USA > Michigan > Kalamazoo County > Compendium of history and biography of Kalamazoo County, Mich. > Part 53
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as school inspector and on the board of review. In fraternal relations he is a Freemason, a Knight of the Maccabees and a member of the National Protective Legion. His township has no better citizen and none who is more generally respected.
JAMES SHIELDS.
Although born and raised to the age of twelve years in a county renowned throughout the world for its prolific growth of vegetation and its great fertility, the subject of this memoir found in this county a region almost as prolific, as impressive in verdure and as full of natural beauty, and far more abundant in opportunity for a man of thrift and industry as he was. He was born in county Antrim, Ireland, on August 26, 1841, and was the son of Arthur and Roseanna (Hughes) Shields, who were also natives of that county and de- scended from families long resident there. The father was a stone mason and also a butcher in his native land and during the earlier years of his residence in this country. After coming to Mich- igan he became a farmer. In 1853 the family emigrated to the United States and located in Genesee county, N. Y., where the father devoted his attention to building stone fences, mills, etc. In 1863 they all came to Kalamazoo county, and after a residence of a few months on Gull Prairie, purchased the land on which Mr. Shields of this sketch died. It was partially improved and they found plenty of hard work in its further devel- opment and cultivation. The father remained on this farm a number of years, then moved to Kala- mazoo, where he died, the mother also passing away in this county. They were devout members of the Catholic church and reared a family of ten children, six sons and four daughters. Three of the sons are now dead. James reached manhood in the state of New York. He accompanied his parents to Michigan and became a farmer here, following this occupation all the remainder of his life. He became the owner of the homestead in time, and on it he died on August 28, 1901. He united in marriage in 1868 with Miss Anne Mc- Hugh, a native of Ireland who came to this country when she was nineteen years old. Theirs
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was the last marriage celebrated in the old Catho- lic church by Father LaBelle. Eight of their twelve children grew to maturity, Rose A., Ed A., John P., Mary E., Martena J., Arthur P., James C. and Anna A. Edward A. enlisted for the Spanish-American war when nearing manhood and died at Tampa, Fla. All the family belong to the Catholic church. Mr. Shields was a well- known and widely respected man, and was well worthy of the public esteem which he enjoyed.
GEORGE GILCHRIST.
This widely known and highly esteemed farmer of Prairie Ronde township, who is pass- ing the later years of his useful life retired from active pursuits at Schoolcraft, is a native of Ver- mont, born near McIndoe Falls in July, 1839. His parents, John and Jane (Durkin) Gilchrist, were born and reared in Scotland. The son passed the first twelve years of his life in his na- tive state, and in 1851 came to Kalamazoo county with his uncle and aunt Fisher, who took up their residence in Prairie Ronde township, where the aunt died the next year. The nephew then began to earn his own living, remaining in the township until he reached the age of twenty, when he went to Missouri, remaining one year. In 1861 he re- turned to this county and bought land in Prairie Ronde township. The land was partially improved and he devoted his energies to its further im- provement and development, making an excellent farm of it and living on it until 1896, when he retired and took up his residence at Schoolcraft. He owned and worked over one hundred and sixty acres of land. In April, 1866, he was mar- ried in this county to Miss Frances J. Clark, a daughter of Philo and Sarah (Henshaw) Clark, whose father came to Kalamazoo county in 1830 and settled in Prairie Ronde township on the shore of Harrison lake. Mr. and Mrs. Gilchrist had four children, one of whom is living, 'their son John L., who lives at Schoolcraft. The father has been a leading Republican in his town- ship and has served as treasurer two years and supervisor eight years. In 1880 he was elected county treasurer, holding the office four years.
He has also served as trustee of Schoolcraft and has represented his district in many conventions of his party. He is a Freemason of the Royal Arch degree.
