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 46
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When he was nineteen years of age Henry H. Albright took up carpentry as an occupation, and he was so engaged at the out- break of the Civil war. Fired with patriotism, like so many of the youth of that day, he gave up the business which he had built up and hastened to enlist in the Union army, becoming a private in Company D, Eighty-second Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. After seven months spent in the service Mr. Albright was wounded in battle, several of his fingers being shot away, and he was given his honorable discharge on account of disability. On his return to his native locality he began farming on a tract which he had purchased with a friend some time previous to his enlistment in the army, but in 1866 he sold his interests and came to Michigan.
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For some time he conducted the farm of his father-in-law, and after the latter's death he purchased the property, which he con- ducted as a general farmer and stock raiser until 1903, in which year he retired.
On October 20, 1863, Mr. Albright was united in marriage with Miss Rebecca Altman, daughter of Lewis and Catherine (Bear) Altman, natives of Pennsylvania, both of whom are now deceased. There were eleven children in the Altman family, as follows: One who died in infancy, Andrew, Jacob, Sarah, John, Elizabeth, Catherine, Hannah, Solomon, Mary and Rebecca, the latter being the youngest of the family and the only one now living. Mr. and Mrs. Albright have had three children: Emma May, the wife of Abner Gish, of Lacota, Michigan; Bertha, the wife of Mark Hesse, also of Lacota ; and Etta, who married P. C. Allers, a sailor on the Great Lakes.
The Albright family is connected with the Evangelical church, and both Mr. and Mrs. Albright have given of their time and means in supporting movements of a church and charitable nature. Although no politician as far as seeking public office is concerned, Mr. Albright takes a healthy interest. in anything pertaining to the welfare of his township, and is a stanch supporter of Republican principles. Always having led a straightforward, honest and up- right life, he has the confidence and respect of his fellow-towns- men, who recognize in him a citizen who may be counted upon to bend his best efforts towards any movement that will benefit his community in any way.
NORRIS A. WILLIAMS .- Branch county, Michigan, was the na- tive place of Dr. Williams and he has spent the most of his fifty odd years in this state, although he is by no means unacquainted with other places. His father, Alexander Williams, was born in the state of New York. and his mother, Sophronia (Smith) Will- iams, was born in Girard, Branch county, Michigan, where her parents were pioneers. Alexander Williams came to Michigan when a young man, and he was married in Branch county and lived there for a quarter of a century or more. From there they went to Monroe county and then to Berrien county, spending ten years in the two places. In 1885 they removed to Nebraska and settled in Nance county, and here the father passed away eight years later. He was engaged in mercantile business in Girard, but engaged in farming in Monroe and Berrien counties and in Nebraska. His wife, Sophronia Williams died in Tacoma, Wash- ington, where her daughter, Mary Williams Reeves, resides. An- other sister, Irene, is deceased, and the two brothers of Dr. Will- iams live in Michigan, Frank in Hillsdale county and Fred in Bangor.
Dr. Williams graduated from the Petersburg high school and then took up his professional studies in the state university. He received his degree in 1883 and then went to Kansas to begin his practice. For three years he worked in the sunflower state, but in the early eighties the prosperity which now characterizes it had not arrived and Dr. Williams decided to locate in Nebraska.
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where his parents were living at the time. He remained there for seven years and then came to Bangor and for thirteen years practiced his profession in Van Buren county.
In 1886 Dr. Williams was married to Miss Gretta Cronk, of Coldwater, Michigan, and their union has been blessed by three children. These have all received the advantages of the excellent education which is offered to the present generation and of which the prosperity of their fathers enables so many to avail themselves. Paul, the eldest, graduated from the high school of Bangor and then spent two years in the State University, specializing in chem- istry. He is now in Houghton, Michigan, in the employ of the Houghton Electrical Company. Donald, the second son, is now attending the University of Wisconsin, at Madison, having finished the high school of Bangor. Roger, the youngest, is at home. The mother of this family died in 1906. Dr. Williams married for his second wife Carrie L. Welch, the widow of I. H. Welch, of Bangor. Her son, Paul Welch, the only child of her first marriage, attends the University of Wisconsin.
At present the Doctor has given up his practice of medicine, which he followed with conspicuous success for nearly a quarter of a century, to engage in farming. He is farming a tract of three hundred acres. This is the old Cross farm and is called the Evergreen Farm. He devotes himself to this work as thoroughly as he did to his former profession and achieves admirable results.
