A twentieth century history of Berrien County, Michigan, Part 42

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

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It has been Mr. Hamilton's unvarying practice throughout his service to give prompt and thorough consideration to cor- respondence and to the detais of his work as

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HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

a representative, and he has entirely aban- doned the practice of his profession to that end. He has given his best efforts to the needs of an intelligent and progressive constituency.

JOHN H. SPARKS, a lumber mer- chant, of the firm of J. H. Sparks & Son, carrying on business at Berrien Springs, was born in Buchanan township, on the 5th of May, 1844. His father, Spencer Sparks, was a native of Indiana, born near Richmond, and was a youth of thirteen years when he came to Berrien county with his parents, Cornelius and Susan Sparks, in the year 1828. They were pio- neer settlers of this portion of the state. Berrien county had not yet been organized but was a part of Cass county. The timber was uncut, the land uncultivated, the streams unbridged and the work of development and progress scarcely begun. The Sparks fam- ily were identified with the early history of the county in reclaiming it for the purpose of civilization and in laying broad and deep the foundation for its later development and im- provement.

Spencer Sparks was largely reared in this county and was here married to Miss Sarah Hunter, who was born near Columbus, Ohio, and came to Berrien county in the year 1832. Following their marriage the young couple began their domestic life upon a farm in Bu- chanan township, which Mr. Sparks had entered from the government, going on horseback to Kalamazoo to secure his title. He and his bride settled upon this farm and with characteristic energy he began its de- velopment and improvement. After culti- vating it for some years, however, he sold the property and bought another farm of one hundred and twenty acres, which he improved, making it his home throughout his remaining days, his death occurring when he had reached the age of fifty-six years. His wife long survived him and was about seventy-six years of age at the time of her demise. In their family were five children. three sons and two daugh- ters. of whom one daughter died at the age of sixteen years, while only the sons are now

living. One of these is Spencer Frank Sparks of this county, who is mentioned on another page of this work, as is William D. Sparks.

John H. Sparks, the eldest son and third child of the family, was reared upon the old homestead and remained under the parental roof through his minority, acquiring his education in the district schools and in the public schools of Albion, Michigan. When a young man he bought a tract of land near Benton Harbor and was engaged there in the fruit business for a few years. He then sold out and bought land in Niles township at the bend of the river, making his home there for about six years. In 1882 he came to Berrien Springs, where he has since re- sided, and in 1884 he established his lumber business which he has since conducted, being now one of the representative and enterpris- ing business men of the village. He carries a large and well selected stock of lumber and building materials and has a liberal patron- age, which makes the business which he annually transacts of considerable import- ance in bringing a desirable income. He also engaged in the coal business for some four or five years.

In 1873 Mr. Sparks was married to Miss Lurinda Roberts, a native of Ohio and a daughter of Jacob and Hester Roberts. They now have two children: Claude R., who is in business with his father ; and Nina, at home.

Mr. Sparks votes with the Republican party and has held a number of local offices to which he has been called by the vote of his fellow townsmen. He has been a life- long resident of Berrien county, having been identified with its interests for sixty-two years, while the name of Sparks has figured in connection with its development and pro- gress for almost eight decades.

BENSON BROTHERS. editors and proprietors of the Era published at Ber- rien Springs, are well known representa- tives of journalism in Berrien county. George R. Benson was born May 23, 1868. in the village in which he still makes his home. The father, Joel Benson,

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was a native of Broome county, New York, where he was reared to the age of twenty years, when he left the Empire state and be- came a resident of Ohio, removing thence to Michigan about 1850. He located at Ber- rien Springs, where he carried on business as a cabinet-maker and later he removed to St. Joseph, Michigan, where he spent about fifteen years. There he owned and con- ducted a lumber mill, and on the expiration of that decade and a half he returned to Ber- ring Springs and retired from active busi- ness, enjoying in well earned rest the fruits of his former toil. At the time of the Civil war patriotism and loyalty were manifest by his enlistment and active service with the Twelfth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, with which he remained as a private for two years. His residence in this county covered more than a half century and he passed away September 4, 1905. His wife, who in her maidenhood was Miss Catharine P. Miller, was a native of New York, where she spent her girlhood days. She died when about sixty-six years of age. In the family were four sons : Thomas C., of Berrien Springs ; Joel I., who died in infancy ; George R .; and Dewey M.

