USA > Michigan > Cass County > A twentieth century history of Cass County, Michigan > Part 58
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acres of land, which responds readily to the care and cultivation placed upon it, for the land is arable and productive.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. McIntosh have been born the following named : Minnie B., now the wife of Dr. Don A. Link, of Volinia, Cass county ; and J. Howard, of Chicago, who for three years was located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but is now engaged in the abstract business in the former city.
Mr. McIntosh was reared in the faith of the Democratic party, but is now a stanch Republican and is deeply interested in the political issues and questions of the day, keeping well informed upon all such, and at the same time putting forth every effort in his power to promote Republican successes. He lias been called to serve in several local positions, has been highway commissioner, was township treasurer and in 1886 was elected sheriff of Cass county, in which position he dis- charged liis duties with such promptness and fidelity that lie was re- elected in 1888. He was also justice of the peace and constable for seventeen years and his official service has ever been characterized by promptness, accuracy and thorough reliability. He is now undersheriff. He is a charter member of Albert Anderson Post No. 157, G. A. R., in which he has filled several positions and is now officer of the guard. Through his association therewith he maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades and greatly enjoys the reminiscences of the campfires. He likewise belongs to the Ancient Order of United Work- men and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, both of Cassopolis, and he holds membership in the Baptist church at Brownsville and erected the house of worship there. He is president of the Anti- Horse Thief Association of Penn township. His son. J. Howard Mc- Intosh, is a member of Backus Lodge No. 50, A. F. & A. M., and has attained the 32nd degree of the Scottish rite in Chicago Consistory, S. P. R. S. At one time he was president of the Wolverine Club at the University of Michigan for two years. Sixty-six years have been added to the cycle of the centuries since Jacob McIntosh began his life record in Penn township, where he has lived almost continuously since. He has never made his home beyond the borders of Cass county, so that he is widely known here. His best friends are those who have known him longest, a fact which indicates an honorable life and exemplary principles. His work has been of a character resulting beneficially to the county as well as to himself and he belongs to that class of rep- resentative American men who while promoting individual welfare also contribute in substantial measure to the good of the community with which they are connected.
GEORGE M. KINGSBURY.
G. M. Kingsbury, president of the Cassopolis Manufacturing Company and a well known resident of Cassopolis, was for many years a leading merchant of the city and was a valued and prominent
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factor in its business interests because of his connection with its manu- facturing affairs and its banking business as a director of the First National Bank. He was born in LaGrange township, this county, on the 23rd of April, 1862, and represents one of the pioneer families. His father, Asa Kingsbury, was a native of Massachusetts, and came to Cass county, Michigan, during an early epoch in its development and progress. Establishing his home in Cassopolis, he became a prom- inent merchant and banker here, and was closely identified with the early upbuilding and progress of the village. He belonged to that class of representative American citizens who while promoting individual success also contribute in large measure to the general prosperity. His fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability and his devotion to the general good, several times called him to the office of county treasurer. His death occurred when he had reached the age of seven- ty-six yars, and he left behind him the record of an honorable, upright and successful life. He was married twice, and in his family were fourteen children, G. M. Kingsbury being the ninth in order of birth.
Under the parental roof in Cassopolis Mr. Kingsbury of this re- view spent his boyhood and youth, his time being divided between the duties of the schoolroom and the pleasures of the playground. He afterward attended the Jackson High School, from which he was graduated in the class of 1881, and, returning to Cassopolis, he here embarked in merchandising. having become somewhat familiar with the business by assisting at odd times in his father's store. For eighteen years he was a representative of commercial life here, conducting a large and well stocked store which brought to him a good patronage because of his reliable business methods and his earnest efforts to please his customers. In the spring of 1900, however. he sold his store to G. L. Smith, since which time he has given his attention to manufactur- ing interests, being president of the Cassopolis Manufacturing Com- pany, which was organized in the fall of 1899. He is also one of the directors of the First National Bank of Cassopolis, and his name is an honored one on all commercial paper.
