USA > Michigan > Branch County > A twentieth century history and biographical record of Branch County, Michigan > Part 104
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On the 5th of December, 1865, occurred the marriage of Mr. Stanton and Miss Susan Atwood. the wedding being celebrated in Coldwater. The parents are Elisha and Elvira (Demmon) Atwood, who were natives of Connecticut and New Hampshire, and following their marriage removed to Genesee county, New York, while later they became residents of Henry county, Ohio. The year 1848 witnessed their arrival in Michigan, at which time they took up their abode in Sherwood township, Branch county. Later they removed to Union township. Their family numbers nine children, five sons and four daughters, of whom Mrs. Stanton was the fourth in order of birth, her natal place being Genesee county, New York, her natal day, September
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19, 1837. She attended the district schools in her girlhood and was trained in home duties which well qualified her to preside capably over her own home at the time of her marriage. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Stanton were born three children : John A .; Elvira E., now the wife of Fred Calkins of Matteson township; and Mis, the wife of J. Ara Annis, of Sherwood township.
Mr. Stanton was a supporter of the Republican party from its organiza- tion. In fact his first presidential ballot was cast for its first candidate and he labored loyally to promote the success of the party and to secure the adop- tion of its principles. He held the office of highway commissioner but was never a politician in the sense of office seeking. preferring to devote his time and energies to his business affairs, wherein he met with creditable success.
EDWARD B. RANSFORD.
April 15. 1905, there died in Quincy township a citizen who had been identified with this county for over half a century, and whose career pos- sesses not only the interest which always belongs to such length of life, but furthermore the regard which arises from a wholesome usefulness and in- tegrity of character.
Edward B. Ransford was born in the state of New York in 1828. so that he was seventy-seven years old at the date of his death. He was of New England stock. a son of Aruna and Lydia (Cass) Ransford, whom he accom- panied to Michigan in 1844 and located two and a half miles south of Jones- ville, Hillsdale county, where both parents died. Reared on a farm and attending the schools of the county, Edward B. Ransford followed agricult- ural pursuits throughout his active career, and was almost uniformly suc- cessful in his endeavors. Coming to Branch county in 1853. he bought eighty acres in section four of Quincy township, and on that homestead. now linked by so many ties of association with his life, he continued to make his residence until death took him in the fulness of years and maturity of work. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, was affiliated with the Masons, and in politics was a Republican, being proud of his stanch advocacy of the principles of the Grand Old Party, which he had upheld so many years. At the organization of Quincy Grange No. 152 in 1873. he and his wife became charter members, and the latter is now the only active living charter member of the organization. Edward B. Ransford was one of eight children.
He married Frances E. Churchill, who was born in Columbia county, New York, in 1828, and, surviving her late husband, is now one of the esteemed old ladies of her community. Her parents were William Henry and Fanny (Gregory) Churchill, the former of New York state and the latter of Connecticut, and both members of the Methodist church. The Churchill family moved to Michigan in 1844, locating at Jonesville. and in 1851 came to Branch county and located in Quincy township, where the father continued his vocation of farming, but for some time before his death lived retired in Quincy. He was a Democrat. Mrs. Ransford is the oldest of their five children, the others being: Charles, deceased ; George, who served in the commissary department during the Civil war and is now a resident .
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of San Antonio, Texas; Susan, wife of John Nichols, a farmer at East Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Robert, a resident of Quincy, who was a soldier in the Civil war, going from New York. Mrs. Ransford is a member of the Methodist church.
Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Ransford : Alfred, now deceased, was a graduate of Valparaiso College and was a successful school teacher, being principal of the Quincy schools, and also of the schools at Kaneville and St. Charles, Illinois; Julia is the wife of Nelson Curtis, a farmer of Butler township; Charles is connected with a carriage factory at Flint, Michi- gan; George is a farmer in Butler township; Frank lives on the old home- stead; and Susan married A. E. Lampman, a farmer of Butler township.
HENRY SEYMOUR.
