USA > Michigan > Allegan County > A twentieth century history of Allegan County, Michigan > Part 62
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Mr. Anderson was married in Sweden. in 1866, to Miss Ulrika Johnson. who was also born in Sweden, March 24. 1840, a daughter of John Erickson, the children taking the father's surname and adding the latter syllable. Three years later the young couple decided to emigrate to the new world. and the money which Mr. Anderson had saved while employed at railroad work, which amounted to about four hundred dollars, provided for their passage to the United States. He came to Michigan, where he secured employment on the Michigan Central Railroad, this being about the period
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of the building of the Lake Shore branch. He later bought eighty acres of wild land, situated on section 32, Watson township, on which he lived for about eight years. He began the work of clearing and cultivating his land. and later disposed of forty acres to his brother-in-law, but he still retains possession of forty acres of the original purchase, and he has since added an additional eighty-acre tract, so that he now has one hundred and twenty acres of good farm property, being here engaged in general agricultural pursuits. When he located on this place there were no roads leading to the farm and many pioneer conditions were seen all around, but all this has been changed in the years that have since come and gone and it is now one of the productive centers of the agricultural belt of Allegan county. Mr. Anderson has erected two good dwellings on his farm and also has many good outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock.
Unto our subject and his wife have been born three children: Frank Oscar, who operates the home farm, residing in one of the dwellings on the place : Melvina Christina, the wife of George Hendrickson, a resident of Norway, Michigan ; and Selma Cecelia, the wife of Andrew Sandahl. who operates a farm belonging to Mr. Anderson.
Mr. Anderson gives stalwart support to the Republican party and for five years served as pathmaster. He holds membership with the Swedish Lutheran church at Watson, in which he served as deacon and elder, and he was instrumental in the organization of the church at that place and has always been a liberal contributor and supporter of the same. Coming to this state at an early day, ignorant of the customs and language of American people. Mr. Anderson soon acquired the English tongue and the manners of the people of the new world, and year by year he has worked his way steadily upward until he is today classed among the honorable and pros- perous citizens of Allegan county, having a good farm property, all of which has been acquired through the labors of himself and wife, and from which he has acquired a competence that now enables him to leave the more active work of the fields to others, while he is enjoying the fruits of his former toil in a well earned rest. It was through the efforts of Mr. Ander- son that other Swedish settlers were induced to locate in this section of the state, for he was the first of the colony to settle here, and being pleased with this country and the advantages which it offered to its inhabitants he wrote to his friends in his native land, telling them of the bright prospects which this state presented and thereby others were persuaded to locate here, so that in this way Mr. Anderson has been the means of bringing about much of the development and improvement of this part of Allegan county. He is also a believer in good schools, for being deprived of good school privileges in his youth and realizing the value of education. he has given to his children good advantages in this direction.
JOHN F. GERMAIN is one of the worthy citizens that Germany has fir- nished to this state, his birth having occurred in Mecklenburg, Voerbende, January 30, 1847, where he was reared and educated to the age of fifteen years, after which he followed farming for one year in the fatherland, sub -. sequent to which time, when a youth of sixteen, he accompanied his parents, Fred and Mary (Vitt) Germain on their emigration to the new world. The parents were both natives of Germany, and the father. having heard
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favorable reports concerning the new world, and the opportunities and advantages which were here to be enjoyed, decided to try his fortune in the United States, and accordingly, in 1862, the family embarked on a sailing vessel at Hamburg. The journey was a long and dangerous one, for during the voyage they encountered a storm, three masts of the vessel being lost, after which it floated around in the water and finally reached the shore of the West Indies, and after four weeks more spent on the water they finally reached New York, the voyage having required one hundred and five days. The family went direct to Angola, in Erie county, New York, where the father and son secured employment at chopping four-foot wood and re- ceived for their services the meager sum of fifty cents per cord. The father soon made his way with his family to Allegan county, Michigan, their home being established near Hopkins, and there both parents passed away, the father when he had reached the advanced age of eighty years, while the mother was seventy-two years of age at the time of her demise. Their family numbered nine children, of whom six reached years of maturity and four still survive.
