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 39
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Harrison S. Way began when young to assist his mother in her efforts to support the family, his father being away from home a large part of the time. On September 6, 1861, he enlisted in Com- pany E, Sixth Vermont Volunteer Infantry, for three years. dur- ing which time he was frequently in battle, having participated in the engagements at Williamsburg, Lees Mills. White Oak Swamp, Fair Oaks, the siege of Richmond, and at Savage Station and Mal- vern Hill. Soon after the last mentioned battle he was sent to the hospital on account of illness, and when able to be about he was assigned to duty in the commissary department, in which he served until honorably discharged from the service. He was subsequently in the employ of the Government until 1865, when he enlisted in
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Company C, Fourth Regiment, United States Veteran Volunteers, with which he remained until honorably discharged, at Louisville, Kentucky, at the close of the conflict. Returning then to Vermont, Mr. Way remained there three years, when, in 1868, he went to Washington, District of Columbia, where for four years he was employed in the quartermaster's department. In 1872 Mr. Way came with his family to Michigan, settling in Penn Grove township, where he rented land for a few years. He afterwards bought one hundred and thirty acres of partly improved land in that town- ship, and was there engaged in farming until 1910, when he sold, and removed to his present home in the village of Kendall.
In 1868 Mr. Way married Mrs. Sarah ( Willey) Hatch, widow of Calvin Hatch. She was born in Danville, Vermont, a daughter of Noah and Sally (Gray) Willey. Her paternal grandfather, Sam- uel Wiley, was a life-long resident of Portsmouth, New Hamp- shire, while her maternal grandparents, John and Hannah (Otis) Gray, spent their entire lives in Vermont. Mr. and Mrs. Way reared four children, namely : Frank S. E .; Martha Emma, now the wife of George T. Waber, the subject of this sketch; Freeman W .; and George Fred.
Mr. and Mrs. Waber have three children, Bertha, Harry and Leon. An active and prominent member of the Democratic party, Mr. Waber has served as a member of the Township Democratic Committee, and as a delegate to different party conventions. He takes an intelligent interest in local affairs, and for ten years rep- resented Pine Grove township on the County Board of Supervisors.
EVERT S. DYCKMAN .- Taking a turn successively in the trans- portation industry on the lake, mercantile life as a dealer in ice, coal and wood, and finally as a manufacturer of cigars, Evert S. Dyckman, of South Haven, has given a striking evidence of his versatility and adaptability to circumstances and conditions. He has also shown that no matter what has engaged his faculties he has been equal to the requirements, and in all occupations has maintained and manifested his interest in the locality of his home and a strong desire to promote its progress and the substantial and enduring welfare of its people.
Mr. Dyckman has bestowed his efforts on the region of his birth and found its opportunities sufficient to employ them to his own advantage and the benefit of that region. He was born in South Haven, Michigan, on December 5, 1856, and is a son of Aaron S. and Emeratta (Blood) Dyckman, natives of New York state. the former born in Seneca county of that state on February 16, 1826. and the latter in Utica. The father died on December 14. 1899. and the mother is still living. They had four children, three of whom are living : Evert S .; Harriet, who is the wife of F. G. Dewey, of Kalamazoo; and Claud, who resides in Chicago. The second child, George, died in infancy.
The father, A. S. Dyckman, was brought to Michigan by his parents while he was yet a little boy. The family located first in Paw Paw township, Van Buren county, but soon afterward re- moved to Schoolcraft, Kalamazoo county, where the father at-
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tended school, and after a due course of preparation was sent to college in Kalamazoo. In 1847, when he was twenty-one years old, he first visited South Haven, stopping but a short time. In 1849 the golden music of California enlisted his attention and was soon pulling at his heartstrings as with the tug of gravitation, and he was unable to resist it. He joined a company of adventurers like himself and dared the hardships and dangers of the long jaunt across the plains and mountains to the region of fabulous wealth in an effort to make his fortune by a few strong and lucky strokes. But his success was very moderate, and in 1852 he returned to his Michigan home, making the trip by the Isthmus of Panama, over the Gulf of Mexico and up the Mississippi to the landing place most convenient to South Haven. After his arrival at South Haven he formed a partnership with E. B. and B. H. Dyckman, A. W. Pantland, Joseph Sturgis, Marshall Hale and Uriah Con- ger, and together they conducted a thriving saw mill and lumber business under the firm name of Dyckman, Sturgis & Company. The undertaking was successful and the partnership continued several years. Mr. A. S. Dyckman did not, however, rest his hopes on this industry alone. He engaged in growing fruit, and was the first in this section to cultivate peaches commercially, and in time he became the most extensive producer of the tree fruits adapted to the region in this locality, holding this rank until his death, but with many followers of his stimulating example and sharers in the gratifying profits of the industry. He was also a man of prominence and influence in the public affairs of the town- ship and county, serving as township supervisor for a number of years and as county treasurer two terms. He was also one of the founders of the Scott Club, a literary society organized and con- ducted for the mental improvement and social enjoyment of its members. In politics he was a pronounced Republican, with strong faith in his party and great earnestness and zeal in its service and a voice of potency in its councils.
