USA > Michigan > Branch County > A twentieth century history and biographical record of Branch County, Michigan > Part 101
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Mr. Dexter possesses an interesting fund of reminiscence concerning the early history of this portion of the township of Butler, and the many changes which have taken place here. When he first came to this place the houses and settlers were few and far between, there were but few school houses, no church buildings, while the nearest postoffice was at Homer, in Calhoun county. Of the men who were living here then only two remain, Mr. Dexter and Phillip Haight, a neghbor, mention of whom is to be found elsewhere in this volume. Those early days were filled with hard labor and few, if any luxuries, but nevertheless a great deal of solid enjoyment was extracted from
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life. Mr. Dexter has all his life until within a few years been a hard-working man, and he has prospered financially, his farm being one of the best in this section, and where he has a most comfortable home. He has now retired from the active operation of his place, and he is passing his declining days in the section which has been the scene of his life's labors. Mr. Dexter has been a Democrat all his life, and although not an office seeker has served his dis- trict upon several occasions as an officer. He is a man who commands the respect and esteem of his fellow townsmen, all of whom hope he has many years of usefulness before him.
FRANK T. TAPPAN.
Frank T. Tappan, prominently connected with the leading industrial interests of Coldwater, was the founder and is now manager of the Tappan Shoe Manufacturing Company. His life history stands as an exemplifica- tion of what can be accomplished through determination of effort guided by resolute will and directed by sound judgment, for he started out in life as an humble employe, working his way upward by his close application, fidelity to duty and improvement of the opportunities which uniformly surround all citizens of this great republic.
A native of New Hampshire, Mr. Tappan was born in the town of Sand- wich. April 21. 1858, and is descended from an old New England family of Puritan stock. His early childhood and a portion of his youth were spent at Haverhill and at Lynn, Massachusetts, and when only twelve years of age he was thrown upon his own resources, since which time he has depended entirely upon his labors for a livelihood and all that he has enjoyed in life. He began to learn the shoemaker's trade in Haverhill and from the age of sixteen years has been continually identified with the manufacture of shoes. In his boyhood days he had limited educational advantages. and after going to New York city he supplemented his early opportunities by pursuing a four years' course in the night school in Cooper Union. He was employed in different shoe factories of New York city for several years, gradually winning promotion in recognition of his capability, after which he became foreman of a large manufacturing plant of that character. He was afterward super- intendent of shoe factories at various times and places in the middle west and was thus employed until 1891, in which year he established at Muncie, Indiana, the Tappan Shoe Manufacturing Company, which was removed to Coldwater. Michigan, in the year 1897. The business was incorporated under the laws of this state and has become one of the leading industrial concerns of Branch county. The factory has a capacity of three thousand pairs of shoes daily, and is one of the largest houses in the United States, dealing strictly with the retail trade, making ladies', misses' and children's shoes. Un- der the management of Mr. Tappan, a gentleman of broad experience, the shoes made by this company have become celebrated for high quality, a fine grade of leather being used. The factory is equipped with the most modern machinery, and only high class workmen are employed. The success of the concern is due to Mr. Tappan's thorough knowledge of the trade, his sapient
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business qualities, his keen discernment and his thorough understanding of trade conditions.
When twenty-one years of age Mr. Tappan became a Mason, and is now a Knight Templar and a member of the Mystic Shrine. Of a pleasant, genial disposition, he makes friends wherever he goes and is held in high esteem in Coldwater, where he has now resided for eight years. His name in business circles has become a synonym for integrity and straightforward dealing. His life has been one of continuous activity, in which has been accorded due recog- nition of labor, and today he is numbered among the substantial citizens of his county. His interests are thoroughly identified with those of the west, and at all times he is ready to lend his aid and co-operation to any movement calculated to benefit this section of the country or advance its wonderful devel- opment.
ZELOTES G. OSBORN.
