USA > Michigan > Cass County > A twentieth century history of Cass County, Michigan > Part 82
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Charles Elliott Sweet attended school in his native town and in
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1884 entered the law office of Spafford Tryon of Cassopolis, under whose direction he pursued his reading for two years. In the meantime he taught school and followed that profession for sixteen years altogether in Van Buren and Cass counties. On the 4th of October, 1886, at Cassopolis, he was admitted to the bar and in the same year was elected justice of the peace, filling the office until 1889 and practicing his pro- fession in the meantime. In the fall of 1886 he was also elected circuit court commissioner for Cass county and filled the position for two terms. In the fall of 1890 he entered the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and, completing a two years' course in one year, was graduated in 1891. He had been practicing at Dowagiac since his admission to the bar and returned from the university to this city, where he again took up the active duties of the profession. He de- clined a renomination for office of justice, as his practice had increased to generous proportions and left him little leisure time for official serv- ice. He now has a distinctively representative clientage and has been connected with much of the important litigation tried in the courts of this district. Possessing an analytical mind, he is also strong in his reasoning and logical in his deductions and he presents his cause with a clearness and conciseness that never fails to impress his hearers and seldom fails to win the verdict desired. He has been attorney for the receivers of the Citizens National Bank and the First National Bank of Niles, is attorney for Lee Brothers & Company's bank of Dowagiac, is local attorney for the Dowagiac Manufacturing Company and is a member of the Cass County Bar Association. In his library he has about one thousand volumes which is probably the best and largest law library in the county.
In 1887 Mr. Sweet was married to Miss Grace L. Rouse, a daughter of Lyman V. and Mary E. Rouse, the former a physician, who has long been a practitioner of Dowagiac. Mrs. Sweet was born in this city in 1867 and became the mother of three children: Elizabeth Adalyn : Don- ald E., deceased; and Lucian Fred. Mr. Sweet was married to Miss Gertrude M. Toll for his second wife. She is a daughter of David H. and Martha L. Toll, the former a retired miller living in Niles.
Prominent in Masonic circles, Mr. Sweet is a Knight Templar and also a thirty-second degree Mason. He is a past master of Peninsular Lodge. F. & A. M., past high priest of Keystone Chapter, R. A. M., a member of Niles council. R. & S. M., past eminent commander of Niles commandery, K. T., and past second lieutenant commander of Dewitt Clinton Consistory. S. P. R. S., and past illustrious potentate of Saladin Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He likewise belongs to the Grand Lodge in Michigan, in which he is deputy grand master. He is the oldest past commander of the Knights of the Maccabees in Dowagiac and is a past chancellor of the Knights of Pythias. He also belongs to the lodges of the Odd Fellows. Elks. Owls, Royal Arcanum and Foresters and is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star of
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Dowagiac. In his political views Mr. Sweet is a stalwart Republican. He was elected justice of the peace in the spring of 1886 and in the fall of the same year was chosen circuit court commissioner and served for two terms. In 1892 he was elected prosecuting attorney and by re-elec- tion was continued in office for four years, while for five terms he has been city attorney of Dowagiac. His long continuance in one position indicates the confidence reposed in him by his fellow townsmen as well as his personal popularity. In 1904 he was a delegate to the Repub- lican National Convention at Chicago from the fourth congressional dis- trict of Michigan and was made the Michigan member of the com- mittee to notify President Roosevelt of his nomination and went upon that mission to Oyster Bay on the 27th of July, 1904. He has several times been a member of the Republican County Central Committee, has always taken an active part in party politics and is recognized as one of the Republican leaders of this part of the state. He is a speaker of ability and has addressed many audiences about the issues of the cam- paigns. Mr. Sweet is widely recognized as a man of influence and prom- inence not alone by reason of his activity in political circles but also owing to the high position which he has attained as a member of the Cass county bar and likewise by reason of his personal worth.
JAMES ATWOOD.
