USA > Michigan > Cass County > A twentieth century history of Cass County, Michigan > Part 59
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No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for Jasper J. Ross in his boyhood days. He was reared upon the farm where he now resides, and at an early age he took his place in the fields, aiding in the plowing, planting and harvesting. His edu- cation was obtained in the old brick schoolhouse in district No. 5. He has never been away from the farm for an entire week in his life, but has applied himself earnestly and faithfully to his farm labor, and is the owner of one hundred acres of rich and productive land, which is de- voted to general farming. He has good grades of stock upon his place and is enterprising in his work, which has brought him the success which he to-day enjoys.
On Christmas day of 1887 Mr. Ross was united in marriage to Miss Nettie Cormany, a daughter of Jonathan and Lydia (Garl) Cor- many, and a native of Elkhart county, Indiana, although her girlhood days were largely passed in this state. Mr. Ross cared for his parents until their deaths. By his marriage there have been born two daughters, Bessie M. and Shirley M., both at home. The family are held in high esteem in the community, having many warm friends.
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Mr. Ross is an earnest Democrat in his political views, active in the interests of the party, and has held all of the township offices to which he has been called by his fellow townsmen, who recognize his ability and his loyalty to the public good. He has served as township treasurer two terms, has been highway commissioner and in 1905 was elected township supervisor, being the present incumbent in the office. Mr. Ross is a member of the United Brethren church, in which he has served as trustee, and the cause of education finds in him a warm friend, who has done effective service in behalf of the school as a member of the school board during nine years incumbency in that office. He has been a life-long resident of the county, living for forty-eight years upon the same farm and has been closely identified with its development, its agricultural interests and its political welfare.
JOHN H. PHILLIPS.
John H. Phillips, an enterprising citizen and merchant of Pokagon township, who is also filling the office of township supervisor and exerts strong and beneficial influence in behalf of public affairs, was born in the western part of Germany on the 12th of July, 1841. His father, John Phillips, was a native of the same country and was a shoemaker by trade. He married Miss Helen Hill, likewise a native of Germany, and they became the parents of five sons. John H. being the fourth in order of birth. In the year 1856 the father crossed the Atlantic to America, locating first in New Buffalo, Berrien county, Michigan, where he purchased forty acres of raw land. This was covered with timber, which he cleared away, and as the years advanced he placed his farm under a very high state of cultivation and made it a productive property. There he remained until his death, which occurred in 1868. His political support was given to the Democracy, and he was a worthy and public spirited citizen.
John H. Phillips spent the first fifteen years of his life in the land of his birth and then accompanied his parents on their emigration to the new world. Farm work early became familiar to him and he gave his attention to general agricultural pursuits until 1864, when, at the age of twenty-three years, he enlisted as a member of Company F. Eighth Michigan Cavalry, in defense of the Union. He served with that com- mand until the close of the war, being mostly engaged in scouting, and in October, 1865, he was mustered out, having made a creditable record by his faithful performance of every duty that was assigned him.
When the country no longer needed his aid Mr. Phillips returned to Berrien county and entered upon his active business career as clerk in the freighting office of the Michigan Central Railroad Company. He was there employed until 1872, when he came to Cass county, Michi- gan, settling in the village of Pokagon. Here he was also in the employ of the Michigan Central Railroad Company until 1885, when, with the
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capital he had saved from his earnings, he established a general store, which he has since conducted, being an enterprising merchant and meet- ing with very desirable success. His earnest efforts to please his patrons, his reasonable prices and his straightforward dealing constitute the basis of his prosperity since he became a factor in mercantile circles in Pokagon.