CLARK D. GILCHRIST, son of George and Frances J. (Clark) Gilchrist, and who died on the 25th of February, 1905, was born in Prairie Ronde township, this county, on February 14, 1867. He was reared in his native township and attended the district schools there and School- craft high school. After leaving school he was continuously engaged in farming. In 1891, in the month of December, he was united in mar- riage with Miss Alice L. Davis, a daughter of W. L. Davis (see sketch of him on another page). To Mr. and Mrs. Gilchrist was born one child, their son George, now twelve years old. In politics Mr. Gilchrist was a Republican, and served his township as treasurer in 1902 and 1903, and then filled the unexpired term , of Wallace Kinney as supervisor, being elected to the office for a full term in 1904. He also served as chair- man of the township committee of his party. Fra- ternally he was an active Freemason, with mem- bership in the lodge of the order at Schoolcraft, and a Knight of the Maccabees. He was the youngest member of the county board of super- visors, but demonstrated his capacity and fitness for the office by faithful and valued service in several other important positions. Throughout the county he was well and favorably known as a good citizen, an excellent official and a progressive and upright man. His widow is now engaged at teaching school in Prairie Ronde township.
WILLIAM L. DAVIS.
William L. Davis, a brother-in-law of Jon- athan C. Hoyt, one of the leading farmers of Prairie Ronde township, a sketch of whom ap- pears on another page of this work, and himself one of the progressive and successful farmers of the township, owning and managing a farm of one hundred and eighty-seven acres of first-rate land located on section 23, was born in Center county, Pa., on December 20, 1842. His parents, also natives of Pennsylvania, were Alexander W.
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and Elizabeth B. (Livingston) Davis, and after the death of the mother, which occurred in her native state, the father carne west to Illinois, and for eight years made his home in Will county, moving from there to this county in 1862, and died here in 1882 mourned by a large circle of acquaintances. William L. passed his child- hood in the Keystone state and came with his father to Will county, Ill., when he was about eleven years old. In February, 1862, he came to Prairie Ronde township, this county, and here he has ever since lived. On January 1, 1867, he was married at Lawton, Mich., to Miss Mary C. Hoyt, a daughter of the late Ransford C. and Harriet (Bair) Hoyt; an account of whose lives will be found on another page. She was born on September 2, 1850, in the township which is now her home, and is highly esteemed by the people among whom the whole of her life so far has been passed. Mr. and Mrs. Davis have two chil- dren, their daughter Alice L., who is the wife of Clark D. Gilchrist, and their son Willard H. Mr. Davis has been too closely occupied with his farming interests to devote any considerable at- tention to political matters, and is neither an active partisan nor an office seeker, but he sup- ports the Democratic party in national issues. He quietly pursues the even tenor of a useful daily life, and enjoys the respect of the people who know him.
ISAAC G. MUNGER.
Isaac G. Munger, one of the best known pioneers of Prairie Ronde township, was born at Ithaca, Tompkins county, N. Y., on April 19, 1833, and has lived in this county since 1854. He is the son of Christian and Mary (Coddington) Munger, who also were natives of New York, the father born in Dutchess county on March 3, 1801, and the mother in Tompkins county in 1800. They were reared in the state of New York and married there. The father was a carpenter and wrought at his trade in his native state until he moved to Millersburg, Holmes county, Ohio, and from there not long afterward to Lima, Ohio. In 1854 the family came to Kalamazoo county and located in Prairie Ronde township, where his
three sons bought the farm on which his son Isaac now lives. On this farm the mother died in November, 1869, and the father on June 30, 1870. They were the parents of six sons and four daughters, of whom the following are liv- ing: David and Isaac, of this county ; George, who was a Union soldier in the Civil war, serv- ing in the Fourth Michigan Cavalry; Jane, now Mrs. Niles Kinney, of Benton, Iowa ; Ann, now Mrs. Albert Wagar, of this county ; and Ange- line, now Mrs. Delidle, of Schoolcraft. Three others of the sons, who are now deceased, were Union soldiers in the Civil war, David, who served in the Ninth Michigan Cavalry, Smith, who served in the First, and Henry, also in the First. The father, always a pronounced aboli- tionist, was first a Whig and afterward a Re- publican, and filled a number of local offices. Both parents belonged to the Methodist Episco- pal church. Isaac G. grew to manhood in Ohio, where he attended the common schools and learned the trade of a carpenter, which he fol- lowed until coming to Michigan in 1854, and since then he has been continuously engaged in farming. On December 30, 1869, he was mar- ried to Miss Phidelia Clark, a daughter of Justin Clark. Justin Clark was a native of Vermont and moved from there to Huron county, Ohio, and in 1829 came to this county in company with Delamore Duncan, Sr., and settled on the west side of Prairie Ronde township. There he entered a tract of government land and passed his life there, dying on January 27, 1854. Mr. Mun- ger has been a life-long Republican, that is, since the organization of the party, but has never sought office. He has also been an Odd Fellow and a Granger. He and his wife are now among the few old settlers left in the county, and they are held in respect commensurate with the extent and importance of their labors in helping to build up and develop this portion of the state.
