History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 98

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 98
USA > Michigan > Berrien County > History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 98

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13th, in the same year. His present home consists of one hundred and nineteen acres on section 24, which, with the assistance of his youngest son, he manages. His oldest child, Rosina, is still in New York, and the others are married and settled near him. March 16, 1870, he was united in marriage with Mrs. M. Rose, a native of New York, in which State she was born Feb. 24, 1818. She is a sister of J. R. Bangs, of Paw Paw. Mrs. Bathrick (first) early became a convert to the Christian religion, and at her death was a member of the Congregational Church. The present Mrs. Bathrick also united with this church about 1870. Mr. Bathrick was formerly connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church, but is at present a mem- ber of none. His first wife was an advocate of all reforms, and with him was an earnest worker in the anti-slavery cause, rising from her bed on many occasions to assist some lonely refugee. Mr. Bathrick's house was the haven which such wanderers sought for temporary shelter and assistance, and they were ever welcomed, and, after rest and refresh- ment, were " sent on their way rejoicing." Mr. Bathrick's father was a participant in the second struggle with Great - Britain (1812-15), and an early settler of Monroe Co., N. Y. His house, erected in 1811, was the fifth in the township in .which he settled, and was covered with bark, as no lumber could be procured nearer than Rochester. His road was cut six miles through a dense forest. He did not locate with his family until Feb. 22, 1814, having lived previously in Cayuga County. Lysander Bathrick has been a life-long Republican, his principles being taught him by his mother. He has served as a justice of the peace in the township where he lives.

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TOWNSHIP OF ANTWERP.

JONATHAN J. WOODMAN,

so well known to very many, not only of the citizens of Van Buren County, but of the whole country, was born in Sutton, Caledonia Co., Vt., May 25, 1825.

He was the youngest son of Joseph and Tryphena Wood- man, whose portraits appear upon another page in this work, and was nearly ten years of age when his father set- tled in Antwerp, early in May, 1835.

Western Michigan, except its few prairies, was then an almost unbroken wilderness. A few families arrived and settled in the neighborhood in the summer of 1835, and not unmindful of the fact that schools were an essential part of the civilization they had left behind them, they opened up in a primitive way the chances for an educa- tion in a slab shanty in Paw Paw village, to which the few children of the early settlers too young for work were sent.

About this time the flood-tide of emigration to Southern Michigan commenced, and the sturdy settlers engaged at once in opening up farms, building villages, and providing educational advantages for their children.

These were enjoyed by young Woodman to the extent of devoting the winter season to the village school, and the summer to labor on his father's farm, completing his school education at a private academy, under the tuition of the late Professor Vose, before he was twenty-one years of age.

His time in the village school and his academic course of a few terms had been so well improved, and had kindled in him such a desire to explore the fields of learning, the portals of which he had just passed, that to go to college was then his highest ambition. But a new country with its demands for improvement, a new farm with its demands for labor, and a large family with its demands for a living, left few dollars to devote to the less necessary collegiate education which his ambition coveted. His father could not help him, and he was compelled to abandon this cher- ished purpose.

He determined to enter a law-office and study law, and went to Kalamazoo, making his first application for a place in the office of Stuart & Miller.

Mr. Stuart was not in when the farmer-boy called to ar- range for his future course in life. Mr. Miller, a few years his senior, raised on a farm, with a few years' legal practice, was well qualified to give good advice.

He said to young Woodman, " The profession is over- crowded, and the chances for a competence and future dis- tinction are better and more certain for a young man intent on doing what he undertakes well, if he sticks to farming in this new and undeveloped country than at the bar." This opinion from an eminent lawyer cooled his ardor for professional life, and he returned home resolved to comply with the wishes of his father, and heed this friendly advice which had come to him unsought.

From henceforth he was ultimately to be a farmer, and he soon purchased forty acres of land adjoining his father's farm, incurring a debt of four hundred dollars, which was paid in installments with money earned by teaching. As he was well qualified, and it was more remunerative, he de- voted six successive winters to that work, finding employ-

ment on his father's farm through the summer seasons. A forty-acre farm was too restricted for his ambition, and in the newly discovered gold-fields of California he fancied he saw a prospect to secure means to enlarge his little farm, and enable him to prosecute his chosen vocation and secure the objects which attend success.

Resigning the position of principal of the Paw Paw union school in the spring of 1852, he joined the throng and crossed the Plains to meet and overcome, as best he might, the hardships of the venture and adventure of a two years' life in California.

