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 50
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WILLIAM SWEET .- The Sweet family is intimately connected with the pioneer history of Van Buren county, and its representa- tives are deserving of much credit for the part they have borne in the development and improvement of this section of the state. One of the best known members of the family is William Sweet, a successful agriculturist of Arlington township, who is devoting his attention to farming and stock raising on a tract of one hun- dred and forty acres located in section 25. Mr. Sweet was born in Lawrence, Michigan, and is a son of T. Oscar and Hallett J. (Fish) Sweet, natives of New York.
T. Oscar Sweet came to Michigan when he was about twelve years old, in 1850, the family first settling at Nauvoo, where he learned the trade of a blacksmith. As a youth his wages went to the family exchequer, to assist his parents in purchasing stock and implements for the home farm, and throughout his life he dis- played the traits of industry and economy which his early training had instilled in him. He became a well known and successful citi- zen, and retired on a competence some years prior to his death, which occurred August 1, 1911, his wife having passed away May 9, 1883. They had a family of five children: Eva, the wife of C. C. Marshall, of Cleveland, Ohio; Frank, who resides at Lawrence, Michigan; William; Burr, also a resident of Lawrence; and Ora, the wife of G. M. Gardner, of Kalamazoo, Michigan.
William Sweet began farming in Lawrence township at the age of sixteen years, and continued to reside there until 1906, in which year he came to Arlington township and settled on the Hicks home- stead, where he now resides, a tract of finely cultivated land in sec- tion 25. General farming and stock raising have occupied his at- tention, and he has displayed marked ability as an agriculturist, operating his land so as to get the best possible results from his labor. His reputation as a citizen is equally high and in his busi- ness transactions he has always been fair and above-board. His many friends in this section testify to his popularity, and should he desire to enter public life there is no doubt that political prefer- ment would be his.
Mr. Sweet was married to Miss Helen Hicks, a daughter of Bar- ney and Francelia (Crowell) Hicks, the former a native of Michi- gan and the latter of New York. They were early settlers of Ant- werp township, developing a farm from the wild land, and later settled in Arlington township, where Mr. Hicks at one time owned one hundred and eighty acres of land. Mr. Hicks died October 23, 1906, and his wife died August 10, 1909. Mrs. Sweet was their only child. Politically Mr. Sweet is a Democrat. The pleasant and comfortable family residence is situated in Arlington town- ship, on Lawrence Rural Route No. 2.
ANDREW M. COCHRAN .- Among the prosperous agriculturists of Arlington township none is more worthy of mention than Andrew M. Cochran, an honored veteran of the great Civil war and the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of farm land in sections 4, 9 and 10. During a long and honorable career Mr. Cochran has always displayed traits of honest and upright living, and he
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stands high in the esteem of his fellow men, who have elected him to various township offices of honor and trust.
Andrew M. Cochran, born February 12, 1844, was the first white child born in Arlington township, Van Buren county, Michigan, and is the son of James G. and Sarah (Watson) Cochran, natives of Batavia, New York, and New Hampshire, respectively. The maternal grandfather of Andrew M. Cochran was Samuel Watson, who came to Van Buren county in 1835 with his own and six other homeseeking families. They were as follows: Amos Brown, Silas Breed, J. N. Hinckley, Will Taylor, Jonathan Howard and a Mr. Babbitt. They were the first settlers of Columbia township. Sam- uel Watson secured a tract of land, upon which he built a log cabin and began to work his farm. In 1837 he was a visitor to Paw Paw, a nearby town, and on his way home he was seized with sudden illness and died by the way-side. His body was found in a sitting posture at the foot of an immense tree about a mile and a half from his home. His name and the date of his death were cut in the bark of the tree, which stood as a monument to his memory for a number of years. His daughter, Sarah Watson, was about thirteen years of age at the time she came with her family to Van Buren county, and she had the distinction of teaching the first school in Columbia township shortly after her family settled there.
