History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 52

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 52
USA > Michigan > Berrien County > History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 52

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).

G. N. LORD.

This gentleman, who was born in Pennsylvania, Aug. 14, 1826, was the fifth in a family of eight children. His father was a native of Vermont, and a farmer and lumber- man by occupation. His mother was born in Connecticut. When twenty-one years of age Mr. Lord left home, and lived two years with his uncle, G. N. Smith, learning the carpenter's trade. In the spring of 1850 he emigrated to Rockford, Ill., arriving there with his chest of carpenter's tools and four dollars in money. He remained at Rockford, working at his trade, until March, 1859, when he removed to St. Joseph, Berrien Co., Mich., but a short time after- wards changed his residence to Benton Harbor, the site of which was then a wilderness. In the fall of 1859 he, in company with his partner, Joseph Bowman, built the first frame house in Benton Harbor. Mr. Lord was married, July 5, 1852, to Miss Cornelia M. Morrison, whose parents were natives of New York, the fruit of the union being six children, of whom four are now living. Mr. and Mrs. Lord were finally divorced, and Mr. Lord married, July 3, 1874, Mrs. Maria C. Starr, widow of Horace Starr, by whom she had two children, both still living. Mr. Starr's death had occurred in Ohio, in June, 1854, and his widow had remained with her children on the farm, instilling into their minds all that was good and noble in herself. In 1865 she removed to Decatur, Mich., where she remained until her marriage with Mr. Lord.

Mr. Lord worked at his trade twenty-three years, subse- quently engaging in fruit culture, in which his success has been marked. In religious matters he is independent, and in politics a Republican. His education was mainly ac- quired in the common schools of his boyhood. A view of his home is inserted in this work.

* Upon the completion of which those who had assisted said to Mr. Brunson, "One thing we have forgotten, and that is to name the vil- lage." His reply was, "I don't care what, so that you have Harbor attached to it." Thereupon it was named Brunson's Harbor.

VIEW OF FARM BARNS.

VIEW OF SAW MILL.

W. H. PEARL

MRS. W. H. PEARL.

RESIDENCE OF WARREN H. PEARL, BENTON. TP, BERRIEN CO., MICH, 1879.

TOWNSHIP OF BENTON.

201

WARAMS

PHINEAS PEARL.

This gentleman, a true son of New England, was the youngest in a family of five children, and was born in Wind- sor Co., Vt., May 12, 1789. At the age of fourteen he began to learn the carpenter's trade, and worked at it eight years. He then removed to Little Falls, Herkimer Co., N. Y., and learned the trade of wagon-making, at which he worked about seven years, and removed to Jefferson Co., N. Y. During the ten or twelve years spent in the latter, his time was occupied in farming and clearing land by con- tract, but not being successful at the business, he emigrated with his family to Monroe Co., Mich., in 1830, and pur- chased a small farm. About 1840, having exchanged his place for six lots in Benton township, Berrien Co., he re- moved to the latter and settled on section 25.

Mr. Pearl was married in March, 1813, in Vermont, to Miss Fannie Hatch, whose parents were natives of Con- necticut. To Mr. and Mrs. Pearl were born nine children, of whom but four are now living. Three were buried in New York, when small, and two in Benton township, Mich- igan,-a son and a daughter, the son meeting his death by drowning. Mrs. Pearl died Aug. 23, 1866. Mr. Pearl is now the owner of about one hundred acres of land in this town, finely improved. He is now ninety-one years of age, and his character is of that rugged type inherent in the famed " Green Mountain boys." Those of his chil- dren who are living occupy farms near their father. Al- though of so great an age, Mr. Pearl attends to all his own business with as much ease, apparently, as in his younger days.

Politically, he is a Democrat ; has been twice supervisor of his township, and has held minor offices. He is not a member of any religious organization. His early advan- tages for obtaining an education were those afforded by the straggling schools of the time, held in the log school-houses or in barns, when, though discipline was strict and the rod

MRS. PHINEAS PEARL.

was never spared, the children indulged in various char- acteristic pastimes, and the "big boys" turned the master out if they could, or obeyed him fearfully if they could not. Mr. Pearl's father died when the son was about five years old, and his mother remained a widow until her death, which occurred in 1825. She was a true New England mother, and strove for her children's welfare, teaching them, by her own example, habits of industry, economy, honesty, and sociability, and of them she never had cause to complain, for they all became prosperous and respected citizens.

WARREN H. PEARL.