Zelotes G. Osborn was born in Otsego county, New York, March 5, 1839. His parents, Ozra Burr and Matilda (Flint) Osborn, were both natives of the Empire state. The family is of English lineage but has been represented in America through many generations. Ozra Burr Osborn was a physician, who devoted his life to the practice of medicine, his death oc- curring in the Empire state when his son Zelotes was about seventeen years of age. In the family were two sons, the brother of our subject being Mar- cius E. Osborn of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Zelotės G. Osborn was reared in the state of his nativity, where he ac- quired a fair literary education, and at the age of seventeen years, soon after the death of his father, he started out in life on his own account. About that time he came to the west. His father was the originator of Osborn Golden Ointment and to sell this and other preparations Mr. Osborn of this review came to Michigan. He traveled all over this part of the state, making Coldwater, however, his headquarters. It was in 1858 that he became a resident of Branch county, where he has since remained. He was on the road selling medicine until 1861, when he took up his abode on a farm in Kinderhook township, there carrying on agricultural pursuits until 1870. In that year he opened a general store at Kinderhook, where he fol- lowed merchandising until 1882, when he sold his business. In 1880 he was elected county register of deeds, was re-elected in 1882 and again in 1884, thus serving for three terms, or six years. He removed to Coldwater in 1880 in order to enter upon the duties of the office and in February, 1887, he purchased a drug and grocery store here, conducting it with success until 1899, when he sold out and retired from active business life. He has long been identified, however, with the Coldwater National Bank and was chosen its vice president in 1902. His well directed labors in former years brought him a competency which now makes possible his retirement and his life history stands in exemplification of the fact that success is not a matter of genius but is rather the outcome of clear judgment, experience and inde- fatigable industry.
In 1859 Mr. Osborn was united in marriage to Miss Mary L. Stimson,
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who was born in Genesee county. New York, a daughter of the Rev. H. K. Stimson, a Baptist clergyman and a well known citizen of his section of the Empire state. Mr. and Mrs. Osborn have but one child, Willis H., who is now in the railway postal service. The parents hold membership in the Baptist church and are very active and helpful in its work. Mr. Osborn has been a member of the library board of Coldwater since 1881 and his labors in behalf of community affairs have been far-reaching and beneficial. While living in Kinderhook he served for eighteen years as postmaster and he also held various township offices. In politics he is a stanch Republican and has been more or less active in political work, while his comprehensive understanding of the questions and issues of the day enables him to support his position by intelligent argument.
SAMUEL SCHULTZ, M. D.
Dr. Samuel Schultz, one of the younger members of the medical fra- ternity of Coldwater, was born in Belleville, Wayne county, Michigan, July 7, 1869. his parents being Jacob F. and Christina ( Schaffer) Schultz, both of whom were natives of Germany but were brought to America in child- hood and were married in this country. The father lived several years at Ann Arbor, Michigan, whence he removed to Belleville, where he has resided continuously since 1872. He is interested in the manufacture of barrels there and is a leading representative of the industrial life of that city. He is also prominent and influential in community affairs and served for one term as mayor of Lansing, being elected on the Republican ticket, in a Democratic city, a fact indicative of his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him by his fellow townsmen. In his family were nine children, one now deceased.
Dr. Schultz attended the public schools of Lansing, was for one year a student in the Agricultural College of Michigan and acquired his more specifically literary education in Albion College, from which he was grad- uated with the class of 1893. He spent two years in the medical depart- ment of the University of Michigan and afterward two years in the med- ical department of Northwestern University, at Chicago, and completed his course by graduation in the spring of 1899. In the fall of the same year he located for practice in Coldwater. Professionally and financially he has been quite successful and his position in the ranks of the medical fraternity is a very creditable one. Dr. Schultz has demonstrated his ability as a physician, and he is now accorded a good patronage. He belongs to the Branch County Medical Society, the State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, and is serving as health officer of Cold- water.
Dr. Schultz is a Master Mason, and his ideas concerning man's relations to his fellow men are further indicated by his membership in the Methodist church. He was elected president of the Bon Ami Club in 1902, and re- elected in 1903 and 1904. He was married March 18, 1905, to Miss L. Annie Bacon, of Chelsea, Michigan.
