History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 102

Author: D.W. Ensign & Co. pub; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Johnson, Crisfield
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, D. W. Ensign & Co.
Number of Pages: 821

USA > Michigan > Van Buren County > History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 102
USA > Michigan > Berrien County > History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 102

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

SCHOOLS.

The first school taught in the town was held in the War- ner settlement in a log cabin. The first teacher was Eliz- abeth Merry, a sister of the wife of Elder Junia Warner, and after her the teachers were Miss Myers and a Mrs. Palmer. East of that a log school-house was put up near where the grist-mill stands, and in that a Mr. Hurd, first, and then F. C. Annable taught a subscription school.

Statistics of the public schools of Almena are given below, as found in the school report of 1879, viz .: Num- ber of children of school age, 303; average attendance, 262 ; value of school property, $3110; amount paid for teachers' wages, $849. List of school directors at date of report : District No. 2, G. W. Failing ; No. 3 (fractional), G. W. Van Dorn; No. 4, D. C. Lockman; No. 5, C. B.

Palmer; No. 7, W. Roland ; No 8 (fractional), F. Cure ; No. 9 (fractional), G. R. Palmer; No. 10, George Lemon.

ALMENA AND PAW PAW TELEGRAPH COMPANY.

This company was organized in 1876, by Edward Anna- ble and others, and duly incorporated under the laws of the State, for the purpose of providing telegraphic commu- nication between Almena and Paw Paw, as well as to afford similar conveniences to persons living on the route.

The company has now seven miles of wire in operation, and is doing excellent service, not only in the way of convenience of communication, but in the matter of fur- nishing practical experience in telegraphy to each of its patrons, all of whom have the privilege of direct communi- cation from their homes with any point on the line. Ed- ward Annable, chosen the first president, still serves in that capacity.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

EDWARD P. MILLS.

Philo Mills, the grandfather of the above-named gentle- man, was born in Connecticut, about 1770, and not long after 1800 removed to Livingston Co., N. Y. He had a family of fourteen children, of whom Samuel Mills, the father of Edward, was the oldest, his birth occurring in 1803 in Connecticut. He was, like his father, a farmer by occupation. In 1843, Samuel Mills settled in Almena town- ship, Van Buren Co., Mich., on the farm now owned by his son, E. P. Mills. He was a very ambitious, enterprising citizen, and did his duty as a pioneer, and no doubt his struggles incident to the improvement of a large farm, hastened his death. He was the father of nine children, who are all living but one, and six of whom came to Michi- gan with him. They were named as follows :

Henry, the oldest, is now in the mercantile business at Howell, Livingston Co., Mich., where he married the eldest daughter of William McPherson, an old settler and promi- nent citizen of the place.

Lyman, who married a daughter of William Sprague, of Oshtemo, Kalamazoo Co., is now living the greater portion of the time in Howell. His wife is deceased, and his daughter is the wife of Mr. Badger, of the "Burdick House" at Kalamazoo.

Julia, married to Owen P. Morton, of Texas township, Kalamazoo Co., where she resides with her husband.

Edward P., is now living in Almena.

Lucius W., a teacher by profession, a graduate of the normal school at Ypsilanti, taught three years in the upper peninsula of Michigan, and in 1879 at Plainwell, Allegan Co. Married Laura, daughter of Dr. Kinney, of Ypsilanti, and is now teaching at Lawrence, Van Buren Co.

Mary E. died in infancy.

Harriet E. married Dr. J. P. Stoddard, of Albion, Cal- houn Co., his father being also a physician, and recently re- moved from Albion to Muskegon, Mich.

Eugene W. married Nellie Hubbard, of Paw Paw, Van Buren Co., and is now carrying on a farm in California.

RESIDENCE OF ASA CROFOOT, ALMENA, MICHIGAN.

RESIDENCE OF EDWARD P. MILLS, ALMENA TP, VAN BUREN CO., MICH.

