USA > Michigan > Hillsdale County > Compendium of history and biography of Hillsdale County, Michigan > Part 71
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42I
HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
On November 23, 1842, Mr. Mccutcheon was married with Miss Ann Rogers, the cere- mony being performed at Reed in Seneca county, Ohio. His wife was a daughter of Jonathan and Martha (Haviland) Rogers, natives of New York, who moved to the Western Reserve of Ohio in 1833, and later resided in Fulton county, where the father died, the mother afterward com- ing to Hillsdale county, where her last days were concluded. Mr. and Mrs. Mccutcheon became the parents of four children, Luella, Eustace (deceased), Orville ·(deceased), and Albert J., see following sketch. Luella and Albert are living on the old homestead in Ransom township. Lu- ella lost her eyesight while living in Fulton coun- ty, Ohio, from the ravages of scarlet fever in her childhood. She was educated at the School for the Blind at Flint, in this state. The parents were members of the Baptist church, both uniting with it in youth. The father died on May 10, 1876, and the mother on March 12, 1878.
Mr. Mccutcheon had four brothers who be- came residents of Michigan and were more or less prominent with its affairs. They spelled the name Cutcheon, omitting the Mc. Dr. L. M. Cutcheon is now a resident of Grand Rapids. S. M. Cutcheon was a lawyer and the president of a savings bank at Detroit, served several terms in State Legislature and was speaker of the House. Byron M. Cutcheon, the youngest brother, who resides in Grand Rapids, has served eight years in Congress and is a prominent Republican.
Albert J. Mccutcheon, the only living son of Hon. Warren Mccutcheon, was born in Ran- som township on November 28, 1857, and reared on the homestead where he now lives. He was educated in the district schools and at Hillsdale high school. On November 6, 1879, he was unit- ed in marriage with Miss Susie A. Drake, a na- tive of Amboy township, in this county, where the marriage occurred. She is the daughter of Hon. William and Lucy A. (Alfred) Drake, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this vol- ume. Mr. and Mrs. McCutcheon have had six children, five of whom are living, Frederick W., M. Blanch, Florence, Rush W. and Miriam. The third child, Lulu, is deceased. Mr. Mc-
Cutcheon is one of the progressive and enter- prising farmers of his section, and, in addition to his farming operations, he conducts an active dairy business, having a fine herd of Jersey cat- tle. He is a Republican in politics, and also a member of the grange at Ransom Center. The whole family are regular attendants at the Con- gregational church. In the spring of 1878 he was elected superintendent of schools for the township, serving two years, was later elected supervisor on a union ticket, but soon after his incumbency of the office he tendered his resig- nation. He has also served three terms on the board of review, and was once elected as a justice of the peace but declined to serve in the office. In 1887 he was the Prohibition candi- date for the state House of Representatives. He is held in high esteem throughout the county as a progressive farmer, an excellent citizen, an up- right and independent man.
CHARLES P. HULCE.
Charles P. Hulce, commissioner of schools of Hillsdale county, is a native of Walworth county, Wisconsin, born on August 14, 1867. His par- ents were Elisha and Alice L. (Parkyn) Hulce, born and reared in the state of New York. The father was a farmer and emigrated to Wisconsin about the year 1857. He purchased land there which he improved and on which he passed the remainder of his days, dying in 1893. He was well esteemed in the county and displayed his public spirit and capacity for administration in several local offices to which he was chosen from time to time. His family was of German origin, his early American ancestors coming to the United States generations ago. His wife is still living in the city of Hillsdale. They were the parents of two sons and one daughter, their son, Charles, being the only one living in Michigan.
He received a good education in the best schools available to him, finishing in the prelim- inary or preparatory course at the Whitewater (Wis.) Normal School. He taught in the district schools of that neighborhood until 1887, and then entered the preparatory department of Hillsdale
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College. After a thorough collegiate course of instruction, which was interrupted by several un- toward circumstances, he was graduated in 1895, and in the autumn of that year matriculated at the Ann Arbor University to complete his class- ical course, which he did at that institution, be- ing graduated therefrom in 1897, with the de- grce of Bachelor of Arts. He immediately began teaching the same year as principal of the schoo! at Redridge, in Houghton county, where he re- mained one year, at the end of which time he was made the superintendent of schools at St. Ignacc, and served in this capacity for one year. He passed the next year as a teacher at Arcadian Mine in Houghton county. The next year he was appointed to fill the unexpired term of W. H. French as commissioner of schools. His sig- nal ability caused him to be elected to the office in 1901 and reelected in 1903.