John F. Germain, the eldest of his father's family, was, as stated, a youth of sixteen years when he accompanied his parents on their emigra- tion to the new world. He assisted his father at farm labor for a few years after the settlement of the family in this state, and when starting out uponî an independent business career he chose the occupation to which he had been reared, and in 1867 purchased forty acres of land, which con- stitutes a portion of his present property, to which he later added a second forty-acre tract, so that the place now embraces eighty acres. This was all wild land when it came into his possession, not a stick of timber having been cut nor a furrow turned. He at once undertook the arduous task of clearing and cultivating the land, and in due course of time converted the land into productive fields, from which he annually harvested good crops. He has made all of the improvements which are here seen, including a fine country residence, containing ten rooms, and supplied with all the equip- ments of a modern home for the comfort of the inmates. He has likewise erected a good barn thirty-two by ninety-four feet, which affords ample shelter for his stock, and he also has many outbuildings which are usually found upon a farm property. His first home was a little shanty ten by twelve feet, in which he kept "bachelor's hall" during the period spent in the clearing and development of his farm. Mr. Germain keeps considerable stock upon his place and furnishes considerable milk and cream to the creamery in Allegan, keeping eight cows for this purpose, and this adds not a little to his yearly income. In former years Mr. Germain was also identi- fied with other interests in connection with his agricultural interests, having worked for one year in a sawmill.
Mr. Germain was happily married November 4, 1870, to Miss Barbara Jacobs, who was born in Kliding on the Rhine, February 16, 1851, and came to this country with her parents in 1867, the family home being established in Salem township, Allegan county. Her parents were Paul and Mary Jacobs, and were numbered among the early settlers and highly-esteemed people of this section of the state. Following their marriage Mr. Germain took his bride to his farm, where they lived for one year, when, in 1871, he having secured employment on the railroad, necessitated their removal to
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HISTORY OF ALLEGAN COUNTY
the city of Allegan, where they remained for seven months, after which they returned to the farm, although Mr. Germain was still employed at rail- road work for several years, walking to and from his work each night and morning, a distance of four miles. After abandoning that work he again resumed operations on his home farm, being thus engaged during the suc- ceeding fourteen years, subsequent to which time he took up carpenter work and has built many of the structures which are today scattered over Allegan county. among these being forty-two barns in his home locality. He took the contract for furnishing and delivering the timber used in the construction of the Trowbridge electric dam, and was later employed by the Kalamazoo Electric Light Company to secure the right of way for poles and wires for a dam to be built extending to Battle Creek, and he was en- gaged in this way for three years. He then again resumed his farming pursuits, which has continued to be his occupation to the present time. In addition to his home farm he owns a tract of eighty acres of finely-improved land situated on section 6, Otsego township, and this returns him a good annual income.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Germain have been born nine children, of whom two have passed away: Mary, a resident of Allegan: John. at home : Elizabeth, who is now the wife of Christ Metzger, a resident of Kalamazoo, Michigan : William and George D., both under the parental roof : Bertha. who died at the age of eleven years: August, who is still at home : Irving, who died at the age of three years ; and Paul, who completes the family.
Mr. Germain has always given a stalwart support to the Democratic party, and has taken an active and beneficial interest in local political affairs. having served as county drain commissioner for three terms and also filled the office for one year to fill a vacancy. For the past two years he has filled the office of school treasurer, and the cause of education ever finds in him a warm and helpful friend. He was reared in the faith of the Lutheran church, and aided in building and supporting the church of that denomina- tion in Allegan for twenty years, but for the past eight years has not been identified with any church organization. . Through almost a half century Mr. Germain has been not only an in- terested witness but an active participant in the work of development and progress which has been carried on in Allegan county, and which has caused it to be ranked among the foremost sections of the state. He has borne his full share in the work of pioneer development and has endured all the hard- ships and privations which are to be met in a frontier region. When he located here and purchased his first farm, the homes of the settlers were widely scattered, his nearest neighbor being three miles distant, but as time passed and the country became more thickly populated all these conditions were changed and this community is now a prosperous and thriving center. Mr. Germain and his family are highly respected people, and the hospitality of their own pleasant home is freely extended to their many friends.
