USA > Michigan > Kalamazoo County > Compendium of history and biography of Kalamazoo County, Mich. > Part 27
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF
riage, Mr. Comings became the father of three children, Florence, deceased, formerly the wife of Frank Hodgman ; Sherman, who lives on the old homestead, and Katie, also deceased. The mother died on June 13, 1873, and on March 11, 1874, the father was married to Miss Emma Mills, a daughter of Deacon W. and Maria ( Root ) Mills, both natives of New York. She died on October 27. 1900, leaving one child, their daughter Mary 11. Mr. Comings has for a long time been an active and zealous member of the Congregational church, and during a period of more than thirty years was the chorister of the congregation to which he belongs, and also for many years one of its trustees. Ilis political affiliation is with the Republican party, and as a good and trustworthy citizen he has frequently obeyed the call of his fellows to important official positions, among them several school offices and that of road com- missioner. Now in his eighty-ninth year, after a life of great activity and public and private usefulness, he is enjoying the rest he has so well earned and the universal veneration of the people among whom he has lived nearly three-quarters of a century, which is due to his worth and freely and cordially given.
SHERMAN COMINGS, the only son of this "patriarch in Israel," was born on the farm which belongs to his father and himself, and has passed all his subsequent years on it. His education was secured in the district schools of the neighborhood and his physical training on the farm in the work of which he became an early laborer. His life be- gan on November 24. 1847, and from the opening of his manhood, in fact from before this, he has been carnestly interested in public affairs and the general welfare and prosperity of his township. He is now serving as its superintendent of the poor and filling the position with credit to himself and advantage to the community. Following closely in the footsteps of his father and his grandfather. he sustains with manliness and proper dignity their reputation for probity and lofty citizenship. and shares the general esteem in which their names are held. He was married on April 26, 1879, to Miss Cornelia Daniels, who is also a native of this county, where her parents were early settlers. The fruit of their union is
two sons, James Ripley, Jr., and Harris Daniels. The history of this family, grandfather, father and son, is almost co-extensive with that of the county itself ; and its present state of development, wealth, industrial and commercial greatness, and social, intellectual and moral culture, represents the mighty work of a class of progressive, broad- minded and heroic men of which they are the types and to which they have materially con- tributed. That all which has occurred on this soil should take place within the limits of one human life is wonderful to think of and per- haps impossible in any other country but ours. But it is an experience that the'elder Comings and many more like him have had, here and else- where, and this forcibly illustrates the genius, en- terprise and all-conquering spirit of the American people.
ALVIN B. BARNES.
Alvin B. Barnes, who is now living retired from active pursuits at Richland, this county. after an honorable career of success in business and of practical usefulness in helping to build up the section of the county, in which much of his life has been passed, is one of the few carly pio- neers of the county still left among us to tell over the trials and hardships, the exciting adventures. the crude appliances for all kinds of labor, and the great difficulties of laying the foundations of the commonwealth, in the early days, and the later triumphs of man's intelligence and energy. leading up to the splendid delevopment around nis today, in which he had his full share, is a na- tive of Oneida county, N. Y., born on March 24. 1822. He is the son of Tillotson and Clarissa (Byington) Barnes, who were born and reared in Connecticut. The father was a farmer and also a millwright, and he wrought at these vocations a number of years. In 1832 the family moved to this county, making the trip from Rome. N. Y., by canal to Buffalo, and from there across Lake Erie by steamboat to Detroit. From this city, which was then one of the outposts of civ- ilization, they traveled with an ox team to Gull Prairie and settled on one hundred acres of wild and unbroken land in Ross township, in the Oak Openings. The father did not begin farming at
AM Barnl
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KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
once, but, yielding to the necessities of the neigh- borhood, he erected a grist and saw mill at York- ville, bringing the stone from Detroit by means of ox teams. This mill he operated until his death, in February, 1836. The mother died in New York when her son was but four years old, and afterward the father married a second wife, Miss Ursula Wilson, who died at Yorkville in 1846. Of the first marriage three sons and two daugh- ters were born. all of whom are now dead but Alvin. The father was a leading Presbyterian, and assisted in the erection of the first church edifice for that sect on Gull Prairie. Alvin B. Barnes was eleven years old when the move to Michigan took place, and he saw the country in which the family settled in all its pristine beauty and wildness, and experienced also all the priva- tions, trials and dangers of life for its hardy pio- neers. His education was obtained in the