In October, 1901, Mr. Hulce was united in marriage with Miss Grace S. Hall, a native of Michigan, who, at the time of the marriage, was residing at Union in Cass county, where the cere- mony was performed. To this union a daughter has been born, Alice Mary. In his politics Mr. Hulce has been a lifelong Republican, and in fra- ternal relations belongs to blue lodge and royal arch chapter in Masonry and to several insur- ance orders. He is also a Knight of Pythias. In the discharge of his official duties he has the ben- efit of his long experience as a student, and also the advantage of the breadth of view which comes from a close observation and a wide knowledge of men. He has been an inspiration in the school circles subject to his control, and a valuable and a valued aid to struggling teachers and local school authorities. He is one of Hills- dale county's most esteemed and respected citi- zents being one of the state's most appreciated school officials.
WILLIAM H. PALMER.
The honored subject of this brief review is the oldest living white person born in Ransom township, and, by a long life of useful and pro- ductive labor on its fruitful soil, he has accumu-
lated a comfortable estate in worldly wealth, cre- ated a fine and valuable farm out of the wilder- ness and firmly established himself in the confi- dence, regard and good will of his fellow citizens of the township. He was born at the paternal homestead on August 26, 1839. the son of Alex- ander and Luceba ( Hathaway) Palmer. Both were natives of New York, who came in early life with their parents to the territory of Michi- gan, locating in Lenawee county among its first settlers, and there reaching maturity and marry- ing. In the spring of 1836 they came with their little family to Hillsdale county in search of a home, and after exploring the southern portion of the county, settled on the family homestead, which in course of time they converted into a valuable and desirable farm. The removal hither was made through the trackless forest, the only sign of civilization in the region being a faint trail marked by blazed trees. Mr. Palmer en- tered his land from the government and at once began to make preparation to live on it and turn it into a comfortable home. A little log cabin with a puncheon floor was built, having a roof of shakcs and a chimney constructed on the out- side of clay and sticks. In due time the eighty acres he had taken up were cleared, and the fam- ily continued to live here until the beginning of the Civil War. The farm was then sold and Mr. Palmer purchased other land in the township on section 4. The declining. years of his life were passed in peace and comfort, and he passed away on June 9. 1878, having survived his excellent wife twenty-seven years, her death occurring in 1851. Their offspring numbered nine, eight of whom lived to maturity.
William H. Palmer was the third of the chil- dren of his parents. Like his sisters and broth- ers, he acquired the rudiments of a common school education in the little log schoolhouse in the woods, which, with its slab benches and puncheon floor, was made as comfortable as the circumstances allowed. When he reached the age of twelve he went to Ridgeway, in Lena- wee county, and from then until November, 1861. made his home with his uncle, John C. Palmer, at that place. He then returned to Ransom town-
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HILLSDALE, COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
ship and enlisted in Co. G, First Michigan Light Artillery, in which he served in defense of the Union until January 28, 1865. The command to which he was attached saw continued and active service, and Mr. Palmer was in a number of se- vere engagements, notably those of Vicksburg, Cumberland Gap, Port Gibson, Champion Hills and Black River Bridge. He was also in numer- ous skirmishes and for twenty-nine days was in pursuit of the Confederate raider, Morgan, in Ohio and Kentucky. They started with three days' rations, which were soon exhausted, and for some time they subsisted on two ears of corn per man a day, which they were obliged to eat without salt. On May 1, 1863, he was wounded in the left shoulder at Port Gibson near Vicks- burg, and three days later was taken prisoner in a hospital on Brown's plantation, and was sent to Andersonville as soon as he was able to be moved. After a week of captivity one night he stole a Confederate horse and succeeded in get- ting away, reaching his battery in safety the next day. He sold the horse for thirty dollars, and was soon afterward sent to a hospital at St. Louis. In the fall he went to a parole camp in Ohio, and was allowed to come home on a fur- lough, during which he married Miss Alice M. Hart, born a native of Lorain county, Ohio, the wedding occurring on September 4, 1863. Mrs. Palmer was a daughter of Samuel and Emily Hart, the former a native of Vermont and the latter of Ohio. They were for many years resi- dents of Ransom township. Four weeks after marriage Mr. Palmer rejoined his battery and served until the close of the war.
