A twentieth century history of Berrien County, Michigan, Part 96

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

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condition. Mr. French has retired from the institution and disposed of his stock. His connection with various banking interests has made him well known as a financier and he stands today among those who have wielded a wide influence in commercial, in- dustrial and financial circles. It has been said that a man who each week pays out of his coffers hundreds of employes does much more for the country than he who leads army forces into battle. This Mr. French has done and has contributed in substantial measure to the business development and prosperity of the state as well as to indi- vidual success. He has always been just in his treatment of his employes and while de- manding faithful and efficient service he has in return given a good wage and has pro- moted those in his employ as opportunity has offered, thus recognizing able and loyal work. For almost a half century he was connected with every enterprise that had bearing upon the business development, the welfare, progress and prosperity of Three Rivers and in addition to his various cor- porate interests he also owns extensive coal lands in Virginia, having twenty-two hun- dred acres and operates coal mines and man- ufactures coke in the town. He made his home in Three Rivers until 1904 and in the latter part of that year went to Cali- fornia. Upon his return to Michigan he settled in Niles, where he now resides. He has recently erected a comfortable and pal- atial residence in which to spend his remain- ing days. It is built in a most attractive style of architecture and its furnishings in- dicate a refined and cultured taste combined with the evidences of wealth and comfort.

Mr. French was happily married in 1856 at Deep River, Connecticut, to Miss Emily J. Wright, a native of that city. They have three sons: Willard W., living at Three Rivers, Michigan, married Alice Blakesley, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and they have four children, Joseph W., Edward B., Ed- win V. and Alice Mabel. Frank J., living at Niles and interested in the French Paper Mills, was married to Miss Minnie Craw- ford, of Boston, Massachusetts. They have

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two children, Aline and Natilie. Joseph E., the youngest son, is living in Niles and is represented elsewhere in this work.

Mr. French is a Republican, and for three years was president of the city council at Three Rivers, Michigan. His attention, however, has been largely given to his busi- ness interests without aspiration for office and he may well be classed among the "cap- tains of industry" in Michigan, his labors being an important factor in making this state a great productive center. He has been closely associated with its important material industries and his efforts have been discerningly directed along well defined lines of labor that always reach the object- ive point. A man of distinct and forceful individuality, of broad mentality and most mature judgment, he has left and is leaving his impress upon the industrial world. While not active in the management of any enter- prise which he aided to establish and con- duct, he yet gives supervision to his invested interests and for years he was a capable factor in the development of the natural resources of the state, contributing in large measure to its material prosperity as well as to his individual success. His business methods, too, have made him an honorable record and he stands foremost in that class of men whose careers excite the admiration and win the respect of their contemporaries.

JAMES E. HARDER, a veteran of the Civil war living in Niles, was born in New York in 1844. His- paternal grandfather, William N. Harder, married a Miss Smith and had a large family of sons, including William N. Harder, Jr., who was born in the state of New York in 1797. For many years he remained there, coming to Michi- gan in 1858, at which time he settled upon a farm of two hundred acres about three miles from Niles. This he cleared and im- proved, transforming what was once a wild tract into a place of rich fertility and pro- ductiveness. He followed general farming up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1865, when he was about sixty-eight years of age. In New York he had mar- ried Miss Jane Eliza Horton, who was born

in that state in 1801, and died in 1885, at the age of eighty-four years. In the family were nine children, seven sons and two daughters.

James E. Harder, the youngest of the family and the only one now living in Ber- rien county, spent the first fourteen years of his life in the state of his nativity and then came with his parents to Michigan. His education, began in the schools of New York, was continued in Michigan, and he completed his course in Kalamazoo College, where he pursued a commercial course, thus being qualified for life's practical and re- sponsible duties. He taught school for a number of years and under the old system of public instruction acted as superinten- dent of schools in Howard township, Cass county, Michigan. Later he came to Niles and retiring from educational work engaged in the conduct of a mercantile enterprise, handling agricultural implements, coal, wood and other commodities under the firm name of Harder & Haynes. He conducted the business for six or seven years and later went upon the road as a traveling sales- man, representing a carriage and buggy house. To that work he gave his attention for a number of years. He is now engaged in dealing in milk and has a large route in Niles, having secured many patrons from among the best class of citizens. He does not keep cows himself but buys the milk which he retails throughout the city.