Mr. Phillips had been married in Berrien county in 1865 to Miss Mary Raiza, a native of Germany, who was brought to America when four years of age, and was reared in Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips have become the parents of thirteen children, seven sons and six daughters. In his religious faith Mr. Phillips is a Catholic, and in his political affiliation is a stanch Democrat. In 1897 lie was elected town- ship supervisor and has since held the office hy re-election. He has also been township clerk for a number of years. His fraternal relations are with the Odd Fellows and Masons, and he is true to the teachings of these orders, exemplifying in his life the beneficent spirit upon which the lodges rest. He has been found capable in public office, trust- worthy in his business relations and faithful in his friendships, and thus the consensus of public opinion concerning L. H. Phillips is most favorable.
JAMES M. EMMONS.
James M. Emmons, who after long years of active connection with farming interests is now living retired in the enjoyment of a well earned rest, is one of the old settlers of Cass county, having from an early period been a witness of its development and progress as modern conditions have replaced those of pioneer life. He was born in Giles county, Virginia, on the 6th of April. 1827. and has therefore passed the seventy-eighth milestone on life's journey. His father, William Emmons, was also a native of the Old Dominion and was there reared. turning his attention to agricultural pursuits as a life work after he attained his majority. In the fall of 1828 he came with his family to Michigan, settling in Berrien county, which was then a largely unim- proved tract, the work of development and progress having scarcely been begun within its borders. All around stretched the native forests or the unbroken prairie land. and it remained for the pioneer settlers to convert the district into a productive region wherein agricultural and commercial interests might be profitably conducted. Mr. Emmons was a leading representative of industrial interests, operating a sawmill in Berrien county until 1834, when he removed to Cass county, settling in Pokagon township. Here he took up forty acres of land from the gov- ernment, upon which not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made. and he also bought eighty acres from Mr. Ritter. This place he improved, carrying on the work of the fields vear after year. or until called to his final rest. He was married in Virginia to Miss Elsie Kirk, a native of that state, and unto them were born eight children, three
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sons and five daughters, of whom James M. Emmons was the sixth child and second son. One of the number died in infancy. The father voted with the Democracy and kept well informed on the questions and issues of the day, but had little desire for public office.
James M. Emmons was about five years of age when his father came to Cass county, and here he was reared amid the wild scenes of frontier life. He acquired his education in one of the little old-time log school-houses, where the methods of instruction were almost as primi- tive as the building in which the sessions of school were held. His train- ing at farm labor, however, was not meager, for he early began work in the fields and remained at home during his father's life, assisting him in the arduous work of the farm. There he remained until his marriage, when he removed to his present place of residence, comprising two hun- dred and seventeen acres of land in Pokagon township. He has since given his attention to the further development of this property. He built first a log cabin in which he lived until after the Civil war, when the pioneer home was replaced by a frame residence. He has also built barns and outbuildings and has added equipments that facilitate the farm work and make his labor more profitable.
On the 22d of February, 1852, Mr. Emmons was married to Miss Phebe Hawkins, who came from Ohio to Michigan with her parents, Daniel and Alvira Hawkins, who were early settlers of Cass county, where Mrs. Emmons spent the days of her girlhood. She has had no children of her own, but out of the kindness of their hearts Mr. and Mrs. Emmons have given homes to four orphan children, two sons and two daughters: Emma, now the wife of Solon Straub and acting as housekeeper on Mr. Emmons' farm; Richard Parsons; Alvira; and Orson.
Mr. Emmons has always been actuated by high and honorable prin- ciples, by a conscientious regard for his obligations to his fellow men and by a loyalty to duty that is above question. For twenty-one years he has given earnest support to the Prohibition party because of his firm belief in temperance principles and his opposition to the liquor traffic. He is well known and for many years was accounted a leading farmer of Pokagon township, but at the present writing has given over to others the care and improvement of his farm, while he is enjoying a well earned rest. This is certainly as nature intended, and he is not only a retired citizen of Cass county, but also one of its respected and honored men, well known in this part of the state from pioneer times down to the present.
JOSEPH HARPER.
