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 23
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Thomas Sprague was early converted to Christianity and at the age of seventeen was accepted as a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. During the early, pioneer days in Michigan, with some of his neighbors, he formed a class and became an earnest exhorter of the Methodist faith. In July, 1864, he was ordained to the ministry and he was pastor of various churches in Michigan until his demise, which occurred at Kendalls, Kalamazoo county, October 26, 1880. In addi- tion to his church work he was a man of prominence and influence in public affairs, having held different township offices. For twelve years he was justice of the peace and he was likewise incumbent of the offices of highway commissioner and town constable of LeRoy township for many years. It was largely through his efforts that the Methodist
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Episcopal church at East LeRoy was built and he was one of the most liberal contributors to the fund collected for that purpose, having made a donation of six hundred dollars. His wife gave a sum of fifty dollars and she was an earnest and zealous church worker. After her hus- band's death the second Mrs. Sprague married William B. Gleason, of Newton township, Calhoun county. She was called to eternal rest February 11, 1905.
To the district schools of LeRoy township Thomas Wesley Sprague is indebted for his early educational training and that discipline was supplemented with a course of study in the Battle Creek Business Col- lege. After reaching years of maturity he turned his attention to farm- ing and he is now the owner of the old homestead, the same comprising 194 acres of most arable land and representing one of the finest estates in the entire county. Mr. Sprague is a scientific farmer in the most significant sense of the word and he has gained distinctive prestige in this section of the state as a breeder of thoroughbred Holstein cattle. The head of his herd is Sir Prilly Hengerveld, concerning whom the following information is here inserted, the same being a statement got- ten out by Mr. Sprague.
This fine young bull's dam is Prilly Princess, whose record is 25.13 lbs. butter in 7 days, with milk averaging 5.45 per cent butter fat. His granddam is the famous Old Prilly, record 25.20 lbs. butter, milk averag- ing 4.40 per cent butter fat. Old Prilly's five daughters have records of over twenty-six pounds each. The butter records of Old Prilly, her daughters and granddaughters have never been equalled by the Hol- stein or any other breed.
Sir Prilly Hengerveld's sister has a world record of 28.25 lbs. butter at three years of age. His sire is Judge Hengerveld De Kol, whose dam has a record of 28.59 lbs. butter, and whose sire is the noted Hengerveld De Kol who has to his credit one hundred and two tested daughters, of which two have a record above 30 lbs. In view of these facts it is to be said that no more desirable sire than young Sir Prilly Hengerveld is to be found anywhere.
January 21, 1874, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Sprague to Miss Libbie Jane Swart, a daughter of Walter J. and Mary (Penny- packer) Swart, both natives of New York, the former having been born at Amsterdam, that state, January 7, 1820, and the latter at Gorham, Ontario county, June 18, 1823. Mr. and Mrs. Swart were married in 1843 and they came to Michigan in 1865. Mr. Swart died in LeRoy township August 7, 1890, and his wife passed away in May, 1893. They were the parents of three children, of whom Mrs. Sprague was the youngest in order of birth. Mrs. Sprague was born in Gorham, New York the 22d of August, 1854. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Sprague, as follows,-Wilbur W. is engaged in the creamery business at Battle Creek; Lottie is the wife of John Rolfe, of Battle Creek township; and Eda Marie is the wife of Amos Morgan Johnson. Mr. and Mrs. Sprague have spent most of their lives thus far on the home farm, with the exception of a few years spent in Battle Creek, where the children completed their educational training.
Mr. Sprague is a Republican in his political allegiance and he has held a number of township offices, including that of supervisor. He is a Mason, a member of the Gleaners and with his wife is affiliated with the Knights & Ladies of Security. Their religious faith is in harmony with the tenets of the Methodist Episcopal church. The Sprague home is one of generous hospitality and is the scene of many social gather- ings.