Though he found no bonanza, he saved enough in two years of California life, by mining and other business in which he was engaged, to enlarge his farm, and soon made such valuable improvements as gave him the coveted stand- ing which he has since so fully enjoyed,-an independent, enterprising Michigan farmer.

His services as teacher were in demand, and the two winters succeeding his return from California he spent in teaching. We conclude that his time during the winter of 1856 was not wholly devoted to teaching school, as we find on inquiry that on the 30th day of March following he married Miss Harty H. Hunt, daughter of John and Eliza Hunt, pioneer settlers in the township, of whom men- tion is made in this work. Mrs. Woodman was born in Tunbridge, Orange Co., Vt., Oct. 20, 1834, and was but two and a half years old when her parents emigrated from Vermont and settled in Antwerp. Her educational advan- tages were very similar to those of her husband. In the common school, with a few terms at the Kalamazoo Female Seminary, under the tuition of that most excellent instruc- tress, Mrs. Stone, she qualified herself for teaching school, and for several years previous to her marriage was success- fully engaged in teaching. A small frame house was soon erected upon their one-hundred-and-twenty-acre farm, in which they commenced housekeeping and lived until their present residence was built, in 1868. They have but one child, Lucius Woodman, a promising lad of seventeen years of age.

In 1860, Mr. Woodman was chosen to represent Van Buren County in the Michigan Legislature, a position to which he was re-elected successively five times, to represent the eastern district, making twelve years of continuous ser- vice, during three terms having the additional honor of being selected by that body to serve as presiding officer (one term as Speaker pro tem. and two terms as Speaker), a distinction never accorded to any member of ordinary ability, nor given a second time to any person lacking in executive talent. In the late Centennial Exposition he was one of the board of managers representing the State of Michigan, Mis especial duty being to take charge of the agricultural exhibition of his State.

In 1878 he received from President Hayes the appoint- ment of commissioner to the Paris Exposition, being one of the four to represent American agriculture. It is worthy of note that this appointment was made on the united so- licitation of the entire Congressional delegation from his State, Mr. Woodman himself having no part in its pro- curement, nor even the knowledge that the position would be tendered him. The duties of the office took him abroad

390

HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

early in May, 1878. During the summer months he was closely engaged in Paris most of the time. He found time, . however, to make occasional excursions into the agricultural districts of France, and traveled extensively through several other countries in Europe, where, with the fondness of an enthusiast, he sought out everything new, if it seemed to have bearing upon the business in hand,-the development of truth in agriculture. These trips were delineated in letters to the Grange Visitor and Post and Tribune, and freely copied by the agricultural press throughout the Union.

Very soon after the grange movement became in Michi- gan a moving impulse Mr. Woodman identified himself with it, notwithstanding the opprobrium that thoughtless scribblers and senile orators had endeavored to cast upon it. He saw in the order a precious boon to American farmers, conditioned only upon their cordial support of an institution devised in their interest, and therefore dependent upon them for whatever power or force it might have in shaping affairs. Being thoroughly identified in the new work, it was soon apparent to his fellow-laborers that his abilities indicated a wider field than could be afforded by his local grange as the measure of his usefulness, and he was there- fore elected, in 1874, Master of the Michigan State Grange, a position which he still holds, having twice been re-elected by a nearly unanimous vote. In 1875, at the ninth annual session of the National Grange, in Louisville, Ky., he was elected Overseer, the second office in the body, the term ex- piring in 1877. At the eleventh annual session, in Cincin- nati, he was re-elected, and served with much ability at the sessions of the National Grange at Richmond and at Can- andaigua, often occupying the chair of the Master, where his familiarity with parliamentary law and usage, and his natural tact as a presiding officer, brought to him the high- est office in the gift of that body-that of Master-at its late session, in November, 1879.

Mr. Woodman has many qualities that have given him admirable fitness for the various official positions to which he has been called; but it is not the purpose of this sketch to make a careful analysis of character. It may be said, however, that as a presiding officer in a deliberative body he has, combined with the utmost readiness of decision, rare tact, that gives adverse ruling the character of grace- ful and courteous denial, soothing to those who seek the favors firmly refused. Intrenched in the most profound parliamentary lore, he occupies the chair as the embodiment of law, whose executive he becomes, with no favor nor harsh ruling to bestow, the plain purpose being to guide the pro- ceedings of the body over which he presides by the rules it has itself established. As a speaker, he is entirely free from ostentatious display, although earnest and forcible, trusting rather to close argument and the logic of facts than to the arts of oratory.

