A twentieth century history of Berrien County, Michigan, Part 57

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

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Mr. Warren is an earnest Republican, and for thirty-four years has served as jus- tice of the peace, while his present term will continue for two years longer. His deci- sions have been strictly fair and impartial and his capability is indicated by the fact that he has so long been retained in office. He has also been notary public for a number of years. He is prominent in the county con- ventions of his party to which he is fre- quently a delegate and he has also been a delegate to the national convention. He is.

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a member of the Loyal Legion, Detroit Commandery, being the only man eligible for membership from Three Oaks township. He is a member of the American Protective Tariff League and was one of the five hun- dred present at the New York banquet when McKinley and Bliss addressed the gathering. At one time he was a member of the national finance committee of Washington. He be- longs to the Grand Army post at Three Oaks, of which he is the organizer and was the first commander, serving in that capacity for fourteen years. He is a member of the department staff, has also served on the National staff and is one of the distinguished representatives of the order in Michigan, having a very wide acquaintance among his old army comrades in this state. He is es- pecially proud of the fact that he commanded his company at the battle of Five Forks, April 1, 1865. His religious faith is indi- cated by his membership in the Congrega- tional church, in which he has served as a deacon for eight years. He owns a fine lot on Main street and five dwellings in Three Oaks. He has built a number of houses here and has thus contributed in substantial meas- ure to the improvement and upbuilding of the district. He likewise has a fine fruit orchard and garden and his property brings him a good return. As a real estate man he has handled considerable valuable property and negotiated many important transfers. In a review of his life there will be found many elements worthy of emulation and commendation and his entire public service has been actuated by a spirit of fidelity to duty and by a trustworthiness that none can question. He is indeed an honored veteran of the Civil war, yet he was no more loyal to his country in the days of strife than he has been in days of peace.

EDWIN F. PLATT, who was a life- long and honored resident of Berrien county, was born in Niles, September 10, 1850, and died in St. Joseph on the 7th of June, 1905. His parents, George W. and Mary Elizabeth Platt, came from Massachusetts to Niles about 1834, and the father, engaging in the hardware trade, was one of the oldest mer- chants in that line in Berrien county. His

business interests were developed in accord- ance with the growth and upbuilding of this section of the state and a liberal patronage was accorded him in recognition of his en- terprise, diligence and earnest desire to please his patrons. Moreover, he figured prominently in community affairs, wielding a wide influence and aiding in molding public thought and action. He served as a mem- ber of the school board and the cause of education profited by his efforts in its be- half. He was one of the aldermen of the city and also mayor of Niles, and he exer- cised his official prerogatives for the advance- ment of his town along lines of substantial improvement. Coming to the west he traveled from Massachusetts across the country in the primitive manner of the times and was closely associated with the pioneer development of Berrien county.

Edwin F. Platt attended the high school at Niles after passing through the consecutive course of the primary and intermediate de- partments. He pursued a general course, including Latin and German, and was grad -- uated in the class of 1865 at the compara- tively early age of fifteen years. He re- ceived business training in Bryant & Strat- ton Commercial College, in Milwaukee, Wis- consin, from which he was graduated in 1867 or 1868, and he then entered mercantile circles as a dealer in hardware. Removing to St. Joseph in 1869 he became a factor in business life and was one of the leading hardware merchants of Berrien county, con- tinuing in that department of trade up to the time of his demise. He had a well ap- pointed store and a large patronage, and his life record with its successes was another proof of the old adage that "honesty is the best policy." He was also interested in the St. Joseph Building Association and was for six years its secretary. He was also a stock- holder and director in the Commercial National Bank, and a stockholder, director and vice president of the Lakeside Vineyard Company. He thus extended his efforts to various fields of business activity, in all of which his wise judgment proved a valued factor in resultant prosperity.

In the midst of a useful, active and busy career in commercial and financial circles

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Mr. Platt also found time for public work, and in 1878 and 1879 was treasurer of St. Joseph township, to which position he was elected on the Republican ticket. He served as a member of the board of trustees when this city was a mere village and for five years he was a member of the school board. At the time of his demise he was a member of the library board and he never failed to put forth effective and earnest effort in any of these official capacities for the substantial growth and the intellectual, esthetic, politi- cal and moral progress of his community. He was a stanch Republican, giving effective support to the party.

