A twentieth century history of Berrien County, Michigan, Part 88

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

USA > Michigan > Berrien County > A twentieth century history of Berrien County, Michigan > Part 88

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Mr. Hutchinson was married in 1870. in Vermont, to Miss Ella V. Currier, and they have a son and daughter: Arthur Cur- rier, who married Florence Griffin and is as- sisting in operating the old home farm: and Chattie Fidelia, the wife of F. D. Yoder, of St. Joseph.

Mr. Hutchinson is a Mason. interested in the work of the order and is a worthy follower of the teachings and tenets of the craft. He is now king of Royal Arch chan- ter and he is also a member of the Knight Templar commandery and of the Mystic Shrine. He does not believe in following

591

HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

old methods when there is an opportunity for improvement, either in social or business life-a fact which has been demonstrated in his business career-and he is a leading representative of the fruit raising interests which have gained fame for Berrien county throughout the United States.

HENRY L. KING, who owns valuable farms devoted to horticultural pursuits in Benton township, represents one of the old pioneer families of this section of the state. His father, George D. King, was born in Jefferson county, New York and came to Michigan in the fall of 1843 with his wife and two children, Eunice and Henry L., the latter being then but three years of age, his birth having occurred on the 27th of January, 1841, in New London, Ohio. It was there that George D. King was married to Miss Susan Williams, a native of New York. Her parents had removed to Michi- gan and this it was that decided Mr. King to come to this state. He traded his Ohio land for eighty acres of land in the woods a mile and a half from the Territorial road and about the same distance south of the Watervliet road. He cut a road across from one highway to the other in order to get from the Stanley neighborhood to the mill at Millburg. He was the first man to settle in the locality where he established his home. There was no one to the east or west of him and no one south nearer than Millburg or north nearer than Stanley, a distance of a mile and a half. He settled on his land in the spring of 1844, taking up his residence in a log house and bravely meeting the hard- ships, privations and dangers incident to pioneer life. From that time on he gave his attention to clearing his farm, cutting out the timber, making staves, etc., and as the years passed by he transformed the land into productive fields. His father, Henry King, of Ohio, assisted him to some extent. George D. King made farming his business for many years but spent the last twenty years of his life in St. Joseph, where he died at the age of eighty-two years. As time had passed he had extended the boun- daries of his property until his aggregate in- terests amounted to four hundred and forty

acres in different parts of the county, this land being comprised in four farms. He made improvements upon the different places and owing to his efforts about two hundred acres were cultivated and a marked transi- tion from the wild forests to improved fields was carried on. He had one hundred and fifty acres in his home farm and the attrac- tive appearance of his place indicated his careful supervision and practical and pro- gressive methods. He built a plank house as soon as he could and it is still in use after fifty years, being one of the old landmarks of the county which has stood as a mute witness of many changes that have occurred and many events which have shaped the history and molded the policy of this part of the state. Mr. King also owned valuable timber land in the county which he sold to Mr. McGuigan to cut into lumber. He made money by buying cheap land which he would hold until he could get a considerable advance in price. He lived economically, saving his money and thus in the course of years he became a well-to-do citizen and was enabled in his last years to enjoy rest from further business cares. Henry L. King had but very limited educational privileges, for he was busy from an early age. When but a boy he hauled staves to St. Joseph, where they were used in the manufacture of bar- rels. George D. King, not only made a liv- ing but also considerable surplus money out of the timber which was converted into spokes, staves and ties and also some lumber was manufactured. His life was devoted to the farm until he retired from active busi- . ness. He lost several thousand dollars through trusting to the honesty of other men. He had business transactions with one man to the amount of six thousand dol- lars without even taking a note from him. He would purchase timber land from people who made certain claims for it, believing them to be honest. Notwithstanding his losses in this direction he was worth fully twenty thousand dollars at his death. His wife passed away at the age of eighty-one years.

