USA > Michigan > Kalamazoo County > Compendium of history and biography of Kalamazoo County, Mich. > Part 39
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ware business and together they also erected a blast furnace on the Kalamazoo river. They were associated in these enterprises a number of years and built up a large business in each. In 1858, in association with Messrs. Potter and Walters and others, Mr. Woodbury organized the Kalamazoo Gas Company, he being president of the company and holding a leading interest in it until his death. In 1865, in company with Messrs. Potter, Wood and Wm. Grant, he organized a banking house
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which afterward became the Michigan National Bank, of which also he was president. Mr. Woodbury was married at South Lansing, New York, in 1833, to Miss Malinda Knettles, a native of the state in which the marriage occurred. They had five children, one of whom died in infancy, four grew to maturity and three are now living, Mrs. Ramson, Mrs. Curtenius and Edward, and they all reside in Kalamazoo. Mr. Woodbury was a liberal supporter of the Presbyterian church, and of all other religious and educational institutions. He made a donation of ten thousand dollars toward the erection of the Young Men's Christian Association hall, which was paid after his death. This sad event was the result of his being thrown from a carriage in November, 1887, and caused general sorrow throughout the city and the surrounding country. For although he was then nearly eighty-three years of age, all his faculties were in vigor and his life was still of great service to the community. Besides, he was endeared to its people by his long career of useful- ness and his sterling manhood. It should be men- tioned that among the important enterprises with which Mr. Woodbury was connected was the first paper mill in the city, of which he was the origi- nator and for many years the directing influence.
LUTHER H. TRASK.
The county of Kalamazoo owes much to those men who, like Luther H. Trask, came from New England in the early days to establish homes in this county and who, by their sturdy inde- pendence, perseverance and good sense brought profit not only to themselves but to the county. The Trask family was descended from three brothers who came to this country in the colonial days from England. One of them, Captain Trask, who settled at Salem, was the direct ancestor of Luther Trask, who was born February 15, 1807, in Millbury, Mass. His parents were Aaron and Betsey (Goodell) Trask. He was educated at the common schools and the Munson Academy until he was sixteen years of age, when he en- gaged in manufacturing for five years, at the end of which time he turned his attention to farming.
He was married in October, 1828, to Miss Louisa Fay, of Southboro, Mass. Two children, George, who died in 1875, and Hannah, now Mrs. Han- nah L. Cornell, of Kalamazoo, were born to them. In 1834 Mr. Trask made an exploring expedition into the western wild of Michigan, and, being much pleased with the country, returned home and brought his wife and children to the West with him. They settled in Kalamazoo, where Mr. Trask was a surveyor and civil engineer for sev- cral years. Being a natural mechanic, he built a number of stores and houses, which he sold, and built also his family residence, which was the first brick house erected in Kalamazoo. He was a man of strong religious views, and did all in his power to promote Christianity, teaching in the first Sunday school that was established in the village. He was an earnest supporter of Mr. Robe, the Methodist minister, and later of the Rev. Silas Woodbury, the first Presbyterian min- ister in Kalamazoo. In 1836 he was one of the six men that formed a stock company to build the First Presbyterian church, this church being their individual property. He became one of the prominent members of the session of the First Presbyterian church, serving as an elder for over forty years. In 1839 he was clerk of the circuit court of Kalamazoo county, and in 1842 he was made receiver of the United States land office. In 1855 he was inspector of the State Prison, and in 1858 was appointed a member of the board of trustees of the Michigan Insane Asylum, and was president of the board until 1878. His interest in and love for education made him active in pub- lic school work, and he was one of the founders and members of the executive board of the Michi- gan Female Seminary. Being originally a Whig, his sympathies were with the Republican party when it was formed. His son, George L. Trask, was graduated from Union College in 1852, hav- ing taken a partial course of study at the Uni- versity of Michigan. He was engaged in mercan- tile pursuits in New York until his death, which occurred in 1875, in New Orleans. Luther H. Trask was one of the prominent men in devel- oping the summer resort at Little Traverse bay, where he owned a cottage. He died on Novem-
LUTHER H. TRASK.
