A twentieth century history of Berrien County, Michigan, Part 137

Author: Coolidge, Orville W
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1314

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CHRISTIAN LUSSO owns and oper- ates a farm of forty acres on section 10, Three Oaks township. This constitutes a well improved place and indicates the care- ful supervision of the owner in its neat ap- pearance and well tilled fields. A native of Germany, he was born in Mecklenberg, on the 25th of June, 1838, and was reared to farm life. His parents were Charles and Dora (Petcho) Lusso, who were likewise natives of Mecklenberg. They came to the United States in 1865, and spent their re-

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maining days in Berrien county, the father passing way at the age of seventy-six years, while his wife died at the age of seventy-one years. They were the parents of six chil- dren : Fred, a substantial farmer who died here in 1905; John, living in Minnesota; August, a well-to-do farmer, who died here in 1904; Christian, of this review; Mrs. Christian Schile, of Three Oaks; and Mrs. Mary Heise, the wife of Louis Heise, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work.

Christian Lusso was reared to farm life, and in accordance with the laws of his native country continued his studies in the public schools between the ages of six and fourteen years. He afterward gave his undivided attention to farm labor and remained a resi- dent of Mecklenberg until twenty-seven years of age. In 1865 he came to the United States with his parents, landing at New York on the 3Ist of January, of that year. Making his way direct to Michigan, he has since lived in Three Oaks township and throughout the entire period has devoted his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits. As he was in limited financial circumstances at the time of his arrival he rented land for sixteen years and then hav- ing acquired a capital sufficient to enable him to purchase property he bought forty acres on section 10, Three Oaks township, now constituting a well improved place. To its further development and cultivation he has given his energies with the result that he has transformed it into a very productive tract.

In 1861 Mr. Lusso was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary Witt, who was born in Mecklenberg in 1838, a daughter of Henry and Mary ( Michaels) Witt, who always re- mained residents of the fatherland. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Lusso has been blessed with eight children: Minnie, who was married and died at the age of thirty- two years, leaving two children; Fred, a resident of Minnesota; Mary, the wife of Ernest Sylvester, of Maine; William, who is working with his father on a farm; Annie, the wife of Edward McCarty, of Indiana ; Louis, who is located in North Dakota; Albert, who died at the age of twenty-three years ; and Emma, at home.

In his political views Mr. Lusso is a Republican and as every true American citi- zen should do, keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day but political office and emoluments have no attraction for him. He is a member of the Lutheran Church and is interested in all that pertains to the intellectual, material and moral pro- gress of his community. A self-made man, he has depended entirely upon his own re- sources from an early age without looking for outside aid or pecuniary assistance from his family and a resolute will and determi- nation have enabled him to make steady pro- gress toward the goal of success.

SAMUEL J. RECTOR. During the pioneer epoch in the history of Berrien county the Rector family was founded with- in its borders by David S. Rector, the father of him whose name introduces this review, and who was a native of Sodus, Wayne county, New York. He took an active and prominent part in the development of this section of the state, aided in transforming its wild lands into rich farms and in other ways promoted the progress and advance- ment which made a once wild region the home of a contented, prosperous people. In 1835 he arrived in St. Joseph, Berrien coun- ty, Michigan, and assisted in surveying the first roads in the county. For a time he was engaged in boating on the St. Joseph river, but in the fall of 1835 he was taken ill with Michigan fever and ague and was obliged to return to his home in New York, where he remained until the spring of the following year. Coming again to Berrien county, he established his home in Sodus township, where he secured forty acres of land from the government, and remained thereon for forty years ere he returned to his old home in the Empire state for a visit. He was prominently identified with much of the early history of the county, and it was he who gave to the township the name of Sodus. He held many of the local offices in those early days when Pipestone and Sodus were one township, and his name is deeply engraved on the pages of its early history. He was born on the 14th of July, 1814, and his death occurred September 28,

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1889, after a long and useful career. his life having been an exemplary one and in harm- ony with the principles of the Masonic order, of which he was long a member. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Tabor, was a native of New York and came to Berrien county with her parents during the early settlement of the county, they, too, being numbered among its honored pio- neers. She was born in 1818. and her death occurred on the 14th of November, 1897. In their family were nine children, five sons and four daughters, all of whom are living at this writing and all were born on the old family homestead where our sub- ject now resides.

