USA > Michigan > Calhoun County > History of Calhoun County, Michigan, a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume II > Part 104
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110
Rochester, New York, was where he learned the clothing business, and he spent three years in that city, during part of which time he at- tended night school at the Rogers & Williams Business College. At the age of sixteen, two years after getting off the boat at New York, he was one of the highest salaried clothing men in Rochester. His employers then sent him to manage their store at Canandaigua, where the former manager had proved unsatisfactory. From there he went to Elmira, where the same parties opened a store and Mr. Kapp opened and man- aged the store for them for three and a half years. The Elmira firm in 1888 engaged him to manage their business at Battle Creek, which transferred him to the city which has since proved his permanent home. After a year or so he acquired an interest in the business, which was for several years known as the Frohlich & Kapp store. Buying out his partner in 1894, Mr. Kapp conducted the business under his individual name until 1908, when it became the Kapp Clothing Company. He is owner of two-thirds of the stock, the rest belonging to his brother pre- viously mentioned. At the reorganization of the business in 1908, Mr. Kapp planned a stock company in which all his old employes should have an interest in the business. This excellent purpose was defeated through the selfish disposition of one of the lessors of the building.
Mr. Kapp has been very successful in material affairs. Real estate has received considerable attention from him, and he is the owner of the four-story brick Kapp block, 24-26 Main street west, which he erected in 1905, and which is now occupied by one of the S. H. Knox & Com- pany 5 and 10 cent stores. He owns another block at 6-8 East Main, besides other city property.
In politics Mr. Kapp is an independent voter, his ballot going to the men he considers best qualified. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, affiliating with the Battle Creek Lodge No. 12 and other local bodies, and is a member of the Moslem Shrine at Detroit. His membership is also in the Odd Fellows Lodge No. 29, and he belongs to the Athelstan Club. Mr. Kapp married, January 30, 1894, Miss Minetta Van Praagh. She is a native of this city and received her education here. They are the parents of two children, Josephine and Elsa. Their home is at 8 College avenue.
1310
HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
EVERETT G. KNAPP has passed most of his life thus far in the state of his birth, and will in all probability make Michigan his home for the remainder of his days. He was born in Lenawee county, this state, on the 27th day of August, 1839, and is a son of Joel F. and Electa (Blake- ly) Knapp, both of whom were born in the state of Massachusetts and were married at Clyde in the state of New York. They came to Michigan in 1837, locating in Lenawee county, and there both continued to reside throughout the remainder of their active careers. Mr. Knapp passed away on December 15, 1849, while his wife was called home three years previous, her death occuring on April 11, 1846. Mr. Knapp had been engaged in Mercantile pursuits in York state, but in Michigan he turned his attention to farming, and was thus engaged for the remainder of his days. He was a staunch Whig and a leader in its local ranks in Lenawee county, which he served for thirteen years as supervisor of Woodstock township. He was a thoroughly conscientious man and was esteemed and honored of all who knew him. Five children were born to the Knapp home, of which number but two are yet living: Everett G. of this review, and George, who is a resident of Presque Isle county, Michigan.
Everett G. Knapp was reared on a farm and early became accus- tomed to the strenuous work involved in that business. When he was seven years old the death of his mother brought about his removal to the home of Leonard Humphrey, and they remained his parents and guard- ians until he reached man's estate. Of Leonard Humphrey and his good wife a more detailed sketch will be found elsewhere in this work, so that further comment upon them is not deemed necessary at this point. Suf- fice it to say that their adopted son fared more fortunately than many an orphaned child, for while he needed the care and guidance of earthly parents he never knew the lack, and those worthy people in their de- clining years knew no home other than that of their foster son, who with his wife, felt it a privilege to care for them with all tenderness and devotion in the latter years of their life. Leonard Humphrey died in 1899 and his widow survived him for seven years, being eighty-four years of age at the time of her demise.
Everett Knapp received a common school education and in addition to becoming familiar with all details of farm work, he learned the tin- ner's trade, and for a number of years he devoted himself to that work. Early in life, however, he taught in the district schools of Champaign county, Illinois, meeting with excellent success in his labors in that respect. He in later years turned his attention to farming, and for twenty-seven years has been the owner and operator of the old Humphrey place in Concord, Jackson county. It comprises one hundred acres of land practically all of which is under an excellent state of cultivation, while the buildings are of a substantial character, most speaking evi- dence of the thrift and prosperity of the owner.