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ber 14, 1888, in Kalamazoo, and his death was a cause for deep grief not only to his family and church, but to the social and business world as well.' His wife died three years later, in 1891. Mr. Trask's work as a pioneer, and as a friend and loyal supporter of all public institutions added greatly to the development of Kalamazoo in every way. He was proficient in a large and va- ried field of usefulness, possessing good sense, a strong will, a deep moral sense and a markedly religious nature. He gained the good will and confidence of all who knew him by his ever help- ing heart and hand, his earnest and independent spirit, and his noble character.
JAMES A. KENT.
` James A. Kent, one of the early settlers of Kalamazoo and one of the city's best known citizens and business men, was born near East Palmyra, Wayne county, New York, on March 17, 1835. His parents were Lawrence and Rachael (Campbell) Kent, the former a native of New York and the latter of Pennsylvania. The father was a farmer and passed his life in Wayne county, New York. The family was of English descent, Mr. Kent's grandfather, Simeon Kent, having been born in England and come to this country about the close of the Revolutionary war. He enlisted in the United States army for the war of 1812, but was not called into active service. James A. Kent is one of four sons and four daughters born to his parents, all yet living, but none except himself in Kalamazoo. He grew to manhood and was educated in his native county, and after leaving school was apprenticed to a carpenter, serving an apprenticeship of four years. In the fall of 1856 he became a resident of Kalamazoo and went to work at his trade for Dewing & Scudder. At the end of a year in their employ, he formed a partnership with Mr. Dewing under the name of Dewing & Kent, which lasted fifteen years. He then began busi- ness on his own account by superintending the erection of many of the best residences in Kala- mazoo, Jackson and other cities to which he was called for similar work, and he kept at this line
of duty until 1900, when he retired from active pursuits. In 1861 he was married in Kalamazoo to Miss Charlotte Wolcott, a daughter of William Wolcott. a pioneer of Lewanee county. They had one son and three daughters. Their mother died in 1871, and in June, 1877, Mr. Kent mar- ried her sister, Miss Mary J. Wolcott, whose father came to this county from Lewanee county in 1857. He located there in 1835 and was the first Presbyterian clergyman at Adrian. He was born at Stow, Mass., and died at Kalamazoo. Mr. Kent and his second wife have one child, their son Charles. In political allegiance Mr. Kent is a Republican, but he has never been an active par- tisan or desired public office. Mrs. Kent's grand- father, William Wolcott, served in the Revolu- tion. Her mother was Mary A. Penninen, of English ancestry, her progenitors having come to the United States in 1630 and located at Boston. They were prominent in the early history of New England. Mrs. Kent's grandfather was a tea merchant and made large importations of tea every year for a long time. He rose to a position of commanding influence in the trade. Mr. Kent is a Unitarian in church affiliation. He is one of the early settlers here still left among the living, and has a lively recollection of the early days.
EDWARD HAWLEY.
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This old citizen and typical pioneer, who is one of the few early settlers of Kalamazoo yet left among its people, has been a resident of the place for seventy years (1905), having come here with his parents in 1835. He was born at Middlebury, Vt., on November 13, 1824, and is the son of Emmor and Caroline (Conant) Hawley, the for- mer born at Windsor and the latter at Mansfield, Conn. The father passed his life as a harness maker and hotelkeeper. In 1825 he moved his family to Michigan and located at Detroit, where he followed his trade as a harnessmaker for about six years, after which he moved to Dearborn, near Detroit, and there kept a tavern while the fort was building. In the spring of 1835 the family located at Kalamazoo and here the parents took charge of the old Kalamazoo House. They en-
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larged the building and in it kept a good hotel until 1840, when the father retired and moved to the home now occupied by his son Edward on West North street. Here he took up a tract of state school land and operated a small farm of forty-one acres until his death, on January 13. 1870. His wife died in 1884, aged eighty-six years. They were the parents of four sons' and four daughters, all now deceased except their son Edward. He grew to manhood in Kalamazoo and was educated in private schools which then flourished in the town. He began carly to assist his parents by buying produce and other supplies, and soon became familiar with the surrounding country by driving over the Indian trails to make his purchases. Some time afterward he began to work by the month cutting wood and getting out timber for the old State Railroad, which after- ward became the Michigan Central. His wages for this work were ten dollars a month in state scrip, worth about fifty cents on the dollar. He also worked at teaming at times and did what- ever else he could find to do. His recollections of the early days in Kalamazoo are full of interest. He well remembers numbers of Indians and was well acquainted with many of them. He was present when the first locomotive came into the town. This was on a Sunday and the churches were empty, the people being busy clearing out the snow from the cuts cast of the city. Later he engaged in the livery business in partnership with his brothers, and afterward gave his atten- tion to farming on land belonging to them. In the course of time he platted this land and has disposed of all of it but about ten acres. He was married in 1888 to Mrs. Sarah Pratt, a widow. who died in 1890. Two years later he married a second wife, Miss Eveline Colbath, a native of Maine, born on the Penobscot river. Mr. Hawley has never taken any active interest in partisan politics, but he showed his devotion to his country by enlisting in the Union army in 1862 as a mem- ber of Company L. Fifth Michigan Cavalry. He was assigned to the Army of the Potomac and saw much active service under Generals Custer, ·Kilpatrick and Sheridan. He was in all the Shenandoah valley campaigns and fought through
Georgia and other parts of the South, being present at the surrender of General Lee. He was not wounded or taken prisoner during the war and came out with the rank of sergeant.