At the time of the Civil war Mr. Harder responded to the country's call for aid in 1864, enlisting as a private of Company C, Fifteenth Michigan Infantry, with which he served until mustered out after the cessation of hostilities at Little Rock, Arkansas, in August, 1865. The regiment was attached to Sherman's army but entering the services during the latter part of the war, did not see much duty on the active field of battle. Mr. Harder also had two brothers who were soldiers of the Civil war, but both are now deceased. Tunis S. Harder was a mem- ber of the Seventeenth Michigan Infantry, while John N. joined Company E of the Twelfth Michigan Infantry, which company was formed at Niles. On one occasion he

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was taken prisoner but later was exchanged. Afterward he was appointed a United States detective for the army and was located at Memphis, Tennessee.

Following his return home from the war Mr. Harder was married in 1867 to Miss Euphrina Abbe, who was born in Van Buren county, Michigan, and died in 1871, leaving a son, William N. Harder, who was born in Niles and married Margaret Gow. William Harder was for fifteen years at Washington, D. C., as an employe in the pension department and for some years was a pension examiner, located at Marion, Ohio. While in Washington he studied law and was graduated from the National Washington Law School. He went to Mar- ion, Ohio, however, as pension examiner, but when his term of office had expired he entered upon the active practice of law at that place and is still located there as an able member of the bar. In 1876 James E. Harder was again married, his second union being with Florence Cleland, who was born in Niles and is a daughter of Andrew J. Cleland, who is still living at the age of eighty-four years, making his home with Mr. Harder. He came from New York state of Michigan as one of the first settlers in this part of the state and has for years been a witness of the development and pro- gress that have wrought a wonderful trans- formation here. Three children have been born of Mr. Harder's second marriage : Worth C., who was born in Niles and is a newspaper reporter connected with the Min- neapolis Tribune; J. Harrold, who was born in Niles and is a newspaper reporter on the Niles Star; and Florence, who was born in Niles and is yet with her parents. The family attend the Presbyterian church, take an active interest in its work and are accounted helpful members. Mr. Harder has served as elder since 1877 and has done all in his power to promote the growth and extend the influence of the church. He like- wise belongs to the Masonic fraternity, to the Grand Army of the Republic and to the Royal Arcanum. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party. He was supervisor of the third ward at Niles and

at the present writing is alderman for that ward, so that he is now serving on the city council. He exercises his official preroga- tives in support of all measures that he deems of public benefit and is a thoroughly reliable business man whether in citizenship or in business life.

REV. CHARLES AGER, for many years a minister of the Baptist denomination but now living retired from the more active pastoral duties, although his zeal and in- terest in the work has never abated, is a na- tive of Albany, New York, and a son of C. C. and Elizabeth (Bradshaw) Ager, the former a native of Windsor, Vermont, and the latter of the Empire state.

Rev. Ager spent his early boyhood days upon his father's farm and thus became fa- miliar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist through prac- tical experience in the work of the fields. He was a student in the schools of Albany and also of the academy at Schoharie Court House. Subsequently he entered Colgate University, from which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1856. His entire life has been devoted to educa- tional work either from the schoolroom or from the pulpit, and in every community in which he has lived he has contributed to the intellectual and moral progress of his fellow citizens. Following his graduation he ac- cepted the position of teacher in the Union schools of Cassopolis, Michigan, where he remained during 1858 and 1859, acting as principal of the high school there. In the latter year he went to Goshen, Indiana, where he entered upon the active ministerial work as pastor of the Goshen Baptist Church. In 1860 he was ordained as a min- ister of the gospel, his first pastorate being at Goshen, Indiana, where he remained for three and a half years. He then went to South Bend, Indiana, where he continued for three years and on the expiration of that period he removed to Aurora, Indiana, to accept a call from the Baptist Church of that place, where he continued for thirteen years, doing much in the work of the cause and winning the entire love and trust of his peo-

HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

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ple and of many other denominations as well. He then resigned to accept the pas- torate of the church in Goshen, Indiana, where he had begun his ministerial work and the second period of his residence there cov- ered three years. In 1881 he came to Niles, where he has since resided, and from 1883 until February, 1889, he supplied the pulpit of the Baptist Church at Cassopolis, but continued to make his home in this city. It was an exceptionally pleasant task for him to minister to those who had in years before been his pupils in the high school at Cass- opolis. He has now retired from active ministerial duties although he occasionally. preaches and he yet displays in his dis- courses the fervor and zeal of his younger days. The spirit of piety and earnestness in the cause of religion has ever been among his prominent characteristics and has been an important factor in his success as a pastor.

Rev. Ager was married on the 25th of November, 1858, to Miss Mary A. Sherrill, who was born in New York but at the time of her marriage was living in Niles. She is a daughter of Marcus and Amanda M. Sher- rill. Unto Rev. and Mrs. Ager has been born a daughter, Katharyne, who is the wife of Dr. A. O. Ullrey, a prominent physician in Niles. On the 28th of July, 1901, Mrs. Ager departed this life after a long ill- ness, lamented by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. On the 29th of October, 1903, Mr. Ager married Mrs. Eloise F. Hutton, a daughter of Jonathan and Jane Mendenhall, of Pokagon township. Ber- rien county, Michigan, a family noted among the pioneers of Berrien county. Their home is the center of a cultured society circle, in which intelligence and true worth are given their due prominence. While Mr. Ager has never been very active in political work yet he has formed his own opinions from reading and investigation and recognizes that it is the duty as well as the privilege of every American citizen to sup- port the measures which he deems will prove of greatest benefit to the country. He there- fore gives his influence and ballot to the Re- publican party. He is highly esteemed

throughout Berrien county and wherever known. He is a man of broad scholarly at- tainments and humanitarian principles and has ever manifested a spirit of deep human sympathy and helpfulness that has won him the regard and esteem of his fellowmen and has been a potent element in his efforts to uplift his fellow men.

GEORGE E. FLOWER is proprietor of a department store which he established in 1897 at Niles. It would be a credit to a city of much larger size and is an indication of the enterprising spirit, business capacity and broad outlook of the owner. Mr. Flower is yet a young man and has attained a nota- ble success for one of his years. He was born in London, England, in 1870 and when but four years of age was brought to Amer- ica by his parents who settled in Toronto, Canada, where the son pursued his education in the public schools. In 1890, when a young man of twenty years, he crossed the border into "the states" and made his way to Springfield, Ohio, becoming manager there of the cloak department in a large re- tail dry goods house. He had previously had some experience in merchandising, hav- ing been employed in a dry goods store in Canada, before removing to Ohio. He had acted for three years as manager of a branch store in Toronto, Canada. He remained in Springfield, Ohio, for a year and then went to Cleveland, where he became manager of the cloak department of the firm of Bailey & Company. He next made his way west of the Mississippi, settling at Keokuk, Iowa, where he accepted the position of man- ager of the cloak department of a large house here. He was afterward made manager of the dry goods store by the same firm, continuing at Keokuk for three years, at the end of which time he went to Mon- mouth, Illinois and became manager of the dry goods business of John C. Allen, con- tinuing at the head of the establishment for a year. Every change had been one in ad- vance and year by year he added to his capi- tal through his industry and economy until he had acquired a sum sufficient to justify his embarkation in business on his own ac-

