A twentieth century history and biographical record of Branch County, Michigan, Part 79

Author: Collin, Henry P
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: New York : Lewis Publishing
Number of Pages: 1198

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In 1866 Mr. Watson was united in marriage to Miss Olive Smith, a daughter of General Davis Smith, who won his title through service in the Black Hawk war. Mrs. Watson was born in Tecumseh, Michigan, and came to Branch county in 1851. On the Ist of April, 1869, Mr. Watson took up his abode on his present farm, which comprises one hundred and five acres of land all within the city limits. He has a fine residence here, which he erected and he is now a well-to-do citizen, his prosperity having been gained entirely through his own efforts. Three children came to bless the home, but one has passed away. The daughter, Laura S., is yet with her parents. The son, Robert Howard, married Miss Blanche Dunham of Coldwater and now follows farming in Girard township, this county. They have one son, Robert. The younger daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Watson,

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Lizzie Emaline, became the wife of W. S. Everts and died, leaving a daugh- ter, Helen L.

Mr. Watson has been a very busy man and in addition to conducting the meat market in Coldwater he has engaged largely in buying, shipping and selling stock. He has persevered and his salient traits of character have been such as have insured him business success. He has made his home in Coldwater for forty-five years and is closely identified with its interests. In politics a Democrat, he has been chosen by popular vote to the office of alder- man for eight years and has taken an active part in everything relating to the general welfare. The family are connected with the Episcopal church and are well known in Branch county. For more than a half century Mr. Watson has lived in this state and for forty-five years in the county, and his entire life history has been as an open book which all may read.

JOHN SEBRING.

John Sebring. interested in general farming on section twenty-seven, Quincy township, was born in Wayne county, New York, April 10, 1824, and in the paternal line comes of Dutch ancestry. The family was repre- sented in the Revolutionary war and John Sebring, Sr., the father of our subject, was a soldier of the war of 1812, being on Lake Champlain when peace was declared. He followed the occupation of farming in New York and was one of the native sons of the state, his birth having occurred in Argyle about thirty miles from the city of Troy. He continued to make his home in the Empire state until his death, which occurred in 1855. His early political allegiance was given to the Whig party and upon its dis- solution he joined the ranks of the Republican party. His religious faith was that of the Methodist Protestant church. In early manhood he wedded Nancy Durgee, a native of Vermont, and they were the parents of seven children : Moses, Eunice and Jenette, all deceased; Sarah, who is the widow of John L. Seccomb, who was a millwright of Auburn, New York; John, of this review; and Permelia and Catherine, who have also passed away. After losing his first wife Mr. Sebring married Miss Reynolds, who was born in New York and died about 1865, at the age of thirty years. She came of New York ancestry and was the mother of seven children: Nancy and William Henry, both deceased; Harrison G., a stock dealer of Teconsha, who in 1861 enlisted for service in the Union army, with which he re- mained for four years; Sylvester, Andrew and Jacob, all deceased; and Mary M., the wife of C. L. Emmons, a farmer of Muskegon county, Mich- igan, who was formerly engaged in the manufacture of brick and tile.

John Sebring, whose name introduces this review, was reared upon a farm and attended school in Wayne county, New York. He afterward be- gan work as a farm hand and later embarked in business on his own ac- count in the conduct of a saw mill in New York. He came to Michigan on the 19th of November, 1853, locating in the village of Quincy, and erected a saw mill on the ground now occupied by the power house. He was as- sociated in this enterprise with Martin Hawley and for five years conducted the mill, after which he went to northern Michigan, where he engaged in

John Sebring

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lumbering in the pine woods for five years. In the meantime he had pur- chased a farm in Quincy township, upon which he now resides, having here fifty-one acres of good land. Leaving the pineries he returned to this place and has since made it his home. He also owns another eighty acres on the same section and forty acres on section twenty-two, together with six acres within the corporation limits of Quincy laid out in town lots. He like- wise holds stock in the Quincy State Bank.

