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 66
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In 1891 Mr. Banks was united in marriage with Maude C. Haven, a daughter of Augustus and Emily Haven, of whom mention is made in connection with the sketch of E. A. Haven elsewhere in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Banks are the parents of four children, namely : Ella, Robert, Margaret and Mildred. Politically a stanch Republican, Mr. Banks cast his first presidential vote for Benjamin Harrison. Religiously both he and his wife are worthy members of the Christian church.
LIBERTY H. BAILEY .- Venerable and universally venerated on account of the number of his years and the uprightness and useful- ness of his life, comfortable in a worldly way, free from the cares of business, and with health and strength remaining notwithstand- ing his great age, Liberty H. Bailey of South Haven has found, even on this side of the grave, a peaceful harbor where the storms of life break not, or are felt but in gentle undulations of the un- rippled and mirroring water. He has run his race of toil, and trade and ambition. His day's work is accomplished, and he has come home to enjoy, tranquilly and unharassed, the splendor of the sun- set, the milder glories of late evening.
Mr. Bailey was born in Townshend, Windham county, Vermont,
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on February 26, 1820, and is therefore past ninety-one years of age. His parents were Dana and Betsey ( Walker) Bailey, the former born in Massachusetts, and the latter of the same nativity as her son. Both lived to an advanced age, the father dying when he was more than eighty-four and the mother when she was more than eighty. They were the parents of seven children, all of whom have died except the interesting subject of this brief review, who re- mains, a shining link connecting the dawn of civilization in this part of the country with its present high state of development and advanced improvement, one of the men who laid the foundation of Van Buren county mingling with those who are building it to finer and greater proportions as the years go by.
Mr. Bailey's father was a soldier in the War of 1812 and took part in the battle of Bennington, Vermont, where General Stark humbled the flower of the British army. He was a quiet and peace- ful farmer until the honor of his country was assailed, and then he joined with thousands of others like him to resent the insult and punish the power that so haughtily thrust it on us.
He was a man of influence and prominence in Vermont, where he lived from boyhood, and a member of the legislature of that state for over thirty years. The first speech he ever made in public was delivered in Washington, D. C., in April, 1820, but he made many after that, for he took an active part in all public affairs, local and general, and his opinions had great weight with the people of his county and state. He was also connected with the famous "Un- derground Railroad," which was organized and conducted to aid fugitive slaves from the South to freedom and safety in Canada. In early life he was a Whig in politics and later a Republican, and from his youth he was a devout and consistent member of the Con- gregational church.
Mr. Bailey's ancestors on both sides of the house were English. His great-grandfather on the paternal side, Richard Bailey, came to this country from England in his young manhood and settled in Massachusetts Bay colony. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and faced the scarlet uniform and glittering bayonets of his former countrymen on many a hard fought field in that momentous conflict. His son, Richard Bailey, Jr., was born in Massachusetts, as was also his son Dana, but later the family moved to Windham county, Vermont, where Dana Bailey passed the remainder of his days, being killed at last by a fall from a wagon while in the per- formance of some useful labor. He grew to manhood in Townshend, Vermont, and there married Betsey Walker, and during the rest of their lives they occupied the house in which she was born.
The father of this Mrs. Bailey, Jesse Walker, left England with his parents when he was but eleven years of age. The family set- tled in Townshend, Vermont, where, when he grew to manhood, he married and built himself a dwelling house which is still standing in the town. He was one of the first young men in his locality to enlist when the Revolutionary war began, and he remained in the service until its close, being at the surrender of Cornwallis at York- town, as well as in the battle of Bunker Hill six years before. After . that battle he found among the dead of the British army on the field the body of one of his boy chums in England, Samuel Marsh, who had his musket by his side with his name carved on it. Mr. Walker
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took this musket as a keepsake, and used it throughout the war. It has been cherished as a valuable souvenir by the family ever since, and is now in the possession of Mr. Bailey of South Haven.