405

TOWNSHIP OF ALMENA.

Frances A. taught in various high schools at Albion and elsewhere, and was married to F. A. Wheelock, a dry- goods merchant of that place.

These children were all teachers, except Eugene, and were engaged in numerous district and public schools. Maria Warner, the wife of Samuel Mills, was also a native of Connecticut, and the daughter of David Warner. She was one of a large family of children, and when very young removed with her parents to Livingston Co., N. Y., where she was married to Mr. Mills. Samuel Mills died in 1860, on the farm now owned by his son, where by industry and economy he acquired a competency, and was respected by all who knew him. His widow is living with their youngest daughter, Frances, at Albion, Mich.

After the death of his father Edward P. Mills purchased the interest of the other heirs, and owns and occupies the old homestead. Aside from his attendance at the district schools, he spent about a year at school in Paw Paw. His life as a teacher lasted through six terms of district school. At the age of twenty-two, until which time he had re- mained on his father's farm, he took a farm " on shares," working upon it summers and teaching school in winters. He was born Aug. 11, 1834, in Livingston Co., N. Y., and was therefore but a youth when he came to Michigan. July 3, 1859, he was married to Miss Phoebe A. Winslow, daughter of Samuel and Eunice Winslow, of Antwerp, Van Buren Co., Mich. Until 1867 he lived in different parts of the county, but in the latter year purchased the old farm of his father, and has since resided upon it. Mr. Mills and his wife are both members of the Presbyterian Church at Paw Paw. Politically, Mr. Mills is a Republican, and has held several offices of trust and responsibility in town, county, and in the church. Whenever improvements have been discussed in his township or county, Mr. Mills has been among the foremost to proffer aid and to urge on the work to completion. As.a man and a citizen he stands very high in the estimation of all who know him. He is, with- out ostentation, a true gentleman, and his wife is a most estimable lady, and with such attributes as they possess the home of Mr. and Mrs. Mills cannot fail to be a happy one, although no children have added their sunshine to it. The stranger at their door feels a genial presence, and adds his testimony to that of others as to the excellence of this worthy couple. May the hand of Time rest lightly upon, and Providence continue to give them prosperity.

ASA CROFOOT.

Mr. Crofoot's ancestors were from Massachusetts. His father, Joseph Crofoot, was a native of that State, and a farmer by occupation ; the latter's wife was also born in the Old Bay State. This couple moved to Cayuga Co., N. Y., and lived in the township of Aurelius, near the city of Auburn, where they both died, the husband about 1870-71, and the wife some years previous.

Asa Crofoot was born in the township named on the 8th of June, 1814. His parents' means were limited, and the boy earned most of the money to pay for his schooling,