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BURT M. FELLOWS.
Burt M. Fellows, engaged in a general insurance business in Coldwater, was born in Tonawanda, Niagara county, New York, January 1, 1867, his parents being Theron D. and Sarah L. (McConkey) Fellows, both of whom were natives of New York. They removed to Springport, Michigan, in 1868, and in 1872 became residents of Bronson, since which time their son, Burt M. Fellows, has been a resident of Branch county. The father was a veteran of the Civil war, serving for a little more than three years in the Twenty-eighth New York Infantry. Afterward re-enlisting, he became a member of the New York Mounted Rifles. He died at Bronson, July II, 1900, at the age of sixty-five years and Mrs. Fellows has since married C. G. Babcock, with whom she now resides in Bronson.
Burt M. Fellows was reared in Bronson, where he acquired his educa- tion in the public schools. He afterward accepted a position in the private bank of L. Rudd & Son of that place and was connected with the institu- tion, covering a period of nine years. In 1893 he joined his father-in-law, G. E. Robinson, in the conduct of a grocery store at Bronson and at length closed out his interest therewith in order to resume the duties of county clerk, to which position he had been elected in the fall of 1896 on the Demo- cratic ticket. At this election he overcame a normal Republican majority and in 1898 he was re-elected, thus serving for two terms. His course in office was characterized by promptness and fidelity and he discharged his duties with credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents. Following his retire- ment from office he turned his attention to the general insurance business, in which he yet continues, and he now annually writes a large amount of business, being one of the well known representatives of this department of activity in Coldwater.
In 1889 Mr. Fellows was married to Miss Luella Robinson and they have a daughter and son, Ruth, twelve years of age and Mac, nine years old. Mr. Fellows is a valued representative of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and also of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the Royal Arch degree. He has from the age of five years been a resident of Branch county and has witnessed much of its growth and development, while in his business, social and political relations he has contributed to the material progress of the county and has also upheld its legal and mora! status.
HON. CHARLES N. LEGG.
Hon. Charles N. Legg, an attorney, who is now serving as mayor of Coldwater, was born in Niagara county, New York, February 24, 1846. His parents, Arteman H. and Sarah Irene (Southworth) Legg, were among the oldest residents of Branch county. The father was born in Yates county, New York, December 20, 1822, and was a son of Charles and Sylva (Taft) Legg. When he was about nine or ten years of age he accompanied his parents on their removal to Niagara county, New York, where he was reared to manhood, and in 1845 he was married there to Miss Sarah Irene South- ١١
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worth, who was born in Berkshire county. Massachusetts, in the town of Hancock, June 27, 1824. Her parents were Norman and Honor (Gardner) Legg, who removed to Niagara county when she was only two years old. During the first eight years of their married life Mr. and Mrs. Arteman H. Legg resided in Niagara county, and in 1853 they came to Branch county. settling on a farm in Coldwater township, where they made their home until 1903, since which time they have resided in the city of Coldwater. Through- out his active business career Mr. Legg followed the occupation of farming and is now enjoying a well merited rest from further labor. His first presi- dential vote was cast for James K. Polk and since the organization of the Republican party he has been one of its stanch advocates, while both he and his wife are consistent members of the Baptist church. In their family are the following named: Charles N., Mary E., Dr. Frank G., George S. and Edward.
