USA > Michigan > Cass County > A twentieth century history of Cass County, Michigan > Part 35
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Goodspeed, Edwin C.
Beebe, George S.
McClelland, William. Thoop, Sylvester A.
COMPANY I.
Lieut. William Stewart, Sept. 1, 1862; m. o. at end of service at end of war, Jan. 1, 1865. Corp. Samuel Inling, Newberg. e. Sept. I, 1862; trans, to 5th Mich. Inft ; m. o.
SIXTY-SIXTII ILLINOIS VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
COMPANY D. Beckwith, Henry L., e Feb. 22, 1864; vet. recruit ; m. o. July 7, 1865.
TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
COMPANY H. Graham, S. J., Mason, e. April, 1861 ; dis, for disability 1861.
FORTY-NINTHI REGIMENT OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
COMPANY E. 1865; wounded in left arm at Rocky
Graham, Sidney J. Mason, re-enl. Sept., Ridge, May 9, 1865.
1861: vet. Feb. 1864; m. o. May 20,
FORTY-EIGHTII REGIMENT INDIANA VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
COMPANY F. Williams, Henry, Mason.
OHIO INFANTRY. Tompkins, Newberg.
TWENTY-FIRST OIIIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
Graham, Sidney J., e. April 17, 1861, in Co. H .; re-e. in Co. E, 49th Ohio Vol. Inft. ( See above. )
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
CHAPTER XXIII. MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS.
W. J. MAY POST, G. A. R.
AV. J. May Post, No. 65, G. A. R., was organized at Jones July 24th, 1882, with the following charter members :
Thomas L. Blakely, IIth Mich. Infantry; Isaac S. Pound, 14th Mich. Battery; * Jabez S. Tompkins; Alonzo B. Congden, 88th Indiana Infantry ; James L. Haine, Irth Mich. Infantry; * Anson L. Dunn, 14th Mich. Infantry; #Hugh Ferguson, 11th Mich. Infantry; #Cyrus W. O'Conner, with Mich. Infantry; Samuel P. King, 12th Mich. In- fantry; Daniel Trattles, 19th Mich. Infantry: * Stephen A. Gardner, 124th Ohio Infantry; Joseph H. Dunworth; * Horton M. Squires. Sharp Shooters: * Henry Seigle; William Alexander, 12th Mich. In- fantry.
THOMAS MANNING POST, G. A. R.
Thomas Manning Post, No. 57, G. A. R., at Marcellus, was chartered May 19, 1882. The Post's charter members were the fol- lowing :
H. J. Kellogg, Wm. Bedford, H. J. Ohls, Frank Shonhower, H. M. Nottingham, Wm. Schugg, G. I. Nash, Oren Holden, H. E. Giddings. R. Harvell, C. E. Davis, B. F. Groner. W. R. Snider, Samuel Kidney. John Littell, George Heckleman, Jas. Boner, H. H. Hartman. J. B. Fortner, George Eggleston, W. H. Vincent, E. Schugg, George Savage. Chas. Guich, William Casselman, J. T. Van Sickle, Roht. McDonald, Clarence Lomison. Asa Sheldon, E. S. Weaver. Chas. Souls, Asa Sheldon, Wm. McKeeby, A. H. Lewis, Chauncey Drury, S. P. Hartshorn, Noah Kines. Beneville De Long, James Youngs. Isaac Snyder, L. P. Raymond, Joseph Gearhart, Carr Finch, Wm. Collier, H. Sheldon, James Wagner, W. H. Waugh, Sr .. S. Eberhart, Zenas Kidney. B. F. Harrington, W. J. Herbert, M. F. Burney, Lewis Timm. George Reynolds. George Scott, Henry Whitney, J. G. Harper, J. J. Hinchey, Robt. Lundy.
* Dead.