On the 4th of September, 1876, in Chi- cago, Mr. Platt was married to Miss Ada Napier, a daughter of Captain Joseph A. Napier. Her father was appointed harbor master of Chicago in 1851, and served in that capacity for two years. He is a grand old man, who for a long period was a lake captain and he has in his possession a gold watch which was given to him by the citi- zens of Chicago for saving the lives of peo- ple from the steamer Merchant in 1854. In 1878 he was appointed life saving captain® at St. Joseph and while in that position he rendered distinguished service on the Schooner Ithaca. For his rescuing work he was awarded a gold medal in recognition of 'his bravery, and on the Ioth of October, 1877, he was instrumental in saving the lives of the crew on the D. G. Williams. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Platt was born one daughter, Mrs. Sadie A. Platt Greening, whose birth occurred April 19, 1878.

At the time of his demise a local paper in speaking of his fraternal relations said : "Mr. Platt was prominent in lodge circles. He belongs to eleven secret societies as follows: St. Joseph Lodge, under dispensa- tion, F. & A. M., Calvin Brittain Chapter, No. 72, R. A. M., St. Joseph Council, No. 44, R. & S. M., all of St. Joseph; Malta Commandery, No. 44, K. T., of Benton Har- bor; DeWitt Clinton Consistory, A. A. S. R. (32d degree), and Saladin Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Grand Rapids ; Amer- ica Chapter No. 234, O. E. S., Golden Rule Shrine No. 13. O. W. S. J., St. Joseph Lodge, No. 541, B. P. O. E., St. Joseph

Valley Tent. No. 628. K. O. T. M., St. Joseph; Prudential Lodge, No. 171, A. O. U. W., Benton Harbor. He carries insur- ance in the two latter orders as well as in- surance in some old line companies. At the time of his death Mr. Platt was holding the offices of High Priest in Calvin Brittain Chapter, Treasurer of St. Joseph Council, and Treasurer of Malta .Commandery. Mr. Platt served with much credit and shares in the honors with the rest of his brothers as a member of that committee that so hand- somely furnished the beautiful new Masonic Temple lately dedicated in this city. Mr. Platt also gave time and voice in the efforts towards the consolidation of Occidental and Pomona lodges and it is the sincere regret of all Masons that he could not have lived to have seen at least the final act of the drama which was consummated on Tues- day evening, June 13, 1905, when new of- ficers were elected and Grand Master John Rawson of Grand Rapids, was present to in- stall and officially set in motion St. Joseph Lodge, No. 437, F. & A. M. Mr. Platt's is the fifth death since the two lodges consolidated." He left behind him an un- tarnished record. He was faultless in honor, fearless in conduct and stainless in reputation, and though he never sought wide spread notoriety in his home community he ivas a force for good and a valued factor in community interests.

The funeral services took place Sunday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock, June II, 1905, Dr. A. H. Scott, a life-long and intimate friend of Mr. Platt and past worshipful master of Old Occidental lodge conducting the services. Malta Commandery acted as escort. This was the largest Masonic fun- eral ever held in Berrien county, it being estimated that one thousand Masons at- tended, and it required more than an hour to pass through the house.

C. H. FARNUM, late of Hagar township, was born in St. Joseph, Michi- gan, July 15, 1839, and died August 5, 1901. His parents were Matthias and Dime (Finch) Farnum. The father lo- cated in St. Joseph in 1836, and was a car- penter and builder, who was closely asso-

Charles H. Farm

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ciated with the substantial improvement of the city in early days. In 1840 he located in Hagar township and worked at his trade as well as also operating the farm. In 1856 he bought three hundred and sixty acres of land in Van Buren county, upon which he erected a water mill, operating it for three years. In 1866 he removed to Benton Har- bor but finally returned to Hagar township, where he died in the year 1884. He was thus closely associated with the industrial and commercial interests of the county and through his business activity and his co- operation in many movements for the gen- eral good he aided in laying broad and deep the foundation for the present progress and prosperity of the county. After coming to St. Joseph he was married in that city to Miss Dime Finch, whose parents were pio- neer settlers of that part of the state. They became the parents of eleven children, who reached adult age. Those living in 1906 are Evermont, of Benton Harbor, and Isaac, whose home is in Hagar township.