Warren H., son of Phineas Pearl, was born in Little Falls, Herkimer Co., N. Y., and was the second in a family of seven children. His parents were both natives of Ver- mont. His mother died Aug. 23, 1866. His father is yet living, at the age of ninety-one years. About 1830, Mr. Pearl, Sr., removed to Michigan with his family and settled in Monroe County. In 1840 he changed his resi- dence to Benton township, Berrien County.

Warren Pearl spent his time upon his father's farm until he had reached his majority, attending the common schools of his neighborhood and taking advantage of whatever edu- cational advantages they afforded. Nov. 6, 1847, he was married to Miss Minerva Randall, daughter of Joseph and Lucretia Randall. Mr. and Mrs. Pearl are the parents of nine children, as follows : Fannie L., born Sept. 3, 1848; Ellen L., born Sept. 24, 1850 ; Gilbert P., born Nov. 6, 1854; James W., born Jan. 25, 1857; Josephine, born March 26, 1860, died Aug. 5, 1861 ; Jessie W., born Aug. 26, 1862, died Aug. 12, 1866; Addie M., born March 16, 1865, died Aug. 16, 1865 ; Ervin R., born May 20, 1866 ; Nancy B., born July 17, 1867. In 1850, Mr. Pearl went to California and sought fortune among the gold mines of that region, but in 1852 he returned to Michigan. His

202

HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

original homestead in the town of Benton consisted of one hundred and sixty acres, since increased to one hundred and ninety. He also owns one hundred and ten acres in other localities.

Mr. Pearl is a man of generous principles, and his honor and integrity are not to be questioned. In politics he is a staunch Democrat. He has served twice as highway com- missioner, but has never sought for office. He is a member of no church organization, and entertains liberal views on religious subjects. From a small beginning in life he has amassed a comfortable property, and deserves great credit for his persevering efforts towards success. A view of his home will be found in this work.

J. F. HIGBEE.

Among the worthy pioneers of Berrien County is the gentleman above named. He was born May 7, 1818, in Ontario Co., N. Y., and was the seventh in a family of thirteen children. His father, James Higbee, was also a native of the State of New York, but removed to Ohio when the son was small, and remained there thirteen years. In June, 1837, another removal was made, and the family found a home in the wilds of Western Michigan, locating in Benton township, Berrien County, on section 14. At the age of twenty-one, J. F. Higbee, who had remained at home until that time, went to Iowa, and stayed about eighteen months, working a breaking-team in the summer and teaching school in the winter. He then returned to Michigan and remained one summer, spending the time in clearing and improving the farm upon which he now re- sides. In the fall of 1841 he returned to Iowa, to collect his pay for his previous winter's teaching, and while there was married to Miss Mary Lewis, daughter of John A. and Salome Lewis, natives of Virginia and descendants of Eng- lish ancestry. Mr. and Mrs. Higbee became the parents of nine children, of whom six are now living. After their marriage Mr. Higbee and his wife came to Michigan, and settled in a log house on the farm which has since been their home. The log house and the sturdy forest have dis- appeared, and a fine residence and smiling and fertile fields have taken their places. Mr. Higbee's first purchase in- cluded one hundred and sixty acres, of which twenty acres have since been sold. Mr. Higbee is the owner of real estate in different localities, amounting in the aggregate to four hundred and ninety-one acres, and this has been accu- mulated through years of patient toil and economy. Mr. Higbee has during his residence here evinced great public spirit, and has aided to the extent of his ability in all public improvements, interesting himself in the construction of railways and harbors, and appreciating the advantages of everything calculated to add to the wealth and prosperity of his town and county. He is now president of the Northern Berrien County Michigan Lake Shore Agricul- tural Society, and the owner of the fair-grounds. Pre- vious to Fremont's struggle for the executive seat of the nation Mr. Higbee was a Democrat, but his fortunes have since been cast with the Republican party. He has been earnestly interested in local politics, and has held numerous offices in the gift of his townsmen. He was the first treas-

urer of Benton township, and was elected five times, and is now serving his third term as justice of the peace. His education was acquired in the district schools of his early years, except that after coming to Michigan he at- tended the high school at Niles for about six months. Mr. and Mrs. Higbee united with the Disciples' Church in 1859.