His son, Evert S. Dyckman, obtained his education in the schools of South Haven and at the State Agricultural College in Lansing. He was then associated with his father in business for about eight years, and at the end of that period worked for a time for the H. W. Williams Transportation Company. But he was ambitious to have an establishment and a business of his own, and started one in the ice, coal and wood trade, which he carried on for awhile. From that he turned to the manufacture of cigars, in which he has ever since been profitably engaged.
The public affairs of the city of his home have always interested him greatly, and he has done all he could to secure their proper administration. In 1903 he was elected mayor and in 1904 was re-elected, serving two consecutive terms in the office. He was also a member of the board of public works for five years. In these positions he was able to render the city signal service in the way of promoting public improvements, and he used his opportu- nities to the full measure in the work.
In fraternal relations Mr. Dyckman has affiliated with but one of the benevolent societies so numerous among men, but in that
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he has been an earnest and very helpful member. He belongs to Star of the Lake Lodge, No. 158, Ancient, Free and Accepted Ma- sons, and has been its Worshipful Master two terms. He is also a Royal Arch Mason, belonging to South Haven Chapter, No. 58, in this branch of the fraternity, and a Knight Templar of Malta Commandery at Benton Harbor. In addition he and his wife are members of the Masonic auxiliary, the Order of the Eastern Star. In political matters he sides with the Democratic party with loyalty and zeal.
Mr. Dyckman was married on January 25, 1895, to Miss Lucille Plummer, who was born in South Haven and reared and educated here. She is a daughter of William G. and Susan (McDowell) Plummer, natives of Michigan and long residents of Allegan county. Mr. and Mrs. Dyckman have one child, their son Clovis, who was born on the 25th of May, 1896, and is still living at home with them.
The parents are highly esteemed in all parts of the county of their residence and by all classes of its people. They have shown that they follow high ideals of citizenship and embrace every oppor- tunity to aid in promoting the welfare of their city and county and that of their residents, and that they are impelled by a strong sense of duty in all the relations of life. They are worthy repre- sentatives of the sturdy and sterling citizenship of Van Buren county, and as such are well deserving of the strong hold they have on the confidence and regard of the people.
LEANDER SIMMONS .- Noteworthy not only as the representative of an honored pioneer of Michigan, but as one of the self-made men of Van Buren county, Leander Simmons holds a prominent posi- tion among the successful agriculturists of Pine Grove township. where he has a large farm, which in its appointments compares favorably with any in the locality. The neatness, appearance and flourishing condition of his farming property bears visible evidence to the most casual observer the thrift and care of the proprietor, and show conclusively that he has a thorough understanding of his business and that he exercises excellent judgment in its manage- ment. He was born January 26, 1840, in Townsend township, Norfolk county, Ontario, Canada, a son of Isaac Simmons, and grandson of Philip Simmons, both natives of Newark, New Jersey. His great-grandparents on the paternal side immigrated from Ger- many in colonial days, settling in Newark, New Jersey, where they spent their remaining days. They reared four sons, two of whom lived and died in Newark, while the other two settled in Rochester, New York. Philip Simmons was a blacksmith by trade, and fol- lowed it through his active career. He married, and reared five sons and five daughters.
