History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 129

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 129
USA > Michigan > Berrien County > History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 129

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).

In the fall of 1835, Rev. J. T. Robe, in charge of the Kalamazoo mission, organized a Methodist Episcopal class in Paw Paw, with the following members : Theophilus and . Charlotte Bangs, Junia Warner, Jr., Arminda Warner, W. Newcomb, Clarissa Newcomb, David Thorp, Junia

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HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Warner, Sr., Philura Warner, Sellick Longwell, Nancy Longwell, John Lyle, Oliver and Avis Warner, Horace and Susan Bonfoey, John K. and Emeline Bingham. Of the foregoing, two are still members of the church, namely, Arminda Warner, aged seventy-five, and Charlotte Bangs, aged eighty-one. David Thorp, who was the leader of the first class, offered his log chair-shop on the west side of the river as a place of worship. After using it some time the class went into a framed house owned by Myron Hoskins. Afterwards the village school-house was used, and in 1844 a church building was erected upon the site of the one now in use. The first church trustees were Theophilus Bangs, Junia Warner, Jr., Oliver Warner, Horace Bonfoey, and John Lyle.

Among the earliest pastors were Revs. T. P. McCool, S. S. Williams, E. Kellogg, and H. B. Beers. The church was at first attached to the Laporte district, Indiana Con- ference, afterwards to the Michigan district, in the same Conference, and later still to the Kalamazoo and Niles dis- tricts. The corner-stone of the present handsome house of worship was laid Aug. 9, 1876. The structure, which cost $6600, was dedicated Dec. 17, 1876. Soon afterwards a union meeting was held in it, when 75 persons were re- ceived into the Methodist Church, and 70 into the Presby- terian. Rev. J. K. Stark was the Methodist and Rev. T. D. Marsh the Presbyterian pastor.

During the forty-four years of its existence the church has received into membership upwards of 2000 persons. The membership on the 1st of January, 1880, was 160, Rev. S. B. Mills being then the pastor in charge. The trustees are James Bale, Thomas Adriance, S. H. Black- man, C. A. Young, A. J. Sorter, John Walker, H. H. Hurlbut, and E. M. Snow. The class-leaders are C. M. Gilson, James Abrams, and Samuel Qua. The Sunday- school is in charge of C. A. Young, and has an average attendance of about 80.

First Baptist Church .- On the 21st of April, 1838, a few Baptists living in Paw Paw village met to talk about organizing a Baptist Church. Stafford Godfrey was chosen chairman, and William D. Baldwin clerk of the meeting. As a result the First Baptist Church of Layfayette was then formed, with the following six members : Stafford Godfrey and wife, William D. Baldwin and wife, E. H. Niles, and Ursula Conklin. E. H. Niles was chosen clerk, and Stafford Godfrey and William D. Baldwin deacons. Elder Hall, of Kalamazoo, was invited to preach once in four weeks. During the first year five members were added, namely, Archibald Buys and wife, Luther Branch, and Henry G. Monroe and wife.

On the 20th of March, 1841, the name of the organiza- tion was changed to " The Van Buren County Church, lo- cated at Paw Paw and Brush Creek," the reason being that worship was held at Brush Creek, as well as Paw Paw.

In 1844, the church being controlled by residents of Law- rence township, the Paw Paw members withdrew, and On! the 8th of August in that year eight persons met in Paw Paw, at the house of Elder M. Clark, and organized the First Baptist Church of Paw Paw. The eight persons were Elder M. Clark, Stafford Godfrey, Alonzo Sherman, Matilda Engle, Lucy Ann Sherman, Jane Woodman, El-

mira Baker, and Jane Legrave. The records do not indi- cate that the church employed any regular pastor for the first few years, but show that occasional supplies were pro- vided. The school-house was used for services, as was the court-house. An attempt was made to build a house of worship in 1848, but it was not successful.

Between 1850 and 1853 meetings were held but seldom, but in the latter year there was a renewal of interest. The membership increased to 37, and Rev. J. T. R. Jones was engaged as pastor.