Liberty H. Bailey was first married in 1845, being then united with Miss Sarah Harrison, a daughter of Benjamin Harrison, who was a first cousin to President William Henry Harrison. She was born in Columbus, Ohio, and died in South Haven, Michigan, her death occurring on December 16, 1862, when she was thirty-eight years of age. Of this union three sons were born : Dana, who died at the age of fourteen years; Marcus, who resides in New York city ; and Liberty H., who is a resident of Utica, New York, and one of the distinguished men of the country.
On August 27, 1863, the father of these children contracted a sec- ond marriage in which he was united with Miss Maria Bridges, a native of Avon, Livingston county, New York, and the daughter of Jeremiah and Sarah (Richardson) Bridges, the former a native of the state of New York and the latter of Connecticut. The fam- ily came to Michigan and here the parents passed the remainder of their lives.
Mr. Bailey was educated in his native state, completing his scholastic instruction at the Vermont Baptist College, from which he was graduated in 1840. One of his classmates was Alphonso Taft, the father of President Taft and attorney-general in the cabi- net of President Grant. They lived on adjoining farms in Ver- mont, and after their graduation they came West together. Mr. Taft stopped at Cleveland, Ohio, and made his future home in that state. Mr. Bailey came on to Michigan, and all his subsequent years have been passed in this state.
He journeyed from Buffalo to Detroit on the steamer Madison, and from Detroit to Dearborn by rail over the only railroad then in the state, and that only ten miles long. From Dearborn he walked to Kalamazoo. This was in 1844. He did not tarry long in Kalama- zoo, but came on to Van Buren county, and here he was employed by Isaac Willard for some months. He then returned to Kalama- zoo, but the next year, 1845, came back to this county and bought forty acres of government land, the patent for which was signed by President James K. Polk. Some time later he bought the tract of 120 acres with a house on it. This house he still occupies and it has been his home ever since. As time passed and he prospered he kept on buying land until he owned between 500 and 600 acres. But he has sold it all except his original abiding place of 120 acres.
When Mr. Bailey located in this county the whole country around him was wild and almost unpeopled except by the Indians and wild beasts of the forest. His nearest neighbor was Lark Pearce, who lived several miles distant from him. His strict integrity in dealing with them and the benignity of his disposition made the Indians his friends, and he protected himself from the wolves and other beasts of prey as well as he could. While the conveniences of life were few, nature was provident in supplying the necessaries. Game and fish were abundant, and the generous soil soon began to yield good returns to the persuasive hand of the husbandman. And in a little while other settlers came and located near the dar- ing adventurer who had so confidently "stuck his stake" in the very heart of the wilderness.
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In the nature of the case Mr. Bailey became a prominent man in his locality. He was well educated, had good business capacity, and was well informed on public affairs. When the time came for the organization of his township he was necessarily one of the leaders in the movement, and he never lost his supremacy during the long period of his activity. He served as township supervisor two terms, as a justice of the peace for more than twenty years, and as road commissioner for an equal length of time. He was the first man in the township appointed to this office, and when he began his services in it there were no roads for him to deal with. His services were therefore of exceptional value to the township, for he made roads as they were neded and opened up the country for more numerous settlers, and started the region on its career of progress that has led to its present high state of development and improvement.
Mr. Bailey has been a Freemason for almost fifty years. He was made one in Rising Sun Lodge at Paw Paw in 1862, and became a member of Paw Paw Royal Arch Chapter in 1863. The next year he joined Peninsula Commandery of Knights Templar at Kalama- zoo. When Star of the Lake Lodge No. 158, in South Haven was in process of formation, he dimitted from his old one and be- came a charter member of the new organization. He was its first Worshipful Master, and served in that position eight years. He also dimitted from his old Chapter and became a charter member of South Haven Chapter No. 58, when it was formed, and he was its first High Priest, holding the position six years. In addition he was a charter member of South Haven Council No. 45, Royal and Select Masters, and its first Thrice Illustrious Master for four years. He now belongs to Kalamazoo Commandery, Knights Templar and De Witt Clinton Consistory, thirty-second degree Masons, at Grand Rapids. This is a long and busy Masonic record and Mr. Bailey is entitled to the pride he feels over it.