James G. Cochran came to Van Buren county two years after the Watson family and their little colony of friends and acquaintances settled there and organized Columbia township. He came by steamer from Buffalo to Toledo, and thence by stage and afoot to Van Buren county, where he purchased a tract of timber land and built a log cabin. It was a very crude affair, this little home of his in the wilderness, but it sufficed. The chimney was of earth and sticks, cleverly combined with the skill of the man who has no better material to his hand, and the floor was a puncheon affair. more remarkable for its solidity than its elegance. To this little home in the wilderness James Cochran took his bride, Sarah Wat- son, and in this cabin, which sheltered the first couple to be mar- ried in Columbia township, was born the first white child, as men- tioned in a previous paragraph, Andrew M. Cochran. The small tract of land originally purchased by James G. Cochran formed the nucleus of the magnificent farm of two hundred and fifty-seven acres developed by him during his life time, but at the time of his death, which occurred May 20, 1896, he had practically retired
from farming activities, and owned only twenty acres in section 9. which he then occupied. His wife passed away in 1883, having been the mother of four children: Andrew M., Malvina, Emery J. and Almena. The only one surviving is Andrew M. He received a district school education, and when he was nineteen years of age contracted for forty acres of farming land. During the year of his purchase he continued to work on the newly acquired land. but on February 29, 1864, he enlisted for service in the Union army during the Civil war, becoming a private in Company C, Third Michigan Cavalry, under Captain O. W. Rowland. After a brave and faithful service of two years, Mr. Cochran was honorably dis- charged on February 12, 1866, at San Antonio, Texas, and he im-
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mediately returned to the farm which he had purchased just prior to going to war. He added to his original purchase from time to time, and continued carrying on agricultural pursuits there, finally accumulating one hundred and sixty acres of fine farm land. In 1902 he went to North Dakota, where he filed on a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, the patent papers for which were signed by ex-president Roosevelt, and he remained in that state un- til 1908. when he returned to his Michigan home, although he still retains the ownership of the North Dakota property. In addition to engaging in general farming, Mr. Cochran is well and favorably known as a mechanic, showing a marked versatility in his accom- plishments and abilities. He has been; very successful in his efforts, and has earned a competency that insures his comfort in the even- ing of his life, and likewise assures the future welfare of his family. The family spends the summer months in a residence at Scott Lake, in Arlington township, owned by Mr. ; Cochran.
On January 6, 1867. Mr. Cochran was married to Miss Sophronia Beckler, a daughter of Peter and Selina ( Monroe) Beckler, natives of New York state, who came to Michigan in 1855 and settled in Arlington township. Mr. Beckler, who was a farmer all the years of his life, died here March 29, 1888. his wife having preceded him on April 27, 1875. They were the parents of six children : John. who died in infancy; Daniel, a resident of Detroit, Michigan : Wallace, a member of Captain Rowland's Company C, Third Michi- gan Cavalry, the same company in which Mr. Cochran served, was captured by the Confederates in November, 1863. and died in Andersonville prison in August, 1864; Helen, who is deceased ; Marinda, the wife of George Wilmot, of Grand Rapids, Michigan ; and Sophronia, who became the wife of Mr. Cochran. Mr. and Mrs. Cochran were the parents of four children: Myron Wallace. living in Alberta, Canada ; Fannie Alida. a graduate of the Deaf Mute College at Flint, Michigan, she having lost her hearing as a result of a protracted illness, and she is the wife of Claude Carle- ton, who is a graduate of the same institution; Sarah Selina, who died in infancy, and George Levi. who lives on the old homestead in Arlington township.
In political matters Mr. Cochran takes an independent stand, voting rather for the man than the party, and using his own judg- ment as to whom he deems best to fill the office in question. His popularity among the citizens of his community and the confidence and esteem in which he is held have been demonstrated by his elec- tion to various township offices. Mr. Cochran is a popular comrade of the A. Lincoln post of the G. A. R. and the Masonic fraternity, and he and his wife are attendants of the Methodist church.
JOHN ROBBINS was born in Cornwall, England, July 16, 1832, a son of Abraham and Mary (Johns) Robbins, both of English birth and ancestry. At Cornwall he passed his boyhood days and grew to manhood. and on reaching his majority he left the old home and came to America. Van Buren county, Michigan, was his objective point, and this has since been his abiding place. In 1864 he took up his residence on the farm on which he now lives, one hundred
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and twenty acres in section 27. All the improvements on this farm have been placed here by him. He has carried on general farming and stock raising, with a fair degree of success, and now in his declining years is pleased to see the work prosperously con- tinued by his son.
