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 56
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LEON HIGH is a well-known figure in Decatur township, and one cannot think of him without at the same time calling to mind an enterprising farmer. Not only has he been engaged in agricul- tural pursuits his entire life, but his father was a farmer. The people of Van Buren county feel that they have a proprietary in- terest in Mr. High, as he was born here and spent most of his life here. He has gradually developed from being his father's son to a man who has made his own name, not being content to live on the reputation of his father, exalted though it was.
On the 9th day of July, 1871, the birth of Leon High occurred in Decatur township, Van Buren county. His father, Alfred High, who died January 10, 1903, was for many years a familiar fig- ure in this section of the country. The nativity of Alfred High took place in Wyandotte county, Ohio, May 14, 1842, and his par- ents, James and Matilda (Sargeant) High, were both natives of Pennsylvania. Alfred High was one of a family of ten children, whose names are as follows,-Jacob, deceased; Margaret (Mrs. Graves), residing in Chicago, Illinois; Hetty Ann, deceased; Wil- liam, deceased; Alfred; Lydia, deceased; Javanomus, living in California; Oliver, of Hartford, Michigan; and two babies who did not survive infancy. When Alfred High was twenty-one years of age he left the parental roof, and with no other capital than a horse he commenced his independent career. He gained em- ployment with a neighbor in Ohio, and for four years he was in the service of this farmer. At the expiration of that time Mr. High had saved nine hundred dollars, almost all his wages; he came to Michigan, bought fifty acres of land in section 33, De- catur township, and started to farm his own land. He later added eighty acres to his original purchase, and another tract of sixty- four acres, all in the neighborhood of Decatur. He did general farming and also raised stock. In 1866, on the 15th day of No- vember, Mr. High married Miss Mary Vought, one of the nine children of Abram and Mary (Cass) Vought, both natives of New York. The names of Mrs. High's brothers and sisters are,-James, John, Samuel, Thomas A. (all deceased), Francis, living in Mis- souri; Jeremiah, residing at Wolverine, Michigan; Philip, now in Kansas; and Clarena, who maintains her home in Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Alfred High had three sons, Leon, whose name initiates this biography; Charles and Burget, who reside in Cass county. Father High was a Democrat in his political views, was the in- cumbent of various offices in the township, and had a high reputa- tion for uprightness in the community. In a religious way he was a member of the Christian church, and was ever active in its work. It is eight years since this good man passed away, but his memory is still green, not only in the hearts of his family, but he is not forgotten by his fellow citizens.
Leon High gained his educational training at the Decatur school, and remained at home with his parents until he was twenty-four years of age; he then went to Cass county, where he farmed for a couple of years, at the termination of which time he returned to Van Buren county, settled on the eighty acre tract, in section 33, Decatur township, which his father had purchased soon after he
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came to Michigan, and there Leon High has remained, occupied in cultivating his land, and gaining for himself friends and reputa- tion.
In December, 1896, Mr. High married Miss Mary Roth, a daugh- ter of Michael and Anna B. Roth. Mr. and Mrs. Roth had seven children,-Joseph, Louis, Kate (Mrs. Clarence Haffner) and Maggie (married to William Andrews) all reside in Cass county, while John and Mary (Mrs. High) lived in Van Buren county. John still maintains his home there, but Mrs. High died February 14, 1911. She had two children,-Ellen, whose birth and death oc- curred on the fourth of July, 1906; and Allene, born October 31, 1903, who is at home with her father. He lives a quiet, simple life, interested in the activities of the Christian church, of which he is a deacon, in the fulfillment of his daily duties and in the intercourse with his friends and neighbors, who respect and es- teem him.
JOHN LYTLE .- Farming as an occupation is a profitable one if followed along scientific lines, but the work of the farmer today entails much study and not a little scientific training, in sharp contrast to the agricultural methods of several decades ago, when power machinery, crop rotation, tiling and other innovations were things unheard of. John Lytle, who is engaged in scientific farm- ing in Porter township, is a stanch adherent of modern treatment of the soil, and if the success which has rewarded his efforts is any criterion then, undoubtedly, the modern ideas are best. A native of Porter township, Mr. Lytle was born October 12, 1862, and is a son of D. W. C. and Mary J. ( Wilcox) Lytle.