On being discharged from the army at the close of the war, Mr. Palmer returned to this county and purchased the farm on which he now lives, having saved enough out of his slender pay as a soldier to pay for it in its undeveloped condition. He has since labored assiduously to improve it and increase its value, and now has a fine place of fifty-four acres with excellent build- ings, fences and other necessary improvements. He and his estimable wife have been the parents of six children, of whom only three are living. They are Perry, Cora and Budd. Hattie and
Delbert were killed in the explosion of a steam boiler in a sawmill on November 23, 1871, aged respectively six and four years ; Jessie A. died on July 27, 1897, aged fourteen. The explosion also seriously injured Mr. and Mrs. Palmer, nearly costing them their lives.
Mr. Palmer cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1860, and he has since then steadfastly adhered to the Republican party in politics ; but he gives little time to political mat- ters, finding his mind and his energies fully occu- pied with his home duties and interests. He has always been prudent and economical, carefully avoiding placing himself under obligations to any man, preferring to do without the things he has not the ready money to purchase and to live strictly within his income at all times. It was this rule of action that enabled him to save enough while in the army to purchase his first land, an achievement of which he has always been justly proud. He has been a member of the Masonic order since the Civil War, holding mem- bership in the lodge at Waldron. He is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the Patrons of Husbandry at Ransom.
HON. WILLIAM H. H. PETTIT.
For over fifty years Hon. William H. H. Pet- tit has been a resident of Hillsdale county, liv- ing all of the time in Ransom township, and help- ing with manly industry and persistent determin- ation to build up its interests, develop its resources and magnify on its soil and among its people the blessings of civilization and progress. He was born on October 9, 1840, in Columbiana county, Ohio, and is the son of Jacob and Axcy (Lowrie) Pettit, the former a native of Berks county, Pa., and the latter of Columbiana county, Ohio. The father came to that part of Ohio with his parents when he was but four years old, and he was there reared, educated and married. For a number of years he was a merchant at Elkton, in that coun- ty, but in 1846 moved to Williams county in the same state, where he remained for several years, then returned to Columbiana county. In April, 1853, he moved his family to Hillsdale county,
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HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Michigan, and bought 240 acres of land in Ran- som township for the sum of $1,000. About forty acres of the tract were cleared and improved, having a good hewed log dwelling. He proceed- ed to clear and improve the rest and in time made a fine farm of it, living there until death ended his labors. His wife died on the farm in De- cember, 1864, and he in 1888. They were the parents of seven children, all but one of whom are living and are residents of this county.
Their son, William H. H. Pettit, lived in the parental home until he reached the age of thir- teen and then accompanied the rest of the family to this county. He bore his part faithfully in the early work of the farm and in all its subse- quent labors while he remained at home, and re- ceived his education by faithful attendance at the district schools of the neighborhood, when he could be spared for the purpose. On October 14, 1861, fired by patriotic zeal for the safety of the Union, he enlisted in Co. C, First Michigan In- fantry, in which regiment he served until No- vember 19, 1864, being a part of the Army of the Potomac. With the exception of about six weeks following the battle of Gettysburg, where he was seriously wounded, he was with his regiment during the whole of its history and participated in all its engagements.
After his discharge from the army, he re- turned to his Michigan home, and for a year worked for his father on the farm, then took charge of it and managed its operations on his own account until 1880. At that time he bought eighty acres of the farm on which he now lives, which was improved with a small house and barn. He has continued to live on this land since then, making improvements from time to time, increasing the comforts of his home and adding to its value with good judgment and com- mendable enterprise. He has added sixty acres to the estate, and, on the death of his father, he inherited forty more, so that he now owns and cultivates 180 acres. In 1889 Mr. Pettit was married to Miss Mary Cooper, a native of Ran- som township, and a daughter of James C. and Miranda (Crommer) Cooper, the former a native of New York and the latter of Geauga county,
Ohio, whose parents were among the earliest set- tlers of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper are still living among the residents of Ransom town- ship, and, highly esteemed, are in full enjoyment of the fruits of their long lives of useful labor, frugality and uprightness.