In their family were six children and. with one exception all are now living, a sis- ter, Eunice, who became the wife of Merzy

592

HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

Gustine, having died at the age of fifty years. Those who still survive are: Henry L., of this review; George D., a farmer residing at Mauston, Wisconsin; De Loss, who is liv- ing in Benzie county, Michigan; De Golier, who resides upon the old homestead; and De Witt, who is also living in Benzie county, Michigan. The father was a Whig in his political affiliation in early life and upon the dissolution of that party joined the ranks of the new Republican party. He was very active in politics, never missing an oppor- tunity to vote and though he did not seek or desire political preferment for himself his activity was that of a public-spirited and loyal citizen. Two of his sons, George and Henry L., were soldiers of the Union army in the Civil war.

Henry L. King, whose name introduces this record, remained at home until twenty- one years of age, after which he returned to Ohio. Following the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted at New London, Ohio, in the Eighty-seventh Ohio Infantry for three months' service. He was captured at Har- per's Ferry but was immediately exchanged and returned to Ohio. There he re-enlisted in 1863 as a member of Company G, Twelfth Ohio Infantry under Captain Graves, at which time he joined his regi- ment. His brother George enlisted at the same time. In the spring of 1864 he was sent to join the command of General Steele at Little Rock, Arkansas, and was dis- charged with his regiment in 1865.

When the war was over Henry L. King returned to his home and was married the following year, 1866, to Miss Esther Law- rence, a cousin of John Lawrence and a daughter of Richard and Elizabeth (Sim- onds) Lawrence, who had come from Can- ada before the war and lived in this vicinity. Her father died while serving in the United States army and her mother, who long sur- vived, passed away at the very advanced age of ninety years. She had lived with her daughter, Mrs. King.

It was in the spring of 1866 that Mr. King began to clear his tract of land of forty acres, which had been given to him by his father. He has since lived upon this place and has transformed it into a very

valuable farm. He also worked up the tim- ber and this gave to him a living while he cleared the land. He also has a tract of forty acres near by, but has made his home upon the original forty acres for four de- cades, his attention being given to general agricultural pursuits. In all that he does he is practical and he works persistently and with determination to make the most of his farm and gather therefrom good crops.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. King have been born six children. Herman, who died at the age of twenty-eight years, was a veterinary sur- geon of Grank Rapids, having graduated from the Detroit Veterinary College, after which he was getting a good start in prac- tice when he died. Nellie is the wife of Dr. Leonard C. Conkey, a veterinary surgeon of Grand Rapids. Cuba is at home. Elmo is a veterinary surgeon at Lake View, Michi- gan. Myrtle is the wife of Harry Wyman, of Benton Harbor. Bert is also at home.

Mr. King's study of the political issues and questions of the day has led him to give unfaltering support to the Republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and yet he has never sought or desided office for himself, preferring to con- centrate his time and energies upon his bus- iness affairs. Formerly he was identified with George H. Thomas Post, G. A. R., at Benton Harbor and he manifests the same loyalty in citizenship in times of peace that he displayed when in times of war he fol- lowed the old flag upon the battle-fields of the south.

JOSHUA ELLS. of Benton Harbor, was born in Harpersfield, Delaware county, New York, September 10, 1826, and has therefore reached the age of eighty years. When a young child he was taken by his parents to Ulysses, Tompkins county, New York, where he remained until fourteen years of age, and during the nine years of that time his father, Elihu Ells, was keeper of the poor farm. At the age of fourteen Joshua Ells accompanied his parents on their removal to Huron county. Ohio, the family settling in Fairfield township in the village of Fairfield, which was then called Steamburg. They located on a new farm

MR. AND MRS. JOSHUA ELLS

593

HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

on which a small clearing had been made, and there the parents lived and died, the father passing away in 1861 at the age of seventy-nine years, while his widow re- mained there until she reached the age of eighty-four years.

Joshua Ells remained at home until twenty-six years of age. He was the young- est son in a family of five sons and seven daughters and was the ninth in order of birth. He is now the only one living. One of his sisters died in 1903 and another a few days later. His eldest brother, Benjamin, was for a long time a resident of Niles, Michigan, and died at Albion.