Samuel J. Rector, their eighth child and youngest son, was reared on the old Rector homestead in Sodus township and educated in its district schools. He was reared amid the wild scenes of frontier life. and aided in the ardous task of clearing wild land and converting it into rich and productive fields. He has a fine fruit farm of seventy-seven and a half acres, where he raises many varieties of fruit, including peaches. apples, grapes, berries, etc. He gives his political support to the Democracy, and as the repre- sentative of his party has held the office of highway commissioner.

On the 14th of September. 1899. Mr. Rector married Florence E. Griffith. a na- tive of Missouri, and they have no children living.

ERASMUS S. HECKMAN, residing on section 16. Three Oaks township, where he devotes his time and energies to general farming, was born in Galena township, La- porte county. Indiana. April 19. 1856. His parents were Theodru A. and Rachel ( Pad- dock) Heckman, the former a native of Franklin county. Virginia, and the latter of Onondaga county, New York. In 1833 the father came with his parents to Michigan, the family home being established near Viles. He was then a youth of fourteen years. In 1836 he went to Laporte county, Indiana, where he spent his remaining days. He was there married and died, passing away in 1902. For many years he carried

on farming extensively and was very suc- cessful in his operations as an agriculturist. He had a very wide and favorable acquaint- ance in Laporte county and contributed in substantial measure to the pioneer develop- ment and the later-day progress and im- provement of the county. His wife, who was born in 1822. came to Michigan by water about 1840. her destination being New Buffalo. She was married in Laporte county. Indiana, and there died at the age of seventy years. Her people traced their ancestry back to the time of the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock. and they were of Scotch descent. The Heckmans, however, were of Dutch lineage. and the grandfather of our subject spoke the Ger- man language altogether. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Theodru Heckman were eleven children, of whom six are now liv- ing, three brothers being still in Laporte county, while one sister is in that county and one in Chicago.

Erasmus S. Heckman remained upon his father's farm in the county of his nativity until 1881, when, at the age of twenty-five years, he came to Berrien county and took up his abode in Three Oaks township, where he purchased one hundred and forty-three acres of valuable land, afterward trading the same for his present farm of one hundred and fifty-one acres on section 16. Three Oaks township. He has resided for ten years upon the present farm and keeps all of the buildings and fences upon his place in good repair. while everything is char- acterized by neatness. Careful management and practical methods are noted in the ex- cellent appearance of the farm and in the management of his property Mr. Heckman is meeting with excellent success. He con- ducts a dairy as well as carrying on general farming and uses about eighteen hundred pounds of milk per week, which he supplies to the Three Oaks creamery. This branch of his business is proving profitable and his fields also return golden harvests as a re- ward for the care and labor which he be- stows upon them.

Mr. Heckman was married in 1884. to Miss Mattie A. Cady, who was born in

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Three Oaks township in 1862, and has al- ways resided here. She is a daughter of Harvy Cady, who was a native of New York and became a pioneer settler of Ber- rien county. Mr. and Mrs. Heckman have two children, Levi D. and Theo E. The former is a graduate of the high school at Three Oaks and for a time engaged in teach- ing but is now occupying a clerical position with the featherbone company.

When the question of good government and efficient public service rather than poli- tics seemed to be the dominant thought in the public mind, Mr. Heckman was nomi- nated by "good roads caucus" and elected supervisor upon the people's ticket. He has filled the office for four consecutive terms, having first been elected seven years ago and again chosen for the office at three suc- ceeding elections. In all matters pertaining to the general welfare he has taken a deep interest, studying closely the needs of the public and putting forth his most earnest effort for advancement along lines of gen- eral improvement. He was a Mason in Indiana, and taking a demit, united with the lodge in Three Oaks, acting as secretary for several years. Mr. Heckman is well known in his section of the county as a good busi- ness man, thoroughly reliable, as a loyal citizen and as one who has gained warm friendships through the possession of sterl- ing traits of character.