Early in life Isaac Simmons learned the trade of a shoemaker, all shoes at that time having been made to order. Moving to Nor- folk county, Canada, when young, he bought fifty acres of land in Townsend township, and after marrying followed his trade and farmed. Selling his farm in 1841, he started for the West, ac- companied by his wife and son, and journeyed overland with Vol. II-20
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teams to Allegan, Michigan. All of this part of the state was then heavily timbered, much of the land being owned by the Govern- ment. Deer, bear, catamounts, wild turkeys and, in fact, game of all kinds native to this section of the country were plentiful and, with the Indians, populated the forests. After looking about for a time Mr. Isaac Simmons bought, in Gun Plains township, forty acres of land, a very small patch of which had been cleared to make room for the substantial log house that stood upon it. Ready money was a scare article in those days, and he added to his in- come by working in a shoe factory at Kalamazoo, making shoes by hand, as no machinery for the making was then in use, being thus employed whenever work on his land was not imperative. Subsequently selling out there, he removed to Kalamazoo county, and having purchased land in section six, Cooper township, was there engaged in general farming until his death, at the age of sixty-six years, his life having been lost in a fierce tornado which he encountered while returning to his home from Plainwell.
The maiden name of the wife of Isaac Simmons was Mary Cul- ver. She was born in Townsend township, Norfolk county, Can- ada, a daughter of Henry and Eunice Culver, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania, of German ancestry. She survived her husband, and lived to be nearly ninety years old. She reared three sons, namely : Leander, with whom this brief sketch is chiefly concerned ; Marvin, who owns and occupies the old homestead ; and Philip, who died at the age of thirty-one years.
But an infant when he was brought by his parents to Michigan. Leander Simmons has no recollection of any other home. An am- bitious student in his youthful days, he attended the pioneer schools of Allegan county and of Cooper township, completing his studies at Kalamazoo College. He was reared to habits of industry and honesty, and began as a boy to assist his father on the farm, re- maining beneath the parental roof until attaining his majority, when he began life's battle on his own account, with no other capi- tal than strong hands, a willing heart and an unlimited amount of courage and energy. Locating in Pine Grove township, Van Buren county, in 1862, Mr. Simmons bought eighty acres of land in section three, and immediately began the arduous labor of re- claiming a farm from the wilderness, and in a comparatively brief time had much of his land under cultivation, and in the raising of crops was making good money. As his means increased, he wisely invested in other lands and now has title to four hundred acres of as fertile and productive land as can be found in western Michi- gan. His large brick house is sheltered from the cold winds of winter by a natural grove of pine and oak trees, and near by stands his barn, which is conveniently arranged, and other sub- stantial farm buildings, his estate, with its excellent improvements, being one of the most attractive and desirable in the township.
Mr. Simmons married, in 1866, Margaret Hazen, who was born in Townsend township, Norfolk county, Canada, a daughter of Daniel Hazen. Her father was a wagon maker, and for many years followed his trade at Woodhouse, Norfolk county, Canada, where he spent all of the later part of his life. Mrs. Simmons's maternal
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grandfather, Colonel Gilbert, was an officer in the English army, and for several years was a recruiting officer in Norfolk county, Canada. Mrs. Simmons passed to the life beyond at the age of about sixty-four years, leaving four children, namely : Elgy, Ar- thur, Elmer and Mary. Elgy and Arthur are prosperous farmers. Arthur, who fought during the Spanish-American war in Cuba and the Philippines, has been for a number of years in the rail- way mail service, with headquarters at Seattle, Washington. Mary received her advanced education at the State Normal School in Ypsilanti, and is now a teacher in the Seattle High School. Al- though Mr. Simmons has even been too much engrossed with his own affairs to meddle with politics, he has always performed his duty at the polls, and has served on the Republican Township Com- mittee, and for twenty years has been a member of the local school board.
MATTHEW VASSAR SELKIRK .- This enterprising merchant, influ- ential citizen and potential social and civic force in the life of South Haven and Van Buren county, has been a resident of the city ever since 1866, when he was fourteen years old. Here he completed his education and learned his trade as a harness maker. Here also he married and has maintained his domestic shrine. He has, therefore, been closely and serviceably connected with the interests of the community for a long time in business and private life, and in addition has given its residents good service as a public official at different times.