In October, 1855, Elder Alfred Handy succeeded Elder Jones as pastor, and remained until 1859.

On the 9th of September, 1857, the corner-stone of the brick church now in use was laid, and within a brief period the house was occupied for worship, services having previ- ously been held in a building in Main Street now used as a part of Harris' carriage-factory. The pastors since 1860 have been Elders Dunham, Walden, Maybin, Purrett, Galpin, Haydon, Stephenson, Choate, Heritage, and Wilkie. Rev. Mr. Wilkie, the last minister, retired in August, 1879, since which time the church has been without a pastor. The church membership on the 1st of January, 1880, was about 80. The deacons were then Stafford Godfrey, J. S. Cogswell, and Eli Wise. The church trustees are N. Grover, A. Sherman, R. B. Lane, A. M. Palmer, and J. C. Evart.

Christian (or Disciple) Church .- From an old church record dated March 25, 1843, is taken the subjoined entry : " We, the undersigned, members of the Church of Christ, having met at the dwelling of Brother Loyal Crane, for the purpose of setting in order the things that remain, have proceeded to do so by appointing Brothers James Crane and Loyal Crane bishops (elders), and Brothers Asahel S. Downing and Samuel Turner deacons. James Crane, Loyal Crane, Samuel Turner, Asahel S. Downing, Alonzo Crane, Daniel Abbott, James B. Crane, Almon B. Corey."

It would appear from the foregoing that an organization had been effected previous to the meeting above mentioned, and according to the best evidence the date of that organ- ization was in February, 1842. Besides those above named as members, the following joined the church at the meeting of March 25, 1843: Rheuma Barnum, Sally Ann Crane, Hannah Downing, Alonzo J. Abbott, Eliza Crane, Ann Turner, Sarah Ann Barnum, Susannah Lee, Sally Arm- strong.

At a church-meeting held in the school-house at Paw Paw, March 30, 1844, James Crane and Asahel S. Down- ing were appointed elders, Samuel Turner and Loyal Crane deacons, and Edwin Barnum and Loyal Crane evangelists. The first preacher was Rev. Mr. Martin, a missionary, who preached only at extended intervals. In 1858 the society purchased the meeting-house previously used by the Bap- tists, and in 1861 the church edifice now in use was com- pleted and occupied. At the close of that year the clerk reported that the membership was 234, that 101 had been admitted during the year, that 11 had been dismissed, that 3 had been excluded, and that 11 had " gone to the war."

After Rev. Mr. Martin's time, among those who served the church as pastors were Rev. Messrs. Martindale, Mil- ler, Anderson, Roe, Wilcox, Lane, Jackson, Spencer, Frame, Crane, Ebert, Collins, Russell, Searls, and Brooks. Rev.

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TOWNSHIP OF PAW PAW.

Theodore Brooks, now the pastor, entered upon his charge in 1878.

The membership is now 219, and in the Sunday-school (of which James Crane is superintendent) there are 13 teachers and an average attendance of 102 pupils. The church elders are David Woodman (2d), J. W. Ball, and N. P. Conger. The deacons are A. S. Downing (chosen March 25, 1843), M. P. Allen, S. Shafer, and J. F. Bul- lard.

Free - Will Baptist Church .- The Free - Will Baptist Church of Paw Paw was organized Feb. 13, 1841, in School District No. 2, in the township of Antwerp, near Paw Paw village. The first members were Samuel Gil- man, Judith Gilman, Abigail Woodman, David Woodman, Joseph Butler, Laura Butler, James Lee, Hannah Lee, Roxanna Lee, Susan Morrison, Silas Breed, and Anna Gray. The records mention the election of Silas Breed as the first clerk, but are silent as to the election of deacons. Those who have served the church as pastors to the pres- ent are Revs. Daniel Osborne, J. H. Darling, L. J. Whit- comb, Stephen Bathrick, G. P. Blanchard, G. P. Linder- man, and J. B. Drew, the latter being the present pastor, who began his services Sept. 1, 1878. Three hundred and eight persons in all have been received into the church since its organization. The membership on the 1st of January, 1880, was 200.

