USA > Michigan > Branch County > A twentieth century history and biographical record of Branch County, Michigan > Part 48
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110
After the close of the war Lieutenant Kitchel found his way first to
381
HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
Ohio, where he taught school for a year or two, and then came on to Cold- water, settling in this city in the year 1868. He had overcome all obstacles in the boyhood pathway, he had served well and honorably his country in war, and now without capital or influence he found himself in a new home where he must carve his own future and make his own fortune. By hard struggles and through many privations he completed his law studies and began the practice of his chosen work. At odd spells while in the army and after its close he had taken up and pursued the study of stenography, until he had become a proficient artist in that branch, and which served him to great advantage in the practice of his profession. He was also an artist in fine penmanship. So popular had Mr. Kitchel become as a young lawyer and citizen that in 1876 he was nominated and elected prosecuting attorney of the county and was re-elected to the same office in 1878. He was after- ward honored by his neighbors and by the city in being made a member of the board of education, mayor of his city, etc.
He was always an ardent member of the Republican party and believed in an honest square deal in caucus or election. He hated rings and bosses and always fought trickery. His position was always known and he never wore two faces. The last political effort of his life was for a law providing for the reform of the primary election system. He abhorred the abuses attendant upon the modern caucus and convention and earnestly advocated radical changes in the law. Both personally and through his paper he be- came a prominent state factor in this fight.
His mind and genius were never idle, and his plans seldom miscarried. He was not an impractical dreamer. He studied men and their wants. It was through his keen observation and genius that he compounded the lini- ment that afterward became world famous. Through his pluck and per- severance, without capital and single handed, he organized the manufacture. sale and business ; he pushed the enterprise, until at his death Kitchel's Lini- ment had become a familiar name the country over.
He loved good horses and for twenty years or more owned the best he could buy. At his death he had twenty-five or more of the finest bred colts in the whole country. He often drove his own horses in speed con- tests, but never bet or invested a dollar in pools or wagers. In his habits he was strictly temperate, and never touched intoxicating liquor as a beverage or used tobacco in any form.
He was exceedingly fond of shooting and during the season for bird hunting would spend many days with his dogs tramping through the woods, and he generally returned with well filled bags. For some years prior to his death he went South, accompanied by his wife, for a few months each winter, taking his guns and dogs for recreation.
At different times' he owned some fine launches, first upon the lakes about Coldwater and afterward some very elaborate and beautiful ones. In one of them he spent several weeks with his wife in a cruise down the inland route along the Atlantic coast and up some of the rivers emptying into the Atlantic. Later he had an elaborate and finely appointed launch con- structed for him in Providence, Rhode Island. and with his wife and son,
382
HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
Horace, cruised the Long Island Sound, up the Hudson, through the Erie Canal, across Lake Erie to Detroit. Tliese trips were to him the height of enjoyment.
When the automobile came Mr. Kitchel watched and studied its advent and improvements, and during the last two years of his life enjoyed greatly the best machines he could buy, bringing to Coldwater the first touring cars owned in the city.
Perhaps no undertaking, however, redounded to his home credit with greater appreciation than the establishment and maintenance of the Cold- water Daily and Semi-weekly Reporter. The success of this enterprise was due solely and alone to his daring and push. No expense was denied or refused to make the paper the best. The circulation so rapidly increased that it became equal to if not greater than that of any paper in the state published in towns of no greater size. Two linotype machines, with corresponding presses and equipment, were added, until it was at the time of his death one of the best appointed offices in the state.
Socially he loved his home and his friends and cared little for the so- ciety of strangers. It mattered little to him whether his friends were rich or poor, their real worth was all that appealed to him.
While he always had the best of everything himself, he was not given to display, nor to any extravagance for mere show. The vein of humor in him was seemingly inexhaustible and original. His memory seldom lost anything and whether hours, days or years elapsed he could recall with de- tailed accuracy conversations and incidents with such precision that he af- forded his friends and companions, wherever he was, both pleasure and entertainment.