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ELMER BLOSSER, is most successfully engaged in the farming and stock-raising business on his fine estate of eighty acres in Section 23, LeRoy township, Calhoun county, Michigan. Mr. Blosser was born at Logan, Hawkins county, Ohio, June 9, 1864, and he is a son of Nich- olas Blosser, who was born in the Buckeye state April 1, 1840. The father was reared and educated in Ohio and in that state was solemnized his marriage, in 1863, to Miss Mary Downer, who bore him three chil- dren, as follows,-Elmer, the immediate subject of this review; Libby, who is the wife of John Gallagher, of Traverse City, Michigan; and Nora, widow of the late H. Miller: she resides in Traverse City. In 1868 the Blosser family left Ohio and came to Michigan, locating in Branch county, where Mrs. Blosser died in 1875. Subsequently Mr. Blosser married Etta Garber. In 1878 the family removed from Branch county to Antrim county and thence to Indiana, some years later, the home was established in Minnesota but later Mr. Blosser returned to Antrim county, Michigan, where he and his wife are now living. He is a stalwart Republican in his political allegiance and in religious mat- ters he and his wife are members of the Menonite church, in which faith they reared their children.
A child of five years of age at the time of his parents' removal to Branch county, Michigan, Elmer Blosser was there reared to the age of fourteen years, when the family settled in Antrim county. In the latter place he completed his educational training and at the age of fifteen years entered the Railroad Telegraph office at Mancelona. After thoroughly familiarizing himself with the art of telegraphy he fol- lowed that line of enterprise for the ensuing seven years, at the ex- piration of which he accepted a position as brakeman on the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railway three years. After his marriage, in 1890, he was variously engaged until 1896, when he came to Calhoun county and purchased a farm of eighty acres in LeRoy township. For the next ten years he devoted his attention to diversified agriculture and the raising of high-grade stock but in 1906 railroading again called him and from that time until 1911 he was in the employ of the Grand Trunk Railroad, his headquarters being at Toronto. Since 1911, however, he has resided on his farm, which is in a high state of improvement and which ranks as one of the most productive estates in LeRoy township. In the midst of well cultivated fields are substantial farm buildings, thoroughly equipped with modern conveniences, the same being ample proof of the excellent ability and management of their owner.
In his political affiliations Mr. Blosser accords an uncomprising alle- giance to the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor. He has never participated actively in local politics but is deeply interested in community affairs and is ever on the alert to do all in his power to advance the general welfare. He is a self-made man in the most significant sense of the word and is well deserving of the unqualified confidence and esteem accorded him by his fellow citi- zens.
In 1886, at Mancelona, Michigan, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Blosser to Miss Minnie Lybarker, a daughter of Asbury and Julia Ly- barker. The former was engaged in farming enterprises during his active career, he is now deceased.
RAYMOND SPRAGUE. In Section 26, LeRoy township, Calhoun coun- ty, Michigan, is located the finely improved farm of Raymond Sprague, the same comprising some 275 acres. Mr. Sprague is a prominent and influential citizen of the younger generation in this section of the county and while he devotes most of his attention to the management of his
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farm he is deeply and sincerely interested in community affairs and gives freely of his aid and influence in support of all measures forward for progress and improvement.
A native of Calhoun county, Michigan, Raymond Sprague was born on the farm on which he now resides, the date of his birth being Oc- tober 20, 1880. He is a son of Elliot Sprague, who was likewise born in this county, his nativity having occurred July 25, 1843. Thomas Sprague, grandfather of him whose name forms the caption for this review, was born and reared in New York, whence he came to Michi- gan in the year 1832. The maiden name of his wife was Mary Mills. Elliott Sprague passed his boyhood and youth in LeRoy township and received his early educational training in the public schools, this dis- cipline having later been supplemented with a course in Olivet Col- lege. His father was a Methodist Episcopal minister. December 25, 1869, Elliot Sprague married Miss Maria Baker, daughter of Bayze W. and Eunice (Northrope) Baker, who came to Calhoun county from Elmira, New York, in 1867. The Baker family located on the farm on which Raymond Sprague now lives and Mr. and Mrs. Baker were the parents of six sons and three daughters, of whom Maria was the young- est in order of birth. At the time of his marriage Mr. Sprague pur- chased two hundred and seventy-five acres of the old Baker estate, which originally comprised four hundred and forty acres. Mr. and Mrs. Sprague had four children, as follows,-Belle died at the age of three years; Fannie is the wife of Robert C. Talbot, of Battle Creek; Ray- mond is the immediate subject of this review ; and Evis resides in Bat- tle Creek. Elliot Sprague passed to the life eternal June 27, 1908, and his cherished and devoted wife died March 15, 1912. He was a great believer in scientific farming and was a breeder of registered stock, making a specialty of trotting horses, French merino sheep and Here- ford cattle. In politics he was a stalwart in the ranks of the Repub- lican party, in religious matters, was a devout Methodist and in a fra- ternal way was a member of the Knights of the Maccabees. He was a citizen of prominence in his home community and commanded the un- alloyed confidence and esteem of all with whom he came in contact. Mrs. Sprague was gifted in a literary way and wrote a number of stories for the Boys' and Girls' section of the Detroit Free Press. Of her published books "Janice and Other Stories" is best known.