attending the district schools of the day. When nine or ten years old he left home and went to Ontario Co., N. Y., where he lived about four years with an uncle near Can- andaigua. Returning to Aurelius, he found employment at farming, and continued until his removal West. On the 3d of March, 1836, he left Auburn and started for Michi- gan, arriving in what is now Almena township, Van Buren Co., about the middle of the month. The trip was made with a horse and cutter through Canada. He had placed a saddle in the sleigh before starting, to be used in case the sleighing was not good, but did not find it necessary to take it out, as the snow was unusually deep for the season. That winter is recollected as having been especially severe, and the snow remained on the ground until quite late in the spring. Mr. Crofoot purchased two eighty-acre lots from the government, the deed being signed by President Van Buren. His means were then exhausted, and he at once sought for employment. Proceeding to School- craft, Kalamazoo Co., he found an old friend in the person of Ira Lyon, uncle of Lucius Lyon, the surveyor. He hired out to him, and continued in his employ about nine years, in the meanwhile hiring some clearing and breaking done on his farm in Almena. Dec. 8, 1844, he married Ira Lyon's daughter, Charlotte Augusta, and early in March, 1845, located with his wife on the farm,-the same he now occupies,-moving into the frame house which had been erected by his orders. When Mr. Crofoot first came to the township, in 1836, it contained but two or three settlers, and the Indians many times outnumbered the white inhabitants. Mrs. Crofoot gave birth to a daughter -Charlotte A. Crofoot-on the 14th of April, 1847, and on the same day her soul went to join the innumerable throng " waiting the judgment day." The daughter was married, April 22, 1865, to Henry French, of Almena town- ship, and is now living in Montcalm Co., Mich. On the 26th of January, 1856, Mr. Crofoot was married to Eleanor Erkenbeck, daughter of Jacob and Helen Erkenbeck, of Almena township. She was born in Johnstown, Mont- gomery Co., N. Y., Nov. 17, 1829, and came with her parents to Almena in the fall of 1846, settling on the farm where her widowed mother now resides, her father having died Nov. 8, 1877. Mr. and Mrs. Crofoot are the parents of the following children, viz .: Euphemia, Frank, Fred (who died at the age of three), Eva M., Asa E., all of whom are living at home. Mr. Crofoot has increased his home-farm to two hundred and twenty-five acres, and is the owner of several others. He belongs to no religious or- ganization ; his wife is a member of the Dunkard Church. Mr. Crofoot was a Democrat until, as he says, the scales fell from his eyes, under the administration of President Buchanan, since which time he has been a Republican. Although not an active worker in the political field, he has held a few township offices, and was commissioner of highways for twenty-one years. He was one of the early members of the grange, and has long been a director in both the County Agricultural Society and the Van Buren County Mutual Fire Insurance Company. After working for others at stipulated wages for twenty years, he has amassed a comfortable amount of this world's goods, and undoubtedly enjoys their possession.

406

HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

JACOB ERKENBECK.

This gentleman's life has been comparatively uneventful, so far as concerns the public, or society in general, and yet he has taken his full share of life's burdens and duties, and performed them faithfully, although unostentatiously. As one of the early settlers of this portion of Van Buren County, he is entitled to honorable mention. He was a native of the State of New York, and was born March 18, 1801. Dec. 19, 1824, he was married to Helen Cole, who sur- vives him. Mr. and Mrs. Erkenbeck were the parents of eight children, as follows : Cornelius, born Oct. 18, 1825; Maria, born June 25, 1827, died Aug. 22, 1866; Eleanor, born Nov. 17, 1829 ; Catharine, born Nov. 25, 1831; Wil-

REA

MRS. JACOB ERKENBECK.

liam, born Feb. 10, 1834; Nicholas, born Feb. 25, 1836, died May 23, 1866; Martin, born Sept. 14, 1838; John, born June 1, 1845.

In the fall of 1846, Mr. Erkenbeck removed to Michi- gan with his family, and settled on the farm now occupied by his widow. He purchased eighty acres of land, and paid for it by trading off his team and wagon. It was very much of a struggle for him to take care of his family, but he finally triumphed over hardships and difficulties, and at his death, which occurred Nov. 8, 1877, he left them in good circumstances. His occupation was that of a farmer, and in it he was ultimately successful. Both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

ALONZO W. STEVENS.

Silas Stevens, the great-grandfather of Alonzo, was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, and the worn old pow- der-horn which he carried is now in the possession of Jared A. Stevens, of Florence, Ala. He was born May 20, 1755, in Southwick, Mass., and married Lucy Simons, who was born Aug. 30, 1752 ; moved to Herkimer Co., N. Y., 1796. Their children were seven in number,-three sons and four daughters. Their son, Jared Stevens (grandfather of Alonzo W. Stevens), was born May 3, 1782, and mar- ried Mary Brown, who was born Jan. 10, 1785. They became the parents of eight children,-five sons and three daughters.