George R. Benson was reared in Ber- rien Springs to the age of nineteen years, and entering the public schools at the usual age, passed through successive grades until he completed the high school course by gradua- tion in the class of 1887. He afterward worked in the old Journal office until he ob- tained a better position at St. Joseph in the office of the St. Joseph Republican. He was also employed on the St. Joseph Press, act- ing as foreman in that office for five years. He ran the first paper through the printing press there and was a factor in the success- ful conduct of that then newly established journal. He also worked in Chicago a short time and was employed in various offices in five or six different states. Returning to Benton Harbor he became foreman on the Banner-Register for a year and a half, on the expiration of which period he became a dealer in bicycles in St. Joseph, doing a good business during the popularity of the wheel. Later, spending some time in Galatin, Ten-

nessee, he engaged in the real estate business and after the outbreak of the Spanish-Amer- ican war he went to Nashville, Tennessee, where he enlisted as a member of Company M, First Tennessee Volunteer Infantry, with which he became a sergeant. He served in the Philippine Islands and was in the army for two years. On th expiration of that per- iod he returned to Berrien Springs, and in April, 1901, in connection with his brother Dewey, purchased the Era from Fred Mc- Omber. They have since edited the paper, which has a liberal circulating and adver- tising patronage.

On the 26th of February, 1891, George R. Benson was married to Miss Bertha A. Elliott, a native of Canada, and a daughter of Jacob and Mary Elliott. Unto them were born five children, G. Royal, Joel Harry, Hazen Miller, Cora Leota and Helen Kath- ryn.

Mr. Benson is one of the enterprising men of the county, whose leadership in pub- lic affairs is indicated by the fact that his fellow townsmen have frequently selected him for positions of honor and trust. He has been constable for five years and mar- shal of the village for one year. He is a member of the Odd Fellows society at Ber- rien Springs and is now deputy grand mas- ter of the lodge. He also belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees at St. Joseph and he is well known in fraternal, business and political circles. His influence is given on the side of progress and improvement and in his editorial capacity and in private life he stands as the champion of much that is bene- ficial to the county.

GEORGE N. OTWELL, superintend- ent of the Berrien Springs public schools and recognized in educational circles as a foremost representative of the system of public instruction in southwestern Michigan, was born on the 3d of Aug- ust, 1875, on a farm about three and a half miles southwest of Three Oaks. His paternal grandfather, Emory Otwell, was a native of Ohio, and became one of the pio- neer settlers of Laporte county, Indiana. He afterward removed to Stark county, In-

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HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

diana, but subsequently again located in La- porte county. His son, James M. Otwell, father of George N. Otwell, was born in In- diana, where he remained to the age of thir- teen years, when he accompanied his par- ents on their removal to Three Oaks town- ship, Berrien county, Michigan. Here he was reared upon the farm on which his son George N. was born, and, having arrived at years of maturity, he was married in Berrien county to Miss Mary J. Monroe, a daughter of Robert and Electa (Crouch) Monroe. Mrs. Otwell was born in Yates county, New York, and there spent her girlhood days. By her marriage she became the mother of six children, of whom two died in infancy. while four still survive, namely: Fannie E., the wife of Edwin W. Mayes, of Three Oaks; Byron J., living in New Buffalo, Michigan; George N .; and Nellie G., the wife of William Kramer, of Three Oaks, Michigan.

George N. Otwell, the third child and second son of the family, was reared upon the old homestead near Three Oaks and attended the district schools of that township. Sub- sequently he entered upon a course of study in the high school at Three Oaks and was there graduated with the class of 1893. Sub- sequently he was graduated from the scien- tific department of the Northern Indiana Normal College, at Valparaiso, and later was a student in the literary department of the Michigan State University, at Ann Ar- bor. He was thus qualified by broad edu- cational advantages for a professional career. He taught his first school in Har- bert, Berrien county, where he remained for two years, and for three years he was a teacher in the village schools of Three Oaks. He then became principal of the schools at Stevensville. Michigan, where he remained for five years, and in the fall of 1903 he ac- cepted the superintendency of the schools at Berrien Springs.