Mr. Selkirk was born in Waukegan, Lake county, Illinois, on May 28, 1852. His parents, James and Electa C. (Austin) Selkirk, were natives of the state of New York, the father born in Homer. Cortland county. He died at the age of sixty-three years, and the mother died in July, 1907. Five children were born of their union. two of whom are living, Matthew V. and his older sister Lucia S .. who is the wife of Charles P. Ludwig and resides in Otsego, Mich- igan. The father came West in 1837 and first located in La Porte, Indiana, for a short time, then moved to Lake county, Illi- nois. He was a Methodist Episcopal clergyman for over forty years, and busied himself in other affairs of great and signal serv- ice to the country in critical times. In 1849 he went to California by way of the Isthmus of Panama. but in the fall of 1850 he returned to his former Illinois home in Lake county. There. in connection with his ministerial duties. he cultivated a farm and did a great deal toward keeping up the anti-slavery agitation.
When the terrible storm cloud of the Civil war hurst upon the country he made his faith good in practical work by organizing a company of volunteers to go to the defense of the Union. But he was refused entry into the service for the field himself, be- cause it was believed he could do a great deal more good at home recruiting men. His company comprised ninety-seven men. and he was to go with them as their chaplain. He remained at home, however, and in the course of the war enlisted one thous- and four hundred soldiers in Lake and McHenry counties, Illinois, and aided vastly in keeping up the enthusiasm of the people for
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the Union and its salvation from dismemberment. But his family paid its tribute to the Union cause in actual service in the field. His brother Charles enlisted in the South when he was but six- teen years old and was the captain of his company, but was soon afterward taken prisoner at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. He was paroled and sent home, and when his parole expired he again enlisted, although then barely seventeen, and served to the end of the war. In 1866 he came to South Haven and lived for a time, then went to Kalkaska county and engaged in the drug and grocery business several years, and served two terms as county clerk and register of deeds. He spent the last year of his life in Gibson City, Illinois.
In the fall of 1866 the family of Rev. Mr. Selkirk was moved by him to South Haven, where he continued to do ministerial work and also carried on a flourishing drug business. In politics he was an ardent and zealous member of the Republican party from its organization to the close of his life. He cast his first vote for it in 1856, its first campaign, and never failed to support its candidates afterward while he lived. He also took an active stand in its favor in his talk and work, and rendered it considerable service at all times, notwithstanding he was a clergyman and in business.
Matthew Vassar Selkirk began his education in Waukegan, Illi- nois, and completed it in South Haven. At the age of sixteen he started to learn the trade of harness maker, and in 1871 went into business as a manufacturer of harness. He continued his opera- tions in this line of production until the fall of 1899. He then devoted his attention to the real estate business for a few years, and in 1910 returned to harness-making, in which he is still en- gaged. His business is extensive and active, but it has never been so great or exacting as to deaden his interest in the welfare of his community or lessen his efforts to promote that by all means at his command.
He served as village treasurer one term and as alderman from his city ward one term, and in many other ways has contributed directly and essentially to the progress and improvement of the city. He is the owner of the opera house in South Haven, and is careful to see that it offers only proper entertainment to its patrons, for in all respects, intellectually and morally, as well as materially, the public weal is an object of supreme interest to him and al- ways has his earnest and intelligent advocacy and aid.
Mr. Selkirk was married on October 24, 1883, in Waukegan, Illi- nois, to Miss Helen J. Palmer. She was born in the state of New York and is a daughter of George and Sarah Jane (Morrison) Palmer. The father was born in New York state and died while serving his country in the Civil war. The mother is still living and makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. Selkirk. They had only one child, their daughter Helen J., now Mrs. Selkirk. By her marriage to Mr. Selkirk she has become the mother of two children. their daughters Effa N. and Mildred V. Effa married Ralph E. Longley and lives in Seattle, Washington.
