USA > Michigan > Biographical history of northern Michigan containing biographies of prominent citizens > Part 67
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On October 12, 1855, Mr. Hudson went to Ganges, Allegan county, this state, and there engaged in teaching school, and there also, on March 25, 1857, he married one of
his pupils. In the spring of 1859 he pur- chased forty acres of timber land, on which he made a small clearing, built a house and set out an orchard. On July 21, 1862, when the dark cloud of rebellion hovered over the land, he enlisted in Company L, Fourth Michigan Cavalry, and went to the front in the defense of his country's flag. He was made second duty sergeant and his regiment was assigned to the Army of the Cumber- land, serving under Gens. Thomas, Logan and Sherman. This regiment did much arduous service and among its many accom- plishments was the capture of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Southern Confed- eracy, in May, 1865. Mr. Hudson received an honorable discharge from the service on the IIth day of July, 1865, and returned to his Michigan home at once. He at once en- tered upon his farming duties which he fol- lowed until 1872, in which year he was elected clerk of Allegan county. So effi- ciently did he discharge the duties of that position that he was chosen as his own suc- cessor, thus serving in that position for four years. In 1876 he was admitted to the bar of Allegan county and two years later was again honored by election as prosecuting at- torney. In 1883 Mr. Hudson removed to Mancelona and the following year was elected prosecuting attorney of Antrim county, serving one term, since which time he has continued in the active practice of his profession. He has five times been chosen president of the village of Mancelona, retir- ing from his last term on March 16, 1905. Possessing the qualifications of the able law- yer, Mr. Hudson has attained marked pre- cedence in his chosen profession and has a high standing at the bar of his county. He has been concerned in much important liti-
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gation and is known to be thoroughly in- thought and action in every department of formed in the science of jurisprudence, an life. able attorney and a safe and conservative counsel, while his personal integrity and honesty of purpose have begotten an esteem and confidence of no mean order.
In politics Mr. Hudson was formerly a Republican, having voted for Fremont in 1856, Lincoln in 186c and 1864 and for Grant in 1868, but since that time he has aligned himself with the Democratic party and has taken an active part in the cam- paigns. He has been honored by his party with several nominations for public office, having been at different times a candidate for congress in the ninth and eleventh districts, and in 1904 was a candidate for lieutenant- governor of the state. In 1872 Mr. Hudson joined the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and in that order has been honored with high office, having been chosen repre- sentative to the grand lodge for ten years, while in October, 1904, he was elected a representative to the sovereign grand lodge. In 1892 he also became a member of the Free and Accepted Masons. As an orator Mr. Hudson is well known and is in con- stant demand all over the state to make ad- dresses on matters pertaining to these fra- ternities. He has delivered twenty-three Memorial Day addresses, in as many differ- ent places, his own military experience en- abling him to get into peculiarly close touch with the purpose and sentiment of that day. Mr. Hudson takes a deep interest in educa- tional matters and for fifteen years he was chairman of the school board at Mancelona. He is an omnivorous reader, taking three or four daily newspapers and about twenty weeklies besides many magazines, and keeps in close touch with the trend of modern
On the 25th day of March, 1857, Mr. Hudson married Miss Sarah Ann Billings, of Ganges (above referred to as having been one of his pupils at that place), and to them have been born three children, namely : Suell P., born February II, 1858, has been in the Allegan postoffice for thirty years, and is now deputy postmaster; Hattie M., who married J. S. Wilson in October, 1878, and Anna G., who is unmarried, still remains under the parental roof and is the life of the household. Generous to a fault and so- cial to a high degree, Mr. Hudson wins friends easily, and he has the happy faculty of drawing them closer to him as the years pass by. His integrity stands as an un- questioned fact in his career and his example is well worthy of emulation.
CHARLES VANBUREN.
