A twentieth century history of Berrien County, Michigan, Part 146

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

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HON. ALONZO SHERWOOD is truly a pioneer of Berrien county, being the oldest living representative of the early days of Buchanan township. He was born in Huron county, Ohio, April 22, 1832, and came to Michigan with his parents in 1833. His father, Seth Shortess Sherwood, was born in Cayuga county, New York, in 1800, and died in Buchanan March 3, 1856. He brought his family to this county from Ohio, driving an ox team through the woods, and was the first settler in Buchanan township. Mr. Sherwood was elected the first treasurer of the township where there were but four- teen votes cast at the fall election, and not a white settler within three miles of his home. His efforts were an important fac- tor in the early development and progress of his locality.

Prior to the war he was interested in the conditions which existed in the south, and became a stanch abolitionist. He married Miss Jemima Ferguson, a native of Ohio, who was born in 1805 and died in Berrien county at the age of seventy-seven years. They had a family of eleven children, nine sons and two daughters, but only Alonzo Sherwood, the subject of this sketch, is now living.

The Hon. Alonzo Sherwood kept his residence in Buchanan township until 1866, when he purchased the Oak Grove farm in Wesaw township, where he carried on ex- tensive farming and lumbering interests for about twenty years. In the spring of 1885 he went to Box Butte county, Nebraska, and has since resided in Hemingford, Ne- braska. His political allegiance was for- merly given to the Republican party, but, believing the temperance question the most

important issue today before the people, he is now a stalwart Prohibitionist.

During his residence in this county he was esteemed as one of its prominent, in- fluential and valued citizens, and was elected to represent Berrien county in the lower house of the state legislature in 1879. He always stood on the side of progress and im- provement, and in his relations with his fel- lowmen he has not only manifested justice, but also the higher attributes of mercy. He was supervisor of Wesaw township for two years, was also justice of the peace, and held other public offices during his residence in Berrien county. He has acted on the school board throughout nearly his entire life, both in Michigan and Nebraska, and for many years has been a deacon in the Congrega- tional church.

On the Ioth of February, 1856, Alonzo Sherwood was united in marriage with Miss Catharine Clark, who was born in Penn- sylvania April 4, 1832, a daughter of Amos Clark, also a pioneer resident of the county. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Alonzo Sher- wood were eight children : Amos, Alva, Almeda, Nettie, William, Catharine, Al- onzo and Lennie. Only three of these reached maturity, Almeda, wife of William Convis, of Los Angeles, California; Nettie, wife of William H. Smith, of Los Angeles, California ; and the late Alva Sherwood, subject of another sketch in this volume.

Mrs. Catharine Sherwood died soon af- ter the family moved to Nebraska, and on June 10, 1888, Mr. Sherwood married Mrs. Hattie E. Henley, of Hemingford, Ne- braska, who was born in Liberty, Maine, February 14, 1844.

Although still retaining his home and business interests in Nebraska, Mr. Sher- wood has maintained his acquaintance and friendships in this locality, and is a frequent visitor of Berrien county.

EDWARD N. HATCH, who has made steady and consecutive progress in starting out in business life in early age, is now the secretary and treasurer of the St. Joseph Iron Works, in which capacity he figures prominently in connection with industrial

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HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

life in the Twin cities. He was born in New York city, February 8, 1840. His paternal grandfather was Dr. Josiah Hatch, a native of Warwick, Connecticut, who served as a surgeon with the American troops in the Revolutionary war. His father, Junius H. Hatch, was born in Granville, Massachu- setts, in 1795, and in 1813 was graduated from Middlebury ( Vermont) College. Sub- sequently he went to New York city, where he read law with William P. Van Ness and Edward Ogden, and was admitted to the bar. Engaging in practice in the eastern metrop- olis he there continued until 1845, when he came to Michigan, settling in Detroit, where, as an able and successful member of the bar, he remained until 1848 when he returned to New York state, residing in Buffalo until his death, April 20, 1869. In the early '30S he invested quite extensively in land in Michigan, Indiana and Illinois, and became owner of large holdings in Berrien county. He was married in 1835 to Miss Sarah Cath- erine Mitchell, a native of Hoboken, New Jersey, who was born in 1815, and died in Buffalo, New York, in 1853. In their fam- ily were four sons and two daughters, name- ly : Sarah C., who died in infancy; Junius H .. a resident of St. Joseph, who is now em- ployed in the auditor general's office at Lan- sing; Edward N., of this review ; Albert G., of Buffalo, New York ; William B., who was killed in a railroad accident in 1866 near Olney. Illinois; and Grace B., who is living in San Diego, California.