Dr. Williams is a supporter of the Republican party, and while the practice of the medical profession does not leave one much leisure for activity in the field of practical politics, Dr. Williams has always been a notably public-spirited man and while in Bangor was president of the village school board and president of the vil- lage. In the Masonic fraternity he has long been a prominent fig- ure. He was master in the Blue Lodge for four years and for two years was high priest of the Chapter. He is a member of the Malta Commandery of the Knights Templars, No. 44, at Benton Harbor, and of the Mystic Shrine at Grand Rapids. Other lodges in which he holds membership are the Woodmen and the Macca- bees. He attends the Congregational church of Bangor and is one of the most loyal supporters of its activities. Not only by his own studies and interest in all undertakings for the good of the com- munity does the doctor-farmer merit a place in the list of Van Buren county's representative citizens, but by his interest in train- ing his sons to take their places in the ranks of the enlightened workers of their generation.
LAVOISIER W. DISBROW was born in Bangor township on October 13, 1865-the three hundred and seventy-third anniversary of the discovery of America. His parents were both natives of the state of New York, who had come to Michigan and settled in Van Buren county, adding their labors to the development of the new country. There were born to Lodwick and Sarah Whitcomb Disbrow three children : Viola, Lavoisier and Alberta. The father was a farmer and his son followed that calling also.
At the age of twenty-one Lavoisier Disbrow bought forty acres
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of land and began farming for himself. By his careful manage- ment and intelligent methods he has increased this to one hun- dred acres, upon which he does general farming and stock rais- ing. Success has attended his efforts and he has added many im- provements to his estate, including a beautiful and commodious dwelling house.
Mr. Disbrow celebrated his twenty-first birthday by holding his wedding upon that day. He was then united to Miss Cora Easton, the daughter of Sylvester and Sarah Easton, both of whom are now deceased. Mrs. Disbrow is one of six children. Of the others in her family, Albert, Warren and Annie are deceased. Wilbur and Delbert live in Van Buren county. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Disbrow, but Pearl, the eldest, died in in- fancy. The others are all still living at home and are Leta, War- ren, Albert, Viola, Erwin and Merwin, twins, and Donald.
In political matters Mr. Disbrow is aligned with the Republi- can party and though not active in the party in the sense of be- ing a practical politician, he takes the greatest interest in public affairs and in matters of national policy. He belongs to the society of the Gleaners and is known as one of the most progressive of the farmers in this county.
HERBERT F. BALFOUR .- Both of the parents of Herbert Balfour were born in the British Isles. His mother was a native of Wey- mouth, England, and his father of Ireland. This mixed ancestry produced a type which combined the genius of the Scotch with the more practical bent of the English and one which has given to the world some of its best statesmen and hundreds of useful citi- zens. There were ten children in the family of Captain Harrison and Anne (Lawrence) Balfour, only one of whom, Ransley J., of Bangor township, is now living. Captain Harrison Balfour and his sons James, Harrison and John all served in the Union Army in the Civil war. James was killed at the battle of Corinth and Harrison also died in the service.
Herbert Balfour spent his boyhood in the usual fashion of the children of the settlers in this comparatively new state. He had the benefit of such schooling as the place offered, which, if not of the modern sort, was yet sufficient to train those who took to it habits of thoroughness and of self-reliance. On March 16, 1885, Mr. Balfour was married to Miss Vannie Miles, the daughter of Honorable Fabius Miles. This distinguished gentleman was born in Jefferson county, New York, on the last day of December of the year 1814. He attended the Watertown Academy and taught school for a number of years. During the winters he studied French under a French tutor who was a lieutenant under Napoleon during his campaign in Spain.
In 1838 Mr. Miles established the Watertown Normal School, which he conducted until 1844. Among the numerous patrons of his establishment was Madame De Lafold, the former wife of Count Joseph Bonaparte. This lady was an American by birth, who after her removal to Paris married a silk merchant, Monsieur De Lafold. When Mr. Miles gave up his school in New York he
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removed to Michigan and the events of his career in this state are well known to those who are familiar with the early history of the state. He was married in Watertown, New York, to Miss Betheah Mantel, also a native of Watertown, and Mrs. Balfour is one of the seven children of this union. Only one other sister is now living, Lydia, the widow of Marshall Worthington, of South Haven. She now resides in Tennessee. Mrs. Balfour's maternal grandparents were Edmund and Dolly (Richardson) Mantel, and her great-grandfather was Captain Tilly Richardson, a native of Massachusetts and a soldier of the Revolutionary war.