Alvah T. Stevens, the father of Alonzo, was the oldest in the family of Jared and Mary Stevens, and was born Nov. 16, 1806. On the 21st of June, 1832, he was mar- ried to Lucy Hubbard, and by her was the father of six children,-four sons and two daughters. His wife died in 1852, and he afterwards married Mrs. Laura Love, a widow residing in Cass Co., Mich. By her he had four children,- two sons and two daughters." Of the ten children, all are

living but two. One son, George E. Stevens, who was a member of the 6th Michigan Volunteer Infantry, died at New Orleans during the war of the Rebellion. Almeda, the oldest daughter, and wife of G. W. Lewis, of Allegan County, died in the fall of 1879. Another son, Jared A. Stevens, was a member of the 25th Michigan Infantry, and is now residing, with his family, near Florence, Ala. Mr. Stevens was a native of Herkimer Co., N. Y., in which his father owned a farm. When the son was small the family removed to Jefferson Co., N. Y., and settled in the town of Ellisburg, near the village of Belleville, where the young man assisted on his father's farm as soon as his age and strength would permit. Miss Hubbard, to whom he was married at Belleville, was the daughter of an early settler in the vicinity. In the summer of 1837, Alvah T. Stevens left the old home in New York and proceeded to Michigan via the Erie Canal and the great lakes, and finally arrived at St. Joseph. He had traded his farm in New York for two hundred and forty acres in Van Buren Co., Mich., lying partly in Almena township and partly in Antwerp. He at first located, however, south of Mattawan, in the township

MRS. CHARLES U. CROSS.

MR. CHARLES U. CROSS.

CHARLES U. CROSS.

Uriah Cross, the great-grandfather of Charles U. Cross, the subject of this sketch, was a native of Covington, Conn., and was born about the year 1774. His ancestors were Eng- lish on the father's and of Scotch on the mother's side. He had ten children, -Moulton, Calvin, Abram, William, Lucy, Electa, Anna, Rebecca, Orrill, and Wealthy. He participated in the Revolutionary war as an orderly sergeant, in the regi- ment commanded by Ethan Allen ; was present at the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, and was in active service till near the close of the war, when he was severely wounded. He re- moved to Bennington, Vt , where several of his children were born. From thence he removed to East Hamilton, Madison Co., N. Y., about the year 1790. He after wards removed to Georgetown, N. Y.

Calvin Cross was born in Bennington, Vt., in 1762, and came with his father's family to New York. He married Polly Osmer, and had ten children,-Ashbel, Lydia, Mary, Ambrose, Orrin, Amanda, Edmund, Charles U., Calvin, and Fanny.

Charles U. Cross was born in Georgetown, Madison Co., Dec. 25, 1814. When about three years of age he was adopted by his uncle, Samuel Payne, a wealthy farmer of Hamilton. . He received a thorough mathematical and classical education at Hamilton Academy. His life while at his uncle's was that of a student, athletic in mind as well as in person, but was not marked by striking events. As the intended heir of his child- less uncle, he looked forward to a career in which earning his own livelihood did not appear as one of the factors. In a spirit of adventure he came to Michigan in the summer of 1834, in company with J. R. Monroe, and located in his uncle's name what is now a part of the village of Bangor. Soon after his uncle died intestate, and left Mr. Cross to depend entirely upon his forest tract of Michigan land and his own resources. In the spring and summer of 1835 Messrs. Cross and Monroe opened a road from Paw Paw to South Haven. In the winter of 1835-36 he taught school on Big Prairie Ronde. He was married to Mary S. West at Hamil- ton, N. Y., Sept. 6, 1836. Mrs. Cross was the daughter of Orrin and Mary (Hubbard) West, who were born respectively in 1789 and 1791, and were married March 26, 1816. They had four children,-Evelyn; Mary S., born Feb. 6, 1818; Sarah M .; and Abijah H.