Mr. and Mrs. Pettit are the parents of two children : Their daughter, Annie M., the wife of Lewis Thompson; and their son, James L. Pet- tit ; both of whom are living with their parents. In politics Mr. Pettit is a Republican of pro- nounced faith and firm convictions. In 1875 he was elected supervisor of his township, and for ten consecutive years thereafter he was reelected to this office, which he also filled for one year at a later period. In the fall of 1886 he was chosen a member of the State Legislature, and in that body he never dodged an issue, but gave to all questions his conscientious attention and his vote. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic post at Ransom Center, and has filled all of its important offices, as he has in the grange, to which he belongs in the same place.
JONATHAN SALTZGIBER.
Jonathan Saltzgiber, of Hillsdale county, one of the well-to-do and enterprising farmers of Wright township, who has won all he possesses by industry and thrift, is a native of Lebanon county, Pa., born at Newmanstown on September 16, 1828, being a son of John and Sophia (Wise) Saltzgiber, also natives of Pennsylvania and of · Dutch ancestry. John was a son of George and Hannah ( Keller) Saltzgiber, who were both born and reared in Lebanon county, På., where their parents settled in the early days of the com- monwealth. The grandfather was by trade a dyer and weaver, and the father a cabinet maker and joiner. In 1835 the latter moved his family to Mansfield, Ohio, and two years later to Wil- liams county, in the same state. In 1848 they set- tled in Fulton county, Ohio, where they passed the rest of their lives. Their offspring num- bered eleven children, of whom five are living, and of these Jonathan, who was the second born of the family, is the oldest. The parents were
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HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
very religious, and great workers in the church.
Jonathan Saltzgiber was seven years old when the family moved to Mansfield and he there began his education, his first teaching was in the Ger- man language, English being taken up some years later. He followed his parents in their wanderings, attending school as he had opportu- nity, until he reached the age of eighteen. When he was fifteen his father placed him at the bench and taught him the trade of a cabinet maker and joiner. He remained with his father until he was twenty-two, receiving only his board and clothes for his work, and in 1850 he came to Adrian, in this state, where he wrought at his trade for thirteen years. In the meantime, on June 13, 1853, he married with Miss Hester N. St. John, who bore him five children, the first two being twins and both named Mary E., then Lena, William M. and Ella, the last named being now deceased. In April, 1863, Mr. Saltzgiber moved to his present residence, then an unculti- vated farm of eighty acres, going into debt for $750 of the purchase price. Here he has since made his home and applied his energies so wisely and faithfully that he is now out of debt and has one of the best farms in this portion of the town- ship. In 1877 he married a second wife, Miss Esther Kearney, who was born on July 27, 1840, at Mishawaka, Ind., and who died on July 30, 1893. His third marriage occurred on March 26, 1895, and was with Mrs. Eva Saltzgiber, whose maiden name was Eva Beilharz, and who was born in Germany and came to the United States when four years old with her parents, To- bias and Agatha Beilharz, also natives of the Fatherland. They were early settlers in Ohio, and highly respected for their industry, honesty and thrift. Mrs. Saltzgiber has one child by her first marriage, her daughter, Ellen. The mother is an earnest and serviceable worker in the Meth- odist Episcopal church.
Mr. Saltzgiber was for years a member of the order of Odd Fellows, but some years ago with- drew from his lodge with the intention of affili- ating with another, which, however, he has ne- glected to - do. After settling on his farm in Wright township he worked for awhile at his
trade in connection with his farming operations : but he abandoned this kind of labor some eigh- teen years ago, and has since devoted his ener- gies wholly to his farm. As he is now prosper- ous and comfortable, and well advanced in years, he has determined to take life easy and seek the enjoyments his tastes desire. He and his wife have recently returned from a visit to his old Pennsylvania home, and while in the East they spent some time at Atlantic City and other pleas- ure resorts. During the summer of 1903 he also visited his grandfather's old home in Pennsyl- vania. The family is a long-lived one, Samuel Saltzgiber, a great uncle of Jonathan,, having lived to be one hundred and three years old, and Mr. Saltzgiber has a photograph of him taken when he had attained his one-hundredth year. He died at Van Wert, Ohio.
HENRY S. TUTTLE.
