USA > Michigan > Cass County > A twentieth century history of Cass County, Michigan > Part 69
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In 1877 Mr. Kingsbury was united in marriage to Miss May L. Haynes, who was born and reared in Jackson county, Michigan. and by this marriage five children have been born: Floy, who is now the wife of Fred B. Lamb, a resident of Perth Amboy, New Jersey : Jessie who is engaged in teaching in Lewistown, Montana: Alberta, who is a teacher in New Jersey: Allen W., who is assisting his father in the work of the home farm: and Catharine, who is attending school in Cassopolis. All are natives of Cass county and were reared upon the old family homestead.
Mr. Kingsbury has likewise spent his entire life in Cass county and is a worthy representative of one of its most honored and promi- nent pioneer families, and his lines of life have been cast in harmony therewith. He has always stood for good citizenship and for all that is straightforward in man's relations with his fellow men, and he re- eeives and merits the confidence and good will of those with whom he has been associated. Since age conferred upon him the right of fran- chise he has voted for the men who are pledged to support the princi- ples of Demoeraey. He served as township treasurer of LaGrange township and has also been justice of the peace. rendering decisions in that office that were strictly fair and impartial. In the Masonic fra-
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ternity he has attained the Knight Templar degree and he is ever true to the teachings of the craft whose principles make for good citizenship and for honorable manhood.
REV. O. P. MILLER.
Rev. O. P. Miller is active in both church and temperance work and his influence has ever been for the uplifting and benefit of his fel- lowmen. There is in him an abiding sympathy and charity which have won for him the deserved confidence and good will of his fellow towns- men and his efforts have been a moving force in the moral development of the community in which he has long made his home. He was born in Jefferson township, Cass county, Michigan, on the 20th of Febru- ary, 1847, his parents being the Rev. John P. and Mary (Shrum) Mil- ler, prominent and honored residents of this part of the state. In their family were the following named : Mrs. Sarah Garvy; Adam, de- ceased; Martha. the widow of Jeremiah Keneston and a resident of Jef- ferson township, Cass county: Mrs. Lydia Weaver, who died in 1898; Rev. B. R. Miller, who is living in Goshen, Indiana; Susan, who died at the age of thirteen years: O. P., of this review: and Leander, de- ceased.
As the above record indicates, Rev. O. P. Miller is next to the youngest of the family. His boyhood days were quietly passed in the usual manner of farm lands. He was reared in Jefferson township and his education was acquired in the common schools. When not busy with his text-books he often aided in the work of the fields, and he re- mained with his father up to the time of his marriage, which event was celebrated on the 20th of November. 1864. Miss Jane Wade becoming his wife. She was born in Canada but was reared in Illinois and Mich- igan, her parents being William B. and Anna (Gilmore) Wade, who removed from Canada to Illinois and afterward came to this state. Mr. and Mrs. Miller began their domestic life upon a farm in Jefferson township, where they resided until 1881, in which year they took up their abode in LaGrange township, two miles west of Cassopolis. There Mr. Miller carried on farming until 1891. in which year he was ordained to the ministry of the Christian church and he has since devoted his life to preaching the gospel. He is now located in Cassopolis. He comes of a family of ministers, there having been many clergymen among the Miller family. In the father's family there were four broth- ers who became preachers of the word, most of them being connected with the Church of the Disciples or Christian church.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Miller have been horn three children : Edwin, who is living in Cassopolis: Anna O., now the wife of Lewis Cays. of the same city: and Alva, who is at home. They also reared two adopted children, Charles Wade and Addie Miller, both of whom be- came members of the household in infancy.
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At one time Mr. Miller was a stanch advocate of Democratic prin- ciples but in later years has been associated with the Prohibition party, which embodies his views on the temperance question. He has done all in his power to promulgate temperance principles and has been very active in the work of the church. Ile is an earnest and conscientious minister of the gospel. laboring untiringly for the adoption of the relig- ious principles in which he believes and his efforts have carried consid- erable weight and influence in the community. All who know him re- spect him for his fidelity and for his courageous expression of the views which he entertains and he has won the love and confidence of many by his sympathy and his earnest work in behalf of those who have needed not only spiritual but material aid as well.