THE KALAMAZOO GAZETTE.
This valuable journal, which is one of the leading, newspapers of southern Michigan, and has a very extensive circulation in that part of the state and throughout northern Indiana, being recognized as a potential force in the direction and concentration of public opinion, and as a party organ of great influence and high standing, was founded at Penn Yan, N. Y., on June 19, 1832. as the Western Star, and on December 31, 1833, became the Michigan Statesman, of White Pigeon, this state. On June 28, 1834, the name was changed to the St. Joseph Chronicle, but the publication was continued at White Pigeon until October 2. 1835, when the plant was moved to Kalamazoo, then the village of Bronson. On September 23. 1837, the name was changed to the Kalamazoo Gazette, and under that name the paper had a varied existence of prosperity and adversity until March 20, 1900, when by consoli- dation with the Kalamazoo News it became the Gazette-News, under which name it was issued until January 1. 1904, when it once more became the Kalamazoo Gazette, as it is now called. F. F. Rowe, the general manager, through whose ef- forts it has been built up to its present condition of prosperity and influence, is a native of Min- eral Point, Wis., born on March 19, 1862, and after receiving his preliminary education in the district schools, attended Beloit College at Beloit. Wis. His father, Francis James Rowe, pub- lished the first paper issued at Dodgeville. Iowa county, Wis. The son has been connected with newspaper work ever since leaving college, his principal field of operation in this line for many years being with the Register-Gazette of Rock- ford. Ill. He came to Kalamazoo in 1899 and bought the Gazette, and in the following March purchased the News of the Kalamazoo News Company, whereupon he consolidated the two pa- pers, and from that time until January 1, 1904.
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his issue was known as the Gazette-News. On the date last mentioned he once more adopted the old name of the Kalamazoo Gazette, and the pa- per has flourished under that name ever since. When he took hold of it it had but six hundred and eighty-nine subscribers, whereas it now has a 'circulation of over twelve thousand, and covers in its beneficent work of information to the pub- lic the whole of southern. Michigan and nearly all of northern Indiana, while its advertising pat- ronage has grown to great proportions. This striking increase in business is a high tribute to the capacity and business acumen of Mr. Rowe, to whose efforts it is almost wholly due, and sig- nalizes him as a newspaper man of a high order, up-to-date in all branches of the work, quick to see and alert to seize the trend of public opinion, and at the same time vigilant and forceful to di- rect its activity through healthful and productive channels of enduring benefit and substantial serv- ice to the communities in which his efforts are made. In keeping pace with the march of prog- ress and improvement, he has held his office equipment up to the highest standard, installing new and improved presses and linotype machines as needed, and always having his facilities equal to the most urgent demands. While pursuing in his columns the policy of supporting the Demo- cratic party as the one of his faith, and the one holding, in his opinion, the best theory of popular government, he has been diligent in exploiting every phase of the multiform activity and devel- opment of his section of the country, and in so doing has made his paper a favorite family and business journal as well as a leading party organ. Moreover, he has taken an active and helpful in- terest in other forms of business enterprise, being a stockholder in the Kalamazoo Trust Company and the Rowe College of Shorthand, whose spe- cialty is a new system of stenography with its kindred teachings, and in other enterprises of great benefit and advantage to the community. He was married in 1886 to Miss Mary L. Frost. of Rockford, Ill., and they have one child living. their son Everett F., and one daughter deceased. Mr. Rowe is a member of the Michigan Press Association, and fraternally he is an enthusiastic
Freemason, an Elk and a Knight of Pythias. In his journalistic work he has been unusually suc- cessful and has shown ability of a high order, with abundant honey for his editorial quill in ref- erence to all matters worthy of commendation, and plenty of wormwood for those that require condemnation.