In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Balfour were five children: Ma- rion A., Harrison L., Grover M., Leland S. and Arthur Herbert. Their father died in January, 1899, and his death not only de- prived his family of its head but took from the county one of its citizens who had made his life felt as an uplifting influence and whose sincere devotion to the common good won for him the re- gard of all who came into contact with him. He was a Democrat in his political views and was fraternally affiliated with the Modern Woodmen.
CHARLES A. MOSES .- The agriculturists of twenty or more years ago, as a general rule, gave their entire attention to the growing of crops and the cultivation of their fields, but the later generation of farmers have combined their farming operations with those of dairying, stock raising and fruit growing, and have found that this method, if managed properly, brings a greater degree of suc- cess. One of the prosperous young agriculturists of Van Buren county is Charles A. Moses, who now owns and operates the old Moses homestead in section 35, Arlington township, where he was born February 20, 1885.
Judson J. Moses, the father of Charles A., was born in New York, and as a young man came to Michigan, settling in Van Buren county, where he became an agriculturist and land specula- tor. At his death he was the owner of eighty acres of land now operated by his son, Charles A. Judson J. Moses was married in Van Buren county to Miss Sophia Prater, a native of Michigan, and they became the parents of six children: Minnie, the wife of Wesley Nicholas, of Arlington; Andrew, who makes his home in Benton Harbor, Michigan; Maude, the wife of John Carney, of Lawrence; Mabel, the widow of Elmer Eldred, of Lawrence; Arthur, who lives in Canada; and Charles A.
Charles A. Moses received a district school education in Arling- ton township, and at the age of nineteen years began fruit farming, an occupation which he followed for six years. He then started raising grain, and in July, 1909, he was deeded half of the old homestead and moved thereto, later purchasing the remainder of the land. He now follows general farming and stock raising, and also raises some fruit. Mr. Moses lost his mother when he was thirteen years of age, and his father died May 9, 1909. He was married February 20, 1906, to Miss Gladys Clements, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Barnum) Clements, who had one other child : Grove, residing in Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Moses have had three
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children : Charles J., born September 21, 1907; Opal, born Sep- tember 14, 1909; and Clements, born April 9, 1911.
Mr. Moses is a well known member of the Gleaners, and a stanch Democrat in politics, although he has never desired public office for himself. He has been very successful in his operations, rais- ing large crops and breeding some of the best cattle yet turned out of this township. As a citizen he stands high, always sup- porting public-spirited movements, and he has many warm friends in the township who are welcomed at his comfortable residence on Lawrence Rural Route.
RANSOM T. PIERCE .- Beginning life for himself as a soldier in the Union army at the age of sixteen, when the Civil war was nearing its close, and since then occupied in various productive and serviceable enterprises, Ransom T. Pierce, of South Haven, has shown himself to be master of his situation and surroundings and dependent on his own resources at all stages of his career. He was a faithful and valiant soldier as a youth, and he has been a good and profitable worker in his other occupations as a man.
Mr. Pierce is a native of Saint Johnsbury, Vermont, born on September 17, 1848, and the son of Charles and Sarah (Barker) Pierce. the former born in Montreal, Canada, in 1818, and the latter is of the same nativity as her son Ransom. The father died at the age of seventy and the mother when Ransom was but five years old. They were the parents of five children, three of whom are living : Ransom T., the immediate subject of this memoir ; his older sister Sarah, who is the wife of George Underwood, of Shadeland, Tennessee, and his younger brother Frank, who resides at Boston, Massachusetts. After the death of his first wife the father mar- ried her sister, Miss Mary Barker. and by this marriage became the father of two children: Josie, who is the wife of Everett Sis- son, of Chicago, and George. who lives at Paw Paw, Michigan. The father came to Vermont when he was a young man and learned the trade of a metal founder. He wrought at his trade in Vermont until 1856, then moved to Young America, Illinois, which is now called Kirkwood. There he was the first agent of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, and served in that capacity until 1860.
