USA > Michigan > Hillsdale County > Compendium of history and biography of Hillsdale County, Michigan > Part 26
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From the age of twelve John C. Iles grew to manhood in this county, and what schooling he obtained was secured for the most part in its public schools. His school life ended before he reached his majority, and at that time he began clearing the land which his father had pur- chased. After this clearing was accomplished in a great measure, he cleared other land, re- deeming from the forest 250 acres in all, him- self splitting the rails for the fences and build- ing the houses and barns which adorned and improved it. In 1855, at the age of thirty-one, he was married in this county to Miss Jane West, a native of Chautauqua county, New York, born in 1831. She died on May 30, 1883. They were the parents of seven children : William A. F. and Frank, leading farmers of this town- ship ; Nina E., deceased; La Vergne, a farmer living in Litchfield township; Kate E., living at the parental home; Nellie M., wife of O. Bowen, of Chicago, Ill. ; Fred W. On June 27, 1894, Mr. Iles married his second wife who still abides with him. Her maiden name was Eliz- abeth C. Harris, being a daughter of Orlando and Ann ( Morey) Harris, early settlers in Allen township. At the time of her marriage to Mr. Iles she was the widow of Joseph Walsh, and the mother of five children, four sons and one daughter. Mr. Iles has been a Republican in politics all of his mature life. When the call
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to arms in defense of the Union rang loudly through the land in 1861, he enlisted in Co. C, First Michigan Infantry, and, after an active service of eighteen months, he was discharged for disabilities incurred in the line of duty, for which he now draws a pension. He participated in the battles of Mechanicsville, Va., Savage Station, Fair Oaks, Gaines Mills, Malvern Hill, and a number of others, being slightly wounded in one. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Re- public, and takes a leading part in the work of Quincy Post to which he belongs. No one of the progressive farmers of the township is more widely known or more highly esteemed through- ยท out its borders. None is more deserving of the place he occupies in the general regard and good will of his fellow men.
THE KIRBY FAMILY.
The late William Kirby, of Adams township. was well and favorably known in all parts of Hillsdale county and throughout a much larger scope of country for his upright and serviceable life of more than half a century in the county, his valuable contributions to its development and progress, his wisdom and breadth of view in establishing its forms of government and vital- izing its productive and conserving forces, his patriotic devotion to its interests all the while, and his genial and obliging disposition from start to finish, gave him a strong and enduring hold on the respect and admiring esteem of the people, and fixed his place forever in their recol- lection as one of the worthiest and most useful of the early pioneers and one of the best repre- sentative citizens the county ever. has had. Of his sons, who are living among this people, it is high praise, but only just, to say that they are exemplars of the amenities, the thrift, the pro- gressiveness and the public spirit which the fa- ther exhibited in marked degree and that they are worthy followers of his commendable ex- ample.
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William Kirby was born in Yorkshire, Eng- land, on February 8, 1805. In his native land he was reared, educated and learned his trade
as a cloth-dresser. There, too, he was married to Miss Hannah Sykes, a native of Lancashire, born on September 7, 1801. The young couple settled down for life, as they probably supposed, amid the scenes and associations of their carly years, and began the struggle for a competency, with no thought of ever becoming pioneers in a new country and partial founders of an empire of commercial and industrial wealth in the Great Lake region of America. Their domestic shrine was sanctified by the birth of two daughters in their native land, and all looked promising for a continued residence on the soil which was hal- lowed by the labors and covered the bones of the countless generations of their long lines of thrifty ancestors. But quite a different fate was in store for them. There came to their cars the call of the great American wilderness for volun- teers to clear it from its wild, native growth and make it habitable and productive for civilized man. They obeyed the call, and, in 1827, they came to the United States and joined this great army of industrial conquest, settling in St. Law- rence county, New York, where for four years they were actively engaged in farming. In 1831 they removed to Lake county, Ohio, and, in 1834, leaving his family at their new home in that state, Mr. Kirby, with Richard Fowler and Caleb Bates, proceeded to Toledo, from there followed the old Indian trail to Jonesville, then little more than a halting place for adventurous trappers and pioneers. These men cut a road through the forests to the farms on which they determined to locate, and, after making temporary provision for their own safety and comfort by building 1 rude shelter, they devoted the summer to cutting and curing hay for the cattle they had driven in 'on the long trail. The stock was left in care of the Fowlers during the winter, while Mr. Kirby and Mr. Bates returned to Ohio for their families. All came back to Michigan in the fol- lowing spring, and Mr. Kirby, with the help of his neighbors, erected a small log house and barn and began to clear and improve his land. During the first few years of his residence here: old Baw Beese was of great assistance in fur- nishing food for the families, and in many other