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count. In the fall of 1897 he came to Niles, Michigan, and opened a department store. This is a large establishment for a city of this size. He carries a large line of goods, each department being well equipped and has successfully conducted his enterprise to the present time, his trade steadily growing until it has reached extensive and profitable proportions. He is widely and justly recog- nized as one of the progressive and enter- prising merchants of Niles. He has a large and varied business training, is well ac- quainted with the demands of the trade, and while keeping in touch with modern business methods he is found to be thor- oughly trustworthy in all his dealings. The position which he has won in commercial circles here is shown by the fact that he was honored with election to the position of sec- retary of the Business Men's Association. He is taking a very active and helpful part in its work and also contributes to the wel- fare of the city along other lines, his co-oper- ation being given to many movements for the general good and for public progress. He is now vice president of the Prosperity Building & Loan Association and president of the Security Loan & Building Association, which have been essential features in the development and improvement of Niles. He votes with the Republican party and could undoubtedly win various offices had he as- piration in that direction. He was offered the nomination of mayor but refused, pre- ferring to concentrate his time and attention upon his business affairs and the perform- ance of public service in the capacity of a private citizen.

Mr. Flower was married October 10, 1903, in Keokuk, Iowa, to Miss Emma Weess, who was born in Keokuk, and their attractive home is justly celebrated for its gracious hospitality. Mr. Flower is a genial, courteous gentleman, a pleasant, entertain- ing companion and has made stanch and ad- miring friends among all classes. As an energetic, upright and conscientious mer- chant and a gentleman of attractive social qualities he stands high in the estimation of the entire community.

SALMA BARMORE, who is con- ducting a drug business which he estab- lished in 1904 and who has been connected with commercial interests in Niles since '1898, was born in Laporte county, Indiana, his natal year being 1849. When a little lad of three summers he was brought to Michigan by his parents who settled in Bu- chanan. He is a son of Nathaniel and Mary (Tate) Barmore, the former a native of New York and the latter of Ohio. Nathaniel Barmore learned and followed the black- smith's trade, giving his attention to that pursuit to some years after his removal to Buchanan, but later he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits which continued to occupy his time and attention until he re- tired from active business life. He died at the age of seventy-eight years and his wife passed away in 1850.

Salma Barmore acquired his education in Buchanan in the district schools near his father's farm. Not desiring, however, to engage in agricultural pursuits as a life work he sought to secure a position in the store of William Osborn, a druggist of Buchanan, entering his employ at the age of seventeen years and remaining with him continuously for eight or nine years, a fact which indi- cates his trustworthiness and capable service. On the expiration of that period he went upon the road as a traveling salesman, rep- resenting a Chicago drug house for two years. He then returned to Buchanan and engaged in the conduct of a drug store on his own account, being thus associated with its trade interests for twelve years. In 1898 he came to Niles and for five years was in the employ of F. W. Richter, proprietor of a drug store, at the end of which time, in 1904, he established his present drug busi- ness, which he is now conducting. He car- ries a full and complete line of drug and sundry goods and the neat and tasteful ar- rangement of the store combined with his reliable methods are bringing him a large and gratifying patronage.

In Buchanan, Michigan, in 1876, Mr. Barmore was married to Miss Martha E. Richards, a daughter of George H. Rich-

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HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

ards, of Buchanan. They have an adopted daughter, Thursa. Mr. Barmore and his family attend the Presbyterian church. He is prominent in the Masonic order in which he has taken the degrees of the lodge, chap- ter, council and commandery, thus gaining the highest rank in Masony. He is also connected with the Knights of the Macca- bees. His interest in the political issues and questions of the day has led him to give earnest and unfaltering support to the Re- publican party, and while in Buchanan he served as township clerk for two years, as township treasurer for one term and as a member of the city council for two terms of two years each. He has resided continu- ously in Michigan since 1852, covering a period of more than half a century, and he has therefore witnessed many changes which have occurred in this extended period as pioneer conditions have given way before advancing civilization. He is alert and en- terprising in his business affairs and equally progressive in public interests and is ac- counted a valued addition to commercial circles in Niles.