In politics he was a Republican until a Republican Congress raised the salary of its members during their term of office in di- rect violation of the constitution. Since then he has voted the Democratic ticket and worked for that party. Notwithstanding the burden of his years he still takes a very lively interest in public affairs, but in reference to them he holds steadfastly to the teach- ings of the Fathers of the Republic, believing firmly in the largest measure of local self-government consistent with the general weal and the absolute supremacy of the people over all their constituted authorities, and has no tolerance for the unwarranted stretches of power by public officials which present-day party government has engendered and seeks to justify by any sophistry that is available. He is in all respects a sterling, straightforward and upright citi- zen, and has been a very useful one. He is an admirable type of the Michigan pioneer, and a no less admirable representative of the later citizenship of the state.
PROFESSOR LIBERTY H. BAILEY, director of the College of Agri- culture, Cornell University, since 1903, is the youngest son of Lib- erty H. Bailey of South Haven, by his first marriage. Professor Bailey is one of the leading authorities on botanical, horticultural and agricultural subjects in the United States, having been thor-
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oughly educated in all the scientific and economic branches of these natural sciences which have so important a bearing upon the funda- mental welfare of the people. A national authority on these sub- jects, he has been frequently consulted by both Presidents Roose- velt and Taft in their broad investigations of the Agricultural Problem. The former named Professor Bailey as the head of the Commission on Country Life, appointed to investigate the condi- tions and requirements of the great agricultural communities of the United States, and as a member of that body he so strengthened his past record as an economic and scientific expert in every phase of the subject, that he was even then marked for public advance- ment. This judgment of President Roosevelt was heartily con- firmed by the son of his father's old classmate and cabinet officer, President Taft.
Liberty Hyde Bailey was born in South Haven on the 15th of March, 1858, and was graduated from the Michigan Agricultural College in 1882 with the degree of M. S. The experience of his boyhood life, on the farm and in the open generally, directed his mind at an early period to the study of botany and horticulture, to which were later added the phases of agricultural economics and and education. In 1882-3 Professor Bailey served as assistant to the eminent Asa Gray of Harvard; was professor of horticulture and landscape gardening at Michigan Agricultural College in 1883-8 ; professor of horticulture at Cornell University in 1888-1903, and since the latter year, as stated, has been director of the College of Agriculture of that institution.
As an author Professor Bailey has also a broad and still ex- panding reputation. His individual publications include the fol- lowing: "Survival of the Unlike," "Evolution of Our Native Fruits," "Lessons with Plants," "Botany, an Elementary Text for Schools;" "Principles of Fruit Growing;" "Principles of Vegetable Gardening;" "Plant Breeding;" "Garden Making;" "Horticulturist's Rule-Book;" "Principles of Agriculture;" "Nursery-Book;" "Forcing-Book;" "Pruning-Book;" "Practi- cal Garden-Book;" "Cyclopedia of American Horticulture" (four volumes) ; "The Nature-Study Idea;" "Outlook to Nature." Pro- fessor Bailey has also acted as editor of the "Rural Science" and "Garden-Craft" series and the "Cyclopedia of Agriculture" in four volumes, as well as a constant contributor to technical and popular magazines in line with his professional work, studies and investigations.
JAMES D. FERGUSON, a successful farmer and representative citi- zen of Van Buren county, Michigan, who with his brother Edward E. Ferguson owns and operates a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of well cultivated land situated in section 1, Bangor township, has been prominently identified with the business and agricultural interests of Michigan for a number of years and is a direct de- scendant of Elder William Brewster, the spiritual leader of the Massachusetts pilgrims, who was born in Scrooby, England, in 1560, came to the New World in the "Mayflower" and died in Ply- mouth, Massachusetts, April 10, 1644. James D. Ferguson was born January 29, 1852, in Jefferson county, New York, and is a
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son of Elias Brewster and Catherine Ann (Doolittle) Ferguson, natives of New York.
Elias Brewster Ferguson as a young man followed the profession of a physician in New York, and later engaged in the jewelry busi- ness there, but on coming to Bangor, Michigan, in the fall of 1866, he with his brother, Dr. J. E. Ferguson, established a general mer- chandise business, and conducted this store for many years. He died at the age of eighty-four years, March 3, 1906, while his widow, who still survives, is in her eighty-third year. They had two chil- dren : James D., and Edward, who resides in Bangor.