In 1852 Mr. Sebring was married to Miss Mary A. Petteys, who was born in Wayne county, New York, in 1825, and is a daughter of Ben- jamin and Deborah (Barney) Petteys, the former a farmer by occupation. The mother died in the Empire state, after which the father came to Mich- igan and passed away at the home of Mr. Sebring. In his family were four children : Mary; John and Moses, both deceased; and William, who is engaged in gardening in the state of Washington. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Sebring have been born six children: George D., of Quincy; Phurnia, who is acting as housekeeper for her father; Eugene, living in Quincy town- ship; Deborah J., the widow of Enos Allen, who was a farmer of Burroak, where Mrs. Allen still makes her home, giving her personal supervision to the farm; William, who died when four years of age; and John, who died when six months old. Mrs. Sebring died May 13, 1900, and as she was held in high esteem by her many friends her loss was deeply regretted. The following obituary was written at her deatlı :

" Quincy loses another pioneer by the death of Mrs. John Sebring, which occurred Sunday, May 13, at her home south of town, after an ill- ness of a few days, the immediate cause being Bright's disease.

" Mrs. Sebring, whose maiden name was Mary A. Petteys, was born at Galen, New York, December 27, 1825. July 8, 1852, she was united in marriage to John Sebring, coming to Quincy the following year, living in the village for a number of years and afterwards moving to their beautiful farm south of town. To this union six children were born, four of whom are living, George and Phurnia of this place: Mrs. Nettie Allen of Burr Oak. and Eugene of Spencer, Nebraska, all of whom were present at the funeral except the latter, who, with the aged husband and Bert Dolph, a motherless nephew, whom she had tenderly cared for since infancy, are left to mourn the loss of a devoted wife, an affectionate mother, and a true friend. Funeral services were held at the home conducted by Rev. F. M. Taylor, Methodist Episcopal pastor, and interment made at Lakeview cemetery."

Mr. Sebring gives his political support to the Republican party but has had no aspiration for office and when elected supervisor did not qualify. He has been a member of the Michigan State Detective Association. He has led a very active life and his excellent business ability and capacity for earnest and persistent labor have enabled him to accumulate a considerable competency. He has now passed the eighty-first milestone on life's journey and is in possession of property which makes him one of the substantial residents of his community and enables hint to enjoy the comforts and many of the luxuries which go to make life worth living.

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FREDERICK STALEY.

The gentleman named above is a fine representative of the noble men of the middle west who, at the outbreak of the Civil war, responded promptly to their country's call and gave up years of their young manhood to the de- fense of their nation, and then, their work in this line accomplished, returned to their former peaceful avocations and assisted in the development and growth of a new country. Here in the years since the war they have reared their families and provided for them comfortable homes, at the same time performing their duties as private citizens truly and well.

Frederick Staley is of good old German descent, his father and mother, Frederick and Mary Staley, being natives of Germany, where they grew to maturity and were married. Soon after marriage they were attracted by the evident advantages of America for home-making and they turned their faces in this direction, coming to the United States in the early thir- ties. Making their way westward, they located first in Stark county, Ohio, where six children were born to them, three of whom died in infancy. The others, who grew to maturity, were as follows, all of them now being alive: Barbara Hanley and Elizabeth Schilling are still residents of Crawford county, Ohio, while Frederick Staley, the youngest, is the subject of this review.

Their parents did not live long to enjoy the benefits and privileges of the land of their adoption. Removing from Stark county to Crawford county, Ohio, the father died in 1850, while the mother passed away in 1854. Both were industrious and esteemed people while Mrs. Staley was also a member of the German Lutheran church. Incidents in the life of Frederick Staley, Sr., and his son, show the primitive conditions existing in Ohio during the first years of their residence there. It is related of the father that he was the first man to bring a grain cradle into Crawford county and to use it there, where settlers had always previously used a sickle in harvesting grain; and that in one instance at least the owner of a wheat field refused to let the cradle be used therein for fear of spoiling the wheat. Our subject also relates that in his boyhood and early manhood he always used a sickle in harvesting grain, even the grain cradle being then unknown.