As a farmer, entire system marks every department of his work. Except when official duties have made demands upon his time, he has not only given personal attention to the business of his farm, but has always taken hold of its manual labor with the " come boys" activity that usually makes success certain.

In 1860 he purchased one hundred acres of his father's

farm, this time incurring a debt of four thousand dollars. Other additions have been made until he now owns over five hundred acres of land, with three hundred and seventy- five acres under cultivation.

In practical farming he holds tenaciously to the idea that a mixed husbandry, thorough cultivation, with a liberal supply of fertilizers, and a systematic rotation of crops is essential to success.

His motto is system, economy, and punctuality in all farm operations, as well as other business, and " an intelli- gent calculation on probabilities."

His farm lies just outside the village of Paw Paw, the county-seat of Van Buren County. His residence, within half a mile of the post-office, gives him all the society ad- vantages which village life affords. He has a fine residence and other farm-buildings sufficient for the needs of a large farm, but exhibits no lavish expenditure. With but one child, his family is always reinforced with the hired help necessary to run a large farm, and his considerate treatment of all his employees when at home makes them careful of his interests, and there is little of that change from year to year which is so common among farmers.

Mr. Woodman has been successful in his own business affairs, successful in official life, and honored for the faith- fulness with which he has discharged every duty imposed upon him, and now, at the age of fifty-four, we find him surrounded with every comfort and convenience found in a well-ordered home.

The fortuitous circumstances of life that seem to attend some men more than others have fallen to his lot.

With a wife familiar with farm-life from childhood, and eminently qualified to adapt herself to every situation, her practical good sense and sound judgment have contributed in no small degree to their financial prosperity, while her fine social and intellectual qualities have made their home an attractive centre of a large circle of friends who are always welcome at their hospitable board.

She is an earnest worker in the grange, as well as in other social and benevolent enterprises ; and, with her hus- band, has been honored with high positions in both the State and National Granges. She was elected Flora of the State Grange in 1875, a position which she still holds and fills with grace and dignity. In 1877 she was elected Pomona of the National Grange, and promoted to the office of Ceres in 1879, being the highest office held by a lady in that body.

HENRY WAITE

was born in Washington Co., N. Y., Sept. 10, 1825, and was the ninth in a family of fifteen children,-five sons and ten daughters. His father, Green Waite, was also a native of Washington County, as was also his mother, Lida (Moon) Waite. Mr. and Mrs. Waite, Sr., were married about 1808-9, and when Henry was five years of age the family removed to Livingston Co., N. Y., where the son worked on his father's farm summers, and attended school winters. When seventeen years of age, Henry Waite, at the request of his parents, started for Michigan to join his brother in Hillsdale Co., Mich., and learn the carpenter's

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TOWNSHIP OF ANTWERP.

trade. With ten dollars in his pocket, and his clothing rolled up in a pack, he left home and proceeded on foot to Rochester. Arriving finally at Adrian, Mich., he walked from there to his brother's, having two dollars and a half left on his arrival. He remained most of the time with his brother for two and a half years, and experienced homesickness almost constantly. He returned to New York and stayed two years, at the expiration of which time he came again to Hillsdale, and subsequently to Van Buren County, where he stayed but a short time, returning to Hills- dale, and thence to New York, walking as far as Niagara Falls. March 26, 1850, he was married to Miss Caroline McCrossen, whose father was a native of Ireland, and mother of New York. In the latter State Mrs. Waite was born, Dec. 9, 1831. Mr. and Mrs. Waite have no children of their own, but have an adopted daughter, Leonora, now thirteen years of age. After their marriage, Mr. Waite rented a farm for two years, after which he purchased fifty acres of land in Ontario Co., N. Y., and removed to it. He sold his place in the fall of 1855, and returned to Mich- igan, purchasing seventy acres in Almena township, Van Buren Co., Mich., obtaining credit for most of it. For about ten years he remained on this farm, clearing and im- proving it, and finding employment at sheep-shearing, well- digging, and teaming, and says he made his money " not on the farm, but off from it." He sold his place in 1865, and worked land on shares for two years, then purchasing his present home, on section 5, in Antwerp township. He also owns land in Almena, upon which he pastures sheep. He is considerably interested in sheep-raising, and has a flock numbering one hundred and twenty-six. Mr. Waite's farm had very little improvement upon it when he purchased it, but he has persevered in his efforts to transform it into a pleasant home, and with what success may be judged by a glance at the view which appears in this work. Mr. Waite has ever been an industrious, hard-working man. For seven years he was engaged in thrashing grain, and followed well- digging until within recent years. His mother died in 1867, and his father, who for two years had lived with him, died in 1869. Mrs. Waite's father died March 9, 1865. Her mother is living with her, having nearly reached the age of eighty-seven years. Mr. Waite is a Republican in politics, and both he and his wife have been members of the Chris- tian Church for twenty years.

