USA > Michigan > Gratiot County > Biographical memoirs of Gratiot County, Michigan : compendium of biography of celebrated Americans > Part 20
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Francis W. Curtiss was the eldest mem- ber of a family of eleven children, and until he was ten years old he lived in Genesee county, New York. He then accompanied his parents to Wethersfield, Wyoming county, New York, where he resided for a number of years. He was married in Eagle, Wyoming county, New York, September 12, 1852, to Miss Luceba Rugg, born in Eagle township, that county, November 29, 1832, daughter of Lyman and Almeda (Howe) Rugg, who died in New York State. They were the parents of seven chil- dren, of whom Mrs. Curtiss was the sixth.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Curt- iss located in Illinois, settling in Seward, Winnebago county, in 1856. There they re- mained till February, 1860, when they lo- cated in Michigan, two years later settling in Section 2, Emerson township, where they have since resided. On his arrival Mr. Curt- iss took up one hundred and twenty acres of land, which he cleared of timber, but has since disposed of much of the original tract to his sons, now owning only forty acres. Mr. and Mrs. Curtiss were the parents of these children: Marion F., who married Mary H. Hetzman; Mary E., wife of Wil- liam Edgar and mother of one child, Pearl;
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Henry W., who married Altha Sheldon and is the father of Francis T .; Almeda, wife of Rev. William T. Woodhouse, a Baptist clergyman, and mother of Grace, George, Olive, William and Richard; and Laura C., wife of Guy Davids. Mr. Curtiss held the office of justice of the peace for two terms, was highway commissioner for one term, and was township treasurer two terms. He and his esteemed wife are members of the Emerson Baptist Church. Mr. Curtiss is a man of marked industry and unassuming honesty and has earned the name of a first- class citizen.
W ILLIAM H. KLECKNER, a re- tired farmer of North Star town- ship, Gratiot county, Michigan, was born in Tuscarawas township, Stark county, Ohio, October 4, 1840, a son of Daniel and Mary (Kerstetter) Kleckner. His father was a native of Pennsylvania, and his mother of Stark county, Ohio, and both died in Summit county, that State, leaving three children : Joseph M., of Akron, Ohio, sup- erintendent of the poor house, was a school teacher for sixteen years; William H .; and Marietta, widow of Alfred Sorrick, resides in Summit county, Ohio.
William H. Kleckner was reared in Stark county until the age of thirteen years and then accompanied his parents in their removal to Summit county, where he was educated and reached maturity, trained thoroughly as a farmer. In the county named he married July 20, 1864, Rebecca Row, born September 27, 1847, in Sum- mit county, daughter of Jacob and Eliza- beth (Hartong) Row, the former of whom was a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. They both died in Summit county.
William H. Kleckner continued to live in Summit county for seven years after his marriage and then removed to Wayne county, where he lived eight years, thence returning to the old homestead in the form- er county. After three years, in March, 1884, he came to Gratiot county, Michigan, and purchased a farm in Section 16, North Star township, on which he has resided ever since. Mr. Kleckner owns a fine farm of one hun- dred and forty-two acres and has made many substantial improvements thereon. He carried on a general line of farming, until he retired from active work and trans- ferred the labor to younger hands.
Mr. and Mrs. Kleckner have had eight children, namely: Elmer A., living on the homestead; Warren W., cashier of the Chi- cago & North Western Railway at Wausau, Wisconsin; Clara M., wife of William Clark, of Jackson, Michigan; Cora E., wife of Frank Lott, of North Star township; Ada B .; Oliver F., a jeweler of Miland, Michigan; Mary, who died aged about three years; and Charles M., a meat dealer at North Star, Michigan. Mr. Kleckner has never taken any active part in politics, but has always stood up for the principles of right. He has been a member of the school board of North Star township for many years, overseer of highways, and has held other minor township offices. Mr. and Mrs. Kleckner are active members of the United Brethren Church, in which he has filled the office of trustee for thirteen consecutive years, and has been superintendent of the Sunday-school for nineteen years.
J R. SALISBURY, a highly esteemed resident of Bethany township, was born in Eagle Harbor, Orleans county, New
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York, August 15, 1838, son of Royal S. and Sally Ann ( Annis) Salisbury, natives of New York. Mrs. Salisbury died in Or- leans county, aged seventy-three years. Royal S. Salisbury was a doctor of medi- cine, and a very prominent man, beloved by all who knew him. He died in Rochester, New York, in his sixty-fifth year. They had these children: Ann at the time of her death was beginning to win fame in the liter- ary world; Joseph is a fine musician, com- poser and author ; J. R., is our subject ; Guy M., is a successful business man; and Wil- liam is a musician and composer.