No man ever questioned his integrity, word or honesty. In charities he was liberal and generous and his hand was always extended to a worthy cause. His giving was not published by heralds, but was exercised with observation. He was true to a friend. He was cordial, generous and open when he was with him and he would guard and defend his good name when he was absent. What better test of friendship? He died having left a deep impress for good. His struggles in youth for support and education are worthy of emulation. The services he rendered to his country in war call for the gratitude of every citizen. While his honesty and character, his clean and temperate life, his genius and energy, the useful enterprises he organized and left, unite with common voice in deserved praise of the life and accomplishments of Simon B. Kitchel.
MILO D. CAMPBELL.
JAMES R. DICKEY.
James R. Dickey may without invidious distinction be classed as a fore- most citizen of Coldwater, being influential in public affairs, in which his ability and devotion to the general good well qualify him for leadership. As county treasurer and county clerk he has made a most creditable record, and at the present time he is representing the First ward of the city on the board of supervisors.
383
HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
Mr. Dickey was born in Niagara county, New York, February 14, 1847. his parents being James and May T. (Appleby) Dickey. The father was a native of Washington county, New York, and was a blacksmith by occupa- tion. He came to Branch county, Michigan, in March, 1852. settling in Cold- water, where he worked for about six months, when he began farming in Quincy township, there carrying on general agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred in the '70s. His political views accorded with Re- publican principles, and although he was never an aspirant for office, he was always loyal to the party to which he gave his support. His wife was a native of Allegheny county, New York, and died when about sixty years of age. They were the parents of four children, of whom one died in child- hood.
James R. Dickey, the third child and third son of the family. was about five years old when brought by his parents to Branch county. He was edu- cated in the district schools and in Coldwater, where he attended the high school and in the summer months he followed farming, looking after the interests of his father's place. He early learned the value of industry and integrity as forceful factors in a business career, and these have ever charac- terized his life. As a companion and helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Emily P. Smith, to whom he was married July 3, 1873. She was a daughter of Daniel Smith. Mr. and Mrs. Dickey began their domestic life upon the farm and he continued its cultivation until 1876, when called to public office by popular ballot. He removed to Coldwater to enter upon the duties of county treasurer. to which position he had been elected on the Re- publican ticket, receiving the largest majority given any man in the county. He was re-elected in 1878. and in 1881 he was chosen county clerk. which position he filled for twelve consecutive years, a longer period than any other incumbent in that office during the history of Branch county. In 1892 he was defeated for nomination in one of the most hotly contested political fights ever known in the history of the county. In 1893 he filled the position of city clerk and the following year he entered upon the work of making the annotations attached to the law books of the different states. His patent is now handled all over the country, and in the interest of the business Mr. Dickey himself traveled through many states of the Union. His work has received the commendation of many of the most prominent lawyers of the country and also of the senate of Wisconsin, who in session advocated the use of his patent. In 1904 he was elected supervisor from the First ward and is now occupying that position.
Mr. and Mrs. Dickey have one daughter, Dora Duella. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. His residence in the county covers more than a half century and he is prominent locally. having the warm friendship and high regard of the majority of the citizens of this part of the state. Over the record of his official career there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil, and he has rendered valuable service to the county in the faithful dis- charge of the duties that have devolved upon him.
384
HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
ISAAC TOWER.
Isaac Tower is one of the venerable residents of Union City, having passed the eighty-third milestone on life's journey. He is honored by all because his life has been upright and has also been crowned with successful accomplishment in the business world. In more intimate commercial circles he has gained warm friendships and today he is esteemed by young and old, rich and poor throughout Branch county. His birth occurred in Windsor county, Vermont, June 13. 1822. His father, Abram Tower, is supposed to have been a native of the Green Mountain state and was born March 9, 17SI, while his death occurred January 15, 1857. He married Bethia Field, also a native of Vermont, born December 4. 1786. She passed away Sep- tember 11, 1839.