Worship was continued in the Antwerp school-house and other convenient places until the completion of the present edifice, which was dedicated in 1859.

The deacons of the church are Philip Sherrod and O. H. P. Sheldon, the latter being also the clerk. The Sunday-school, in charge of Edwin Douglass, has a mem- bership of 150 and an average attendance of 90.

First Presbyterian Church .- The First Presbyterian Church of Paw Paw was organized in the autumn of 1843, at the residence of Edmund Smith. The loss of the early records has rendered it impossible to reproduce the names of all the first members, but the memory of old residents supplies the names of some of them, as follows : Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Van Antwerp, Salmon Hunt and his daugh- ters Mary and Margaret (one of them, now Mrs. N. M. Pugsley, being still a member of the church), Mrs. Ed- mund Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Elias Harwick, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Mills.

The first elders were Daniel Van Antwerp and Samuel Mills. The first trustees of the society, elected June 24, 1844, were Daniel Van Antwerp, Salmon Hunt, Samuel Mills, A. K. Axtell, Dwight C. Grimes, Lorin Darling, A. V. Pantland, Samuel Grimes, and Edmund Smith.

During 1844, Rev. James McLaurine was chosen to be the first pastor, who served about three years. After being then absent a year (during which time Rev. Mr. Davidson supplied the pulpit), he returned and remained two years. He closed his labors in 1850, and was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Holmes, who was followed in 1852 by Rev. Oliver W. Mather. For a brief season, in 1855, Rev. Mr. Whitney was pastor, and about the beginning of 1856 Rev. H. C. Tuttle entered upon the charge. Rev. Norman Kellogg succeeded him in 1859, and remained six years. In 1865, Rev. Albert E. Hastings began his pastorate, and in 1868 65

Rev. O. H. Barnard became the pastor, and remained until 1871. He was followed by Revs. N. Otis, C. R. Wilkins, and T. D. Marsh, the latter being now in charge.

During about a year after its organization worship was held in the ball-room of the Exchange Hotel, and in 1845 a church edifice was erected near the court-house. In 1856 the building was destroyed by fire, and in 1858 was re- placed by the present structure, which was dedicated March 3d of that year. The church has now a membership of 140, and the Sunday-school an average attendance of 90. The present elders are Robert Morrison, N. M. Pugsley, Lyman Tuttle, John S. Tuckey, E. P. Mills, Chandler Richards, John W. Free, Henry Randolph, Thomas Tuckey.

St. Mark's (Protestant Episcopal) Church .- St. Mark's parish was organized at the court-house in Paw Paw Feb. 22, 1851, by A. W. Broughton, Anthony Cooley, Thomas J. Pinnock, Charles Selleck, I. W. Willard, Williamson Mason, T. W. Melchor, George B. Sherwood, J. R. Baker, E. S. Smith, George W. Ocobock, O. F. Parker, R. J. Merrill, Henry Ismon, H. L. Eggleston, A. V. Pantland, Peter Gremps, S. T. Conway, J. K. Pugsley, B. Hurd, A. Wilder, William Hill, and Benoni Hall. At the second meeting, March 11th, Theodore P. Sheldon and Thomas J. Pinnock were chosen wardens, and I. W. Willard, George B. Sherwood, G. W. Ocobock, Anthony Cooley, J. K. Pugsley, and B. Hurd as vestrymen. Of the vestry- men the only one known to be living is J. K. Pugsley.