JAMES M. LULL

was born in Broome Co., N. Y., June 9, 1830, and was one of a family of eleven children. In the spring of 1839 he came to Michigan with his father, Samuel Lull, who settled first in Kalamazoo County, and in 1844 removed to the township of Antwerp, Van Buren Co., and located on section 36. His parents were both natives of New York, in which State his father died Aug. 12, 1874, at the age of eighty years. The latter's widow is now living with her daughter in Kalamazoo County, at the age of eighty- two years.

When James M. Lull arrived at the age of twenty-one years he removed to Ohio, and during his residence in that

State was married to Miss Emily Crane, a native of Massa- chusetts, who had come to Ohio with her parents when but two years of age. About two years after his marriage, Mr. Lull removed to Michigan, locating with his family on their present home of one hundred and sixty acres, in the township of Antwerp, Van Buren Co., clearing and im- proving it in the succeeding years. Mrs. Lull's mother died in Ohio, April 15, 1855; her father is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Lull are the parents of three children, as follows : Clarence A., born in Ohio, March 9, 1852 ; Emma F., born Feb. 25, 1857, in Michigan ; Juliette, born Sept. 25, 1866. Mr. Lull, aside from his regular business as a farmer, has devoted considerable attention to raising fine stock, and is at present the owner of ten blooded cattle and several Percheron horses. He has every reason to be pleased with his success in life, and enjoys the reputation of being an excellent farmer. His educational advantages were somewhat limited, but his knowledge is of that prac- tical character which enables its possessor to achieve success in the business walks of life.

PETER HARWICK.

This gentleman's parents, Elias and Cynthia (Ryan) Harwick, were natives of Montgomery Co., N. Y. Elias Harwick was born Sept. 29, 1789, and died June 14, 1871. His wife, Cynthia (Ryan) Harwick, was born Nov. 7, 1792. They were married Oct. 30, 1813. Soon after their marriage they removed to Monroe County, and not long afterwards to Livingston County. From the latter they came to Michigan in 1841, and located in the township of Antwerp, Van Buren Co., where Mr. Harwick purchased and occupied a farm on section 16. About twenty-six years later, his health being broken down, he removed to Paw Paw village, where he died, and where his widow is now living.

Peter Harwick, the oldest child of the above, and one of a family of eight,-all sons but two,-was born Oct. 19, 1814, in the town of Mendon, Monroe Co., N. Y. He lived with his parents until 1837, in which year he was married to Miss Belva Root, who was born at Fort Ann, Washington Co., N. Y., May 28, 1813, and married Mr. Harwick in Erie County, where she was then living with her parents. After his marriage Mr. Harwick began farming independently in Caledonia, Livingston Co., N. Y. In October, 1842, he removed to Michigan, with his wife and child, and settled on section 16, Antwerp township, Van Buren Co. His possessions upon his arrival here were a small team of horses and fourteen dollars in money. He purchased eighty acres of land on section 16, and borrowed forty dollars of his sister in order to make the first pay- ment upon it. The place was entirely unimproved, and almost by his individual efforts has it reached its present condition of thrift. To his original purchase he has since added a like amount, and is now the owner of the south- east quarter of section 16,-one hundred and sixty acres. He lived during the first few months with his father, in the meanwhile erecting a log house on his own place. In order to get lumber to finish it with he went to Breeds- ville, cut timber, hauled it to a saw-mill and had it sawed,

