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 63
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Her son Phineas remained at home until he reached the age of twenty-one but, as has been stated, began making his own living when he was ten. He had very limited opportunities for schooling, and the greater part of his training for the struggle among men
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for advancement has come from the harsh but thorough school of experience, and many of its lessons have been difficult, while its discipline has always been severe. But while its rod of stimulus at times seemed merciless, he never winced under the pain to an extent that deprived him of his nerve or abated his efforts for progress.
On January 1, 1877, when he was twenty-four years old, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Longcor, who abode with him only ten years, three months and fifteen days, dying on April 15, 1887. Directly after this marriage he rented eighty acres of land, which he continued to farm for thirteen years. He then con- tracted a second marriage, on March 26, 1890, which united him with Miss Emma Hubbard, a daughter of Roswell and Samantha (Smith) Hubbard. The father was a native of Ohio and the mother of New York, and both were early arrivals in Michigan. They were the parents of six children: Pliny, who lives at Lawton : Emma A., the wife of Mr. Farrow; Eva, the wife of George La More, of Eau Claire, Michigan; Effie, the wife of William Waugh, of Marcellus, Cass county ; Francis, a physician at Eau Claire, this state; and Frederick, who died in 1905.
After his second marriage Mr. Farrow rented the eighty acres which constitute his present farm in section 29, Porter township. for one year. At the end of that lease he rented two hundred and sixteen acres south of this eighty and lived on it three years. He then moved to Prairie Ronde township, Kalamazoo county, where he rented C. F. Nesbitt's farm of two hundred and sixty acres, and this he occupied and cultivated eleven years. In the meantime he had bought the eighty acres in section 29, Porter township, this county, on which he formerly lived one year as a tenant, and when his lease in Kalamazoo county expired he removed to his own farm, where he has ever since been living and prospering finely. as his industry and wisdom in the cultivation of his land entitle him to. He carries on general farming and live stock raising on a scale commensurate with his facilities, and gets good returns from both. The place has been highly improved by him, and is now one of the choice farms of its size in the township, and one of its most attractive rural homes.
Mrs. Farrow was a school teacher for more than fifteen years and taught thirty-five terms in all. She and her husband have three children: Cletah May, who married Edward Cornish and lives in Porter township, not far from the home of her par- ents; and Irma Lena and Thelma Marie, who are still members of the parental family circle. The father is a Democrat in his po- litical faith and allegiance, a Methodist Protestant in his church connection, and a member of the Masonic order and its auxiliary, the Order of the Eastern Star, and the Farmers' Union in fraternal relations. He was a director of school district No. 6 for 5 years. No citizen of the township enjoys and none deserves a higher de- gree of respect and good will from its residents of all classes and conditions.
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LEMUEL LYLE .- A resident of Porter township, this county, for twenty-five years, and living on and cultivating the farm of two hundred acres which he now occupies for fifteen years, Lemuel Lyle has been a long-continued and substantial contributor to the progress and improvement of Van Buren county, a potential force in its industrial life, a valued aid in the work of the intellectual and moral agencies laboring among its people, and a man of in- fluence in connection with its civil affairs as a citizen who never neglects his duty or abates his interest with reference to them.
Mr. Lyle is not a native of Michigan or the United States, but he is as warmly attached to the institutions of the land and state of his adoption and as earnest in support of them as he ever could have been in connection with those of the country and province of his birth. This was Prince Edward Island, Dominion of Canada, where his life began on March 14, 1842. He is a son of James and Elizabeth (Berch) Lyle, the former English and the latter Irish by nativity. Both died many years ago on Prince Edward Island, of which they became residents in early life. Eleven children were horn to them, and of these nine are living, Lemuel was the sixth in the order of birth. The others who are living are: John R., who still resides on Prince Edward Island; Thomas B., whose home is in Wexford county, Michigan; Edward James, who is living in New Hampshire; Mary, the widow of George Gay, whose home is also on the island which was the scene of the parent's labor ; Lizzie, the widow of James Rod, another resident of Prince Edward Island ; Letitia, the widow of James Dailey, who lives at Wexford in this state ; Eliza, the wife of Alexander McCormick, of Prince Edward Island; and Caroline, a widow, who also has her dwelling place in New Hampshire. The children who died were the fifth and tenth, William and Henrietta, who passed away a number of years ago.