The history of Kalkaska county is not a very old one. It is the record of the steady growth of a community planted in the wilderness within the last half century and has reached its magnitude of today without other aids than those of industry. The people who redeemed its wilderness fastnesses were strong-armed, hardy sons of the soil who hesitated at no difficulty and for whom hardships had little to appall. The early pioneers, having blazed the path of civilization to this part of the state, finished their labors and passed from the scene, leav- ing the country to the possession of their de- scendants and to others who came at a later period and builded on the foundation
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which they laid so broad and deep. Among the latter class is the prominent farmer and enterprising citizen by whose name this ar- ticle is introduced. While his arrival was not as early as some, yet he came in the formative period and has done much to de- velop the wonderful resources of a county that now occupies a proud position among the progressive and enlightened sections of Michigan.
Charles Van Buren was born in Otsego, Otsego county, New York, on the 3d of January, 1840, and is the son of Martin and Catherine (Pickens) VanBuren, both also natives of the Empire state. They were the parents of eleven children, eight sons and three daughters, of which family the subject was the fifth child in order of birth. Both parents died when about the age of eighty years, the father's death occurring in Os- wego county, New York, and the mother's in Allegany county, that state. When Charles VanBuren was a small boy the family re- moved to Oswego, New York, where he was reared to manhood on his father's farm and where he secured a good education in the common schools. In August, 1862, when the fires of rebellion were burning fiercely in the South and the nation's integrity was jeopardized, Mr. VanBuren offered his services and enlisted in Company K, One Hundred and Tenth Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, with which command he served about one year, when he was dis- charged because of physical disability. His regiment was under the command of General Banks and participated in the battle at Port Hudson and in the Red River campaign, be- sides many other minor engagements and other arduous duties. Returning home, Mr. VanBuren engaged in farming and so con-
tinued until the spring of 1882, when he came to Michigan and settled on the farm which he now owns, and which is located in section 13, Clearwater township, Kalkaska county. His first purchase was forty acres of timber land, to which he added later eighty acres, but subsequently disposed of the latter tract, after partially clearing it. The present farmstead has been cleared by the subject and he now has thirty acres in active cultivation, raising all the crops com- mon to this lattitude, and he also gives some special attention to fruit culture, having about five acres planted to apple and plum trees, which have proved a source of con- siderable profit to the owner. Mr. Van- Buren has erected tasty and substantial buildings on the place and all departments of the enterprise receive his careful and thoughtful attention.
On June 12, 1861, at Oswego, New York, Mr. VanBuren was married to Miss Mary E. Scriber, who was born in Os- wego county, New York, May 22, 1845, and is a daughter of Stephen and Olive (Palmer) Scriber, both natives of New York state. The father died in Onondago county, New York, at the age of seventy-six years, and the mother's death occurred in Traverse City, Michigan, when sixty-two years old. Of their family of six children, Mrs. Van- Buren was the second born. She was reared in Oswego county, New York, and there received her education. Mr. and Mrs. Van- Buren are the parents of six children, namely : Alice A. is the wife of Charles Manley ; Charles E .; Eva M. is the wife of Jacob Buckle; Walter F .; Lulu B. is the wife of Edd D. Rugg; Grant G. Mr. Van- Buren has taken an active part in the public affairs of his township and has served four
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years as justice of the peace, two years as highway commissioner, and also as a mem- ber of the board of review and in several of the school offices. Fraternally, he is a mem- ber of Colonel Baker Post, No. 84, Grand Army of the Republic, while religiously, he and his wife are active members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Van- Buren is a progressive farmer and for years he has been a close and careful student of agricultural science, being familiar with the nature of soils and their adaptability to the various crops, besides knowing by practical experience how to obtain the most satis- factory results from the labor and time ex- pended. He is well known in this section and has so ordered his life as to gain the respect and confidence of all with whom he has been brought in contact.
HENRY E. D. MATHEWS.