Our subject was only fourteen years old when he was by the death of his parents thrown upon his own resources, but he met the new condi- tions in a brave and sturdy manner, working on farms for others and after the marriage of his eldest sister calling that place his home. This was his busy, though rather uneventful life until he became of age, soon after which the war of the rebellion opened. Without waiting to be drafted he em- braced the very first opportunity for enlistment, this occurring in Crawford county, Ohio, September 1, 1862, and he was at once made a corporal in Company H of the One Hundred and Twenty-third Ohio Infantry. His regiment was in Virginia all through the war and its members had a check- ered career, suffering hardships and privations and seeing much active serv- ice. At Winchester, June 15, 1863, the regiment was captured and Mr. Staley was a prisoner for several months in Libby and Belle Island. Being

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parolled, he made his way back home for a brief furlough before rejoining his regiment in the field. In September, 1864, he was promoted to sergeant, holding this position until the close of the war. Mr. Staley received but one slight wound, but he passed through many harrowing experiences, being in all but one of the fifty-one engagements of his regiment and enduring many Jong marches without food or drink. The One Hundred and Twenty-third Ohio was captured again only a few days previous to Lee's surrender and its last military duty was guarding the remains of the lamented Lincoln at the state house at Columbus. Ohio.

Receiving his discharge in June, 1865, Mr. Staley returned to his home county of Crawford. Here previous to the war he had won the affections of Sarah Jameson, and both remaining true to their vows all through the long war they were married a few months after his return, this event oc- curring October 19. 1865. Sarah Jameson was born in Crawford county, Ohio, March 13, 1837. Her father was John Jameson, born in Westmore- land county, Pennsylvania, June 10, 1813, while her mother was Leah Dick- son, a native of Indiana county, Pennsylvania, where she was born July 6, 1809. Her paternal grandparents were William Jameson, a Scotchman, and Mary Hutchison, of Holland descent: while her maternal grandparents were Andrew Dickson and Sarah Frazee, they being of English-Irish de- scent. These grandparents on both sides were residents of Pennsylvania and they went westward into Crawford county, Ohio. in a very early day.

Mrs. Staley's parents. John and Leah Jameson, were the parents of ten children, four of whom, Mary, Ellen, Leah and John, died in infancy, the others being as follows: Flora Hanley died in California township: Sarah Staley is the wife of our subject : William died in Ohio: Andrew is still liv- ing in Ohio: Phoebe is a resident here : Martha Stewart 'lives in this county. The father and mother, who led long and useful lives, came to Michigan in later years, the former dying here in 1870 at the age of sixty-three years. and his wife passing away in 1893.

Frederick and Sarah Staley came to Michigan the year following their marriage and in December, 1866, settled in California township, Branch county, on a farm which had been previously purchased on section eleven, where they set to work to make for themselves a home. The place was un- cleared and unimproved, but each year witnessed progress. Mr. Staley clear- ing the land himself, always finding in his life companion a willing help- meet. Seven children came to them, three of whom died in infancy, the others growing up. To the credit of Mr. and Mrs. Staley be it said that their children were given every possible advantage in the way of education. advantages which the young people appreciated, for they applied themselves diligently and showed great facility and aptitude. Not content with com- mon school educations, they pushed farther after useful knowledge, and that they have fully met the hopes and expectations of their parents is shown by the following: John, the eldest son, graduated at De Pauw University and was a teacher for a number of years at Lexington and Liberty, Mis- souri, and is now living at Beloit, Kansas, where he is a successful land agent. Mary, the only daughter, attended the Normal College at Angola,

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Indiana, and afterward was a school teacher for ten years. She was also an instructor and missionary at the Indian Mission in Oklahoma for two years, and afterward married William Hay. They live in Kansas and have two daughters, Sarah and Martha. Wilbert, another son, supplemented his common school education with courses of study at Angola, Indiana, and New Concord, Ohio, and for three years has been taking a course at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Chicago, where he will graduate in 1907. His wife was Nettie Adams and they have one son, Herman. Alva, the youngest son, graduated at Angola, Indiana, after which he pursued a post-graduate course at Lincoln University, Lincoln, Nebraska. Since then he has been a highly successful educator in the west, being at present super- intendent of schools at Friend, Nebraska. He married Helen Browne and they live at Friend, Nebraska.