D. W. C. Lytle was born in New York, and during the fifties came to Michigan, where he was engaged in farming during the remainder of his life. His death occurred June 22, 1894, and that of his wife, who was a native of Michigan, in March, 1904, and they were the parents of six children: Charles S., who is engaged in farming in Porter township; David, who owns farming land in Antwerp township; John; Wilber B., residing in the town of Lawton; Nancy V., who is the wife of W. B. Shafer, of Paw Paw; and Robert B. of Porter township.
John Lytle received a public school education and remained on the home farm until he was twenty-six years of age, at which time he began working out among the farmers of his neighborhood. In 1891 he purchased fifty acres of land in section 15, on which he was engaged in farming for twelve years, and he then went to Lawton and established himself in the implement business. After five years spent in a mercantile line Mr. Lytle decided that there was more of a future for him as an agriculturist, and he sub- sequently returned to farming in Porter township, an occupation which he has carried on with much success ever since. He now has one of the best improved farms in his part of the township, equipped with modern buildings and furnished with up-to-date machinery and equipment, and he is considered a good judge of all things agricultural.
On December 29, 1888, Mr. Lytle was married to Miss Stella A.
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Munroe, daughter of J. D. and Eliza Munroe, natives of Cayuga county, New York and Michigan, respectively. Mrs. Lytle was the eldest child of her parents, and her brothers and sisters follow : Mark P., living in Wisconsin ; Bertha, who is deceased; Carl, liv- ing in Los Angeles, California; Celia, the wife of Fred Bradley, of Tacoma, Washington; Viola, the wife of Frank Pierce, living in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Leon, a resident of Paw Paw; Myrtle, the wife of Ray Wheaton, of Paw Paw; and Pearl, who lives in Lincoln, Nebraska. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Lytle, namely : Lola, who is the wife of Arba Hawley, assistant postmaster of Paw Paw.
Mr. Lytle is a Republican in his political views, and although he has never been an office seeker he has served as constable and school inspector of Porter township. He is a member of the Masons, the Eastern Star and the Modern Woodmen, and with his family attends the Methodist Church. The family home is situated on Lawton Rural Route No. 2, and there the many friends of Mr. and Mrs. Lytle are always sure of a sincere and hearty welcome.
WILLIAM BEACH .- Southern Michigan was largely settled and opened to civilization by daring emigrants from the state of New York, and its population has been increased, as the years have passed, by thousands of new arrivals from that state. The restless energy of its people drove many beyond its borders in search of new conquests in the farther wilderness, even long before its own western wilds were tamed to the service of civilized man, and the tide of the conquering host, having once set in this direction, has continued ever since. Thus while increasing multitudes were peopling its own domain many of its more adventurous spirits were creating a new state of magnificent proportions and almost bound- less resources to shine, a star of the first magnitude, in the galaxy of American commonwealths. What the founders started their followers have continued, and what Michigan is today they, and others like them from other states, have made it.
William Beach, one of the enterprising and progressive farmers of Porter township, Van Buren county, modest and unpretentious as he is, is one of the contributions of New York to the forces that have developed, built up and so highly improved the Wolverine state. He was born in Monroe county, New York, on October 31, 1839, and is a son of Spencer and Sally Jane (Dusenbury) Beach, also natives of that state, and the first born of their twelve chil- dren, eight of whom are living, the other seven being: James, a resident of Oregon; Albert, whose home is in Arkansas; Harriet, the wife of William Farman; Jane, the wife of Charles Hooper; Molly, the wife of Peter Barker; Frank, who lives in Waverly township; Harriet, Jane and Molly live in Porter township; and Levi, Ella, Charles and Timothy, the other children of the house- hold, have died.
William Beach came to Michigan in 1852 and bought sixty acres of wild land, which he cleared, improved with good build- ings and brought to some considerable degree of productiveness in the twenty years during which he owned and worked on it.