Mr. Robbins has been twice married. His first marriage, in 1862, was to Jane Martin, whose death occurred May 6, 1884. By her he had four children: Abraham, born February 14, 1864; Fred- erick, July 10, 1871; William, who died in infancy; and Emily Jane, who was born August 28, 1872, and died November 11, 1876. In March, 1885, Mr. Robbins wedded Homera Ackley, daughter of Whitfield and Mary (Chambers) Ackley, the former a native of New York, the latter of Pennsylvania. She is the youngest of a family of eight children and the only one now living. By his present wife Mr. Robbins has one son, John D., who resides on the old homestead with his parents.
John D. Robbins, on February 10, 1908, was united in marriage with Miss Frances Grant, daughter of Rolland B. and Elsie (Cheever) Grant, both natives of Illinois. They have one child, Louis Grant Robbins, born August 26, 1908.
Mr. Robbins and his son support the Republican ticket, and the family are identified with the Baptist church.
FRANCIS MARTIN, one of the well-known farmers of Arlington township, Van Buren county, Michigan, whose post office address is Bangor, R .; R. No. 5, is credited with having cleared more land in this township than any other citizen.
Mr. Martin is a native of New York state. He was born in St. Lawrence county, November 20, 1845, a son of William and Mary (Cady) Martin, the former of Irish birth and the latter a native of New York. The Martins made their home in the Empire state until Francis was a lad of ten years, when, in September, 1855, they came west to Michigan and settled in Arlington township, Van Buren county, where the father bought two hundred and one acres of timber land .: A few years later he sold this land, and his death occurred at about the age of seventy-three years. In the fall of 1859 the mother accompanied by her son, went to Chicago to live .:
In September, 1864, at Chicago, young Martin enlisted in Com- pany A, First Illinois Light Artillery, and went to the front, where he served faithfully until his honorable discharge, July 10, 1865. In the engagement at Atlanta his company lost all its com- manding officers, and four of its guns were carried away by the enemy.
Returning to Chicago at the close of the war, he remained in that city a short time, and from there went to Grand Rapids, Michi- gan, from whence a year later he came back to the scenes of his early boyhood in Arlington township, Van Buren county. His first land purchase here was eighty acres, heavily timbered. He cleared this tract and made his home on it until March, 1899, when he sold out and bought the eighty acres in section 14 where he now lives. In the meantime he bought and cleared and sold many other
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tracts of land. He carries on general farming and stock raising, and has for years given considerable attention to the raising of fruit, in which he has been very successful.
Mr. Martin has been twice married. His first wife, whose maiden name was Hila Delong and whom he wedded August 2, 1868, died in 1884. Of her five children, Charles, Lafayette and Bert are deceased, and Adelbert and Hattie are both settled in Arlington township, Hattie being the wife of George Cargo. On September 14, 1888, Mr. Martin married Miss Carrie M. Crawford, daughter of Lester and Mary Crawford, both natives of Indiana but now residents of Arlington township. The children of this marriage are as follows: Manley, of Arlington township; Mrs. Mary Jane Hurlbert, of Glittenberg; Berl, at home; Cora, wife of Carl Hurl- bert, of Arlington township; Clayton Cleo, and Irving and Irwin twins, but Irying died at the age of six months and two days.
While not a politician, Mr. Martin has always been a conscien- tious voter, casting his franchise with the Republicans, and he has served efficiently in such local offices as highway commissioner and drain assessor. His religious faith is that of the Baptist church.
GEORGE A. CARGO, whose farm home is located on the line of Rural Route No. 4, Bangor, Michigan, is a Canadian by birth and of Scotch-Irish descent. He was born October 10, 1840, a son of James and Ann (Montgomery ) Cargo, both natives of the "Emer- ald Isle" and of Scotch ancestry. His parents passed the greater part of their lives and died in Canada, the father's death having occurred May 17, 1856, the mother's September 13, 1865. In their family were eight children, of whom four are deceased. George A. is the eldest of those living and is the only one in the United States, the others, Mary Ann, Henry and Charles, being residents of Canada.
At the early age of ten years George A. Cargo found employ- ment on a farm, and in this way worked his way while he went to school. In 1864 he took to himself a wife and that same year they came to Michigan to live. And here, by honest, earnest effort and careful management, he has acquired a comfortable home. It was in 1888 that he bought the forty acres of land in section 2, Arling- ton township, Van Buren county, where he lives and which he has cleared and improved.