J. D. BURY.

Prominent among the pioneers of Berrien County is the gentleman whose name appears above. He was born in Penn- sylvania Aug. 18, 1804, and was the sixth in a family of fourteen children. His father was a native of England, but was married in Pennsylvania, and when the son was an infant his parents went to Canada. The youth grew up " after the manner of those days," remaining beneath the parental roof until he had attained his majority. In 1830 he was married to Miss Martha Green, who was born in Canada Aug. 24, 1810. This union was blessed with eleven children, of whom but one is now living. In 1835, Mr. Bury removed to St. Joseph, Mich., and in 1837 lo- cated upon the place he now occupies, in Benton township, Berrien Co., having purchased one hundred and twenty acres from government. He subsequently became a large landholder, owning at one time fifteen hundred and twenty- one acres. About seven hundred and sixty-one acres are still in the hands of different members of the family. Mr. Bury has twice entered the matrimonial state, the second time with Miss Fannie Beyers, August 18, 1860. Her pa- rents were Jacob and Elizabeth Beyers, natives of Penn- sylvania. The fruit of this union is three children,-C. Beyers Bury, born June 17, 1862 ; J. D. Bury, Jr., born May 12, 1864 ; and Elsie J. Bury, born Dec. 23, 1865. Mr. Bury's present wife was the oldest in a family of eight girls, and came to Michigan in 1857. Her father died in 1863, and her mother is yet living, in the State of New York. Mrs. Bury is a devoted wife and mother, and a true woman. Mr. Bury, who has reached an advanced age, has been through life devoted to his family, and has striven to place them in comfortable circumstances. His farm has received the closest attention, and he has labored energet- ically, in common with others, to bring the township to its present substantial level. In politics he is a Democrat, and, aside from minor offices held by him, he has four times been elected supervisor of his town. His religious views are of a liberal nature.

LUTHER KINNEY,

who was born in Erie Co., N. Y., June 29, 1807, is the oldest in a family of eleven children, -- six sons and five daughters-of whom three sons and one daughter now sur- vive. His father, Elijah Kinney, was a native of New York, as was also his mother, whose maiden name was Lu- cretia Calvin, and who married the elder Kinney in 1806. Previous to the war of 1812, Mr. Kinney, Sr., had set- tled in Huron Co., Ohio, but at some time during the con- tinuance of hostilities was driven out by the Indians. In 1814, however, he returned thither and made a permanent settlement.

J. D. BURY.

MRS. J. D. BURY.

MRS. J . D. BURY,

RES. OF J. D. BURY, BENTON TP, BERRIEN CO, MICH.

203

TOWNSHIP OF BERRIEN.

Luther Kinney remained at home, assisting his father, until he was twenty-three years of age, when he made an independent start in life. On the 2d of December, 1830, he was married, in Huron Co., Ohio, to Miss Emily W. Adams, daughter of Bildad and Mary Adams, who were- as was also their daughter-born among the rugged moun- tains of Vermont, and who had emigrated to Huron County when the daughter was six years old. Mrs. Kinney was the tenth in a family of eleven children,-eight girls and three boys. Of these, Mrs. Kinney and one sister, who resides in Branch Co., Mich., are all who are living. Their mother died in Ohio when Mrs. Kinney was but eleven years old, and her father when she was seventeen. In the fall of 1835, Mr. Kinney and his father, accompanied by their families, migrated to Michigan, and settled in Porter township, Van Buren County, where Mr. Kinney purchased one hundred and sixty acres of government land on section 24, to which he afterwards added forty more, and improved one hundred and fifty acres of the whole. In 1864 he sold his farm and removed to Lake City, Minn., where he invested in property and remained four years. In 1868 he disposed of his interest in Minnesota and returned to Michi- gan, and located in Benton township, Berrien County, where he now resides. His attention has since been given to fruit culture, and with gratifying success. He finally, owing to the death of many of his trees, returned to his vocation as a farmer, and his premises, a view of which will be found in this work, evince the taste and thrift of their owner.

Mr. and Mrs. Kinney have no children. In their earlier years they united with the Baptist Church, and are now members, in good standing, of the Congregational Church at Benton Harbor. Mr. Kinney's politics are in accordance with the principles of the Republican party. While a resi- dent of Porter, Van Buren Co., he was its supervisor, and has held other offices. His advantages for obtaining an education were those afforded by the district schools of the early days. Mr. Kinney's father died in 1862, and had been preceded to the mystic land by his faithful partner ten years, her death occurring in 1852. They sleep peacefully after a rugged experience in life, and after having twice been pioneers.