HENRY YETTER.
It is fifty-five years since this revered pioneer and esteemed citizen of Prairie Ronde township took up his residence in this county, at a time
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when the country all around him was yet wild and numerously populated with the savage deni- zens of the forest, man and beast, and began his long and useful work in promoting the develop- ment and improvement of the section. He was born on November 6, 1829, in Tompkins county, N. Y., whither his parents, Daniel and Katherine (Johnson) Yetter, moved from their native county of Northumberland, Pa. The father was a blacksmith and wrought at his trade in Penn- sylvania and New York until 1849, when he moved to this county and located temporarily at the village of Schoolcraft, soon afterward rent- ing a farm southeast of the village. In 1855 he bought a farm of eighty acres in the northwest- ern corner of the township, on which he lived a number of years, then moved to South Haven township in Van Buren county, where he and his wife died some years later. They were the par- ents of four daughters and three sons who grew to maturity. Of these two of the sons and one of the daughters are living, Henry being the only one resident in this county. The father was a soldier in the war of 1812. The grandparents on both sides of the house were natives of Ger- many and died in Pennsylvania. The paternal grandfather rendered gallant service to the American cause in the Revolution. Henry Yetter grew to manhood and was educated in his native state, coming to Michigan in 1850, and locating in Prairie Ronde township, this county. He worked the first summer on a farm, then went to work at his trade as a carpenter, which he followed for a number of years. In 1872 he bought the farm on which he now lives, and which he cleared and improved, putting up all the buildings on it and making all the other im- provements. In 1854 he was married to Miss Uretta M. Shaver, a daughter of Abram I. and Sarah (Bishop) Shaver, carly settlers and widely known residents of this county. Of the father the chronicles of this section record that he was the father of the first white child born in the county, now Mrs. Calista Hicks, of Prairie Ronde, that he plowed the first furrow turned in the county, in April, 1829, with a plow that had a wooden mold-board, and with which during
that season he plowed for himself and others eighty-two acres, that the first township meeting was held at his house, and that in 1830 he was elected one of the first school commissioners in the county. He was one of the first settlers in the county, and was prominently associated with many of the initial events in its history. The place of his nativity was the state of New Jersey, and there he was born on March 2, 1796. He was married in Crawford county, Ohio, in 1823. and settled on Prairie Ronde, this county, on Christmas day, 1828. His first work was to build a log cabin fourteen by twenty-eight feet, a fire place in each end, as he said, "to hit the wind by a change from one to the other." In all the early trials incident to the settlement of a new country, none took a more active part than he ; and no name stands out more conspicuously in the early history of Prairie Ronde township than his. Of his wife one who knew her well spoke of her "as the best pattern of a pioneer woman lie ever became acquainted with. She spun, wove and made the clothing for both the male and female portions of the family-was always at home and always at work, and ever ready to share what she had with her more needy neigh- bors." They reared a family of eight children. Mr. Shaver died on September 10, 1872, and his wife on January 23, 1877. Mr. and Mrs. Yetter have three children, Abram H., now a resident of Flowerfield. St. Joseph county, Mich., who is married and has two daughters; Claude B., of Minneapolis, Minn .. who is married and has a son and a daughter; and Lee L .. who lives on the old farm. In political action Mr. Yetter is independent, but so highly is he esteemed that he has been chosen to several local offices, among them that of highway com- missioner, a position in which he served three years. In 1901 he began growing grapes, and he now has a vineyard of ten acres which annu- ally yields large returns for his labor expended on the enterprise. Now among the few old settlers left in the county who saw the beginnings of civilization in this region and have witnessed the steady progress and improvement here, which they have been of material assistance in helping
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KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
along, he is approaching the sunset of life serene in the consciousness of having well performed the duties allotted him, and lived to witness the fruits of his fidelity and enjoy in peace and comfort the results of his industry and frugality, at the same time holding without question his high place in the regard and good will of his fellow citi- zens.