Charles N. Legg was in his eighth year when he accompanied his parents to Branch county and here he was reared on the old home farm, working in the fields through the summer months, while in the winter sea- sons he attended the district schools. Later he became a student in the city schools of Coldwater and afterward spent one year in the University of Michigan, while subsequently he was for three years a student in the col- lege at Kalamazoo, Michigan. He became ill, however, during his last year in college and returned to his home, after which he never again took up his collegiate work. He had previously engaged in teaching school for a few terms in the rural districts and now gave his attention to the study of law. Being admitted to the bar in 1873 he at once opened an office for prac- tice in Coldwater and his efforts in the various courts have been attended with a gratifying degree of success. He has acquired a large and distinct- ively representative clientage and to-day ranks among the foremost lawyers of southern Michigan. He is a student, constantly enlarging his knowledge concerning the principles of jurisprudence, and in citing an authority he is seldom at fault. Mr. Legg is also recognized as one of the leading repre- sentatives of the Republican party in Branch county. In 1880 he was elected prosecuting attorney and served for four years. In 1892 he was chosen probate judge. which position he filled until January 1. 1897. In 1900 he was again elected prosecuting attorney and once more faithfully dis- charged the duties of that position for four years. In the spring of 1905 he was the successful candidate of the Republican party for mayor of Cold- water and is now the chief executive of the city, giving to it a businesslike and progressive administration that is characterized by a careful considera- tion of every question which comes up for settlement and of all measures relating to the public welfare. He is a stanch advocate of every move- ment which he believes will contribute to the general good and is equally strong in his position on measures which he deems inimical to the city's advancement. Mr. Legg is also a prominent member of the Masonic fra- ternity and has taken all of its degrees with one exception. He is also a Knight of Pythias and his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Baptist church.
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In 1873 Mr. Legg was united in marriage to Miss Alice B. Stillman, who died in 1898, leaving three children : Llewellyn, now deceased; Harold S .; and Mabel Louise. In 1900 Mr. Legg married again, Miss Delia H. Benton becoming his wife. Civility and an unfailing courtesy have gained him the prominence in social life that close application and capability have won for him in his professional career. He has now gained a lucrative prac- tice and ranks among the foremost public-spirited men, manifesting a help- ful interest in all progressive measures for the benefit of Coldwater. He is a member of the Legg Lumber Company of this city, but aside from this sustains no other business relations, preferring to lead a professional life.
REUBEN M. SIMMONS.
Among the retired citizens of Union City Reuben M. Simmons is num- bered. For many years he was an active representative of business pursuits. He was born in Lake county, Ohio, December 17, 1833. His grandfather, Peleg Simmons, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and was a sailor for twenty-two years on the high seas, having made twenty-two trips to the West Indies. His father, Horace Simmons, was a native of Connecticut, born near Springfield, and was a farmer by occupation. After living in Ohio for a num- ber of years he removed to Michigan in 1863, settling in Salem township, Washtenaw county, where he resided until about 1873, when he came to Branch county. His last days were spent in Union City, and he died in his ninety- fifth vear. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church for about seventy years, and lived a most honorable, upright life, being considerate in his treatment of his fellowmen, straightforward in all his business dealings and true to every trust reposed in him. He married Miss Philena Ford, a native of Massachusetts, who reached the age of seventy-six years. They were the parents of seven children. of whom two died in infancy. The fol- lowing lines are part of a sketch which was printed in one of the local papers at the time of the father's death :
" In the death of Horace Simmons Union City and this township loses its oldest citizen. He was born on the 17th of July, 1799, and died on the 12th day of April, 1894, making him but little less than ninety-five years of age. What a wonderful transformation he has witnessed in this country since he came into being. He was only five years younger than the Constitu- tion of the United States, under which the country has so rapidly and won- derfully developed. He lived before the age of railroads and steamboats, and when Fulton was steaming his strange looking craft up the Hudson he was a lad of eight years. He was born in Middletown, Connecticut, and at the age of seventeen removed with his parents to Lake county, Ohio, about twenty-two miles from Cleveland. In that new county he prepared and laid the foundation for a competence for his declining years. In 1824 he was united in marriage to Miss Philena Ford, and together they wended their way along the pathway of life until 1884, when she sickened and died. To them seven children were born, four of whom still survive: Mrs. F. Pratt, of South Lyons, Michigan; Mrs. A. P. Hodge, of Unionville, Ohio; Mrs.
R. M. Simmons
Lucy. L. Simmons
.