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
The present membership of this Post is as follows:
H. J. Kellogg. H. M. Nottingham, W. R. Snider, C. E. Davis, John Littell, J. B. Fortner, W. H. Waugh, Sr., W. J. Herbert, W. H. Vincent, Wm. Bradford, Clarence Lomison, Bemer Lewis, Richard Harvell. Noah Kunes, H. L. Cooper, Carr Finch, Chas. Tutton, G. I. Nash. V. W. Spigelmeyer, B. F. Adams, R. T. Streeter. W. H. Burch, Jos. Romig. John Crockett, F. C. Brown, R. D. Snyder. A. J. Maxan, Clark II. Beardslee, N. W. Holcomb, H. J. Ikes, E. W. La Barre, I. W. Steininger, John Smith, Julius Waterstradt, Robt. Smith, W. G. Walters, E. S. Mack, Levi Dennis, George F. Bowersox, Isaac Long, Daniel Emery, S. M. Reigle, Franklin T. Wolf, B. H. Hodges, Isaac De Con, Wm. McIntyre. P. S. Youells, Pomeroy Castle, Peter Bowers, C. P. Bradford. H. C. Lambert, C. W. Graham. J. S. Brown. Wm. Holloway.
The office of Post Commander has been held in succession by the following named : H. J. Ohls, G. G. Woodmansee, George Munger, Ray T. Streeter, one term each; H. J. Kellogg, Peter Schall, Clarence Lomison. W. R. Snider. Levi Dennis, B. F. Groner, two terms each ; George I. Nash, five terms: J. B. Fortner, three terms.
J. B. SWEETLAND POST, G. A. R.
J. B. Sweetland Post, No. 448, at Edwardsburg, was chartered July 21, 1899, with the following members :
William W. Sweetland. Edward Beach. John James, Enoch F. Newell. Jonas Sassaman, Charles R. Kingsley. George O. Bates, Theo- dore Manchow, John Jacks. Emanuel Rhinehart, James H. Andrus. Charles F. Gardner, George Bement, Covington Way.
The present members are :
Benajmin F. Thompson, Jonas Sassaman. Aaron Dever, Wm. W. Sweetland, John James, James H. Andrus. George Williams, Calvin Steuben, Covington Way, Theodore Manchow, William Funk, Roger Burns, John Jones.
MATTHEW ARTIS POST, G. A. R.
Matthew Artis Post. No. 341, was organized at Day March 10. 1866, with twenty-one members, as follows :
Commander. Bishop E. Curtis; Senior Vice Commander, Henry D. Stewart: Junior Vice Commander, James Monroe; Adjutant, Abner R. Byrd : Quartermaster, Solomon Griffin ; Surgeon, Harrison Griffin ; Chap-
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
lain, George Scott; Officer of Day, Zachariah Pompey ; Officer of Guard, John Copley; Sergeant Major, James M. Stewart; Quartermaster Ser- geant, James H. Ford. Members : Peter Saunders, Caswell Oxendine, Berry Haithcock, John Curry, Samuel Wells, John Brown, Martin Harris, Andrew Gillum, George Broaidy, L. B. Stewart.
The officers and members in August. 1906, are as follows:
Commander, Abner R. Byrd: Senior Vice Commander, James Monroe; Junior Vice Commander, Caswell Oxendine ; Adjutant. Bishop E. Curtis: Quartermaster, Geo. H. Curtis; Surgeon, John A. Harris ; Chaplain. Zachariah Pompey: Officer of the Day, James M. Stewart : Officer of the Guard. John Copley; Quartermaster Sergeant, L. B. Stewart; Sergeant Major, Solomon Griffin. Comrades: Wm. S. Copley, Hiram Smith, A. B. Anderson, Bennett Allen.
Matthew Artis W. R. C., No. 164, auxiliary to Matthew Artis Post. No. 341, was organized November 7. 1888, with the following ten members :
Mary Copley, Cora Copley, Amelia Copley, Marinda Johnson, Anna Eliza Griffin, Eva Dungey, Eva O. Byrd, Sarah E. Curtis, Eliza Oxendine, Elizabeth Stewart.
ALBERT ANDERSON POST, G. A. R.
Albert Anderson Post, No. 157, was organized at Cassopolis July 7. 1883, and the following members mustered :
Zacheus Aldrich, William G. Watts. Fairfield Goodwin, Thomas M. Seares, James Patterson, Samuel V. Pangborn, William T. Dilts. Jacob McIntosh, Maro A. Abbott, John Pangborn, John Jackson, Joel Cowgill, Isaiah Harris, James M. Roberts, Edmond Landon, William Wallace Marr, Owen L. Allen, Marvin F. Westfall, Marcellus K. Whetsell, Jos. T. Bangham.
