USA > Michigan > Hillsdale County > Compendium of history and biography of Hillsdale County, Michigan > Part 59
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AARON WORTHING.
Welch industry, thrift, business capacity and persistent adherence to purpose have done much for the development and commercial progress of portions of the United States, and, among those who have exhibited these commendable and pro- ductive traits in large measure, Aaron Worth- ing, of Hillsdale, the president of the Worthing- Alger Co., manufacturers of fine fur-coats and robes, must be accorded a high rank. His energy and capability of conceiving and carrying out
large industrial and mercantile designs of great value to the community in which they are found, is well-known and highly appreciated in Hills- dale, whose pulse of productive activity in almost every line has been quickencd, and at the same steadied, by the resources of his ready mind and the touch of his tireless hand. He is of Welsh ancestry on his mother's side, and was himself born in the little mountainous constituent of Great Britain, being a native of Radnorshire, Wales, where his life began on January 23. 1837. His father, William Worthing, a native of Eng- land, belonged to an old family resident in that county from time immemorial, and his mother, whose maiden name was Margaret Davis, was a scion of an old family long resident in Wales. They emigrated to the United States in 1845 to settle in Kenosha county, Wisconsin. There the father purchased unimproved government land and gave up the remainder of his life to its de- velopment and improvement with such success, that when he dicd, it was one of the choice farms of its neighborhood. They both died in Fond du Lac county, Wisconsin. They were the parents of nine children, eight of whom came to the United States ; seven are still living, Aaron being the only one residing in Michigan.
Reaching this country when he was but eight years old, the education of Aaron Worthing was almost wholly secured in the public schools of Wisconsin, and, in that state, he began life for himself as a farmer on an unimproved farm of his own, in Dodge county, on which he continued to live and work until 1871. Early in that year he turned his attention to merchandising at Oak- field, in Fond du Lac county, and carried on a large business in this way until 1886. He then reduced his stock to harness and feed, and car- ried on trade in these lines for two years longer. He was eminently successful in both ventures, and in 1888 sold out his establishment, thereafter passing some months in travel in the South. In 1889 he came to Hillsdale, and, purchasing lots on Oak street, erected for himself a handsome residence which he still occupies. In the fall of 1890 he began the erection of a portion of the plant now occupied by the extensive fur business
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of which he is the head, and began the manufac- ture of fur robes, soon after adding to the output fur coats of high grade.
From the beginning the business prospered. It was ere long necessary to enlarge the plant, which was done to its present capacity and to steadily increase its working force, until it now employs eighty laborers in addition to the travel- ing salesmen and the office force. In 1891 H. O. Alger became a member of the firm, which be- came Worthing & Alger. Under this arrange- ment and name the establishment was conducted until 1900, when a stock company, with a capital stock of $70,000, was formed, with Mr. Worthing as president, Mr. Alger, vice-president, and J. Will Marvin secretary. The directorate also in- cludes F. M. Stewart, G. N. Smith, O. N. Brown, of Elkhart, and L. D. Woodworth, of Hillsdale, The anual product of the factory exceeds 10,000 coats, besides a large number of robes. In ad- dition the firm does a considerable amount of local tanning. This is an enterprise of great com- mercial importance to Hillsdale, keeping in cir- culation in her midst a large amount of money and bringing her name impressively before the gaze of the whole country, for the coats and robes are shipped to all parts of the United States. It is not, however, the only manufacturing enter- prise in which Mr. Worthing is interested and has been influential in forming. He is one of the original stockholders of the Alamo Gas Engine Co., is the vice-president of the Hillsdale Screen Co., being also connected with the Omega Port- lant Cement Co., all of this county.
