive and prosperous farmers, Benjamin S. Munn is of pioneer descent, being a son of the late Matthew A. Munn, who dauntlessly pushed his way into an uncultivated country and has left behind him a record for steadiness of purpose and persistent industry of which his chil- dren may well be proud. He was born on the homestead where he now resides, April 9, 1865, coming on both sides of the house of honored New England ancestry.
His paternal grandfather, Obadiah Munn, was born in Massa- chusetts, the ancestral homestead in which he first opened his eyes to the light of this world having bordered in the Connecticut river. As a young man he followed the trail of the emigrant to New York state, and a few years later pushed his way onward to Ohio, jour- neying by team to Buffalo, thence by boat to Cleveland. Locating in Cuyahoga county, he bought a tract of unbroken land, and on
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the farm which he improved he and his wife, whose maiden name was Mary Adgate, spent the remainder of their lives.
Matthew A. Munn was born, in 1825, in Painesville, Ohio, and was brought up on the home farm. When nineteen years of age he went to Boston, Massachusetts, where he remained six years, serv- ing an apprenticeship at the stone cutter's trade. Returning then to Ohio, he continued at his trade until 1853, when he, too, followed the march of civilization westward, becoming one of the early set- tlers of Bloomingdale township, Van Buren county, Michigan. Purchasing a tract of land in section ten, he built a log cabin in the forest and began to clear a farm, for a few years thereafter working at his trade in connection with farming. Subsequently devoting his entire time to the cultivation of his land, he im- proved a fine homestead, on which he lived until his death, Feb- ruary 27, 1909, an honored and highly esteemed member of his community.
The maiden name of the wife of Matthew A. Munn was Rachel Healy. She was born and bred in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, coming from substantial New England stock. Her father, Jeremiah Spaulding Healy, was born in Vermont, among the rugged hills of the Green mountains. He subsequently migrated to Saint Law- rence county, New York, where he married, and afterwards moved with his family to Ohio. He bought a tract of wild land in Eaton township, Lorain county, and having no sawed lumber split by hand puncheon for the floor of the log cabin which he erected as a shelter for himself and family, when it was completed sending for his wife and children to join him. About 1841 his wife died, and ten years later he married again, and settled on a farm ad- joining his first purchase. Coming to Van Buren county, Michi- gan, in 1853, he bought a tract of timbered land in Bloomingdale township, where he first built a rude shack and later a substantial log house, in which he resided until his death, in 1865. The maiden name of the first wife of Mr. Healy was Polly Fields. She was born in Saint Lawrence county, New York, and at her death left nine children, one of them being Rachel, who became the wife of Matthew A. Munn. She died on the home farm in Bloomingdale township, February 10, 1895, leaving eight children. as follows: Horatio; Harriet; Orren; Edgar; Jane; Alvin; Benjamin S., the special subject of this brief sketch; and Julius.
Acquiring his education in the district schools, Benjamin S. Munn was well drilled in the various branches of industry as a boy and youth, and having succeeded to the ownership of the home- stead cared tenderly for his parents during the later years that they lived. Since assuming management of the place, Mr. Munn has made marked improvements, having a good set of buildings, and an ample supply of all the necessary machinery and appliances for successfully carrying on his work, which consists of general farming and dairying.
Mr. Munn married, October 20, 1888. Mary M. Pingree. who was born in Bloomingdale township, a daughter of David and Samantha (Bush) Pingree and granddaughter of Jewett Pingree, an early pioneer of Van Buren county. Born in Massachusetts,
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David Pingree was quite young when he came with his parents to Michigan. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in a Michi- gan regiment of volunteer infantry, and served as a soldier until the close of the conflict, when he was honorably discharged from the army. Returning to Bloomingdale township, he was engaged in farming the remainder of his life. Four children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Munn, namely : Florence, Fern, Harold and Donald. Mr. Munn has ever evinced an intelligent interest in local affairs, and has never shirked the responsibilities of public office. In 1898 he was elected township treasurer for a term of two years, and, with the exception of two years, has served as highway commissioner since 1901. He belongs to Woodmen Grange, No. 610, Patrons of Husbandry.
MRS. EMMA J. (WHEELER) BROUGHTON .- A well-known and highly esteemed resident of Bloomingdale township, Van Buren county, Mrs. Broughton was born in Bedford, Connecticut, a daughter of George W. Wheeler, who was born and reared in the same state. Her paternal grandfather, Ephraim Wheeler, a na- tive of New England, served as a soldier in the struggle of the colonists for independence. Subsequently removing from Connec- ticut to Monroe county, New York, he bought three hundred acres of Government land in what is now the town of Charlotte, being one of its earliest settlers and the first to erect a frame house within its limits. He cleared and improved a homestead, and there re- sided until his death. His wife survived him, dying in the ninety- seventh year of her age.
The youngest of a large family of children, George W. Wheeler was reared on a farm in Connecticut, and spent his early life in his native state. Subsequently, accompanied by his wife and four children, he migrated to New York state, making the removal with teams and settling in Charlotte, Monroe county, on a tract of tim- bered land given him by his father. Erecting a log cabin in the forest, he began the pioneer task of redeeming a farm from its pristine wildness. Selling out a few years later, he removed with his family to Chili, in the same county, and on a farm which he rented spent his remaining days. He married Catherine Reid, who was of Scotch ancestry, and she survived him a few years. They were the parents of eight children, as follows: Catherine; Susan Elizabeth ; John W .; Theodore, a soldier in the Civil war, was killed at the battle of Gettysburg, when but eighteen years old ; James; Amos; Emma J .; and Frances.
Brought up in Monroe county, New York, Emma J. Broughton was there educated, at her home being well trained in the domes- tic arts. After leaving school she went to Detroit, Michigan, to visit an uncle, and while there met and married John N. Chadsey, who was born in Sweden, Monroe county, New York. Mr. Chad- sey's father, Benjamin Chadsey, a native of Massachusetts, was a man of undaunted courage and enterprise. When young he fol- lowed the migrant's trail to New York state, with his axe on his shoulder bravely making his way to Monroe county. Securing a tract of Government land, he soon began felling the mighty giants
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