NELSON J. CROSBY.
Nelson J. Crosby, one of the widely known citizens of Cass county, who has figured quite prominently in political affairs and is now engaged in dealing in horses in Cassopolis and is also a well known real estate agent, was born in Lenawee county, Michigan, on the 3rd of February, 1847, and is descended from Irish ancestry. The family, however, was founded in America at an early day, the grandfather, William Crosby, having been a native of New York. The father, Asaph Crosby, was also born in that state and settled in Lenawee county in 1835, becoming one of its pioneer residents. He was a farmer by occupation, devoting his entire life to that pursuit, and on his removal to Cass county in 1856 he located upon a farm in Penn township, which he greatly im- proved, bringing it under a high state of cultivation and transforming it into a valuable tract. He lived a life of well-directed energy and unfaltering enterprise. In early manhood he wedded Julia Holmes, who was a native of New York and was also of Irish descent. She died in 1852 in Lenawee county and Mr. Crosby survived for twenty years. passing away in Cass county in 1872 when more than sixty-six years of age.
Nelson J. Crosby was the sixth in order of birth in a family of eight children, five sons and three daughters, all of whom reached man- hood or womanhood. He was about nine years of age at the time of the removal of his father to Cass county, and upon the old family home- stead in Penn township he spent the days of his boyhood and youth, acquiring his education in the schools of Vandalia. He has largely been dependent upon his own resources from the age of seven years. He was only five years old at the time of his mother's death, and about two years later he began working, since which time he has provided largely for his own support, doing any labor for which his age and strength permitted him upon the farms of the neighborhood. Thinking that he would find other occupation more congenial, when eighteen years of age he began learning the cooper's trade, serving an apprenticeship of
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one year, during which time he received only his board in compensa- tion for his services. He afterward worked for a year as a journey- man and then purchased the shop in which he had learned the trade, thus becoming a factor in the business life of Vandalia. He carried on the business there for about twelve years, meeting with good success. after which he disposed of his shop and resumed farming operations, becoming an agriculturist of Penn township, where he engaged in till- ing the soil for seven years. On the expiration of that period he re- moved to Cassopolis and was appointed undersheriff under Sheriff Mac- Intosh, occupying that position for four years, at the end of which time he was elected village marshal and served for two years. He then again became undersheriff under Sheriff W. H. Coulter and after two years was elected sheriff in 1896, filling the office for one term. His previous experience as undersheriff had well qualified him for the posi- tion, the duties of which he discharged with promptness and fidelity. Since his retirement from office he has been engaged in dealing in horses and has also engaged in real estate operations, handling consid- erable valuable property.
In June, 1872, Mr. Crosby was united in marriage to Miss Mary Snyder, a daughter of Peter Snyder. He has been a stanch Republican and served as constable in Penn township for a number of years in addition to the offices previously mentioned. His fraternal relations are with the Odd Fellows and the Masons. He has taken the degrees of the lodge, chapter and commandery, in which he has filled some of the offices, and he is also a member of the Mystic Shrine, having crossed the sands of the desert with the nobles of that ancient Arabic order. Through much 'of his life he has resided in Cass county. being identi- fied with its interests and giving helpful co-operation to many move- ments that have been of direct and permanent good to the community.
WILLIAM C. MCCUTCHEON, M. D.
By the consensus of public opinion Dr. William €. Mccutcheon is accorded a creditable position as a representative of the medical fra- ternity of Cass county. He is practicing successfully in Cassopolis, where he is accorded a liberal patronage, and in the conscientious per- formance of his duties he is rendering valuable aid to his fellowmen, while his fellow members of the medical fraternity recognize his de- votion to a high standard of professional ethics.