October 18, 1882, Mr. Kingsbury was united in marriage to Miss Stella Powell, a daughter of Francis I. and Mary ( Huff) Powell and a native of LaGrange township. Her people were early residents of the county, the name of Powell figuring in connection with many of the early events which constitute the pioneer history of this part of the state. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Kingsbury has been born a daughter, Charlotte, who is now at home.
In his political views Mr. Kingsbury is a stalwart Democrat, un- faltering in his devotion to the party and active in its work. In 1892 he was a delegate to the national convention at Chicago. He has several times served as a village officer, being president of the village board for four years, was treasurer for a number of years, had also been trustee and is a member of the board of trustees of the cemetery.
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Whatever tends to promote the permanent improvement and material progress of the city receives his strong endorsement and hearty co- operation. He belongs to Backus Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Cassopolis, has also taken the degrees of capitular and chivalric Masonry and is now a member of the Mystic Shrine. Prominent in the ranks of the craft, he is acting as grand scribe of the grand chapter. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and is widely recognized as one of Cassopolis' leading and influential citizens. He possesses keen business discernment and an ability which enables him to readily comprehend a business situation and its possibilities. He has therefore wrought along lines that have led to affluence and is today one of the substantial residents of his community.
Since the above was compiled. Mr. Kingsbury passed away and the following Masonic obituary is appended :
"GRAND CHAPTER ROYAL ARCH MASONS OF MICHIGAN. "Jackson, Mich., March 2, 1906. "To all Royal Arch Masons wheresoever dispersed:
"For the second time within the year are we called upon to mourn the loss of one of the active officers of our Grand Chapter and to join the funeral cortege to pay the last sad homage to a beloved companion.
"GEORGE M. KINGSBURY, "R. E. GRAND SCRIBE,
Died at his home in Cassopolis. Mich., Tuesday evening, February 27, 1906. Companion Kingsbury's failing health has been regarded with much anxiety by his friends for several years, but the dread scourge consumption secured too firm hold on his system and the inevitable has resulted.
"George M. Kingsbury was horn at the old family home in Cas- sopolis, April 23, 1862. At the age of 14 he went to Jackson to finish his schooling, afterwards embarking in the mercantile business which he followed until 1900. At the organization of the Cassopolis Manufacturing Co. in 1899, he was made its president and general manager and continued in that office until a short time before his death.
"Companion Kingsbury was always alive to the business interests of his home village, and many times was called to serve it in official capacities. He was president for four years, treasurer for six years, member of the school board six years, and was member of cemetery board at the time of his death. In every position he gave his best efforts and his administration was always marked by a move in the line of progress.
"October 18, 1882, he was united in marriage to Miss Estelle Powell. of Dowagiac, and to them was born one daughter, Miss Lottie, who with the devoted wife are left to mourn their irreparable loss.
"The Masonic record of Companion Kingsbury has been a bright
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one. He was raised to the degree of Master Mason in Backus Lodge No. 55, F. & A. M., December 10, 1883. He was exalted to the sublime degree of Royal Arch Mason in Kingsbury Chapter No. 78, R. A. M., June 18, 1885, and first appeared in Grand Chapter as High Priest in 1892, serving his Chapter in that position for twelve years. He was elected Grand Master of the Second Veil January 17, 1900, and has been steadily advanced by his companions until at his death he was acceptably filling the station of Grand Scribe.
"He was Knighted in Niles Commandery No. 12, K. T., Novem- ber 20. 1885, and received the degrees of Royal and Select Master in Niles Council No. 19, R. & S. M., April 16, 1903. He was made a member of Saladin Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., October 18, 1895.
"The funeral of Companion Kingsbury was held at his home March 2, 1906, and he was buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery with Masonic honors under the auspices of Backus Lodge No 55, Niles Commandery No. 12, headed by a military band acting as escort. The officers of the Grand Chapter of Michigan were in attendance to honor the memory of a beloved Companion.
"As a token of respect to the memory of this distinguished Com- panion and of our affection for him it is ordered that this memorial be read at the first regular convocation after its receipt, and that it be preserved in the Memorial Record of the Chapter prepared for that purpose. It is further ordered that the Chapter and Altar be draped in mourning for sixty days thereafter.