EBENEZER W. MONROE.
During nearly all of the sixty-five years he has lived, this well known, widely esteemed and useful farmer and progressive citizen of Prairie Ronde township has been a resident of this state. He was born in Van Buren county on March 9, 1840, and is the son of Moses and Harriet (Wade) Monroe, the former born in New Hamp- shire and the latter in New York. The father was a carpenter and farmer. He lived in New York and Ohio until 1836, then came to Michigan and bought a tract of land in Porter township, Van Buren county, one mile from the county line. The land was unbroken and heavily tim- bered, and the Indians were numerous in the neighborhood. He cleared his farm and worked at his trade, building many of the early barns and dwellings in the neighborhood, some of which are still standing. He passed the remain- der of his days in Van Buren county, dying there in 1872 and his wife in 1881. They had two sons and seven daughters, all now deceased but Ebenezer and two of his sisters. While living in New York and Ohio the father was a captain in the militia, and was a well-drilled soldier. The mother was a devout member of the Methodist church, and both were highly respected. Their son Ebenezer was reared in Van Buren county and obtained his education in the district schools. At an early age he went to work clearing land, that of his father and other persons in the vicinity, remaining at home until he reached the age of nineteen. He bought his own first land at the age of twenty, and after making some im- provements sold it. In September, 1861, he en- listed in Company C, Third Michigan Cavalry, under Captain Hudson, of Paw Paw. His com- mand was assigned to the Army of the Cumber-
land and took part in the siege of New Madrid, Island No. 10, and Corinth, Miss., being one of the first regiments inside the works of de- fense. It then saw service in various parts of that section until the winter of 1863, when it was transferred to Arkansas, and in the fall of 1864 was discharged, Mr. Monroe coming out as a cor -* poral and acting sergeant. He came home and at once went to work clearing his land. After- ward he moved to Washtenaw county, where he lived ten years, at the end of that period return- ing to this county and buying his present farm on sections 7 and 18. of Prairie Ronde township. In 1868 he was married to Miss Escalala Shaffer, a daughter of Jesse Shaffer, of Washtenaw county. They have three children, Eliza, Minnie E., now the wife of A. Bates, and Bertha. Their mother died in 1895. Mr. Monroe has served as highway commissioner, and in politics is a lead- ing and active Republican. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic.
JOHN O. LEE.
There are names which run through the warp and woof of American history from the earliest colonial times to the present commercial age like veritable threads of gold, belonging to lordly men and lofty ladies who have dignified and adorned every walk of life, and have bravely borne their part in all elements of our conglomerate and mul- tiform existence in peace and war, and of these the name of Lee is one of the most conspicuous. The early seat of the family was in Virginia, and the annals of the Old Dominion are replete with accounts of the manly achievements of its mem- bers. From there branches of the family were established in other states, one of them in Penn- sylvania, and from this branch sprang John O. Lee, of Prairie Ronde township, this county. He was born in Mckean county, Pa., on May 21, 1832, and is the son of John and Maria (Smith) Lee, the former a native of Wyoming county, Pa., and the latter of Rhode Island. After their mar- riage they migrated to this county in 1844, and located on Gourdneck Prairie, where the father died on December 20, 1845, the mother passing
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away a few years later, on March 17, 1850, in Porter township, Van Buren county. They were the parents of seven children, of whom John O. was the third born. At the age of eleven years he came with his parents to Michigan, and with the exception of a few years spent in California, has lived in this county ever since. He has been to California three times, making the trip once by water and over the Isthmus of Panama and twice by rail. In California he engaged in mining in Nevada county in 1853, operating on Brush creek mainly, but also on Feather river and at Marysville, spending four years in the industry and cleaning up four thousand dollars and selling his claims for three thousand six hundred dollars additional. On April 29, 1858, he was married to Miss Harriet, a daughter of Jonathan and Ann (Wall) Wood, the former born in England and the latter in Ohio. They were married in Ohio and came to Michigan in 1845, locating in Prairie Ronde township, where Mr. Wood died in 1856 and his widow on November 11, 1881. They were the parents of six children, of whom Mrs. Lee was next to the oldest. She was born at Little York, Ohio, on November 5, 1843, and was married in Prairie Ronde township, this county. She and her husband have had five children, Franklin J., who married Miss Kate Reiter ; Justin H., who died in childhood; Charles H., who married Miss Sarah Schrum; and John D. and Hattie C. In politics Mr. Lee is a stanch Democrat, and as such he has filled a number of township offices, among them those of drainage commissioner and school offices. The duties of all were performed by him with fidelity and abil- ity, and in a manner which was of great benefit to the interests he had in charge. His farm until a few years ago comprised four hundred and eighty acres of excellent land and made him one of the heaviest tax-payers in the township. He deeded eighty acres some years ago to one of his sons, and still owns four hundred acres of the best and most highly improved farming land in his neighborhood. Fraternally he is a Freemason and an Odd Fellow. His success in life has been won by his own efforts, his early opportunities for education and his capital for a start in life
having been very limited. He is esteemed as one of the leading and most representative men in his community.
