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 14
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To the public schools of Emmett township Fred Clayton Gale is in- debted for his early education, and as a youth he lived on his father's farm, in the work and management of which he was an able assistant. After his marriage in 1908, he and his wife settled on the Hall farm, which comprises two hundred and twenty-four acres of land, and there he and his father-in-law, Homer Hall, are engaged in diversified farm- ing and the breeding of Holstein cattle, in both of which branches they are very successful.
In politics Mr. Gale is a staunch supporter of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor. He has been active in local politics, and in 1911 he was honored by his fellow citi- zens with the election to the office of township treasurer. Mr. Gale proved himself well able to handle advantageously the fiscal affairs of the township, and is now serving his second term in the office of treas- urer. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Gleaners.
On February 5, 1908, Mr. Gale was united in marriage with Miss Eva Hall, who was born and reared in Calhoun county, and who is a daughter of Homer Hall, a sketch of whose life appears on other pages of this work, so that further information with reference to the Hall family is not deemed necessary at this point. Mr. and Mrs. Gale are the parents of one daughter, Dorothy, whose birth occurred on the 7th of July, 1910.
GEORGE T. BULLEN takes unmistakable place today as one of the lead- ifig merchants of Albion .. His inherent talent has brought him up from humble circumstances through devious paths to a station of prominence
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and success, only attainable by one of his sterling qualities and single- . ness of purpose, and his experiences have with the passing years de- veloped his character along lines of sincerity and integrity, while in both his business and private life he has applied principles of living . that never fail to command respect and admiration.
A native son of Michigan, Mr. Bullen was born at Parma, Jackson county, June 14, 1867, and is the son of George and Mary Ann (Height) Bullen. They were natives of England, reared in Broughton, Hunt- ingtonshire, and soon after their marriage they made their way to the United States. After a short time in Ohio, they came to Jackson county, Michigan, and located in Parma, where the father carried on business as a farmer, stockman and butcher. He was accidentally drowned when his son George was a mere infant, leaving his widow with six children. The mother survived him until 1891.
In the public schools of Parma George T. Bullen acquired such edu- cation as became his, spending his summer vacations in various em- ployment. When he was sixteen years of age he came to Albion and entered the service of McGinniss & Company, that being in 1883. The following year he secured a similar position with E. M. Slayton & Com- pany, with whom he remained for two years, and subsequently he spent three and a half years with G. F. Bundy. After two months spent with E. F. Mills & Company, Mr. Mills disposed of his interest in the business to D. M. Galloway, a traveling salesman, and Mr. Bullen con- tinued with the new firm as manager for two years, during the absence of Mr. Galloway. On the expiration of that period he formed a part- nership with C. S. Tucker under the firm style of Bullen & Tucker, and they later purchased the dry goods business of W. B. Crane. The partnership endured for two years, after which Mr. Bullen sold out, severing his connection with the business on February 19, 1894. On the 31st of March following he opened a new stock in the Eslow build- ing on the corner of Porter and Superior street. Two years later he moved across the street to the Dalrymple block, and enlarged his business by adding a stock of cloaks and carpets. The business grew steadily and after four years spent at that site, he purchased the S. M. Tuttle prop- erty, where for almost half a century a drug store had been conducted. He improved and remodeled the building, making it into a three story and basement building, and again increased his line of wares. In 1903, still more room being required by the growing demands of his business, he purchased the Brockway block at the corner of Erie and Superior streets, which he has remodeled into a large and in every way modern establishment. The store is thoroughly equipped with the best in mod- ern accessories and is stocked with a large and carefully selected line of dry goods, carpets, cloaks, suits and ladies' ready-to-wear of all kinds, with housefurnishings in basement, and it is not too much to say that not a finer store will be found in southern Michigan outside the city of Detroit. The ever increasing volume of his trade has more than justified the expenditures which he has from time to time felt called upon to make in improvements, and they, in turn have brought him an ever increasing patronage.