In everything that contributes to the advance- ment and improvement of the community, Mr. Worthing takes a leading place and makes his presence felt effectively. In 1890 he was elected a trustee of Hillsdale College, and is still render- ing valuable service in that capacity. During the time he has been officially connected with the college, his contributions to its needs and bene- fits have been numerous and important. The most conspicuous of these is the Worthing Di- vinity Hall, one of the most appreciated and use- ful of the college departments, which was created by his beneficence in 1898. A trustee of the col-
lege, he is also a member of the prudential com- mittee of the college government, and, also, for the past three years, he has been a mmber of the permanent endowment committee. In politics Mr. Worthing is a Prohibitionist, but he has never ac- cepted office. For many years he has been a trustee of and an ardent worker in the Baptist church. He is a large real-estate owner in the city, having fully eighteen houses, and he also owns 250 acres of good, well-improved farm land. In September, 1860, he married, in Illinois, . with Miss Lydia Arnold, a native of Vermont. 120 They have one child, their daughter, Eva, wife of W. H. Bach, of Hillsdale.
THE HILLSDALE LEADER.
1 ..
The first number of the Hillsdale Leader was printed on September 29, 1882. It was a five- column quarto, and issued by Messrs. Ackerly, Bowman & Co .; the firm consisting of Henry H. Ackerly, and William H. Bowman and George Strange, all active and ambitious young men. This firm was organized by the consolidation of the job office of Mr. Ackerly, at Hillsdale, and the Hammer, owned and run by Mr. Strange, at North Adams, and for whom Mr. Bowman, a practical printer, was at work.
Col. E. J. March, through the Ackerly con- tribution to the firm's assets, was behind the en- terprise, in a financial way, from the beginning. The Hammer was discontinued, and the Leader established at Hillsdale. 'On March 9, 1883, the size of the paper was changed from a five-column sheet to a six-column quarto. Soon. after the paper started, Mr. Strange became dissatisfied, and, at the solicitation of Messrs. Ackerly and Bowman, Colonel March purchased the one-third interest of Mr. Strange therein, and became a partner in the publishing firm. On July II, 1884, the firm was changed from Ackerly, Bowman & Co. to E. J. March & Co., and this has ever since been the firm name, Mr. Ackerly retiring from the paper in July, 1884. In 1885, Colonel March built the Leader building, expressly to make a home for the paper, and from that year The Hills- dale Leader has been printed in the Leader build-
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ing, one of the best homes of any paper in Mich- igan. In 1893, Mr. Bowman sold his interest to Mrs. Gertrude M. Sutton, a daughter of Colonel March, and she has ever since been more or less actively engaged upon the paper. John R. Sut- ton and George K. March each owns an interest, and are members of the firm of E. J. March & Co.
The Leader has always been Republican. It has stood vigorously for cleanliness and integ- rity in politics, sometimes too much so to please certain politicians. It has prospered financially, and is one of the best paying newspaper propo- sitions and plants of the state. Repeated offers to purchase have been declined, and it is consid- ered a safe prediction, that, so long as the pres- ent owners may live, The Hillsdale Leader will be owned and edited by E. J. March & Co. Its sworn statement of circulation, made on January 7, 1903, showed an average weekly circulation from September 30, 1901, the date of its last pre- ceding statement, to January 2, 1903, of 2,151 copies per week ..
JOHN BENJAMIN ALWARD.
On Friday, February 7, 1896, the insatiate archer, Death, who is said to love a shining mark, ended the useful life and productive career of John Benjamin Alward, one of the prominent and highly respected citizens of Camden in this county, whose name was as familiar as a house- hold word in all southern Michigan, and was a synonym for all that is elevated in citizenship, genial in companionship and enterprising and pro- gressive in business. Mr. Alward was past sixty- four years old, having been born on October 26, 1832, in Harrison township, of Licking county, Ohio, and he had been a resident of Michigan for about twenty-seven years, living all of the time in Camden township. His father, Ezra H. Al- ward, lived for many years in Licking county, Ohio, and then moved to Hancock county in the same state, where both himself and wife, Nancy (Eastman) Alward, resided until their deaths.
John Benjamin Alward, their son, was reared on the paternal homestead 'and educated at the public schools and Granville (Ohio) Male Acad-
emy. At the age of twenty-four years he married with Miss Maria Kalb, of Macomb, Hancock county, in his native state, and they became the parents of five children, four of whom are living : Addie, wife of E. Biery; Estella, wife of Ira Black; Charles B .; Metta, wife of George A. Brown. After his marriage he engaged for a number of years in mercantile business. In 1869 he moved his family to Hillsdale county and set- tled here on a farm near the village of Camden, adjoining the original village plot. The next year he moved to another farm, which is still a part of his estate, located two miles east of the village. There he built a family residence, and for a num- ber of years conducted both agricultural and a flourishing insurance business. On December 27, 1873, his wife died, and on October 5, 1875, he married Miss Ella R. Stewart, of Camden, who is still living.
