A history of Van Buren County, Michigan a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests Volume II, Part 55

Author: Rowland, O. W. (Oran W.), 1839-
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 586


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 55


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67


WESLEY N. LONGCOR .- Starting out in life, in the effort to work himself up in the world, as a soldier in the defense of the Union near the close of the Civil war, and thus laying on the altar of his country as a votive gift of patriotism all the energies of his late youth and dawning manhood, Wesley N. Longcor, of Porter township, Van Buren county, Michigan, began his career in a way that was highly creditable to him and gave assurance of the true mettle of his spirit ; and since the close of the great conflic!, of which he saw only the expiring agonies, devoting himself to earnest work in the still greater field of productiveness in peace- ful pursuits, with profit to himself and benefit to the community around him, he has amply redeemed that promise and kept up the standard of his own usefulness and the sterling worth of the citizenship amid which he was reared.


Mr. Longcor has passed the whole of his life to the present time (1911), except the term of his military service, among the scenes and associations which now surround him. He was born in Porter township, this county, on September 12, 1844, and here he grew to manhood and obtained his education. Here also he acquired a knowledge of the trade at which he worked for a time and of the duties in which he is now engaged. He is a son of Dean and Caroline (Finch) Longcor, natives of the state of New York, who came to Michigan in 1843 and took up their residence in Porter township.


For some time after his arrival in this county the father worked at his trade as a carpenter, then yielded to the presiding genius of the region and turned farmer. He bought one hundred and twenty acres of land, all of which he cultivated for a few years, then sold forty, retaining eighty for his own use, and on this he passed the remainder of his days, dying in 1880. The mother lived twenty years longer, passing away in 1900. Five children were born of their union, Wesley being the third in the order of birth, and three of them are now living, Wesley and his brothers James and Alonzo. Their two sisters, Sarah and Mary, have been dead several years. James resides in Portage township, Kalamazoo county, and Alonzo in Fremont, Newago county, this state.


Wesley N. Longcor attended the district school near his home during boyhood and early youth, and assisted his father at the carpenter's trade and on the farm as soon as he was old enough. By this means he gained a knowledge of the trade, and after leaving school worked at it about one year. In February, 1865, he enlisted in Company H. Twelfth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Joseph I. Follett. The war was drawing to a close, and he did not see much active service, although he remained in


1059


HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY


the army about thirteen months, being discharged at Camden, Arkansas, in March, 1866, and mustered out at Jackson, Michigan.


He at once returned to his Van Buren county home and gave his attention to farming. In 1875 he bought eighty acres of land in Porter township, but soon afterward sold this tract and purchased the parental homestead, which was then a tract of eighty acres. On this farm he has dwelt ever since, and here he has experienced many of the blessings and some of the deepest sorrows of his life. From this farm he buried his father and mother, and on this farm he has won success and substance in a worldly way and con- sequence and esteem among the people as a citizen. He is engaged in general farming, and manages his operations with such judg- ment and skill that he has an excellent reputation as a farmer, and his place and its productiveness prove that he deserves his standing as such.


On September 17, 1870, Mr. Longcor married with Miss Eliza- beth Castner, a daughter of George R. and Julia (Baker) Castner, natives of New York state, who came to Michigan in 1863, and here reared to maturity five of their eight children, four of whom are now living: James, who dwells in Porter township, this county ; George R., Jr., who is a resident of Hood River, Oregon; Mrs. Longcor, the sixth in the order of birth; and Wesley, also a resident of Porter township. The other children of the household were John, who gave his life in defense of the Union and died amid the horrors of the Confederate military prison at Anderson- ville; and Sophia, Amanda and Julia. Mr. and Mrs. Longcor have had four children: Cora, who is the wife of Fred B. King of Albion, Michigan; Herman, who died in childhood; Fermer, who is the wife of W. J. Alley, of Clare county, Michigan; and Caro- line, the wife of Gaines M. Finch, who is living at home with her parents. The father is warmly attached to the Republican party in political affairs and gives it his ardent support in all its cam- paigns. He has commended himself to its leaders and its rank and file by his zeal and loyalty and the value of his services, and to the people generally by his ability and progressiveness, and he has been called to administrative duties as township treasurer for a term of two years and as school director for many more. Fra- ternally he is allied with the Grand Army of the Republic. His interest in that organization is cordial, and his hand is ever open for its service.