James Atwood, a retired farmer residing in Dowagiac, is the owner of six hundred acres of rich and productive land and derives therefrom an excellent income, which now enables him to rest from further toil and enjoy the fruits of his former labor. During the greater part of his life he carried on agricultural pursuits but in the days of the early discoveries of gold in California he went to the Pacific coast. He has now passed the seventy-seventh milestone on life's journey, having been born in Cattaraugus county, New York, January 28, 1829. He was the third child in a family of three sons and two daughters born unto Wells H. and Sarah ( Kelley) Atwood. The father was a native of Vermont and in early life removed from New England to New York, where he followed the occupation of farming. In 1836 he came to Michigan, settling in Wayne township, Cass county, where he took up land from the government, securing three tracts of eighty acres each. Here he improved a farm and was closely identified with the early de- velopment and pioneer history of the county. His was the seventh family to locate in Wayne township. For many years he successfully carried on general agricultural pursuits but in his later years removed to Dowagiac, where he died at the age of sixty-four years. He was a pioneer merchant of the city, dealing in dry goods and also conducting a general store. He had a wide and favorable acquaintance throughout the county by reason of his close connection with the development and improvement of this part of the state. His wife, who was commonly
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known as Aunt Sallie, was a native of Massachusetts and died in 1849. One of their sons, Lafayette Atwood, was a resident of Dowagiac, and is now deceased.
James Atwood of this review was only about eight years of age when brought by his parents to Michigan. He was reared upon the old home farm in Wayne township, Cass county, and began his educa- tion in a log cooper shop, where a session of school was held. He like- wise pursued his studies in log school buildings, attending for only a few months during the winter seasons, while throughout the remainder of the year his time and attention was given to the active work of developing and cultivating new land. He remained at home until he was of age, assisting in the active work of the farm. He clerked for a time in Dowagiac and at different times has been identified with agri- cultural and mercantile interests. In 1852 he went to California by way of New Orleans and the Isthmus of Panama, spending two years on the Pacific coast in search of the precious metal. He returned home by way of New York and brought back with him as the result of his mining ventures sufficient money to enable him to purchase a farm. Thus he gained his first real start in life.
Mr. Atwood was married in 1856 to Ann Eliza Allen, a daughter of Gideon Allen. She was born in Yates county, New York, January 31, 1837, and was brought to Cass county by her parents about 1842, the family locating in Wayne township. Her mother bore the maiden name of Sarah Ann Larrowe and in the family there were six children, four daughters and two sons, Mrs. Atwood being the third in order of birth. She has one brother, Henry Allen, who is living in Wayne town- ship, and a sister, Clementine, who is the wife of H. R. Taylor.
At the time of their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Atwood located on a farm in Wayne township, Cass county, where he carried on general ag- ricultural pursuits for ten years, when in 1866 he removed to Dowagiac but still continued to conduct his farms for some time thereafter. He also engaged in the stock business, buying and shipping for about fifteen years, finding this a source of gratifying profit. He was also engaged in the grocery husiness for about a year. He now owns three farms, all in Wayne township, comprising over six hundred acres of land, which he rents and which brings to him a good income. He also loans money and with the exception of the supervision of his farms and his loans he is living retired. enjoying a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves. He has been practical in his methods, thoroughly reliable at all times and his business integrity and enterprise have been the source of his success.
Mr. Atwood has voted for the candidates of both Democratic and Republican parties, casting his ballot for those whom he thinks hest qualified for office. He is one of the pioneers of Cass county, having spent seventy years here. He and his wife have traveled life's journey together for a half century, celebrating their golden wedding on the
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26th of January, 1906, and sharing with each other in the joys and sor- rows, the adversity and prosperity which checker the careers of all. Mr. Atwood has intimate knowledge of the history of this county as it has emerged from pioneer conditions to take on all the evidences of an ad- vanced civilization. He has an intimate knowledge of the history of the county in its various phases, and at all times has stood as an advocate of improvement and upbuilding, giving his co-operation to many progressive public measures.
GENERAL A. M. FISH.