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At the end of that time he sold it and moved to Nebraska. There he bought one hundred and sixty acres of unimproved expanse, and this he soon afterward traded for forty acres under cultiva- tion in Porter township, this county, which is a part of the farm he now owns and tills. He has one hundred and twenty acres at this time, however, having added eighty acres to his original forty by a subsequent purchase. He does general farming and makes a specialty of fruit, which he produces in fine quality and consider- able quantities, having established in many of the leading mar- kets of the country a high reputation for the excellence of his products in this line.
On October 31, 1876, Mr. Beach united himself with Miss Mary E. Bentley in marriage. She is a native of Almena township, Van Buren county, and a daughter of William Augustus and Emma (Taylor) Bentley, natives of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire, England. Both were reared in their native land and came to America, she at the age of seventeen and he when about twenty- one. Mr. and Mrs. Beach have reared five children, and all of them are living. They are: Sherman, a prosperous farmer and live stock man; Edward, who is a general farmer; Grace, the wife of Claude Reynolds; Ray Walter, who is now managing his father's farm; and Isa, the wife of Roy Sage, of Waverly. They are all residents of this county, and all valuable additions to its citizenship and industrial forces.
Mr. Beach, the father, is a stanch and zealous working Repub- lican in his political activity. He has sought no prominence in his party or the official life of the township or county, but has held several local offices at the solicitation of the people, has filled them greatly to the advantage of the township. Fraternally he has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for many years, and in church relations he is a Methodist. His in- terest in his lodge and his church has always been earnest, and has carried with it a cheerful readiness to render either any serv- ice in his power at any time.
RAY WALTER BEACH, the fourth child and youngest son of Wil- liam and Mary E. (Bentley) Beach, was born on April 7, 1885. IIe was reared on his father's farm and educated in the district school in its vicinity. Since leaving school he has worked on the farm, and during the last few years has had charge of it. While he cultivates it under the direction of his father, he makes a study of his business and shows a commendable spirit of pro- gressiveness in his operations. He is a young man of good social qualities, earnestly interested in the progress and development of his township, attentive to his duties as a citizen, and the people esteem him highly as one of their most estimable and promising citizens.
He was married on November 25, 1904, to Miss Minnie Sherburn, and by this union became the father of two children: Deo, who was born on October 12, 1905, and died in August, 1906; and Eva, whose life began on December 24, 1907, and ended in January, 1908. Like his father, Mr. Beach is a Republican in his political
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faith, and he is also earnest and energetic in the service of his party. He takes a cordial interest in all efforts made for the progress and improvement of his locality, and never withholds his active and practical aid from any that he deems worthy.
REV. JAMES HENRY HAMMOND .- In March, 1910, in Van Buren county, Michigan, the inevitable shaft of death ended the life of one of the most highly esteemed and widely known men of our time, not only in this county but in many places in several of the other great states of the American Union. This was the late Rev. James Henry Hammond, at one time state evangelist of Mich- igan for the Christian church, to which he devoted his energies during the greater part of his highly commendable and extensively useful life. His services to humanity and in behalf of the bet- terment of mankind were not, however, confined to this state, nor to the Christian ministry. On many fields of action and in many parts of the country he was in the front rank in the performance of duty, and in the benefits he conferred on his fellow men.
New York, the state of his birth; Kentucky, from one of whose theological institutions he was graduated as a preacher of the gospel; and Iowa and Illinois, in each of which he held pastorates at various times, knew him well, esteemed him highly in life and now venerate his memory. Lines of light and hope and comfort for the sons of men radiated from his progress in every path of duty and made life better and happier for all on whom they rested, no matter whether they were of his faith and sect or not.
Mr. Hammond was born in Greene county, New York, on April 1, 1847. He was of English ancestry, his grandfather, Jonathan Hammond, having come to America from England and settled in eastern New York. There his son Nathaniel, father of James Henry, was born on October 15, 1815. He followed the cabinet maker's trade, and in early life wedded Miss Caroline Sears, also a native of the Empire state. He died at the early age of forty- one, in 1856, when his son James Henry was only nine years old. After his death the mother removed to Delaware county, New York, and there her life ended in 1883.