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HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

and then drew it to his home. The house was finished and occupied in April, 1843. A severe and protracted struggle for a livelihood then began, and difficulties of man- ifold nature were constantly arising. But the energy and perseverance of the young pioneer triumphed in the end, and prosperity and plenty were showered upon him by favoring fortune. Judge Bazel Harrison, the well-known pioneer of Prairie Ronde, Kalamazoo Co., furnished him with wheat at one time when his store of money was en- tirely exhausted, and thus made one more in his long list of friends. The judge lived to be one hundred and three years of age, and went down to his grave with the consola- tion of having never known an enemy, and it was such deeds as this that won him the confidence and esteem of all. Mr. Harwick gratefully remembers the favor, and scarcely knows what he should have done but for the judge's kindness .* Mr. Harwick's education was acquired in the common schools of his boyhood, generally two miles from home, whose advantages were scarcely equal to those of the schools of the present day. He has lived sixty-six years and won the esteem of his acquaintances, and been elected to several offices by his townsmen,-supervisor, town clerk, etc. In politics he is a Democrat ; his occupation has always been that of a general farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Harwick have had but one child,-Allen Harwick,-who is now married, and residing on the farm with his father. Mrs. Harwick is a member of the Congregational Church.

J. R. BANGS.

The ancestors of this gentleman, upon the side of his father, were Scotch, and those of the name in America are descendants of three brothers, who emigrated previous to the Revolution. . Mr. Bangs' grandfather, Joshua Bangs, was born in Ingham, Mass., Feb. 26, 1764, and served in the war as a cabin-boy on board an American privateer. He was captured by the British, taken to England, and held a prisoner until the war was over, when he returned to Boston, Mass. He died in the town of Sweden, Monroe Co., N. Y., July 13, 1837. His wife, Anna (Folcon) Bangs, was born in Massachusetts, Nov. 17, 1766, and died in Sweden, N. Y., Jan. 4, 1844. Nathaniel Bangs, the father of J. R., was born in Massachusetts, March 4, 1789, and removed to Wheelock, Vt., where, on the 6th of October, 1809, he was married to Mary Woodman ; after- wards removing to Sweden, N. Y., purchased one hundred and thirty acres of land, on which he lived until his death, Aug. 13, 1835 ; his wife is still living. Miss Woodman's father, John Woodman, was born March 30, 1763, and married Sarah Foy, Dec. 17, 1787. Both were of English descent.

J. R. Bangs, the sixth in a family of nine children, was born in the town of Sweden, Monroe Co., N. Y., Feb. 6, 1824. Until he was seventeen, his time was passed on the farm of his father, except during the winters, which were de- voted to study in the district schools. At the age men- tioned he was employed at monthly wages, still continuing

his winter schooling. March 10, 1844, he was married to Miss Lucy M., daughter of Mills and Catharine Davis, in Ogden, Monroe Co., N. Y. Mrs. Bangs' parents were of English descent and natives of Livingston Co.,. N. Y. She was born in Livonia, April 14, 1828; her mother's maiden name was Adams. Her father died when she was but a year old, and a year later she was taken into the family of her uncle, Samuel Brigham, who resided in Ogden, Monroe Co., and with him she was living when married. After their marriage, Mr. Bangs rented a farm for three years, afterwards purchasing eighty acres of land in the town of Ogden, Monroe Co., for which the sum demanded was two thousand eight hundred dollars. One hundred dollars only were paid down, and the place was occupied five years, at the end of which time he sold it for three thousand two hundred dollars, and removed with his family, in the fall of 1854, to Michigan. He had visited the State the pre- vious spring and invested in lands situated north of Grand Rapids. Not being satisfied with the location, he exchanged the land for what is better known as the Elder Gilman farm, in Antwerp township, Van Buren Co., on section 5. Upon this he located and remained about fifteen years, making extensive improvements. In 1870 he disposed of his place and removed to the one he now occupies, one-half mile east of the village of Paw Paw. Here he has built a neat residence (a view of which is seen in this work), and made many and valuable improvements. He has also taken an active interest in the propagation of improved stock, especially horses, and has introduced several fine animals of the Percheron Norman breed, which he secured in Illinois. In company with Mr. C. Bilsborough he is the owner of six, one of which is in Albion, Mich. In politics, Mr. Bangs is a Republican ; though often solicited to allow his name to be used as a candidate for township offices, he has never sought them. Mr. and Mrs. Bangs were members of the Christian Church in New York and brought letters with them to Michigan, but have not united with any church in the latter State. Although they have a pleasant and thrifty home, it has never been made merry by the voices of children of their own.

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History of Berrien and Van Buren counties, Michigan. With biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 98

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