Mary S. resided with her parents until she came West with her husband immediately after their marriage. They made their home with John Inslie on Big Prairie Ronde until their log cabin was completed at Bangor, into which they moved March 8, 1837, becoming the first family that settled

in what is now Bangor township. Then commenced that hard struggle for existence, which was the lot of all or nearly all of the early settlers ; and the family of Mr. Cross prob- ably were not exceptions to the general rule. Although the education of Mr. Cross had apparently unfitted him to endure the privations of a pioneer life, yet the frequent calls for his services as a surveyor and counselor gave him more lucrative employment than was found by some of his more muscular neighbors.

Mrs. Cross was well qualified for the wife of a pioneer, being of a genial and fearless disposition. And the " white squaw," as the Indians called her, had much need of her courage when, alone by the fireside at night, the sound of the wind moaning and sobbing among the tall pines was only varied by the long drawling howl of the wolf. They had seven children, viz. : Samuel P., born April 14, 1838; Orrin W., Feb. 21, 1841; Sarah M., Jan. 6, 1843; Herbert S., April 1, 1845; John S., May 4, 1849; Charles U., Jr., Dec. 25, 1853; and Albert C., Nov. 1, 1855. Of these but four are now living,-Samuel P., Sarah M., John S., and Albert C. Herbert S. was killed by a railroad accident at Lawton, Sept. 21, 1863 ; Charles U., Jr., died when an infant; Orrin W. served with distinction through the war, was promoted to lieutenant, and died within a few days after reaching home after his discharge, in September, 1865.

In 1846, Mr. Cross, in company with his brother, Calvin Cross, erected a saw-mill on the site now occupied by J. H. Nyman. This was conveyed wholly to Calvin Cross in the spring of 1850. July 11, 1867, he platted Cross' addition to the village of Bangor, and watched with pride and pleasure the rapid growth of the village. He was largely instrumental in securing the location of the railroad to this point, and gave liberally of his means towards this enterprise, as well as to induce the Bangor Furnace Company to establish their works at Bangor.

He lived only to see the dawn of that prosperity which he had so materially assisted to promote, and which has been so abundantly sustained since his death. He died where he had fought the battle of life, May 9, 1872, on the same spot where thirty-five years before his log cabin was built. His wife survived him two years, and died at the old homestead, Nov. 17, 1874.

Charles U. Cross was a man of extended influence and the strictest integrity ; one who will long be remembered by the people of Van Buren County for his genial manner and wise counsels, his sterling honesty, and his munificent patriotism.

" Requiescat in pace."

407

TOWNSHIP OF BANGOR.

of Antwerp, where he had purchased forty acres, and lived on that and on a rented farm in Texas township, Kalamazoo Co., for twelve or thirteen years. The farm for which he had traded his New York homestead was in a state of na- ture when he moved upon it, no improvements of any kind having been made. A board shanty was erected and occu- pied by the family, and subsequently an unfinished frame was purchased, moved to the place, and completed. This was used for some time. Another house was bought and moved on, and occupied until three or four years before Mr. Stevens' death, when he erected a fine frame residence. He was always a farmer; was a Whig, and afterwards a Republican in politics. He held several township offices, although he was never an active politician. His death oc- curred Aug. 12, 1865, in Antwerp township, Van Buren Co., Mich. His brother, Horace Stevens, who came with him from New York, stayed but five or six years, living with him part of the time, and finally returned to New York, in which State he now resides.

Alonzo W. Stevens, the oldest of his father's children, was born near Belleville, Jefferson Co., N. Y., Aug. 18, 1833, and was consequently but four years of age when he came with his father to Michigan. Until he was twenty- six years old he remained with his father on the home-farm. Finally, in company with his father, he purchased the place he now occupies, on section 25, Almena township, on which no improvements had been made. They cleared forty acres together, and the balance of the one hundred and sixty was cleared by Alonzo himself. He has since sold twenty acres, the farm now containing one hundred and forty. For a year after buying this place he boarded with his father. He was married, Feb. 25, 1860, to Miss Hortense Phillips, and soon after occupied the farm, living for several years in a board shanty. Mrs. Stevens traces her ancestry back to the Pilgrim Fathers of Plymouth, Mass., but is herself a native of the township of Freedom, Wood Co., Ohio, where she was born Feb. 24, 1840. Her mother was a daughter of Joseph Fuller, who had come to Wood County, with his family, in 1835. Mrs. Fuller's parents were from Bristol Co., Mass. Jacob Phillips, the father of Mrs. Stevens, was also an early settler of Wood Co., Ohio. His father was a native of Germany.