GEORGE TURNER .- Owning and cultivating the farm in Porter township, this county, on which he was born on January 24, 1859, and on which he became an orphan at the age of six months by the death of his father; having lived in the neighborhood of that farm all his life to this time (1911), and on it since 1880, and having also prospered and grown strong in wordly wealth and the regard and good will of the people around him by his opera- tion of it and his fidelity to the interests of the locality, George Turner's course in life has been like that of the skylark, which aspires to "soar but never roam, true to the kindred points of Heaven and home."


1060


HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY


Mr. Turner is the son and only child of John and Margery (Hayne) Turner, natives of Cornwall, England, who came to the United States and Michigan in 1857, and lived in Detroit nearly two years, then moved to Van Buren county, where the father bought eighty acres of land in Porter township. He died in July, 1859, and the mother some time afterward married again, uniting herself with George Weldin, of Lawton, in these nuptials. A sketch of John Merritt Weldin, her son by her second marriage, will be found in this volume. Her life ended in 1885.


George Turner remained with his mother until he reached the age of twenty-one, when he inherited his father's farm and at once took charge of it. He soon afterward doubled its size by purchasing an additional eighty acres, and he has ever since been industriously and profitably engaged in the skillful and progressive cultivation of the whole tract. Like many other studious and wide-awake farmers in the township, Mr. Turner has learned that his land is well adapted to grape-growing, and he has devoted a large portion of his farm to the culture of the vine, and by his in- telligent attention to the business he has built up a fine vineyard in which he produces grapes of superior quality in large quantities for extensive shipment to many parts of the country.


Mr. Turner was married on January 22, 1880, to Miss Ida Max- well, a daughter of John and Belle (Morehead) Maxwell and the fifth born of their seven children. They were natives and life- long residents of New York state. Mrs. Turner has two brothers and one sister living: Thomas, who is a resident of Antwerp township, this county; Ira, whose home is in Jackson, Michigan; and Belle, the wife of Henry Joslyn, of Genesee county, New York. The deceased children of the family were: William, Mary and Maggie. Seven children have been born also in the Turner household : John and Lewis, who are residents of the same town- ship as their father; and Homer, Margery, George, Jr., Oscar and Dea H., all of whom are still living at home with their par- ents. The father is a Republican in his political allegiance and has been active in the service of his party from the dawn of his manhood. The people have found him well fitted by intelligence and character for important public trusts, and have elected him successively justice of the peace, highway commissioner and school treasurer and director.


Mr. Turner's ideal of citizenship is a lofty one and it has led him to faithful service in every position he has held, and to great enterprise in behalf of the development and improvement of his township and county. He is always counted on for effective aid in behalf of any undertaking for the good of his community and its people, and is never found shirking any of his share of the work and responsibility involved. In reference to such matters his counsel is as wise as his action is vigorous and helpful. He is re- garded throughout the county as one of the best citizens it has.


JULIUS M. KERN .- Born and reared in this county, and in Porter township, where he now lives; educated in the schools of the town- ship, and during nearly the whole of his youth and manhood con-


1061


HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY


nected with its industrial activities in an energetic and helpful way; taking his place and doing his part in helping to conduct the public affairs of the locality, and through every avenue open to him manifesting his deep and abiding interest in the welfare of its people, Julius M. Kern has been closely connected with the history of his home region all his life to this time, and has shown himself to be one of its genuine products and true representatives.