Among the distinctively representative farmers of Clearwater township, Kalkaska county, Michigan, is the subject of this re- view, who is the owner of a fine landed es- tate and is carrying on the various depart- ments of his enterprise with that discretion and energy which are sure to find their natural sequel in definite success. Mr. Mathews is a native of the state of New York, where he was born on the 25th of September, 1860. His parents were Mitchell and Sophia ( Bennaway) Mathews, both na- tives of the dominion of Canada. They were the parents of ten children, the sub- ject of this sketch being the ninth in the order of birth. When the subject was about nine years old his parents removed to Kal-
kaska county, Michigan, and settled in sec- tion 2, Clearwater township, where they fol- lowed the pursuit of farming and where they resided until their deaths, at the re- spective ages of seventy-eight and sixty- nine years. The subject was educated in the common schools and upon attaining man- hood's years took up farming for his life work, a line of employment from which he has never departed. He has been a resident of this township since 1869 and has been a witness of all the wonderful changes which have taken place here, the country at the present day bearing but little resemblance to the condition of things at the date before mentioned. Mr. Mathews owns one hun- dred acres of good arable land, about sixty of which are in cultivation and returning to the owner rich returns for the labor he be- stows upon it. The place is in keeping with the progressive ideas of the present day and in all things Mr. Mathews shows a careful consideration for utility and economy. He has been very successful in his farming op- erations and is ranked among the leading agriculturists of his township.
On December 24, 1885, in Clearwater township, Mr. Mathews wedded Miss Hat- tie Vincent, who was born in Bay county, Michigan, February 26, 1870, and is the daughter of Alexander and Harriet Vin- cent, she having been the youngest in a fam- ily of nine children. Mr. and Mrs. Mathews have one child, Earl. Mr. Mathews has borne his full share in the development of his township and to him as much as to any man is due the prosperity which it now en- joys. Personally he is an excellent neigh- bor, a steadfast friend, an enterprising citi- zen and a liberal supporter of all legitimate movements for the good of the community.
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CHRISTOPHER RUTTAN.
The gentleman whose career is briefly outlined in the following paragraphs is one of the leading farmers of Clearwater town- ship, Kalkaska county, Michigan, and a rep- resentative of the sterling class of citizens whose intelligence, energy and well-directed effort have contributed so much to the ma- terial prosperity and moral growth of the county. He was born in Canada on the 17th of January, 1867, and is the son of Jo- seph and Elizabeth (Walker) Ruttan, the fa- ther a native of Canada and the mother of Ireland, the latter's death occurring in San- ilac county, Michigan. The father came to Kalkaska county in April, 1885, and settled in Clearwater township, where he has since made his home. Six children were born to that union, the subject of this sketch being the third born. The latter was but an infant when his parents removed to Sanilac county, Michigan, and he remained there until he was fifteen years old, in the meantime re- ceiving the advantage of attendance at the common schools. In 1885 he came to Kal- kaska county and has been a resident of Clearwater township since that time. He has always followed agricultural pursuits and is now the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres, of which about eighty acres are in cultivation. Mr. Rut- tan has been a close reader and thinker and gives careful and thoughtful attention to ag- riculture, as he does to every enterprise to which he has ever applied himself, the re- sult being satisfactory return for his labor. His farm buildings are all good, and his work is reduced to a minimum through the agency of improved machinery and modern methods of agriculture. His farming oper-
ations are diversified in their character, proper attention being given to the particu- lar crops for which certain soils and other conditions are adapted.
In Clearwater township, this county, on September 21, 1892, Mr. Ruttan was united in marriage to Miss Minnie J. Dundas, the daughter of Seth and Jane Dundas, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume. Mrs. Ruttan was born in this township on June II, 1874. To this union have been born the following children : Elizabeth Jane, Edith B., Ward W., Jessie M., George C. and Emerson J. In the true sense of the term Mr. Ruttan is a typical western man and a splendid example of the sturdy class which he so well represents. He stands for progress and modern ideas, keeps in close touch with the times, and his hospitality is as proverbial as his good nature, all who come within the range of his influence bearing willing testimony to his standing as a citi- zen.
SETH DUNDAS.