JOHN SHEA .- As the name indicates, John Shea is of Irish birth, his natal place being county Cork, and the date April 5. 1846. Although start- ing out in life a poor boy he possessed the industry which has ever been a dominant factor of his race, and today he is the owner of a good farm property embracing one hundred and sixty acres of well improved land, of
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HISTORY OF ALLEGAN COUNTY
which half of this constitutes the home place, and is situated on section 31, Watson township. His parents were Thomas and Johannah (Lynch) Shea, who were likewise natives of county Cork, and when the son was but one year of age the parents emigrated to the new world, the father hoping to provide for his family to better advantage in the new world, for he was then in very limited circumstances. The son was left in his native land in the home of an uncle, with whom he remained until he had reached the age of eleven years. Both the father and mother were ill from cholera during the voyage across the Atlantic, and the latter's illness proved fatal, her death occurring while en route to the new world, and her remains were buried at Quebec. The father, however, recovered and continued his jour- ney to Baldwinsville, New York, where he continued to reside with his family for several years. In 1858 the family removed to this state, locating on a farm in Kalamazoo township, which was situated three miles from the city of Kalamazoo, and there the father continued his residence until his death.
When a little lad of but eleven years John Shea came alone to the new world, joining his father and the family, of whom he was the young- est and now the only surviving member, in Baldwinsville, New York, and then accompanied them on their removal to this state a few years later. He remained with his father in this state, assisting him in the cultivation and improvement of the home farm until the latter's death, when he started out upon an independent business career, and he also at that time established a home of his own by his marriage, in 1867, to Miss Margaret Tubrity, the wedding being celebrated on the 8th of January of that year. She was likewise born in Ireland, in county Clare, in February, 1846, and in 1866, when a young lady of twenty years, emigrated to the United States, coming direct to this state and locating in Kalamazoo, the date of her ar- rival being May 3d of that year. In 1868 Mr. Shea purchased his farm of eighty acres, to which he removed with his family in 1873, and which has since continued to be his place of residence. This is situated on section 31. Watson township, and when it came into his possession it was all wild and unimproved and was covered with the native growth of trees. He cleared a place large enough to erect a little log house, this being eighteen by twenty-four feet, and in this pioneer home the family took up their abode, after which the father continued the work of clearing and cultivating his land. When he came to this place he had an ox team and wagon, an ax and a few other tools, but as time passed he gathered various farm imple- ments about him for use in his farm work, and as he prospered in his undertakings he added to his original purchase another tract of eighty acres adjoining, on which his two sons now reside. He has devoted his entire life to agricultural pursuits and has been very successful in his work, for he has applied himself diligently and assiduously, has allowed no obstacles to deter him in his labors and by his careful management and close applica- tion he is now in possession of a valuable farm property which places him among the leading and well-to-do citizens of this part of the county, and he owes his success entirely to his own well-directed energy. His original home has been replaced with a fine country dwelling, containing eleven rooms and supplied with all comforts and conveniences, in the rear of which stand a fine barn thirty-two feet by ninety feet, with eighteen-feet posts, and
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many other outbuildings which are essential for the care of grain and stock.
Our subject and his wife have eight living children: Mary, Thomas, John, George, Ellen, Katherine, Delia and Anna. The eldest son, Thomas, is married and resides on one of his father's farms. Mr. Shea gives his political support to the Democratic party, but has never been active in public affairs, and he is a communicant of the Catholic church at Watson, and aided in building the house of worship at that place.