Mr. Kern's life began on June 10, 1853, on the farm which he now occupies and cultivates with so much success, and he is a son of Manassa and Caroline (Harlan) Kern, the former a native of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, and the latter of Germany. The father came to Michigan about 1836, and resided several years in Detroit. While a resident there he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Porter township, and in 1846 came to the town- ship and settled on his land. By subsequent purchases he added to this until he became the owner of three hundred and twenty acres. His death occurred in 1892, after which the mother pur- chased 40 acres more. She died on June 21, 1909. Their offspring numbered six, of whom the second and fifth died in infancy, and the other four are living. They are: Frances, the widow of John W. Alexander, of Sterling, Illinois; Mary, who is living with her brother Julius on the home farm; Clara, the widow of Alfred Bay- liss, for a long time one of the professors in the University of Illinois, and the late president of the Normal School at Macomb in that state, who was killed by having his horse fall on him on the 26th of August, 1911; and Julius M., the last born of the family and the subject of this memoir.


The last named obtained a common school education, and some little time after leaving school engaged in the furniture business for three years at Marcellus in this county. But mercantile life of that kind was not to his taste, and after making the experiment in it noted above he gave up the enterprise and returned to the farm. His mother was still living, but he took charge of the farm, and he has ever since carried on its cultivation and the live stock business which he conducts in connection with his farming. He operates in both on a large scale, and, as he is studious and care- ful with reference to every detail in each, he has been very success- ful in both. His land has been made highly productive and is cul- tivated in a way to make it yield the largest possible returns for the attention and labor bestowed upon it, and the live stock in- dustry is a leader in its line in the township, where there are many men engaged in the business.


Mr. Kern has been married twice, and his two wives were sisters. The first was Miss Margia Young, with whom he was united on the 24th of December, 1877, and who died on June 6, 1881. She was a daughter of James and Mary (Hooper) Young, the father a native of Ohio and the mother of England, and the first born of their nine children. The others are: Mary, who has been dead some years; Fannie, the wife of James McManigal, of Marcellus, this county ; Sarah, the present wife of Mr. Kern; William, who resides in the state of Washington; Lizzie, who is the wife of Ed- ward Carpenter, of Schoolcraft, Michigan; Ellsworth, whose home Vol. 11-28


1062


HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY


is at Marcellus; Clarence, who lives in Lawton; and Edith, who is the wife of John Horton and has her home in Porter township, this county. By his first marriage Mr. Kern became the father of one child, his daughter Iva, who is now the wife of Rush Fellows, of Schoolcraft, Michigan. The second marriage of Mr. Kern, which was with Miss Sarah Young, a sister of his first wife, as has been stated, occurred on the 5th of October, 1884, and of this union the following children have been born: Lena, who married Ray Hur- ley and now lives in La Porte, Indiana; Cleta, the wife of Arthur Gillette, of Kalamazoo county in this state; Harlan, who married Madge Kellogg; Mildred and Clifford J., who are still living at home with their parents; and Clayton J., who died at the age of eleven months.


Mr. Kern is active in his citizenship and performs all its duties with intelligence and close attention to results. His political faith and allegiance are given to the Republican party, and he is one of the earnest workers for its success in his township. He has for some years been doing good work for the people as a justice of the peace, and his services in this capacity are highly appreciated. Fraternally he belongs to the Order of Gleaners, and is one of its energetic and forceful members in his locality. Throughout the county he is highly esteemed for his worth as a man, his useful- ness as a citizen and all the elements of high character, business capacity and genial nature which he embodies.


A. HAMILTON & SONS .- The firm A. Hamilton & Sons is widely known, and it is the proud privilege of Horace and William Ham- ilton not only to carry on the business which their father's en- terprise created and made to flourish, but to have received from him a heritage beyond price in the memory of his spotless and kindly life and the influence of his nobility of character.


Alexander Hamilton was the second son of James and Rebecca (Lawrence) Hamilton, both of whom belonged to prominent fam- ilies in Ireland and England, respectively, the former to the Scotch- Irish branch of the Hamilton family, of whom the Duke of Aber- corn is the head as far as titles and dignities are concerned, while the latter was the youngest daughter of Captain Richard Law- rence, related to the Lawrence-Townley-Widdrington families of England. Mr. Hamilton's grandfather above named was a United Empire Loyalist, which gave to him the same standing in Canada and England that our Revolutionary sires have in this country ; and the sons and daughters of the U. E. L. are as proud of their lineage as are the S. A. R. and D. A. R. of America.