Henry Seymour, a retired grocery merchant who in public office demon- strated his loyalty to the general welfare of Branch county, was born in Oneida county, New York, August 15, 1837. His father, Constantine A. Seymour, was a native of the Empire state and was reared in Oneida county. He was a tailor by occupation and in 1844 he came westward to Michigan, settling in the northern part of Branch county, where he continued to carry on tailoring. His political allegiance was given to the Republican party from the time of its organization and he was elected and served as township treasurer. He married Lucy M. Thayer, also a native of New York and his death occurred when he was seventy-three years of age, while his wife died when about sixty-eight years of age. They were the parents of four children, three sons and a daughter, all of whom reached years of maturity. The daughter is now deceased, but the sons are all living.
Henry Seymour, the second child and second son, was seven years old when brought by his parents to Branch county and was reared and educated in Union township. In early life he learned the tinner's trade which he followed for about eighteen years. His business pursuits, however, were interrupted when in 1861 he espoused the cause of the union and joined the boys in blue of Company D, First Michigan Light Artillery, with which he served for three years. He was often in the thickest of the fight and he participated in the engagements at Stone River, Pittsburgh Landing, Chicka- mauga, Missionary Ridge and many others, receiving an honorable discharge at Louisville, Kentucky, at the close of his term of enlistment September 17, 1864. At the battle of Pittsburgh Landing he was knocked down by the force of a solid shot striking the ground in front of him, a close call for his life.
Mr. Seymour then returned home and resumed business in Branch county. He was for twenty-one years a grocer of Union City, having a well appointed store and receiving a liberal patronage. That he met with success in his undertakings is indicated by the fact that he so long directed his energies to one line· of trade. He also gave some time to discharge of public duties which were entrusted to him by the vote of his fellow townsmen. He was elected in 1899 to the office of county treasurer for a term of two years and in 1901 was re-elected, serving until 1903, when he retired from office
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as he had entered it, "With the confidence and good will of all concerned." He was also supervisor of Union township for thirteen years and was town treasurer for two years. He has been a life long Republican and has taken an active and helpful interest in public affairs, his labors being far reaching and beneficial in their influence.
In 1865 Mr. Seymour was united in marriage to Miss Carrie E. Tuth- erly, and they became the parents of two sons and a daughter : John C., who is now a dry goods merchant at Sherwood, Branch county; George H., who is a cashier of the Merchants' Bank at Sherwood; and Cora E., who is a graduate of the piano department of the Michigan State Normal, and is now a teacher of music and drawing.
Mr. Seymour belongs to Corbin Post, No. 88, G. A. R., and attended the Grand Encampment at Columbus, Ohio. He is likewise a member of the Masonic lodge of Union City and the Eastern Star. While now practically retired from active business life he is still a stockholder and director in the Union City National Bank. He has lived for sixty-one years in Branch county and has a very wide and favor- able acquaintance here. Endowed by nature with a strong character he was so surrounded in his childhood that his latent powers were developed and strengthened and he became a successful business man. Today he is not more honored on account of the enviable position which he has occupied in business circles and the success he has gained than by reason of his fidelity to duty in public office, his loyalty to his country at the time of the Civil war and on account of the many deeds of his life which have ever been quietly and unostentatiously performed.
CHARLES D. RATHBURN.
Charles D. Rathburn, living on section sixteen, Sherwood township, where he is extensively and successfully engaged in general farming, is a native of Ashtabula county, Ohio, born April 9, 1842. He is a son of Joseph and Sarah O. (Brown) Rathburn, the former a native of Genesee county, New York, and the latter of Kingsville, Ashtabula county, Ohio. The mother died in Michigan at the ripe old age of eighty-two years. In their family were five daughters and four sons: Olivia, now deceased: Francis M., who has also passed away: Charles D .; Pearson J., who is represented elsewhere in this work; Electa, the wife of James Johnson, of Isabella county, Michigan; Deborah, deceased; Ellen E., the wife of Ed Ward, of Alabama: Edward R., who is a twin of Ellen and lives in Sherwood township; and Marietta R., the wife of Frank H. Lee, of Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
Charles D. Rathburn, the eldest son and third child of the family, passed his youth in Ashtabula county with the exception of a period of two years' spent in Iowa. He was provided with good educational privileges, pursuing a course at Kingsville Academy in his native county and later lie gave his attention to farming, which he followed in his native state until 1877, when he came to Branch county, Michigan, settling upon a farm which he now owns and at the present time is being operated by his sons. During his resi-
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dence in this county he has practiced veterinary surgery, having prepared him- self for the profession and passed an examination at Lansing, Michigan, be- fore the veterinary board, and registered in Branch county. His skill in this connection has rendered him a prominent representative of the calling, and he is a member of the Wolverine Veterinary Association. He has a farm of one hundred and sixty-seven acres which is well improved and supplied with many modern equipments and accessories, so that it is now a valuable prop- erty, and to the place he gives his supervision, although his sons perform the active work of the fields.