After his second marriage Mr. Ahvard was in business several years as a hardware and grocery merchant, and; thereafter, until a few months prior to his death, he was bank cashier and confi- dential man to O. D. Chester, who had extensive business interests. He was also a silent partner in the firm of C. B. Alward & Co., of which his son was the head. He was a gentleman of fine public spirit and throughout his mature life was a valuable aid in the development of all good en- terprises for the benefit of the community in which he lived. He served as town clerk of Cam- den five years, as supervisor four terms, and, in 1881, was the nominee of his party for repre- sentative of the State Legislature. In the best elements of the county's public life he was an in- fluential and valued advisor and help, being espe- cially interested in the cause of public education. His activity in life as a citizen began in this do- main of the public service, he having taught for several terms, serving also ably as school inspect- or in Hancock county before leaving Ohio.
The love for the cause which he then acquired he never lost, and the grasp of the subject and knowledge of its needs, gained in his practical experience, proved of great value to the school system of this county after he became a citizen here. It gave him a breadth of view and a spirit
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of enterprise and progress which enabled him to inspire others, and thus widen the sphere and ele- vate the standard of usefulness in the schools that were subject to his influence and to enlarge the power for good of all who were connected with them. From an early period of his manhood he was connected with the Masonic order and the Order of Odd Fellows, and his devotion to the cause of these fraternities and the abilities for wise and progressive administration he displayed, raised him to distinction in each. When the Odd Fellows lodge at Camden was instituted in 1878, he was a charter member and its first noble grand. And in 1887 he was grand patriarch of the Grand Encampment of the state. In 1883 he was grand marshal of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Mich- igan, in 1884 junior grand warden, in 1885 senior grand warden, and in 1886 was grand high priest of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons. The next year he was chosen as Grand Represen- tative of the Michigan Odd Fellows to the Sov- ereign Grand Lodge of the order, which met that year at Los Angeles, California, and in 1889 he was again elected to this position, but declined to serve on account of his failing eyesight.
Mr. Alward's father was a devout Methodist, for many years a class-leader in the church. Thus brought up under the influence of that great religious organization, and dwelling ever in its atmosphere, the son became a member of the church in his youth and continued loyal and de- voted in his allegiance to it through life, ever being one of its most liberal supporters and most active workers. When he came to Camden he found an organized class of this faith holding services twice a month in a schoolhouse. He at once began to agitate the building of a church, and was made a member of the first board of trus- tees, which was constituted in 1869. The lot on which his late residence now stands was pur- chased as a site for the church edifice, but soon afterward the railroad ran its survey so close to this lot as to make it undesirable for this pur- ยท pose. He then took it off the hands of the trus- tees and aided them in buying the one on which the building was erected. Then, when they were ready to build, he helped to haul the necessary
brick and other material, and rendered substan- tial aid in many other ways. He remained on the board of trustees until his death, and was the last survivor of the seven members who composed it at the beginning. He also organized the first choir for the church, was its leader for a num- ber of years, and was a teacher in the Sunday- school. Through all the history of this church he was an ardent worker in all its benevolent and evangelizing activities, being a particularly gen- erous supporter of its fund for the benefit of superannuated preachers. By his last marriage he was the father of three children, Ben. R., a banker of Camden, and Bliss S., a druggist of Camden, and Clara, who are living at home.
MILON ARCHER.
The late Milon Archer, of Reading town- ship, Hillsdale county, who died on April 24, 1901, full of years and of credit with the people among whom the greater part of his useful life was passed, was practically a product of the coun- ty, although born elsewhere, having come hither with his parents in boyhood, and grown up with the country, assisting in its development, helping to shape and imbibing the spirit of its institutions, aiding in the direction of its public life and exem- plifying in his own its best attributes and ten- dencies, and bearing at all times his due share of its burdens in the preservation of peace and pros- perity, in pushing forward its early conquests over savage Nature and broadening its later ex- pansion in commercial and industrial activities. He was born on January 10, 1826, at Canandai- gua, New York, and was the son of Garner and Annie (Warfield) Archer, the former a native of New York, where he was married, and the latter of Virginia.