Mr. Stevens is a Republican in politics, but is not an active politician. He has held a few of the minor offices in his town. He is a member of the Masonic order, and is prominent in connection with the township grange, to which latter Mrs. Stevens also belongs. She is an Episco- palian in religion, and evinces taste in literary matters, hav- ing furnished numerous articles for publication. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens are the parents of two children, sons, who both died in infancy. Had they lived they would now be, respectively, fifteen and ten years of age.

CHAPTER LIV. BANGOR TOWNSHIP .*

Boundaries, Soil, and Streams-First and Early Settlements and Set- tlers-Resident Tax-Payers in 1856-Civil History-Village of Bangor-Incorporation and Village Officers-Hotels-Manufactu- ring Enterprises-Bank-Societies and Orders-Religious Societies -Public Schools.

BOUNDARIES, SOIL, AND STREAMS.

THE township of Bangor is one of the interior divisions of Van Buren County, and situated northwest of its geo- graphical centre. In the United States survey it was des- ignated as township No. 2 south, of range No. 16 west.

Adjoining township organizations are Geneva on the north, Arlington on the east, Hartford on the south, and Covert on the west ; and being but a few miles distant from Lake Michigan, it enjoys many commercial advantages from its location.

It is well watered, the most important stream being the Black River, which in its flow towards Lake Michigan crosses the northeast corner, and at the village of Bangor affords good water-power privileges, which have been util- ized for many years. Smaller streams tributary to it flow through the centre and northwest portions, and numbers of small lakes also dot its surface.

Van Auken Lake, embracing portions of sections 28, 32, and 33, is the largest of these. In the centre of the town- ship is School Section Lake, and north of it Pleasant Lake, while Duck Lake is located on section 26, and southeast of it a number of smaller lakes. A portion of Rush Lake lies in the southwest corner of Bangor, and Mud Lake, a body of water insignificant in size and of little importance, lies on sections 26 and 27. The soil of the township varies in different localities. There is to be found in some places a gravelly loam, in others an admixture of sand, but the prevailing soil is a heavy clay loam. This enables Bangor to produce excellent crops of corn and wheat, and places it in the front rank among the townships of the county in its agricultural products.

The census of 1874 gives 992 acres of wheat and 944 of corn, which produced 13,237 bushels of the former and 37,957 bushels of the latter grain.

The surface of Bangor is gently undulating, presenting few sudden or abrupt declivities, and smooth and easily- tilled land prevails. This was originally covered with a heavy growth of timber, embracing beech, maple, whitewood, walnut, elm, pine, and hemlock. Good timber still abounds, but the clearing of the lands of the township has materi- ally depleted the forests.

FIRST AND EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND SETTLERS.

In the year 1837 the newly-organized township of South Haven, which then embraced the present township of Bangor, boasted but a sparse number of inhabitants, and they, with two or three exceptions, were all living near the present village of Breedsville. (See history of Columbia township.)

Charles U. Cross, the first settler in this township, and the founder of the present village of Bangor, was then the

* By E. O. Wagner.

408

HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 102

Author: D.W. Ensign & Co. pub; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Johnson, Crisfield Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia, D. W. Ensign & Co. Number of Pages: 821

Author: D.W. Ensign & Co. pub; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Johnson, Crisfield
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, D. W. Ensign & Co.
Number of Pages: 821