Lemuel Lyle came to Michigan in 1866 and located in Paw Paw township, this county, where he remained three years. He then moved to the town of Paw Paw and made that his home for a short time. In 1869 he returned to his native place, where he passed the next five years. At the end of that period he came back to Van Buren county. Soon afterward he bought forty acres of land near White Oak in Ingham county, which he farmed for five years, then rented one hundred and sixty acres which he cultivated for five years.
During all this time he had a strong yearning for Van Buren county, and at length he determined to gratify it. He once more returned to the county and rented the two hundred acres which he now owns and occupies, after devoting ten years to the de- velopment and improvement of other land. He has lived on this farm ever since, and been a resident of Porter township for a full quarter of a century continuously, as has been already noted. He has made his farm one of great productiveness and value, and one of the most desirable and attractive in the township by his in- dustry and skill as a farmer and his excellent business management.
On August. 18, 1869, Mr. Lyle united himself in marriage with Miss Louisa Labadie, a daughter of Anthony and Sarah (Mason)
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Labadie and a native of Paw Paw township, residing in Mattawan at the time of her marriage. She and her husband had had five children, four of whom are living: Anna, the wife of John Reits, of Decatur township, this county; William, who has his home in Porter township, not farm from that of his parents; and Frank and Ebenezer, who live at Wexford in this state. Alonzo, the third born of the five children, died at the age of thirteen months. The wife and mother has also passed away, after having traveled life's pathway with her husband for more than forty years.
Mr. Lyle has been an active member of the Democratic party from the beginning of his citizenship in this country. He believes in the principles of the party and its theories of government, and he supports it warmly on that account. The desire for public of- fice has been no part of his incentive to loyalty, for he has never felt it. But earnestly interested in the welfare of his county, state and country, as he is, that party seems to him to offer the best means of securing that welfare and enlarging it. He was reared under the guidance of the Episcopal church, and he still adheres to it with devoted earnestness and a sincere zeal for its advance- ment to the largest measure of usefulness and a constant willing- ness to do everything in his power to aid its progress. His mem- bership is valued highly by the congregation in which he holds it, as his citizenship is in all parts of the county in which he has so long lived and labored.
WESLEY T. BARKER .- The life of a successful man is an interest- ing study, but that of a good one furnishes a fitting example for others. Some men never shirk from the line laid out by duty, but unflinchingly tread it to the goal, wherever it may be. Many re- markable characters were developed by the Civil war, the trials, dangers and privations of that struggle bringing out the good and strengthening the weak points in a man, making him a hero. Among those who are honored above the ordinary in Van Buren county is Wesley T. Barker, who throughout his life has continued to heed the call of duty as he did when his country made its call for de- fenders. Mr. Barker is a native of Wayne county, Michigan, and was born December 12, 1835, a son of Harvey and Content (Mc- Kinstry) Barker, the former a native of Massachusetts and the lat- ter of Vermont.
The Barker family came to Michigan in 1828, settling in Wayne county, where Harvey Barker followed the occupations of local preacher and farmer. He came to Van Buren county in 1839, and was here engaged in agricultural pursuits for many years, owning at one time three hundred and twenty acres of land in Porter town- ship. He spent his last years near Bellevue, Eaton county, and died in 1863. He was the father of seven children, as follows: Eleanor, deceased; John P., of Kalamazoo, Michigan, now eighty-one years of age; Lucy; Wesley T .; Oscar J. and Harriet, deceased; and Charles H., residing at Kalamazoo Junction.