Since the first muster the following comrades have been added to the membership:
July 21, 1883-Fred A. Beckwith, John L. Tharp. John Glass.
July 28, 1883-Francis Coon. Alonzo Garwood, George B. Crandell, Benjamin F. Hogue.
August 4, 1883-Samuel Williams, James M. Cowin, Henry C. Walker, E. W. Cornell, Wm. G. Roberts.
August 11, 1883-Henry James, John A. Bronner, Jonathan H. Breed. I. M. Harris.
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
August 18, 1883-Vincent Reames, Lewis Crandall, E. G. Loux, Charles Hedger, Reuben Beverly.
August 9, 1884-James M. Shephard, Francis Squires, Levi J. Garwood, William Clark, George T. Shaffer, Leander D. Tompkins, James M. Noble, Jesse W. Madrey.
August 16, 1884-Daniel L. Closson, John H. Keene, James H. Byrd, Edward P. Boyd.
August 4, 1886, and since that time-Norris Richardson, Robert Toas, Michael Grimm, Erastus Saunders, John Rodman, S. M. Gren- nell, William Matthews, Abram Ileaton, William Berkey, Moses F. Paisley, Henry Morton, Marion Garrison, Henry C. Westfall. John D. Williams, Edgar F. Hays, William H. Owen.
SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' MONUMENT ASSOCIATION.
To commemorate the bravery and patriotism of the many soldiers who have gone from this county to the wars of the country, and to stimulate the interest and veneration of the present and future genera- tions for the deeds of war which were necessary for the establishment of the republic, a movement has been set on foot to raise funds and erect a soldiers' monument to the soldiers and sailors of Cass county.
The movement had its inception in the rooms of the H. C. Gilbert Post, No. 49, at Dowagiac, in April, 1905, when it was first proposed to raise the modest sum of five hundred dollars and locate such a monu- ment as that would provide on a soldiers' lot in Riverside cemetery. Willis M. Farr and Lewis J. Carr were appointed from the post to solicit funds, and these two later appointed a third G. A. R. member, John Bilderback, and Burgette L. Dewey, the merchant, and Clyde W. Ketcham, the lawyer. were afterward added. On the motion of Mr. Farr the committee proceeded to raise a fund of five thousand dollars or more, instead of five hundred, and amplify the plans and ob- jects accordingly. Individual donations have been mainly relied upon, a canvass was made among the citizens of Dowagiac and the county, and also outside, nearly one thousand dollars being contributed to the fund by what were considered outside parties. The pupils of the public schools were also given an opportunity to give small sums. A benefit was given by a baseball team, several clubs donated sums, the proceeds of a lecture and a legerdemain entertainment swelled the fund. The largest sum was given by the P. D. Beckwith Estate, five hundred dollars, and other large contributors have been Willis M. Farr. Bur-
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
gette L. Dewey, Hon. William Alden Smith, Hon. Edward L. Hamil- ton, Charles R. Hannan of Boston, Mrs. Ellen T. Atwell, E. H. Spoor of Redlands, Cal., Mrs. Jerome Wares of Chicago, C. L. Sherwood, Burlingame, H. R. Spencer, Otis Bigelow, the City Bank, J. O. Becraft.
The executive committee, on whom has fallen the chief burden in promoting this cause, consists of Willis M. Farr, Lewis J. Carr. John Bilderback. Burgette L. Dewey and Clyde W. Ketcham. By his enthusiasm and untiring efforts in behalf of the monument Mr. Farr has rendered most signal service, and that the large sum has been raised and the monument become a fact is due to the unselfish work on the part of its principal promoters.
In addition to the above fund the city council of Dowagiac do- nated five hundred dollars, and the Board of Supervisors of Cass county one thousand dollars, making a sum total of $6,500.00.
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
CHAPTER XXIV. SOCIAL ORGANIZATION.