crude and ill-qualified common schools of the new coun- try ; and at an early age he put on the harness of a worker and began to make his own living by working on farms in the vicinity of his home. In 1849 he assisted in founding the Yorkville Mitten Factory for the manufacture of buckskin gloves and mittens, with which he was connected until 1854, then passed two years in general mer- chandising at Centralia, Ill. At the end of that period he returned to Yorkville, and in 1861 re- moved to Richland, where he kept a general store until 1875. Since that time he has lived retired from active work or business, and devoted his time to his own quiet enjoyments and what aid he could give in pushing forward the general in- terests of the township. He is a stockholder in the Kalamazoo Savings Bank and the Kalama- zoo National Bank, the Superior Paper Company, the Upjohn Pill Works, and other important busi- ness enterprises. In December, 1854, he united in marriage with Miss Caroline Luce, a native of Vermont, whose parents were pioneers of Cook county. Ill. Six children have been born to this union : Emilia B .: Carrie, wife of J. T. Upjohn. of Kalamazoo: Hattie. wife of A. J. Wylie, of Shelby, Mich .: Mary. wife of George E. Little, of Richland ; and Fannie M., at home. The fam- ily all belong to the Presbyterian church and are
actively interested in its works of benevolence and religious improvement. To live from the dawn of civilization in a new country to its noonday splendor, and bear a willing and useful hand in helping it along ; to see a whole section of coun- try transformed from a habitation of wild deni- zens of the forest. man and beast, to a thickly peopled region of happy homes, dressed in the majestic robes and sparkling with the glittering gems of cultivated life; to witness mines of in- calculable value, over which the savage trod un- consciously in his haughty pride, without sa- gacity to discover or implements to explore them, opened to general utility and their hidden stores brought forth for the comfort, convenience and happiness of mankind-this is indeed a high priv- ilege. and it is one that Mr. Barnes has enjoyed in full measure in his experience, and now enjoys many times over in retrospection.
DAVID B. MERRILL.
The late David B. Merrill, who passed away from this, life at his home in Kalamazoo on Fri- day, January 6, 1899, was a prominent business man in the city for over forty years, and at his death left many landmarks and imposing mony- ments to remind the older citizens of his close and successful attention to business. He was one of the most extensive manufacturers in Mich- igan, being president of the Merrill Milling Com- pany, which owns and operates four mills, two in Kalamazoo. one three miles south of the city, and one at Plainwell. their names being the Kalama- zoo, Coldstream, Eagle and Plainwell mills, re- spectively. Mr. Merrill was born at Peru, Clin- . ton county, N. Y., on June 6, 1833, and was the son of Arthur H. and Rhoda ( Stearns) Merrill, natives of Claremont. N. H. He was the last born of nine children, and after receiving an ac- ademic education taught three terms of school, beginning when he was but fifteen at Peru. Later he taught two terms on Long Island, and then clerked about one year in a grocery in New York city, after which he returned to Peru and be- came bookkeeper in a mill. holding the position two years. For a similar period he next carried
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on a general mercantile business at Clintonville. He became a resident of Kalamazoo in 1858. and within that year bought the Kalamazoo mill and entered upon his long and active career as a man- ufacturer. Three years later he became proprie- tor of the Coldstream mill, and in 1872 bought the Plainwell mill, and in 1876 the Eagle mill. His only partner at first was George W. Fish. with whom he continued a year and a half, then became associated with Francis H. Chase, their partnership extending over three years. . At the end of that period W. H. McCourtie joined the firm, of which he was a member until 1882. But Mr. Merrill's whole energy was not taken up with his milling business. He had an abiding faith in the growth and prosperity of Kalamazoo, and was never wanting in the clearness of vision to see and the enterprise to use good opportunities to push the city's progress and development. In 1866 he and Mr. McCourtie plotted an addition of twelve acres to the city, and in 1865 he pur- chased a one-half interest in the Stuart addi- tion, in which he erected a number of dwelling houses. Some time afterward he became the owner of one hundred and seventy-two acres. twelve acres of which he platted, and the rest he sold in one-acre lots. For five years he was an extensive stave manufacturer, and in this under- taking, as in all others which engaged his atten- tion, he was eminently successful and prosperous. He was from his young manhood a Republican of pronounced convictions in political faith. He was a stockholder and director in the First National Bank and also a stockholder in the Kalamazoo Corset Company. In addition he was a stock- holder in the Charlevoix Summer Home Associa- tion, of which he was one of the founders, and an owner of a cottage at the beautiful and health- ful resort controlled by this company. He was also the president of the association for a number of years. In 1856 Mr. Merrill united in marriage with Miss Julia Hatch, who died at Kalamazoo in April. 1859. leaving one son, Charles B., who died in 1876, at the age of nineteen. Subsequently the father married a second wife, Mrs. Annie La Due, of Milwaukee, Wis. She was a daughter of S. B. Davis, of Kalamazoo, who ran the first