In Albion, Michigan, August 27, 1890, Mr. Bullen was united in marriage with Miss Ella Young, daughter of John and Katherine Young, old residents of Albion. Three sons have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bullen,-Donald D., Ralph R., and George E., and a daughter, Kather- ine Mary. The family makes its home in the old Irwin homestead at No. 103 Irwin avenue. Mr. and Mrs. Bullen are members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, and Mr. Bullen is a member of the board of trustees of the church, also. He is well advanced in Masonry, being
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a member of Murat Lodge No: 21, A. F. & A. M .; Albion Chapter R. A. M., and Marshall Commandery Knights Templar. He is also a member of Albion Lodge No. 57, Knights of Pythias, of which he is a past chancellor, and he has been its representative to the Grand Lodge. For a number of years Mr. Bullen has been a director and vice presi- dent of the Leisure Hour club and in 1902 was its president. For six years he was a member of the board of education and for four years acted as president of that body. Mr. Bullen is a Republican, but has devoted himself exclusively to his business affairs, rather than give himself over to office seeking, and in his well known character of an earnest and conscientious man of business, his influence has been a beneficial one in the affairs of the community, and his record as citizen and private individual has been one well worthy of commendation and approval.
GEORGE S. WOOLSEY. A prominent and influential agriculturist of Calhoun county, George S. Woolsey was born in Marshall township, Cal- houn county, February 29, 1840, and during his long and useful life has been a dominant factor in promoting its interests. This township is extremely fortunate in having been settled by a remarkably enter- prising, industrious and intelligent class of people, noteworthy among the number having been the parents of both Mr. and Mrs. Woolsey. The immigrant ancestor of Mr. Woolsey emigrated from England to America in colonial times; he was of honored ancestry, being, without doubt, a lineal descendant of Cardinal Woolsey, of world-wide fame, although the line of descent has not yet been clearly traced. Mr. Wool- sey's great-grandfather on the paternal side served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war, losing his life on the battle-field. He left two sons, the oldest, a lad of twelve years, subsequently going to New York City, and Richard, who became the grandfather of George S. Woolsey.
Richard Woolsey was but seven years old when the news of his father's death in the Revolutionary Army was received. Educated for the ministry, he had charge of a Baptist church in Delaware county, New York, for forty-two consecutive years. He subsequently bought a farm in Seneca county, New York, and there spent the remainder of his long life, being engaged in farming to some extent, although he devoted much of his time to his Master's work, being a devout and faith- ful servant until the last.
Daniel Woolsey, father of George S., was born, March 5, 1808, in Delaware county, New York, where he grew to manhood, and was edu- cated. Moving with the family to Seneca county, he was there engaged in agricultural pursuits for about five years. Coming to Michigan on a prospecting tour in 1835, he took up a tract of wild land in Calhoun county, paying the government price for it. Going back then to Seneca county, New York, he remained there until the fall of 1836, when he re- turned to Michigan, shipping his goods to Detroit. He then started for Calhoun county with horses, but was forced to trade the horses for oxen, which could travel through mud and swamp much better than the horses. Assuming possession of his land, which was located on section eight, Marshall township, he built the typical log house of the early pioneer, and in the years that followed cleared and improved a productive farm of one hundred and sixty acres, on which he resided until his death, June 27, 1887. In his earlier years Daniel Woolsey was a Whig in politics, but was later a stanch supporter of the Repub- lican party. Elected township supervisor in 1861, he served most credit- ably in that capacity for eight years, and during the Civil war he was treasurer of the bounty fund. He joined the Baptist church when
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twenty-two years of age, and was afterward a faithful member, serving as a deacon for many years prior to his demise.
The maiden name of the wife of Daniel Woolsey was Juliana Shaf- fer. She was born in Colchester, New York, and died in Marshall town- ship, Calhoun county, September 2, 1862. She was a daughter of Henry Shaffer, a Michigan landholder, and was of German ancestry.