In that year he moved his family to Saint Joseph, Michigan, where he engaged in farming and fruit growing, being one of the pioneers in the fruit growing industry in that part of this state. After living in or near Saint Joseph about ten years he moved to Florida and located in Jacksonville. In the vicinity of that city he raised oranges extensively for the northern markets until his death. He was a Freemason for many years. having joined the fraternity during his residence in Vermont.
Ransom T. Pierce obtained a district school education, which he began in Illinois and completed at a school in Berrien county lo- cated east of Benton Harbor. At the age of sixteen he tried to en- list in the Union army but was at first rejected on account of his youth. But in the fall of 1864 his ambition to serve his country in its. great crisis of the Civil war was gratified, he being accepted
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as a volunteer in a new company then forming in Chicago. He remained in the army until September, 1865, when he was dis- charged.
After his return home he engaged in the hardware trade in Benton Harbor until 1876, and during this period he was also agent for the American Express Company at that point. In the year last mentioned he turned his attention to the manufacture of packings or cases for fruit, carrying on this business in Benton Harbor until 1881, when he moved his enterprise to South Haven. In that city he is still conducting this plant, and he also has one of far greater capacity at Jonesboro, Arkansas.
Other institutions for the good of the community and the ac- commodation of the public also enlist his interest and secure his aid. He is vice president of the Citizens Bank and a stockholder in the First State Bank, both of South Haven. In addition, he takes a very cordial and serviceable interest in the fraternal life. of the community, being a member of Star of the Lake Masonic Lodge, No. 158; South Haven Chapter, No. 58, Royal Arch Masons; South Haven Council, No. 45, Royal and Select Masters; Malta Commandery, Knights Templars, at Benton Harbor; and Saladin Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, in Grand Rapids.
He has been constant and energetic in his attention to the claims of the city and county of his home in his citizenship, and has given the people of South Haven excellent service in two terms as mayor, as well as in many other ways. His political faith is lodged in the Republican party and all his political services in the cam- paigns are in behalf of that organization. But he never allows par- tisan considerations to overbear the good of the community, as that he always regards as having the first claim on him.
Mr. Pierce was married on August 5, 1880, to Miss Carrie Adams. She was born in Niles, Michigan, and is a daughter of John and Helen (Cruik) Adams, both born near Kingston, New York, and both now deceased, the father having died at the age of seventy- eight and the mother when ninety-three. The father was a farmer and became a resident of this state at an early date, fixing his residence at Niles, where he was one of the pioneers of the locality and of all Berrien county. Some years before his death he re- tired from active pursuits and moved to South Haven, where his last days and those of his widow were passed. Both endeared themselves to the people of this portion of the state and were highly deserving of the great and general esteem in which they were held.
GEORGE' DAVEY, one of the respected farmers of Arlington town- ship, Van Buren county, Michigan, has lived at his present home since he was ten years of age.
He was born in Kosciusko county, Indiana, July 1, 1855, a son of James and Hannah (Morrison) Davey, the former a native of England and the later of Pennsylvania. James was a farmer all his life. In the spring of 1865 he left the "Hoosier State" and with his family came up into the neighboring state of Michigan, landing in Arlington township, Van Buren county, on April 1st,
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where in section 4 he purchased ninety-five acres of land and where he made his home the rest of his life, carrying on general farming and stock raising. He died February 11, 1890. Of his family of five children, George is the eldest, the others being as follows: Mary Ellen, deceased ; Henrietta, wife of Fremont Byers, of Arling- ton township; James Francis, of Benton Harbor; and Elfaretta, wife of Joseph Martin, of New York city.
In his boyhood George Davey attended the district schools during the winter months and in summer time worked in the fields. He continued to assist his father with the farm work until he was twenty-two years of age, when he assumed the management of the farm and cultivated the land on the shares. This he did until his father's death, when there was a division in the property, forty acres being his share.
On November 2, 1898, Mr. Davey married Mrs. Annie (Morse) Green, who was born in Indiana, a daughter of Charles and Lomira (Squires) Morse, natives of Indiana. Charles Morse was a soldier in the Civil war and died while in the service. His widow now lives in Columbia township. She reared four children, Mrs. Davey being the oldest. Her brother Frank is a resident of Colum- bia township, and her brother Charles resides in the northern part of the state.