line of stages between Detroit and Chicago, and was well known to the older residents of his home city. He was killed by being thrown from a wagon, his head striking a telegraph pole, which brought instant death. This occurred several years ago. The second Mrs. Merrill died on August 11. 1890, at Petoskey. She was the mother of one child, their daughter Ida, now de- ceased, who married G. W. Winans, the well known manufacturer. On September 15, 1891. Mr. Merrill was married a third time, his choice on this occasion being Miss Ida L. Rowley, the daughter of Mrs. J. A. Rowley, of Kalamazoo. Mr. Merrill was an influential and consistent member of the First Congregational church, and served as a trustee of the society, and was a lib- eral contributor to its needs for more than thirty years. He visited Europe in the summer of 1891 and made a tour of Scotland and England. The office of the milling company was in the Merrill block, which was built by Mr. Merrill in 1863. and for many years he was a familiar figure to the citizens of Kalamazoo as he sat at his desk in the front of the office, always, except at short intervals, giving studious personal attention to his large business. Fraternally he belonged to the Masonic order for many years.
HON. HENRY C. BRIGGS.
The pioneer attorney and the Nestor of the bar of Kalamazoo county, Judge Henry C. Briggs, who has been in the active and absorbing prac- tice of his profession for a period of forty-three years, has sounded all the depths of fame in his profession here and encountered all its difficulties in the trial of important and intricate cases, and has made steady progress by his indomitable will, studious habits and finc natural abilities, from the hour when he was first sworn in as an attor- ney in 1861 until now. He was born in Rutland county, \'t., on January 29, 1831. his father, Noah Briggs, being also a native of that state, while his mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Kenyon, was born in the state of New York. The father was a mechanic and farmer, and the family moved to Michigan in 1836, locating in Allegan
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county when almost the whole of the state was either the primeval forest or the unbroken soil vir- gin to the plow and yet filled with its wild growth of luxuriant but practically useless vegetation. In 1864 he moved to this county and a few years afterward (1874) died here. Seven sons were born to the parents and of these six grew to man- hood and two are now living. One, William H., served in the Thirteenth Michigan Infantry dur- ing the Civil war and died in the service. The Judge was educated in the public schools and at Kalamazoo College, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts and after- ward received that of Master of Arts. Later he pursued a special course at the State University. In 1856 he was elected clerk of Allegan county for a term of four years, and during his term he studied law. In 1860 he was chosen to represent Allegan and Van Buren counties in the state sen- ate, and was known as "the boy member" of the body. He served through the regular session and a special session held in the spring of 1861 and rendered efficient service as chairman of the committee on enrolled bills. At the end of the special session he resigned his seat, and having been admitted to the bar in Allegan county, lo- cated at Kalamazoo and began the practice of his profession, forming for the purpose a partnership with Hon. Charles S. May, the firm name being May & Briggs. In the fall of 1862 he was elected prosecuting attorney and this firm was dissolved. He served four years as prosecutor, then resumed his private practice. In 1876 he was elected pro- bate judge, and in this office he served eight years, at the same time carrying on his general practice. Afterward he formed a partnership with Hon. J. C. Burrows, now United States senator from this state, which lasted two years, the firm name being Briggs & Burrows. In 1883, on account of the condition of his health, he removed to South Dakota, where he practiced twelve years and filled the office of district attorney, and also farmed to some extent. In 1896 he returned to Kalamazoo and since then he has been actively engaged in a large general practice. He is now referee in bankruptcy. The Judge is a Repub- lican in politics, and in devotion to his party, as
in his practice, he makes his faith known by works of earnestness and value. By the choice of his party he served a number of years as as- sistant district attorney in this county. He was married in 1859 in Allegan county, this state, to Miss Myra R. Toby, who was born in Rhode Island. She died in 1868, and on June 16, 1875, he solemnized a second marriage, being united on this occasion with Miss Amanda Hibbard, a native of Massachusetts. She has borne him two children, both sons, William H., now living in New York, and Henry B., now of the Detroit Tribune. In church affiliation the father is a Baptist and has been an active member of the or- ganization for many years. It is high praise but only a just tribute to merit to say that in all the relations of life, in his profession, in official sta- tion, in business relations with his fellows, in social communion and in his private life he has met every requirement and responsibility with a manly and upright character, a courageous and self-reliant spirit, and a genial consideration for the rights and feelings of others, exemplifying in an admirable way the best attributes of Amer- ican citizenship.