About 1837 Garner Archer, accompanied by his wife and seven children, left the home of his childhood and strode with adventurous foot to- ward the western wilderness, traveling by boat from Buffalo to Toledo, and from there by team to Hillsdale county, then just awakening to the call of civilization and cultivated life. He took up eighty acres of heavily timbered land on sec-
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tion 2 in Reading township, and built a little log cabin, in which his family dwelt for a number of years. He wrought with patient and persistent industry in clearing his land and getting it un- dler cultivation, and, as time passed and he grew prosperous, he made improvements of a solid character, building a more comfortable residence and also increasing his farm to 160 acres by the purchase of additional'land. One natural feature, which aided in determining the selection of his land in the first instance, was the presence on it of an excellent spring of never-failing water, which proved to be a great convenience to his family and of great value to the farm. He was four times married, the first two in New York, and he had one child by the second marriage when he came to Michigan. In later years he moved to Cambria township and died near Cambria vil- lage, in 1890, aged ninety-for years.
Milon Archer, his son, was about eleven years old when the family came to Hillsdale county, and from that time to his death he was continu- ously a resident of the county and an active par- ticipant in its affairs. He was reared on the paternal homestead, cducated to a limited extent in the neighboring district schools, exigencies of the time allowing but few opportunities for sys- tematic mental training to the sons of the pioneers. At the age of eighteen he bought sixty acres of land on section 3 in Reading township, which two years later he traded for eighty acres on section I. About this time he was married and located on the land, to clear it of its dense growth of timber, reduce it to cultivation and make it his perma- nent home. He put up a small framed house of two rooms, into which he and his young bride moved, and here they took up the battle of life on the edge of the wilderness, and began to enact over again the part their parents had already per- formed in redeeming the waste and developing the region in which they found themselves. More land was purchased as the first became product- ive ; in course of time they owned 200 acres, and were well established in worldly comforts, hap- py in the fruits of their own industry and frugal- ity. A more commodious and better arranged
dwelling was erected, and other improvements were made in keeping with this.
When their two sons were old enough to take charge of the farm, the parents retired to a sinall place in the township, where this esteemed citi- zen ended his days, as has been stated, on April 24, 1901, aged seventy-five years. He and his wife were charter members of the Free Will Bap- tist church of the township, helping to organize the congregation and build the church, and rc- maining its active and loyal supporters through all phases of its history. Mr. Archer's marriage occurred in Reading township on November 4. 1846, and was with Miss Phidelia Thompson, a native of Genesee county, New York, a daugh- tor of Aaron and Arilla ( Baker ) Thompson, na- tives of Vermont, who moved to New York when they were young and were there reared and mar- ried. They came to Hillsdale county in the spring of 1837, and for two years lived on a rented farm near Jonesville. Mr. Thompson then bought eighty acres of timber land on section 4 in Reading township, the place now owned by Asa S. Lindsley. He cleared and improved the farm and lived on it until a short time prior to the Civil War, when he sold it and he and his wife became a part of the household of their daughter, Mrs. Archer. The mother died in 1879 and the father in 1880. He was a deacon in the Free Will Baptist church from his early man- hood. Mr. and Mrs. Archer were the parents of four children: Lura, the wife of Asa North- rop, a farmer of Reading township; Arilla, who married Angus H. Abbott and died at the age of twenty-two leaving one child; Orson, who owns a part of the old homestead ; Orville, who owns the rest of it and lives in the paternal residence.