GEORGE W. HUTCHINS
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GEORGE W. HUTCHINS .- The death of George W. Hutchins, of Paw Paw township in this county, which occurred on May 5, 1911, took away from Van Buren county one of its most substantial and progressive farmers, a sturdy and sterling citizen, a man of high character and enlightened public spirit, and a friend of hun- dreds who felt a deep sense of personal bereavement when he could be with them no more. He had a special interest in the welfare of the county of Van Buren, because his parents were among its pioneer settlers; he was born and reared within its borders and passed the whole of the sixty-seven years of his life among its people; and his brothers and sisters were nearly all born and all who grew to maturity were reared upon its soil, which gave them their stature and their strength for life and became the resting place of their remains and those of their parents in death.
Mr. Hutchins was born in Paw Paw township, this county, on November 6, 1843, a son of Richard and Sarah (Huxtable) Hutch- ins. The parents began their lives, grew to maturity, and were educated and married in England. They came to this country and Michigan in 1836, and located in Van Buren county, where they hewed a farm out of the wilderness and transformed the unbroken wilds into a comfortable home for their offspring. They had nine children: William, who was born on November 13, 1832, and has been dead for a number of years; Ann, who was born on June 30, 1834, and is also deceased; Elizabeth, whose life began on October 28, 1836, and ended many years ago; John, who came into being on February 18, 1839, and has long been dead ; Mary, who was born on May 12, 1841, and is now the wife of Richard Hutchins, of Paw Paw; Charles, who first saw the light of this world on September 20, 1842, and now has his home in Kalamazoo, Michigan; George W., the subject of this brief memoir; Thomas, who was born on August 3, 1846, and is now living in the state of California; and Sarah, who was born on December 3, 1849, and is deceased.
George W. Hutchins was a farmer all his life from his boyhood. He attended the country school in the neighborhood of his home when he had opportunity and could be spared from the exacting duties of cultivating a new tract of land which had not yet learned obedience and responsiveness to the developing hand of the hus- bandman. As soon as he was able he bought off the heirs and with his mother conducted the farm until her death, after which he purchased more land and at the time of his death he owned one hundred and three acres of land, well improved and brought to a high state of productiveness of his skillful cultivation. The farm is in section twelve of Paw Paw township, and is one of the best in this part of the county.
For some years he occupied the old family homestead of ninety- seven acres, but a number of years ago the buildings on this were destroyed by fire, and he then bought the farm of one hundred and three acres which he thereafter occupied until his death. It is on the other side of the road from the homestead, and the land is of the same character as that. In selling the homestead, there- fore he neither left the scenes of his boyhood and youth nor sub- jected himself to new and untried conditions in his farming.
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On February 28, 1886, Mr. Hutchins was united in marriage with Mrs. Lydia (Carr) Warner, a daughter of George and Catherine (Snyder) Carr, natives of New York, and the parents of four children : William, who lives at Waverly, this county ; Mrs. Hutchins; Moses, who was killed in the Civil war; and George, who died in infancy. These were children of the father's second marriage. His first union in wedlock was with Miss Chris- tine Plank, who bore him four children: Jacob, who lives in Paw Paw; and Peter, Cornelius and William, all deceased.
By her first marriage, which took place in 1859 and united her with Delos Warner, Mrs. Hutchins had one child, her son Willard Warner, who was a resident of Waverly, Van Buren county, but now resides with his mother. Her second husband, Mr. Hutchins, during all of his mature years gave faithful adherence and sup- port to the principles and candidates of the Republican party, and was a zealous worker for its success in all campaigns. He held several township offices and rendered the people good service in them all. He was a Baptist in religious faith and connection, and for many years served as one of the deacons of the congregation in which he held his membership. In this he always manifested the warmest and most helpful interest, and was held in cordial regard as a force of great value in promoting its welfare and ex- panding its usefulness among its own members and the people of the community in general.
CHARLES J. MAY .- Conspicuous among the earlier settlers of Pine Grove township, Van Buren county, was Charles J. May, who still owns and occupies the farm which he hewed from the wilderness, and which has been his home for a half century or more. A na- tive of Germany, he was born in the village of Laudenbach, Baden, in 1831. His father, William May, was born and reared in Ger- many, and with his wife spent his entire life in Germany. He was a traveling salesman, but owned a home in the village of Lauden- bach, where he was noted as a most successful bee raiser and keeper, generally having as many as one hundred and fifty hives of bees in his apiary. Two of his sons, Charles J., the subject of this sketch, and William came to America, the latter named settling in Pennsylvania.
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