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 24
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The nativity of Homer Hall was in LeRoy township, on the farm where he now resides, the date of his birth being June 13, 1853. After the completion of his district school education, he pursued studies at Union Business College in Battle Creek, and on the conclusion of this course spent two years in the office of the American Express Company in this same city.
He presently determined on the agricultural career as his life's work and won as his life's comrade Miss Ella M. Stanton, a daughter of A. C. and Jane E. (Ashley) Stanton. From their marriage on Feb- ruary 7th, 1877, their lives was a prosperous one. They have been the parents of four children, all of whom are worthily settled in life. The life of Fred S. Hall, the eldest, is the subject of an appended article; Lewis R., who was born in 1885, lives in Athens, Michigan, and he and his wife, nee Mearle Owen, are the parents of one child, Lyman Hall. Eva M., who was born July 11, 1887, is now Mrs. Fred Gale and is the mother of one child, Dorothy; Clara J., who was born June 28, 1891, is now Mrs. Clarence Foss. The two grandchildren of Mr. Hall were born, respectively, on November 18, 1908, and on July 7, 1910. Mrs. Hall died May 11, 1912.
Homer Hall is true to his family reputation in being an active mem- ber and officer in the Methodist Episcopal church at Sonoma. He has for several years been a member of the Board of Stewards.
His farming is of a general nature and is quite extensive. His dairy
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is the most notable feature of the group of productive industries car- ried on in the different departments of his farm. To the 124 acres with which he began farming, he has added one hundred acres. He is, fur- thermore, a member of the firm of Hall and Company, of East LeRoy.
FRED S. HALL. Of an eastern family later locating in Calhoun county, Michigan, his immediate progenitor being Homer Hall, a promi- nent and successful farmer whose life is elsewhere reviewed in these pages, Fred S. Hall was born on his father's farm in LeRoy township of Calhoun county, October 21st, 1878. At the old home near Barnum Lake, Fred Hall with his brothers and sisters was given his home train- ing. His elementary education was pursued in the public schools of LeRoy and his later specific knowledge was gained from the Battle Creek business college. Mr. Hall, unlike many young men, experienced none of the confusion of purpose such as often delays the inception of a career. While only twenty-one years of age he definitely entered upon his present work of merchandise. The store then belonging to Mr. Henry Knox was purchased and Fred Hall is now its able man- ager. It is owned jointly by his father and himself, the firm name being Hall and Company. For some time the store has been one com- prising general merchandise. Its stock is extensive and up-to-date and it is the largest store in the township.
In 1904 Miss Madge Bushnell became Mrs. Fred Hall. She is the daughter of Harlow and Clara (Wheeler) Bushnell, who are promi- nent farmers of LeRoy township. She is the elder of the two daugh- ters of Mr. Bushnell and his second wife. In the years succeeding her marriage to Mr. Hall, two children have been born to them, Harlow and Margaret.
Mr. Hall is prominent and popular in both political and socially fraternal circles. He is a Republican of rational views and of firm and loyal principles. In 1900 he was the recipient of the honor of being ap- pointed postmaster of East LeRoy, an office he has filled with efficiency and faithfulness. He is a conspicuous member of the Masonic lodge and that of the Maccabees.
Full data regarding Mr. Hall's father will be found in the article dedicated to him, which also contains material regarding Mr. Hall's brother, Lewis, of Athens, and his two sisters, Mrs. Gale, who with her husband lives at the old Hall homestead, and Mrs. Foss, whose rural residence is near Beadle Lake.
RYAN BARBER COWLES. Standing prominent among the intelligent, capable and progressive agriculturists of Calhoun county is Ryan Bar-' ber Cowles, who is carrying on general farming, including dairying and stock-raising, after the most modern scientific methods, his labors being crowned with success. A son of Addison B. Cowles, he was born, August 28, 1846, in Battle Creek township, Michigan, on the parental homestead, which included the farm on which he now resides. He comes from an old and honored New England family, his grandfather, Deacon Heman Cowles, having been a son of Nathaniel Cowles, of Revolutionary fame.
Deacon Heman Cowles was born and bred among the rugged hills of Vermont. Subsequently crossing the line into New York state, he re- mained there for sometime, being engaged in tilling the soil. In 1836 or 1837, he came with his family to Calhoun county, Michigan, locating first at Battle Creek, but later removing to Milton, where he served as postmaster under President Jackson. He was a farmer of means, and
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a citizen of influence and prominence. He was a Democrat in politics, and a strong abolitionist. Religiously he was a pillar of the Free Will Baptist church, and until his death, which occurred in 1866, at. the advanced age of eighty-three years, contributed liberally towards the support of Hillsdale College. The maiden name of his wife was Amanda Barber.