James Hamilton, the father of Alexander, was born in county Tyrone, near Strabane, Ireland, and came to Canada in 1828. Shortly after immigrating he was married to Rebecca Lawrence. In Ireland he had been engaged in linen weaving, but imme- diately on coming to Canada took up farming and later went into the real estate business. He was successful in both these ventures, and might have become a wealthy man if he had not placed too much confidence in his friends and wrecked his own fortunes by going security for others. At his death there was nothing left


1063


HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY


for his wife and family of seven children, all of whom were under age.


It was in this crisis that Alexander Hamilton's sterling char- acter made itself evident. Though but eighteen years old, he as- sumed the care of the family and until the day of his death none of them ever went to him in vain for assistance of any sort. His devotion to his mother was particularly beautiful, and even when the others were able to contribute to her comfort he never yielded his privilege of being the first to bear burdens in her behalf; and this even when hard times often made it difficult to provide for his own family as he wished.


Mr. Hamilton was twenty-seven when he first came to Mich- igan in the spring of 1864, as he was born October 3, 1836, in Halton county, Ontario. Within a week of their arrival he and a friend (Lewis Williams) prepared to plant an orchard and nursery on a twenty-acre plot of ground where the city of Benton Harbor now stands; but the price of land rose with remarkable rapidity, going from eighty to two hundred and fifty dollars per acre in a few months. so Mr. Hamilton decided to sell here and look else- where for a home and a suitable place for his proposed industry.


In December, 1865, he went to Missouri, but not liking that coun- try soon returned to Michigan and in the spring of 1866 commenced in a small way the nursery and fruit growing business in western Allegan county. The demand for trees by local planters rapidly increased, and in order to supply his growing trade Mr. Hamilton established branch nurseries at Hart, Grand Rapids, Schoolcraft and Kent City. In 1896, to be near a good shipping point, he moved to Van Buren county and settled just outside the corpora- tion of Bangor. Here he developed the extensive business which was operated at the time of his death under the firm name of A. Hamilton & Sons. During the period of his business career Mr. Hamilton was instrumental in helping to organize the Saugatuck and Ganges Pomological Society and was also for years an active worker in the West Michigan Horticultural Society. He had early realized the possibilities of the fruit industry in his section of the state, and devoted himself to the development of the country, not merely to promote his own profit, but with the broad-minded in- tention of improving general conditions.


It was in 1866 that Mr. Hamilton made the acquaintance of the young lady who on May 26, 1868, became his wife. This was Miss Sophia C. Ensign, the daughter of a prosperous farmer liv- ing near Bryan, Ohio, and at whose home the wedding was cele- brated. The children of their union were Blanche A., Cecelia M., Alice R., Horace E. and William L., all of whom are living ex- cept Cecelia, who died in infancy.


It was Mr. Hamilton's privilege to successfully work out the plan of his life, but the competence he acquired for himself resulted in material prosperity for many others. It is a question, however, if even the impetus he gave to the valuable industry of fruit grow- ing in this region can compare with the good he did by merely being what he was; a man with absolute integrity of soul, in- domitable will, high courage and great patience, tempered by ten-


1064


HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY


derness and humor; a man who exemplified the Golden Rule and made his life one long "confession of faith."


Since Mr. Hamilton's death, which occurred October 11, 1910, the business of the nurseries has been carried on by his two sons, under the same firm name, Mrs. Hamilton now owning her hus- band's share. They cultivate two hundred and twenty-five acres of land on which are located, besides the nursery stock, extensive orchards and two substantial country homes, Mrs. Hamilton own- ing one and her sons the other, which is occupied by William L. and his family, consisting of a wife and one child, William K.