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N. C. Taylor, of Elmira, Michigan ; and R. M. Simmons, of this place, with whom the later years of his life were spent, and at whose home he died.
" He lived in Lake county, Ohio, fifty-eight years, and then sold his pos- sessions and came to Union City. When he went to his new home in the west Cleveland, his market place, was an insignificant little village, entirely devoid of everything to make it of interest to everyone. Its harbor had been mapped out, and its streets appeared only on paper. When he left it was one of the most beautiful cities on the western continent. In his religious belief he was a Methodist, and for more than seventy years was a member of that church. He was zealous in his faith, and during his lifetime did much to contribute to the advancement of the organization. When a sufficient num- ber of families had been gathered in the wilderness he was instrumental in the organization of a Methodist church, and for a half century or more was an honored class leader in that body. His political affiliations were with the Whig party, but upon the organization of the Republican party he promptly gave his adherence to it. All through the dark times when fears were ex- pressed that if certain measures were adopted looking to the circumscribing of slavery within the bounds where it then existed the Union would be dis- membered he never wavered. He believed in the Union and had implicit faith that He who presides over the destinies of nations would bring this one out from under the dark shadow purified and beautified by the trials through which it must ultimately pass. He lived for many years to see the fruition of his hopes, a country redeemed and its people both north and south acknowl- edging the baneful influences that slavery brings.
" The funeral services were held at the home of his son, where he died on Friday. being conducted by Rev. G. C. Draper, pastor of the Methodist church, and by Rev. H. S. Mills, pastor of the Congregational church, both of whom paid glowing tributes to the memory of the deceased. The remains were then conveyed to their last resting place in Riverside cemetery. A good citizen, a faithful husband, a loving father, a true friend has gone to the eternal city, where the good and the true only will bask in the light and pres- ence of the Eternal One."
The following was written in memory of the loving wife and mother : " Entered into rest on Wednesday, May 21, 1884, Mrs. Horace Simmons, aged seventy-six years, nine months and fifteen days. Philena Ford was born in Plainfield, Massachusetts, August 6, 1807. While a child her parents removed to Ohio, settling in Madison, Lake county. Here in 1825 she was married to Horace Simmons, with whom she lived for nearly sixty years, until death separated them, leaving Father Simmons to journey alone until the glad reunion. About two years after their marriage both were converted and united with the Methodist Episcopal church, of which they have been faithful members ever since. Their house has been an 'Itinerant's Lodge,' and until the infirmities of age shut her away from active life she was con- stantly in the prosperity of our town. Her religious hope did not decline as bodily strength failed. To her pastor she often spoke cheerfully of the pres- ent, and yet lovingly of that future toward which her faith looked. Almost
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her last words on earth were about the rest into which she has entered. 'She rests from her labors, and her works do follow her.'"
Reuben M. Simmons, the fifth member of their family and the second son, was reared in the Buckeye state and was a resident of Willoughby, Ohio, until 1862. He then offered his services to the government and joined the boys in blue, becoming a private in Company F, One Hundred and Fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served until the close of the war in 1865, or for two years, ten months and two days. He was in all the battles with his command, except the engagement at Missionary Ridge, and he participated in the battle of Perryville, October 8, 1862, where he served on detached duty, being there wounded and having his horse shot under him, and was again wounded at the battle of Stone River. At Chickamauga he was wounded three times, and he carries one of the bullets to this day. At Marietta, Georgia, he was also shot. and thus was wounded six times in all, but no matter how desperate were the chances which he had to take, or how great the danger, he never faltered in the performance of any duty and his valor and bravery made him a model soldier. He remained a private throughout the war, but acted as commissary sergeant during the last years of his service. He went with Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea, and he also participated in the Grand Review in Washington, where the victorious army of thousands marched by the stand on which stood the president, cheering the loyal de- fenders of the Union cause. He received his honorable discharge at Cleve- land, Ohio, June 8, 1865. He was the first man to sign a petition to organize the Corbin G. A. R. Post in Union City, which is now a flourishing organiza- tion.
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