J. R. Salisbury was reared on his father's farm in Orleans county, New York, where he lived until he reached his majority. He was married in that county, November 17, 1858, to Miss Helen M. Buchanan, born in Niagara county, New York, May 10, 1838, daughter of James and Mary Ann (Wheeler ) Buchanan. James Buchanan died in Niagara county, New York, and his widow married Richard Eaton. Mr. and Mrs. Eaton came to St. Louis, Michigan, in the fall of 1860, and settled in Bethany township the same year, where he died, the mother of Mrs. Salisbury dying May 2, 1905.
Soon after marriage Mr. and Mrs. Salis- bury came to Gratiot county, Michigan, and settled in Bethany township, January I, 1861, where they have since been residents. Farming has been his chief occupation, but he has also engaged in the drug business and mercantile business in Alma, in all of which he has been successful. He owns a fine country residence situated on twenty acres of land in Bethany township. He and his esti- mable wife have had three children. Claude E., a musician and successful business man ;
Glenn D., a musician and successful business man; and Grace, a musician and composer, the wife of Louis R. Robinson. Mr. Salis- bury assisted in the organization of the Pat- rons of Industry, of which he was county secretary for five years. He has held the office of justice of the peace for nearly twenty years, highway commissioner for one term, and is the present efficient health officer of Bethany township. He has taken a great interest in township and county af- fairs and has been active in the work of the Democratic party in this section. Mr. Salis- bury is well known and very highly re- spected in the section he has made his home for so many years.
A LVIN D. CLARK, one of the most active and progressive men of Gra- tiot county, has attained a wide reputation in the business and political circles of North Star township. He was born November 4, 1851, in Monroe county, Michigan, son of Watson D. and Elizabeth (Tracy) Clark, natives of Pennsylvania, who died in that county leaving eight children, of whom Al- vin D. was the fifth. His father was a farmer of prominence and so prosperous in his undertakings that he was enabled to pass the last years in retirement. Besides suc- cessfully managing his farming properties he filled many local offices such as township treasurer, justice of the peace and offices. connected with school affairs. He died in February, 1886, at the age of seventy-two, and his wife, the mother of Alvin D., pre- ceded him in September, 1884, aged sixty- nine years. Besides Alvin D., the other members of the family born to Mr. and Mrs. Watson D. Clark were: Lorenzo, a car- penter of North Star, Michigan; Amanda,
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who married Clark McKinzie, both de- ceased; Watson J., living in retirement in Ithaca, Michigan; Erastus, formerly post- master, now a real estate dealer at West Branch, Michigan; Elizabeth A., Mrs. Horace Aseltyne, of Newport, Michigan ; Frank, deceased; and Alwilda, wife of Charles Thorne, a farmer of Newport, Michigan.
Alvin D. Clark was reared in Monroe county, Michigan, and educated in its com- mon schools. He clerked in a store at New- port, Monroe county, for two years, after which he engaged in the insurance business for several years. He then purchased the old homestead upon which he was born and engaged in farming until April, 1889, when he sold the farm and located in Gratiot county with his wife and two children. He settled on Section 22, North Star township, residing there three years, erecting substan- tial buildings, and making general improve- ments. In 1892 he sold his farm, engaging in a mercantile business on Front street, in company with his brother, Watson J. Clark, the firm trading under the name of Clark Brothers. This partnership continued for about three years when Alvin D. pur- chased his brother's interest, and engaged in business alone. In 1902 he sold his stock and retired from active work. Mr. Clark is the owner of a fine eighty-acre farm. While in the mercantile business, Mr. Clark, built, with his brother, a brick store, now occupied by Homer Snyder, which the former still owns.
Alvin D. Clark was united in marriage to Miss Adda Rowley, in Plymouth, Wayne county, October 18, 1877. Mrs. Clark is a daughter of James H. and Lois (Knapp) Rowley, and she and her husband have
these children, Olga Burr, George R. and Edna Dell.