Isaac Tower. the eighth in order of birth in their family of ten chil- dren, was reared in the county of his nativity and with the exception of four years spent in New Hampshire remained a resident of Vermont until twenty- eight years of age. He attended the common schools there and after arriv- ing at years of maturity he sought a companion and helpmate for life's jour- ney, being married in Charleston, New Hampshire. April 2, 1849, to Miss Mary Corbin, who was there born October 16, 1829, her parents being Ezbond and Lucretia (Howe) Corbin. In their family were ten children, all of whom became residents of Branch county, but only five are now living. Mrs. Tower has a twin sister, Martha, who is the widow of Hiram Crissy, and Mrs. D. C. Mosley is also their sister. Their brother. Captain Henry Corbin, resides in Union City and they have another brother in Sherwood. Mr. Tower also has a sister living, Mrs. Henry L. Bisbee, whose home is in Athens, Calhoun county, Michigan.
Mr. and Mrs. Tower removed from the east to Branch county in the year of their marriage, locating in Union City, where he established a boot and shoe store, carrying on business with gratifying success until 1865. He then sold out and took up his abode on a farm in Burlington, Calhoun county, where he lived for four years, after which he returned to Union City. estab- lishing his home in the house which has since sheltered him. The first township election was held in this house. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Tower were born two sons: Willis, who was born November 15. 1856, and is now en- gaged in the boot and shoe business in Union City, and Newton E., who was born November 26, 1857, and is now postmaster of this place. He is mar- ried and has two children: Harold N. E. and Marjorie E.
Mr. and Mrs. Tower celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary in 1899. having for a half century traveled life's journey together, sharing with each other its joys and sorrows, its adversity and prosperity. their mutual love and confidence increasing as the years have gone by. They have now been man and wife for fifty-six years, and, all of their married life has been spent in Branch county. Since the organization of the Republican party Mr. Tower has been one of its stalwart advocates and has held a number of local offices in the town, never faltering in the performance of any dutv that has devolved upon him in this connection. He is one of the honored pioneer set-
3Sš
HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
tlers here and his labors have contributed in substantial measure to the up- building and progress of this section of the state. His success in business was the result of honest, persistent effort in the line of honorable and manly dealing. His aim has always been to attain to the best and he has carried forward to successful completion whatever he has undertaken. His life has marked a steady growth and now he is in possession of an ample competence. and. more than all. has that contentment which comes from a consciousness of having lived for a worthy purpose.
WILLIS H. TOWER.
Willis H. Tower, a representative of commercial interests in Union City, where he has engaged in business as a dealer in boots and shoes, was here born November 15, 1856. being the elder son of Isaac and Mary Tower. who are yet residents of Union City. He began his education in the common schools, passed through successive grades until he had become a high school student and later entered Olivet College at Olivet. Michigan. He began his buisiness career as a salesman in the shoe store of Samuel Corbin. with whom he remained for two or three years, and on the expiration of that period he and his brother. Newton E., established a shoe store in this city under the firm name of Tower Brothers. They were thus associated for twenty-five years. At the end of that time Willis Tower purchased his brother's interest and has since conducted business independently. From the beginning he has enjoyed a large patronage, and his enterprising methods, the large line of goods which he carries and his honorable methods constitute the basis of his prosperity.
In 1880 Mr. Tower was united in marriage to Miss Ida E. Canniff. a daughter of Enos and Lucy Canniff. She was born in Hudson, Michigan and pursued her education in the schools there. By this marriage there is one child. Dr. Lee H. Tower, who is now engaged in the practice of medi- cine in Centerville and is a graduate of the University of Michigan of the class of 1904.
In connection with his other business interests Willis Tower is a di- rector in the Union City National Bank. While his mercantile affairs make heavy claims upon his time and attention. he has vet found opportunity to perform capable service in behalf of his fellow townsmen, and his aid is always counted upon to further any movement for the public good. In politics he has been a life-long Republican and has served as a member of the school board. In the Masonic fraternity he is connected with the lodge and the Order of the Eastern Star, and his wife is a member of the Congrega- tional church. He has lived his life of fifty years in this county and is well known. A man of wide experiences and broad mind. of marked enterprise and good discernment. he has many friends throughout this part of the state and is classed with the representative merchants and valued citizens of Union City.