CORNELIUS VAN HALST.
This popular and skillful practitioner in the melancholy but needful business of properly bury- ing the dead, who is highly esteemed as one of Kalamazoo's most enterprising and upright busi- ness men, was born on August 8, 1853, at Roches- ter, N. Y. His parents, Cornelius and Sarah (Hendricks) Van Halst, were natives of Sluis, Holland, where the father was a gardener. They came to the United States in 1850 and located at Rochester, N. Y. Two years later they moved to this county, taking up their residence in Kalama- zoo, where the father remained until his death in 1893 and the mother is still living, making her home with her daughter. Before leaving his native land the father served his time in the army of Holland, but ever after coming to this country he was engaged in the peaceful pursuit of his chosen vocation, being accounted skillful at the work of enjoying a gratifying prosperity at the fruit of his labors. Their family consisted of three sons and four daughters, all of whom are now deceased except their son Cornelius and one daughter, who is now Mrs. Van Dixhorn. Cor- nelius grew to manhood and was educated in Kalamazoo. After leaving school he learned the trade of a metal worker in a show-case factory, and later learned that of making caskets. He worked at the latter three years, then passed an equal period traveling through portions of the West. Returning to Kalamazoo, he associated himself with J. C. Goodale in the business of a funeral director, remaining with him eight years. In 1884 he · started a similar enterprise for him- self, and this he has conducted without interrup- tion ever since. He has built up a large and prof- itable business and is held in high esteen both in his craft and as a citizen of progressiveness, pub-
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lic spirit and breadth of view. On October 28, 1878, he united in marriage with Miss Belle Woodworth, a native of St. Joseph county, Mich- igan, where her parents were early settlers. They have two children, their son Fred and their daughter Sadie. Mr. Van Halst takes great interest in the fraternal life of the community as a member of the United Workmen, the Red Cross, the Knights of Pythias, the Odd Fellows and the Foresters. While not an active partisan, and has never desired public office, he is keenly alive to the interests of his city and county and gives close and careful attention to local affairs with a view to aiding in promoting the enduring welfare of the community and its people. Although he has seen many parts of this country and has looked with favor on a number of different localities as places of business or residence, he is well pleased with Kalamazoo, finding its enterprise and the progressive spirit of its people entirely to his taste and seeing in it a good field for his own energies and business capacity. It is such men as he that have built up this and many another American community and developed their re- sources along lines of wholesome and enduring progress.
GEORGE W. CROOKS.
This enterprising gentleman, who is the jun- ior member of the firm of Winslow & Crooks, dealers in granite, marble and building stone and makers of tombstones, monuments and other ornamental work in their line, is one of the pio- neer business men of Kalamazoo, and is univer- sally esteemed as an excellent citizen throughout this and neighboring counties. He was born at Richmond, Ontario county, N. Y., on January 7, 1834, and is the son of Samuel and Abigail R. (Short) Crooks, both of the same nativity as himself, the father born in 1802 and the mother in 1808. The father was a farmer and the family moved to Kalamazoo county permanently in 1839. In 1834 the father came to the county and entered eighty acres of wild land in the vicinity and a little west of Schoolcraft in Prairie Ronde town- ship, on which he built a little log shack. This property he soon afterward sold and then re-
turned to New York. On his second arrival here he brought his family by team to Buffalo, and from there by steamer across the lake to Detroit. From the latter city they made the trip by means of teams to Indian Field, this county, and as there were no roads the journey was tedious and diffi- cult to the last degree, the rugged condition of the ground making almost every hour full of peril, toil and the most exacting endurance. The father purchased a tract of wild land which lic cleared up and reduced to cultivation with great labor and difficulty for a number of years, and transforming it by continued effort into a hand- some and fruitful farm on which he died in 1881, at the age of seventy-nine. ' He became an active and important man in the progress and develop- ment of the region at once, leading the way and stimulating others by his industry, influence and example. He started the first school in the local- ity, hiring the teacher, Norman Chamberlain, and paying him for his services by breaking wild land for him. Later he gave the ground for the first school house and built on it the old log house of blessed memory in which many of the young men and maidens of the township were first made ac- quainted with the rudiments of learning and began the first romances of their lives. The first school in this house was taught by John F. Oliver. Mr. Crooks