Born in Ontario county, New York, Addison B. Cowles came to Michigan in early manhood, locating at Battle Creek in 1837, and in Calhoun county spent the remainder of his brief life of thirty-eight years. He was for a time postmaster at Battle Creek, but later engaged in farming, his homestead farm being finely situated in Battle Creek township. He was twice married. His first wife, whose maiden name was Mary Ellis, died in early womanhood, leaving one child, Eri Cowles. He married for his second wife, in 1840, Hannah Sprague, who bore him two children, as follows: Heman L., deceased; and Ryan B., the special subject of this brief sketch.
Brought up on the home farm, Ryan Barber Cowles was given su- perior educational advantages for a farmer's son. After leaving the public schools, he continued his studies for a time at the Lansing Agri- cultural College, going from there to Olivet College, which he attended for three years. Entering then the Law Department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, he was there graduated at the end of two years with the degree of LL. B., and in April, 1871, was admitted to the Michigan bar. Locating at Kalamazoo, Michigan, Mr. Cowles was there engaged in the practice of law for awhile, but the close confine- ment indoors proved detrimental to his physical health, and he aban- doned his profession in response to a recall to the soil. Inheriting his share of the parental estate, Mr. Cowles bought out the interests of the remaining heir, and resumed farming, making good use of the in- struction which he had received at the agricultural college. In the management of his fine estate he employs the most approved modern methods, and as a general farmer has been very prosperous. Mr. Cowles pays especial attention to stock-raising and dairying, his cattle being now principally Jerseys and Durhams. He also raises Merino sheep and Poland China hogs, and aside from breeding and raising Norman Per- cheron draft horses, and those of the Pilot stock, continued to raise many Hambletonians, a breed which has been in the Cowles family for upwards of half a century. More recently, however, he has introduced some of the Wilkes strain of horses into his stable, which contains many fine and valuable animals.
For five years Mr. Cowles served as township supervisor, and has ever maintained a lively interest in local affairs. He taught school as a young man, and for many years was superintendent of the Union Sunday school. He is a member of the Olivet College fraternity, Pi Alpha Pi, which he joined many years ago. Mr. Cowles likewise has membership in the Ancient Order of United Workmen; in the Pat- rons of Industry ; and is a member, and past master, of the local grange, Patrons of Husbandry.
Mr. Cowles married, November 30, 1871, Nettie M. Steward, a daughter of George W. and Lydia (Gray) Steward, early settlers of Kalamazoo county, Michigan. Three children have been born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Cowles, namely : May Belle, deceased; Floyd, who lives on the home farm, married Luella Goodrich, and they have two children, J.une J. and George O. and Ernest A., who passed to the higher life in 1911. Mr. and Mrs. Cowles are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Vol. II-11
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FRANK HOYT. Among the native-born citizens of Calhoun county who have spent their lives within its precincts, aiding as far as lay in their power its growth and development, is Frank Hoyt, who was born in Emmett township, on the farm where he now resides, September 1, 1861.
His father, George Hoyt, was born, November 1, 1826, in Connecti- cut, where he was bred and educated, as a young man learning the carpenter's trade. Coming west in 1853, he located in Calhoun county, Michigan, when this part of the state was but sparsely populated. He purchased forty acres of timbered land in Emmett township, and on the farm which he redeemed from its primitive wildness spent his remaining days, passing away in 1892. He married, in 1853, Eliza Hungerford, who survived him many years, her death occurring No- vember 16, 1911, aged eighty years. Six children blessed their union, namely : Arthur, a machinist at Battle Creek; Fred died in infancy ; Frank, the special subject of this brief biographical sketch; Emma, who married Bert Hokum; Nellie, wife of H. W. Cronkhite; and Ed- ward, of Battle Creek, a civil engineer.
Brought up beneath the parental roof-tree, Frank Hoyt gleaned his early knowledge of books in the district schools, and while assisting his father became familiar with the general branches of agriculture. Since assuming the management of the old home farm Mr. Hoyt has been suc- cessful in his operations, his farm being under an excellent state of cultivation, and yielding good crops each year. Mr. Hoyt is an earnest supporter of the principles of the Republican party, and has served as a member of the local school board, and as highway commissioner. He attends the Methodist Episcopal Church, while Mrs. Hoyt is a Presby- terian in faith.