Mr. Rathburn was married in Kingsville township, Ashtabula county, Ohio, June 15, 1865, to Miss Alice C. Fox, a daughter of Alvin and Vesta C. (Ward) Fox, who was born in Kingsville, Ashtabula county, Ohio, May 22, 1840. They have two children: Marion A., who married Hannah Russell and resides upon his father's farm; and Lillie, the wife of George A. Drumm, a resident of Sherwood township.
Mr. Rathburn, desirous for the best interests of his county, has co-oper- ated in public affairs to the best of his ability-and that ability is of no mean order. He has filled the office of township treasurer for three terms, and was supervisor for one term, and whether in office or out of it he is al- ways a champion for public good. In politics he is a Democrat, and was elected to office in face of a normal Republican majority, so that the elec- tion was proof of his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him by his fellow townsmen. For twenty-five years he has been treasurer of the Grange and is very active in its movement. He was also school director, and has been assessor the greater part of the time since coming to Branch county. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity at Athens, and is well known in this portion of Michigan, where his activity in business affairs, his co- operation in public measures and his genuine worth of character have made him prominent. He is an excellent representation of a purely self-made man, for all that he has has been honestly acquired by his untiring effort, so that his example should well serve as a lesson and incentive to the younger gen- eration.
WILLARD ADOLPH.
Willard Adolph, a representative farmer of Union township, living in section eleven, was born in Richardbegh, Bohemia, on the 7th of July, 1846, and was but ten years of age when brought by his parents to America, at which time the family home was established about three miles northwest of the city of Coldwater. There they remained for a year and then removed to Girard township, where Mr. Adolph of this review was reared to man- hood. He worked in the fields on the home place, gaining a practical knowl- edge of farming methods that well fitted him to carry on agricultural pur- suits on his own account after he had attained man's estate.
On the 2nd of November, 1869, Mr. Adolph was married in Girard township to Miss Anna Hoffman and took up his abode in Batavia township, where he remained for about fifteen, years, when he sold that property and bought eighty acres where he now resides. He added to this until he has
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a valuable farm property of one hundred and eighty acres which is well improved. Most of the improvements are the work of his hands and his labors have made him one of the substantial citizens of the community. Realizing that labor is the basis of all success. he has carried on his work persistently and energetically, his efforts being guided by sound judgment and keen business discernment.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Adolph has been blessed with three children : Anna, now the wife of Clarence Olney, a farmer of Union township; Willie, who died at the age of twenty-two years; and Edward, who also carried on agricultural pursuits in Union township. Mr. Adolph has been a resident of Branch county for a half century and has done his full share in the work of improvement and progress. Seeing the needs of his community, he has co-operated in many movements for the general good. In politics he has becn a life-long Republican, but has preferred to do his duty to township and county as a private citizen rather than an officeholder. He is one.of the loyal adopted sons of America, interested in her institutions, devoted to her principles and active in support of the measures which he deems will promote local advancement and the national welfare.