FRED DEIDRICH, whose home is on section 9, Three Oaks township, his atten- tion being given to the further development and improvement of his farm of sixty-seven acres, was born in Wildberg, Prussia, Ger- many, near the village of Trupto, January 4, 1832. He is a son of John and Mary (Paselt) Deidrich, also of Prussia. The year 1853 they became residents of the United States and both died in Berrien county. They had two children, but the daughter Mary is now deceased.

Between the ages of six and fourteen years Fred Deidrich was a student in the public schools of his native land. He then started to earn his own living and worked at farm labor until he came to the United States, with the exception of three years

spent in the German army in accordance with the military laws of the land. It was in the year 1863 that he sailed for the United States, taking passage at Hamburg. At length he landed at New York and joined his parents who had preceded him to Ameri- ca ten years before. He made his way direct to Three Oaks, where he has resided continuously since. For seven years he worked on a railroad as a section hand and saving his earnings during that period he purchased twenty-seven acres of land where he now resides on section 9. Three Oaks township. To this he has added as his financial resources have increased until he is now the owner of sixty-seven acres. He has cleared the greater part of it, placing it under cultivation, and has erected good buildings and also set out fruit trees. The farm is splendidly improved and his entire time is devoted to its further development and cultivation. It is the visible evidence of his life of enterprise and energy and his years have been crowned with a measure of success that shows that he has worked dili- gently and persistently.

Mr. Deidrich was married, in 1866, to Miss Mary Scholl, who was born in Prussia and came to the United States with her brother. The children of this marriage are Charles, William and Albert, who are resi- dents of Three Oaks township; August at home ; and Fred J., who resides at home and is engaged in merchandising in Three Oaks.

In his political views Mr. Deidrich is a Democrat and belongs to the German Luth- eran Church. He has never sought to figure prominently in public life but has mani- fested the sterling traits of a good citizen who is public-spirited and desires the wel- fare of the community.

CHARLES VOLLMANN is a self- made man, who at the age of fourteen years started out in life on his own account. He knows what earnest, persistent labor is and that unceasing toil is a sure and safe foun- dation upon which to build success. He was born in New Miltzow, Prussia, Germany, November 5, 1854, his parents being John and Emma (Stanke) Vollmann, both of whom died in this township, the father pass-

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ing away when fifty-four years of age, while his wife's death occurred when she was forty-two years of age. In their family were four children: Charles; August, who went west and has not been heard from in twenty years; Mrs. Emma Prange, of Toledo, Ohio; and Mrs. Lena Nicholas, living at Central Lake, Michigan.

Charles Vollmann, in accordance with che laws of his native country, spent the years between the ages of six and fourteen years in school. He then sailed upon a merchant's ship and continued upon the water until his parents emigrated to the new world in 1872, when he came to Michigan and has since been a resident of Berrien county. The family made their way direct to Three Oaks and Charles Vollmann be- gan work on the railroad as a section hand and extra man, being thus employed for six or seven years. He also worked in the mills at Three Oaks for several years but ambi- tious to engage in farming on his own ac- count he rented his father-in-law's place which he cultivated for eight years. He then purchased the property, becoming the owner of sixty acres of good land on sec- tion 3. Three Oaks township. This is a valuable property well improved and he car- ries on general farming, carefully cultivat- ing the fields. which promise golden harvests for the autumn. His farm is a monument to his life of thrift, industry and diligence.

On the 23d of October. 1877, Mr. Voll- mann was united in marriage to Miss Mary Wagner, who was born on the farm where they still make their home, May 1, 1856. Her parents were Carl and Mary ( Died- rich ) Wagner, who were natives of Prussia and were married in that country. Coming to the United States they took up their abode in Laporte. Indiana, in 1853, and after a year and a half spent in that State removed to Michigan. They lived for a long period upon the farm which is now the property of Mr. Vollmann and both died upon the old homestead when about fifty- seven years of age. They were early and respected residents of this locality and they here reared a family of eight children, namely: Mrs. Minnie Schneider, who is

living in Michigan City ; Mrs. Bertha Buehr- ing, also living in Michigan City; Charles, of this review ; Mrs. Anna Green, of Michi- gan City ; August, a resident of Three Oaks ; Charles, also of Michigan City ; Henry, who is living in Chicago ; and Albert. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Vollman have been born three children: Lydia, the wife of Carl Nien- dorf. of Michigan City; John, of Chicago; and Emma, at home.