"THOMAS H. WILLIAMS, Grand Hight Priest.
"Attest :
"CHARLES A. CONOVER, Grand Secretary.
JUDGE C. E. CONE.
The bench and bar have ever been a civilizing influence in the history of state and nation and Judge Cone is actively connected with a profession which has important bearing upon the progress and stable prosperity of any section or community and one which has long been considered as conserving the public welfare by furthering the ends of justice and maintaining individual rights. The present probate judge of Cass county is a gentleman whose superior educational attainments and understanding of the law have given him prominence in connection with his chosen profession and won him the position which he now fills through appointment of Governor Warner, who recognized his ability and merits. In his social and official relations he is well known in Cassopolis and Cass county. C. E. Cone has much to do with public interests in Cassopolis. He is director of the school board and has been a helpful factor in many movements for the general good.
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His business interests have been in the line of law practice and he is recognized as one of the most able attorneys of the county, possessing in large measure the qualities which contribute to success at the bar, including perseverance and an analytical mind, which is at the same time readily receptive and retentive of the fundamental principles and intricacies of the law.
Mr. Cone is a native of the Empire state, his natal place being Oswego, New York, his natal day April 25, 1867. His father, Chester Cone, was also born in New York and was a cooper by trade. Emigrat- ing westward, he settled in Van Buren county, Michigan, about 1868 and afterward removed to Elkhart, Indiana. He has resided in south- ern Michigan and in northern Indiana since that time, making his home at present, in 1900, in Goshen, Indiana. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Maggie Rourk, was a native of Canada, where her girlhood days were passed. She died when her son, C. E. Cone, was about five years of age, leaving three children, namely: C. E. Cone; Mrs. Millie Keller, who died in Enid, Oklahoma; and William Cone, who is a resident of Elkhart.
C. E. Cone, the eldest of the family, was only about a year old at the time of his parents' removal from the Empire state to Michigan. He began his education in Elkhart and continued his studies in the schools of Goshen and of Bristol, Indiana. He engaged in teaching in the village school at Bristol and for seven months in the district schools of the Hoosier state. Locating at Vandalia, he spent about fifteen months in a general store owned by WV. R. Merritt, after which he engaged in teaching for one year as assistant principal. During this year he studied and earned a first grade teacher's certificate and was elected principal the following year, which position he filled for four years. Under his guidance the schools made satisfactory progress, for he maintained a high standard of excellence and put forth prac- tical effort to improve the schools and worked for their permanent good. He attended the Agricultural College at Lansing, Michigan, where he studied chemistry, physics, geology and astronomy. Follow- ing this work he took the state teachers' examination and won a life certificate in 1801. He was elected county commissioner of schools in 1893 and came to Cassopolis. For eight years he occupied that posi- tion and the cause of education has ever found in him a stalwart friend, whose labors in its behalf have been effective and far reaching. In 1896 he began the study of law and was admitted to the bar in April, 1899. Following the expiration of his term of office he entered at once upon the active practice of the law, opening an office in the Chap- man building on the 8th of July, 1901. In his practice he is gifted with a spirit of devotion to wearisome details and is quick to com- prehend the most subtle problems, while in his conclusions he is en- tirely logical. He is also fearless in the advocacy of any cause he may espouse and few men have been more richly gifted for the achieve-
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ment of success in the arduous and difficult profession of the law. He has twice been elected circuit court commissioner and is filling that position at the present time. On the election of I'robate Judge L. B. Des Voignes to the circuit bench. Mr. Cone was appointed by Governor Warner to fill the vacancy and entered upon the duties of the probate office September 7. 1906. He is also a member of the village council and has been found a co-operant factor in many move- ments and plans for the promotion of the best interests of Cassopolis.
On the Ist of December, 1886, Mr. Cone was united in marriage to Miss Grace Forgus, a daughter of Wellington and Anna (Evans) Forgus and a native of New Jersey. Her father was a minister of the Episcopal church. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Cone have been born five chil- dren, the eldest, J. Gorton. being now eighteen years of age. The others are Grace, Muriel. Wellington and Esther. Mr. Cone is a prom- inent worker in Republican ranks and has been secretary of the Re- publican county central committee. He is secretary of Kingsbury Chapter No. 78, R. A. M., and belongs to a number of other frater- mities.