Mr. Hoyt married, in 1899, Miss Lottie Van Voorhees, who was born in Fredonia township, Calhoun county, Michigan, April 28, 1868, being descended from an old and honored family which traces its lineage back to the sixteenth century. Her father, Isaac Van Voorhees, was born in New York city January 28, 1833, and subsequently removed to Michigan, settling in Fredonia township, where he bought land, and was engaged in tilling the soil until his death, February 1, 1870. His wife, whose maiden name was Emily Hungerford, was born, July 16, 1838, in Connecticut, and died, May 27, 1908, in Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Van Voorhees were the parents of three children as follows: Lissie, born February 24, 1861, died March 9, 1863; Lewis, born March 2, 1864, died February 19, 1880; and Lottie, now Mrs. Hoyt. Three chil- dren have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Hoyt, namely : Emily L., born May 9, 1901 ; Robert Boughton, born March 22, 1906; and Wesley George, born November 1, 1910.
CHARLES E. KISTLER. Far-sighted and progressive, and endowed with excellent executive and business ability, Charles E. Kistler is actively identified with the development and advancement of the mer- cantile and manufacturing interests of Emmett township, Calhoun county, and as proprietor of Beadle Lake resort furnishes the people roundabout with one of the most delightful and attractive places for rest and recreation imaginable. Located but three miles from Battle Creek, on the Allegan division of the Michigan Central Railroad, this resort is easy of access, and with its facilities for fishing, bathing, driving, boating, dancing and joining in other forms of amusement, is exceed- ingly popular with all classes of people, either for a day's outing, or for a long summer stay.
A native of Calhoun county, Charles E. Kistler was born on a farm
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in Emmett township, August 28, 1863, on the paternal side coming of thrifty Swiss ancestry.
His father, Jacob Kistler was born, in September, 1827, in Switzer- land, where he was reared and educated. In 1847, desirous of enlarg- ing his field of opportunities, he immigrated to the United States, a land of hope and promise to the ambitious youth. Locating in San- dusky county, Ohio, he worked hard and in a few years had saved enough money to buy a tract of land and embark in farming on his own account. Disposing of his Ohio interests in 1862, he came to Calhoun . county, Michigan, settling in Emmett township. Purchasing one hun- dred and fourteen acres of timbered land, he began the pioneer task of hewing a farm from the wilderness, and has since been a resident of this township, being now one of its most venerable and highly re- spected citizens, his home being not far from Beadle lake. He married, in Sandusky county, Ohio, in 1851, Polly Beck, who was born in Ohio, and into their pleasant household seven children have been born, as follows: Benjamin, deceased; Rena, deceased; Henry J., a blacksmith, lives in Lansing, Michigan ; Charles E., the special subject of this brief biographical review; Mrs. Etta Beeson, of Battle Creek; Edward J., a machinist, is connected with the American Steam Pump Works, at Battle Creek; and David, deceased.
Spending his early life on the home farm, Charles E. Kistler was trained to agricultural pursuits, his early education being gleaned in the public school of District Number eight. On reaching man's estate, he embarked in mercantile pursuits, beginning on a modest scale by opening a small store on the banks of Beadle lake. Being fair and square in his dealings with all, Mr. Kistler was well patronized from the first, and in responding to the demands of his trade he gradually enlarged his operations, his business as a merchant being now extensive and remunerative.
Succeeding to the ownership of thirty-five acres of his father's ori- ginal farm, Mr. Kistler, who long ago perceived the value of its many natural attractions and possibilities, has spared neither time nor expense in developing its resources, and it is fast becoming one of the most popular summer resorts of Southern Michigan. Mr. Kistler was instru- mental in having all trains stop at Kistler's Crossing, which is near his resort, making travel by railway to and from the city easy and con- venient. He was the first man to keep boats for rent on the lake, and to his equipments he has added a boat building shop. He has stocked the lake with various kinds of fish, securing for his first shipment one hundred thousand wall-eyed pike and five thousand large-mouthed bass. while the following year he put in fifty thousand perch and five thou- sand small-mouthed bass. These, with pickerel, calico bass and blue gills furnish ample sport for the anglers, who are almost always sure of a good catch, and at the close of a day's sport can regale their hearers with a story well worthy of credence. For the benefit of the near-by farmers, Mr. Kistler has installed a grist mill, which has a capacity of eight tons every day of ten hours, it being operated by gasoline power.