General A. M. Fish, who won the rank of brigadier-general by active field service in the Civil war and who was connected with the military interests of the country continuously from 1854 until 1870, is now living retired in Dowagiac. He made a splendid record while fol- lowing the stars and stripes and he deserves the gratitude which the country feels for the "boys in blue" who stood unfalteringly in defense of the Union during the dark days of civil strife. He is one of Mich- igan's native sons, his birth having occurred in White Pigeon town- ship, St. Joseph county, on the 5th of September, 1835. His father was E. T. Fish, a native of Hartford, Connecticut. Tracing the ancestry of the family back through several generations it will be noted that they have always been distinguished for valor and loyalty and that the fam- ily has been worthily represented in the various wars in which the coun- try has participated. There were several soldiers in the Revolutionary war and also in the war of 1812, while others fought for American in- terests in the Mexican war and fifty members of the family served in the war of the rebellion. The family comes of Prussian ancestry: The pa- ternal grandfather of General Fish was a major with the colonial troops in the war for independence, serving throughout the period of hostili- ties under the immediate command of General Washington, acting for a part of the time as one of Washington's body guards.
E. T. Fish, father of General Fish, was a drum major of the First Connecticut Volunteer Infantry in the war of 1812. He removed to St. Joseph county, Michigan, in 1834, locating on White Pigeon prairie in White Pigeon township, where he lived for about eight years, when in 1842 he came to Cass county, settling in Mason township, where he de- voted his remaining days to general agricultural pursuits, his death occur- ring when he had reached the age of sixty-eight years. His early. po- litical allegiance was given to the Democracy, which he supported until about 1850, when he became a know-nothing. When the Republican party was formed to prevent the further extension of slavery he joined its ranks and remained one of its stalwart advocates until his demise. His wife bore the maiden name of Ruby Leumien and was a native of Bristol, Rhode Island. She was descended from French ancestry, her parents having been born in France. Eight children, four sons and four daughters, were born unto E. T. and Ruby Fish, namely: John L., who
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was a soldier of the Union army in the Civil war; Horace, who also be- came a soldier; George, who died before the war; Laura, who reached her eighty-second year, dying May 7, 1905, was the widow of Collins Fraser; Harriet, deceased; Maria, who died in Kansas in 1905; and Cynthia, the wife of Thomas J. Mealoy, of Vandalia, Cass county, Michigan, who was a soldier.
General A. M. Fish, who was the sixth child and third son in his father's family, was brought to Cass county by his parents when but seven years of age and through the succeeding decade remained upon the home farm assisting in the labors of the fields when not busy with the duties of the schoolroom or the pleasures of the playground. He re- ceived an appointment as a cadet at West Point and was graduated from the Government Military Academy in the class of 1853. He first joined the United States dragoons and was sent to Fort Kearney in Nebraska. Soon afterward he was made brevet second lieutenant and was commis- sioned a full second lieutenant in 1854, thus serving until 1857, when he was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant and in 1859. following the resignation of various southern officers, he was promoted to the rank of captain and placed in command of Company C of the Third United States Dragoons. In 1860 he was still further promoted to the rank of major and at the outbreak of hostilities between the north and the south he was made a colonel of the volunteers, while subsequently he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general and assigned to command of a regiment of infantry, which he commanded at the battle of Shiloh. He afterward was in command of several different regiments, being shifted from one to another and during some of the time he was serving on special detached duty on the staff of different generals. He was for a time on the staff of General Sherman and he formed the acquaintance of many of the distinguished and gallant leaders of the war. At times he commanded infantry troops and again was in charge of cavalry troops. He participated in many of the hotly contested engagements which led to the final victory, including the battles of Shiloh, Iuka, Corinth and Moscow. Tennessee, the siege of Vicksburg and the raid after General Price through Missouri. He was also in the engagement at Nashville, Tennessee, and the sieges of Mobile and Spanish Fort. He was wounded five times, at Corinth, afterward at Texas, New Mexico, Mississippi and later at Spanish Fort. He sustained a light bayonet wound at Nashville and a sword wound at Spanish Fort. This one, however, did not cause him to retire from active duty. He was in the United States service as a soldier continuously from 1854 until 1870, for when the Civil war was ended he was sent with his command to the frontier and aided in keeping peace on the western border.