In 1904 he was elected a member of the county board of school examiners and is now acting in that capacity. He is recognized as an able educator, and by the professional public is accorded a prominent position in the profession to which he is devoting his

time, energies and talents. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party. He is a valued representative of the Odd Fel- lows, Lake Lodge, No. 43. the Masonic lodge at Berrien Springs and the Royal Arch chapter at St. Joseph, Michigan.

FRANK STARKWEATHER, whose home on section eight, Niles township, stands in the midst of a good farm, is now controlling four hundred and twenty-five acres of rich and productive land, and is also well known throughout the coun- ty as an auctioneer. He is one of Michi- ran's native sons, although his birth did not occur within the boundary lines of Berrien county. It was on the Ist of October, 1858, in Mason township. Cass county, that he first opened his eyes to the light of day, his parents being Henry and Elizabeth (Long) Starkweather. His father was a native of Cayuga county, New York, and when quite young lost his parents. When he was about fourteen years of age he came to Niles, Mich- igan, with Isaac Griffin, with whom he lived until he attained his majority, the occupation of farming claiming his time and energies, and throughout his entire life his labors were given to the task of tilling the soil and car- ing for the crops. On the 13th of February, 1844, he married Miss Elizabeth Long, a native of Montgomery county, Ohio, born May 28, 1824, and a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Aiken) Long, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Ken- tucky. On coming to Michigan they located in Ontwa township. Cass county, in 1844, there remaining for about four years. Sub- sequently they took up their abode in Mason township upon a farm of their own. In 1869 they removed to Niles township, Berrien county, where for a long period Mr. Stark- weather carried on general agricultural pur- suits. At length. however, he removed to Niles city, where he lived for one year prior to his death, which occurred when he was seventy-four years of age. In his religious faith he was connected with the Society of Friends. Mrs. Starkweather still survives her husband and is now residing with her son Frank. In the family were four children :

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HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

May, who died in childhood; Edwin, who died at an early age; Emma, who passed away when twenty-one years of age; and Frank, of this review.

Mr. Starkweather, whose name intro- duces this record, is the only one of the chil- dren now living. He was reared in Berrien county from the age of ten years, and after acquiring his preliminary education in the country schools he attended the North- western University, at Evanston, Illinois. He was a resident of Niles city for eight years, or until 1905, when he removed to his present farm. While in Niles he was en- gaged in dealing in agricultural implements. He has also carried on auctioneering since 1898 and continues in business in addition to general farming. Everything about his place is well improved and he is now in control of four hundred and twenty-five acres of land, which he placed under a high state of cultivation.

On the 17th of January, 1882, Mr. Starkweather was united in marriage to Miss Cora D. Warner, a daughter of Rev. Francis M. and Mary Ann (Cannon) Warner, and a native of New York. There her girlhood days were passed. By her marriage she has become the mother of four children, Roy L. and Grace Doris, living, and Clinton J. and Evan Warner, both deceased when young.

In his political views Mr. Starkweather has been a life-long Republican, and for fif- teen years he has taken an active part in the political affairs of Berrien county, support- ing its principles and fighting its battles. At the primary election of September 4, 1906, he was nominated for the office of sheriff of Berrien county over five opponents for the nomination. For two terms he served as treasurer of Niles township and was also alderman of the Second ward. He has taken an active interest in public affairs, serving as highway commissioner and whether in office or out of it, he is always loyal to the best interests of the community. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias, the Knights of the Maccabees and the Modern Woodmen of America, belonging to the local organizations of those orders in Niles.

J. SHERLOCK ALLEN of Berrien Springs, was born in Winchester county, Virginia, June 12, 1873, his parents be- ing Luman and Julia ( Ellis) Allen, who were likewise natives of the Old Domin- ion. The father was a prominent lawyer for the Hamilton & Dayton Railroad and other large corporations. He removed to Chicago and won a notable position at the bar of that city, having a large and distincr- ively representative clientele there. He died at the age of forty-six years.