Until he was eighteen years of age, James D. Ferguson was as- sociated in business with his father at Bangor, and he then went to Lawrence, where he was employed by H. M. Marshall in the mer- cantile trade. Returning to Bangor when he was twenty-two years of age, he organized the Bangor Furnace Company store, but a year later the business was sold to a Paw Paw concern, although he continued with the business for a number of years thereafter. Eventually Mr. Ferguson took up farming, but after five years spent in tilling the soil he again engaged with Silas De Long in the mercantile business, retiring at the end of thirteen years on account of poor heatlh. For two years he was again engaged in agricultural pursuits, and he then went to Kalamazoo and estab- lished a wholesale and retail confectionery business, but after seven years of successful business dealing he returned to Bangor, and he is now engaged with his brother in general farming and stock-rais- ing on an excellent tract of one hundred and sixty acres located in section 1. At one time he made a specialty of horse breeding, but he now operates his land along general lines, and has achieved con- siderable success. His long years of experience as a business man have assisted him greatly in disposing of the product of his farm at a profitable figure, while his large business acquaintance helps him materially in his transactions. He bears an enviable reputation for integrity and honesty in all matters with which he is connected, and his standing as a public-spirited citizen is equally high.
On January 8, 1890, Mr. Ferguson was united in marriage with Miss Stella A. Barber, daughter of Charles W. and Agnes (Tall- man) Barber, natives of New York. Mr. Barber came to Michigan as a young man, and settled first in Kalamazoo, where for twenty- four years he served as agent for the Michigan Central R. R. at Al- amo, Michigan. On his retirement, he moved to South Haven, where his death occurred in August, 1904, his wife having passed away eleven years before. They had six children, of whom the eldest died in infancy ; Elvira K. is the wife of D. Morrison of Paw Paw; Mary Elizabeth, the wife of Frank Ford of Kalamazoo, died in 1876; Warren George died in 1878; Stella A. married Mr. Ferguson, and Ora P. died in 1893. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson, namely : James Barber, who is attending the State Agri- cultural College; George Kandall, a student of Kalamazoo College; Earl Robert, attending Bangor high school; and Elias Brewster and Catherine Agnes, at home with their parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson are consistent members of the Congre- gational church, and have interested themselves in its work. He - is a Democrat, although never an office seeker, and a popular mem- ber of the Knights of the Maccabees.
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HONORABLE MILAN D. WIGGINS .- The many noteworthy achieve- ments of Honorable Milan D. Wiggins, of Bloomingdale, not only in the agricultural, manufacturing and mercantile world, but in public life, have marked him as a man of much ability, sound judg- ment and great force of character, and won for him an influential position among the leading men of his village. A son of Nahum Wiggins, he was born in Newbury, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, and comes of stock which since early colonial days has produced men of strength, brains, and integrity, being a lineal descendant of one Wiggins, who immigrated to America in 1631.
For many years a resident of Vermont, the grandfather of Milan D. Wiggins, removed with his family from that state to Ohio about 1800, becoming one of the first prominent white settlers of the Western Reserve. Securing from the Government a tract of heav- ily timbered land that is now included within the limits of the city of Cleveland, he built a log cabin in the wilderness, and on the farm which he redeemed from the forest spent his remaining days, dying when upwards of eighty years of age. During his residence in Ohio he watched with pride and pleasure the develop- ment of the state from a wilderness to a well-improved and popu- lous region, large towns springing into existence, while the little hamlet containing but a few rude log cabins grew into the prosper- ous city of Cleveland.