The fourth child in a family of six children, George S. Woolsey spent his early years on the parental homestead, in Marshall township, and as a boy assisted in the pioneer labor of hewing a farm from the forest, at the same time enduring the hardships and privations incidental to frontier life. He was given excellent educational advantages for his times, attending first the district schools, later continuing his studies in Tenney's select school, in Marshall, and at the age of sixteen years entering Olivet Institute, as it was then known. A't the end of a year he had to leave college on account of failing eyesight, for three years thereafter not being able to read even the newspapers, and until 1870 remained with his parents. In 1869 Mr. Woolsey bought one hundred and eighty-five acres of land, on section thirteen, Marshall township, and in the years that have since passed he has made improvements of a sub- stantial character, including the erection of a fine residence, and sub- stantial barns and outbuildings.
A leading member of the Republican ranks, Mr. Woolsey has been a delegate to county and state conventions, and has filled various public offices with credit to himself, and to the honor of his constituents. For two or more terms he has served as township clerk and township treas- urer; was township supervisor from 1880 until 1882; and county treas- urer of Calhoun county two terms, from 1883 until 1887; and for many years was a school officer. Always interested in everything pertaining to the advancement of the farming interests, Mr. Woolsey was secretary for five years of the Calhoun County Agricultural Society, and has served that organization as a member of its executive committee, as a director, and as its treasurer. For four years he was secretary of the Citizens Mutual Fire Insurance Company ; and for six years has been a director and adjuster in the Michigan Mutual Tornado, Cyclone and Windstorm Insurance Company, which office he still holds.
Mr. Woolsey has been twice married. He married first, in 1867, in Convis township, Martha Lamphier, who was born in Bloomfield, New York, and came with her parents, Marcus and Susan Lamphier, to Cal- houn county, Michigan, in 1857, settling near Albion. Two years later Mr. Lamphier started for the gold regions, and died soon after his arrival in California, in 1859. Mrs. Martha Woolsey passed to the higher life February 15, 1890. To her and her husband eight children were born, namely : Marcus Daniel, now a farmer in Marshall township on the same farm his grandfather bought of the U. S. Government in 1835; Freddie, lived but eighteen months; Edgar L., now deceased ; Mary, also deceased ; Mabel, now the wife of Howard E. Pratt, of Oakland, California; Charles Richard, of Vicksburg, Mich .; Edna, now the wife of Edwin Smith of Concord, Mich .; and Ruth, who died in August, 1889, aged three years.
On October 7, 1890, Mr. Woolsey was united in marriage with Mrs. Phebe (Hanchett) Dunham, who was born in Marengo township, Cal- houn county, in 1840, a daughter of Caleb and Esther (Miller) Han- chett, and widow of Henry E. Dunham, a talented artist, who was born and bred in Vermont, and died in Michigan in 1882. By her marriage with her first husband, Mrs. Woolsey became the mother of four children, namely : Edwin C. Dunham, for many years an engineer and conductor on the Chicago and Alton Railroad, and now living retired at Glens Falls, New York; Lillian, who became the wife of Dr. I. W. Houston, of
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Marshall; Charles S., a farmer of Marshall; and Montgomery H. Dun- ham, of Chicago.
Mr. Woolsey has been identified with the Baptist church for many years, serving both as a deacon and as a member of its Board of Trustees.
HENRY RANDT. Among the prominent citizens of Newton town- ship, Calhoun county, Michigan, Henry Randt commands to an enviable degree the respect and esteem of those familiar with his career, and by his own energy and well directed efforts he has gained for himself a place on the roster of the county's representative farmers and stock- growers. He has also entered actively into the public life of his com- munity, giving of his ability and energies toward the upbuilding of this section of Calhoun county, and at the present time is a member of the town board.
Born in Buffalo county, New York, on the 15th of October, 1859, he comes directly of German lineage, both of his parents having been natives of the Fatherland. About 1849 or 1850 Henry Randt, the father, immigrated to this country and settled on a farm in New York, where he also worked by the day and month for others. Then in 1865 he came to Emmett township, Calhoun county, Michigan, bought a farm, and continued to reside on it until 1902, when he removed to Ceresco and later died there. His parents also had come to Calhoun county and continued their residence here until their deaths. The parents of Eliz- abeth Hagelshaw, his wife, also were natives of Germany and spent their entire lives in the land of their birth.