When twenty-six years of age Joshua Ells started out in life on his own account. He had but a yoke of cattle. For two and a half years he was engaged in grading on a railroad in Ohio and at the end of that time secured a position as brakeman on the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad, his run being from White Pigeon to Chicago. He started in the railroad service in a humble capacity, but gradually worked his way up- ward and afterward was made conductor, about 1853 or 1854, thus serving for a year and a half. He then returned to Chillicothe, Ohio, and was there given charge of a freight train as conductor on the Cincinnati & Marietta road, which he had helped to grade some years before. After several months he was made passenger conductor and his connection with this road covered a period of three years.

In March, 1858, Mr. Ells removed to St. Joseph, Missouri, making the trip by way of the Missouri river. He expected to buy a farm but was not pleased with the country and returned to Michigan, arriving at St. Joseph, this state, in December, 1858. He had heard of the great fruit possibilities here from an old schoolmate and friend, G. W. Hopkins, who had given him accounts of the splendid fruit crops here produced. In company with Mr. Hopkins Mr. Ells pur- chased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres bordering the Paw Paw river on the south and extending to within one hundred rods of the shore of Lake Michigan. It was both bottom land and upland and the place is pleasantly located within a half mile of Ben-

ton Harbor and a mile and a half of St. Jo- seph. It was covered with grubs and a thick growth of underbrush, there being but a small clearing on the place. There was, however, a fair house. Later the property was divided between Mr. Ells and the Hop- kins brothers, giving each about forty acres. In the winter of his arrival here Mr. Ells took up his abode upon the farm and has resided here continuously since, covering a period of forty-eight years. He has placed his land under cultivation, transforming it into a very valuable and productive place. In 1860, in connection with Mr. Hopkins, he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land where the Israelites now live near the Brittain sawmill. He cut off the timber and operated the mill for four or five years. He still continued to clear his farm and as the timber and brush was cleared away he set out fruit trees, mainly apples and peaches. He was meeting with splendid success as a horticulturist at the time when the yellows first appeared, sweeping off everything from his orchards as well as throughout this sec- tion of the country. He had prospered up to this time, a third of a bushel basket of fine peaches bringing three dollars. After his peach trees were destroyed he raised ber- ries for several years, but later began to set out peaches again until he now has a fine peach orchard of about ten acres. He also has many fine varieties of plums, pears and cherries and he has cleared from his fruit several hundred dollars above expenses in a season. He has carried on his work as a commercial grower, devoting himself to his farm and his prosperity is attributed en -. tirely to his own well-directed efforts and persistency of purpose coupled with sound judgment and a thorough understanding of the business of raising fruit. His home stands on a fine hill overlooking the Paw Paw and St. Joseph valleys and the cities of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph. It also commands a view of the harbor of Lake Michigan with its outgoing and incoming vessels and indeed occupies a most at- tractive location. This residence was built in 1867 and has since been occupied by Mr. Ells.

On the 12th of May, 1870, was cele-

594

HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

brated the marriage of Joshua Ells and Miss Catherine Welch, of Utica, New York, who had lived with a sister in Benton Har- bor. Unto them a son was born March 25, 1876, to whom they gave the name of Howard Raymond Ells. He is now a farmer and also clerk in a factory and lives at home.

In his fraternal relations Mr. Ells is an Odd Fellow, having been identified with the lodge since its organization at Benton Har- bor. In politics he is a Republican and is interested in the party but is without aspira- tion for office. He is, however, to be de- pended upon to aid any movement for the benefit of the community or to promote pub- lic progress. He assisted largely in work and money in securing a highway across the bottoms of the Paw Paw to Benton Har- bor, a distance of a half mile, and the build- ing of the bridge in connection therewith. Martin Green, who dredged the ship canal to Benton Harbor from the St. Joseph river, was to build a sawmill. To get logs from the Paw Paw river it was necessary to cut a channel from the head of the canal, for the river emptied a long distance below. Mr. Ells and others interested themselves in the movement of building the highway and raised six hundred dollars by subscrip- tion and also thirteen hundred dollars to build a bridge. In this manner the dirt from the channel was thrown onto the road- way, making a fine road, which is now one of Benton Harbor's favorite driveways, lead- ing as it does to Higman Park, which bor- ders Mr. Ells' land. This work certainly showed a most public-spirited devotion to the general good and Mr. Ells deserves much credit for what he has accomplished in this connection. His house commands the finest view near Benton Harbor and his farm is most attractive in its appearance, showing well kept orchards, good buildings and modern equipments. He has worked earnestly and persistently and though there have been some hardships and difficulties he has overcome these by determined pur- pose and resolute will and is now one of the substantial and respected fruit growers of the community.