C. H. Farnum, whose name introduces this review, was born in Benton township, where he continued to make his home until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when, in 1861, he enlisted for service in Company D, Twelfth Michigan Infantry, under cor- mand of General Logan. At the end of eleven months he was honorably discharged but ever afterward suffered from ill health in consequence of the exposure and hard- ships incident to his service.

After his return home Mr. Farnum was married in 1864 to Miss Eliza P. Dickin- son, a daughter of Robert Dickinson. He provided for his family through agricul- tural and horticultural labor and became the owner of a forty-acre form in Hagar township, four miles north of Benton Har- bor and within a mile of the lake shore. He hewed out this farm in the midst of the forest, clearing away the trees and bringing the land into cultivable condition. Here he engaged in raising fruit and planted good orchards, giving his attention only to the cul- tivation of the best varieties of fruits. His efforts therefore were attended with success and he gained a very comfortable com- petence.

Mr. and Mrs. Farnum never had any children of their own but reared an adopted daughter, Margaret Belle Opfel, who was an orphan when at the age of nine years she came to live with them, making her home with them until her marriage to M. F. Easterbrook, a farmer and stockman of Carroll county, Illinois. She has four chil- dren, Farnum, Monterville, Eugene, Mar- garet Mary, and a baby girl. Mrs. Easter- brook was provided with excellent edu- cational advantages and is a graduate of Benton Harbor College. After com- pleting her course there she taught music for two years, and is a lady of culture and refinement, owing to the excellent ad- vantages which were given her by her fos- ter parents.

After the war Mr. Farnum, being in poor health and wishing something else to do beside carrying on his farm, leased a boat and began running between Benton Harbor and Chicago. This was the second line plying between the two ports, and it was subsequently purchased from Mr. Far- num. However, the possibility for the sec- ond line of boats had been established and this was the forerunner of what is now known as the Benton Transit Company. His farm work was conducted through the as- sistance of hired help. He did much for the development of the fruit industry of this lo- cality. When he brought his bride to his farm they came into the woods and took up their abode upon property upon which not a stick of timber had been cut. Mr. Far- num cleared the land and placed almost the entire tract under cultivation, devoting it to fruit. His ambition and resolution was great but he was afflicted with rheumatism of the heart and so was restricted in his . labors. The first house which he erected is still standing as a landmark of the early days. After he had carried on business suc- cessfully in this county for a number of years Mr. Farnum removed to California, where he spent a year and on his return he erected his present handsome residence. He did much of the work himself, having work- ed with his father at the carpenter's trade in early life and possessing much mechanical ability. In his social relations Mr. Farnum

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was an Odd Fellow and also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, while politically he was a Republican. He served for some years as master of the Grange. At length he passed away, August 5, 1901, and his death was the occasion of deep regret to those who had been associated with him in business, or in citizenship, cr in social re- lations, for he displayed many good quali- ties that endeared him to those who knew him.

Mrs. Farnum was born in Berrien county May 2, 1838, and with the exception of the year passed in California, had spent her entire life in Berrien county. She was born on the old Dickinson homestead on Paw Paw river, where her brother, Arthur Dickinson, now resides, and she has a very wide circle of friends in the county.

WILLIAM W. GREEN. This name at once suggests a power in manufacturing cir- cles in Berrien county, for Mr. Green is at the head of the Garden City Fan Company, controlling the largest enterprise of this char- acter in the country. The day of small un- dertakings seems to have passed, and in the control of large concerns are men of master minds, of limitless ability, of sound judg- ment and keen discrimination. Their pro- gressiveness must not only reach the bounds that others have gained but must even pass beyond into new and broader untried fields of operation but an unerring foresight and sagacity must make no mistake by venturing on uncertain ground, thus continually guard- ing the business until it takes leadership in a certain line and the men who are at its head are deservedly eminent in the world of industrial enterprise.

William W. Green, president of the Garden City Fan Company, was born in Massachusetts in 1839. a son of William W. and Lucina (Lewellyn) Green. The pater- nal grandfather. Henry Green, was a native of Massachusetts and a Revolutionary soldier. who valiantly fought for indepen- dence of the nation when the yoke of British tyranny had become too heavy to be borne longer. He was descended from one of the passengers on the Mayflower, so that the family has figured in the history of New

England from the days of its earliest set- tlement.