HON. JAMES M. SHEPARD.
Hon. James M. Shepard, whose marked individuality and strength of character well entitle him to the position of leadership which is accorded him in Cass county, is now American consul at Hamilton, On- tario, and has figured prominently in political and business circles in Cass county for many years. He is a native of North Brookfield, Massachusetts, where he was born on the 24th of November, 1840. The paternal grandfather, Jared Shepard, was a descendant of Thomas Shepard, the founder of Harvard College. The family is of English lineage and among its members have been many who have figured prom- inently in public life in one way or another. Thomas Shepard came to America in 1638. To this family belonged General Shepard, who put down Shay's rebellion. The father of our subject, Rev. James Shepard. was a native of Hampden county, Massachusetts, born in 1802, and was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was graduated from Westfield Academy and in his holy calling he exerted a wide and beneficial influence, contributing in substantial measure to the growth and development of his party and at the same time taking a pro- nounced stand upon the slavery question, his influence being far reach- ing in behalf of opposition to that institution of the south. At length on account of ill health he was forced to leave the ministry and his last days were passed on Bunker Hill, Charlestown, Massachusetts, where he died at the age of fifty-two years. His wife bore the maiden name of Lucy Bush, and was a native of Westfield, Massachusetts, horn in 1808. She, too, was of English lineage and lived to the ad- vanced age of eighty years. In the maternal line she was descended from the nobility of England. By her marriage she became the mother
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of four children, one of whom died in infancy. Jared, the eldest, was at the head of what was known as the Foreign Money Department of the Suffolk Bank of Boston, the original "Clearing House," but put aside business ambitions at the outbreak of the Civil war and joined the Union army as a lieutenant, his death occurring near New Orleans while he was in the service. Esther is the wife of Rev. Daniel Richards, of Somerville, Massachusetts, her husband living a retired life there.
Hon. James M. Shepard, the youngest of the family, was edu- cated in Cambridge, Massachusetts, attending the Latin school, after- ward the Wilbraham Academy and subsequently the Wesleyan Univer- sity. He studied medicine and dentistry in Boston and was connected with the medical department of the navy during the war of the rebellion. He went out first with the Mansfield guards, a regiment of Connecticut militia, and later joined the medical department of the navy, with which he continued until the cessation of hostilities. On the 3rd of September, 1868, Dr. Shepard came to Cassopolis, where he opened an office for the practice of dentistry, which he followed continuously until 1876, when he purchased the Vigilant and has been sole proprietor since 1878. As a journalist he is well known and through the publica- tion of his paper has done much to mold public thought and opinion. He is the champion of every progressive movement and his labors have been effective in securing the adoption of many measures that have contributed largely to the public good.
Mr. Shepard is even more widely known because of his activity in political circles. He was elected to represent the twelfth district, com- prising Cass and Van Buren counties, in the state senate in 1878, re- ceiving five thousand two hundred and fifty-seven votes against twelve hundred and eight cast for Josiah R. Hendryx, the Democratic can- didate, and four thousand two hundred and thirty for Aaron Dyckman, the candidate of the National or Greenback party. While a member of the upper house of the general assembly Mr. Shepard was made chairman of the standing committees on the liquor traffic and printing and also a member of the committees on education, on mechanical in- terests and on engrossments. He proved an active working member of the senate and did all in his power to promote the welfare of the com- monwealth. In 1882 he became clerk of the committee on territories in the house of representatives of the forty-seventh congress and he was private secretary to Senator Palmer during the sessions of the forty- eighth, forty-ninth and fiftieth congresses. He was also clerk of the senate committee on agriculture during the discussion of the legisla- tive movements leading up to the formation of a department of agricult- ure, and he was secretary to the president of the World's Columbian Commission at Chicago from June, 1890, until the final official report was rendered in 1896. He served as one of the commission of chari- ties and corrections for the state of Michigan under the administrations of governors Rich and Pingree, which position he resigned upon accept-
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ing the appointment as American consul to Hamilton, Ontario, on the 16th of July, 1897.