Henry S. Tuttle, of Wright township, who came to Hillsdale county when he was a year old and has passed the whole of his subsequent life among its people, was born in Ontario county, N. Y., on July 4, 1843, and the son of Benjamin and Arminda (Freer) Tuttle, who were natives of New York. They came to this county in 1844, and settled near Lime lake in Wright township until the father could build a dwelling on his new claim of eighty acres of wild land in section 9. Here he put up a little shack, 18x24 feet in size, with a half story above, into which he moved his family and then began to clear his land. The conditions of life were far from favorable. There was no mill nearer than Adrian, in the adjoining county, and roads and other conveniences were almost unknown. He bought cows, and perse- vered in his diligent labors, winning prosperity out of his hard conditions, and dwelling on the same farm, as did his wife, until their respective deaths. Their family consisted of eight children, five of whom are living, Henry having been the : fifth in the order of birth.
Henry S. Tuttle was reared on the home farm and attended the schools of the period and local- ity until he was fourteen, then went to work as
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HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
a regular hand on the farm, remaining there until he was twenty-two. On July 19, 1868, he united in marriage with Miss Lucy A. Root, a native of Wright township, and a daughter of John P. and Harriet (Pixley) Root, who were early set- tlers in the township, having been married in Lenawee county in 1843. They were born in New York state, the father.in 1817 and the moth- er in 1826. The father died on November 24, 1866, and the mother on August 11, 1898. They were the parents of ten children, all of whom are living. After his marriage Mr. Tuttle moved into the house with his parents and remamed there about three years and until after the death of his father. In 1871 he changed his residence to his present home, it 'comprising at the time only twenty acres of land, which was partially cleared and under cultivation, having a small house 18x26 feet in size, with a half-story above, and in this his family lived until 1895, when he erected the dwelling he now occupies, which is 45 feet by 33 in dimensions, and two stories high. His farm has also been enlarged to 170 acres and brought to a high state of cultivation. It is in one body and is pleasantly located. The land is of excellent quality, and as it has been wisely tilled, it is very productive.
The other improvements are in keeping with the residence, both in character and dimensions and in every respect Mr. Tuttle is well situated for his business, having all of the comforts of life plentiful around him, and the additional satisfac- tion of realizing that his estate is wholly the prod- uct of his own skill and enterprise. Mr. and Mrs. Tuttle are regular attendants of the Congrega- tional church, and their family consists of five children : Henry E., who married Miss Effie Hinkle: Ida, the wife of Willis Burd, a farmer in the township; Lollon, who married Miss Blanch Dunn and is cultivating the home place ; Lula M., who is living at the parental home. Mr. Tuttle has always been a Democrat in politics, and has given his party loyal and earnest support from his young manhood, although not desirous of public office for himself. He has lived the use- ful life of an honest and industrious farmer, seek- ing only to make a proper provision for his fam-
ily and to perform his daily duties as a good citi- zen and as an upright and fair-dealing man ; and as such he enjoys in a marked degree the confi- dence and esteem of his fellow men throughout the community.
CHARLES E. FULLER.
Having come to the county in his infancy with his parents, thereafter passing the whole of his subsequent life within its limits, a period of more than three-score years, Charles E. Fuller, of Ad- ams township, one of the most highly respected pioneer farmers of this portion of the state, has seen the whole of the transformation which has taken place in this region as it came forth at the command of man's sovereign will from a condi- tion of wilderness and barbarism to one of comeli- ness and systematic productiveness, and he has aided materially in bringing about the change. He saw almost the beginning of its civilization, and he has lived in vigor and cheerfulness to see its large and bountiful fruition. He is a native of Onondaga county, New York, born on August 8, 1834, the son of Reuben J. and Sarah A. (Al- len) Fuller, the former a native of New York and the latter of Massachusetts.
Reuben J. Fuller was engaged in agricultural pursuits in New York until 1836, when he came by team to this state through Canada to Detroit and from there to Hillsdale county. He pur- chased a tract of forty acres of land southeast of North Adams from the government and, although it was in the dead of winter, he began at once to build a log house for his family and made prepara- tions to clear up the land for cultivation. He aft- erward purchased forty acres additional and on this farm he passed the rest of his days, ex- cepting seven years which he spent in Kalamazoo county, dying here in 1894. His wife preceded him to the grave by nearly twenty-five years, pass- ing away in 1871. Their family consisted of four sons and one daughter, all now living and resi- dents of Michigan. The father contracted a sec- ond marriage, his choice on this occasion being Mrs. Axie Locklin, who died in 1896. He was an Abolitionist in politics and assisted in the opera-
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