On November 8. 1864, in Canada. George A. Cargo and Miss Emily Maguire were united in marriage, and of the children given to them the three eldest, Eliza, Mary Ann and Sarah Jane, are de- ceased; James A. is a resident of Harbor Springs, Michigan ; Will- iam George, of Arlington, Michigan; Hugh, of Wheaton, Illinois ; and Emma of Bangor, Michigan, Frederick, at home, is engaged in teaching school, and the youngest, Charles, is deceased.
Mr. Cargo has always been interested in the maintenance of good schools in his locality, and he has served his district as school mod- erator. At the polls he votes for the man rather than the party, and is known as an Independent. His religious creed is that of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he and wife are consistent members.
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JAMES EAGAN, proprietor of Stony Brook Farm, Arlington town- ship, on Rural Route No. 2, Van Buren county, Michigan, is one of the prosperous and highly respected farmers of the county.
Mr. Eagan was born in Clyde, New York, June 17, 1852, a son of Dennis and Ann (Nevill) Egan, both natives of Ireland. His parents spent several years in New York state, and moved from there in 1856 to Michigan, here making settlement in Keeler town- ship, Van Buren county, where the father bought forty acres of land and carried on farming the rest of his life. Both parents are deceased. Of their family James is the eldest; Dennis is a resident of Hartford, Michigan; and Thomas, Annie, Jennie and Luke are all residents of Watervliet, Van Buren county, Annie being the wife of John Burk.
From the age of seventeen James Eagan has followed farming as a livelihood. In 1881 he bought fifty-five acres of land in Law- rence township. Three years later he sold this tract and then bought a farm in section 35, Arlington township, to which he sub- sequently added by the purchase of an adjoining tract, and now his place comprises one hundred and twelve acres, and is known as Stony Brook Farm. To both general farming and stock raising he gives his attention, and his well directed efforts have been rewarded with a fair degree of success.
On October 17, 1876, Mr. Eagan was united in marriage with Miss Mary Finley, daughter of Patrick and Bridget (Keeley) Fin- ley, and the eldest of their family of eight children, the others in order of birth being as follows: Edward, of Hartford; Jane Eliza- beth, the deceased wife of Eugene Westcott, of Bangor; John, of Silver Creek; Henry, of Grand Rapids, Minnesota; Ella, wife of Henry Metras, of Washington; William, of Hartford; and Lewis, also of Hartford-all but Henry living in Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Eagan have five children: Frank and Robert, both of Hartford, Michigan ; Anna, wife of Charles W. Hilliard, Jr., of Baraboo, Wis- consin ; and Jennie and Ella, at home. Mr. and Mrs. Hilliard have two children : Gordon Eagan, born October 2, 1905, and Jean Eliza- beth, May 31, 1911.
Mr. Eagan and his family are devout members of the Catholic church ; fraternally he is identified with the Maccabees and politi- cally he classes himself with the Independents, preferring to vote for the man rather than the party.
NELSON LADUKE .- Many of the leading farmers of Van Buren county are men who have made their own way in the world, start- ing as poor boys, with no advantages, and overcoming obstacles through the force of their own ambition and perseverance. One of these self-made men is Nelson Laduke, one of the most prominent farmers and large landowners of Arlington township, who is culti- vating the soil on a tract of four hundred and forty-seven acres situated in Arlington township. Mr. Laduke is a native of On- tario, Canada, and was born in December, 1850, a son of Belinee and Margaret (Leroy) Laduke, both born in Canada, where Bel- inee Laduke was a farmer all of his life. He and his wife had eleven children, as follows: Joseph, who is deceased; Margaret, the
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widow of William McCormick, a resident of the Province of On- tario, Canada ; William, Henry, Eveline and Archie, all of whom are deceased; John, living in Mecosta county, Michigan; Agnes, the widow of Mr. Parent, of Montreal, Canada; Charles, living in Arkansas; Nelson; and Simon, who when last heard from was a resident of California.