At length General Fish resigned and returned to Wisconsin, where he remained until 1905. when he came again to Cass county, Michigan. where he has since made his home. He huilt a residence in Dowagiac. which he is now occupying. General Fish was married to Miss Alceba
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Prosser, a daughter of Dr. Abram and Melissa (Chapin) Prosser, who came from Oneida county, New York, to Michigan about 1853. Mrs. Fish died in 1867, about ten years after their marriage. There were four children born of that union, namely : Arthur, now deceased; Cyn- thia, the wife of George Adkinson, of Baraboo, Wisconsin; Howard, who is living on the Florida coast; and William Elmo, who is in the Fourteenth United States Cavalry as first major and is now on the island of Luzon in the Philippines.
General Fish is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and has taken a very active interest in the organization. He is now living retired in a comfortable home in Dowagiac. Sixteen years of his life was devoted to his country and her service and he made a splendid mil- itary record, his course during the Civil war being characterized by un- faltering devotion to the Union cause and the faithful performance of every duty which devolved upon him, his own zeal and courage often inspiring the men who served under him to deeds of valor. When in civil life he has largely spent his time in the middle west and his mem- ory goes back to a pioneer epoch in the history of this county, for he was brought to Cass county by his parents at an early day, when the work of improvement and progress had scarcely begun in this portion of the state.
KENYON BLY.
Kenyon Bly, whose home is on section 14, Marcellus township, has had a successful business career, in which unfaltering enterprise, close application and diligence have been the dominant qualities leading to very desirable success. Having passed the eighty-third milestone on life's journey, he is now living retired upon a farm which is valuable and pro- duetive, and which is the visible evidence of his life of industry. He was born about a mile and a half from Greene, in Chenango county, New York, April 24, 1823. The Blys are of English descent and the family was established in America in early colonial days. Some of the representatives of the family served as soldiers of the Revolutionary war, while others defended American interests in the war of 1812. His parents were Job and Freelove ( Watson) Bly, natives of Rhode Island and Connecticut respectively. Following their marriage, which was celebrated in New England, they removed to New York, spending their remaining days upon a farm in Chenango county. The father died at the age of seventy-eight years, while the mother reached the very advanced age of ninety-seven years. They were both representatives of old New England families and became residents of New York in pioneer times. In their family were nine children, but only Kenyon Bly is now living. His brother, Henry W. Bly, was born in Rhode Island and be- came a resident of Marcellus township in 1852. He first purchased eiglity acres of land and afterward became the owner of three hundred acres, on which he paid fourteen per cent interest. It was all wood-
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land, which he cleared and cultivated, placing many modern improve- ments upon the farm and developing it until it became a splendid prop- erty. Ite resided upon that place up to the time of his death, and his labors found a good reward in the splendid crops which he harvested. He was practical in all that he did. and accomplished whatever he under- took. Moreover he was prominent and influential in public affairs and for twenty-nine consecutive years served as justice of the peace in his township. He was also supervisor of his township and his political al- legiance was given ยป tie | emocracy. He was married twice, but had no children. The other members of the family were: Joseph, who died in New York: Stephen: Gardner: Mis. Electa Gibson; Kenyon, of this review : Mrs. Olive Beardsley; Mrs. Rebecca Page ; and Lewis.
Kenyon Bly, spending the days of his boyhood and youth in the county of his nativity, resided there to the time of his marriage. In early life he worked for ten dollars per month in sawmills, his labor con- tinuing for about eighteen hours out of the twenty-four. He paid for one farm by working by the month and he owned several good farms while still a resident of the east. He has always been a man of great energy and determination, accomplishing whatever he undertakes, and his life record should serve to inspire and encourage others who started out as he did, without capital.