Mr. Clark was appointed postmaster of North Star in President Harrison's admin- istration, holding the office for four years, and was again appointed in President Mc- Kinley's administration, resigning from the position in 1904. He has been notary public for twelve years, clerk for one term, and while living in Monroe county was elected township superintendent of schools, serving two terms. He has always taken an active interest in all measures that promise to be of benefit to his township or county, as well as giving his time and attention to matters religious and educational. He is a member of Heath Lodge No. 222, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
G EORGE W. TORBERT, one of the foremost of the enterprising citizens of Breckenridge, Michigan, is a justice of the peace, and the proprietor of the Breck- enridge Planing Mill. He was born in Milford, Delaware, June 29, 1847, son of Nathaniel P. and Mary A. (Johnson) Tor- bert. His father was a millwright, born January 14, 1814, and died in Milford in June, 1849, at the early age of thirty-five ; his mother died in Franklin, Delaware, June 12, 1896, aged eighty years. They were both Methodists. Five children were born to them, viz .: Josephine A., deceased, Mrs. James K. Townsend, of Philadelphia ; John T., a merchant of Lewes, Delaware ; William E., a builder and contractor of Frankford, Delaware ; James K., a merchant of Philadelphia; and George W. The pa- ternal grandparents were John and Nancy Torbert.
The youngest member of a family of five
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children, George W. Torbert left home when ten years old, and began a career on the water, becoming a cabin boy on a coast- ing vessel and later being engaged as steward. At this he continued for about ten years, and then came West and for one sea- son was employed on the Great Lakes as steward. After abandoning a sea-faring life Mr. Torbert located at Savannah, Georgia, where he engaged in the boot and shoe business, but continued there but one year, returning North and locating at Fre- mont, Michigan. He was employed in a shingle and stave mill for several years, and then engaged in mining at Evart, Mich- igan, in which he continued for six months, about 1881 coming to Breckenridge, Gratiot county, where he worked in a stave mill and at other occupations until 1892, when he en- gaged in the lumber and planing mill busi- ness. Since that year he has built three planing mills, his present establishment be- ing one of the finest in the section, embrac- ing, moreover, a complete line of lumber. During both terms of President Cleveland's administration Mr. Torbert served efficient- ly as postmaster of Breckenridge. With the exception of one year he has been justice of the peace since 1883, and has been notary public for several years. He has erected and sold thirteen residences in Breckenridge, and is therefore specially identified with its growth. Mr. Torbert has also taken an ac- tive interest in all township and village af- fairs, and has always been identified with the Democratic party.
Judge Torbert was married January 25, 1878, in Fremont, Michigan, to Miss Mary L. Miller, a native of Canada, daughter of Hugh and Mary M. (Callighan) Miller, of York State, and to this union one son has
been born, Hugh, now assistant cashier of the First State Savings Bank of Brecken- ridge. The Judge has always taken a public spirited interest in the welfare of the town, and has generously supported every move- ment which his judgment has led him to regard as beneficial. He is universally es- teemed and occupies a high social position. Fraternally he is a Master Mason in Breck- enridge Lodge.
S EELY AMSBURY, a prosperous agriculturist of Seville township, Gra- tiot county, is a man known for his good judgment in public affairs as well as his private business, and is one of the repre- sentative men of the section, having been active in local politics. He was born in Jackson county, Michigan, January 14, 1853, son of Ira and Sarah (Patch) Ams- bury.
Ira Amsbury was a native of Wayne county, New York, and came to Michigan when a child. He was a farmer by occu- pation but was also prominent in local poli- tics, filling the office of supervisor of Seville township for four years, and of township clerk for two years. In 1864 he enlisted in Company C, Eighth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and was present. when Lee sur- rendered at Appomattox. He was dis- charged July 30, 1865. Mr. Amsbury had removed to Gratiot county, in February, 1861, and he made his home in Seville town- ship from that time until his death Feb- ruary 5, 1873. His widow, born May 23, 1834, resides in Standish, Michigan. There were six children in the family, Seely being the eldest. The others were: Joseph, a farmer of Emerson township, Gratiot county ; Wallace, a carpenter living at Alma,
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Michigan; William, a grocer of Standish, Michigan; Frederick, a farmer residing in Alma; and Eda, who married Fred Keller, and died aged thirty-eight years.
Seely Amsbury was eight years old when his parents came to Gratiot county and has lived in Seville township ever since, with the exception of one year during his father's absence in the war, when the family moved to Carson City, Michigan. As a boy he at- tended the public schools and received the. usual education of that time and place. He has been engaged in agricultural pursuits all his life and is now the owner of a pro- ductive farm of forty-three acres, with a number of good buildings on it. He is a progressive farmer, employing modern, im- proved methods and has been very suc- cessful.
Politically Mr. Amsbury is independent, but is active in the affairs of the township and has been elected to several local offices. For three years he was treasurer of the township, clerk for ten years, and served three terms as supervisor. His constituents have the greatest confidence in his ability and integrity, and he is one of the popular and influential men of the community.