William W. Green when only a year old was taken by his parents to Genesee county, New York, where he was reared upon a farm. early becoming familiar with the duties and labors incident to the work of the fields. He attended the district schools in the neighborhood and after acquiring his education in that manner began learning the carpenter's trade in Genesee county. He was subsequently employed as a journeyman in New York until he went to the oil regions of Pennsylvania, where he followed carpen- tering for a time when he removed to Janesville, Wisconsin. He there for five years engaged in contracting and build- ing. erecting a number of houses and other structures. On the expiration of that period he removed to Chicago, just after the great fire swept over the city in 1871. There he continued success- fully in contracting and building for eight years. The city rose Phoenix-like from the ashes and there was great demand for ser- vice along building lines. Throughout his entire life Mr. Green had displayed consider- able inventive as well as mechanical ingenu- ity and in 1879 he established in Chicago on a small scale a business conducted under the name of the Garden City Fan Company for the manufacture of exhausts, fans and blow- ers. These were of his own invention. He soon found that there was a good demand for the output and the business constantly grew. It was incorporated under the present name in 1881 with W. W. Green as presi- dent and his son and only child. E. D. Green. as secretary and treasurer. Mr. Green is the inventor and patentee of all the devices manufactured by the firm. The business

grew rapidly and in 1902 the company looked around for a site for a manufacturing plant and eventually purchased five acres of land near the Michigan Central Railroad tracks in Niles. The same year they erected here an extensive plant, the largest of its kind in the west. It was planned by W. W. Green in all of its details and comprises five build- ings joined together in wings, one of which is one hundred and forty by forty feet, a second one hundred and fifty by forty feet,

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a third one hundred and ten by forty feet, with a shipping wing fifty by fifty feet and a boiler room and heating room thirty by forty feet. With the exception of the foundry the entire building is a two-story structure. The company owns the building and utilizes all except a very small portion of it. In addition to the space above men- tioned there is a pattern room thirty by thirty feet. About one hundred workmen are employed, mostly skilled labor. The works and foundry are situated at Niles, while the main office is at No. 42 South Clinton street, Chicago, E. D. Green, having charge in that city, while W. W. Green at- tends personally to the manufacturing plant. After purchasing the ground at Niles they discovered they had good molding sand on the property which has proven to be very valuable and has made a large saving for them. The company has agencies in New York, San Francisco, Portland, Oregon, Minneapolis, St. Louis, London, England and Christiana, Norway. They maufacture ventilating fans, exhaust fans and blowers, hot blasts for heating and dry kilns and positive blowers and the output of the factory is extensive, shipments being made to all parts of the country and to foreign lands as well.

Mr. Green exercises his right of fran- chise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party. He belongs to the Ma- sonic lodge at Janesville, Wisconsin, and has many social acquaintances who entertain for him high regard. Mr. Green is at all times genial and approachable, never hedging himself about with a reserve such as many men do who work their way upward from an humble position to one of affluence. The spirit of self-help is the source of all genuine worth in the individual and this truth is abundantly verified in the life of Mr. Green, steadily pursuing his way, undeterred by obstacles and difficulties in his path he has achieved a prosperity of which he has every reason to be proud. Steady application, care- ful study of business methods and plans to be followed, close attention to details com- bined with an untiring energy directed by a discriminating judgment-these are the traits of character which have brought him

success and made him a foremost representa- tive in industrial interests in southwestern Michigan.

CHARLES D. STUART, of Hagar township, Berrien county, is a native of Madison county, New York, having been born in De Ruyter, on the 30th of December, 1849. In his childhood days his parents re- moved with their family to Chautauqua county, New York. The father, A. B. Stuart, was a chair maker by trade and on removing to the west settled in Gratiot county, Michigan. He afterward engaged in teaching in Wisconsin and other states. His wife died when her son Charles was but three years of age. In 1858 his father be- came foreman of the Industrial School, at Lansing, Michigan, and was thus en- gaged until the outbreak of the Civil war, at which time he offered his services to the government, becoming a captain of Com- pany B, Berdan's United States Sharp- shooters. He was with the army for four- teen months, when on account of disabil- ity he was honorably discharged. He then began the manufacturue of chairs in Lan- sing, Michigan, where he carried on his en- terprise from 1863 until 1869, removing in the latter year to Otsego, Allegan county.