James Henry Hammond received a common school education, and on February 8, 1864, when he was but seventeen years of age, he enlisted in Company M, Fifteenth New York Heavy Artillery, for defense of the Union during our Civil war. He remained in the army until after the close of the terrible and sanguinary con- flict, and was honorably discharged on August 22, 1865. When his regiment was enlisted, although the Confederacy was manifestly approaching its end, some of the hardest fighting of the war re- mained yet to be done, and he did not escape a serious mark of its fury. The regiment was sent to join General Grant in his pend- ing campaign, and was consequently in the thickest of the fray. In the capture of the Weldon Railroad, on August 18, 1864, he was injured by a minie ball, which passed through his right side. He was then sent to the hospital at City Point, Virginia, and after- ward to Lincoln Hospital in Washington. There the surgeon who attended his wound said that if the ball had been one-sixteenth
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of an inch farther in it would have caused his death. As it was, he never fully recovered from the wound. But while it caused him suffering at times, he was proud of having received it, always re- garding it as a mark of honorable distinction.
After the close of the war and his release from the army, Mr. Hammond resumed his educational course, entering Stamford Semi- nary to prepare himself for useful work as a teacher. He followed this profession for a number of years in various places, with a trend toward the West. For awhile he lived in Ogle county, Illi- nois, and later he taught school in Rock Island county in that state. While residing in the latter place he united with the Chris- tian church, and his religious zeal soon became such that he re- solved to devote the remainder of his life to the Christian ministry.
With this object in view he pursued a course of instruction in theology in the Bible College connected with the State University at Lexington, Kentucky, a school conducted under the auspices of the Christian church. His course in this institution was inter- rupted by his acceptance of a call to the pastorate of the Chris- tian church in Dubuque, Iowa, which he occupied for one year. He then returned to the college, and was graduated from it, with the second honors of his class, on June 14, 1877.
After his graduation his active work began, and it never ceased, even for a short period, until failing health compelled him to give it up. His first call was to Midway, Kentucky, where he re- mained a year. From there he went to Pompey Hill, New York, and after a term of appreciated service in that place, again turned his face in the direction of the setting sun and came to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Here he remained four years, then went to Painesville, Ohio, for one year, at the end of which he accepted the position of state evangelist of Michigan for his denomination. It was while occupying this position that he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Grace Anderson, the nuptials being solemnized on January 1, 1883.
Mrs. Hammond was born in Van Buren county, Michigan, a daughter of Le Grand Redmond and Susanna ( Morris) Anderson. Her paternal grandfather, Le Grand Anderson, was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on February 11, 1795, and was a son of Cornelius and Anna (Redmond) Anderson, the former a native of England and the latter of France. They were the parents of seven children : Catherine, who became the wife of John Gassaway, of Chillicothe, Ohio; Miriam, who became the wife of Elijah An- derson, of Dayton, Ohio; Anna, who married with Cornelius Simp- son, of Winchester, Virginia; Mary, who died unmarried; Phebe, who became the wife of George McCormick, of Woodward county, Virginia; Cornelius, who first wedded Miss Sarah Thompson, and following her demise was united in a second marriage with Miss Mary Wright. He was again bereft of his companion and married for the third time, choosing on this occasion Mrs. Margaret (John- son) Charles, a cousin of the wife of John Quincy Adams. The seventh child of this household was Le Grand Anderson, the grand- father of Mrs. Hammond. Cornelius Anderson immigrated with his family from Virginia to Ohio about 1810. Sometime before
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leaving his native state he had bought from a slave ship two col- ored men and a woman, whom he owned for two or three years and found to be good, faithful workers. But when he was ready to leave Virginia he felt it would not be right to take these into a free state. So he found them good homes with families in Virginia and gave them their freedom, and felt great satisfaction in doing it.
Le Grand Anderson received his early education in Virginia, and was about fifteen years of age when he removed with his par- ents to Pikewold Prairie, Ross county, Ohio. He enlisted for serv- ice in the second war with Great Britain, in 1812, and remained in the army until the close of the war. Then, in common with his comrades in the service, he was offered land grants by the gov- ernment. These, however, he refused, saying his services had been given to his country through patriotism and not through any de- sire for reward. After the close of the war he returned to Ohio, and on February 18, 1817, he was united in marriage with Miss Catherine Shaw, a daughter of William and Lydia (Baughman) Shaw. She was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on October 3, 1795, and was taken to Ross county, Ohio, by her parents about the time of the migration of the Anderson family to that locality. Her parents were Quakers, while her husband was of the Baptist faith, and had entered the ministry of that denomination. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Le Grand Anderson ten children were born. Their names and order of birth were as follows: Cornelius, Anna Lydia, William, Mary, George R., John, Eliza, Harriet, Le Grand R., the father of Mrs. Hammond, and Jane. They have all died but Mary, who is the widow of the late Benjamin A. Murdock, of Paw Paw, and Jane, who is the wife of a Mr. Dewey, also a resi- dent of Van Buren county.