Dr. Mccutcheon was horn on Seeley's Bay in the province of Onta- rio, Canada, December 29, 1870, and is the eldest in a family of three children, whose parents were James and Sarah (Collinson) MeCutch- con, the former a native of Scotland and the latter of America. Dr. Mccutcheon was reared in the place of his nativity and continued his education in the Sydenham High School and at the Gananoque Collegi- ate Institute. from which he was graduated in the class of 1888. The
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following year he matriculated in Queens University for the prepara- tion for the medical fraternity and after completing the prescribed course in medicine and surgery he was graduated with the class of 1894. He then came to Cassopolis, opening an office here on the 18th of June of the same year, and lias continuously practiced. He is also a licensed physician of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Kingston and he belongs to the Cass County Medical Association, the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Asso- ciation, thus keeping in touch with the onward march of the profession. In 1897 Dr. McCutcheon was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Kingsbury, a representative of a prominent family of Cassopolis, her father being the late C. H. Kingsbury, who was one of the pioneer settlers of this county and a son of Asa Kingsbury. Mrs. Mccutcheon was born in this county and has many warm friends among those who have known her from her girlhood days as well as among the acquaint- ances of her later years. Dr. Mccutcheon is a valued representative of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the Knight Tem- plar degrec. In politics he is a Republican, but is without aspiration for office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his professional duties. He is now local surgeon for the Grand Trunk Railroad, and lie is recognized as a leading member of his profession in Cassopolis, which is indicative of the large measure of confidence reposed in him by his fellow townsmen. There is perhaps no profession which calls for greater care, precision and accuracy than does the practice of med- icine, where the issues of life and death are in the hands of the physi- cian. He must make no mistake in his administration of remedial agencies and his efforts must be founded upon broad and comprehensive knowledge of the scientific principles which underlie his work. Dr. Mccutcheon, with a keen sense of conscientious obligation, follows his chosen calling, rendering valued service to his fellow men and finding in his chosen work the deserved financial reward of his labor.
HUGH P. GARRETT.
The people of the younger generation cannot realize the conditions which were met and the work which has been done by the early settlers of the county. The traveler of today noting the enterprising towns and villages and improved farms, the substantial homes and other evidences of prosperity and culture, cannot realize that scarcely more than a half century has passed since the greater part of Cass county was an unde- veloped wilderness. It requires stout hearts and willing hands to sub- dne the wilderness and plant the seeds of civilization in a wild district, and early settlers certainly deserve the praise and gratitude of those who follow later and enjoy the benefits of their labors. Mr. Garrett is numbered among the early and honored residents of Cass county, and at his pleasant home on section 31, LaGrange township, is enjoying
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the fruits of his former toil. His mind forms a connecting link be- tween the primitive past and the progressive present. He was born in Montgomery county, Ohio. his natal place being in Miami township and the date of his birth October 26, 1830. His father, John Garrett, was born near Belfast, Ireland, and when twenty years of age crossed the Atlantic to America, thinking that he might enjoy better business opportunities and privileges in the new world than could be secured on the green Isle of Erin. He landed at Philadelphia and made the jour- ney on foot across the Alleghany mountains to Cincinnati, Ohio, whence he afterward went to Montgomery county, that state. He had no money and he worked at anything that he could get to do that would yield him an honest living. He was thus employed up to the time of his marriage to Miss Rosa Petticrew, a native of Montgomery county, Ohio. He then turned his attention to farming, and in partnership with an uncle established what was a large distillery for those days in Montgomery county. They conducted quite an extensive business not only in the manufacture of whiskey, but also engaged largely in the raising of cattle and hogs, which they fed upon the refuse of the dis- tillery. They shipped their stock by canal to Cincinnati and for a num- ber of years conducted a prosperous business. At length, however, Mr. Garrett disposed of his interests in Ohio and came to Michigan, arriving in Cass county on the 2nd of April, 1848. He afterward re- moved to VanBuren county, this state, where he remained until called to his final home in the sixty-third year of his age. His widow contin- ued to reside upon the old homestead farm there until her death, which occurred in 1878, when she was in her seventy-third year. This worthy couple were the parents of ten children, three sons and seven daughters, all of whom reached adult age before there was a death in the family. Five of the number, three sons and two daughters, are yet living at this writing, in 1906.