Mr. Knapp has taken an active and helpful interest in public affairs of a local nature. Serving as justice of the peace for sixteen years. Politically, he is a sturdy Republican, and is a man well informed upon issues of public concern. For a few years Mr. Knapp was a resident of the state of Illinois, and Nebraska, and in Champaign county of the former state he served in the office of township assessor. From that state as a young man he went forth as a loyal defender of the Union, en- listing in 1861 as an orderly sergeant in Company I, Twenty-fifth Illi- nois Volunteer Infantry, with which he continued in active service for . three years and one month, participating in all the engagements in which his regiment acted, save the battle of Stone river. He was severely wounded in the battle of Missionary Ridge and confined to hospital for some time. On December 27, 1861, he was promoted at Raleigh, Mis-
1311
HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
souri, to a second lieutenancy. On December 29, 1862, he was made a first lieutenant at Nashville, Tennessee, and he was promoted to a cap- taincy in his company on May 24, 1864, while under General Sherman at the siege of Atlanta. He received an honorable discharge at Spring- field, on September 5, 1864, after a long and honorable record, and re- turned to Michigan soon thereafter. Mr. Knapp is a member of Albion Post No. 220 of the Grand Army of the Republic, and is the recipient of a pension from the government. He was made a Mason at Mahomet Illinois, in December, 1864, and is now a member of Murat Lodge No. 14, of Albion, Mich.
On April 7, 1869, at Mahomet, Champaign county, Illinois, Mr. Knapp was united in marriage to Miss Mary C. Clark, who was born in Clark county, Ohio, on July 30, 1850. She was a daughter of John F. and Rebecca M. (Bireley) Clark, who were pioneers of the state of Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Knapp have one daughter,-Maud E., who is now the wife of Jesse S. Brigham, of Concord, Jackson county. Mrs. Brig- ham was a successful teacher in Jackson county for a number of years previous to her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Knapp are members of the Pres- byterian church at Albion, and have ever been active and prominent in the good works of that organization.
In February, 1910, Mr. Knapp rented his farm and purchased a home in Albion at 906 Perry street, where he now resides.
LEONARD HUMPHREY. The late Leonard Humphrey was born in Wayne county, New York, on July 10, 1814, and was the son of Ida and Abigail (Field) Humphrey, the former being a native of Vermont and of Scotch ancestry, born in 1777. The mother was a native of Mas- sachusetts of English ancestry, and born in 1789. In 1835 he, in com- pany with his father, came to this section of the state and in Jackson county bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Section 3 and 4, Concord township. They returned to New York in the autumn, and the following spring, 1836, moved upon the place, where he resided up to the day of his death, on February 11, 1899. Leonard Humphrey was married on January 1, 1840, to Anna C. Humeston, the daughter of James and Lydia (Knapp) Humeston. He held the office of notary public for two terms, was superintendent of the Sunday-school over forty years, and was a member of the Presbyterian church. In poli- ties he was ever a Republican. For more than half a century the name of Leonard Humphrey was identified with the community of Albion, and when he died he was in the eighty-fifth year of his life. His widow survived him until 1906, and her passing was a loss to the community equal to that of her loved husband. She was born at Clyde, New York, in 1822, and came to Michigan in 1837. She united in early life with the Presbyterian church at Concord, later becoming a member of the Albion church, and more than thirty years prior to her demise she be- came a member of the Parma Presbyterian church, of which she was a member at the time of her death. She had no children, but gave a true mother's love to other children who were reared in their home. One of the children to whom she and her husband gave the love and devotion of parents was Everett G. Knapp, who became a member of their home when he was seven years of age, and who in turn gave them the most filial love and care in the declining years of their life.
Mrs. Humphrey was a woman gifted with more than ordinary facul- ties, and was a splendid scholar. The last twenty years of her life she kept a diary, which was a most interesting book, as well as a source of much pleasure to her. Her rare mind retained its alertness to the last, although her body was greatly wasted by years of illness.