The immediate subject of this review received his education in the public schools of Emmett township. When he began life for himself it was as a farm hand working by the month; later he took up carpen- tering and followed the trade for fifteen years. He is now established as one of the foremost agriculturists of his township, owns a fine tract of 129 acres that is well improved, and believes thoroughly in the use of advanced methods in farming, his own attractive property giving ample evidence of his progressive attitude in this respect. He is strongly in favor of the good roads movement.
The first marriage of Mr. Randt took place on May 29, 1890, and united him to Miss Sylvia Lewis, a daughter of John Lewis, who was one of the early settlers and thrifty farmers of Newton township. To this union were born three children, Doris, Donald and Dean, all of whom are at home. The wife and mother died in 1904, a worthy mem- ber of the Protestant Methodist church. In 1909 Mr. Randt took as his second wife Eva Luke, a daughter of John Mead, who was a farmer and lumberman in his native state of New York.
In political affairs Mr. Randt has always supported the Republi- can party. He has served as school commissioner of his township, as a justice of the peace, and for two terms as town treasurer, being now a member of the town board. He has been a successful man in a material sense, and what is of infinitely more value, has so lived that he commands the respect of his fellow men as a citizen of honor and true worth.
JAMES HARVEY HUGGETT is one of the estimable farmers of Pen- field township in Calhoun county, whose quiet, well-ordered life is truly representative of that great and worthy class of American citi- zens whose material products are so necessary and whose characters are so substantial a part of our civilization. His parents were both from the mother-country of England, where the father, Albert Hug- gett, was born in 1807 and the mother, Elizabeth Taylor, in 1812.
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They came to America at the ages of twenty-one and eight respectively. As years passed, Miss Taylor reached the age of maturity, her ac- quaintance with Mr. Huggett ripened into a closer bond and together they founded the family represented by the subject of this brief bio- graphical sketch. The home in which they lived for a number of years was in New York state. In 1855 they came to Michigan where they first located on a farm of eighty acres which Mr. Huggett pur- chased in Penfield township. After ten years they removed to the property which is now owned, occupied and cultivated by the son who is mentioned above. Here Albert Huggett lived until his death in 1889, the same year in which occurred the demise of his wife. He is remembered as a man of fine principles, one whose religious attitude was most adequately expressed by the tenets of the Church of Dissent- ers, with which he was connected at Whitechapel, during the days of his residence in England. He was a member of the order of Good Templars in Battle Creek and adopted the political views of the Repub- lican party.
While the home of the family was in Monroe county, New York, the son was born who was named James Harvey Huggett. His systematic mental development was that obtainable in the district schools of New York state and of Penfield township, in the state of his latter youth. His tastes were those of out-door life and of agricultural achievement. He therefore remained with his father, first as his assistant, then as his partner, until, as years passed, he became his successor.
James H. Huggett chose as the domestic companion of his earthly years Miss Cornelia Hackett. Her parents were George W. Hackett of Penfield township and Maria Gibbs Hackett, a native of Lenawee county, Michigan; the former was born December 6, 1825, and died May 13, 1906, the latter's natal day being January 28, 1835, and the date of her death, August 11, 1878. Miss Hackett became Mrs. Huggett on the 6th of December, 1873. In the years of their life together James and Cornelia Huggett have become the parents of five carefully reared children. The eldest, Francis M., is a fireman at Station Number Three, Battle Creek; his wife was formerly Miss Verna Bertha Confer. Daisy Mae Huggett became Mrs. John Davis and resides at Level Park in Cal- houn county. Harvey J. Huggett married Ethel Hilton and is also a resident of Level Park. The two youngest memberes of the family, Stephen A. and Reuben A., are still members of the parental household on the homestead farm.
The brothers and sisters of Mr. Huggett include the following: Al- bert John, whose life is given extended account in the biography of Harry Huggett; Charles C. Huggett of Olympia, Washington, second brother; Agnes Lucinda, who is Mrs. John Smith of Dundee, Michigan ; and Anson Mortimer, of Bellevue.
Mr. Huggett is a member of the M. E. church and a Republican. He is not a man who is desirous of holding public office, but has been a faithful member of the school board of his district. Throughout his entire life he has followed the plow and conducted the time-honored op- erations of general farming. His well-kept farm occupies eighty acres.