J. H. ANDERSON, M. D.
Dr. J. H. Anderson, successfully practicing medicine in Union City and vicinity, is a native son of Michigan, his birth having occurred in St. Joseph county, January 3, 1867. His parents were George and Rebecca (Garnett) Anderson, the former a native of northern Ireland and the latter of Eng- land. Both came to America in early life and the father, establishing his home in St. Joseph county, engaged in business as a hardware merchant at Constantine. He died when his son, Dr. Anderson, was only three years old and the mother afterward returned to her native country accompanied by her family. She there remained until 1881, when she again came to the new world, settling at Constantine. Michigan, and there Dr. Anderson con- tinued his education, completing the high school course with the class of 1884. His tastes led him into professional life and, determining upon the practice of medicine and surgery, he then entered the Michigan State Uni- versity at Ann Arbor, completing the medical course by graduation in 1888. He located for practice at Girard, where he remained for nine years, and in 1901 he removed to Union City, where he has since followed his chosen calling. In this profession advancement depends entirely upon individual merit. One must master the principles of medicine and surgery and must accurately apply his knowledge to the needs of his patients. Dr. Anderson is most careful in the diagnosis of a case and his judgment is seldom at fault in anticipating the outcome of a disease.
While living in Girard Dr. Anderson was married to Miss Harriet Granger, a daughter of Frank Granger. She died in 1897, leaving two sons, with whom Dr. Anderson returned to his old home in Constantine, there remaining until his removal to Union City in 1901. For his second wife he chose Minerva Beardsley. His sons are F. Garnett and Granger,
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who are still at home. Dr. Anderson is prominent fraternally, belonging to the Masonic lodge at Union City, the Chapter at Union City, the Knights Templar Commandery at Coldwater and to the Knights of the Maccabees and the Improved Order of Foresters. In the line of his profession he is con- nected with the state, tri-state and county medical societies.
J. HARLAN DAVIS.
J. Harlan Davis, who is engaged in general agricultural pursuits on section three, Girard township, was born in Cazenovia, Madison county, New York, April 24, 1844. His paternal grandfather was Benjamin Davis, a representative of a family that was established in Massachusetts in early colonial days. Joseph Davis, the father of J. Harlan Davis, was born in Massachusetts, November 18, 1800, and was the first of the family to leave that state, where his ancestors had lived for so many years. He went to Cazenovia, New York, soon after his marriage to Mary Adams, who was a member of the celebrated Adams family of Massachusetts, which furnished two Presidents to the United States, several Governors and many other dis- tinguished men and women. Mary Adams was born in Shutesbury, Massa- chusetts, and became the wife of Joseph Davis in that state in 1824. Their married life was spent almost entirely in Cazenovia, New York, where Mr. Davis died in 1856, his wife passing away in 1846. They had a large fan- ily of children, eleven in number, nine sons and two daughters. One died in infancy, but the remainder reached adult age, and six of the sons came to Michigan. Seymour entered the army in 1861 in the Sixth Michigan In- fantry and died at Marshall, Michigan, in the service in 1862. William H. was also a veteran of the Civil war, and is still living. Two brothers, Charles and Frank, are both deceased. One of the sisters survives.
J. Harlan Davis spent his boyhood and youth in and near Cazenovia. New York, and acquired what in those early days was a most liberal educa- tion. He attended the common schools and afterward the Oneida Confer- ence Seminary, subsequent to which time he pursued a course in the com- mercial school at Syracuse, New York, where he was, graduated with the class of 1862. He taught school in the Empire State through the following winter and in the spring of 1863 went to Amherst, Massachusetts, where he worked for two years in a machine shop, his employers being extensive man- ufacturers of wheels. Seeking a home in the middle West he made his way to St. Paul, Minnesota, when that city contained a population of but four- teen thousand and Minneapolis only eight thousand. He spent the summer prospecting there and while on his western trip he visited for a few months with relatives in Marshall, Michigan, thus becoming impressed with the ad- vantages of the Wolverine state. On returning to Cazenovia, New York, he remained there until 1868, and then came again to Michigan, where he has since resided. Here he first engaged in farming with his brother, Will- iam H. Davis, in Tekonsha township, Calhoun county, and for eleven years he spent the winter seasons in teaching school. in different portions of Branch and Calhoun counties, being regarded as a most capable and efficient edu-
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cator. Thirty-five years ago he purchased the farm of ninety-five acres on section three. Girard township, just over the border line in Branch county, and here he has since resided. He has improved the place with good build- ings and brought the land up to a high state of cultivation, so that he now has a splendid farm that annually returns to him gratifying harvests as a re- ward for the care and labor he has bestowed upon it.