Mr. Davey, while he has never taken an active part in politics, has always been a conscientious voter, casting his franchise with the Republican party.
WILLIAM H. CHAPMAN, who owns and occupies "The Maples," a fine farm in Arlington township, was born and reared in Van Buren county, and is descended from New England ancestry. His parents, Alvin and Laura (Wright) Chapman, both natives of the town of Westhash, Middlesex county, Connecticut, left their old home in the east and came west to Michigan in 1856. On section 17, Arlington township. Van Buren county, the father bought two hundred acres of land and settled down to farming and stock raising, and here he spent the rest of his life. His wife died in 1878, and his death occurred on the 14th of February, 1909. Of their family of seven children, the first two died in infancy; the next in order of birth, Flora, is the wife of Theodore Reynolds, of Arlington township, Van Buren county; Eva and May are de- ceased; next in order of birth was William H., the subject of this sketch ; and the youngest, Abby, is the wife of Edward Fox, of Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania. Alvin Chapman was a great traveler and made a fine curio collection, among which are many interesting war relics. During the Civil war he enlisted, September 28, 1864, as a member of Company I, Thirteenth Michigan Infantry, and joined Sherman's forces in the South. Among the engagements in which he participated were the battle of Shiloh and the siege of Corinth. He was detailed in the "Pioneer Corps," with which he went from Goldsboro to Washington, D. C., and his honorable discharge from the service bears date of September 14, 1865, at Detroit, Michigan. Previous to his going to the front he was
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commander of a post at home. William Chapman, grandfather of William H., had served in the Revolutionary war.
William H. Chapman was born on his father's farm in Arling- ton township, January 4, 1861, and passed his boyhood days not unlike other farmer boys, attending district school in winter and in summer assisting with the farm work. He now owns two hundred and forty acres of choice land, called "The Maples," where he is successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising.
On December 31, 1884, Mr. Chapman and Miss Bessie Herrick were united in marriage, and they are the parents of four children. namely : Helen, born August 3, 1888; Bya, January 26, 1893; William A., May 20, 1895, and Myra, April 6, 1901. Mrs. Chapman is a daughter of David and Betsy (Shaw) Herrick, of Twinsburg, Ohio, and was fifth in order of birth in a family of seven children, record of whom is as follows: Elbridge, of Colorado; Calsina. de- ceased; Helen, deceased ; Charles, of Idaho; Bessie; Myra, wife of Schuyler Atwater of Minnesota ; and Bela, of Colorado.
Politically Mr. Chapman is a Republican; religiously, a Congre- gationalist. His lodges are the Grange and the Masons. Also he is identified with the Order of the Eastern Star, in which Mrs. Chapman, too, has membership. As a representative citizen, inter- ested in all that tends to a betterment of affairs in his locality, Mr. Chapman is held in high esteem.
LOUIS ALBERT BREGGER is one of the progressive farmers of Van Buren county. Slowly but surely the day of honest success with- out technical education is ending; as the fierce competitive spirit waxes more powerful the greatest handicap in life will be profes- sional ignorance; it will be increasingly difficult for persons thus cumbered to keep their heads above the mighty waves of the raging sea of commerce. In no sphere will this struggle be more relent- less than in agriculture. Farmers who can increase cost to the highest standard and decrease cost to the lowest point will be able to cope with it, while all others will be failures, or at best mediocre successes. Mr. Bregger, as an agricultural college graduate, is devoted to the work in which he is engaged.
Beginning life at Quincy, Illinois, on the 14th day of October. 1862, Mr. Bregger is a son of Thomas and Magdelena (Barth) Bregger, both of peasant parentage and natives of Germany. The father had few educational advantages, being obliged to work at an early age. He served his apprenticeship of the carpenter trade and worked as a journeyman carpenter in various parts of Ger- many and also France. A sympathizer with the revolutionary movement of 1848, he was dissatisfied with conditions after the un- successful outcome of the Revolution and was one of the large number of liberty loving Germans who immigrated to the United States between 1850 and 1860 and gave good account of themselves in the anti-slavery struggle and the war for the Union. Father Breg- ger came over in 1852, going almost immediately to Ohio, where he worked at his trade. Soon after his arrival in that state he made the acquaintance of Miss Magdelena Barth, who had immigrated from Germany with her brother in 1846. The acquaintance ripened
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