As his family increased Mr. Anderson felt the need of acquiring larger holdings of land in order to provide for his children, and to the end of securing the same he made three trips into the. West on tours of investigation, his first "trip being to the vicinity of what was then Fort Dearborn, but is now Chicago. On this trip, which was made on horseback, he was accompanied by Martin Baer, one of his neighbors in Ohio. His next trip was to Missouri. But he evidently did not find that country to his liking, for the next year he made a third trip, this time coming to Young's Prairie, Michigan, and from there to Prairie Ronde, in 1823. Here he bought land from the government, and from this time on he would come to that part of Michigan every year, accompanied by a hired man, put in a crop, and return to Ohio for the winter. He fol- lowed this practice until 1832, when, having built a comfortable residence and other necessary improvements on his land, and with his granaries well stocked from the crops of previous years, he brought his family from Ohio to Michigan as their future home. He passed the remainder of his days in this Michigan home, where his life ended on July 31, 1869, twenty-six years after the death of his wife, which occurred on September 8, 1843.
Le Grand Redmond Anderson was married at an early age, on February 26, 1860, to Miss Susanna Morris, and by this union be- came the father of three children : Mary Grace, the widow of Rev.
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Mr. Hammond; Clara S., the widow of Rev. James H. Rennie, a sketch of whose life will be found in this volume; and Le Grand, who died at the age of nine years. Rev. James Henry and Mrs. Ham- mond were the parents of three children : Mary Grace, whose birth occurred on February 27, 1887, and who is now the wife of Orville Abbott, of Porter township, this county; Clara Susanne, who was born on January 21, 1889, and is now the wife of Herbert Abbott, also a resident of Porter township; and Le Grand Anderson Ham- mond, whose life began on April 6, 1891, and who is now a student at the university in Notre Dame, Indiana, preparing for the legal profession. The two daughters are graduates of the State Normal University at Kalamazoo, Michigan, and also attended Lake Erie College, of Painesville, near Cleveland. Ohio.
Soon after his marriage Mr. Hammond filled the pulpit of the Christian church at Bangor for several months and held a num- ber of revival meetings. He then accepted the pastorate of the church at South Bend, Indiana, where he remained about two years. From there he went to Mount Ayr, Iowa, and there he preached the gospel and performed excellent and appreciated pastoral serv- ices for one year. In July, 1890, he was called to fill the pulpit of the church at Decatur, this county, a new organization with about one hundred members. He labored zealously in his efforts to win souls to Christ, and was successful in building up a strong congregation. In later years, however, his health failed, so that for some time prior to his death he lived retired.
BYRON M. POORMAN .- This progressive, enterprising and pros- perous farmer and live stock man, although not a native of Van Buren county, has lived within its boundaries and taken part in its industrial life for thirteen years, and mingled with the peo- ple of the locality in which he resides from his childhood. He is. therefore, not lacking in knowledge of the needs of his township or the desires and aspirations of its people, and he has been so closely associated with them that he is practically one of them in spirit and community of feeling, as well as in effort for the advance- ment and improvement of the country around him in his present ahiding place.
Mr. Poorman was born in the adjoining county of Cass on July 11, 1875, his parents, John and Maria Theresa (Carpenter) Poor- man, being at that time residents of that county. The father was born and reared in Pennsylvania and the mother in this state. When he attained his majority and had the world to choose from for a place in which to employ his energies for his advancement in life, the father came to Michigan and located in St. Joseph county. There he bought eighty acres of land, which he lived on and cultivated for some years. He then moved to Cass county. where he passed the remainder of his days, dying in August, 1895. The mother is still living and has her home in Marcellus, Cass county.
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