Mr. Kistler married, October 29, 1903, Miss Amanda Lapham, a daughter of Ethan and Mary (Hoag) Lanham. who settled on a farm in Emmett township in pioneer days. Politically Mr. Kistler is an ardent supporter of the principles of the Republican party. invariably doing duty at the polls. He was township clerk for seven successive years, from 1903 until 1910, and for six years was postmaster at Beadle.
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JAMES M. JENNINGS is one of the prosperous farmers of Emmett township whose residence in Calhoun county, Michigan is nearing the half-century mark and whose citizenship has been of such a char- acter as to make him one of the representative men of his community, both for his business ability and for his personal worth and integrity.
His nativity occurred on a farm in Clarion county, Pennsylvania on April 1, 1851, he being the fourth of eight children born to Gilbert and Mary Jennings. Both parents were natives of Ireland and were married there in 1844, two of their children having been born before they came to the United States in 1849. Gilbert Jennings was born in County Mayo, Ireland, February 14, 1806. When he came to this country he landed at New Orleans and resided there for a time but shortly afterward went to Pennsylvania and was a resident of that state three years. In 1849 he came to Michigan and located on a farm in Fredonia township, Calhoun county, where he spent the re- mainder of his life, his death having occurred May 3, 1879. He was a devout communicant of the Catholic church, and in politics was a Democrat. Mrs. Jennings survived him until January 4, 1895, when she too passed away. The eight children of these parents are as follows : Margaret, now Mrs. Charles Mills, of Rockford, Illinois; Ann, who re- sides in Battle Creek, Michigan; James, deceased in infancy; James M., the subject of this review; Gilbert, who died in infancy; Martin E., whose death occurred at Eckford, Calhoun county, Michigan; Mary, now a teacher in the Marshall public schools; and Mrs. Elizabeth Hess, now deceased. The farm of the father remains in estate, never having been probated.
James M. Jennings spent his early life in New York State and first came to Calhoun county, Michigan in 1867, residing in the city of Battle Creek for some time thereafter. He then removed to a farm on section four, Clarendon township, where he remained many years, or until he came to his present place in Emmett township in 1908. Mr. Jennings owns 208 acres of good land in Clarendon township and this farm is now in charge of his son Edward R. Jennings.
On September 26, 1877, was solemnized his marriage to Elizabeth M. Adams, whose parents Alexander and Margaret D. Adams were formerly residents of Rochester, New York, but later came to Calhoun county, Michigan. Mr. Adams was born in Ireland on April 9, 1813, and came to America in 1837, serving as a soldier during the rebellion in Canada in 1838. In Rochester, New York, in 1842 he wedded Mar- garet D. Murry, who was born in that state on March 17, 1822. For many years he was a contractor in Rochester. They came to Calhoun county in 1866 and resided here until their respective deaths, Mrs. Adams having passed away in 1879 and Mr. Adams in 1894. Mrs. Jennings is the eighth of their nine children, six sons and three daugh- ters, five of whom are living. To Mr. and Mrs. Jennings have been born seven children, namely : James F., now a resident of Othello, Washington; Edward R., who is in charge of his father's farm in Clarendon township ; John A., located on a farm adjoining that of his father; and Frank, George, Gilbert and William, all at the parental home.
Politically Mr. Jennings is a Democrat, and his religious faith is expressed as a communicant of the Catholic church. In line with his interests as a successful farmer he sustains membership in the Grange and in the Farmers' Club.
Edward T. Adams was killed in the Civil war, battle of Petersburg, Virginia. Samuel A. Adams resides at Homer, Michigan, and William H. Adams resides at Eckford.
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PHILANDER M. KING. One of the well known agriculturists of Em- mett township, Calhoun county, Michigan is Philander M. King, the son of an early settler in Michigan and himself a resident of Calhoun county for more than half a century.
Mr. King is a native of Michigan, born in Augusta, Kalamazoo county on the 7th of June, 1841, to Philander S. and Sophia Mabie King. The father's nativity occurred in Seneca county, New York on May 26, 1807 and in 1829 he was married to Sophia Mabie, who was born in Canada. They came to Michigan in 1837 and located in Augusta, Kal- amazoo county, where Philander S. King followed his trade of carpen- ter and joiner three years. Removing to Canada in 1844, he there took up farming, but in the fall of 1855 he returned to Michigan and located in Marshall, Calhoun county, where he followed painting and carpentering until 1870. In that year he took up his residence in Jackson, Michigan, remaining there until 1893, when he came to the home of his son in Marshall, Michigan, where he passed away in 1896. His wife survived him until the following year of 1897. Philander M., our subject, was the fifth of eight children, four sons and four daughters, born to these parents. The father was a Democrat in poli- tics, a Mason in fraternal membership, and in religious faith was a Baptist.