Vol. II-45
1
1312
HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
FREDERIC SAMUEL GOODRICH, professor of Greek in Albion College since 1892 and at present alumni professor of the English Bible, is one of the most widely known men in college circles in the state of Michigan. Dr. Goodrich was born on September 9, 1865, in Waterbury, Connecti- cut, and is the son of Augustus Ives and Helen Isabel (Corbett) Good- rich, both natives of the old Nutmeg state. The Goodrich family is one of the oldest in the history of this country, the first representative of the name to locate in America being William Goodrich, who came from England. The first entry on the official records of Connecticut concern- ing him is that of his marriage to Sarah Marvin in 1648. William Goodrich was deputy from Wethersfield in General Court held in Hart- ford, Connecticut, on May 15, 1662, and was an ensign in the train band of Wethersfield, and is so spoken of in the Colonial records of Connecti- cut just following the close of King Philip's war. He died in 1676. His wife, Sarah, was the daughter of Matthew and Elizabeth Marvin, also of Hartford, Connecticut.
The son of these parents, Ephraim, was born June 2, 1663, and died in 1739. He married Sarah Treat, the daughter of Major Richard and Sarah (Coleman) Treat, in 1684, and they made their home in Rocky Hill, Connecticut. Their son, Thomas, was born September 27, 1701. He married Hannah Reynolds, the daughter of John Reynolds, and their son, Peter, born June 7, 1720, married Bathsheba Miller, on January 1, 1758. Luther Goodrich, the son of Peter and Bathsheba Goodrich, was born on the 16th of July, 1776, and died November 12, 1832. On November 16, 1797, he married Sarah Danforth. They had a son, George, born September 8, 1805, in East Haddam, Connecticut, and he married Charlotte L. Ives on May 21, 1828. Their son, Augustus Ives, who was the father of Dr. Goodrich of this review, was born on Septem- ber 16, 1833, in Bristol, Connecticut, and on January 22, 1861, mar- ried Helen Isabel Corbett, as mentioned in a previous paragraph. Augustus Ives Goodrich was for years superintendent of the Water- bury Clock Company. He is a member of the Methodist church, and has always given his support to the Republican party. He was a man always prominent in his own city and district, who stood high in the regard and general opinion of his fellowmen. He was secretary of the board of education for years, at one time was police commissioner, and served two terms as representative from his district in the state legislature.
Thus this fine old family kept its location in Connecticut from the time of the first American representative down to the present generation.
Frederic Samuel Goodrich was born in Waterbury, and there he re- ceived his early education. He was graduated from the Waterbury high school in 1882; from Wesleyan Academy, in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, in 1885, and from Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Connecticut, in 1890. He is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa, and Psi Upsilon fraterni- ties. The years of 1890-91 he spent in study in the University of Ber- lin and in the American School of Archaeology in Athens, and in 1891, upon his return home, he was appointed Registrar of Wesleyan Univer- sity, and tutor in Greek. In the following year came his appointment as professor of Greek in Albion College, at Albion, Michigan, the posi- tion which he is filling today. In 1897 he received the degree of M. A. from the University of Michigan, and in 1909, Defiance College, in Ohio, conferred upon him the degree of D. D.
On January 3, 1893, Dr. Goodrich married Mary Maltby Harrison, the daughter of Stephen E. and Catherine (Summers) Harrison, the father being a relative of President William Henry Harrison and Ben- jamin Harrison. Mrs. Goodrich was educated in a private school con-
1313
HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
ducted by the mother of Dr. Goodrich, and later studied in the Art Students' League of New York City. Her grandfather, Gary Harrison, was a missionary to the Indians in the "Great Northwest," and her mother was exceedingly prominent in benevolent works in Waterbury, Connecticut, where Mrs. Goodrich was born and reared. Dr. and Mrs. Goodrich have two children, Frederic Harrison and Helen Ruth.
Dr. Goodrich is a Republican in his political faith, and his fraternal relations are represented by his membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has been Noble Grand; the Masonic order and the Fraternal Aid Association.
Besides being an efficient man in his position in the college, Dr. Good- rich finds time for other duties that have called him. For eighteen years he has been a member of the State Executive Committee of the Michigan Y. M. C. A., and he is general secretary of the Michigan Sun- day School Association, to which position he was appointed in 1910. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and has been a member of the Detroit Conference since 1895. He is president of the Physical Culture Training School in Chicago, and he is much sought after as a lecturer in the line of his work. In a "History of Waterbury" his name is to be found among poets and authors as a writer of hymns, his Advent Hymn, "The Triumphal Entry," being especially noteworthy.