The social tie was as strong, if not stronger, in the early days as in modern life. Job Wright, the hermit and recluse, whom we have elsewhere mentioned as seeking solitude on the island of Diamond lake, was an abnormal character. Such aversion to the society of fellow man is so uncommon as to mark its possessor with the interest of a phe- nomenon in human existence. His course was like a soldier trying to live by himself during the Civil war. As there were ties which drew the soldiers together, ties which exist even today, so there were ties which drew the early settlers together. They had common interests, had a common work to do, and were threatened by common dangers. Their very circumstances made it necessary that they stand together, min- ister to each other in sickness, and weep with those that wept; and this made them rejoice with those who rejoiced. There are bonds in the Grand Army of the Republic which do not exist in any other society of men. And so it is with the early settlers of this county. We see this when they get together. They have no grips nor secret words, and yet one who is not an early settler is as effectually debarred from entering into their experiences as though he were on the outside of lodge-room doors.
Of course, the pleasurable occasions of the early days were in the main quite different from those of the present. They were also less frequent. and for that reason enjoyed with more zest. Some of those pleasures accompanied the tasks that had to be performed-in fact. were a part of them. The work was of such a nature that neighbors often assisted one another. Without particularly intending it, each neigh- borhood was a co-operative society. The clearing of the land, getting rid of large timber, necessitated what were known as log rollings. No one individual could dispose of the great trees of those primeval for- ests. If he had undertaken it his progress would have been so slow and the work so difficult that he would have given up in despair long before his task was completed. Necessity compelled co-operation in this work, and that principle was carried into much of the other labor that had to
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
be performed. A man who was so selfish or so mean as to refuse his assistance to a neighbor who needed help was regarded with disfavor by the other settlers. In fact. he became almost an outcast. In more ways than one he was a greater loser than the one whom he refused to assist.
After the settlers had been here for a number of years and were raising large crops of corn, husking bees began to take the place of the log rollings of the earliest days. This does not mean that the log roll- ings ceased when the corn husking's began. for both were kept up at the same time throughout a number of years. But after each farmer had a comparatively large acreage cleared the log rollings became less fre- quent and the corn huskings more frequent.
The women, too, had their methods of co-operation as well as the men, and they also made opportunities by this means for social gather- ings. Wool pickings and quiltings were among their frolics. and those occasions were not less enjoyable to them than the log rollings. house raisings and corn huskings were to the men. Many of the women knew as much about outdoor work as the men. Often they assisted their hus- bands in the fields in order that the farm work might be done at the proper time and the necessaries of life provided for the family. And their household duties were more arduous than those of the farmers' wives of the present day. Besides, on account of living so far apart. their isolation was more complete. The occasions on which the women of the neighborhood would get together to help one another with a por- tion of their work afforded a pleasant relief from the toilsome labor at home, whether it was the labor of the field or the household. Besides the diversions already mentioned there were evening apple-parings, in which both young men and young women took part. and taffy-pullings for the younger people in the season of maple-sugar making. These gatherings closed by guessing contests. "spatting out." and. frequently. by dancing.
There was but little social diversion for that purpose alone, but it was associated with the usual labor in one form or another. This was not because the people of those days would not have enjoyed pleasure for pleasure's sake as well as the people of this generation. but rather because stern necessity decreed otherwise. Thus the social life of the pioneers became a part of their industrial life, and it is impossible to sep- arate the two in description. A few years later, when the people did not have to devote to labor every hour not spent in sleep, they found other
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
methods for employing the time when they could come together. Sing- ing schools, spelling schools, debating clubs and literary societies began to take the place of corn huskings, apple-parings and taffy-pullings. But even these, like the other gatherings which preceded them, had their double purpose. The opportunity they afforded for mingling socially was not the only reason they came into existence. The cultivation of the musical talent, the mastery of the art of spelling or training for talk- ing in public were the paramount objects.
What event-except the contrastingly sad one of death-would stir pioneer sentiment more than a wedding? The union of families that had perhaps met here after leaving homes in widely diverse parts of the country was an occurrence worthy of social happiness and one to be celebrated with jubilation. Marriages and births were the events most in keeping with the spirit of hope and progress that animated every new community. Therefore, let us recall one of the early wed- dlings, a celebration of great interest to the county, eagerly looked for- ward to and long remembered among pioneer happenings.