In proportion to population, no foreign country has sent so many emigrants to the United States as Ireland. Restricted and oppressed at home by the blindness of the British ministry, curtailed of their rights and privileges in the management of their local government, compelled to be the tail to the English kite under galling conditions, thousands of these indignant people have crossed the wide Atlantic to the better shores of America in the hope and with the utmost confidence of improving their worldly condi- tion. Among these sturdy sons of the Em- erald Isle may be mentioned him whose name
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appears above and who is consistently en- titled to personal mention in this volume. Seth Dundas was born in county Ferman- agh, Ireland, about the year 1847. In June, 1862, when about fourteen years of age, he accompanied his parents upon their emi- gration to the new world, their first home being in Canada, where the subject lived un- til the fall of 1873, when he came to Mus- kegon, Michigan. The following spring he came to Kalkaska county, and purchased eighty acres of land in section 12, Clearwa- ter township, where he at once settled and has since made his home. The land was at that time heavily covered with a dense growth of timber and labor of the most strenuous kind was necessary in order to get the soil in shape for cultivation. The orig- inal tract was improved and has been added to as the owner has been prospered, until the estate now comprises two hundred and . twenty acres, of which one hundred are cul- tivated. Mr. Dundas has given careful and thoughtful attention to his farm and has im- proved it with convenient and substantial buildings, good fences and all the other ac- cessories of a modern farm, including im- proved machinery and implements. Aside from his farming interests, Mr. Dundas finds time to devote to the public affairs of his community, having served for seven- teen consecutive years as supervisor of his township and many years as justice of the peace and school director. He is now serv- ing as a member of the board of reviews and as coroner of Kalkaska county. In politics he is a stanch Republican and has per- formed much effective service in behalf of his party.
In Ontario county, Ontario, Mr. Dundas was united in marriage with Miss Jane Ren-
nick, who was born in Fermanagh county, Ireland, in about 1848. The subject and his wife have the following children : Minnie is the wife of Christopher Ruttan; Alfred; Emily L. is the wife of Levi Parker; Lena; Jessie E., who is the wife of Otto Kosanke, and Violet M. One child, Catherine L., died in infancy. Mr. Dundas is one of the best known, highly respected and most popular citizens of this part of the county and the usefulness and worth of his life amply at- test how deserving he is of the regard and esteem of his fellow citizens.
JAMES LANNIN.
The agricultural interests of Kalkaska county have an able representative in the subject of this review, who is of the younger generation of farmers and who is thoroughly in touch with the progressive spirit of the age. He was born on his farther's farm in Rapid River township, Kalkaska county, Michigan, on March 30, 1871. His parents are Allen and Rachel (McCracken) Lannin, whose personal sketch appears elsewhere in this volume. The subject of this sketch re- ceived a good common-school education and upon attaining mature years he learned the trade of blacksmith, which he followed for several years. He then took up farming and lumbering, which vocations he has since suc- cessfully followed. He owns one hundred and forty acres of good cultivable land in section 6, Rapid River township, to which he gives careful and thoughtful attention. Though not old in years, Mr. Lannin has had definite experience as an agriculturist and few farms in his township are better
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managed or return to the owner a better harvest. Good and substantial buildings adorn the place and modern methods char- acterize the farming operations carried on, so that Mr. Lannin has well earned the title of "enterprising and progressive."
On June 15, 1899, Mr. Lannin was united in marriage with Miss Mary Camp- bell, who was born in this state on October 25, 1875, and is a daughter of Robert and Lieuemma (Tappan) Campbell, she being the second in order of birth in a family of five children. Mr. and Mrs. Lannin have one daughter, Leona. Mr. Lannin has shown his public spirit in many ways and has ever given his aid and influence in support of measures advanced for the general welfare of the community. He and his wife are of a strong social disposition and their home is the center of a large social circle.
ELIJAH GOODWIN.
