A twentieth century history of Berrien County, Michigan, Part 58

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

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HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

rewarded by the transformation of his land into a very valuable and productive farm. He died thereon at the age of seventy-eight years, while his wife passed away on the old homestead several years before. In their family were four sons and three daugh- ters, four of whom are living: Curtis, who is sexton of the Crystal Springs cemetery at Benton Harbor; Frances, the wife of William Maynard, of Bainbridge township; Mary, the wife of Loren Snyder, who owns her father's old place at Pearl Grange; and Warren S., of this review. In his early life Simon Pearl had learned and followed the carpenter's trade and to some extent did work along that line for many years, but his life was chiefly given to agricultural pur- suits. In politics he was a stalwart Repub- lican and was ever a man of honest convic- tions, faithfully upholding the principles in which he believed so that he commanded the respect, confidence and good will of all with whom he came in contact.

Warren S. Pearl was fifteen years of age on the day that President Lincoln was as- sassinated. He is indebted to the public school system of the county for the educa- tional privileges that he enjoyed in his youth and he received ample training at farm labor upon his father's place, where he remained until twenty-five years of age, when he made preparations for having a home of his own by his marriage to Miss Flora Kent, a sister of C. C. Kent, of Spink's Corners. She was born in Bainbridge township and has al- ways lived in this county. By this marriage there is one daughter, Effie, now the wife of Harvey. Krieger, of Bainbridge, by whom she has three children.

Mr. and Mrs. Warren S. Pearl started out in life together with only twenty acres of land, which he still continues to own and farm. He has, however, added to his pos- sessions until now he owns ninety acres in Bainbridge township. He carries on gen- eral farming and fruit-raising, dividing his time about equally to the two branches of his business. The greater part of his life has been spent in this county, where the name of Pearl is synonymous with good citizen- ship, with business activity and reliability,

and with all those qualities which go to make up an honorable manhood.

FRANKLIN HOWARD, the owner of Fair View farm in Benton township, Ber- rien county, was born in Wabasha county, Minnesota, September 11, 1869, his parents being Laconius M. and Harriet (Converse) Howard. The father was a brother of Far- ley, Sterling, John and Harley Howard, all pioneer settlers of Benton township and Farley Howard was the father of Mrs. Franklin Howard.

The subject of this review spent the days of his boyhood and youth in his na- tive county, being reared and educated in Minnesota. He was married on the 6th of June, 1889, to Miss Addie Howard, who was a double cousin, her mother being Mrs. Diantha (Converse) Howard, a sister of Harriet Converse. In early childhood they were acquainted and later were separated, but Mr. Howard of this review came to Michigan the winter before their marriage. Mrs. Howard was born on the present farm, spending her girlhood days here. Her father, Farley Howard, died August 1, 1886, and the mother afterward remained upon the farm. Two years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Howard returned to the old homestead and purchased the property from the other heirs, thus coming into pos- session of the place in 1891. Six years ago Mr. Howard built his present residence and has a well improved farm, equipped with all modern accessories and conveniences for the raising of fruit. He has thirty-three out of forty acres planted to fruit and the orchard set out fifty years ago is still in bearing. He has now about one thousand apple trees and he also has pears, peaches and plums. The . sales from fifty-six old apple trees amounted in one season to six hundred and fourteen dollars. He is strictly a commercial grower. He plants only fruit of the best varieties and his business is proving a profitable one, for he thoroughly understands the best methods of caring for the orchard and also for the crop as it ripens.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Howard has been born a daughter, Irma, who at the age of

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sixten years is a student in Benton Harbor College. Mr. Howard is a Republican and he belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp. His time and attention, however, are largely demanded by his horticultural interests and the control of his farm, which is pleasantly and conveniently located about six and a fourth miles southeast of Benton Harbor.