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ways, being a familiar figure at all their fire- sides. Mr. Kirby and his devoted wife passed the remainder of their days in this western home, and, when he died in 1888, having survived his wife from 1876, he had a well cleared and high- ly improved farm of 240 acres, of great pro- ductiveness and value. In political faith he was a Whig as long as that party had life, and, when the Republican party was founded on its ruins, he joined the new organization and aided in giving it vitality and vigor in this state. He was not, however, much of a politician, but did con- sent to fill local offices from time to time for the good of the county. Besides the two Eng- lish daughters already alluded to, seven children, six sons and one daughter, were born to him in America. Three of the sons and two of the daughters are still living, Mary, Jason J., Reu- ben, William and Louisa. The parents were de- vout members of the Methodist Episcopal church, active in all good church work.
JASON J. KIRBY, the oldest living son of the honored pioneer above alluded to, was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, on May 18, 1830. He came with his parents to Michigan in 1834, and since that time this state has been his home and the seat of his industry and pros- perity. He grew to manhood in Hillsdale coun- ty, and was educated in the little log school- houses of the early days, also attending school for a short time in Hillsdale. His life has been passed peacefully on the paternal homestead, oc- cupied with its tranquilizing labors, except at times when he has worked at his trade as a stonemason. He was married in 1859, to Miss Rachel Van Aken, a native of the state, born in Lenawee county. They have had no children. He has never desired public office, and has taken but little part in political affairs, but for many years he has been an interested member of the Masonic fraternity, holding affiliation with the lodge at Hillsdale.
the labors of the family, helping to clear and cultivate the homestead and attending school in the neighborhood and also at Tecumseh and Jonesville. Later he attended the high school and college at Hillsdale. Ever since reaching years of maturity he has been actively and suc- cessfully engaged in farming, all the time in this county, almost in sight of the smoke of his fa- ther's chimney, so little disposition has he had to roam, and so satisfactory has he here found the conditions of life. He was married in 1860 to Miss Mary A. Wamsley, a native of this state. They have one daughter, Mary Etta, now the wife of Willis Swift, of Hillsdale county.
REUBEN S. KIRBY, the second of the living sons of William and Hannah (Sykes) Kirby, is a native of St. Lawrence county, New York, and was born on February 4, 1832. In the spring of 1834 he came with his parents to Michigan and has here since made his home, being reared in Hillsdale county. He received a liberal education in the public schools and at the college at Hills- dale, and took a theological course at Evanston, Illinois. In 1860 he was married to Miss Lorena Wamsley, of this state, a sister of the wife of his brother William. They have one child, their daughter, Emily, wife of Rev. Edwin Gray, a minister of the Free Baptist church. This brief review records the trials and triumphs of two generations of one of this county's most esteemed and most serviceable families, who have faith- fully exemplified the best traits of our citizenship.
THE SCOWDEN & BLANCHARD CO.
A great engine of productive industry located among any people, employing the brain of. hun- dreds, filling scores of homes with comfort and contentment, is a benefaction almost immeasur- able in its bounty. It may not be fully appre- ciated in the rush and hurry of this work-a-day world. It becomes familiar by daily contact and is taken into consideration almost as a matter of course. It pursues its regular way, pouring its tides of prosperity and happiness among the chil- dren of men, building up the community, sup-
WILLIAM KIRBY, the third son living, was born in Lake county, Ohio, on December 7. 1834, and in the following spring came with his parents to Hillsdale county, Michigan. From infancy to manhood he lived at home, sharing plying the necessaries, conveniences, or the lux-
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uries of life for thousands, near and far, and men walk in its shadow almost unconscious of its pres- ence. But let some calamity sweep it away, or some change of base require its removal or cessa- tion from work, and they will realize, as they never did before, how it has dispensed countless blessings among them and how they are bereft.