The record of him whose name introduces this record should serve as a source of encouragement to young men of ambition and energy, for all that he today owns has been acquired entirely through his own labors. He started out in life without capital or assistance from friends or relatives and today he owns one hundred and sixty acres of very valuable and well im- proved land and is accounted one of the prosperous and highly esteemed citizens of his community, for he has ever been honorable and straight- forward in all his dealings and thereby has won the confidence and good will of all with whom he has come in contact. Mr. Shea has never employed a doctor for personal assistance. Sud Dec. 30, 1913 Funeral Jan. 3, 191-
WILLIAM PERRY FENNER .- There are very few native of Allegan county who have passed the age of sixty and who have spent their entire lives in this immediate vicinity, but William Perry Fenner, the subject of this review, is one of these. And, too, the changes which he has seen in this section during his lifetime seem almost incredible. His boyhood days were passed amid the scenes of an entirely new country, for then the period of the white man's residence in Allegan county was only one or two decades. Our subject saw the dense forests cleared away and in their stead well-cleared farms which soon gave plentifully of their great productiveness. Then next he witnessed the formation of the towns and villages. and with it ail a slow but sure improvement in all conditions, until now, at the end of sixty odd years, he sees a portion of the great state of Michigan, which is unexcelled as an agricultural region, a manufacturing center and as the home of as prosperous and contented a people as may be found anywhere on the civil- ized globe. This advancement and these vast improvements have all come during his lifetime and in every bit of the progression he has been an active and efficient factor.
Mr. Fenner was born in the township of Martin, Allegan county, De- cember 22, 1844. His parents were Russell B. and Hannah V. (Schenck) Fenner, both of whom were natives of Onondaga county, New York, where they grew to maturity and were married. Russell B. Fenner's father. James L. Fenner, had bought government land in Michigan, although he never be- came a resident of this state, and this is doubtless what first attracted Russell to the Wolverine state. A few years after the marriage of the parents of our subject they came to Michigan, arriving in the year 1844, the same year as the birth of William P. Fenner. The young couple located on land on sections 16 and 17, Martin township, which was their residence for nine years, when they removed to another farm in Gun Plains township, which was their home for a number of years. On both of these farms they cleared the land and made many improvements. About 1894 they removed to the village of Plainwell, where they passed the remainder of their days. Mr.
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HISTORY OF ALLEGAN COUNTY
Fenner dying here March 26, 1897, and his estimable widow surviving him several years. Mr. Fenner was eighty-three at the time of his death, while Mrs. Fenner was past eighty. Russell B. Fenner was an important factor in the early development and history of this part of Allegan county and in the earlier years held various township offices. Politically he was a Demo- crat. During his early residence here he was interested with his brother, Darius P. Fenner, in the building and operation of a sawmill near his home. Darius P. also spent the rest of his life here, dying upon the old farm at the age of eighty-two years. Russell B. also owned one of the first threshing machine outfits in this county and for a number of years operated the machine over several townships. Mr. and Mrs. Russell B. Fenner had a family of five children, as follows: Byron R. died in Barry county, Michi- gan, in 1905, aged sixty-seven years; Eliza E. is now Mrs. Henry Scott, of Plainwell; William P. is the subject of this review; Ruloff J. operates a flouring mill at Constantine, this state; Franklin M. is a farmer of Gun Plains township.
William Perry Fenner was at home on the farm until he attained his majority. He was in a store several months in his young manhood and his first farming was on rented land which he operated for four years. His first purchase was one hundred and twenty acres of land and which adjoined his father. This he improved and made his home for thirteen years and he still retains ownership of it. In 1886 he came to his present home in Martin township, this being the old Sornbury farm, which was formerly the prop- erty of his wife's father, Horace Sornbury, and which was obtained from the government in 1835.