In all those affairs which touch the general interests of society, which work for civic integrity and virtue and for loyalty in citizenship as well as for material progress, Joseph Harper was deeply interested. and though he did not win national renown and was perhaps not widely
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known in the state, he was in his home community a man of prominence whose influence was ever found on the side of progress and improve- ment. A native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, he was born on the 19th of December, 1805, and when about thirty years of age came to Cassopolis, Michigan, the year of his arrival being 1835. Here his remaining days were passed, and on the 28th of August, 1894, when in the eighty-ninth year of his age, he was called to his final rest. By trade he was a carpenter and joiner, and for nearly sixty years was a prominent figure at Cassopolis. He built the first courthouse and was one of the five contractors for the building of the second courthouse. Many evidences of his superior handiwork are seen in substantial structures in the county, for his work was of a most enduring character, and in business circles he sustained an unassailable reputation for relia- bility. The year following his arrival at Cassopolis Mr. Harper was married, in October, 1836, to Miss Caroline Guilford, whose birth occurred in Northampton, Massachusetts, September 4, 1816. They traveled life's journey together for more than fifty-seven years, and Mrs. Harper survived her husband until the 29th of January, 1902. They were the parents of four daughters, all born in Cassopolis. Emily S., born March 31, 1838, was married August 20, 1857, to Jeremiah B. Chapman, and died January 7, 1902. Melissa C., born March 3, 1841, was married March 28, 1860, to Joseph Graham, who was born in Erie county. Pennsylvania, February 5, 1838, and died May 23, 1905. Janette, born October 27, 1843, became the wife of Charles L. Morton, February 1, 1870, and died February 27, 1880. Maryette, born April 12, 1846, was married October 3. 1865. to Lowell H. Glover, the his- torian. All of the deaths in the family occurred in Cassopolis, and the marriages were here celebrated.
Mr. Harper continued his building operations in the county seat and surrounding districts until the early days of the gold excitement in California, when he made his way to the Pacific coast and spent several years working in the mines. He afterward went to Pike's Peak and later to Montana, where he remained for about three years, en- gaged in mining operations. At the time of the Civil war he left home to serve as captain of Company 1, Twelfth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and with his command did valiant service in defense of the Union cause.
Mr. Harper gave his political allegiance to the Whig and then to the Republican party, and was one of the first justices of the peace elected after the admission of the state into the Union. At different times he was called to the office of register of deeds, treasurer and sheriff of the county, and following the election of General Grant to the presidency Mr. Harper was appointed postmaster at Cassopolis, and served for nine years. His official duties were ever discharged with promptness and fidelity. He and his wife were among those who united
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with the Presbyterian church the day following its organization in 1842. He was a man of positive opinions and of incorruptible integrity, and was respected by all with whom he held social or business relations.
LEANDER BRIDGE.
Leander Bridge was for many years an enterprising and prominent farmer of Cass county, where he took up his abode in pioneer days and before the seeds of civilization had scarcely been planted in the western wilderness. He bore his full share in the work of development and progress and gained and retained the honor and respect of his fellow men as the years went by. He was born in Angelica, Allegany county, New York, December 26, 1827, a son of Samuel Bridge. His early boyhood and youth were spent in the Empire state, but when nineteen years of age he came to Cass county, Michigan, with his parents, and spent his remaining days upon what became known as the old Bridge homestead farm, the then site of the village of Marcellus. However, at the time of his arrival here there was no village, and the entire dis- trict was covered with the native growth of timber. At twenty-four years of age Leander Bridge was married. He started in life on his own account with forty acres of land, which he brought under a high state of cultivation, performing the arduous task of developing the fields and making the farm productive. As his financial resources increased" he added to his property from time to time until within the boundaries of his place were comprised one hundred and sixty acres of good land. Throughout his entire life he carried on general agricultural pursuits, and for about six years he was also engaged in the grain business. For several years he devoted his energies to the conduct of a grocery store and for two years was proprietor of a meat market. He was likewise express agent for a time, and in all these varied interests he conducted his business affairs with capability and enterprise, realizing that close application and unfaltering diligence constitute a sure and safe basis upon which to build prosperity.