WALLACE W. BALDWIN.
Like many others of the leading business, professional and public men of southern Michi- gan, the subject of this review is a native of the state of New York, and was born in Essex county, that state, on February 7, 1842. He is a son of Levi and Ruth (White) Baldwin, who were born in Vermont and moved to Essex county, N. Y., in 1827. They were well-to-do farmers and lived to advanced old age, the father dying in 1899, aged ninety-one years. He was married in 1832 and soon afterward settled on a tract of unbroken wilderness on what was then the frontier, and on it he and his wife passed the remainder of their days. They were active mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, prom- inent in the public life of their county, useful and productive in their citizenship and held in high esteem by all who knew them. They were the parents of six sons and five daughters. Of these, five of the sons and a daughter are living in the East. Wallace Baldwin was reared to the age of eighteen and educated in his native county, attending the common schools and the academy at Keeseville. After leaving school and clerking for a year and a half he moved to Clinton county, where he remained until July, 1862, when he enlisted in the Union army as a member of Com- pany K, One Hundred and Eighteenth New York Infantry. His regiment soon afterward became a part of the Army of the James and later of the Army of the Potomac, and as it was in active service his comrades in Company K saw a great deal of hard and trying service. He was, how- ever, soon placed on detached service, and passed nearly the whole period of the war at Norfolk, Va. After the close of the war in 1865 he re- mained the rest of the year in North Carolina engaged in merchandising. In the early part of 1866 he returned to his New York home, and in the ensuing October came to Kalamazoo with relatives. Here he began his career in the employ
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WALLACE W. BALDWIN.
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of M. J. Bigelow, for whom he worked several months. In 1867 he opened a small store in the abandoned barroom of the hotel. His venture prospered from the first, and as it grew he en- larged his operations and expanded his accommo- dations for his increasing stock until he now has the most extensive and comprehensive in the vil- lage of Comstock. One of his leading industries is shipping celery to distant markets, and his trade in this toothsome vegetable is very large. In 1904 his shipments amounted to a value of twenty thousand dollars, and there are many indications that they will aggregate a still larger sum this year (1905). He also controls large bodies of productive and well improved farm land and is one of the substantial as well as one of the pro- gressive men of his township. In 1869 he united in , riage with Miss Cordelia Huff, a native of Genesee county. They had one child, their daughter Blanch, now the wife of Dr. Parmenter, of Lake Forest, Ill. Her mother died in 1874, and two years later her father married a second wife, Miss Elsie L. Bailey, a daughter of John and Eliza (Young) Bailey (see sketch of them on another page). Mr. and the present Mrs. Bald- win have one child, their daughter Mabel B. Mr. Baldwin has always been a vigorous and ener- getic promotor of the welfare of his township, taking an active part in its public affairs and aiding by every proper means all worthy enter- prises for the good of its people. He served five years as township treasurer, and also a number as justice of the peace and in various school offices. In politics he is a Republican, and fra- ternally is connected with the United Workmen, the Odd Fellows and the Grand Army of the Republic. He has been a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church since his sixteenth year, and has always taken a zealous interest in reli- gi› › affairs. When he became a resident of
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