GEORGE OLSEN, now residing in St. Joseph, was born in Norway, February 26, 1840. His parents died within two years of each other, leaving five children who then became scattered. George Olsen was but twelve years of age when he came to this country with his parents who settled in Mil- waukee, Wisconsin, and at an early age was thrown upon his own resources, he has since depended upon his labors and enterprise and whatever success he has achieved is attribu- table entirely to his capable management and business talent. He worked for two years as a clerk in a store and at the age of sixteen years went to Manitowoc, where he learned to shave shingles by hand. He spent two years there, after which he went to Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he remained until 1862, shaving shingles by the thous- and. Later at Stevens Point, and still later with the capital which he had managed to save from his earnings he with others es- tablished a lumber and shingle mill at Green Bay, where he continued for nineteen years. His business grew rapidly until he became one of the leading manufacturers of shingles in the state of Wisconsin. He had at first only about a thousand dollars to invest and in order to secure more capital he took in partners so as to establish three mills on the Little Suamico river, sixteen miles north of Green Bay. These mills were known as the John Peters & Company, George Olsen & Company and Olsen, Winans & Company. The output of these mills, according to the Fort Howard Monitor, was as high as seventy-two million shingles in one year. This was in 1876. Thus the business grew from one small shingle mill until it ex- ceeded any other enterprise of similar char- acter in the state. The three mills employed an aggregate of three hundred men and the annual business amounted to more than one hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Olsen con- tinued in the trade for nineteen years. In 1870 the third mill was purchased and put in operation and the constantly developing trade reached mammoth proportions, the output of the three mills being greater than that of any other firm or enterprise in this line of business in Wisconsin. Mr. Olsen

595

HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

had charge of each of the three mills in the order in which they were erected and the annual output was from one hundred and fifty to two hundred thousand shingles per day. For many years the business was suc- cessfully conducted but through trusting too implicitly in the honesty of others Mr. Olsen sustained very heavy losses.

In 1885 therefore he turned his attention to other fields of labor and came to St. Joseph. His brother, Ole Olsen, was al- ready a resident of this place and liking the country, George decided to remain. He soon bought a thirty-three acre tract of land on Lake Michigan, two miles from St. Joseph. The land was largely run down and he had to drain, tile it and set out new trees. His brother's experience proved of benefit to him, for he showed Mr. Olsen what to do, told him what varieties of fruit to plant and he began the cultivation of blackberries, to which he gave his attention for six or eight years. He afterward set out peaches but later set out grapes and pears and his farm was practically devoted to these two fruits. He has sold thirty-three thous- and baskets of grapes from about twenty acres and has sold twenty-two hundred cases of blackberries in a single season. He knew nothing of fruit culture or even farming when he took up the work but his brother had had wide experience. He paid six thous- and dollars for his thirty-three acre tract of land, which has since greatly appreciated in value and he recently sold the farm at a high figure, He had added to the house, built barns and other necessary buildings and had store room for forty thousand baskets. The city water was in his home and everything about his place was most conveniently ar- ranged for carrying on the business. For several years he has handled the grapes of The Lake Shore Grape Association, about one hundred carloads from the Hilltop sta- tion, which is near his home.

Mr. Olsen was married on the 21st of December, 1862, at Little Suamico, Wiscon- sin, to Miss Julia E. Peters, who was born at Summer Hill, Cayuga county, New York, December 21, 1844, and was taken to Wis- consin when a child of six years. There she was married on her eighteenth birthday.

Mr. and Mrs. Olsen have no children of their own but adopted an eight-year-old girl, Margaret, who is now the wife of Herman Loefler and has two children, Charles and Adeline, aged five and four years respec- tively.