ELKANAH NICKERSON

was born Nov. 13, 1806, in Harwich, Barnstable Co., Mass., and was one of a family of ten children, of whom five sons and one daughter survive. The parents and the ancestry, as far as it can be traced, claim Massachusetts as their native land. Mr. Nickerson's parents were married in 1803. His father, besides being a farmer, was a tanner and currier, and a licensed minister of the Methodist Epis- copal Church. When Mr. Nickerson was fourteen years of age he left home, and went to sea as cook with his uncle, his father holding his earnings until he became of age." At the age of twenty-two he had reached the posi- tion of captain. He sailed for about thirty-six years, vis- iting many of the important seaports of the world. Jan. 29, 1829, when in his twenty-third year, he married Miss Hannah Doan, daughter of Benjamin and Hannah Doan, she being one of a family of nine children ; her parents

were natives of Massachusetts. To Mr. and Mrs. Nicker- son were born six children, as follows: Hannah D., born Dec. 4, 1829 ; Adelia, born Sept. 21, 1833; Zemira D., born Nov. 17, 1838; Elkanah, born Feb. 1, 1843; Arthur H., born Aug. 2, 1849, drowned from the steamer "St. Joseph," Aug. 13, 1867 ; Angeline, died at birth, March 8, 1858. During the years Mr. Nickerson was sailing, his wife remained most of the time ashore, taking a voyage with him occasionally, however. In 1856, having aban- doned a seafaring life, Mr. Nickerson entered the mercan- tile business in New York City. In 1860 he chartered a vessel at New York for Chicago, placing his son-in-law, Capt. Robbins, in command. The vessel went ashore in a gale, at a place known as Grand Mere. Mr. Nickerson, who came out to look after it, visited St. Joseph and pur- chased twenty acres of wild land in what is now Lincoln township, and settled his son upon it. Mr. Nickerson re- mained East-visiting this place occasionally, with his wife and daughter, and making various purchases of property- until 1867, when he sold his home in Massachusetts, closed up his business, moved to Michigan, and settled where he now resides, the locality, even at that date, being in the midst of a dense forest. The homestead, finely improved, now consists of sixty acres, although Mr. Nickerson is the owner of various parcels of land in other localities,-in all three hundred acres. He has been greatly interested in fruit-raising. His daughter, now Mrs. Wisner, has, with her two sons, taken charge of the place since the death of Mrs. Nickerson, which occurred April 20, 1863. Mrs. Wisner's first husband, Mr. Kelley, who was also a sea- captain, died Aug. 5, 1862, of yellow fever, contracted in a voyage to the West Indies. Mr. Nickerson's educational advantages were limited, consisting only of the facilities afforded by the district schools, which he attended until he went to sea,-and then voyaging summers and attending school winters. Beginning when he was nineteen years of age, he taught three winter terms, and steadily increased his own fund of knowledge. He was always opposed to slavery, and took a stand against it when such a step was very unpopular. In 1856 and 1857 he represented his town in the Massachusetts Legislature. Politically he is a strong Republican, though never taking an active part in any political canvass. He is a member of no religious or. ganization, but is a believer in the "True Spiritualism." He at present occupies the position of director of the First National Bank of St. Joseph.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

BERRIEN TOWNSHIP .*

Early Settlements and Pioneers-Early Roads -- Township Organiza- tion and List of Township Officers-Churches-Cemeteries-Schools -Societies and Orders.

BERRIEN was surveyed in 1826, by Noah Brookfield, and designated as township 6 south, range 17 west. It is bounded on the north by Pipestone and Sodus townships, on the south by Niles township, on the east by the Cass County line, and on the west by Oronoko township.

* By David Schwartz.

204

HISTORY OF BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

The surface of the country is undulating, and the soil rich and fertile. Less attention is paid to fruit culture than in some of the adjoining townships, but in general farm products the yield is bountiful, especially of wheat and corn. There is much excellent timbered land, and in vari- ous portions of the township may be found sheets of water designated as lakes, but in reality nothing more than large ponds. The largest of these-Smith Lake, on portions of sections 12 and 13-covers about 600 acres. Large and small together, there are 18 of these lakes in the township. In the west, three small streams discharge their waters into the river, but water-power is scarce.

Berrien is strictly an agricultural town. It boasts of no village, has but one store,-that at the post-office at what is known as the Centre,-and is limited in its manufactories to four saw-mills. The assessed valuation in 1879 was $379,000. The population in 1870 was 1405.

EARLY SETTLEMENT.

Berrien was among the earliest townships in the county in point of settlement, and dates the period of its earliest permanent settlement back to the year 1827, when John Johnson located with his family upon section 29, where he still resides.