Orson M. Archer, eldest son of Milon and Phidelia (Thompson) Archer, was born in Reading township, Hillsdale county, on Feb- ruary 1, 1860. He grew to manhood on the paternal homestead and received his education in the district schools in its vicinity, finishing his course with a year's attendance at the Jones- ville High School. At the age of twenty-one he took entire charge of the home farm and for four
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years it was wholly under his management. Then his brother, Orville, united with him in its control, and they farmed the place together until it was divided. Mr. Archer now owns 100 acres of it and forty acres adjoining his portion in Allen township. He has good, modern buildings on his farm, and is a progressive, enterprising and down- to-date farmer and breeder of good stock. He gives special attention to sheep, handling prin- cipally the Delaine Merino strain, of which he feeds a large number every winter. He was married on April 23, 1885, to Miss Dora E. Buell, a native of Branch county and daughter of Orlan- do F. and Sarah D. (Clizbe) Buell, who came from New York to this state in childhood with their parents. In 1870 Mr. Buell engaged in the shoe business at Reading, which he continued for a number of years. His wife died at Adrian in 1869, and he now lives at Menominee. Mr. and Mrs. Archer have one child, their son, Verne B. Mr. Archer is a Republican in political faith.
HENRY W. BARRE.
A native of Ohio, to whose intellectual and general welfare he contributed as a valued teach- er for a number of years, a soldier in the Civil War, helping to bear the brunt of battle at the front of unrolling columns of deadly strife and do guard duty where important interests were held in the momentous contest, wherein the life of a nation was the stake, and since then a progres- sive and enterprising merchant and developer in Michigan, Henry W. Barre, of Reading, Hills- dale county, exemplifies in his daily life, and has ever shown in his useful and productive career the best attributes and the loftiest spirit of Ameri- can citizenship, which is ready for any duty and prepared to meet any emergency that may be found in its path. He was born on June 30, 1838, at Ripleyville, in Huron county, Ohio, and is the son of John and Amy (Stout) Barre, more ex- tended mention of whom will be found in the sketch of Corvis M. Barre, on another page of this volume.
Mr. Barre grew to manhood in his native county, and received his preliminary education
in its district schools. After completing their course he entered a noted college near Cleveland, Ohio, where he was a student for a year. He then attended the Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, for one term, after which he engaged in teaching, following this useful but exacting oc- cupation in Huron and Seneca counties in his na- tive state for ten or twelve years. In 1864 he enlisted in Co. C, One Hundred and Sixty-sixth ' Ohio Infantry, and served in that command to the close of the Civil War. During the greater part of his term he was stationed at Arlington Heights, opposite Washington, and was on duty between that place and the historic Bull Run. After the close of the war he returned to Ohio, and for a year served the Pittsburg & Fort Wayne Railroad as a fireman.
In 1867 he took up his residence in Michigan, and, after remaining at Hillsdale for about six months, located at Reading and started the hard- .wood lumber business in which he is still en- gaged, which he has made one of the important commercial enterprises of this part of the state. In connection with this he also operates three valuable farms near Reading, and takes an active part in political affairs and the local government of the county. For more than twenty years he has served as an under sheriff and deputy, holding the last named position at the present time. He is an earnest working Republican in political affili- ation, always giving his party loyal service and holding a place of influence in its councils. He is also a man of progressive ideas and breadth of view, one of the inspiring and forceful factors in the development and advancement of the county. Fraternally, he is connected with the Masonic order, holding membership in the blue lodge at Reading and in the chapter and commandery at Hillsdale. He is prominent and zealous in the Grand Army of the Republic, belonging to the local post at Reading.
On December 7, 1870, Mr. Barre married with Miss Lura E. Chapman, who was born in Reading township, the daughter of Hiram B. and Amanda E. (Chamberlain) Chapman, the former a na- tive of Sandwich, New Hampshire, who came to Michigan at the age of eighteen, and soon after
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HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
became a teacher in Monroe county, where he met and married his first wife, Miss Elizabeth Cham- berlain. In 1847 they became residents of Hills- ciale county, locating in Reading township; and here, on February 28, 1865, after twenty-five years of happy wedded life, his wife died, leaving ten children as the fruit of their union, of whom Mrs. Barre was the sixth. Her eldest brother, El- bridge R. Chapman, died on March 29, 1865, one month after his mother, and another one, Alanson, met his death in the Civil War at Pendleton, South Carolina. On July 1, 1865, Mr. Chapman married a second wife, Miss Elizabeth A. Morse, of Detroit. Mr. Chapman, who is now deceased, was one of the largest property owners and most useful and influential men of the county during his later life.
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