Raymond Sprague was reared to maturity on the home farm and after completing the curriculum of the district schools he attended the Battle Creek high school, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1902. He also pursued a commercial course in the Business and Normal College at Battle Creek. In 1903 he returned to the old home- stead farm, which he has since conducted. He devotes his attention to diversified agriculture and the raising of high-grade stock and Meadow- brook Farm is one of the most attractive rural estates in the entire county. In his political convictions he supports Republican principles and he attends the Congregational church. He is unmarried.
JOHN A. AND EDWARD F. GLAU. Among the list of enterprising and progressive young men in East LeRoy, Michigan, John A. and Edward F. Glau stand out prominently. Both of them ambitious and hard- working they give promise of being numbered among East LeRoy's most substantial citizens.
The father of these two young men is William Glau, a successful farmer of Newton township. Mr. Glau, Sr., was born in Holstein, Ger- many, but two years after attaining his majority came to America, not to avoid serving in the German army, the motive that impels a large num-
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ber of Europeans to seek another home, because he had already fulfilled his obligations in that regard, but to see for himself the big opportunities reputed to be open in the new land. He first located in Toledo, Ohio, where he was employed by a railroad, until 1882 when he moved to Calhoun county, Michigan. After working here for about seven years at various different occupations he bought a farm of eighty acres in Newton township. A little later, however, he sold this and has since owned several farms, among them the one of fifty acres in Newton town- ship on which he is now living. Mr. Glau is a Democrat and a member of the Grange. He attends the German Lutheran church of Fredonia. He married Elizabeth Damon of Toledo, the daughter of Nicholas Damon, an American of French and German descent, and from their union four children are still living, Frances, now the wife of William Laupp, a farmer in Newton township, William, who is farming in Iowa, and John and Edward, the subjects of this sketch. Mrs. Glau died July 24, 1890, and later Mr. Glau was married to Mary Mite of Toledo, whose death occurred December 27, 1909. There were no children by the second marriage.
John A. Glau was born September 29, 1882, in Toledo, Ohio, but as his parents moved to Michigan soon after his birth he spent his child- hood in Calhoun county. He attended the district schools there, and worked on the home farm until 1902 when he left to learn the hard- ware and tinner business with W. J. Hagelsham of East LeRoy. He remained with him for two and a half years, and then entered the em- ploy of Hall & Co., as a clerk and assistant repair man, staying with them for two and a half years. His next position was with Wattles & Son of Battle Creek where he remained for one and a half years. The next two years he worked for Bock, Walker Company, hardware mer- chants of Battle Creek, and immediately after that, on February 6, 1911 to be exact, started in business for himself, purchasing in partner- ship with his brother Edward, the stock of W. J. Hagelsham at East LeRoy. Since then the two brothers have worked up an excellent business and their handsomely fitted, well stocked store is one of the show places of East LeRoy. In 1901 Mr. John Glau was married to Edith O'Herin, the daughter of T. W. O'Herin of East LeRoy, who has been a section foreman on the Michigan Central railroad for twen- ty-two years. Mrs. Glau is the youngest in a family of four children. She and Mr. Glau are the parents of three children, Genevieve, Francis, and Edson.
Edward F. Glau, the youngest son of William Glau was born Au- gust 5, 1885, on the farm in Newton township, Calhoun county. He spent his early life on the farm, receiving his education at the district schools of Newton township. At the age of twenty he left the farm to go into the company of V. C. Wattles & Son of Battle Creek, where he stayed for five years, or until he and his brother, John, bought out the hardware store in East LeRoy. On March 5, 1907 he was married to Jessie Mae Manzer, the daughter of James and Dora Hartford Manzer. Mr. Manzer, who was born in Michigan, is a prominent farmer of New- ton township. They had three children of whom Mrs. Glau is the eld- est. Mr. and Mrs. Glau have also had three children, Marjorie and Helen, who are twins, and Dorothy. Mr. Glau belongs to the I. O. O. F., and like his brother John is a Republican.