Mr. Vollmann exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and meas- ures of the Democracy. He belongs to the German Lutheran Church and also to the German Workmen Society. Whatever suc- cess he has achieved or enjoyed is due en- tirely to his indefatigable effort, and de- pending upon his own resources from an early age he has worked his way steadily upward, overcoming many difficulties and obstacles and at length gaining an excellent farm as the result of his persistency and diligence.

JACOB BUTZBACH, of Bainbridge township, was born in an old log house on what has long been known as the home- stead farm of the family, his natal day being March 27. 1854. His boyhood days were spent upon the farm and in early life he be- gan working for Randall Brothers at Mill- burg. He was also employed in the woods in Lake township and in Millburg, having charge for two years of the operations in the forest. Later his business attention was given to the purchase and sale of fruit in Benton Harbor for two seasons. The first land which he ever owned was a tract of forty acres in Benton township a mile south of the Pearl schoolhouse, and taking up his abode thereon he made it his home for nine years, during which time he was engaged in the cultivation of small fruit. He prospered in his undertakings and at length sold his place to advantage. He then invested in his present farm, comprising eighty acres, a half mile north of Bainbridge Center, for which he paid twirty-two hundred and fifty dollars. It was all under cultivation at that time save sixteen acres which he has since cleared and developed, and as his financial re-

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sources have increased he has added to the original place until he now has one hundred and forty acres, constituting a valuable prop- erty, which is well improved and which re- turns an excellent income for the care and labor bestowed upon it. In 1900 Mr. Butz- bach erected his present residence, which is one of the fine homes of the township. His farm is devoted to grain and fruit raising and he has thirty-five acres planted to peaches, six acres in grapes and also a variety of other fruits, although plums, peaches and grapes are his principal products. His sales of fruit have netted him in a single season a profit of twenty-five hundred dollars. When this farm came into his possession it was in a run down condition. It had been rented and was used for the raising of grain. Mr. Butzbach planted it to clover, which he plowed under, and through modern farming methods he has brought his place up to a high state of fertility and productiveness. He keeps six cows and is a stockholder in the Millburg creamery.

At the age of twenty-eight years, in Feb- ruary, 1884, Mr. Butzbach was married to Miss Sophia Sinn, a daughter of Adam Sinn, of Royalton township. She was born in Chi- cago but in her early girlhood days was brought to Berrien county and was twenty four years of age at the time of her marriage, which has been blessed with a family of five children, Alfred, Roy, Alice, Della and Lu- ella. Mr. Butzbach is a member of the Mac- cabee tent, at Bainbridge, and is a stalwart Republican, who frequently attends the con- ventions of his party and is recognized as one of the unfaltering advocates of its prin- ciples.

PHILIP H. BUTZBACH, residing in Bainbridge township, is one of the venerable German citizens of Berrien county, his birth having occurred at Nassau, now a part of Prussia, October 22, 1828. On the 21st of June, 1849, when in his twenty-first year, he landed at New York. having sailed from Havre to the new world. He would have been liable to military service had he re- mained in his native country and so decided to come to America. Even as it was his

father had to pay four hundred gilders on account of his evading military duty. Reach- ing the shores of the new world he made his way direct to Bainbridge, where his aunt, Mrs. Philip Seel, was living, having for five years resided in this county.

Mr. Butzbach at once began clearing land, working by the day and month, receiv- ing seventy-five cents per day, or ten dollars per month and his board as compensation for his services. He was married October 28, 1851, to Amanda Herman, a daughter of Jacob and Genevieve Herman, of Bainbridge township, who had come from Wittenberg, Germany, when Mrs. Butzbach was but fif- teen years of age, and five years later she was married.