On the 3d of June, 1851, Bishop McCoskry gave his canonical consent to the organization of the church, and on the 1st of July Rev. V. Spalding was called to act as rector, at a salary of $200 per year, it being understood that the Missionary Society would furnish him $200 more. Mr. Spalding held his first service in an abandoned store, and used the counter as his pulpit. In February, 1852, a cooper-shop belonging to the Messrs. Grimes, and previously used by the Congregational Society, was leased, at a rental of $1 per week, being occupied about a year. That house of worship. is now a portion of Harris' carriage-factory. Mr. Spalding preached until December, 1852, and after that the church organization ceased its active existence for a period of thirteen years.

On the 11th of January, 1865, Rev. Dr. C. A. Foster, of St. John's Church, Kalamazoo, revived St. Mark's Church with considerable success, and remained in charge until January, 1866. Rev. Darius Barker was then chosen rector, and served as such until December, 1877, when Rev. George P. Schetky, the present rector, began his service. Shortly after Mr. Barker entered upon his pastorate he built a commodious addition to his residence in Paw Paw, in which the church met for worship until the erection, in 1876, of the edifice now in use.

The church membership is now 47. The wardens are D. C. Coleman and J. K. Pugsley ; the vestrymen are C. J. Nash, F. E. Stevens, J. Davey, A. J. Mills, J. W. Van Fossen, and William Pugsley. The Sunday-school has an attendance of 60, and is in charge of the pastor. The stations in St. Mark's parish are Paw Paw, Lawrence, Hartford, Bangor, Breedsville, South Haven, Pine Grove, Kendall, Lawton, and Decatur.

St. Mary's Church of the Immaculate Conception ( Cath-

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HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

olic) .- As early as 1848, Father Barron, of Notre Dame, at South Bend, used to visit Paw Paw occasionally for the purpose of holding mass for the benefit of the families of Pee Pee Yah and other Indians. In 1855, when the vil- lage contained seven or eight Catholic families, Father La Belle, of Kalamazoo, held mass in the residence of James Bennett, and came after that about once a month for sev- eral years, holding services generally at Mr. Bennett's house. After Father La Belle's death, there came Father Cappon, of Niles, Fathers Quinn, Tierney, and Murray, of Kalamazoo, and Father Roper, of Silver Creek, during which period Paw Paw remained a mission in Kalamazoo parish. It was then created a parish by the name of St. Mary's of the Immaculate Conception, with Rev. John Wernert as the first resident priest, who still holds that position. The present house of worship was commenced during Father La Belle's time, but was not completed until 1872. The attendance includes about 50 families. The missions attached to the parish are Arlington and Decatur. The church trustees are James Doyle, William Ryan, and William Hough.

SCHOOLS.

The first village school in Paw Paw was taught by Miss Roxa Agard, in the summer of 1835, and there being no better school-house available, Rodney Hinckley's black- smith-shop was utilized for that purpose. The appoint- ments of that school-house consisted principally of a few slab seats, but the scholars are said to have been quite as stu- dious and zealous as in some more pretentious institutions. There were perhaps ten scholars when the attendance was at its best, but there were times when not more than four or five would respond to roll-call. Of that chosen band of am- bitious girls and boys, those known to be living are Mrs. Alonzo Shults (a daughter of Peter Gremps) and Jonathan J. Woodman, of Paw Paw, and Isaac Hinckley and his two sisters (children of Rodney Hinckley), now living at South Haven.

The next summer (1836) the village school was taught by Melissa Warner, in a log shanty on the west side of the river, just north of where Mason's planing-mill now stands. That school had 15 or 20 pupils. During the summer of 1836, Williamson Mason and Joseph Royes built a school- house on Gremps Street, and in the fall it was occupied, Lorenzo Cate being the first teacher in it, and being also the first male teacher employed in the village. That build- ing was used not only as a school-house, but also as a court- house, and on Sundays it became a house of worship.

The condition of the public schools of the township on the 1st of September, 1879, according to the official report for the year 1879, may be learned from the subjoined table :

Number of districts (whole, 5; fractional, 4) .... " scholars of school age

859

Average attendance.