In the schools of Buffalo, New York, Edward N. Hatch acquired his early educa- tion and subsequently attended the Univer- sity of Michigan. He came to Berrien coun- ty in 1862, and for about a year lived at the home of Joseph Gard, a pioneer of the coun- ty. In the spring of 1863 he went to Brun- son Harbor, now Benton Harbor, and ac- cepted a clerkship in the store of James E. Stevens, where he continued until 1866, when he removed to St. Joseph, and se- cured a position in the grocery store or A. E. Perkins. While thus engaged he made a trip to Chicago, September 8, 1868, and was a passenger on the ill-fated steamer, Hippocampus. Of the passengers and crew aboard, twenty-eight men were lost

and thirteen were saved, Mr. Hatch being one of the lucky thirteen. From 1873 until 1879 he was agent for the Goodrich Line steamers at St. Joseph and since 1883 he has been continuously connected with the St. Joseph Iron Works, being now secretary and treasurer of the company, engaged in the manufacture of veneer cutting, fruit pack- age and basket machinery. During the twenty-three years of his identification with the business his efforts and keen insight have been an important element in the growth and success of the institution.

In 1882 Mr. Hatch was married to Miss Mary A. Thayer, of St. Joseph, and they have four children, William E., Albert J., Conant H. and Rose Marie. In politics Mr. Hatch has always been an ardent supporter of the Republican party and never fails to give his endorsement to its men and meas- ures at the polls. A resident of Berrien county for forty-four years he is recognized as one of its leading men. In the prosecu- tion of his business there has been manifest one of the most sterling traits of his charac- ter-his desire to carry forward to the high- est perfection attainable anything that he un- dertakes. This has marked his social and business career and has been one of the most important factors in his gratifying success. Not content with mediocrity in any line of life he has given deep and earnest study to the thought of perfecting the output of the house and bringing the business interests of the firm into such a condition that maximum results may be obtained by minimum effort. He is energetic, prompt and notably reliable and has been watchful of all the opportuni- ties of his business and all indications point- ing toward prosperity. The plans and meth- ods he has followed and the characteristics which he has manifested have been such as to gain for him admiration and regard.

BURNS HELMICK is a retired farmer living in Berrien Springs. Quite a large proportion of the population of the village is made up of men who were formerly prom- inent in agricultural circles and who thereby won the competence that now enables them to live retired. Such has been the life rec- ord of Mr. Helmick, whose activity and in-

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HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

tegrity in business affairs in former years now enables him to enjoy a well earned rest. He was born in Oronoko township, July 10, 1845, and is a representative of one of the old pioneer families of the county. His pa- ternal grandfather, Jacob Helmick, was born in Hampshire county, Virginia, May 21, 1773, and was one of four brothers who fought in the Revolutionary war under the command of Marquis De Lafayette. Their father came from Germany to the new world about the year 1730. Jacob Helmick re- moved from Virginia to Warren county about 1805, and died in Clinton county, that state, in 1815. His father, Jesse Helmick, was born in Randolph county, Virginia, October 23, 1798, and when a youth of sev- enteen years was bound out to a Mr. Sim- onton in Warren county, Ohio, with whom he lived until he attained his majority. Dur- ing that time he learned the blacksmith's trade, and when twenty-one years of age he started out in life on his own account, work- ing at that trade. In 1832, accompanied by a Mr. Murphy, he came on horseback from Ohio to Berrien county and selected a loca- tion here, as did his companion. They then returned to Ohio, and in 1836 brought their families with team and wagon to Michigan, settling in Oronoko township, Berrien coun- ty. Mr. Helmick had a capital of four hundred dollars in silver and in addition to this he gave a span of horses for his land. After clearing a small space he built thereon a blacksmith shop and worked at his trade, while his sons carried on the task of clearing the land and transforming it into cultivable fields. His life was one of activity and use- fulness and all that he possessed and enjoyed came to him through his own labor. He resided upon the place until his death, which occured in March, 1881, when he was in his eighty-third year. He was closely identified with the early history of the county and assisted in organizing Oronoko town- ship. He held five of the seven different township offices and there were but eleven votes cast at the organization of the town- ship, a fact which is indicative of the pioneer condition which then existed in the county. Mr. Helmick was supervisor for many years, and for four years was associate judge and