In the winter of 1824, John Johnson, John Lybrook, Joel Yard, Jacob Johnson (who were all young unmar- ried men), and Squire Thompson, left the southern part of Indiana, near Richmond, for Michigan, making the journey on foot. John Johnson was employed by Lybrook, and Jacob Johnson (his brother) by Thompson, to clear land near Niles. Yard went to Carey Mission. In the spring of 1825 the Johnson boys cleared 12 acres, and then Lybrook and Jacob Johnson went back to Indiana, leaving John Johnson to look after the crops that had been put in. John worked in that way until the summer of 1827, when he located 80 acres on section 29, in what is now Berrien township. He had married John Lybrook's sister, and having come over in the summer and put up a log house, brought his wife to it in that fall, and then entered upon the hardy experience of a pioneer. The country was of course simply a vast forest; the track of civilization stopped far short of their new home, and, besides them- selves, no white inhabitants had penetrated those wilds, yet this brave and determined pair faced the hardships and trials of such an existence, and nobly held to their purpose of making a home. They saw that wilderness bloom as a garden, and witnessed the populous growth of a region of which they were at one time the only Christian tenants. With his son, John, Jr., Mr. Johnson still lives on his old place, a hearty and active old gentleman of seventy-six, and loves to talk of the events of his pioneering days, which, although not fraught with serious danger, glowed with adventurous incident, and illustrated to the fullest measure the struggles, privations, and heroic efforts that marked the path of the earliest settlers.

Late in the fall of the same year (1827), George H. Claypool, who was then living in Niles township (where he married a sister of John Johnson), went over into Berrien, where, on section 27, adjoining Johnson, he had entered 80 acres of land. He put up a log house, and in the spring

of 1828 he brought his wife to their new home. Johnson and Claypool were, as remarked, near neighbors, and for nearly two years the only dwellers in what is now Berrien township. Mr. Claypool died in December, 1873, aged sixty-seven. His children now living are Noah, of Berrien (living on the old farm), Samuel J., of Berrien, Daniel J., of Texas, John J., of Buchanan, and Mrs. James P. Dean, of Oronoko.

In the fall of 1829, John Smith, a young man residing in Union Co., Ind., journeyed from that section to Cass Co., Mich., in company with Samuel Witter, by whom he was engaged to assist in the transportation of Witter's family. Smith returned without delay to Indiana, and in the spring of 1830, entering 96 acres of land near what is now Smith's Lake, Berrien township, came out on foot and re- mained in the country three months. At the end of that time he journeyed on foot again to Indiana, to help his brother Isaac and family out from Indiana to Berrien, where Isaac had located a tract of 240 acres, on section 24, adjoining John's farm. All hands made the trip with an ox-team, and without the occurrence of startling incident reached their Michigan home. When they settled there there was no inhabitant in the region between them and the river, on a straight line, and northward their nearest neighbor was fifteen miles distant. Indians were plentiful but not troublesome, although wolves did annoy them and give much concern. The two brothers still live on their places of early settlement,-John, aged seventy-two, and Isaac, aged seventy-nine.

In the spring of 1831, Michael Hand and his nephew, Thomas Hand, of Butler Co., Ohio, visited Michigan for the purpose of locating land. They selected a tract, now on section 30 of Berrien township, where a single tree had been felled by one Harter, who had previously examined the place with a view of locating, but had finally settled near Pokagon. Michael and his nephew went back to Ohio, and in November of the same year returned to Michigan, with the family of the former. Thomas Hand, the nephew, located a farm adjoining his uncle, and there died in 1844. Besides Thomas, the neighbors of Michael Hand were Peter Hickman, Shadrach Ford, Luke Webster, George H. Claypool, and John Johnson. As showing the density of the wilderness in which they lived, it is related that Michael went out one morning to shoot a squirrel for breakfast, and, after he had gone but a few rods from his house, killed a deer. Undertaking to drag it home, he soon found himself bewildered and moving about in a circle, while there came upon him the distressing conviction that he was lost in the woods, although probably within ear-shot of his home. A snow-fall added to his perplexity, and it was not until his shouts summoned his wife that he was able to find his way home, very near which he had been aimlessly and hopelessly wandering for an hour. Mr. Hand died in Jan- uary, 1877, upon his old farm, where his widow still resides.

Mrs. Hand relates in graphic detail the stern experi- ences of their pioneer life; how, between the howling of wolves, apprehensions touching the near presence of sav- ages, and the consciousness that they were far from neigh- bors, life was far from pleasant. Days and nights were filled

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History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 52

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