The Seowden & Blanchard Co., of Hillsdale, a stock company engaged in the manufacture of ladies,'misses,'children's and little "gents' " shoes, also men's, boys', and youths' seamless shoes, is such a benefaction. In the wide sweep of its business it is in touch with thousands of people, all of whom get from it some measure of good, whether it be in the nature of employment for their skill and energy, or the procuring of its products for their comfort and convenience. This enterprise was organized by Jacob Seowden, its efficient and energetic treasurer, in June, 1901, with a capital stock of $50,000, and an official staff composed of F. M. Stewart, president ; Dr. W. H. Sawyer, vice-president ; J. Will Morvin, secretary and Jacob Scowden, treasurer. 1ts factory, which in 50x154 feet in size and three stories high, was erected the same year, and has the capacity of producing 1,500 pairs of shoes per day. It has always in employment from 150 to 200 persons, and, when running at full capacity, employs 400 to 500. The product of the factory is in demand all over the country, taking a high rank in the markets. This manufacturing plant was the second shoe factory put in opera- tion in southern Michigan.
Jacob Scowden, the founder, is a native of Adams county, Ohio, born in 1850. His parents were John and Susan (Holton) Scowden, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Virginia. After their son left home they removed to Mis- souri, where they died at advanced ages. Jacob was reared to the age of eighteen on his father's farm in Ohio, and secured a limited education at the public schools of the neighborhood. At the age mentioned he began to learn the trade of a blacksmith, and, after completing his apprentice- ship, he worked at the trade for several years. He then went into merchandising in the boot and shoe trade, and, in 1896, organized the Scowden,
Jones & Sprinks Co., for the manufacture of shoes at Springfield, Ohio, where he was con- ducting his mercantile business. The establish- ment was kept up and the business running at that point until Mr. Scowden came to Hillsdale in 1901, when the company was reorganized here under the name and directorate already given, the stock being held for the most part in Hillsdale. Mr. Scowden is also a director of the Alamo Gas Engine Co., and is connected in a leading way with other mercantile and financial concerns. He is a member of the Masonic order, belonging to lodge, chapter and com- mandery. He takes no active part in politics, but was a member of the hospital board in Spring- field for several years. He is a gentleman of great public spirit and enterprise, warmly inter- ested in the general welfare of the community.
CHRISTOPHER LAZENBY.
From that veritable hotbed of productive in- (lustry, old Yorkshire in old England, melodious with the hum of all its busy activities in Hull and Sheffield and Bradford and Leeds, and other swarming centers of industrial and mercantile life, came many of the most serviceable and en- ergetie of the men and women who have aided in settling the Great Northwest and West in the United States, developing it into its present might and magnitude in every department of human enterprise. Among these, and holding a high rank among them for industry, energy and productive usefulness, Christopher Lazen- by, of Allen township, in this county, and his parents, Thomas and Hannah (Smith) Lazenby, are entitled to special mention. He was born on the historic soil of Yorkshire, England, on November 12, 1842. His ancestors had there lived and flourished in their way for time out of mind; but his parents heard of the better and larger opportunities for diligence, thrift and capacity existing in the boundless domain of the new republic across the sea, and, in 1848, when the son was but six years old, they left the scenes and associations of the old home and sought the opportunities of which they had heard
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in what was then the unbroken forest and prai- rie of this state. They settled in Branch county, remained there for two years, then moved to Hillsdale county, where they passed the rest of their lives, purchasing 120 acres of uncultivated land on which they lived and which they cleared and brought into fertility and fruitfulness, and on which they finally passed away, when their life work was accomplished, the mother dying in 1881, and the father in 1895. They were the proud parents of four sons and ten daughters, all of whom are now deceased, except one son, Christopher, and five of his sisters, who are still residents of this county, maintaining their homes in Allen township. The father was a quiet and industrious farmer, seeking no public notice of any kind, official or otherwise, content to follow faithfully his daily round of duties under the calm, discerning gaze of Heaven and without reference to the applause of men. He was a de- vout and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, gave his time and his energies freely to the cause of the church organization, aiding in the erection of the church edifice at Allen, where he held his membership, and in many others in various parts of his portion of the county. The grandfather, also named Chris- topher Lazenby, came from his native heath in Yorkshire to this county, and, after years of in- dustrious cultivation of the soil, here passed away in 1864.