In 1852 Mr. Bly chose a companion and helpmate for life's jour- ney when he was married to Miss Louesa Copeland, who was born in Chenango county, New York. Following their marriage they resided for two years near Lockport, New York, after which they returned to Che- nango county and purchased a farm, lying partly in that and partly across the border in Broome county. the residence, however, stand- ing in Chenango county. Upon that farm Mr. Bly remained for twenty years. The place comprised one hundred acres, for which he paid the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars per acre. This farm is still in his possession. In December, 1876, however, Mr. Bly removed from New York to Cass county, Michigan, in order to take care of a brother. This brother died in January, 1877, and the valuable farm of four hun- dred and ten acres which he owned was inherited by Kenyon Bly of this review, who removed to the farm in March, 1877. The land lies at. what is known as Bly's Corners, which settlement is older than the vil- lage of Marcellus. In addition to this property Mr. Bly also owns the Centennial block in Marcellus. At one time his estate was valued at forty thousand dollars. He has since disposed of a large part of his property to others. but retained the deeds to the same. The property upon which he resides is operated as a grain and stock farm and as high as twenty-six hundred bushels of wheat have been raised thereon in a single season. Fine stock is also raised and the place is noted for the excellence of its products and for the high grade of stock which is here produced. Mr. Bly was a very busy man until about eight years
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ago. when he suffered from paralysis, and since that time has not been active in business. He has valuable property interests, however, which supply him with the comforts and luxuries of life.
Mr. and Mrs. Bly lived to celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniver- sary, and two more years of married life were vouchsafed to them ere they were separated by the death of Mrs. Bly, on the 30th of June, 1904. when she was seventy-three years of age. They had traveled life's jour- ney happily together, sharing with each other its joys and sorrows, its ad- versity and prosperity. They never had any children and this fact perhaps drew them more closely together.
Mr. Bly cast his first presidential ballot for Henry Clay, and has been a stalwart Democrat since 1861. He and his wife were members of the Episcopal church at Greene, New York, for many years, and after removing to the west Mrs. Bly united with the Methodist Episcopal church at Marcellus. Mr. Bly assisted in building the church in New York and has always been the champion of those interests and move- ments which tend to benefit the material, intellectual, social and moral welfare of a community. His life has been active and honorable and the traits of sterling manhood which he has ever manifested have gained for him a prominent position in public regard, while those with whom he has been held intimately entertain for him warm friendship. He is now one of the venerable citizens of Marcellus township, having passed the eighty-third milestone on life's journey, and his record may well serve as a source of encouragement to the young and an inspiration to the aged.
ROLAND LEWIS.
Roland Lewis, who is engaged in the drug business in Dowagiac. where he has been a representative of mercantile interests since 1800, was born in Marion county, Ohio, July 6, 1856. His father was Eben Lewis, a native of Albany. New York. He dates his ancestry back to Francis Lewis, who was born in Wales and came to America in colonial days. He was prominent in public life. being closely connected with many events shaping the history of the nation, and was one of the sign- ers of the Declaration of Independence. There were five brothers who came to America, settling in different states. One was a resident of Connecticut, another of Virginia, one of South Carolina, a fourth of New York and a fifth of Pennsylvania. Francis Lewis was the father of Ebenezer Lewis, the great-grandfather of our subject. The grand- father. Ebenezer Lewis, was a pioneer farmer of Marion county. Ohio, to which place he removed when his son, Eben Lewis, was but three vears of age. There the last named was reared to manhood amid pioneer conditions and surroundings. He married Miss Hattie McWilliams, and throughout his entire life he followed the occupation of milling. making that pursuit the one which provided his family with a comfort- able living. He died when abont sixty-three years of age, and his wife
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is now living at the age of eighty-three years, making her home in Marion county, Ohio. In their family were five sons and two daugh- ters, all of whom reached adult age, while three sons and one daughter are living at this writing.
Roland Lewis is the fifth child and fourth son in his father's fam- ily. He was reared in the county of his nativity and pursued his educa- tion in the country schools and also in a high school at Columbus Grove, Ohio. He afterward spent two years as a student in the Northern Indiana Normal College at Valparaiso, Indiana. This was in 1879 and 1880. and in 18SI he removed to Freeport, Illinois, where he was en- gaged in the drug business, making his home at that place until 1885. He then removed to Nevada, lowa, where he established a drug store on his own account. continuing at that point for four years, when he sold out and removed to Michigan, arriving in Dowagiac in 1890. He then purchased an interest in the store which he has since conducted. The firm of Lewis & Simmers was established, but in the following September Mr. Lewis purchased his partner's interest and continued alone in business under his own name until 1898, when the firm of R. Lewis & Company was formed. a partner being admitted. This is a well equipped establishment, and its neat and tasteful arrangement, mod- erate prices and the efforts of the proprietor to please his patrons have secured a large and growing business.
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