Wesley T. Barker as a young man was engaged in breaking land, and estimates that during his life he has laid open for cultivation over six hundred acres of Michigan property. When he was twenty-
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one years of age he began hauling wood with an ox team to Law. ton. In 1858, having secured eighty acres in section 19, Porter township, he drove to his property with an ox team, the snow at that time, in March, 1862, being three feet deep. In August of the same year, he enlisted for service in the Civil war, becoming a member of Company C, Fourth Michigan Calvary, under Cap- tain Melchor, and he served with that organization until July, 1865. During this time, in the numerous skirmishes, raids and engagements in which the Fourth Michigan participated, Mr. Barker faced the enemy no fewer than ninety-seven separate times, but his only injuries were received when his horse fell on him after a seven mile charge at Shelbyville, Tennessee. He was honorably discharged at Nashville, that state, after a brave and faithful service and one of which he may well feel proud, returning thence to his Michigan land, which he proceeded to clear from the wilder- ness. On this land, which is located only about a mile from where the family first settled on coming to Van Buren county, Mr. Barker erected all the buildings and fences and made all the improvements.
On November 20, 1861, he was married to Mary H. Barker, a daughter of Thomas and Melissa Barker, who came to Michigan in 1849. Mrs. Barker's parents had six children : Mary, William, John C., Elizabeth (deceased), Peter, Alsophine (the wife of George Kerby, of Volenia township). Mrs. Barker died in May, 1911. Mr. Barker is a Republican in politics and is affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic. He and his wife are members of the Meth- odist church. Many and great are the changes which have taken place in Van Buren county since the family first settled here. When they came from Wayne county Mr. Barker and his father drove one hundred and sixty miles through the woods with ox teams, the journey consuming a space of time that seems almost incredible in these days of speedy railroad trains. The stock, a little herd of cattle that formed the nucleus of Mr. Barker's present magnifi- cent herd of animals, had to be driven through the wilderness of trees and brush which formed this part of the country at that time. Finally, on their arrival, it was found they did not have enough provisions to carry them through, and the father was compelled to trade a wagon for the bare necessities of life. The father grew the flax from which the mother made thread, and wool was carded to make the clothes for the family. All of the original buildings were made of logs, there being no boards available at that time, but these have been replaced by modern buildings. Now, looking back over the intervening years, Mr. Barker can appreciate the changes that have come over the section, and can see that he has taken no small part in bringing about the development of Van Buren county from a wilderness into a smiling, prosperous farming community. He is one of his section's true pioneers, and as such is honored and respected by his fellow townsmen, many of whom are reaping the benefit of the years of hard and incessant toil of just such men as he.
WILLIAM LEEDY, farmer, stock raiser and fruit grower of Arling- ton township, has through hard and persistent labor won a place Vol. 11-32
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for himself among the successful farmers of his community, and is now the owner of an excellent tract of one hundred and fifteen acres. With no other advantages than a progressive mind, a deter- mination to succeed and inherent ability as an agriculturist, he started out to establish himself in a profitable occupation, and the success which has attended his efforts is well deserved. William Leedy was born September 3, 1866, in the state of Indiana, and is a son of Henry C. and Mary (Lawrence) Leedy, the former born in Indiana and the latter in Pennsylvania.
The Leedy family was established in Michigan in 1865, when the parents brought their children to Arlington township, buying one hundred and sixty acres of land. Mr. Leedy was for some time engaged in the mercantile business at Bangor, but sold out and for two years was located in Kansas and later in Iowa. On his return to Michigan he opened a market, which he operated in conjunc- tion with a livery business for three years. For three or four years following he operated a part of the old homestead, and he then purchased fifty acres of timber land and worked the timber into lumber, having built a sawmill on the place. Eventually he pur- chased seventy acres, moving his sawmill to the new land, and from time to time added to his property until he was the owner of three hundred and twenty-two acres of well cultivated land. He died June 26, 1899, and his widow is now living at the family home in Columbia township. Henry C. and Mary Leedy had eleven chil- dren, as follows: Sarah, who is deceased; William; Jacob, living in Kalamazoo; James, a resident of Arlington; Viola, the wife of Fred Goodwin, of Columbia township; Cora and Anna, who died in infancy ; Daniel, a farmer of Arlington township; Alice, the wife of Arthur Lee, of Arlington; Mattie, the wife of Emory Hatha- way, of Arlington township ; and Earl, who resides at home.