Mr. Amsbury has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Izora Phelps, daughter of Ira and Jane Phelps. She was born in 1860, and married Mr. Amsbury in 1878, but lived only three years after the union, dying April 3, 1881. On September 14, 1886, Mr. Amsbury was wedded to Miss Jessie Keller, daughter of Gilbert and Eun- ice (Wilcox) Keller, residents of Standish, Michigan. Mrs. Amsbury was born in Onondaga county, New York, November 22, 1861. She and her husband have had one daughter, Theo Maud, born January
22, 1889. Mrs. Amsbury and daughter are members of the Methodist £ Episcopal Church.
T THOMAS RICHARDS, a prominent citizen, a leader in the sugar beet in- dustry of Gratiot county, and proprietor of a one-hundred-and-eighty-acre homestead in Bethany township, was born on a farm in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, June II, 1856. He is the only child of Thomas and Charlotte (Clark) Richards, the former dying in the county named, aged fifty years, before the birth of our subject, while the latter died in Bethany township in 1880, at the age of sixty.
Thomas Richards was but seven years of age when he accompanied his mother from Pennsylvania to Ashtabula county, Ohio, where they resided for three years. They then removed to Erie county, Penn- sylvania, and remained for five or six years, at the end of which period they returned to Ohio for four years. In the fall of 1876 they settled in Gratiot county, Michigan, re- siding in Emerson township for three years.
While a resident of Emerson township, on March 14, 1878, Mr. Richards was mar- ried to Miss Delphine McLean, born in Steuben county, New York, March 20, 1858, a daughter of Wanton and Sarah (Allen) McLean, the former of whom still survives, while the latter died in Bethany township. They had eleven children, and of this family Mrs. Richards was the third member, and came with her parents to Gra- tiot county when about fifteen years old. Mr. and Mrs. Richards have five children : Charles T., who married (first) Harriet Brower and (second) May Thompson, and resides at Plainwell, Michigan; Jesse M., a
ThorRichards
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graduate of the law department of the Uni- versity of Michigan; Glenn L., who mar- ried Laura Schultheiss and lives on the family homestead ; Ralph E., and Url S.
After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Richards lived in Emerson and Bethany townships for about five years and then removed to Montcalm county, Michigan, where they re- sided for a year. Later they passed a year and a half in Minnesota, whence they re- turned to Gratiot county, soon afterward removing to Newaygo county, where they spent the following two years. In the fall of 1887 they returned to Gratiot county, purchasing forty acres in Emerson town- ship, and since that time they have lived in Emerson and Bethany townships. Farm- ing has been Mr. Richards' occupation for the last eighteen years, and he has made it a success. He owns one hundred and eighty acres of land, about one hundred and fifty of which are under cultivation, and he usu- ally devotes between twenty and sixty acres to the raising of beets, in which occupation he has taken a great interest.
In 1903 Mr. Richards was appointed supervisor of Bethany township; in 1904 was elected on the Union ticket to that office for one year, and in 1905 was chosen treas- urer of the township. He has held the office of justice of the peace for several terms and takes much interest in township and county affairs. In 1892 his son, Charles T. Richards, was a candidate on the Demo- cratic ticket for representative to the Legis- lature. Fraternally Mr. Richards is a mem- ber of the Maccabees and of the A. O. O. G. Mr. Richards is one of the reliable and public-spirited men of Bethany township and is held in the highest esteem by his fel- low citizens.
W JANTON McLEAN, one of the pio- neers and among the most highly esteemed residents of Bethany township, Gratiot county, was born in Cortland county, New York, December 25, 1828, son of Daniel McLean, a native of New York and of Scotch ancestry. His mother was Diana Corey McLean, a native of New York, and both she and her husband died in Cortland county.
Wanton McLean was reared in Cort- land county and lived there until the fall of 1871, when, with his family, he came to Gratiot county, Michigan, and settled in Bethany township, where he has since re- sided. He bought eighty acres of farm land in Section 33, which he cleared and improved, and upon which he erected suit- able buildings. Before departing for Mich- igan he was married, in Cortland county, New York, to Miss Sarah Allen, a native of Steuben county, that State, and her death occurred in Bethany township, Gratiot county, Michigan, July 1, 1895, in her fifty- ninth year. To Wanton McLean and his wife were born the following children : Henry; Ada; Delphine, the wife of Thomas Richards, ex-supervisor and present treas- urer of Bethany township; Charles ; Helen, who died aged six years; Frank; Edward; Ella, deceased, who married Robert Mon- roe; Fred; Bertie, who died at the age of six years; and Clarence, who is on the old homestead with his father.