was also an active worker in the interest of the Methodist Protestant church, and assisted in organizing the first congregation of that creed and the first of any in his neighbor- hood and building the church in which it wor- shiped. The later years of his life were passed in full communion with the Congregational church. His widow survived him nineteen years, dying in 1900. In political faith he was an earn- est working abolitionist before the war, making his faith good by zealous assistance in conducting the "Underground Railroad" for the aid of slaves escaping from the South. And when the hour was ripe for the enterprise, and the faithful met "Under the Oaks" at Jackson, this state, to organ- ize the Republican party he was there and took an active part in the formation of the new political entity. To this party he adhered with unfailing loyalty to the end of his days. He was for many
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years a justice of the peace, and was widely re- spected for the uniform wisdom and justice in administering his duties. There were four sons and three daughters in the family who grew to maturity, and of these two of the sons and three daughters are living. Two sons were killed in the Civil war, finding death on the bloody battle- fields of that momentous conflict in defending the Union. They were members respectively of the Fourth Kansas Cavalry and the Twenty-fifth Michigan Infantry. George W. Crooks passed his boyhood from the age of five and his youth in this county, and like others of his class attended the old log school house for instruction and at an early age began taking part in the work of devel- oping the section which then called into requi- sition every able hand. He wrought on his father's farm with industry and ability, at times driving a breaking team of ten yoke of oxen, also hauling lumber in the winter, drawing the tim- bers for the first steam grist mill at Kalamazoo. He followed farming until 1870, then moved to the city and during the next seven years was engaged in the implement trade. In 1880 he pur- chased a one-half interest in the George C. Wins- low Marble Works, with which he has since been connected, the firm being known as Winslow & Crooks. The business was started in 1848, and from its start has had a steady and healthy prog- ress and growth. It is extensive in monumental and building stone work throughout the county. Mr. Crooks is also a stockholder in the Comstock Manufacturing Company. In politics he is a Republican and has served as supervisor of Port- age township. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic order. Mr. Crooks was married January 22, 1869, to Miss Anna Wagar, a native of this county, a daughter of Hector Wagar, a pioneer of this county. They have one daughter, Carrie A., now Mrs. W. O. Agnew.
JOEL WATERBURY.
Among the highly respected citizens and pro- gressive and successful business men of Kalama- zoo, Mich., is Joel Waterbury, the second livery- man in Kalamazoo in length of service, having
ministered since 1877, when he bought the livery business of Captain Hodges on North Burdick street, which at the time comprised seven horses and a corresponding number of conveyances of various kinds, and which he has enlarged until it now comprises thirty horses and the most com- plete and modern equipment in every way and in good style for its work. Mr. Waterbury was the first man to use an automobile in the livery busi- ness, adding that feature in 1905. To this enter- prise, which is still an expanding one and has always been a busy one, Mr. Woodbury has added a coal and wood trade which is also large and active. He was born in Steuben county, N. Y., on February 28, 1843, and is the son of Salmon and Harriet (Collier) Waterbury, both natives of that state. The father was a tanner and also operated a sawmill. He passed almost the whole of his life in his native state, but when the shadows of its evening began to darken around him, he sought a home with his son in Kalamazoo, where he died a year later. In his home near Watertown, N. Y., he was a man of local promi- nence and valued public service, being the super- visor of his township several terms. The mother died at the old New York home. The father was twice married, there being born of the first union three sons and three daughters, one living, Mrs. Myron Powers, of South Haven, Mich., being the only one living. Joel was the only child of the second marriage. He reached man's estate in New York, attending the district schools and working for his father in the tannery and at the mill, and when he started out in life for himself farmed for a while, then worked in a shingle mill until 1873, when he moved to Kalamazoo and found employment in the City Hotel, on North Burdick street, for a short time. In 1877 he pur- chased the livery business of Captain Hodges on that street, which he has since owned and magni- fied to its present proportions, adding some time afterward the coal and wood trade which he is conducting. He was married in 1875 to Miss Rachel Rockafeller, a native of New York. The fraternal life of the city and state has interested him and enlisted his helpful attention as a Free- mason through all gradations of the order to and
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