CHARLES M. MONTAGUE, now successfully conducting a hardware store, has by the careful and judicious use of the advantages which have come to him won a place among the leading merchants of Niles. "Opportunity is hard to find and easy to lose," so runs the old Japanese maxim, and with a realization of this Mr. Montague has used his chances to work his way upward. He was born in Niles in 1876, the only child of John A. and Helen I. (Johnson) Montague. The mother, who is still living, was born in this city and is a daughter of Alfred W. Johnson of Niles. The father, who was born in Conneautville, Pennsyl- vania, in 1841, died in Niles in 1903. He was reared in Crawford county, of the Key- stone state, and at the outbreak of the Civil war he responded to the country's first call for aid, enlisting in 1861 as captain of Com- pany B, One Hundred and Thirty-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of hostili- ties. He was in many hotly contested bat-

tles and engagements, the most important of which was the battle of Antietam. After the war he had charge for some years, as superintendent, of the mail delivery in Washington, D. C. In 1867 he came to Michigan, settling in Niles, where he was engaged in the hardware business, first as a member of the firm of Krick & Montague and shortly afterward alone, having pur- chased his partner's interest. He then con- ducted his store for some time, but after- ward sold out his stock of hardware and engaged in the sale of buggies, carriages and agricultural implements for several years. Later he again entered mercantile circles as proprietor of a hardware store, which he conducted carefully and success- fully until his death, which occurred when he was about sixty-two years of age. In his political views he was a Republican and while he always avoided public office he was interested in the welfare of Niles and the' county and as a private citizen labored for the public good.

Charles M. Montague mastered the studies taught in the primary and grammar grades of the public schools, also attended the high school and later became a student in Notre Dame University in Indiana. After leaving school he engaged in clerking for three years in his father's hardware store and then became teller in the First National Bank of Niles, where he remained for four years or until the failure of the bank. He afterward became assistant to the receiver and continued to act in that capacity until 1903, when on account of the death of his father he resigned to take charge of the hardware business and other affairs of the estate. He has since con- clucted the store and watchful of opportu- nities pointing to success has managed the business so as to make it one of the profit- able and thriving commercial concerns of Niles. He now carries a good line of shelf and heavy hardware and is doing a nice business, and is also a retail coal dealer. This does not altogether represent the ex- tent of his business interests, however, for he is a director of the National Rawhide & Belting Company of Niles and is secretary

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HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY

and director of the Security Loan & Build- ing Association of Niles, this being the old- est institution of this character in the city.

Mr. Montague has been married twice. He first wedded Helen M. Quimby, a sister of Charles S. Quimby, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work. His present wife, Jessie A. Worth, is a native of Holyoke, Massachusetts. attend the Episcopal church and he is a prominent Mason belonging to the blue lodge, chapter, council and commandery at Niles and to the Mystic Shrine at Grand Rapids, Michigan. In politics he is a stal- wart Republican where national issues are involved, but at local elections votes an in- dependent ticket, considering only the capa- bility and trustworthiness of the candidate and supporting all measures which he deems will prove of public benefit. He is a young man well known in Niles, his native city, and has made for himself a creditable place and reputation in business circles, while his friends are almost as numerous as his ac- quaintances.

WILLIAM CHAMBERLAIN, whose name is on the roll of Berrien county's hon- ored dead, having in his life won distinction as one of the most prominent and represent- ative citizens of this part of the state, not only controlled important business interests - but was also a factor in political life and a promoter of varied and important move- ments that had direct bearing upon the ma- terial, intellectual, social and moral progress of his section of the state. He was born in Pembroke, New Hampshire, on the 7th . of February, 1834, and is descended from one of the old colonial families of Massa- chusetts. The name of Samuel Chamber- lain appears upon the early records of the Massachusetts Bay colony. Representa- tives of the name lived in Ipswich and Bos- ton, Massachusetts, while the parents, grand- parents and great-grandparents made their homes in the vicinity of Concord, New Hampshire. Jacob Chamberlain, born in 1691, probably at Malden, Massachusetts, was a son of John Chamberlain, and a grandson of Edward Chamberlain, of Chel-

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A twentieth century history of Berrien County, Michigan, Part 96

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