F FRED G. WARNER, a prominent and substantial farmer of Emerson town- ship, Gratiot county, who owns and operates a fine farm of eighty acres, located on Sec- tion 6, was born in Niagara county, New York, July 5, 1854, son of William L. and
10
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Angeline (Staples) Warner, the former of whom was a Methodist clergyman, who died in Clarkson, New York, July 5, 1903.
Fred G. Warner was the eldest of a family of eight children, and remained with his parents until he was twenty years of age, when he engaged in farming. In 1880 he came to Gratiot county, Michigan, and lived in North Shade township, until the spring of 1900, when he settled on his present eighty- acre farm in Section 6. Mr. Warner has cleared about sixty acres of his land, which is highly improved, and which compares favorably with other farms in the township.
Mr. Warner was married (first) in Ni- agara county, New York, April 14, 1875, to Miss Mary A. Judson, and she died in Gratiot county, in 1885, leaving these chil- dren : Clara M., wife of Ludwig J. Fock- ler; William L .; Roy E .; and Mary A. On March 23. 1898, Mr. Warner married (second) Alice Sague, of Sanborn, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Warner are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of St. Louis, Michigan.
FRANK A. SEXTON, one of the sub- stantial and representative farmers and cattlemen of Gratiot county, resides in Wheeler township and has a well cultivated farm of one hundred acres, located in Beth- any township. Mr. Sexton was born in Clarksfield, Huron county, Ohio, March 21, 1855.
Hiram Sexton, the father of our sub- ject, is a resident of Breckenridge, in which village the mother, whose maiden name was Adeline Root, died August 3, 1879. Of their six children Frank A. is the second.
Until he was nineteen years old Frank A. Sexton lived with his parents in Ohio,
at that time coming to Gratiot county and settling in Wheeler township. Here he was married March 26, 1878, to Miss Ida A. Campbell, a native of Charlotte, Eaton county, Michigan, born January! 3, 1858. After marriage Mr. Sexton continued to live in Wheeler township for two years, at the end of which time he settled in Bethany township, where he cleared a farm, upon which he lived until 1902, returning in that year to Wheeler township. He settled in Breckenridge, and has been extensively en- gaged in the stock business, and in general farming. He owns a fine one hundred acre farm, all of which is cleared and improved, and erected a fine ten-room house in Breck- enridge, in which he resides. While in Bethany township Mr. Sexton held the of- fice of highway commissioner. He is a prominent member of the Masonic fratern- ity. Mr. and Mrs. Sexton have two chil- dren, Dorr H. and Bertha A.
The father of Mrs. Sexton, Lewis Camp- bell, died in Olivet, Eaton county, Michigan. The mother, Helen (Kocher) Campbell, died when quite young. They had three children, of which family Mrs. Sexton was the second member.
C LARK VEDDER, a veteran of the Civil war, who has a farm of eighty acres in Section 28, North Star township, is one of the representative agriculturists of Gratiot county, Michigan. He is of Ger- man extraction, his paternal grandfather be- ing Aaron Vedder of New York State. He was born April 2, 1844, in Dover township. Lenawee county, son of Harmon and Anna (Bordine) Vedder, natives of New York. both of whom died in Dover township, the father in 1885, aged seventy-nine, and the .
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mother in 1889, at the age of eighty years. Thirteen children were born of their mar- riage, viz .; Cordelia, widow of David Cross, of Pontiac, Michigan; Aaron, deceased; Sophronia, deceased, who married John Bryant; Clark; Ransom, a resident of Ad- rian, Michigan; Eliza A., deceased, Mrs. Charles Rehms; Mary, wife of John Doig, of Pontiac, Michigan; Electa, Mrs. Well- ington Deline, of Lenawee, Michigan; Jen- nie, who married Burr Deline, of Lenawee, Michigan; Charles, of Adrian, Michigan; and three who died in infancy.
Clark Vedder was reared to manhood on his father's farm in Dover township. He was united in marriage January 20, 1867, with Sarah Deline, born January II, 1848, in Dover township, daughter of Abraham and Millie (Balch) Deline, and to this union were born six children : Nettie, wife of W. H. Bovee, who is mentioned elsewhere; Jesse, of North Star township; Carrie B., wife of Robert Crandell, of North Star township; Dora, wife of George Jessup, of Newark township; Millie, wife of Warren Dillsworth, of North Star township; and Harmon, living at home.
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