Hugh P. Garrett, the eldest. spent the first seventeen years of his life in his native state and during that period worked with his father and attended the common schools. He then accompanied his parents to Michigan, locating in LaGrange township, Cass county, and when about twenty years of age he started out upon an independent business career, since which time he has relied entirely upon his own efforts for a living. He was first employed as a farm hand by the month and he also spent two years in a commission warehouse at Lockington, Shelby county, Ohio. Following that interval he returned to Cass county and here he sought a companion and helpmate for life's journey, being mar- ried on the 15th of November, 1854, to Miss Elizabeth White. Losing his first wife, he was married October 22, 1857, to Miss Julia A. Dunn, and unto them were born two sons: John S., who is now a resident farmer of Hamilton township, VanBuren countv. Michigan ; and David E., who makes his home in Fillmore county, Nebraska. The wife and mother died October 9, 1874, and on the Ioth of April, 1876, Mr. Gar-
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rett was again married, Miss Phoebe Crawford becoming his wife. She died leaving three children: Charles W., who was born in 1877 and is living in Howard township; Ralph F., who also resides in How- ud township; and Rosa .A., who was born May 14. 1885. and died August 21, 1903. Mr. Garrett's second wife had a son and daughter by a former marriage: William H. Garrett, who is living in Nebraska ; and Emma J., now the wife of James McCarty, of Owosso, Michigan. His third wife had one daugther by a former marriage, Mrs. Viola F. Jones, the wife of Warner D. Jones, of Cassopolis.
At the time of his first marriage Mr. Garrett rented land in Wayne township, whereon he resided for a year. He afterward lived at vari- ous places and he found his second wife in Franklin county, Indiana, where he resided until 1865. In that year he returned to Michigan and bought the farm where he now resides. In 1880 he sold this property and removed to Fillmore county, Nebraska, settling on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres. In the fall of 1883 he sold this farm and returned to Cass county, where he purchased the old homestead upon which he now resides. He rents his land at the present time, but gives his personal supervision to the property, having one hundred and five acres which constitutes a valuable farm that returns him a good income. He has been a Republican since the organization of the party "under the oaks" in Jackson, Michigan, in 1854. Previous to that time he had voted with the Whig party and he cast his first presi- dential ballot for General Winfield Scott. He voted twice for Lincoln and twice for Grant, also for Mckinley, and in fact has supported cach presidential nominee of the Republican party. He has kept well informed on questions and issues of the day and has never faltered in his allegiance to the principles which he espouses, but he has never sought or desired political preferment for himself. He was reared in the faith of the Presbyterian church. His life has been straightfor- ward, characterized by honesty in all his business dealings, and he is well known in Cass county for his genuine personal worth.
E. J. RUSSEY.
On the roster of county officials in Cass county appears the name of E. J. Russey, who is serving as sheriff and who makes his home in Cassopolis. His birth occurred in Howard township on the 13th of Oc- tober. 1866. His father. William Russey, was a native of Winchester, Tennessee, born in 1811. His paternal grandfather. William Russey, was of French lineage and the name was originally DeRussey. About 1821 the grandfather removed with his family to Muncie, Indiana, where William Russey, then a youth of ten years, was reared and educated. He continued a resident of that state until about 1856, when he came to Cass county, settling at Vandalia. Here he was engaged in the hotel business for a time, but later removed to Howard township, locating
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on a farm, where he resided until 1877, when he removed to Newberg township. There he carried on general agricultural pursuits, and his death occurred there on the 18th of March, 1892. He was a Republican in politics and was justice of the peace. His interest in community af- fairs was deep and sincere and arose from an earnest desire for public progress and improvement. He was one of the active workers of the Republican party and never missed an election. His fraternal relations were with the Masons, and his life exemplified the beneficent spirit of the craft in its teachings concerning mutual helpfulness and brotherly kindness. He lived to be eighty years of age and since his death his memory has been enshrined in the hearts of many who knew and re- spected him. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Brakeman, and she was a native of St. Clair county, Michigan, horn March 25, 1830, and in 1836 she came to Cass county with her mother. Her father, Captain Lewis G. Brakeman, was drowned in Lake St. Clair while commanding a vessel. The mother, Mrs. Candace Brakeman, afterward removed to Cass county, settling in Newberg township, where Mrs. Russey was reared, the family being among the early pioneer residents of that locality. Mrs. Russey has watched almost the entire growth and development of this part of the state, watching its transition from a wilderness to its present state of cultivation and improvement. She is now seventy-five years of age and she makes her home with her son, E. J. Russey. She was married in this county and became the mother of five sons, two of whom are now deceased. The three yet living are: William B., a resident of Owosso, Michigan; Wiley, who is a twin brother of William and follows farming in Newberg township, Cass county ; and E. J. of this review.