The immediate subject of this sketch grew to man's estate from his childhood on the farm which is now his home, and attended, as he had opportunity, the ministrations at the public schools in the vicinity. At the death of his fa- ther he inherited the homestead and to its culti- vation and improvement he has since devoted all of his energies. He was married on February I,. 1865, to Miss Orenda C. Cronk, a native of Al- len township, and they were the parents of three sons, William T., Charles D., and John. The mother died on April 4, 1875, and, on December 19, of the same year, Mr. Lazenby was united in marriage with his second wife, Miss Josephine Lawson, a Canadian by nativity. In politics Mr. Lazenby is an independent Prohibitionist and
takes no part in the contests between the old par- ties. He is, like his father, an active and de- voted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and, like him, too, he is universally es- teemed.
J. H. KROH.
Jacob Henry Kroh, one of the leading farm- ers of Jefferson township and a widely known breeder of pure Chester White hogs, is a native of Seneca county, Ohio, born on January 21, 1858, the son of Daniel and Hannah (Shepard) Kroh, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of New York. The family moved to Michigan in 1861 and settled in Jefferson township, where the fa- ther purchased gighty , acres of land, partially cleared and improved, and added to this tract by a subsequent purchase forty more acres. He and his faithful wife still reside on this land, where they are passing the calm and peaceful evening of their lives, secure in the respect of all who know them and in enjoyment of the retrospect of well-spent industry in the development and prog- ress of their adopted state. They are devout and zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Their family consisted of three children, their son, J. H. Kroh, their daughter, Mina L., wife of W. E. Freed, of this county, and another son, William, who is now deceased. The grand- father, also named Daniel Kroh, was a native of Pennsylvania, who moved to Ohio when that state was new and undeveloped, and died there in Seneca county after a long life of usefulness as a progressive farmer. He had a family of twelve children, seven daughters and five sons, his son Daniel being the only one who became a resident of Hillsdale county.
J. H. Kroh has passed the whole of his life since he was three years of age in this county and here received his education in its public schools. As soon as he was able, he took charge of the home farm and successfully conducted its operations until January 1, 1902, when he moved to the farm on which he now resides, which is a portion of section 28, in Jefferson township. Here he carries on a flourishing farming and
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stock industry, giving special attention, as has been stated, to breeding Chester White hogs in large quantities and of excellent quality and pur- ity. His product has a high rank in the markets, local and general, and he is known throughout an extensive sweep of country as one of the most judicious and intelligent stockbreeders in his line. He also operates a large cider-mill in connection with his farming operations. By this enterprise he furnishes a great convenience, renders a val- ued service to the surrounding territory for many miles and provides another product of high grade for the use of mankind. He was married in this county, in 1883, to Miss Susan Parmlee, a native of the county and a daughter of Alonzo and Ophelia ( Russell) Parmlee, early settlers in Ran- som township, where the father died some years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Kroh have two children, Wil- ford C. and Alfred A. Although a Republican of firm and loyal faith in his party, Mr. Kroh has never been an active partisan and has never con- sented to accept a public office. He is a member of the order of Patrons of Husbandry, for five years has served as master of the local grange to which he belongs, and for a number of years prior to taking this position he was the overseer and steward of the grange. He also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is an active member of the Congregational church.
HENRY LANE.