William Leedy was reared to manhood on the home farm, and when he was eighteen years of age he went to northern Michigan and for a year worked in a lumber camp. On his return he took up farming, and he and his brother Jacob raised a mortgage of three hundred dollars on sixty-six acres of their father's farm. After a few years William Leedy purchased his brother's interest in the land, and later purchased fifty acres and eventually thirty-three acres more, and he now has one hundred and fifteen acres of some of the best land in Arlington township. He has made numerous improvements on this land, and can point with pride to as fine a set of buildings as can be found in the township. A man of Mr. Leedy's abilities is always a valued citizen, and he has many warm friends and admirers in his community.
On April 5, 1883, Mr. Leedy was married to Miss Tamson Pathie. and she died leaving two children: Annie, the wife of Clifford Daniels, of Waverly; and John, who is deceased. Mr. Leedy was married (second) December 8, 1904, to Miss Edith Weikel, daugh- ter of Levi and Martha (Curtis) Weikel, and two children have been born to them: Glen Levi and Orville Clay. Mrs. Leedy's father was born in Indiana and her mother in Michigan, and both are now living in Columbia township They had four children : Edith, who married Mr. Leedy; Ellen, the wife of Fred Corden, of
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Elkhart, Indiana; George, residing in Columbus township; and Perry, who also lives in that township.
Mr. Leedy is independent in his political views, voting for the man rather than the party. His religious faith is that of the Methodist church, and he is known as a liberal supporter of re- ligious and charitable movements.
S. E. OVERTON .- The beautiful art of carving on wood always enlists interest in both the artistic and the inartistic mind, for there is something about it that appeals to every taste and gives pleasure to all classes of observers. It has the majesty of far cen- turies upon it in practice, giving dignity and exaltation to its his- tory, and has found expression in every clime and country under the sun, which proves its value in an esthetic sense and also in the line of utility, for it is everywhere in operation for the service as well as for the enjoyment of mankind.
This art has its highest and most extensive expression in the city of South Haven in the establishment of the S. E. Overton Com- pany, of which S. E. Overton is the head and directing force. This company manufactures artistic wood carvings, gable orna- ments, stair newels, oval door panels, and other fine products of wood, including some of the delicate and many of the beautiful parts of pianos. Its plant is one of the most complete in the coun- try, and its trade extends all over the United States and Canada. S. E. Overton, the proprietor, is himself a practical wood carver of unusual skill and refinement of taste, having acquired a thor- ough knowledge of the business in a long and studious appren- ticeship.
Mr. Overton was born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 8, 1875, and is a son of Charles and Esther (McIntyre) Overton. The father was a native of England, where his life began on July 21, 1855, and the mother came into being in Ireland on August 19, 1857. They had four children, all of whom are living, and of whom their son S. E. was the first. The father came to this coun- try with his parents and lived with them for some years in Wash- ington, D. C., where he obtained his education. He was a machin- ist, and after his removal from Washington to Chicago, worked for a number of years at his trade in the latter city, but passed the closing years of his life in Streator, Illinois. In church connection he was a Baptist, and in political affiliation a Republican.
S. E. Overton was educated in Chicago and Streator, Illinois. After leaving school he worked for awhile at molding, then learned the trade of wood carving. In 1903 he began business as a manu- facturer of wood carvings at 102 Lincoln street, Chicago, where he conducted his operations one year. He then moved to 488 Carroll avenue, and there he remained until 1908, when he moved to South Haven, Michigan. After locating in that city he built a large plant for the general manufacture of wood work, in which he em- ploys regularly about sixty-five to seventy-five men, and from which he turns out large quantities of goods to supply an active demand that comes as has been stated, from all parts of the United States
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and the Dominion of Canada, and is especially voluminous from the manufacturers of pianos.
Mr. Overton was married on April 22, 1897, to Miss Linnie Zehr- den, who was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin. They have two chil- dren, their sons Charles and Samuel R. The father is a Freemason in the lodge, capitular and cryptic branches of the York rite in the fraternity. He belongs to Star of the Lake Lodge, No. 158, Royal Arch Chapter, No. 58, and Council No. 45, Royal and Select Masters, all located and working in South Haven. He is also a member of Pomona Lodge, No. 153, Knights of Pythias, of that city.