386
HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
WARD C. GRUNER.
In the history of the agricultural development of Branch county men- tion should be made of Ward C. Gruner, who resides on section two. Bata- via township, and he has spent his entire life in Branch county, giving his attention to agricultural pursuits since he attained his majority. He was born in Coldwater township on the Ist of January, 1866. His father, Wen- zel Gruner, was a native of Wittenberg, Germany, and on crossing the At- lantic to America spent five years in the state of New York, after which he came to Michigan, settling in Coldwater township at an early period in its development. There he secured a tract of land and became one of the pros- perous farmers of the county, devoting his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits up to the time of his demise, which occurred when he was fifty-five years of age. He married Miss Emily Randall, who is repre- sented elsewhere in this work.
Ward C. Gruner is the fourth of their children and was reared in Cold- water township upon the old home farm. At the usual age he entered the district schools, and acquired a fair English education. Through the period of his youth he assisted in the labors of the old homestead and when twenty- one years of age started out in life on his own account. In 1889 he purchased the farm whereon he now resides, took up his abode there and has made ex- cellent improvements since, including the erection of substantial barns and a good residence. These are surrounded by well tilled fields, and he annually gathers golden harvests for the reward which he bestows .upon his land.
On the 20th of November, 1889, Mr. Gruner was married to Miss Delia Graf, a daughter of Willard and Martha Graf, and unto them have been born three children, Carl W., Ruth M. and Mina Laura, all of whom are attending school. Mr. Gruner has eighty acres of land, devoted to general farming and stock raising. He has been a life-long resident of Michigan and his life exemplifies the progressive spirit which has been the dominant factor in the substantial and rapid development of this part of the country. In politics he is an earnest Republican, has served as highway commissioner and is now a member of the school board. He has taken an active interest in public affairs and is a member of the Grange, No. 95.
HON. MILO DEWITT CAMPBELL.
Hon. Milo Dewitt Campbell, prominent in Republican circles in Mich- igan and wielding a wide influence in public thought and action, was born on his father's farm in Quincy township, Branch county, October 25, 1851, his parents being Rollin Madison and Susan Ann Campbell. In the paternal line he comes of Scotch lineage, while the maternal ancestry is traced back to England. His parents were born in western New York, and in 1848 came to Michigan, settling in Branch county, where the father followed the occu- pation of farming.
Milo Dewitt Campbell was reared in the usual manner of farm lads and attended the country schools until fourteen years of age, after which he be-
.. ....
Residence of Milo D. Campbell
Mild. Campbell
387
HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
came a student in the city schools of Coldwater, and there he was graduated on the completion of a high school course with the class of 1871. He after- ward matriculated in the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, and the year of his graduation there was 1875. His father being a farmer of limited financial resources was not able to aid his son in securing an education, but allowed him the privilege of working as a farm hand in the summer months. and with the wages thus earned Mr. Campbell met the expense of his high school and normal courses. When seventeen years of age he began teaching. and alternately devoted his attention to attending school and to the work of instruction in the schoolroom until he had completed his own education. Pre- dilection led him to the study of law, and in 1877 he was admitted to the bar. For ten years thereafter he practiced in the town of Quincy, Michigan, and soon rose to prominence in his profession, gaining a lucrative practice. In 1886 he removed to Coldwater, where he has since resided, and here he entered into a partnership with Clayton C. Johnson, who had been a law student in his office. This relation has continued uninterruptedly and the firm enjoys a large patronage. The favorable opinion which the world passed upon Mr. Campbell at the outset of his career has in no degree been set aside or modi- fied, but on the contrary has been strengthened as the years have passed and he has demonstrated his ability to handle intricate legal problems. In addi- tion to his law practice he has business interests in the Coldwater National Bank and the Southern Michigan National Bank.