J. Sherlock Allen was educated at Re- nack, France, where he pursued a general course and was graduated in 1893. In that year he came into possession of a large prop- erty in Virginia and went to his native state, where he remained for two years. He then located in Chicago and had charge of the large estate of his father in that city. He also became a real estate dealer in associa- tion with his other business interests. In 1896 he came to Berrien Springs, purchasing what was formerly the county seat property, which he remodeled, converting the old court house into an assembly hall. He also remodeled the old jail and residence and now has a fine property. He has since been engaged in contracting and is a prominent and representative business man of the com- munity, with keen foresight and sound judg- ment. In community affairs he has figured prominently and is a recognized leader in the ranks of the Democratic party. He served as president of the village for two terms and has been deputy sheriff for three terms, also filling the office of justice of the peace. His political service has been most acceptable to the general public, his duties having been performed with promptness and fidelity.

In 1903 Mr. Allen was united in mar- riage to Miss Maud Fink, a daughter of Captain John Fink, of Wheeling, West Vir- ginia. She was also born in the Old Do- minion, and like her husband is well known in Berrien Springs, where the hospitality of the best homes is freely and cordially ex- tended them. Mr. Allen has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scotish Rite in Masonry, and he is well known in this county.

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ABEL W. WELLS. A residence of nearly forty years has identified Mr. Wells in a foremost manner with the manufactur- ing, business and civic life of St. Joseph. He helped actively to lay the foundation of this city's advancement as a manufacturing cen- ter. Since 1879 he has been bending his energies to building up a great knitting in- dustry, and in that year the firm of Cooper, Wells & Company began in a modest way a career of very unusual permanence and success. Cooper, Wells & Company's knit goods products are known to the retail trade throughout the country, and the pros- perity of the firm is part of the prosperity of St. Joseph, creating employment for many persons and bringing in wealth from many sources.

Mr. Wells, who has been president of the Cooper, Wells & Company since 1895, was born in Prescott county, Ontario, Sep- tember 6, 1840. His parents, A. W. and Hannah (Cass) Wells, were both natives of the Dominion, but later came to the United States and died in the state of Min- nesota.

Spending the first twenty-six years of his life in his native country, where he studied in the Canadian schools, Mr. Wells took up his residence in the United States in 1866 and two years later came to St. Joseph. Almost at once he commenced the manufacture of fruit packages. The demand for this class of goods has expanded enor- mously since Mr. Wells came here, register- ing the growth of the fruit business, and it is noteworthy that Mr. Wells has continued in this line of manufacture from the year of his arrival here. To the people of St. Jo- seph the Wells, Higman & Company's plant is a very familiar and valuable in- dustry. The concern is almost national in extent and importance. It keeps about two hundred and fifty operatives on its pay rolls, and its annual business is estimated at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Mr. Wells has been at the head of the com- pany since 1868. Besides the local plant at St. Joseph he is interested in extensive man- ufactories at Memphis and Greenfield, Tennessee, Vicksburg, Mississippi, Fort

Valley and Macon, Georgia, Crystal Springs, Alabama, and Tyler, Texas.

The establishment of the knitting and woolen mills at St. Joseph was very largely the result of the enterprise of the St. Joseph Improvement and Benefit Association, an organization of citizens for the advance- ment of the business and industrial affairs of the town, of which Mr. Wells was the first president at the formation of the asso- ciation in 1877. On the burning of the Woolen Mills and Knitting Plant at Niles in the following February those concerned in that business were induced to locate the

plant at St. Joseph. Temporary quarters were installed in the King building and be- fore the end of the summer the plant was in operation in a new building. S. T. Cooper and sons at first owned the business, but in the latter part of 1879 Mr. Wells came into the concern, bringing both capital and busi- ness ability, and from that time the company has been under its present name. The com- pany was incorporated in 1889 by A. W. Wells, Willis W. Cooper, H. C. Ward and George D. Mayo, with capital stock of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, Mr. Wells being elected president and Mr. Cooper secretary and treasurer. In 1894 Mr. Cooper sold his stock to Mr. Wells and Mr. Mayo, and since that change Mr. Wells has been president and general manager.