Nelson Laduke received only limited educational advantages, and was but twelve years of age when he started to make his own way in the world. Farming occupied his attention for three years, and he then went to Muskegon, Michigan, and for a few months was employed as a sawmill hand. He then went to Big Rapids, Michigan, where for a time he was employed in the lumber woods, but eventually entered the services of a shoe merchant of Big Rap- ids, and he continued in faithful service with this business man for a period covering twenty-two years, nine months and three days. This long term of employment with one man illustrates Mr. Laduke's persistence, faithfulness to trust and competency. Dur- ing his years of work as a shoe salesman he had carefully saved his wages, and in 1890, believing that he could better himself, he pur- chased a tract of one hundred and forty acres in section 34, Ar- lington township, and also invested in a threshing outfit. He at once settled down to farming and stock raising and operated his threshing machine during seasons among the farmers of his and surrounding townships, and from time to time added to his land until he is now the owner of four hundred and forty-seven acres of excellent land. Hard and earnest labor has always been Mr. La- duke's slogan. Nothing, he believes, was ever accomplished by the sluggard, and it has ever been his ambition to accomplish something that would make his influence felt in the community in which he resides. That he has succeeded in doing this is a fact which will be unassailed, for when a man has developed as much land and made it into smiling, prosperous, abundantly-yielding soil as has Mr. Laduke it is queer if his influence would be otherwise than a strong one. His farming activities have taken so much of his atten- tion that he has not had time to engage in public life, but he has been a stanch Democrat and always supports the principles of that party. He is a well known member of the United Brotherhood, and he and his family attend the Catholic church.
On November 4, 1882, Mr. Laduke was married to Julia Donovan, daughter of John and Mary (Toomey) Donovan, natives of the Emerald Isle, both of whom are now deceased. Mrs. Laduke was the seventh in order of birth in a family of ten children, her broth- ers and sisters being: Andrew, living in Bangor township; Ella, who died in infancy; Bartholomew, living in Arlington; Mary, Margaret and John, who are deceased; Nora, the wife of J. Dono- van, of Arlington ; Josephine, the wife of John Dougherty, of Hart- ford; and Lawrence, who lives in Arlington.
Mr. and Mrs. Laduke have had a family of six children: Law- rence, who resides at home and assists his father; Josephine, the wife of Emerson Reese, of Marion, Indiana; Joseph, who is de- ceased; Leo, who is engaged in teaching in the Oregon Manual
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Training School; Marie, who is a teacher in the Dowagiac, Michi- gan, schools; and John A., who lives at home.
JOSEPHUS S. HOVER, whose post office address is Bangor, Michi- gan R. F. D. No. 4, and who has a fine farm of one hundred acres in extent in section 4, Arlington township, Van Buren county, fig- ures as one of the representative citizens of his community.
Mr. Hover is a native of Indiana. He was born in Laporte county, that state, February 28, 1859, a son of Isaiah and Jemima (Harbaugh) Hover, both natives of Ohio. Isaiah Hover has been a farmer all his life. He and his wife moved to Indiana from Ohio, and in the "Hoosier State" made their home for a number of years. During the Civil war he enlisted in the Union army and went to the front as a member of an Indiana regiment, the for- tunes of which he shared for three years. At the expiration of his term of enlistment he was honorably discharged, after which he re-enlisted and served about thirty days longer, until the war ended. During his army life he was captured by the enemy and for a time was incarcerated in Andersonville prison. He is now a resident of Wisconsin, but previous to going there made his home for two years in Michigan. He and his wife are the parents of five children, namely : Josephus S .; Hiram J., of Wisconsin; How- ard, also of Wisconsin ; Frank, of Niles, Michigan; and Homer, of Wisconsin.
J. S. Hover attended public school and worked on the home farm until he was eighteen years of age, when he began work at the car- penter's trade, which he has followed off and on ever since, in con- nection with which he has done considerable contracting. Mean- while he has invested in land, buying a little at a time until he now has one hundred acres in Arlington township, Van Buren county, where he resides with his family.
Mr. Hover married, February 26, 1882, Miss Phoebe Jane Hol- loway, daughter of Levi and Harriet (Magher) Holloway, and to them have been given ten children, whose names in order of birth are as follows: Clarence, general superintendent of a building and construction company of Phoenix, Arizona ; Florence, wife of Linn Hutchins, of Arlington township; Claude, also of this township : Jay, bookkeeper for the Michigan Central Railroad Company, at Kalamazoo, and Carl, Alice, Bernice, Opal and Muriel, all at home. The ninth child, Manfred, died at the age of two years.
Mr. Hover votes the Republican ticket, and has served his town- ship as school director. He is fraternally identified with both the Odd Fellows and the Maccabees orders.
MILES MONROE, whose post office address is Rural Route No. 5. Bangor, Michigan, and who has been identified with the old Mon- roe homestead for a period of fifty-five years, is one of the highly respected citizens of this locality.
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