In his political affiliation Mr. Olsen is a stalwart Republican and his religious views is a Methodist. He is serving as trustee of the church in St. Joseph and he takes an active interest in many progressive measures relating to the city's welfare. In 1906 he built a handsome residence in St. Joseph and though in former years he met with heavy reverses he is again in comforta- ble financial circumstances. He possesses the strong and salient characteristics of the Norwegian people, including the ready adaptability and unfaltering industry which has always marked the people of Norway. In the face of discouragement which would have utterly disheartened many a man of less resolute spirit he set to work to retrieve his losses and has made a creditable place and an honorable name in business circles.

WILLIAM HENRY WELLS, de- ceased, who is spoken of by the many friends with whom he was associated in his life- time as the "soul of honor and business in- tegrity," left his family not only a comfort- able property but also an untarnished name and his life record contains many lessons which are well worth of emulation. He was born at Utica, New York, on the 14th of July, 1848. In the paternal line the an- cestry of the family is traced back to the crusaders, authentic records giving the . family history back to 794, when repre- sentatives of the name lived in England. They were people of high rank in Normandy and in England, being closely connected with William the Conqueror. At an early period in the colonization of the new world representatives of the name came to Amer- ica, where their descendants have lived since the first settlement of New England. Gov- ernor Thomas Wells, of Weathersfield, Connecticut, was among the number.

Alfred Lee Wells, father of our subject, was proprietor of the Utica cotton mills at Utica, New York and was also a prosperous

596

HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

dry goods merchant. He married Sarah Griswold Sill, of Lyme, Connecticut, a daughter of Thomas Sill, who served as a soldier of the Revolutionary war and the short sword which he carried from Lyme to the war is now in possession of Mrs. Wells. Her husband was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, belong- ing to the Chicago chapter by virtue of the ancestral history of his maternal grand- father. The Sills were of equally remote ancestry, having been among the original ancestors of Lyme, Connecticut, and the old Sill homestead, which has stood for two hundred years is still in possession of the family.

William H. Wells was a youth of four- teen years when he came to the middle west, making his way to Rockford, Illinois. When still a boy he went to Chicago, where he learned the business of manufacturing stained glass and making steady progress along that line he at length established the old firm of Wells Brothers, manufacturers of stained glass. They employed various artists and skilled workmen and met with gratifying success for a time but suffered various reverses, including heavy losses, which came to them through fire. How- ever, with characteristic energy they rebuilt the plant and within a week were again doing business. William H. Wells, how- ever, applied himself so closely to the work that nervous prostration followed and he was compelled to retire from that field of activity. In the meantime he had secured land near St. Joseph, taking it in payment for a stock of goods. He purchased the present Wells home, in which he installed his parents, who occupied it for twelve years. In 1884 Mr. Wells sold his business interests in Chicago and retired to this home. Later he bought additional land and gave his attention to the management of the farm, the outdoor life proving greatly beneficial, so that he regained his health. Desiring to again enter commercial circles in Chicago, about 1889 or 1890 he opened an office in that city and embarked in the real estate business, being located in the Tacoma Building. He had owned property in the city which he now improved and he

continued in active connection with real- estate interests there until his death, which occurred on the Ist of June, 1900. His last real estate deal was the sale of an eight hundred acre tract of land on the northwest side of the city. He operated quite exten- sively in property and transferred some un- sightly vacant tracts into good property dis- tricts. For seven years he was afflicted with nervous trouble and he died at what is still known as the Wells home in St. Joseph township. He owned the place for thirty years and at the time of his demise he was. laid to rest in a lot in the cemetery at St. Joseph, which he had selected on the last. drive which he made with his wife.

Mr. Wells was married in Chicago, Sep- tember 5, 1876, to Miss Lizzie Powers, who. was born in Waterford, Ireland, and in her infancy was brought to the United States. She traces her ancestry back to the Irish kings and her father was descended from- the native Norman invaders, the French name being de la Poer (Power). Her mother was Anna Fitzgerald, a descendant of Lord Edward Fitzgerald. Her father was a merchant, who died in St. Louis, Mis- souri. The daughter was educated in the Visitation convent in that city. Her par- ents both died when she was very young and she afterward made her home with W. J. Quan, a wholesale grocer of Chicago,. whose wife was her mother's sister.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

A twentieth century history of Berrien County, Michigan, Part 88

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