William Perry Fenner was married December 22, 1864, to Mina L. Sornbury, daughter of Horace and Elizabeth Jane (Hicks) Sornbury, who came to Michigan from Canada, Mrs. Sornbury being a native of New York. They were among the earliest pioneers of this section, obtaining their land here in 1835 and making this their home for the remainder of their lives, her sixty-first year. They had four children, as follows: Mina L., the wife of our subject; Armida M., now the wife of Sanford Monroe, of Martin township ; Myra J., who married Burdette Sisson, of Allegan, and who died a few years after marriage; Bruce B., who died at the age of thirty-two years. The parents were highly esteemed people and they spent their entire lives on the farm here. Politically Mr. Sornbury was a Democrat, and he several times filled minor township offices.
The farm home of the Fenner family is a most pleasant place, located about two miles from the village of Martin. Mr. Fenner has added forty acres to the original one hundred acres, and the most of it is under cultiva- tion. In addition he owns another tract a short distance away. His former farm in Gun Plains township is leased. For the past two vears Mr. Fenner has been associated with his son, Ernest W., in a general store at Martin, which is in charge of the latter. The other five children are as follows : Nellie M. married Frank Pratt and died at the age of twenty-five years ; James B. died when twenty-nine vears old, two weeks after going into the store with his elder brother : Jennie H. and Pearl E. live at home with their parents ; Orlie P. is in the store with Ernest. Mr. Fenner is a Prohibitionist in politics and he and the members of his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
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HISTORY OF ALLEGAN COUNTY
ARCHIBALD MATTHEWS .- Allegan county and the township of Martin contain a number of residents who have passed a half-century or more in this locality and among them we find many men of stability, honor and trustworthiness, men who have by years of honest labor acquired a compe- tence and at the same time been alive to the needs of the community wherein they dwelt and ever being ready to forward any movement for the better- ment of their fellow men. Men such as these are really the bulwark and standby of the state and nation, and although they may have never achieved great personal reputation abroad, nevertheless they stand very high in the regard of those who know them best and are really primarily the cause of this country's greatness.
A man of this character is Archibald Matthews, who has lived continu- ously in the township of Martin since 1852. He was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, February 23, 1833, his parents being John and Nancy (Trimble) Matthews. Both were natives of Pennsylvania and both were of Irish parentage. They remained in Pennsylvania after marriage until our subject was about eight years of age, and then, like many residents of the Keystone state in those days, thought to better their fortunes in the neighboring state of Ohio, where they took their family, locating in North- field, Summit county. Here they remained for a few years and then came into Michigan, selecting as their home a farm in Martin township, close to the village of Martin, then a mere hamlet. The land they selected was new, although the trees thereon had been girdled, and here they made for themselves and their family a comfortable home, residing here until the mother died at the age of fifty-three, while the father lived to be seventy- three. John and Nancy Matthews were the parents of seven children, four sons and three daughters, of whom only one, Archibald, the subject of this review, survives. Of the others William was for many years a storekeeper in Martin and died at the age of fifty-three: Thomas, who was connected with the mercantile line all of his life, died at about the same age : James died in the state of Montana, whither he had gone when still a young man ; Elizabeth married John Monteith and died in middle life: Martha married Dr. William Anderson, a practicing physician at Martin and Port Huron. and died at the age of forty-five; Jemima married William Gilmore and died in middle life.
Archibald was with his father for fifteen years after coming to Michi- gan and during this long experience upon the home farm he acquired a most excellent knowledge of agriculture as carried on in this part of the country. He did not marry until he had reached the age of thirty-two years, when he espoused Miss Margaret Redpath, several years his junior. who was the daughter of John Redpath and wife, who were also pioneers of this region. Immediately after marriage Archibald Matthews and his bride settled upon the farm which is their present home. It was all in the wild, although Archibald had slashed twenty acres and built him a house previous to his marriage. The farm was in a few years increased in size to one hundred and sixty acres, and all of this Mr. Matthews with his own hands cleared, fitted and placed under cultivation, a task which would ap- pear a huge one to the young man of the present generation. He has sold eighty acres of the farm and still retains a similar amount, which makes a fine farm. It is equipped with excellent buildings and shows careful atten-
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