throughout the community in which he lived was known as Judge Helmick. The duties which devolved upon him in a public rela- tion were always faithfully and promptly performed and he made a most creditable record as an official. For many years he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and assisted in organizing a con- gregation of that denomination at Berrien Springs. He took a very active part in church work and as is indicated by the fore- . going account was a substantial and valued factor in the upbuilding of the county in its material, political and moral progress. He married Miss Elizabeth Simonton, who was born February 19, 1803, in Warren county, Ohio, a daughter of Theophilus and Mary (Sales) Simonton. Mrs. Helmick died on the old homestead January 6, 1887, in her eighty-fourth year. In the family were May 28, 1827; Hirem S., February 23. 1823; Samuel T., March 22, 1825; Mary, May 28, 1827; Hiram S., February 23. 1830; Sarah J., March 18, 1832; Jacob, September 30, 1834; Eliza Ann, May II, 1837; Eli, May 29, 1840; Rachel, February 2, 1843; Burns, July 10, 1845; and Louisa A., May 21, 1848. The parents were mar- ried in Warren county, Ohio, May 16, 1822, and therefore traveled life's journey to- gether for almost sixty years.

Burns Helmick, the tenth in order of birth in a family of eleven children, and the fourth born in Berrien county, was reared upon the old homestead farm and supple- mented his early education, acquired in the common schools, by study in Albion Col- lege. He was married November 5. 1867, to Miss Martha Jane Essick, a daughter of David and Rachel (Carmack) Essick. who were natives of Pennsylvania and came to Michigan in 1846, settling in Berrien Springs. Mrs. Helmick, thie eldest of four children, was born in St. Clairsville. Bed- ford county, Pennsylvania, December 28. 1845, and was only eleven months old when brought to this county. She was educated in the schools of Berrien Springs and en- gaged in teaching for seven terms.

Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Helmick located on the old homestead in Oronoko township, where he carried on

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HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

farming until 1882. The years were a period of earnest toil, in which he care- fully planned his work and accomplished what he undertook. In the year men- tioned he located in Buchanan and at one time he was general manager of the Narrow Gauge Railroad running from Buchanan to Berrien Springs. In 1890 he removed to Chicago, where he resided until 1894, when he became a resident of St. Louis, Missouri, being connected with the Missouri Pacific Railroad system there for six years. In the spring of 1901 he re- turned to Berrien county and is now manu- facturing cement blocks, He is a man of marked business enterprise and executive force, and in his business displays the ability to plan and perform and the genius for de- vising and executing the right thing at the right time.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Helmick have been born six children : Harry E., now a resident of Oak Park, Illinois; Frederick, of Chi- cago ; Lena, at home; Rachel, the wife of C. C. Woodruff, of Chicago; David E., of the same city ; and Ione, at home. Mr. Hel- mick is a representative of one of the oldest pioneer families of Berrien county, and with the exception of a brief interval has resided here continuously since 1845, or for a period of sixty-one years. He is there- fore largely familiar with its history as the work of growth and progress has been car- ried forward and at all times he has stood as the champion of those movements which have direct bearing upon its upbuilding and substantial advancement. In his business life he has been straightforward and reliable and in his social relations has gained the warm friendship of many with whom he has come in contact.

A. C. RINKENBERGER, M. D. Ber- rien county, Michigan, has her full quota of skilled physicians and surgeons, and among this number may be noted Dr. A. C. Rink- enberger, who is also connected with many of the leading institutions of the community. He was born in Blue Island, Illinois, July 7. 1869, a son of Christian Rinkenberger, a native of Germany, but who came to Amer- ica about 1836, establishing his home near

Cedar Lake, Indiana. He was there mar- ried to a Miss Beckley, to whom were born two daughters, and after her death Mr. Rinkenberger married her sister, to whom were also born two children, Lottie and Ezra. After removing to Blue Island he married the mother of our subject, Anna Reneborne, of Chicago and their union was blessed with eight children, seven of whom are living. For twenty- eight years Mr. Rinkenberger was num- bered among the leading business men of Blue Island, being well known as a grocery merchant, and his death occurred in 1898, but his wife is still living and is a resident of Berrien township.