JOSEPH DUNKLEY.
If the man who makes two blades of grass grow where one grew before is a public benefac- tor, much more is the one who introduces a new product into a region and there multiplies its pro- duction so as to make it one of the leading ele- ments of wealth and comfort to the people and a substantial and enduring source of distinction to the section in which it brought forth. In this class belonged the late Joseph Dunkley, of Kala- mazoo, whose useful life ended on May 26, 1898, at the age of sixty-two. He was the pioneer celery grower in this part of the world, and be- ginning his industry on a small scale, he 'ex- panded it to such proportions that he became the most extensive single producer of this palatable and nutritious plant in the whole world, having a the time of his death seventy-five acres of it fruitful with the best quality known to the mar- kets. Mr. Dunkley was born in Somersetshire,
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England, on October 6, 1836, and was the son of George and Elizabeth (Knight) Dunkley, na- tives of the same country, who emigrated to Canada and died at London in the province of Ontario. The father was a contractor in con- struction work and while in his native land held large contracts from the government in building roads and sewers. The son remained in England until he reached the age of seventeen, receiving his education there and beginning life as a gar- dener. At the age mentioned he emigrated to Canada and located near the city of London, where he followed his craft of gardening until 1857. In that year he moved to Kalamazoo and bought two lots of ground on Pearl street. For three years he was employed by Bush & Patterson, and then began gardening in a small way, later engaging more extensively in raising strawberries and other small fruits. In 1880 he started an enterprise in growing celery on a large scale in the northern part of the city. This became his leading industry during the remainder of his life and by steadily enlarging his operations in the new field he made himself the most extensive celery grower in the world. About 1884 he erected greenhouses on Pearl street and added to his business that of a florist and nurseryman. This branch of the business is now carried on by his family as the Dunkley Floral Company, and is one of the flourishing and prosperous industries of the city. Mr. Dunkley was a Republican in politics, but never filled or desired a public office. In 1859 he was married to Miss Mary Wilson. a native of Ireland. They had two children who grew to maturity, Samuel J., of the Dunkley Celery Company of Kalamazoo, and Robert J .. of South Haven. Their mother died in 1877, and in 1888 the father was married to Miss Agnes Whillis, who was born at Grand Rapids. this state, the daughter of James and Isabella (Thompson) Whillis, who moved to that city in 1837. The father was a native of Scotland and a carpenter. Of Mr. Dunkley's second marriage seven children were born, five of whom are living. Myra A., Clara A., Laura I .. Charles W. and Benjamin H. Mrs. Agnes Dunkley died in April. 1905. The father, who was one of the progressive
and far-seeing business men of the community, took an active interest in all its means of develop- ment and progress, aiding every commendable project conducive to these ends. He was a mem- ber of the First Presbyterian church and one of its most liberal supporters.
HON. CHARLES EDWARD STUART.