It will be interesting in this connection to note something more of the history of Farley Howard, father of Mrs. Franklin Howard. He was generally called Fulton Howard. His birth occurred June 6, 1830, in Ellisburg, Jefferson county, New York, his parents being Joseph and Purley (Frank- lin) Howard. His boyhood and youth was passed in the state of his nativity and his education was acquired there in the public schools. Having arrived at years of matur- ity he was married in Maysville, New York, on the 3rd of November, 1850, to Miss Diantha Converse, whose sister Harriet later married Laconius Howard, a brother of Farley Howard. Another brother, Ster- ling Howard, had already come to Berrien county and John Howard, still another brother, came at the same time as Farley Howard and his wife. At one time there were five brothers and a sister of this fam- ily living in the county, namely: Sterling, Squire, John, Harley, Farley and Mrs. Susanne Snyder, the wife of Warren Sny- der. After ten or fifteen years, however, all the family removed to other localities except the sister and John and Farley How- ard. Sterling Howard went to Idaho, Har- ley to Kansas and Squire to California. Mrs. Warren Snyder, however, lived and died here, passing away at the age of fifty-six years. John Howard was the father of Mrs. Frank McKindley, of Benton township and died here in middle life.

On coming to Michigan, Farley How- ard, after looking over the country to some extent, made purchase of a tract of land for which he paid three dollars per acre. It was in the midst of the green woods and was covered with a dense growth of timber. His first house was a log structure, which he con- tinued to occupy until the present residence was erected. He at once began to clear and cultivate his land and in the course of time

plowed fields were returning good crops. His brother, Sterling, paid the expenses of his journey, so that he was in debt when he began life here and he bought his land on time. In early years he worked out for others, but as the monthis passed by he was enabled to discharge his financial obligations and give his attention to the improvement of his own farm, which in course of years be- came a valuable property.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Howard were born eight children, of whom one died at the age of twelve years. Four of the number are now living, namely: Foster, a resident of Benton township; J. D., of Benton Harbor ; Nettie, the wife of W. F. Howard, a brother of Franklin Howard, living in Pipe- stone township and Mrs. Franklin Howard of Benton township. One daughter, Edith, died at the age of twelve years. Alice, the eldest of the family, became the wife of Charles Moore, of Pipestone and died at the age of forty-four years. Mary became the wife of John Anthony, of Benton township, and died at the age of forty-two years.

Farley Howard and his wife were mem- bers of the United Brethren church. His death occurred on the Ist of August, 1886. In later years Mrs. Howard has been an adherent of the faith as understood by the Christian or Disciples church. She is well read, especially in the Bible and she is a constant reader of one of the church papers, the Christian Standard. She has lived upon one farm for fifty-five years and is now seventy-four years of age, a most estimable lady, loved and esteemed by all who know her

FRANK Z. DYE, a retired farmer re- siding in Niles, was born at Seneca Falls, New York, in 1850. The father, John G. Dye, was born in New York in 1813, and died in Niles in 1895, when about eighty- two years of age. He removed from the Empire state to Michigan in 1856 with his wife and children, settling in Bertrand town- ship. Berrien county, where he purchased a farm, but soon afterward sold that prop- erty and invested in a much better farm on the Chicago road in the same township. That property was located two miles south-

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west of Niles, and there Mr. Dye carried on general agricultural pursuits up to the time that his life's labors were ended. in death. His work produced good results. He annu- ally harvested rich crops and the sale of his farm products brought him gratifying suc- cess. He was married to Miss Sarah Ann Brooks, a native of New York, in which state the wedding was celebrated. She died upon the old farm homestead in Berrien county in 1872, at the age of fifty-five years. Of their five children all were born in New York and four are now living. Charles H., the eldest of the family, who died February 12, 1903, at the age of sixty years, was a prominent and influential business man. At the time of the Civil war, responding to the country's call for aid, he enlisted in 1861 as a private of Company F, Twelfth Michigan Volunteer Infantry and served throughout the period of hostilities, being mustered out with the rank of first lieutenant. He made a splen- did record as a soldier, displaying valor and loyalty upon all occasions. Following the close of hostilities he went to Kansas, where he was engaged with his brother Otis M., in the hotel business as proprietor of the Eagle Hotel in Humboldt, Allen county. They successfully conducted this enterprise for some time, when they sold out and engaged in the wholesale and retail grocery trade, under the name of Dye Brothers, having branch stores also at Wellington and Inde- pendence. In this line the brothers con- tinued for some time, when they sold out and went to the Indian Territory, where they engaged in the cattle business as members of the firm of Dye Brothers. They con- tinued in that enterprise for only a short time, however, when on account of the ill- ness of the wife of Charles H. Dye he sold his interests in this place and returned to Buchanan, Michigan, where his wife died. Subsequently he went to Syracuse, Kansas, and was engaged alone in the hardware busi- ness there. His first wife bore the maiden name of Alice Terriere and was born in Bu- chanan, Michigan. They had three chil- dren, all born in Kansas, namely: Belle, now the wife of S. P. Sadler, of Texas, by whom she had two daughters, Irene and