Dr. A. C. Rinkenberger, the eldest of his parents seven living children, is a grad- uate of the Blue Island high school of the class of 1885, after which he began read- ing medicine in the office of Dr. H. M. Hobart. He next entered the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College, where he completed his course in the class of 1889, and during the following four years, 1889- 93, was a student in the Iowa College. Af- ter one year spent as a traveling salesman for a Chicago house he began the practice of his profession at Blue Island, Illinois, where he remained during 1893 and 1894, and previous to this time he had spent four years at Grinnell, Iowa. His next occupa- tion was that of special collector for the Plano Manufacturing Company, being thus engaged from 1894 to 1896, spent the fol- lowing few months in Florida, and in 1897 came to Berrien township in company with two brothers, Eugene and Lawrence Rink- enberger, they together purchasing a tract of land in. the township, on which they erected houses, barns and grain houses for a summer home, the tract consisting of one hundred and six acres. There Dr. Rinken- berger practiced medicine and looked after the estate until 1901, when he again went on the road as a traveling salesman for Lord, Owen & Company, a Chicago wholesale drug house, while later he was with Robert Stevenson & Company until 1905, when he opened an office for the practice of medicine in Eau Claire. In partnership with his brother Lawrence he also organized the Ex-

CHARLES D. NICHOLS

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HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

change Bank of Eau Claire in 1904, a pri- vate banking institution, of which he is the president and his brother the cashier. As a business man he is practical and progressive, while in professional circles he has also gained. enviable prestige as an able and suc- cessful medical practitioner.

On the 12th of June, 1905, Dr. Rink- enberger was united in marriage to June, a daughter of Alford and Emma Ely, of Pipe- stone township, Berrien county, the birth- place of Mrs. Rinkenberger. The Doctor has ever taken an active and helpful interest in the welfare of his adopted city, doing everything in his power to promote its up- building and development. He purchased what is known as the Eau Claire Canning plant, and was instrumental in bringing to this city the John Boyle Creamery Company, while in many other ways he has used his means and influence to the further progress of Eau Claire. He and Mr. M. V. Cheese- man bought the old Hoyt's cider mill and have made extensive improvements there, converting it into a modern vinegar plant. He is a supporter of Republican principles and a member of the city council, and he also has fraternal relations with the Independent Order of Foresters, the Knights of Pythias and the Maccabees.

CHARLES D. NICHOLS. No history of Berrien county would be complete with- out mention of Charles D. Nichols, a vener- able citizen who now lives in Petoskey, but who for sixty-three years was an honored resident of Berrien Springs. He was born in Ithaca, New York, January 23, 1822, and is a representative of an old New England family. His paternal grandfather was Ebe- nezer Nichols, who was born in Rhode Is- land, in 1763, and who died at Laporte, In- diana, at the age of seventy-five years. The father, Nathan B. Nichols, was born in Rhode Island in 1800, and married Thank- ful A. Brown, whose birth occurred in Ver- mont. He passed away in Berrien Springs in 1888, while his wife died in Iowa, at about the age of sixty-three years. She was a daughter of Levi Brown, who was born in the state of New York. He served

as a soldier in the war of 1812 and spent his last days in Berrien Springs, Michigan.

Charles D. Nichols has been a pioneer of Indiana and of Michigan. He was a lad of only seven years when his parents re- moved from the Empire state to Indiana, settling in Laporte county, where he resided until 1843, when, at the age of twenty-one years, he came to Berrien county, establish- ing his home at Berrien Springs. Here he resided until May, 1906, his residence cov- ering a period of sixty-three consecutive years in this place. He engaged to a con- siderable extent in farming and cleared a tract of land of one hundred and twenty acres northwest of the Springs. This he placed under cultivation and made it a valua- ble property. He also engaged for a num- ber of years in merchandising at Berrien Springs, and was an active factor in the bus- iness life of the community.

Mr. Nichols was married in February, 1852, to Miss Nancy B. Dewey, of Owosso, Michigan. They traveled life's journey to- gether for almost a half century, being sepa- rated through the death of the wife, on the 4th of February, 1899. There are two liv- ing sons and a daughter of this marriage: Dr. Charles A. Nichols, who resides in Champaign, Illinois; Mrs. Cora A. Kep- hart, of Petoskey, Michigan; and John D. Nichols, who resides at North Yakima, Washington. The eldest son of the family was Fremont D., who was born in 1853, and died in 1900.