DAVID L. SWAIN of East LeRoy is well known as a prosperous farmer and mill owner. He is well liked both in social and business circles, and has always held an active interest in the several lodges, Masonic, Maccabees, and Gleaners, in which he holds membership.
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Mr. Swain's father, John Swain was a native of Pennsylvania, hav- ing been born in Reading in August, 1834. He attended the public schools of Pennsylvania, but soon after leaving them went to Ohio. He was married there to Rozana C. Apolis, who was born in Germany. They became the parents of eight children, Elizabeth, now the wife of Mr. John Dunn of Gilead township, Branch county, Elias of Coldwater, Michigan, Thomas, of Sherwood, David of Athens township, James, of Coldwater, Sterling of Noble, and John, of Coldwater. One son is dead. In 1858 Mr. Swain moved with his family to Michigan, and dropping his former occupation of carriage maker, took up farming. Mrs. Swain died at Noble, Branch county, Michigan, in 1899, and Mr. Swain, who is now living at Coldwater, Michigan, has since retired from active work. He has been much interested in political affairs and has held several township offices. He is in sympathy with the Democratic party. The Lutheran church claims him as a member.
David Swain, the subject of this sketch, was born in Bethel town- ship, Branch county, November 30, 1864, and spent his childhood in Noble, attending the district schools there. He first took up his pres- ent business in 1890 when he moved to Calhoun county and entered a grist mill, elevator, and implement business in East LeRoy. At the present time his mill, which saws all kinds of hardwood, furnishing lumber for the furniture trade, has a capacity of eight to twelve thou- sand feet of lumber per day. For sixteen years he operated nothing but the saw mill, but in 1896 he purchased a farm of 181 acres in Athens township, and has conducted both ever since. He and Edith G. Latta, of East LeRoy township, daughter of Charles H. and Esther (Mott) Latta, owners of a large farm in East LeRoy township, were married in 1900, and have had five children, Marian, Vivian, Lyle, Leona, and Walter. All five are at home. Mr. Swain is a Republican and attends the Methodist Episcopal church.
EULER GRANT HOUGHTON. There is perhaps no class of business men who show the varying degrees of intelligence in the conduct of their business that may be observed in the conduct of general stores in towns and smaller cities. To provide for a community's needs of this sort in an indifferent fashion often suffices a merchant's ambition; to supply them in the best possible quality and to make his place of busi- ness attractive to his patrons is the purpose of such men as Euler Grant Houghton of East LeRoy.
Mr. Houghton's family was originally Pennsylvanian. His grand- father, Ezra Houghton, whose wife before her marriage was a Miss Quail, came to Michigan when their son, Albert (later the father of E. G. Houghton) was a boy of twelve. The latter, Albert Houghton, was born in Pennsylvania on the 29th of August, 1829. The first Michi- gan home of this family was in Lenawee county, which location they exchanged for that of Washtenaw county, where Ezra Houghton spent the rest of his life and where he died in 1870. Albert Houghton became a farmer, like his father, and lived the greater part of his life in Wash- tenaw county, although his agricultural existence was interrupted for a year by his joining in the general quest for gold in California in 1849. He went to the same state a second time for farming purposes, but con- ducted farming operations there for only a comparatively short time, ultimately returning to Michigan, which was his home the rest of his life. While in the west, however, he had been united in marriage to Mrs. Mary (Wells) Bain, a widow and a native of New York state. The only child born to them was Euler Grant Houghton, to whom this sketch is dedicated. Mrs. Wells' daughter by her former marriage, Ida Bain
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is now deceased. After his marriage, Albert Houghton settled in Webs- ter, Michigan, where he purchased a farm on which he lived until 1872. This farm was, on March 13, 1872, the birthplace of our subject. The second home of his boyhood was another farm which Albert Houghton later bought in Newton township, when the former was five years of age. E. G. grew up here and here received his early education. In his more mature boyhood he followed the vocation of farming with his father, until in 1892, after the mother's death, he spent a year or two of ex- perimental employment in Battle Creek and Galesburg. In 1894 he came to East LeRoy, which has since been his home. In 1906 he was joined by his father, who lived in the son's home until his death in the same year.