Mr. Butzbach had previously purchased fifty-four acres of land at three dollars per acres on five years time. He had begun a clearing and had five acres sowed to wheat. There was no house upon it, but he built a log cabin after living for a time with his parents. He made his living off the land, selling saw logs, wood, etc., and as soon as possible he placed his fields under cultiva- tion. In the early days crops brought very low prices, the times were hard but during the Crimean war wheat sold at a dollar and a half per bushel, although it had to be hauled to Dowagiac, twenty miles distant with ox teams, for that place was the nearest market. Prior to this time Mr. Butzbach had received only five shillings for his wheat and it was the only crop which would sell for cash. His first team was a yoke of steers which he bought for eighteen dollars. Prices of everything raised on the farm were low and it was fifteen years before Mr. Butz- bach could afford to purchase and use horses in his farm work. Even threshing was done with oxen. He lived in the little log cabin until 1861, when he erected his present resi- dence. He purchased fifty-four acres of land for seven hundred dollars and as the years have gone by has carried on general agricultural pursuits, his success increasing until he has long been numbered among the substantial agriculturists of the community.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Butzbach were born thirteen children, one of whom died in early

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youth, while twelve of the number reached adult age, and with the exception of the eld- est all are still living. Augusta married Charles Schaus, and died about ten years ago, when forty-three years of age. Those who still survive are: Jacob, of Bainbridge township: Henry, a blacksmith, of Shasta county, California : Elizabeth, the widow of

Jacob Friday, of Watervliet township; Louisa, the wife of Charles Christianson, of Benton Harbor ; George, a commission mer- chant. of South Bend, Indiana; Lydia, the wife of Peter Christianson, who was killed by the street car in front of his home; Philip, of Bainbridge township; Anna, the wife of E. L. Miller, of Benton Harbor; Mary, the wife of George Morelock, of Watervliet township; Benjamin, proprietor of the Bat- tlement drug store at Benton Harbor; Al- bert, a zealous missionary of the Evangelical association ; and Elenora, who died at the age of three years. Mr. Butzbach now has thirty- three grandchildren and four great-grand- children.

He and his wife are loyal members of the Evangelical association, which they joined four years after their marriage, and with Jacob Enders are the only surviving representatives of the first class of the church. In politics he has been a Republi- can but not an active worker in the party. His attention has been given to the raising of grain and fruit and at an early day he engaged in the cultivation of peaches until the yellows destroyed his orchard. Although now well advanced in years, having passed the seventy-eighth mile stone on life's journey, he is still a hale and hearty man and gives personal supervision to his busi- ness affairs.

S. M. CLAWSON. one of the prosper- ous and progressive farmers of Berrien county, resides on section 14. Pipestone township. He was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, January 6, 1848, a son of Hiram and Esther ( Bestwick ) Clawson. The father was born in West Virginia and was there reared by his parents. After reaching years of maturity he left the south and went to Pennsylvania, where he was married to

Miss Bestwick, who was a native of Eng- land, and when twelve years of age was brought to America by her father, James Bestwick, who located in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, where she was reared and afterward gave her hand in marriage to Hiram Clawson. In 1855 they removed to Berrien county, Michigan, and the follow- ing autumn came to Pipestone township, settling on a farm on section 13, where he engaged in farming. In response to the country's call for aid at the time of the Civil war he enlisted for service, joining the. Twelfth Michigan Infantry of Company I. He died during his service at Duvalls Bluff, Arkansas, at the age of forty-four years. The mother survived for several years and passed away in Pipestone township when sixty-four years of age. They were the par- ents of five sons and one daughter, all of whom survive, and with one exception all reside in Pipestone township.

S. M. Clawson, the eldest child of his father's family, was a little lad of seven years when he was brought by his parents from the Buckeye state to Berrien county, where he acquired his education and was reared to farm life. At the early age of fifteen years he responded to the country's call for troops in the Civil war, enlisting- as a member of Company K, Eleventh Michigan Cavalry. He served exactly two years and was honorably discharged Sep- tember 28. 1865. at Jackson, being must- ered out at Nashville, Tennessee.

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A twentieth century history of Berrien County, Michigan, Part 137

Author: Coolidge, Orville W Publication date: 1906 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1314

Author: Coolidge, Orville W
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1314