Born in the Green Mountain state, Nahum Wiggins was but a small lad when he accompanied his parents on the tiresome over- land journey to the Northwest Territory, where he was reared and educated. The true pioneer spirit of enterprise and action domi- nated him from boyhood, and he became a leader in the establish- ment of beneficial projects, being a consistent and persistent "booster," and a loyal and liberal supporter of all good movements for the welfare of his community. He was one of the first to intro- duce Connecticut clocks into Ohio; was one of the builders of the Ohio canal, and owned and operated some of the first boats used on that water-way; and was one of the pioneers in buying cattle in Texas, and raising them in Ohio. During the later years of his life he met with financial reverses, and died, in 1850, a poor man. He married. Phoebe Dunham, who was born in Bedford, Ohio, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Hungerford) Dunham, and she survived him many years, passing away in 1896, in Bloomingdale, Michigan. Four children were born to them, namely : Milan D., Cullen H., Lizzie, and Asa.
Laying a substantial foundation for his future education in the public schools of his native county, Milan D. Wiggins subsequently attended Hiram College, of which the late President James A. Gar- field was one time at the head. At the age of eighteen years he began teaching school, whereby he earned enough money to pay his tuition and expenses at Oberlin College, which won distinction not only as being the first to introduce co-education, but as the first to admit colored students to its halls. Coming to Michigan in 1876, Mr. Wiggins bought land in Bloomingdale, and engaged in the till- ing of the soil. He subsequently enlarged his operations, embark- ing in the manufacture of cheese, and also opened a store of general merchandise, successfully conducting all of these enterprises until 1899, when he sold out. In 1901 Mr. Wiggins established the Peo-
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ple's Bank, at Bloomingdale, and has since devoted his time and energies to the affairs of this thriving institution, which has gained decided prestige under his skilful management.
Mr. Wiggins married, in 1870, Maria F. Hubbard, who was born in Copley, Summit county, Ohio, a daughter of William and Sophia Frances (Wilcox) Hubbard. Mr. and Mrs. Wiggins are the par- ents of four children, namely : Helen, Nellie, Leburn, and Arthur B. A stanch Republican in politics, Mr. Wiggins cast his first presi- dential vote for U. S. Grant. He has ever taken an intelligent in- terest in local, state and national affairs, and has filled various pub- lic offices of trust. For six years he was township treasurer; has been a member of the County Board of Supervisors; from 1888 until 1891 he represented his district in the State Legislature, dur- ing which time he voted for Senator McMillan; in 1910 Mr. Wiggins was elected to the State Senate, and cast his vote in favor of Charles E. Townsend for United States Senator. Fraternally Mr. Wiggins is a member of Bloomingdale Lodge, No. 221, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons; and of Bloomingdale Lodge, No. 161, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Religiously both Mr. and Mrs. Wiggins are consistent and valued members of the Christian church.
BURRILL A. ROBERTSON .- The pioneer settlers of Van Buren county had many difficulties to encounter in the early days, but they were, for the most part, hardy and persevering men, and more than one lived to see his final triumph over all. Among these there have been persons of various nativities, all alike struggling to ac- quire a competence, and all developing into excellent citizens, pub- lic spirited and alive to the best interests of their community, but principally they were natives of the United States, Easterners who found their own localities too congested for the advantageous dis- play of their own abilities, and who therefore struck out for the new West to hew their homes and fortunes out of the great wilder- ness. Prominent among the pioneer families of Van Buren county stands that of Robertson, a worthy representative of which will be found in Burrill A. Robertson, one of the progressive agriculturists of Keeler township, and a native-born citizen of the county. He was born March 23, 1853, and was the tenth of the eleven children born to Samuel and Deborah (Crabb) Robertson, of whom eight children are still living, all residents of the Wolverine State ex- cept Mrs. Isabelle Wilson, who makes her home in Woodson county, Kansas.
Samuel Robertson was a native of New York and was born in 1807. He was reared in the Empire State, being educated in the common schools, and early in life learned the carpenter's trade. As a young man he spent some years in the South, caring for an invalid uncle, but during the early history of Michigan came to this state, and settled in Keeler township at a time when the pres- ent thriving town of Hartford, with a population of 1,100, was but a handful, and the people went to Paw Paw by ox-team to have their milling done. Wild animals still roamed the heavy timber, Indians lurked in the woods and were none too friendly to the whites, roads, churches, schools and other conveniences there were none, but this sturdy pioneer overcame all obstacles and became one of the successful men of his community. His first property, on the
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