It was in 1852 that Leander Bridge was united in marriage to Miss Harriet A. Bair, who was born in Newberg, Cass county, Michigan, on the 23d of January, 1835. His death occurred August 1I, 1880, while liis widow, surviving for more than two decades, passed away on the 16th of April, 1902. They were people of the highest respectability, enjoying in highest regard the esteem and friendship of those with whom they came in contact through business or social relations. Mr. Bridge was a stalwart champion of Republican principles, and in his fraternal relations was a Mason. He was also a very active and help- ful member of the United Brethren church and assisted in building the house of worship at Marcellus. These connections indicate much of the character of the man and show forth the motive power that prompted his actions, making him a man whom to know was to respect and honor.
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Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bridge were born two children: William, who was born March 17, 1855, died in infancy, while Mary Alice, born March 20, 1856, is the wife of Collins J. Joiner. Her husband was born in the western reserve of Ohio, on the 23d of January, 1850, and was a son of J. C. and Mary (Stafford) Joiner, in whose family were four daughters and three sons. He came to Michigan with his parents in his boyhood days, and after acquiring a good education engaged in teaching school in early life for a number of terms. He was also for a number of years station agent and telegraph operator on the Michigan Central Railroad. In 1883 he was married to Miss Mary Alice Bridge and removed to Jonesville, where he engaged in merchandising for four years. He afterward went to Quincy, Michigan, where he edited and published the Quincy Herald for five years, later conducting the dry goods store there for some time. On the first of April, 1896, he entered into partnership with F. T. Ward and purchased the Hillsdale Standard of F. W. Rolston, continuing in charge of the paper until the time of his demise, which occurred December 17, 1898. He always published a thoroughly modern and up-to-date paper, devoted to general interests and the dissemination of local news, and he ever stood for public progress and improvement, using his influence as a journalist for the betterment of the communities with which he was connected. . While living in Hillsdale he also conducted a boot and shoe store for a few months prior to his death.
Mrs. Joiner has devoted her life to art for the past fifteen years, having been a student under Professor Knight, of Hillsdale, and Pro- fessor Harding, of Jonesville. She does now superior work in oil and water colors and pastel, and has produced some highly artistic work in landscape and marine views, flowers and portraits. She was also a teacher of music for many years, but now gives her attention to paint- ing and has gained much more than local reputation in her art. Mrs. Joiner is well known in this part of the county both hy reason of per- sonal worth and the fact that she is connected with one of its most hon- ored pioneer families, and she deserves prominent mention in this volume.
ARTHUR E. BAILEY.
Arthur E. Bailey, editor and proprietor of the Marcellus News, was born in Liverpool. Medina county, Ohio, in 1864, his parents being James E. and Hannah Sophia (Kirby) Bailey, both of whom were natives of the Buckeye state. The father was of English lineage, was a wagon maker by trade and died three years after the birth of our sub- ject, passing away in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he was a consistent member. His wife, who was also of English lineage, survived her husband for but a brief period. She was a mem- ber of the Baptist church. In their family were a daughter and a son, the former, Alice, being a resident of Marcellus.
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The son, Arthur E. Bailey, largely acquired his education in the schools of Cassopolis, for his mother removed to the vicinity of that city after her husband's death, and the children were reared by relatives. He mastered the branches taught in the high school of that place, after which he learned the printer's trade in the office of the Vigilant of Cassopolis, under the direction of Messrs. Shepard & Mansfield. He entered the office in the capacity of "devil" and gradually worked his way npward until he had become manager of the paper. He was ap- pointed postmaster at Cassopolis under President Harrison, holding the position for four and a half years as a successor of L. H. Glover. After retiring from that position he purchased the Marcellus News of C. E. Davis and is now its editor and proprietor. The paper was founded in 1877 and at present is a six-column quarto, published weekly. It has a large circulation, has a good advertising patronage, is a non-partisan sheet and is ably edited.