In 1870, James M. Shepard was united in marriage to Miss Alice Martin, the eldest daughter of Hiram and Margaret (Silver) Martin. They have two children. Melville J., who was born November 18, 1872, is assistant bookkeeper in the Beckwith estate at Dowagic, Mich- igan. He married Pearl Lum, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and has one son, James L., born March 20, 1902. The daughter, Blanche, born November 2, 1878, is the wife of Ernest W. Porter, of Newark, New Jersey.
Dr. Shepard is a member of Albert Anderson Post, G. A. R., of which he is a past commander. He is also past chancellor commander of the Knights of Pythias fraternity, a member of the Knights of the Maccabees, and is a 32nd degree Mason. He has a very wide and favorable acquaintance among the prominent men of the state and nation, and has always kept in touch with the great and momentous questions which involve the welfare of the country. Moreover in local affairs he is deeply interested, and his influence and aid are ever given on the side of progress and improvement. While he enjoys the respect of many with whom he has come in contact in connection with important public service, in his home town where he has long lived he has that warm personal regard which arises from true nobility of character and deference for the opinions of others.
JASPER J. ROSS.
Jasper J. Ross, filling the office of township supervisor in Mason township and residing upon a farm on section 14, was born April 2, 1858, upon this place which is yet his home. He therefore belongs to ore of the old families of the county. His father, Richard C. Ross, was a native of Stark county, Ohio, and at the age of fourteen years accom- panied his parents, Jacob and Betsy Ross, to Cass county, settling first in Edwardsburg, in Ontwa township. There Jacob Ross took up forty acres of land, which was wild and unimproved, and began the devel- opment of a farm. Richard C. Ross also secured a claim from the government, and Mr. and Mrs. Ross have in their possession one of the old parchment deeds hearing date and execution of September 10. 1838, and bearing the signature of President Martin Van Buren, the fourth deed of the kind found in Cass county. It is a valuable document and heirloom in the Ross household. This was in December, 1832, and they were among the original settlers of the county. The most far- sighted could not have dreamed of the development and progress which were soon to transform the district into a region of rich fertility and productiveness, and yet there were to be many years of arduous toil on the part of the pioneers and subsequent settlers before this result could be accomplished. The grandfather and father of our subject were both
yours Truly Jasper J. Ross
Very Respectfully Ors Jasper y Ras
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active in reclaiming the wild land for the purposes of civilization, and turned the first furrow upon many an acre. Ilaving arrived at years of maturity, Richard C. Ross was united in marriage in 1848, in Mason township, to Miss Mehitable Bougart, who was born in Geneseo, New York, April 1, 1815, and was a daughter of John O. and Mehitable Bougart, who came from the east to Michigan in 1829, settling in Edwardsburg, Cass county. Mrs. Ross was then a little maiden of eight summers, and was therefore reared in Michigan amid pioneer sur- roundings and environments. The homes of the settlers were largely log cabins and the furnishings were very primitive and meager as compared to the homes of the present day. Mrs. Ross proved to her husband a faithful companion and helpmate for life's journey and pos- sessed many excellent traits of character of heart and mind, which en- deared her to all who knew her. She reached the advanced age of eighty-five years and nine months, while Richard C. Ross departed this life on the 22d of April, 1901, at the very venerable age of eighty- seven years. His early political allegiance was given to the Whig party, and upon the organization of the new Republican party, formed to pre- vent the further extension of slavery, he joined its ranks and continued one of its stalwart advocates until his demise. He took a very active and helpful part in the settlement and upbuilding of Cass county, and his name is enrolled among those to whom the citizens of the later day owe a debt of gratitude for what the pioneers accomplished in the early period of development here. Unto him and his wife were born two daugliters and a son, the sisters of our subject being Mrs. Julia Ort, who is living in Mason township, and Mrs. Samantha Luse, whose home is in Elkhart, Indiana.
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