Though not the first wedding in the county. the marriage of Elias B. Sherman and Sarah, the daughter of Jacob Silver, on New Year's day of 1833, was the first in the county seat and perhaps the most nota- ble of the early weddings. At that time Mr. Sherman, though a young man of about thirty, had attained the prominence befitting the incun- bent of the offices of prosecuting attorney, probate judge and district surveyor of Cass county, and who was also one of the founders of the village of Cassopolis. There was no minister in Cassopolis at that time, and as the bride desired the ceremony to be performed according to the Episcopal rites, the matter of finding the proper minister threatened to be a serious obstacle. Happily, it was learned that Bishop Philander Chase had recently located at Gilead in Branch county, and thither Mr. Sherman went and made known to the bishop his need. AAlthough no railroad afforded the bishop a quick and comfortable ride to the place of ceremony and it was necessary for him to undergo a long drive over the frozen roads. such difficulties were made nothing of by pioneer minis- ters. On the appointed morning the bishop was on hand, and the peo- ple of the village and the surrounding country were all alive to the festive importance of the day. The guests assembled in the second story of the building in which Jacob Silver sold goods, where elaborate preparations had been made in anticipation, and in the presence of many whose names have been mentioned in connection with the early history
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of the county the marriage was performed, the first of the many that have occurred in the village during the subsequent three-quarters of a cen- tury.
One other occasion may be described before proceeding with the special social and fraternal history. In 1837 Elijah Goble built a tav- ern at the little center called Charleston, in Volinia township. Having completed the structure, he resolved to have a house warming, to which he invited all his fellow pioneers. This was, therefore, perhaps the first gathering specially designed to include early settlers. It is stated that from seventy-five to one hundred people, mostly from the north part of the county, assembled at the Goble tavern on the designated day. The features of the meeting which we would most like to reproduce were unfortunately lost with the passing of the day itself. for the experiences those old settlers exchanged can never be retold ; the melody of the songs they sang has gone with the breath that made it.
At this meeting in Volinia, as on other social occasions, music and dancing were features of the entertainment. It must not be supposed that the muse of song and harmony was a stranger to the pioneer set- tlements. Of instrumental music there was little, but the quietness and isolation of life in the wilderness was favorable to the expression of feeling by song. The earnest intoning of the old hymns in the first churches, the old-time melodies that were flung to the air at the social gatherings and the eager interest taken in the singing schools, all show that the love of harmony was as fundamental here as among older civ- ilization.
And although there were no pianos and organs, an occasional settler possessed a more portable instrument and with this he softened some of the asperities of frontier life. Among the settlers who came to Milton township in 1829. was a Mr. Morris, who delighted to play on a fife. Surely. as its shrill notes sounded through the forest aisles, the birds must have realized the presence of a new form of existence competing with them in their solitudes.
Peter Barnhart, who settled in Howard in 1830, was a fiddler, and it was his presence that lent the spirit of rhythm to many a pioneer dance. Isaiah Carberry, an early settler in the same township, was also skillful with the bow and was in demand at the dances. These dances were usually held in the evening after logging, husking or quilting bees. The democratic character of pioneer society prevented their being exclusive, and the fact that they were held after a day of hard labor is evidence
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
that there was little brilliance of costume or house decoration. The dyed homespun dresses of the girls and the home-tailored garments and rough, coarse boots of the men detracted nothing from the wholesome pleasure of the occasion.
It would not be out of place in a history of this kind to describe all the events and institutions of social living which have been strong and enduring enough to give permanence to the organizations which men and women form in promoting their community life. But in reality this entire history is given to the description of the forms and institutions which have grown up in Cass county because of the introduction of civil- ization and the increasingly close contact between the social units. Civil government has been described. The organization of communities for civil. business and other purposes has taken many pages of this volume. Business and industry have been described mainly in their relation to the people at large. When civil war was raging it called for citizens in the most perfected form of disciplined organization. Schools, as else- where described, have always been the center of the social community. and churches are the very essence of the social life. These subjects finding exposition on other pages, it remains for this chapter to group together some of the social organizations which have positive influence and definite purpose and form a recognized part in the life of Cass county's people.