Mr. Davis was married in 1874 to Miss Emma Dean of Tekonsha and their married life, which was a particularly happy one, was terminated by the death of Mrs. Davis. April 30, 1890. Three sons and three daughters were born unto them, the daughters being: Clara E., Anna M. and Olive. who are living with their father on the old homestead. Of the sons, Russell is holding a responsible position with the Chicago and Northwestern Rail- road company; Ward is employed in the electrical line in Chicago : and Burt is learning the builder's trade and architect's profession in Chicago.
Mr. Davis is an ardent Republican, never faltering in his allegiance to the party, which he believes embodies the best principles of good govern- ment in its platform. He was supervisor of Girard township for thirteen consecutive years, beginning in 1883. and in 1896 was chairman of the Board, and in 1879 served as superintendent of schools in the township. while for several years he was school inspector. As a member of the Board of Supervisor he acted on many important committees, including the build- ing committee during the erection of the present handsome county court- house at Coldwater. He has ever been the champion of progress and im- provement along practical and substantial lines and his co-operation has been a factor in many movements that have resulted beneficially to the county.
LEON A. JOHNSON.
Leon A. Johnson, who is filling the office of township supervisor and makes his home in Union City, was born in Union township, Branch county. April 16, 1867. He is the eldest of three sons born unto Mr. and Mrs. John Johnson, prominent farming people of Union township. He was reared upon the old family homestead, began his education in the district schools and afterward entered the high school of Union City, from which he was graduated in 1886. He also spent one year in the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, after which he went to Nebraska, establishing his home in Cambridge, Furnas county. There he engaged in teaching school for a time but afterward returned to Michigan and taught in the schools of Union City. He was elected school inspector for two terms, covering four years, and he has also held the office of township treasurer for two terms. Since 1898 he has been a clerk in a store. He was appointed to fill a vacancy in the office of township supervisor as the successor of Henry Seymour when the latter was elected county treasurer. He filled out the unexpired term and then in 1905 was elected to the office on the Republican ticket. He has always been identified with the party, is active in its local work and his opinions carry weight in its councils.
On the 25th of November, 1891, Mr. Johnson was united in marriage
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to Miss Bertha C. Sawin, a daughter of M. E. and Celinda (Gardiner ) Sawin. Her birth occurred in Matteson township, Branch county, March 28, 1868, and she was educated in the public schools, being a graduate of the high school of Union City. She too followed teaching for a time, both in Missouri and Michigan and had the ability to impart clearly and readily to others the knowledge that she had acquired. Mr. Johnson is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to the lodge and the chapter at Union City. He is likewise a member of Union City council, R. and S. M., and he and his wife are members of the Order of the Eastern Star.
CHARLES H. HALL.
Charles H. Hall, engaged in the cultivation and improvement of a good farm on section twenty-eight, Sherwood township, is one of Michigan's na- tive sons and possesses the enterprise so typical of the middle west. He was born in Lee township, Calhoun county, December 7, 1846. His father, Jesse Hall, was a native of England, and when a young man came to Amer- ica, locating in New York, where he was married to Miss Maria Henion, a native of that state. He removed to Calhoun county, Michigan, about 1842, becoming a pioneer resident of that locality. Securing land, he devoted his energies to farming there until 1856, when he took up his abode in Branch county, securing a farm in Sherwood township, about two and a half miles north of the place upon which his son Charles now resides. The land which he there owned he placed under a good state of cultivation and was one of the leading and influential agriculturists of his community. Crossing the plains to California at an early day he spent about three years in the Golden State, after which he returned to his farming pursuits in Michigan, and was thus engaged up to the time of his death, which occurred in his forty-ninth year. He was a school director, interested in the cause of education and also desiring the development of the county along all lines of material, men- tal and moral progress. His wife lived to be about sixty years of age. Of their four children one died in early youth, while the others reached adult age.
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