This honored citizen, progressive farmer, wide-awake and capable business man and help- ful factor in public affairs, has been for thirty- seven years a resident of this county, and, during all of that time, he has been actively engaged in farming and raising high-grade stock, conducting every phase of his business along the most pro- gressive lines, elevating the standards in products and methods wherever he has applied his breadth of view, his extensive knowledge and his excellent judgment. The place of his nativity is Aurelius Cayuga county, New York, where his life be- gan on September 20, 1820. His parents were Archibald B. and Alice (Schofield) Lane, the for- mer a native of Westchester county, New York,
and the latter born near Stamford, Conn. The parents lived in various places in New York state, the father working at his trade as a shoe- maker, and also engaging in farming, until 1837, when he disposed of his New York farm and moved his family to Ashtabula county, Ohio, making the journey with teams and settling on a farm he there bought not far from the town of Geneva. There was a sawmill on the place, and, while operating his farm, he also ran the mill industriously, while in leisure times he made shoes for his family and neighbors. He was a man of great industry and strict integrity, and he and his wife were universally esteemed. He died on his Ohio farm on September 13, 1852, and his widow, who long survived him, passed the closing years of her life at the home of a daugh- ter, in Michigan. They were the parents of seven sons and one daughter.
Their son, Henry, was their fourth child, and he was feeble in health, and, for a number of years, a cripple from the effects of a fever sore, which he had at the age of six. Later he was fully restored to health and ultimately became vigorous and strong. He then was of valuable assistance on the farm between the terms of school, and, at the age of sixteen, he took charge of his father's sawmill, which he operated until he was twenty-two, when he started out in life for himself. He accepted employment with a car- penter at $13 a month, but, at the end of the first month demanded higher wages, securing the promise of $15 a month. He worked until the fall without getting his wages and was then able to collect only enough homemade cloth to make an overcoat. He went home for the winter and in the following spring resumed work at his trade, helping to build a church at Geneva. The next winter he worked in a cabinet-shop and for four years thereafter at carpentry and cabinetmaking. He then built a steam sawmill at Geneva and for several years was there busily engaged in the manufacture and sale of lumber, and, having bought a farm near the town, he was also exten- sively occupied in farming. In 1865 he disposed of all his interests in Ohio and the next year came to Hillsdale county and bought the place on
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which he now resides in Pittsford township. He increased his land by subsequent purchases un- til he owned 430 acres ; in fact, he has bought and paid for more than 700 acres of land since coming to Hillsdale county, but has since disposed of all but about seventy acres, and is now living upon the old homestead in retirement. His success and . dial esteem of the entire community.
prosperity in farming and stockraising was for many years steady, extensive and most gratify- ing ; and they were the legitimate results of his shrewdness, business capacity, clearness of vision and intelligent application of wide knowledge gained from reading and judicious observation. Every detail of the work connected with his en- terprises had his personal care and supervision, and no effort was omitted that seemed necessary to secure the highest and best result.
Mr. Lane was married on November 19, 1849, to Miss Clotilda C. Sawyer, a native of Manches- ter, Ontario county, New York, born on March 26, 1816. Her father, Luke Sawyer, and her grandfather, Thomas Sawyer, were born and reared in Vermont. When her father was but a boy the family moved to New York. There he grew to manhood, was educated and there he married with Miss Rhoda P. Cook, a daughter of Asher and Rhoda ( Phelps) Cook. Their wedded life was wholly passed in Ontario county in that state, and, after the death of her husband, Mrs. Sawyer came to Michigan where her closing days of life were passed. Mr. Lane has two brothers living, Charles D., of Cleveland, Ohio, and Peter, of Bay City, Michigan. His own family consists of three sons, Orville B., a representative of Hills- dale county in the State Legislature ; Hon. Victor H., late judge of the Second Judicial Circuit Court, and now a professor in the law depart- ment of Ann Arbor University ; William H., who is living at the parental home. The only daugh- ter of the family, Esther Eliza, died at the age of four years. In politics Mr. Lane has held firmly and consistently to the Republican party. While he is not a specially active partisan, and has had no desire for public office, he has been called to that of township supervisor, which he filled with credit for six years, also to sev- eral other local positions. He also was chosen
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