Mr. Campbell is equally prominent in political circles and perhaps is even more widely known as a Republican leader than as a lawyer. He has held several positions of honor and trust, the first office to which he was called having been that of county school commissioner. He was elected to that office when only twenty-one years of age, and subsequently he was chosen by popular vote to the office of circuit court commissioner of Branch county. In 1885 he was elected to represent his district in the state legisla- ture and in January, 1887. when Governor Luce was inaugurated as chief executive of the commonwealth. Mr. Campbell became his private secretary and was the incumbent in that office for four years. In 1891 he was ap- pointed by Governor Winans as the Republican member of the state board of inspectors, having charge of all the penal and reformatory institutions of the state, together with the pardon board. He was made president of this board and served for two years, or until the law creating this board was changed. He was appointed by Governor John T. Rich a member of the railroad and street crossing board of inspectors in 1893, and served for one term and in 1897 he received appointment as commissioner of insurance by Governor Pingree, holding that office for two years, when at the solicitation of the governor he was appointed a member of the board of state tax com- missioners. He then became its president and served as such until the close of Governor Pingree's term of office. He has been elected three times mayor of the city of Coldwater, in 1902. 1903 and 1904, and as a delegate has attended many district, state and national conventions of the Republican party as well as international and national conferences of the board of cor- rection and charities. He was a delegate to the national conference at
388
HISTORY OF BRANCH COUNTY
New York to prepare extradition agreements between the states. He has made a close study of questions that have arisen in connection with the dis- charge of the many duties that have devolved upon him in an official capacity and has labored for the benefit of the state along practical lines for improve- ment in connection with the work for the benefit of the classes who do not hold themselves amenable to the law and must therefore be placed under restriction.
Fraternally Mr. Campbell is a member of the Patrons of Husbandry and is also a Knight Templar and an Elk. He holds membership with the Presbyterian church of Coldwater and his career has been marked by con- duct consistent with his professions. He is a man of broad humanitarian principles and has never faltered in the performance of any duty in connec- tion with his public service.
Mr. Campbell was married in Quincy, Michigan, October 18, 1876, to Miss Marion Florence Sears. They have an adopted daughter, Jessie May, who became a member of their household when three years of age. The family enjoy pleasing, social relations and are numbered among the promi- nent representatives of the social life of Coldwater. They own and occupy a large and attractive modern residence on East Chicago street.
HENRY A. GRAVES.
Henry A. Graves, formerly identified with the mercantile interests as a grocer and now agent for the United States Express Company at Quincy, was born at Clear Lake, Steuben county, Indiana, November 25, 1856. His father, Orval Graves, was born in Granville, Licking county, Ohio, Septem- ber 23, 1817. The grandfather and great-grandfather both bore the name . of Enoch Graves, and the former, born in Granville, Massachusetts, in 1795, went to Ohio with his father, Enoch Graves, Sr., who traveled westward with a colony and founded the town of Granville, giving to it the name of their old home in New England. The Graves family is of Anglo-Saxon lineage. and the name was originally DeGreaves. The first representative of the family in America arrived in 1632, settling in Massachusetts, and later gen- erations went to Connecticut.
Orval Graves removed from Ohio to Steuben county, Indiana, in 1854. He was a farmer by occupation and he purchased four eighty acres of land of the original purchaser, who had obtained it from the government, and Mr. Graves of this review has in his possession the original patent deeds for each eighty. On the 7th of April, 1865. Orval Graves became a resident of Quincy and remained in the village for four years, after which he took up his abode on a farm two miles west of Quincy, which he had previously pur- chased and on which he remained until his death on the 9th of February, 1889. He was a man of strong convictions, honorable and upright in his daily walk in life. and was a consistent member of the Presbyterian church. in which he long heid office. He gave his political support to the Republican party, but had no aspirations for preferment in that direction. He stood high in the regard of friends and neighbors. all who knew him entertaining
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.