Gladys; Jennie T .; and Clarence E., who makes his home in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he is an express messenger for the Adams Express Company on the Louisville & Nash- ville Railroad. While living in Syracuse, Kansas, Charles H. Dye was married to Miss Malvina Cooke, of Bowling Green, Kentucky. Later he disposed of his hard- wvare business in Kansas and went to north- western Texas, locating in the Panhandle district, where in connection with his brother Otis he was engaged in the grocery business for two years. He then sold out and re- moved to Gallatin, Tennessee, where his death occurred. His widow is still living there. There were no children by his sec- ond marriage.

Otis M. Dye, the second member of the family of John G. Dye, came with his par- ents to Michigan in 1856 and during the period of the Civil war was in the quarter- master's department at Duvall's Bluff, Ar- kansas. After the war he went to Kansas with his brother Charles and as stated above they conducted the Eagle hotel at Hum- boldt, Allen county, which proved a success- ful venture for several years. Later they conducted a wholesale and retail grocery business and following their venture in the grocery business in Texas, Otis M. Dye be- came western manager for the Showwalter Mortgage Company of Boston, Massachu- setts, with headquarters at Omaha, Ne- braska. He represented that firm for ten years, after which he assisted in organizing the First National Bank at Arlington, Ne- braska, and was its cashier for several years. Subsequently he went to Texas, where he engaged in the grocery business in connec- tion with his brother Charles. Later he re- turned to Nebraska, where he is now living retired. He married Alida M. Mead, of Niles, Michigan. John C. Dye, the third member of the father's family, came with his parents to Michigan and is now living on a farm in Bertrand township, Berrien county. He wedded Ella Sinclair, of Niles, and of their three children two are living- Luther S. and Bessie G. Alma J. Dye, the youngest of the family, is the wife of A. F. Bither, who is represented elsewhere in this work.

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Frank Z. Dye, who was the fourth mem- ber of the family, was a little lad of only about six years when brought by his parents to Michigan. He was reared upon the home farm in Berrien county and attended school in Niles. He early became familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist and throughout his entire life has carried on general farming pursuits. In connection with his brother, John C. Dye, he purchased a farm in Bertrand township, which they conducted together for several years, when Mr. Dye of this review sold out to his brother, who is still living upon the property. Frank Z. Dye then pur- chased the old homestead upon which he fol- lowed farming until 1904, when he sold that property and bought ten acres of land in the city of Niles, bordering the St. Joseph river, This was a part of the old Bond home- stead and is one of the earliest plats of land to be settled in Niles. He and all of his four brothers have been stanch Republicans and are public-spirited men. He has been quite successful in his business operations and is much esteemed for his genuine, personal worth. He represents one of the old and prominent families of the county and his interest in community affairs is that of a public-spirited citizen who gives active co-operation to many movements for the general good.

PROFESSOR JOHN DOWLING SCHILLER, superintendent of schools in Niles, is one of the prominent educators of this section of Michigan and has done much to advance the cause of public instruction in this state. He acquired his early education in the district schools of Alexander, New York, and later entered the Genesee and Wyoming Academy, where in the pursuance of an academic course he was fitted for col- lege. He remained in that institution for a year following the completion of the regular course in order to take the first year's work in Rochester University, where he com- pleted his collegiate course. In 1869 he came to Michigan, settling at Albion, where he organized the Union school. In the fol- lowing year the board of education of Jack- son appointed him principal of one of the