756

Value of school property. $51,300

Number of teachers 31

Amount paid teachers. $4,073

Total expenses for the year

$9,721

The school directors for 1879 were J. Andrews, W. Wil- son, G. T. Sherrod, E. E. Crane, Charles H. Butler, H. Hinckley, B. Odell, W. M. Shepard, George L. Tuttle.

Paw Paw Union School .- The building now used as a town-hall was originally the union school, and although ad- ditions were made to its accommodations as the demand for room increased, there was still a lack of space, and in December, 1868, the district resolved to build a brick school-house, to cost $25,000, and to borrow the money re- quired. The result was the present elegant and imposing structure which stands at the head of Main Street, and which is justly the pride of the town. The entire cost of ground, building, and furniture was $40,000. The edifice was begun in the winter of 1868-69, and was opened for use in September, 1870. It contains six departments, -high school, grammar school, two intermediate, and two primary departments,-in which the aggregate average attendance is 414.

The members of the school board are E. O. Briggs, Jo- siah Andrews, G. J. Hudson, Andrew Richards, Aaron Van Auken, and George W. Longwell.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

ALBERT HARRISON.

This gentleman was born in the town of Tyre, Seneca Co., N. Y., April 19, 1828, and was the fourth in a family of seven children,-four sons and three daughters. His father, Jonas Harrison, was a native of New Jersey. His mother, Hannah (Markham) Harrison, was a native of England, and came to the United States in 1812. She is still living, aged eighty-four, but her husband is deceased. In the fall of 1847 the family came to Van Buren Co., Mich.

Albert Harrison, who had remained at home until he was twenty-one, worked for two years thereafter at monthly wages, and in 1850 purchased land on section 36 in Paw Paw township, which he subsequently exchanged for forty acres on section 16, where his father-in-law now lives. Sept. 7, 1856, he was married to Esther E., daughter of Hiram I. and Elizabeth Southwell, she being the fourth in a family of seven children,-four sons and three daughters. She was born in Cayuga Co., N. Y., May 3, 1836. Her parents, who were both natives of that State, came to Michigan in the spring of 1855. Mr. Harrison purchased one hundred and twelve acres of land, which is all under improvement. As they have no children of their own they adopted an orphan girl at the age of two and a half years, who is now living with them, aged twenty-one, and could scarcely be dearer to them if she were their own daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Harrison are consistent and in- fluential members of the Disciples Church, with which Mrs. Harrison united when she was seventeen years of age. Mr. Harrison is a Republican in politics, but never took an active part in the political field, and has never sought for nor held an important office.

LII TL

MR. JOSEPH WOODMAN.

MRS. JOSEPH WOODMAN.

ELDER JOSEPH WOODMAN.

Elder Joseph Woodman was born in Barrington, N. H., Feb. 12, 1790. When quite young, his father, John Wood- man, with his family, became a pioneer settler in Caledo- nia Co., Vt. Joseph was the second child, and eldest son in the family, and in early life he developed those active quali- ties of labor, perseverance, and prudence, which crowned his life with success and honor. He was married to Tryphena Johnson, of the same county, Jan. 1, 1810, with whom he lived a happy union fifty-three years, she dying June 14, 1863, in the seventy-second year of her age, having had ten children, six of whom still survive. Riley, the eldest son, resides in Powhatan, Kan., the other five, viz. : David Woodman (2d), J. J. Woodman, Mrs. Joseph Luce, Mrs. Freeman Ruggles, and Mrs. H. P. Nelson, are residents of Van Buren County.