It is not too much to say that there are few college professors in Michigan who exert a wider influence than Dr. Goodrich, and to all who have been associated with him a broader, nobler outlook upon life has come, with a truer vision of service.
CYRUS B. HUNGERFORD is a retired farmer of Albion, and a veteran of the Civil war. He has been a resident of Michigan since 1850, that year marking the advent of his family into Calhoun county, which has represented his home and the scene of his activities for the most part since then.
Born in Fairfield county, Connecticut, in the town of Sherman, on August 9, 1844, Cyrus B. Hungerford is the son of Stanley and Char- lotte (Whitney) Hungerford, both natives of Connecticut. In 1850 the family migrated to the state of Michigan, settling in Calhoun county, where the father bought eighty acres of farm land. This land he set- tled down to improve and with the passing years put it into a splendid state of cultivation, erecting a commodious dwelling and suitable barns for his requirements. He was a carpenter by trade, and usually car- ried on the work of his profession in connection with his farming opera- tions. He died in 1896, his widow surviving him until 1903, her death occurring at Marshall, Michigan.
Their son, Cyrus B., of this brief review, received his early educa- tion in the district school of his home village, and for a time attended school in Ypsilanti. He was reared to farm life and knew best how to avail himself of such advantages in an educational way as came in his direction, so that he profited well by such schooling as he was privileged to know. During the Civil war, September 5, 1864, Cyrus Hungerford enlisted in Company C, of the Thirteenth Michigan Infantry, with Colonel Shomaker in command. He joined the regiment at Chattanooga, Tennessee, and he took part in several skirmishes while on the march to the sea. On June 8, 1865, he was honorably discharged, and returned to his home in Calhour. county, where he entered the State Normal at Ypsilanti, Michigan. In 1898 Mr. Hungerford left the farm and moved into Albion, where he has resided ever since, his principal duties being those of janitor of the Presbyterian church of Albion.
In 1868 Mr. Hungerford married Miss Maggie Hardenburg, the
.
1314
HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
daughter of Jerry and Polly Hardenburg and one son and three daugh- ters were born to them. Hattie is a teacher in the Albion high school; Perry R. is a graduate of the medical department of the University of Michigan and is engaged in practice in Concord; Leslie is the wife of C. E. Ackley, and lives at Marshall; and Ethal, who lives at Concord, with her brother, Dr. Hungerford.
Mr. Hungerford is a member of E. W. Hollingsworth Post No. 210 G. A. R., and he and his family are members of the Methodist church. He is a Republican in politics, and he is assured of a sufficient income during his declining years by reason of the pension which he re- ceived from the government in token of his service to the Union in time of war.
HON. JOHN ' M. C. SMITH. There is no need to go into a detailed account of all that the Honorable John M. C. Smith, of Charlotte, Mich- igan, has accomplished, for the simple fact, that his record stands out in men's minds today, for the things that he has accomplished. His work is too well known to be easily forgotten. As a lawyer, he has won a reputation for ability in speaking and for a clean-cut grasp of his subject that has brought him success many times. As a member of Congress during a critical period in the legislative history of the coun- try, he has proved faithful to the trust the people have reposed in him, and a valuable member of that legislative body.
John M. C. Smith is a son of Richard and Barbara (McMunn) Smith, who came to America in 1855, bringing their infant son with them. He was educated in the Charlotte Union schools and the Univer- sity of Michigan. In 1882 he was admitted to the bar in Detroit and has ever since been in practice in Charlotte, Michigan. He is also ad- mitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States. In addi- tion to his large and lucrative law practice he is also interested in farm- ing and stock raising, and has manufacturing interests. His ability along financial lines led to his election to the office of president of the First National Bank of Charlotte. His varying interests, and his con- sequent mingling with men of many different kinds, gave him a thor- ough grasp of conditions and an understanding of the needs of the people of his section.
His personal popularity and the confidence that the people reposed in him is shown by his election as an alderman of the city, and two terms prosecuting attorney. In 1908 he was sent as a member of the Michigan Constitutional Convention, and in 1911 he received the high- est honor that has yet come to him in being elected to the Congress of the United States as a representative from the Third District of the state of Michigan.
Mr. Smith married Lena Parkhurst, of Charlotte, Michigan, on the 6th of October, 1887. He is a Republican in politics and is a member of the Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons and many other social orders.