How rapidly time is thinning the ranks of the brave boys in blue who went forth in defense of the nation's integrity during the dark and turbulent epoch of the Civil war, is evident to even the superficial observer, and the silvered heads of those who appear in the ranks of the veterans at the various encampments of the Grand Army of the Re- public show whither the line of march is tending. The younger generation may well look in admiration and honor upon these valiant sons of the republic who saved to the world a grand and united country, and though time has thrown its beneficent in- fluence over the story of the great conflict and the animosities of the past have been
softened and chastened, yet never can, there be aught but appreciation of the services of the men who followed the stars and stripes on the sanguinary battlefields of the South. One of the honored veterans of the Rebellion is the subject of this sketch, who is one of the prominent business men and representa- tive citizens of Kalkaska, having main- tained his residence in this county for more than thirty years, so that his is the distinc- tion of being a pioneer of this favored sec- tion of the state in which he has passed prac- tically his entire life thus far. He is at the present time incumbent of the office of su- pervisor of Kalkaska township and is en- gaged in the furniture business in the cap- ital city of the county.
Mr. Goodwin was born in Cayuga county, New York, on October 3, 1842, and is a son of Jesse and Lucinda (Morgan) Goodwin, both natives of that state, whence they came to Michigan when our subject was a child of three years. They located in Oakland county, where the father identified himself with agricultural pursuits, and he there passed the remainder of his life, being summoned into eternal rest when our sub- ject was a lad of about eleven years, while his wife passed away many years later.
Elijah Goodwin passed his boyhood days in Oakland county, in whose common schools he secured his early educational training, while he began to assist in the work of the farm when a mere boy. After the death of his father he made his home with a farmer in Oakland county, and continued to attend school during the winter terms until he had attained the age of eighteen years. He was employed at farm work at the time when there came the clarion call to arms, the Union being threatened by armed
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rebellion. Young Goodwin, like many an- utes' time, this being on the second. day's fight. Previously to this the command had taken part in the Peninsula campaign, and our subject is able to recall from personal experience the spirited engagements of Fredericksburg, second Bull Run, Chancel- lorsville and the Wilderness, besides many others. In the Williamsburg engagement he received a gun-shot wound in his left leg, the ball passing between the bones below the knee, and he was incapacitated for three months, at the expiration of which he re- joined his regiment. He retains a deep in- terest in his old comrades and signified the same by his affiliation with Colonel Baker Post. No. 84. Grand Army of the Republic, in his home town. other sturdy young farmer, turned from the plow to tender his services to his country, responding to President Lincoln's first call for volunteers. On the 5th of August, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company D, Fifth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, which had rendezvous at Fort Wayne, where the com- mand remained until the following Septem- ber, when it proceeded to the front, being assigned to the Army of the Potomac. It may be said in a prefatory way that the his- tory of this great division of the federal troops offer practically a record of the mili- tary career of Mr. Goodwin, since he was in active service with his regiment during the greater portion of the time until the close of the war. The first battle in which he took part was that at Williamsburg, and there- after he was a participant in nearly all of the important engagements in which the Army of the Potomac was in action. At the ex- piration of his original three years' term he re-enlisted in the same company and regi- ment, continuing with the same until victory had crowned the Union arms. He took part in the grand review in the city of Washing- ton, having been present at the surrender of General Lee, and he received his honorable discharge on July 5, 1865. Mr. Goodwin's . ive cultivation and making the best perma- regiment was detailed for service at Troy, New York, during the riots in that state, but for the greater portion of the time was with the Army of the Potomac, taking part In the autumn of 1896 Mr. Goodwin was elected to the office of county treasurer, hav- ing previously been prominent in public af- fairs of a local nature and having served most acceptably in various township offices, including those of clerk and supervisor. He was a member of the board of supervisors at the time of the erection of the present in nearly all the battles in which that body was engaged except that of Antietam, when the regiment was in the division on duty near the national capital, and was cut to pieces near Chantilly. In the ever mem- orable battle of Gettysburg the regiment lost one hundred and five men in fifteen min-
After the close of the war Mr. Goodwin . returned to Oakland county and located in Milford township, where he was engaged in farming until 1873, when he came as a pio- neer to Kalkaska county, settling on a tract of heavily timbered land near Westwood, in Cold Spring township. Here he took up a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres, and in this place he continued to re- side for nearly a quarter of a century, within which period he developed a valuable farm, placing ninety acres of his land under effect- nent improvements on the place, which he retained in his possession until 1902, when he sold the property.
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