The strong, true men of a people are its most priceless possession, in their active usefulness while living, and in the inspiration and influence of their memory when they are gone. . Although he has been among the departed of this county for nearly twenty years, Hon. Charles E. Stuart. late one of the leading citizens of Kalamazoo, is still held in the highest esteem by the people of the city among whom his influence is still potent, and whom, in a measure, he still rules from his urn, so to speak. The ancestors of Mr. Stuart were Scotch and English, members of the May- hew family, who emigrated from England to this country and settled at Martha's Vineyard in 1642. From that time until the present, wherever mem- bers of the family have found a foothold, they have faithfully borne the part of good citizens in peace and war, and they have dignified and adorned all the walks of life. Mr. Stuart was the son of Dr. Charles and Catherine ( Parsons) Stuart, and was born on November 25, 1810, in Columbia county, N. Y., on a farm which was then the parental homestead. Soon after the close of the war of 1812 the family moved to Wa- terloo. Seneca county, the same state, where the father practiced his profession and also carried on large farming operations. On the farm Charles grew to manhood, and in the intervals be- tween its exacting labors he attended the district school in the neighborhood and there secured the rudiments of an English education. These, al- though no suitable and sufficient preparation for the important public duties he was afterward called upon to perform in exalted station, did fur- nish pabulum for his naturally quick and strong mind and laid the foundation for that superstruc- ture of wide and solid general information which by his own studies and observations he afterward
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erected. At the age of nineteen he began the study of law in the office of Birdsall & Clark at Waterloo, and after a diligent course of study was admitted to the bar of Seneca county. Early in 1835, while the state was still a part of the far frontier, he came to Michigan, and after some in- spection of various localities, settled at Kalama- zoo, where he formed a partnership for the prac- tice of law with Gov. Epaphroditus Ransom. The next autumn, drawn by the invisible but te- nacious thread of sentiment, he returned to his New York home, where on November 3, 1835, he united in marriage with Miss Sophia S., daugh- ter of George and Sophia (Lee) Parsons. Re- turning to his new home with his bride, he en- tered vigorously on the career of active useful- ness which he afterward had, devoting himself assiduously to his profession and with character- istic public spirit and patriotism giving public affairs a large part of his attention as a Demo- crat of firm convictions. He served one term in the legislature, then kept out of office until 1847, when he was elected to the United States house of representatives. In 1849 he was re- elected, and in the winter of 1852-3 was chosen United States senator for a full term of six years. In 1860 he was a delegate at large to the Demo- cratic national convention which met at Charles- ton, S. C., and owing to the irrepressible conflict then waging between the sections of our country, but which had not yet sought the arbitrament of war, adjourned to Baltimore, Md., with its work unfinished. Two years later, after the gage of battle had been delivered by the South and lifted by the North, he was commissioned by Gov. Blair to raise and equip the Thirteenth Regiment of Michigan Infantry, which was noted for gallan- try on the battlefield during the memorable con- test. In 1866 and again in 1868 Mr. Stuart served as a delegate to the national conventions of his party, the former held at Philadelphia and- the latter at New York, and these were almost his last public services of a conspicuous character. Soon afterward inflammatory rheumatism at- tacked him, and becoming chronic and affecting his heart. compelled his withdrawal from public affairs. His last case was tried in 1873. From
that time until his death on May 19, 1887, he was only an observer of events and a patient sufferer of continuous pain. His faithful wife and helper through so many years of his great activity and prominence, after surviving him some seven years and a half, passed away on November 14, 1894. Both were universally esteemed in life and generally mourned in death. They had six chil- dren, three of whom, their son Charles Lee Stuart and two daughters, are living.
FRANK H. MILHAM.
Highly endowed by nature with a good busi- ness capacity which has been well developed in the rugged but thorough school of practical ex- perience, Frank H. Milham, secretary and man- ager of the Bryant Paper Company, has found ample scope for his mercantile and industrial faculties in that great commercial and manufac- turing center, the city of Kalamazoo, and he has used his opportunities very largely to his own credit and advantage and for the lasting benefit of the community. He was born in Kalamazoo county on a farm near the city of Kalamazoo. on April 25, 1864. His parents, John and Louisa (Anderson) Milham, settled in the county in 1840. The father was throughout his life an industrious and prosperous farmer. Previous to his removal from his native state of New York he served in the legislature and was also a member of the Na- tional Guard. During Lafayette's second visit to the United States he was a member of the dis- tinguished visitor's body guard. He was a Demo- crat in political faith and once was the nominee of his party for the office of sheriff, but was defeated by a few votes although the county was then strongly Republican. In this county he was con- nected prominently with the commercial and man- ufacturing interests of the section, being a stock- holder in the Kalamazoo Paper Company and one of the organizers of the Farmers' Mutual Insur- ance Company, of which he was president for many years. He died in Kalamazoo in 1884. His son Frank was educated in the public schools and received his business training, or the begin- ning of it, at the Parsons Business College of
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