Soon after his marriage he, with his wife, joined the Free- Will Baptist Church. Earnest in his religious convictions, he soon to the labor of his hands joined that of the ministry, and engaged in preaching the gospel. In the spring of 1831 he sold the farm (among the hills) in Sutton, on which he had lived several years, and which he cleared and improved with his own hands, also the saw-mill which he built on the stream near his residence, and in July of that year emi- grated to Western New York, and settled on a farm in Riga, Monroe Co., where he resided until the spring of 1835, when he with his family moved to Michigan, and settled upon the land which he located and which became his future home, on the Territorial Road in the township of Antwerp, east of and adjoining the village of Paw Paw. He was the first white settler, and built the first log house and the first frame barn in the township. His log house, built in three days and fin- ished ready for occupancy, and into which he moved his family on the 10th day of May, 1835, was built on the spot now oc- cupied by the fine residence of his youngest son, Hon. J. J. Woodman, to whom he sold all of his farm in 1861, except forty acres on which his residence stood, which he built in 1838, and in which he lived forty-one years, and until his death, April 2, 1879, at the advanced age of eighty-nine years, one month, and twenty-one days.

When he settled upon his farm there was but one small frame house, three log cabins, and a saw-mill on the territory now occupied by the beautiful and flourishing village of Paw Paw. There being no church of his faith near him at the time, he united with the Protestant Methodists, and was soon after ordained, and was actively engaged in the ministry until within a few years of his death, when advancing age compelled him to retire from the pulpit and active duties of a long and useful life, and seek the quiet and comfortable surroundings of his home and fireside. His second wife, Mrs. Mary Osmer, to whom he was married in the winter of 1863, faithfully ministered to him in his declining years.

He was a representative man of his time, and took an active part in the early politics of the State. He was magistrate of his township for nine years ; and many were the suits tried before

him, in which Charles E. Stuart, Miller, and Balch, of the Kalamazoo bar, were engaged as counsel. His name is asso- ciated with nearly all of the stirring events and public enter- prises connected with the early settlement and development of the county ; and he lived to see his children settled around him in comfortable homes ; the red man and the forests pass away, and in their place a refined civilization with broad and rich cultivated fields and thriving villages.

From the records of the Woodman family, which have been carefully compiled and published, it appears to have been remarkable not only for numbers and longevity, but for unitoi n morality. Their ancestor, Edward Woodman, came from England, and settled in Newbury, Mass., in 1635, and in 1856 his descendants numbered seven thousand four hun- dred; and we have been unable to ascertain that any one of this vast multitude, or their descendants down to the pres- ent time, has ever been arrested for crime. As an example of longevity, we note the twelve children of Joshua and Eunice Woodman, who settled in Kingston, N. H., in 1736. Of this family, one died at the age of ninety-seven, one at ninety-three, two at eighty-six, two at eighty-four, two at eighty-one, two at eighty, one at seventy-six, and one at sixty-eight. The combined ages of the twelve amounted to nine hundred and ninety-six years.

At a reunion of the Woodman family, at the residence of Hon. J. J. Woodman, in 1877, over eighty representatives of the family were present, and the occasion was one of interest, and of unusual occurrence. The venerable father was con- ducted to the parlor, where an agreeable surprise awaited him. On the walls hung the life-size portraits, recently painted, of himself and the wife of his youth, the mother of his children, who, though not lost or forgotten, is gone before. After looking at them earnestly and well, he simply remarked, " Yes, yes, that's Tryphena," and " Yes, that's me." The whole company were arranged upon the lawn in front of the house in the following order, -- and were photographed by an artist who had been employed for the occasion : Elder Joseph Woodman, the subject of this sketch-who was then nearly eighty-eight years of age, and whose descendants numbered fifty-two-occupied the centre, with his three brothers and two sisters seated according to their respective ages upon his left ; the united ages of the six amounting to five hundred and one years,-the youngest of whom was Rev. Jonathan Woodman, father of Dr. L. C. Woodman, of Paw Paw, in his eightieth year, and who had been constantly engaged in the ministry for sixty-two years; and is now pastor of a church, and preaching regularly in his native State, Vermont. On his right was his eldest child, Mrs. Sabra Luce, and her daughter, Mrs. Emily Abrams, and her daughter, Mrs. Ella Wattles with her infant son. Six octogenarian brothers and sisters on one hand, and five generations on the other, with seventy representatives of the family standing in the rear, all but four of whom are residents of Van Buren County.

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History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 129

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