Mr. Nichols was for many years an in- fluential factor in political circles in Berrien county. On attaining his majority he allied his interests with the Whig party and upon the formation of the Republican party he joined its ranks and has since been one of its earnest supporters. He was the first Republican county treasurer of Berrien county, being elected in 1854-the year of the party's organization-and for fifteen or twenty years he was deputy clerk of the county. In 1863 and 1864 he acted as sheriff of Berrien county and he held num- erous minor offices. No public trust reposed in him was ever betrayed in the slightest de- gree and at all times he placed the general

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good before partisanship and the public wel- fare before personal aggrandizement. He has been a Mason since 1851 and is the sec- ond oldest representative of the craft in the state. Mr. Nichols is a man of kindly purpose, a gentleman of the old school, al- ways courteous and considerate and com- manding the respect and admiration of all by reason of his high principles and manly conduct.

WASHINGTON B. SMITH, whose time and energies are given to general farm- ing on section 33, Berrien township, was born in Milton township, Cass county, May 25, 1845. His father, George Smith, was a native of Delaware, his birthplace being near the city of Dover. He was eighteen years of age when he came with his parents, Canon and Lottie Smith, to Michigan, the family home being established in Cass coun- ty in 1828. They located near Edwards- burg, where the father purchased one thousand acres of land in Milton town- ship. He and his brother John broke land on what is known as Beardsley's prairie, turning the first furrows on many an acre and thus converting the wild tract into cul- tivable fields. It was in Cass county that Canon Smith was married. His wife was a native of Delaware and became a resident of Cass county in 1829, locating near Ed- wardsburg. In community affairs Mr. Smith was very prominent and influential and took a deep and helpful interest in the material, intellectual and moral progress of the com- munity. Smith Chapel was named in his honor and he donated the land for the church. He was an earnest and sincere Christian and his life was characterized by the kindly pur- pose and honorable principles which are ever manifest in the life of a true follower of the church. He died in Milton township of the age of seventy years, while his wife survived to the age of eighty-four years. In their family were ten children, eight of whom reached adult age, their son, Washington B. Smith, being the fifth child and fourth son of the family.

Upon the old homestead farm in Cass county Mr. Smith, of this review, was reared, early becoming familiar with the

duties incident to the development and im- provement of the fields. He was thus en- gaged from the time of early spring plant- ing until crops were harvested in the late autumn and through the winter months he pursued his education in the public schools. He was married on the 24th of March, 1875, to Miss Maria Walker, a daughter of Joseph and Catharine (Neu- gent) Walker. The father was born in England, while the mother was a native of Ireland and they were early set- tlers of Berrien county. Mrs. Smith was born in Niles township, this county, Septem- ber 6, 1849, and is the ninth in order of birth of a family of twelve children, two of whom passed away in infancy. In 1875 Mr. and Mrs. Smith located on a farm which is now their home and here he has resided con- tinuously for thirty-two years. Three chil- dren have come to bless the union: Dr. Warren A. Smith, who is mentioned on an- other page of this work; Lawrence V., at home; and Gertrude, who became the wife of Leo Austin, and died July 27, 1906.

Mr. Smith has an excellent farm of one hundred and twenty acres of rich and pro- ductive land and upon the place are seen all of the evidences of a model farm of the twentieth century, including good buildings, high grades of stock and well tilled fields. He has been a life-long Republican but has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking, preferring to concentrate his ener- gies upon his business affairs, in which he has met with signal success.

WILLIAM H. CASSIDAY. When southern Michigan was largely an uncut for- est district, when its lands were unclaimed and uncultivated, its streams unbridged and its roads not yet laid out, William H. Cassi- day became a resident of the state. His birth occurred in Niles township at what was then called Pain's Mill, January 7, 1836, and he now resides on section 17, Pipestone town- ship, having thus lived for three score years and ten in this locality. His father, Robert Cassiday, was a native of Wooster, Ohio, where he remained until eighteen years of age, when he began working at the mill- wright's trade in that county. In 1829 he

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A twentieth century history of Berrien County, Michigan, Part 146

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