Ever since his coming to East LeRoy in 1894, Euler Grant Hough- ton has been successful in all that he has undertaken. His merchandise business which had its inception at that time has ever since gradually developed and its various phases have been steadily improved. In 1902 he rebuilt his store, adding new and convenient features and in every possible way facilitating business both from his own and his cus- tomers' points of view. He now conducts a general merchandise busi- ness on a large scale.
Shortly before coming to East LeRoy-on October 15, 1891, Mr. Houghton was married to Miss Mary Clark, a daughter of Richard E. and Ann (Polhemus) Clark. Mr. Clark was a native of Ulster county, New York, where he was born on June 18, 1840. His father, Alfred Clark, had been born in the same locality. The latter was a contractor and builder from early life until 1854, when he located on a farm of 160 acres of Emmett township, Michigan; his wife was Ann Clear- water, a daughter of Edward Clearwater, of New York; of their children and indeed of the original stock, Richard Clark is the only one now living. His farming interests were at first identified with his father's, but in 1872 he purchased the farm of 162 acres. on which he now lives. He had won as his life's companion, on October 9th, 1862, Ann Polhemus, a daughter of John and Ann Maria (Voorhees) Polhemus, who were natives of Holland, New Jer- sey ; who had come to Michigan during the 'fifties and who had made their home in Battle Creek. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Clark were Alfred N. Clark, who is now extensively engaged in the beet sugar business in Lansing; Mrs. Houghton, the wife of the sub- ject of this article; and Lloyd M. Clark, who is a furniture dealer in Utica, New York. Their mother, Mrs. Richard Clark, died in 1880, since when Mr. Clark has traveled during a large part of the time, spending much of it in New York. He leads a retired life, occasion- ally living on his farm for periods of varying length. In politics he is a Republican as was the father of Mrs. Houghton.
Euler Grant Houghton and Mrs. Houghton are the parents of three children, Howard L., R. Donald, and Clark W., all of whom are still at home. The family is connected with the Methodist church, and Mr. Houghton is a valued supporter of the church, both spiritually and financially, and the members of his family among its regular at- tendants. Politically he is a Republican, with a keen sense of public duty. He has served efficiently as a Justice of the Peace. He is further useful to his community as a notary public and is in many ways an important citizen.
HOMER HALL. A well-to-do agriculturalist and worthy churchman of LeRoy township, who may also view with satisfaction a successfully reared family creditably placed in the world, is Mr. Homer Hall, whose
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beautifully kept farm of 224 acres attracts the attention of all who visit this region.
Truly enviable is the man of mature years, who can view with modest satisfaction his own well spent years and regard with complacency both his ancestors and his descendants, in their remembered or antici- pated lives. Homer Hall's paternal grandparents were worthy farmers of New England stock, named Thomas and Rosanna Hall. This pair were the parents of a son whose name was Lyman Hall. He was born in Rutland county, Vermont, on the twenty-eighth of December in 1813, and when he was but eight years of age death took his father from the home. Lyman Hall grew up into energetic habits and ambi- tious ideas, which took form both in his vigorous occupation of black- smith and in his enterprising claim-staking in Michigan in 1836. He thus became the owner of 240 acres, which, however, was never his home, as he exchanged it for another farm on which his son now lives. He lived for some time in Battle Creek before occupying his farm and his son remembers hearing him tell of cultivating corn on the spot where the Battle Creek high school building now stands. He married on January twentieth, 1841, Miss Lucy Champion, the daughter of John and Rebecca (Hubbard) Champion, (Champion street in Battle Creek was named after him), an English family who had lived in Penn- sylvania before coming to Michigan in 1834. The children of Lyman and Lucy Hall were four sons, of whom two died in childhood. Homer Hall's brother, Lyman C. was the only one beside himself who grew to manhood. He was well educated and entered the commission business in New York city. His health failed gradually, and in spite of some time spent in California in the hope of regaining it, he at last retired to his home in LeRoy, where at the age of thirty-three years, he died. The Lyman Hall home was a fine residence built in 1861, but now occupied by Mr. Graves, standing opposite the site on which Mr. Hall has erected his fine residence of concrete. Lyman Hall was very prominent in the township, holding several offices and serving as a trustee of the Methodist church until increasing frailty made it necessary for him to give the office into other hands. He died on April 18, 1886.
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