FRANK E. NOWLIN. One of the most prominent business men, not only in Calhoun county, Michigan, but also in the state, is Frank E. Nowlin, of Albion. He is one of the most extensive shippers of grain and hay and other farm products in the county, and has built up a remarkably far reaching business from a very small beginning. He is a modern agressive business man, who understands the value of adver- tising and of the modern idea that in order to get business one must go out after it. He has built a reputation for furnishing just what he promises to furnish, and a large part of his success has come from the confidence that his patrons place in his reliability.
1315
HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
PHILO DIBBLE was born December 2, 1790, in Mt. Washington, . Berkshire county, Mass.
His ancestor, Robert Dibble, with his son, Thomas, and daughter Mary, came from Weymouth, England, and settled in Dorchester, Mass., in 1635. Their descendants were among the enterprising sons of New England, took an active part in the settlement of the country, and their names are found among those of the founders of several of the towns of Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Philo's grandfather, John Dibble, was one of the proprietors, or original settlers, of Mt. Washington. Daniel, one of his three sons, grew up and married in Mt. Washington; he served his country as Cap- tain in the Revolutionary army. In the fall of 1799, having sold his property interests in Mt. Washington, Daniel with his wife and eleven children moved, with the aid of an ox team and one horse, into New York state and settled in the wilderness-now Meredith, Delaware county.
We can hardly realize, in this day of cable encircled world, that it was two weeks after General George Washington's death before the residents in Meredith heard of it. The sad tidings were carried by couriers on horse back. The grief and manifestations of sorrow fol- lowing the receipt of the news made such a vivid impression on the child of nine, that Philo was wont to relate it in later years as one of the events of his childhood. Philo learned the saddlers trade; married Susan Lawson of Newburgh, February 13, 1814.
They settled in Skaneateles, which was one of the towns on the stage road between Albany and Buffalo. Its natural beauties attracted a fine class of residents. Churches, schools and public library were early established and well maintained. In the old records we find Philo Dib- ble's name as one of the generous donors towards these institutions.
His oldest child, Charles Philo, became interested in the movement to the "New West," and they together, in 1835, started with horse and buggy and drove to Michigan, visiting the wonderful Niagara Falls on their way. They drove through southern Michigan and as far west as Chicago, which then consisted of a fort and a few log houses near it. Marshall was much more attractive and, after revisiting it, they decided to locate there. They returned to Skaneateles. The following year Charles moved to Marshall and superintended the building of a house for his father's family, at the northeast corner of State and Gordon streets, the house is still doing good service, and the brick block so long known as Dibble's Block. It was the second brick block in the town, the first one was the Comstock Block, across the Marshall House Park, southeast of the Dibble Block. In 1837, Philo with his devoted wife and four younger children left their home, which is still one of the attrac- tive places in Skaneateles, and came to the new home in Marshall. Marshall was built in an oak opening, that is where the Indians had burned the land, preserving from harm the magnificent oak trees, and having no undergrowth save the green grass. One could ride in any direction among the trees, and it was almost like fairy land. Indians were plentiful in the surrounding country; they were peaceable and in the summer they would swarm into the town selling baskets, bows, arrows and berries.
One day Cornelia Dibble sat at her piano, playing the tunes learned in the old home, when in walked a grave, tall Indian. Cornelia re- membered having heard that an Indian never forgot a kindness shown, so she welcomed him and continued playing, while one after another Indian came in, until the room, the hall and the yard were filled. Cor-
1316
HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
nelia played till tired and then bowed and motioned with her hand and they all silently withdrew.
After coming to Marshall Mr. Dibble did not re-enter active busi- ness. He was a silent partner in the firm of C. P. Dibble & Co., and invested in farm lands. Mr. Dibble, with Andrew L. Hayes, Lansing Kingsbury, Samuel Camp and others formed the Marshall Company which platted and established the village of Hastings, now the beautiful and growing county seat of Barry county. The plat of Hastings was recorded August 8, 1836 and for many years thereafter Philo Dibble was deeply interested in the success of the village. Mr. Dibble served for a time as civil magistrate. He was always an attendant and liberal supporter of the Presbyterian church; acting for many years as its treasurer. Soon after uniting with the church he was elected an elder and continued in that office until his death in 1867.
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.