Charles D. Stuart acquired a public school education and in his boyhood days spent much of his time in his father's shop, where he thoroughly .acquainted himself with the business in principle and detail, and at twenty-one years of age he became a part- ner with his father in the conduct of the factory. At the end of two years time they sold out to Grand Rapids parties, in whose employ he was until 1873, when the firm of Stuart, Hale & Company was organized. and began business at Otsego, Michigan. After five years Mr. Stuart and his father became proprietors of the business, which was conducted under the name of A. B. & C. D. Stuart for several years, or until the son purchased the father's interest, A. B. Stuart making his home in Otsego until his death, which occurred in 1894, when he was seventy-two years of age.

Mr. Stuart of this review was closely as- sociated with the industrial interests of Ot-

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HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

sego until 1891. Although he suffered losses by fires, his business grew steadily and rap- idly and was developed along modern busi- ness lines. At length having opportunity to dispose of his interests advantageously Mr. Stuart in 1891 sold his business in Otsego, the power being purchased by the Bardeen Paper Company, which built its No. 2 and No. 3 mills on the site of Mr. Stuart's old chair factories on the Kalamazoo river.

About that time Spencer & Barnes were planning to locate at Benton Harbor and Mr. Stuart became a partner with them and was associated with the firm for five years under the style of Spencer, Barnes & Stuart, they building the present furniture factory of The Spencer & Barnes Company. When five years had passed he sold out, but dur- ing that period he had purchased a tract of one hundred and sixty acres covered with timber, which he cleared off, converting it into lumber. In 1896 he went to Grand Rapids, where he remained for four years. In the meantime he had transformed his land into a farm and since 1901 he has made this place his summer home. It comprises a quarter section, one half mile from Lake Michigan, in Hagar township, and two miles north of Riverside. It is upland and he is making it largely a fruit farm. He has placed all of the improvements here since 1891, when the tract was covered solidly with timber. Now about one hundred acres are under cultivation, including about fifty acres of fruit, while about sixty acres of timber land remains. He has met with fair success in his agricultural and horticultural pursuits, owning now a valuable property, which will increase year by year in value as his orchards come into bearing.

In April, 1876, Mr. Stuart was united in marriage, at Otsego, Michigan, to Miss Orpha A. Eaton, of Otsego. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio. In his political views Mr. Stuart holds himself independent of party ties. He belongs to the Masonic fra- ternity and is a Knight Templar and also a Scottish Rite Mason. Mr. Stuart finds favorite recreation in hunting and fishing. He has led a busy life, in which in former years there was little leisure but now he finds opportunity for pleasurable interests,

having disposed of the productive industries which claimed so much of his time and en- ergies in former years.

WARREN S. PEARL, who is engaged in general farming and fruit-raising in Ben- ton township, is a representative of one of the old and most prominent families of Ber- rien county, the name of Pearl being in- separably associated with its history. He was born in Essex county, New York, near Fort Ticonderoga, April 14, 1850, his par- ents being Simon and Marion (Wright) Pearl, who were likewise natives of Essex county. The father was a son of a brother of Phineas Pearl, noted as the pioneer set- tler of Berrien county. When Warren S. Pearl was but six years of age his parents removed to Dodge county, Wisconsin, and in the spring of 1865 came to Berrien county. Phineas Pearl and his family had separated in New York. In Wisconsin Simon Pearl met a lady from Berrien county who told him of the family of Phineas Pearl here and he came to Michigan to determine whether or not these people were his rela- tives. Here he not only found the family relations which he sought but also was so well pleased with the country and its pros- pects that he decided to remove from Wis- consin to Michigan. In the spring of 1865 therefore he came to this state and pur- chased the present home of Warren S. Pearl from his uncle, Phineas Pearl. It was then new land of eighty acres, of which only a small clearing had been made. It lies along the Bainbridge township line but is in Ben- ton township on Britain avenue, about six miles east of Benton Harbor. Ten acres of the land had been cleared when it came into possession of Simon Pearl, who resolutely undertook the task of developing and culti- vating the farm. Later he sold that prop- erty and purchased land from George Pearl, a son of Phineas Pearl. This was at Pearl Grange and there he spent his last years, living a neighbor to his uncle Phineas, who resided at the present residence of Arthur Pearl. Simon Pearl was for many years an enterprising agriculturist, who labored earnestly to till the soil and cultivate his crops and as the years passed his labors were

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A twentieth century history of Berrien County, Michigan, Part 57

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