schools of that city, which position he filled continuously, capably and successfully for nineteen years, when, in 1887, he again re- signed to accept the superintendency of the schools of Niles. Here he has since re- mained and under his guidance the system of public instruction has been greatly im- proved. In June, 1887, Hillsdale College bestowed upon him the degree of Master of Arts. He is thoroughly interested in his work and has a faculty of inspiring pupils and teachers with much of his own zeal and interest. He is frequently called upon to lecture before teachers' institutes and asso- ciations. He has given much attention to the study of pedagogy, psychology and child study and fully realizes the fact that the work of an educator is not merely the in- struction of classes in certain principles of knowledge but his adaptation to the needs of the individual pupil and the preparation of the student for life's practical and re- sponsible duties. The schools of Niles un- der his direction give evidence of scientific management and marked progressiveness.

Professor Schiller has one son, Guy B., who is a graduate of the University of Mich- igan of the class of 1900, and is now in the employ of the government as superintendent of schools in the Philippine Islands. The father belongs to Niles Commandery, K. T., and also to the Knights of Pythias lodge, and has held high offices in both. He is a Baptist in his religious faith and is deeply in- terested in every line of work tending to a liberal education, broad knowledge and an adoption of high moral principles.

HON. SAM H. KELLEY, a member of the bar of Benton Harbor and a represen- tative of his district in the state legislature has left and is leaving the impress of his individuality upon the legal records, the business development and political history of the state. He was born in Marion. Grant county, Indiana, on the 27th of March, 1861, and in both the paternal and maternal lines he is descended from ancestry represented in prominent political positions. His father, Henry S. Kelley, of St. Joseph, Missouri, is a distinguished lawyer, who for sixteen years was judge of the twenty-ninth

J.S. Schiller

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judicial circuit, composed of Andrew, Atchi- son, Holt and Nodaway counties, Missouri. He is moreover well known as the author of various works on law. In 1884 he pub- lished a treatise on the law relating to the powers, duties, rights and liabilities of exec- utors. In 1892 he published a treatise on criminal law following a previous volume of the same subject issued in 1881. He mar- ried Miss Adelia Harlan, a daughter of Hon. Andrew J. and Delilah ( Hendricks) Har- lan, the former born in 1815 and the latter in 1822. Both Mr. and Mrs. Harlan are still living in Savannah, Missouri, and he is the only survivor of the thirty-first congress. He has also served in the legislatures of three different states, acting as speaker in two of them.

Sam H. Kelley was only five years of age when taken by his parents on their re- moval from Indiana to Savannah, Missouri, where he acquired his preliminary educa- tion in the public schools. He afterward entered the State University of Missouri at Columbia, which institution he attended from 1877 to 1880. He then engaged in teach- ing in the district schools in 1881, and in 1882 he received an appointment to the po- sition of adjudicator of claims in the United States treasury department at Washington, D. C., which place he continued to fill until November, 1885, when he resigned to be- come chief clerk of the United States land office at Wakeeney, Kansas. While in Washington he took up the study of law and was graduated from Columbian Uni- versity Law School in the class of 1884. In November, 1886, he resigned his position in the land office and purchased the Scott County News of Kansas, a Republican pa- per, which he continued to publish until 1889, when he removed to St. Joseph, Mis- souri, and entered upon the practice of law there, remaining an active member of the profession until 1893, when he came to Ben- ton Harbor. He has since been a represen- tative of the bar of Berrien county and he soon won distinction and a notable place as one of its strongest and most capable mem- bers. He is remarkable among lawyers at this bar for the wide research and provident care with which he prepares his cases. His

logical grasp of facts and of law applicable to them, as well as his untiring industry, have been potent elements in his success. In the argument of a case he exhibits a re- markable clearness of expression and ade- quate and precise diction which enables him to make others understand not only the sal- ient points of his argument but also able to clearly understand the very fine analytical distinctions which differentiate one legal principle from another.