In October, 1892, Mr. Bailey was married to Miss Fanchon Stock- dale, who was born in Jefferson township, Cass county, in February, 1872, and is a daughter of Anthony and Jeanette (Smith) Stockdale. Her father was one of the pioneer settlers of Jefferson township. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey have two children: Agnes, who was born in August, 1893; and Harold, born in July, 1896. The parents are consistent and faithful members of the Baptist church, in the work of which Mr. Bailey takes a very active part and is now serving as one of its officers. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and in politics is a Republican. He has held village offices in Marcellus and is now serving as a trustee. He is the champion of everything pertaining to the welfare and upbuilding of this part of the state, and his efforts in behalf of public improvement in Marcellus have been far-reaching and beneficial.
HENRY H. BOWEN.
Henry H. Bowen, one of the old settlers of the county, who has assisted in clearing and developing four farms, and thus contributing in large measure to the agricultural improvement of this section of the state, is now the owner of one hundred and fifty acres of good and well improved land on section 16, Porter township. He is, moreover, one of the native sons of Michigan, his birth having occurred at Plymouth Corners, near Detroit, in Washington county, on the 20th of March, 1839. He was the fourth member of a family of nine children born of the marriage of Joseph and Sallie Ann ( Austin) Bowen, both of whom were natives of New York. In the year 1840 Joseph Bowen came with his family to Cass county, settling in north Porter township, and throughout his remaining days his attention was devoted to general agricultural pursuits, which indeed he made his life work. He passed away at the advanced age of seventy-nine years, respected and honored by all who knew him, and his wife, who was a most worthy and esti-
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mable lady, also departed this life in Cass county, her remains being interred in Porter township.
H. H. Bowen, of this review, lacked eight days of being a year old when brought by his parents to Cass county, and upon the old home farm in Porter township he was reared. At the usual age lie began his education, the little "temple of learning" being a log building such as was common in the early days. Its furnishings were primitive, con- sisting of rude benches and a table, behind which the teacher sat ruling over the little kingdom. The room was heated with a large fireplace and the school work was ungraded, the pupils studying the branchies that they wished. The larger pupils attended only through the winter months, for their services were needed upon the farms during the spring, summer and fall seasons. Mr. Bowen remained continuously on the old farm until the age of eighteen. He has assisted in clearing four different farms in the county. In his youth he aided in the arduous task of developing new land, turning the first furrows on many an acre. His early boyhood was largely a period of strenuous toil, but he de- veloped thereby the practical knowledge, and gained the experience that enabled him to carefully and successfully carry on farming interests when he started out upon an active business career. He remained at home through his minority and when twenty-four years of age was united in marriage on the 6th of April, 1863, to Miss Diana Charles, a daughter of Rufus K. and Emeline (Joy) Charles, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of New York. Mrs. Bowen, who was the eldest of their three children, was born in Porter township, Cass county, September 13, 1842, her parents having there located at an early day in the pioneer epoch of Michigan's history. The family home was upon the farm and she was trained to the duties of the household, so that she was well qualified to take charge of a home of her own at the time of their marriage. The young couple began their domestic life upon a part of the old Bowen homestead, where they yet reside, and Mr. Bowen devoted his time and energies to the tilling of the soil until the early part of 1865, when, in response to the country's call for further aid in the suppression of the rebellion in the south, he offered his serv- ices and was assigned to duty with Company A, of the Twenty-fourth Michigan Volunteers, serving with that regiment until the close of the war. He is now a member of William J. May Post, No. 64. G. A. R., at Jones, and thus maintains pleasant relations with his old army com- rades. He has filled various offices in the post, including that of com- mander. His political allegiance has always been given to the Repub- lican party, of which he is a stanch advocate, and he has lahored earnestly and effectively for the welfare of the party in this locality. His first presidential ballot was cast for Abraham Lincoln in 1860, and he again voted for the martyred president in 1864. In fact he has assisted in electing every Republican president of the nation. Called to public office, he has served as constable in the township, was also
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