WOMEN'S CLUBS.
The Cassopolis Woman's Club, now a member of the great fed- eration of women's clubs, was organized in 1898. Among those who assisted in the organization and became charter members may be men- tioned Mesdames Coulter, Goodwin. Sate Smith, Funk, Biscomb, Lodor, McIntosh, Nell Smith, Armstrong, Cowgill (now deceased). Reynolds and Allison. The club was brought into the federation in 1901.
The Cassopolis Woman's Club holds weekly sessions from October to April inclusive. Its work is mainly literary, although it has taken a beneficial interest in certain matters of civic improvement and in beau- tifying the village. In its regular sessions topics of current and gen- eral importance are taken up according to a program that is arranged before the beginning of each season's work.
The following are the officers of the club for the season of 1905-06 just closed: President, Mrs. Addie S. Coulter; first vice president. Mrs. Catherine Criswell; second vice president, Mrs. Helen Reynolds ;
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
recording secretary, Mrs. Clara Eby; corresponding secretary, Mrs. Emma Cobb: treasurer. Mrs. Jennie Carman.
Calendar committee-Mrs. Hattie M. Thickstum ( chairman), Mrs. Rebecca B. Woods, Mrs. Allie M. Des Voignes, Mrs. May S. Arm- strong.
Members :- Mrs. May S. Armstrong. Miss Katherine Armstrong, Mrs. May F. Allison, Mrs. Thursy A. Boyd. Mrs. May Bowen, Mrs. Addie S. Coulter, Mrs. Emma Cobb, Mrs. Katherine Criswell, Mrs. Jane Crosby, Mrs. Jane Carman, Mrs. Allie M. Des Voignes, Mrs. Clara Eby, Mrs. Maude W. Eppley. Mrs. Ellen R. Funk, Mrs. Ina M. Fisk. Mrs. Helen Francis, Mrs. Lida R. Goodwin, Mrs. Lola Geiser. Mrs. Grace Hain, Mrs. Myra Hughes, Mrs. Ruth T. Hayden, Mrs. Katherine Harmon, Mrs. Hattie J. Holland, Mrs. Helen Johnston, Mrs. Blanche Link, Mrs. Emily McIntosh, Mrs. Helen Reynolds, Miss Nellie Rudd, Mrs. Grace Rinehart, Mrs. Nellie Stemm, Mrs. Leni M. Smith, Mrs. Sate R. Smith. Mrs. Lucy E. Smith, Mrs. Ocenia Sears, Mrs. Hattie Thickstun. Mrs. Alice Voorhis, Mrs. Idla Warren, Mrs. Ella Waldo Gardner, Mrs. Rebecca B. Woods, Mrs. Clara Zeller.
Honorary members :- Mrs. Jennie Lodor, Mrs. Amelia Biscomb.
THE AMBER CLUB.
The Amber Club is composed of some of the most intellectual wo- men in Cassopolis. It is unique in its organization, or rather in its lack of organization, having neither governing rules nor officers, and keep- ing no records.
It sprung into existence in December, 1895, with the following members: Mrs. Henrietta Bennett, Mrs. Maryette H. Glover, Mrs. Ocenia B. Harrington, Mrs. Augusta E. Higbee. Mrs. Stella Kingsbury. Mrs. Elma A. Patrick, Miss Sarah B. Price, Mrs. Addie S. Tietsort, Mrs. Ida M. Yost. all of whom are living and retain their membership in the club, excepting the last named lady, who died December 5, 1899. Before the death of Mrs. Yost the club had held annual banquets, and that year arrangements were completed for the banquet to be held at her home the day she died. Neither that nor subsequent banquets have been held.
Since the beginning of the club three of the members have moved from Cassopolis, but are still recognized as members. The member- ship has been increased to seventeen by the addition of the following ladies: Mrs. Carrie L. Carr. Mrs. Carrie W. Fitzsimons, Mrs. Calista
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