ASA C. MCCURDY, M. D. With office in the Butcher building, at 30 West Main street, and residence at 445 E. Main street, Dr. McCurdy is engaged in the successful practice of his profession as one of the repre- sentative physicians and surgeons of the younger generation in his native city of Battle Creek, where he was born on the 12th of June, 1886. His professional ability and personal popularity are well attested by the
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consecutive expansion of his practice, which is of substantial and repre- sentative order, and he is properly accorded specific recognition in this history of his native county.
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Dr. McCurdy is a son of William D. and Elizabeth (Arnold) McCurdy, the former of whom was born at Port Hope, province of On- tario, Canada, of staunch Irish lineage, and the latter of whom was born at Marcellus, Cass county, Michigan, where their marriage was sol- emnized in September, 1883. William D. McCurdy was reared and edu- cated in his native province and as a young man he came to Michigan, where he was continuously identified with railroad activities until the time of his death. He was employed in the shops of the Grand Trunk Railway at Battle Creek for a number of years and eventually became a locomotive engineer. He was engineer on a limited passenger train between Battle Creek and Chicago at the time when his life's labors ended, and was a most valued, efficient and trusted employe of the Chi- cago & Grand Trunk Railway Company, his service as a passenger en- gineer having been initiated in 1893, at the time of the Columbian Ex- position in Chicago, when extra train service was instituted over the lines of the Grand Trunk. Mr. McCurdy's death occurred at the Nichols Memorial Hospital, in Battle Creek, on the morning of May 7, 1912, after an illness of but three weeks' duration. He was one of the most prominent engineers in the employ of the Grand Trunk and was very popular among his wide circle of friends. He was a man of sterling character and most buoyant disposition, and was generous and consid- erate, and won the high regard of all with whom he came in contact. He was affiliated with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Order of Moose; was a Republican in his political allegiance, and held membership in the First Methodist Episcopal church of Battle Creek, of which his widow like- wise is a devout adherent. He established his home in Battle Creek in 1880, and here continued to reside until his death. Of the three children Dr. Asa C. of this review, is the eldest; Anna E. remains with her widowed mother, as does also William A .. who is in attendance at Battle Creek schools.
Dr. McCurdy gained his early educational discipline in the public schools of Battle Creek and was graduated in the high school as a member of the class of 1904. He then entered the medical department of the University of Michigan, in which celebrated institution he was graduated in 1908 and from which he received his well earned degree of Doctor of Medicine. In order to fortify himself further for the active and exact- ing duties of his chosen vocation he thereafter passed one year as house physician in the Erie County Hospital, in the city of Buffalo, New York, where he gained valuable clinical experience. During the following year he held the position of assistant surgeon for the Lackawanna Steel Company, at Lackawanna, New York, and he then returned to Battle Creek, where he initiated the active practice of medicine and surgery on the 1st of July, 1910. He is recognized as a specially skilful surgeon and is a close and appreciative student of the best in the standard and periodical literature of his profession. He holds membership in the Cal- houn County Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, besides which he is affiliated with the Phi Beta Pi medical fraternity, with which he became identified while a student at the University of Michigan. He holds membership in the local organizations of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks and the Order of Moose, is a Republican in his political proclivities, and resides with his mother in the attractive family homestead, at 445 E. Main street. Vol. II-7
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NEWTON E. RETALLICK. A busy, useful and eventful career has been that of this well known citizen and substantial business man of Battle Creek, where he conducts a large and prosperous enterprise in the hand- ling of all kinds of real estate and as representative of a number of the leading insurance companies doing business in Michigan. His is one of the most extensive and prosperous insurance agencies in Calhoun county, and he also maintains a department for the extension of financial loans on approved real estate security. Through thorough knowledge of his chosen lines of endeavor he has won distinctive precedence and success and he is now recognized as one of the leading real estate and insurance men of his home county, where he has secure place in popular confidence and esteem. He has been a resident of Battle Creek for more than thirty years and is a scion of one of the sterling pioneer families of the . Wolverine state.
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