Horace E., the older son, more commonly known as Harry, has never married, and with his mother lives on the "old farm," his sister, Mrs. Blanche A. Robinson (widow of Albert G. Robinson), making her home with them, while the other sister, Mrs. M. J. Hunziker resides in Kent City, Michigan. Harry is a great worker in Grange circles, and also belongs to the Odd Fellows and other fraternal and social organizations. His inclination for work has always been along the same line as his father's, and, in fact, those who know best say the resemblance in character does not by any means end here. He was born in Saugatuck, Allegan county, Mich- igan, November 21, 1876, and acquired his education in the dis- trict school, supplemented later with study at the Ferris Institute, Big Rapids, the M. A. C. at Lansing and the Northern Indiana College at Valparaiso. When about twenty-four, arrangements were made whereby he became a business partner of his father's, and to him belongs a fair share of credit for the progress made by this company, as with advancing years and failing health Mr. Hamilton, Sr., relied more and more on the help of his son, espe- cially when it came to the growing and marketing of the nursery stock.


William L., the other member of the company, who was born in Ganges, Allegan county, Michigan, July 20, 1879, originally planned to follow (and has to a certain extent) another line of business, his ambition favoring a mechanical course in college. After graduating from the Bangor High School he continued study at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and later taught Manual Training for three years in the Chicago University, and one year in the Illinois State Normal School at De Kalb. About this time, however, the company, which was then A. Hamilton & Son, decided to offer William L. an interest in their growing business, which was accepted. More land was bought, more attention given to fruit raising (especially the apple) and the firm name again changed to include the new partner. William L. brought a great deal of enthusiasm into the orcharding proposition, and has patented several inventions, some with direct bearing on this por- tion of their business, and it looks as if both he and his brother were in every way fitted to carry on the work with credit and honor to the name of him who first planned and developed the interests of "The Peach Belt Nurseries" of A. Hamilton and Sons.


BERT GLEASON .- Actively engaged in general farming in Paw Paw township, Van Buren county, during the last seventeen years,


1065


HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY


and in fruit growing for a considerable portion of the time, Bert Gleason is one of the men who have given life, volume and a quick- ening spirit of progress to the agricultural industry of this por- tion of the state, and added a new phase of value to it in his spe- cialty of fruit production, which he conducts on an extensive scale and with very gratifying results, both in the quality of his products and the profits he derives from them.


Mr. Gleason is a son of William and Frances (Prater) Gleason, a sketch of whose lives will be found in this work, and was born in the township of his present residence on September 27, 1871. He obtained a district school education, and as soon as he left school began to devote himself to farming on the parental home- stead under the direction of his father, with whom he had been working in the same line from boyhood. When he reached the age of twenty-three he married, and then bought sixty acres of land adjoining his father's farm on the north. He has since added twenty acres by another purchase, and on this whole tract of eighty acres he carries on a vigorous industry in general farming, also raising and feeding some live stock for the general market, and driving each department of his business with all the force of an energetic spirit determined to win the best attainable results for himself and the country around him.


By study and experiment he discovered some years ago that his land was well adapted to fruit culture, and he at once embarked in that department of production. His orchards are now among the best and most prolific in the township, and he is an acknowl- edged authority on all matters connected with the production of fruit in this part of the country from the beginning to the end of the process.


On November 10, 1894, Mr. Gleason was married to Miss Jennie V. Sheldon, a daughter of Julio and Melissa E. (Church) Sheldon, whose life-story is briefly told elsewhere in this work. Five chil- dren have been born of the union, all of whom still add life and brightness to the parental family circle. They are: Duane, born December 8, 1900; Charles, born December 27, 1903; Marie, born June 13, 1906; Grace, born January 4, 1908; and Leslie, born July 23, 1909.


Mr. Gleason is a Democrat in politics and earnestly loyal in the support of his party in all campaigns. He has not sought or de- sired political preferment, however, his chief desire being to give his attention to his business without other cares and responsibil- ities to disturb him in that. But he is always warmly interested in the welfare of his township and county, and with a view to promoting that is serving as a school director. Fraternally he is chief gleaner of Gliddenburg Arbor of Gleaners, and in connection with his business, and his desire to promote it, is one of the directors of the Wildy Fruit Growers' Association of Paw Paw, and also president of the Farmers' Institute Society of Van Buren county. In church affiliation he is a Baptist. He is a square, straightforward man and an excellent citizen, and everybody who knows him respects him highly as such.




Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.