In political faith and allegiance he is a Republican, and a loyal and serviceable member of his party. South Haven and Van Buren county have derived considerable benefit from his citizenship, for he is public spirited and progressive, and always alert for general progress and improvement, supporting with energy all projects that involve the welfare of his locality and are beneficial to its people.
JAMES KELLEY is one of the prominent farmers in Van Buren county. Most men will succeed better as employes than as em- ployers, and that fact gives the reason why so many men buy farms and lose them, through their inability to systematize things and conduct their farms on a paying basis. The reason of the failure is not because they do not work enough, but they do not use their brains sufficiently. This has not been the fault of Mr. Kelley, who has made a success of farming. He found it impossible to leave the agricultural life, though he tried it for a time, then found the call of the land too strong for him, and back to the farm he returned. He has not only been able to secure a competency for himself and his family, but he has done much for the betterment of the town- ship in which he resides.
The birth of James Kelley occurred in the township where he farms today, the date of his nativity being September 2, 1864. He is a son of Michael and Mary ( Mahoney ) Kelley, both natives of Ireland, who emigrated from the Emerald Isle about 1849, coming direct to Kalamazoo, Michigan, where they farmed for several years, and then traded their land for the eighty-acre tract on sec- tions 7 and 8, which is owned by James Kelley. Mr. and Mrs. Kelley, Sr., raised a family of seven children, whose names are as follows: John, deceased; Michael, deceased: Frank, residing in Oklahoma City; James, the subject of this sketch; George, resid- ing in Dowagiac; Jennie, the wife of John Rapp; Anna, deceased. One child died in infancy. In 1887, in the month of February, the father was summoned to the life eternal, and ten years later, on July 12, the demise of the mother occurred.
The boyhood of James Kelley was spent on his father's farm, and he attended the neighboring school. He learned to perform those duties which are required of a boy brought up as he was, and after he finished his educational training he devoted his whole time to assisting to cultivate the soil, remaining at home until he was twenty- three years of age, the year that his father died. He then
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determined to try city life, and went to Chicago, Illinois, where he remained for a year and a half. Eighteen months was sufficient to convince him that he was better qualified to make a success as a farmer than in any other capacity, and he returned home, under- took the management of the old homestead, which he now owns. He does general farming to some extent, but makes a specialty of rais- ing horses, cattle and hogs, doing an extensive trade in live stock.
In religious belief Mr. Kelley is a Catholic, and in politics he has never cared to unite with any party, preferring to vote inde- pendently and select his man for office, considering the qualifica- tions of the candidate rather than party supremacy. Mr. Kelley is unmarried, and has many friends amongst his neighbors, who have for him the high regard which his uprightness of character merits.
ALBERT B. BLACKINTON .- Among the enterprising, progressive and able business men of Van Buren county that have triumphantly trod the pathway of success, and have acquired wealth while de- veloping the rich mineral resources of Northern Michigan, is Albert B. Blackinton, of Pine Grove township. The descendant of a New England family of prominence, he was born, April 29, 1861, in Susquehanna township, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, where the birth of his father, Albert A. Blackinton, occurred in 1830.
His paternal grandfather, Lyman Blackinton, was born in Black- inton, Massachusetts, of English lineage. In early life he moved to Pennsylvania, going there before the day of railroads, and for many years being a noted stage driver of his locality. Although never wealthy, he acquired a modest sum of money, and spent his last days in Susquehanna township, dying at the remarkable age of one hundred and four years. He married and became the father of four sons and two daughters.
Brought up and educated in Susquehanna township, Pennsyl- vania, Albert A. Blackinton was there a resident until 1867. Com- ing then with his family to Michigan, he purchased a home in Ken- dall, Van Buren county, and was here employed in tilling the soil until his death, in 1908, at the age of seventy-eight years. He married first Caroline Taylor, who was born in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of William and Margaret Taylor, natives of the Keystone state. She died in 1866, leaving four children, Charles, William, Albert B., and Sarah, of whom Albert B., the subject of this sketch, is the sole survivor. The father subsequently married for his second wife Emily Merritt, who survives him.
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