February 25, 1903. fire destroyed the main building and office, causing a loss of one hundred and twenty-five thousand dol- lars with forty-two thousand dollars insur- ance. But the success of the business was so substantial that even before this calamity plans had been formed to enlarge with new buildings, and a new plant was begun with hardly a month's delay and was in operation by August 10th following. The building is three stories, covering ground area two hundred and twenty-seven by sixty-seven feet, and is equipped with the best inven- tions for the manufacture of its lines of "Iron Clad" woolen, cotton and merino fab- rics, together with lisle thread, lace and stripe effects.

To be at the head of such an industry carries a responsibility and honor which are

an, nello

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HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

well discharged and well merited by such a man as Mr. Wells, who has spent forty years of his life in the persistent and energetic pursuit of business success. The volume of business has grown wonderfully under his control. The plant gives employment to four hundred and seventy-five persons, also twenty-two traveling salesmen. The annual business is worth eight hundred thousand dollars.

In 1883 the Union Banking Company of St. Joseph was organized and since 1893 Mr. Wells has been president of this insti- tution, one of the well known and strong financial concerns of the county.

It seems that with the weighty cares of these business interests Mr. Wells would have little opportunity for anything else. And yet he has been one of the stanchest Republicans of Berrien county for a great many years, has served his county on the board of supervisors, and has helped secure the welfare of education as a member of the city school board.

January 28, 1868, the same year of his coming to St. Joseph, Mr. Wells married Miss Melvina B. Gates, also a native of Can- ada. They have three children living. The two daughters are Cornelia E. and Clara. J. Ogden, the son, was a member of the Roose- velt Rough Riders during the Spanish war, enlisting while in Harvard College, from which he graduated in 1901. Since return- ing home he has been an invaluable assist- ant of his father and has thoroughly mas- tered the details of the business, being vice president and assistant manager of the Cooper, Wells & Company.

In view of what Mr. Wells has accom- plished in the world of business, it is of in- terest to add that he began life without any unusual advantages in the way of inherit- ance or family position. Shrewd but honest, capable and exceedingly industrious, he has followed in the path of successful men and gained a position that none could justly envy.

WILLIAM F. BULLARD, M. D., was born in Connersville, Fayette county, Indiana, May 30, 1848. His paternal grandfather, a native of Massachusetts,

was of French descent. The father, Henry Bullard, also born in Massachu- setts, removed to the middle west about 1830, settling in Fayette county, Indiana, as one of its pioneer residents. He was the promoter of industrial life in that section of the state, where he engaged in the con- duct of a woolen manufactory. He removed from Carthage, Ohio, to Connersville, In- diana, and about 1868 became a resident of Quincy, Illinois, where he spent his remain- ing days, passing away at the age of fifty- five years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Martha Wardwell, was a native of Ohio, born in Oxford. She lived to be seventy-six years of age and was the seventh child in a family of five sons and two daugh- ters, of whom the Doctor was the third child and second son.

Reared in his native county to the age of eighteen years Dr. Bullard acquired his early education in the district schools and after- ward attended the high school at Conners- ville. When about twenty years of age he took up the study of medicine in his native place under the direction of Dr. George Chitwood, who assisted him in his reading for about three years.| He pursued his first course of lectures at the Cincinnati Medical College and practiced for one year in Car- roll county, Indiana. He then continued his college course and was graduated in 1880 from the Medical College of Indiana, at In- dianapolis. He then returned to Cutler, Car- roll county, where he resumed practice, re- maining there for about two years. On the expiration of that period he went to Pyr- mont in the same county, and in 1885 came to Berrien Springs, where he has since been located, enjoying a large and growing practice.

In 1878 Dr. Bullard was married to Miss Lucy A. Geer, a daughter of Harrison C. Geer, of Battle Creek, Michigan, where she was born and reared. There is one daughter of this marriage : Edna B., the wife of Edward Vander Hoof, of Eau Claire, Michigan.

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A twentieth century history of Berrien County, Michigan, Part 42

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