Thus it will be seen that Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Staley have done their whole duty and even more by their children. Theirs have been long and useful lives, filled with good works, and they are now living in a comfort- able home at Ray, Indiana, whither they removed in 1902, although still retaining ownership of their farm of eighty acres in California township. Here they are passing their declining years, in comfortable circumstances, and with the satisfaction of knowing that their children are filling posi- tions of honor and usefulness. Mr. Staley was for many years assessor in his school district and both he and Mrs. Staley are earnest Christians and consistent members of the Reformed Presbyterian church. Both possess the high regard and esteem of very many friends in the community where so many years of their lives have been passed.

JS. MERRILL.

The farming interests of Ovid township are well represented by Js. Merrill, who is living on section twenty-five. This farm was the place of his birth, which occurred on the 3d of June. 1861, his parents being Joseph Staple and Louesia Jane Hibner Merrill. The father was a native of Maine, born July 22, 1823, and was reared in New England to the age of fourteen years, when he left the Pine Tree state and went with his parents to Fulton county, Ohio, where they settled upon a farm. In that locality Mr. Merrill was largely educated and there he began teaching school when eighteen years of age, successfully following that profession until he attained his ma- jority. He gave his earnings to the family up to that time and when twenty- one years of age with a small bundle of clothing he started out in life on his own account. He remained in Ohio for about three years and during that period learned the trade of blacksmithing. He was also married at that time and on leaving Ohio he came to Branch county, Michigan, settling in Ovid township. Here he abandoned his trade and gave his attention to general agricultural pursuits, locating upon what is now known as the Mer- rill homestead in 1845. He bought the southwest quarter of section twenty- five, Ovid township, second-hand from the government when it was all raw land, but he cleared and cultivated the place until 1849, when attracted by the discovery of gold in California he made his way to the Pacific coast,

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traveling eastward by rail to New York, thence sailing to Panama, after which he crossed the isthmus and proceeded up the Pacific coast to San Fran- cisco. He remained in California for two years, meeting with a fair meas- ure of success, and then returned to Branch county with something over two thousand dollars that he had earned in California. About that time his wife became ill with consumption and died later, and the expenses attendant upon her illness consumed much of the money which Mr. Merrill had made on his trip to the west. Undaunted, however, he started again on his busi- ness career, living on the farm for two years. Later he was married and three years afterward his second wife passed away. He then remained single for two years, when he was again married and the last union was blessed with two children, of whom Js. Merrill was the elder. The other died in infancy. In his early years the father was a Whig and he cast his ballot for the first candidate of the Republican party. of which he remained a steadfast champion up to the time of his demise. He was averse to hold- ing public office, however, and stoutly refused to do so although his friends solicited him to accept political preferment. He, however, took an active part in electing capable men and his co-operation could ever be counted upon to support any measure or plan that was formulated to advance the general welfare. He died October 17. 1879, on the old homestead farm, at the age of fifty-six years, two months and twenty-seven days, and that he had led a very busy and useful life is indicated by the fact that he left an estate valued at more than fifteen thousand dollars, which was divided equally among his children and his widow.

Js. Merrill was eighteen years of age at the time of his father's demise and then started out in life for himself. since which time he has marked out his own course and has won success that he is enjoying. His early educa- tion was acquired in the district schools of Ovid township and he attended the teachers' institutes with the intention of becoming a teacher, and also had begun the study of law, but his father's death caused him to change his plans and he has continued at the work of farming, with which he has been familiar from his early youth. This business he has made his life work and he is now the owner of a valuable and well improved property, having one hundred acres of land under a high state of cultivation.

Mr. Merrill was married at the age of twenty-three years to Miss Elizabeth Knapp, of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, who was born in 1868, a daughter of Martin Knapp, also a farmer of that county, where Mrs. Merrill was reared. There is but one child of this union, Jessie, who was born October 22, 1887, and has been reared on the old homestead farm. Mr. Merrill votes the Republican party and earnestly desires its success, be- lieving that it contains the best elements of good government. He belongs to Greenleaf lodge No. 349, F. & A. M., of Kinderhook, and is in hearty sympathy with the teachings and tenets of the craft, while in public affairs he manifests a strong and tangible interest in progressive measures that makes him a valued and representative citizen of his native county. The Merrill family has kept a direct lineage of their birth line, tracing far back from the colonial days of the United States of America, when there were

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only three brothers at that time residents and natives of England. When they came over to this country one of them settled in what is now called the New England states, one in the state now called Georgia, and the other went to what is now California, and they still to this day accept the claim of blood line to all that spell the family name Merrill.