Mr. Kelley is equally well known as a political leader in Michigan in the ranks of the Republican party. He has figured prom- inently in Republican circles since coming to the state and was for twelve years a mem- ber of the central county committee and for a long period was chairman of the Repub- lican city committee of Benton Harbor. He acted as supervisor for the second ward for one term to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Benton R. Stearns. He was secretary of the Missouri Republican Association in Washington, D. C., in 1884, and his close study of the political issues and questions of the country and his under- standing of political possibilities and meth- ods have enabled him to so direct his efforts as to contribute in substantial measure to Republican successes. At the present time he is a prominent and valued member of the county central committee and he won recognition of his party in his election to the state legislature to represent the first district of Berrien county in the session of 1905-6. He received a vote of thirty-two hundred and twenty-nine against twenty- two hundred and sixty-nine for Alexander Haliday, the Democratic candidate. Taking his place as a member of the house he be- came at once an active worker and has been connected with much important construc- tive legislation. In 1906 he was re-elected. as a member of the legislature. He gives to each question which comes up for settle- ment his earnest and thoughtful considera- tion and when once his course is decided upon nothing can swerve him from the path which he belives to be right. No one ques- tions his devotion to the interests of his county and the commonwealth at large, for at all times he is actuated by a spirit of un-

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compromising loyalty to the welfare of his home community and his state.

Mr. Kelley was married in 1887 to Miss Julia Graham, a daughter of George and Mary Graham, of Berrien Springs, Michi- gan, in which place her birth occurred. She died, however, at Benton Harbor on the 8th of October, 1900, leaving three daughters : Adelia, Louise and Daisy. On the 24th of June, 1903, Mr. Kelley was again married, his second union being with Effie Wallace, of Lawrence, Van Buren county, Michigan, a daughter of Seymour and Frances Wal- lace. Honored and respected in every class of society, Mr. Kelley has for some time been a leader in thought and action in the public life of Berrien county. He is widely and favorably known throughout the state, his abilities well fitting him for leadership in political, legal and social circles. The terms progress and patriotism might be considered the keynote of his character, for throughout his career he has labored for the improve- ment of every line of business or public in- terest with which he has been associated and at all times has been actuated by a fidelity to his country and her welfare.

HENRY H. HAMANN, who owns a farm on section II, New Buffalo township, was born in this township, February 27, 1868, his parents being August and Mary (Garber) Hamann, who were natives of Mecklenburg and were there married. They came direct to New Buffalo on crossing the Atlantic to the new world and still reside upon the old home place, comprising eighty acres of good land in New Buffalo town- ship. Their family numbers five children : Ernest, who is living at Three Oaks; Charles, who makes his home in Michigan City; Henry H., of this review; Augusta, the wife of Ernest Kruger; and William, who is with his parents.

Henry H. Hamann was reared to farm life, early beginning work in the fields, while in the public schools he obtained his education. He continued under the parental roof until twenty-two years of age, living on a farm southeast of the village. He next went to Michigan City, where he was em- ployed in car work for about two years and

on the expiration of that period he came to New Buffalo, being employed on the Pere Marquette Railroad for two years in the yards, becoming foreman there. In April, 1903, he located upon his present farm, which he had purchased six years before. It comprises eighty acres on section II and Mr. Hamann has made many improvements here, keeping his building and fences in ex- cellent repair. Fruit growing is the main feature of his farm, but he also carries on general farming, raising various kinds of grain. He annually harvests good crops of both grain and friut and for his products finds a ready sale on the market.

On the 20th of May, 1891, was cele- brated the marriage of Mr. Hamann and Miss Anna Schult, who was born in Ger- many, June 17, 1870, and came to the United States when twelve years of age with her parents, Fred and Lena ( Helms) Schult, both of whom reside in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Hamann have three sons, Edwin, Harry and Carl.

The political allegiance of Mr. Hamann was given to the Democracy for some years, but he now largely votes the Republican ticket, although he is somewhat independent in his political vieivs. He holds membership in the German Lutheran church and is a man of upright principles and manly con- duct, whose good qualities have gained for him warm and favorable regard. His life has been one of activity, in which he has made good use of his opportunities and the fact that he is now the owner of a valuable farm property indicates a life of industry and well-directed labor.

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A twentieth century history of Berrien County, Michigan, Part 58

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