Philander M. King was three years old when his parents removed to Canada and he remained there until the spring of 1856 when he joined his father in Marshall, Michigan. His education, which was begun in Canada, was concluded with two years' attendance of the Marshall public schools. Following that, he went to New York City where he became apprenticed to a watch maker, but after three years he gave up the work on account of ill health. Returning to Marshall, Michigan, he took up decorating and followed it until 1896 when he turned his' attention to agriculture, the vocation in which he has since been engaged. He located on a farm four miles west of Marshall and remained there until 1911, when he sold that farm and in May of that year bought another of 84 acres, known as the Berry farm, on which he now resides.
Mr. King has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Ella Thornton, of Canada, whom he wedded in 1861 and who bore him two children : Clara, who was born in 1863 and died in 1882, and Reuben D., now engaged in the mercantile business at Brainard, Minnesota. The second marriage of Mr. King occurred in 1880 and united him to Mrs. Lottie J. Robbins, a widow and the daughter of Thomas and Caroline (Shaver) Buddington, pioneers of Jackson, Michigan. The residence of Mr. Shaver, grandfather of Mrs. King, was one of the first built in the city of Jackson. Of the four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Buddington, Mrs. King and a sister were all that grew to maturity, the former born in Jackson, Michigan on October 18, 1843. Mrs. King is the mother of three children, all by her first marriage. They are Mrs. Caroline Houston, of Brooklyn, New York; George Robbins, of Hammond, Indiana; and Agnes, who married A. K. Pierce and died in 1909.
A woman of culture and splendid education, Mrs. King is possessed of considerable poetic talent and has written a number of literary gems. Both Mr. and Mrs. King, who are very proficient in vocal music, sang in the Christian church choir at Marshall for many years and are well known throughout Calhoun county for their ability in this art. In political faith Mr. King is a Democrat and once served as alderman at Marshall. He is president of the Ceresco Farmers' Club and his church membership is held in the Christian denomination.
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Both Mr. and Mrs. King are of social temperament and are people who command the respect and regard of their community.
A. FLOYD KINGSLEY, M. D. Definite success in his exacting pro- fession well attests the ability and personal popularity of this represen- tative physician and surgeon of the metropolis of Calhoun county and he is well entitled to special recognition in this publication. He. main- tains his office headquarters in rooms over the City Bank, at No. 1 Main street, West Battle Creek, and controls a large and substantial practice, with further objective recognition of his status as a liberal and progres- sive citizen.
Dr. Kingsley was born in the village of Leonidas, St. Joseph county, Michigan, on the 15th of September, 1876, and is a son of Chandler R. and Lucy D. (Clark) Kingsley. He was the only child of this union and his mother died when he was but fifteen months of age, his father having subsequently married. Chandler R. Kingsley has long been one of the substantial and honored citizens of St. Joseph county and. is a representative of one of the sterling pioneer families of that section of the state, where he still maintains his home. Dr. Kingsley completed the curriculum of the public schools of his native county and thereafter taught one year in the school in his home district and subsequently in other schools in St. Joseph county, where he thus set at naught any application of the scriptural statement that a prophet is not without honor save in his own country. He proved a successful exponent of practical pedagogy but his ambition to enter the medical profession was early quickened into decisive action. In 1896 he entered the medical department of the University of Michigan, and in this admirable insti- tution he was graduated in 1900, as next to the youngest member in his class. After receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine he opened an office at Centerville, the judicial center of his native county, where he `served his professional novitiate and where he continued in active gen- eral practice until the 22d of November, 1905, when he came to Battle Creek. Here he has found a wider field of professional endeavor, and the support that has been accorded him in the community has amply justified his choice of location. He subordinates all other interests to the demands of his profession and is one of its skilled, successful and popular representatives in Calhoun county. He is a close student of the best standard and periodical literature pertaining to medical and surgical science, and he is actively identified with the American Medical Association, the Michigan State Medical Society and the Calhoun County Medical Society, of which he was elected secretary-treasurer in June, 1912. He was also a member and president for one year of the Battle Creek Medical Club during the comparatively brief period of its exis- tence and he is held in high esteem by his professional confreres in the county.
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