FRANK J. WATSON.

Frank J. Watson, living in Coldwater township, Branch county, is a na- tive of the Empire state, his birth having occurred in Orleans county, on the 7th of October, 1864. His father was William Watson, a native of England, born January 2, 1837, at Norfolk, England, and came alone to America when a

young man of nineteen years. He landed at New York a perfect stranger with only twenty-five cents in his pocket but he possessed brave purpose and indefatigable energy and with these as a foundation for future success he entered upon life in the new world. In early manhood he wedded Miss Mary Amos, born September 5, 1845, at Hasbro, England, who came with her parents to America when but six years of age, the family home being established near Medina, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Watson were married in the Empire state, and four children were born unto them there, all of whom are now living, namely : William R., a resident of Burr Oak, Michigan; Frank J., of this review; Mrs. Eva E. Tyler, of Nottawa, this state; and George E., who is also living at Burr Oak. The father followed the occupation of farming in New York until thirty-eight years ago, when he came to Michigan and has since lived in Burr Oak township, St. Joseph county, where he still makes his home, owning and operating there a farm of one hundred and forty acres. His father was all his life an overseer of a large landed estate in England.

Frank J. Watson was a young lad when brought by his parents to this state and on his father's farm he was reared, being trained to habits of indus- try. economy and enterprise. The public schools afforded him his educa- tional privileges and he became familiar with all the duties and labors that constitute the life-work of an agriculturist. As a companion and helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Mary M. Pyle, to whom he was married in Bronson, Michigan, on the 8th of May, 1884. She was born in Niagara county, New York, March 9, 1862, and was a daughter of Hiram A. Pyle, who was born in Pekin, New York, November 9, 1836, and in early life re- moved to Lewiston, New York, where he married Martha Bordner, born in Williamsville, Erie county, New York, April 9. 1844. They came to Mich- igan in 1875 and located at Burr Oak, St. Joseph county, where they still reside, the father being engaged in the blacksmith business there. They had three children, all of whom are living: Mrs. Watson, of this review: Mrs. D. P. Plant, of Burr Oak; and Mina B. Pyle, who is a most successful music 'eacher of Burr Oak. She is a graduate in music of Albion College, Mich- igan, in class of 1894, a student in the Sherwood Piano School and studied with the celebrated William H. Sherwood.

For a year after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Watson resided in Burr

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Cak, and then came to Branch county, spending the succeeding fourteen years on different farms in Bronson township. They also lived for a year and a half in Quincy township, and then came to Coldwater township, where they have since made their home. Mr. Watson now owns a farm of one hun- dred and fifty acres just north of the city of Coldwater, on which he has resided since March, 1905. He likewise owns seventy acres east of the city. He has a comfortable home and there are other good buildings upon his farm, while the land is fertile and productive, responding readily to the cultivation which he puts upon it. His entire life has been devoted to agri- cultural pursuits and his broad experience and enterprise have won him the success which he now enjoys. He is considered one of the intelligent and enterprising young farmers of this section and he makes a specialty of sheep raising, his sheep being of the Rambouillet breed. He is the owner of a very fine flock and he is a member of the American Rambouillet Sheep Breeders' Association.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Watson have been born three children: Edna, born October 12, 1894: Ildafontz, October 24. 1896: and Mina Beatrice. July 6. 1904. Edna is in the fifth grade in the Lincoln school in Coldwater, and is a lover of mathematics and music. Ildafontz is in the same school. in the third grade. Mina Beatrice is the youngest and the joy of the home circle. Mrs. Watson is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. In his polit- ical views Mr. Watson is an earnest Republican and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day and voted first for Harrison. Moreover he gives helpful support to many measures for the general good and is classed with the valued as well as prosperous citizens of his community.

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A twentieth century history and biographical record of Branch County, Michigan, Part 79

Author: Collin, Henry P Publication date: 1906 Publisher: New York : Lewis Publishing Number of Pages: 1198

Author: Collin, Henry P
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: New York : Lewis Publishing
Number of Pages: 1198