The last named was reared on the old homestead farm in Newberg township and acquired a common-school education. He worked at farm labor during the period of his youth and remained a resident of his native township until 1900, when he came to Cassopolis to accept the position of undersheriff, which he filled for four years. In 1904 he was elected sheriff by the Republican party of Cass county, which position he is now filling. He was married in December, 1891, to Miss Carrie Harwood, a daughter of William and Clarissa ( Easton) Harwood, who was born in Newberg township and there was reared, her parents being pioneer settlers of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Russey have four children : Lena, born June 3, 1894; Mabel, May 10, 1897; Mark Han- na, August 9, 1899 : and Hazel, January 3, 1902.
Mr. Russey is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees. He has been a lifelong resident of Cass county, being connected with agri- cultural pursuits until called to public office, wherein he has discharged his duties with promptness and fidelity. Realizing fully the responsi- bility that devolves upon him, he has displayed neither fear nor favor in the exercise of his duties, and his course has made him a menace to
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all representatives of the criminal class, while those who hold them- selves amenable to law regard him as a stalwart defender of life, liberty and justice.
ISAAC S. POUND.
Isaac S. Pound is one of the leading old settlers of Cass county and a veteran of the Civil war. Coming to southern Michigan at an early day he has assisted in making the county what it is, the labors of the carly settlers winning for it a place among the leading counties of this great commonwealth. His mind bears the impress of the early historic annals of southern Michigan and he can relate many interesting inci- dents of the early days when the land was largely unimproved and the work of development had heen seareely begun. He was born in Ontario county, New York, September 22, 1837, and is of English lineage. His paternal great-grandparents came from England, settling in New Jer- sey. The great-grandfather. Thomas Pound, served as a soldier of the Revolutionary war, becoming aide-de-camp on the staff of General Washington and acting for a part of the time as staff quartermaster. Ile had three sons, Thomas, Isaac and John. The second was the grand- father of our subject and he, too, manifested his loyalty to his coun- try by serving in the war of 1812 as a private. The family record is notable because of the industry, integrity and high principles of its representatives. There has never been a drunkard, a pauper nor a erim- inal among the Pounds and such a record is one of which any man might well be proud.
Thomas Pound, father of our subject, was a native of Orange county. New York, in which locality he was reared and educated. He was married in that county to Miss Sallie Smith, also a native of that county and a daughter of Isaae Smith, who likewise served as a pri- vate in the war of 1812. He was supposed to have been of Irish lineage. Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Pound removed to Chemung county, New York, and afterward became residents of Ontario county, that state, where they resided until 1844. Hoping to enjoy bet- ter opportunities in the west they then started for Michigan and, as this was before the era of railroad transportation. they traveled by wagon, making their way direct to Newberg township. Cass county, where Mr. Pound had secured one hundred and sixty acres of land. The traet was entirely wild and uncultivated, not an improvement having been made on the place. He first built a log house about sixteen by twenty-four feet and then began to clear the land, performing the arduous task of cutting away the timber, taking out the stumps and preparing the fields for the plow. In due course of time, however, his land was placed under cultivation and brought forth rich harvests. He was a hard working man, energetic and enterprising, and was regarded as one of the lead- ing and representative early citizens of his community. His political allegiance was given to the Whig party until the organization of the
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