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 37
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
Mr. Keet is a popular and prominent lodge man, belonging to Bat- tle Creek Lodge, No. 29, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Mod- ern Woodmen of America, No. 911, Battle Creek Lodge, No. 12, A. F. & A. M., and being a charter member of the Battle Creek Lodge, No. 35, Knights of Pythias, of which he is past chancellor and of which frater- nity he has been a representative in the Grand Lodge.
In the matter of political conviction Mr. Keet is a Republican. He has taken particular interests in school affairs and in the school system and its possibilities of improvement. In September 1897, he was elected a member of the school board and is now president of the body. Dur- ing his first term as member of the board, school building No. 5 was erected. He has taken an active stand in favor of needed improvements and because of his progressiveness in this line, he was re-elected in 1900 for a second term of three years. In 1903 he was again re-elected and during that term school building No. 2 was enlarged by the addition of twelve rooms, making it a sixteen room building. Subsequently No. 10 has been erected and contains ten rooms, and the new high school has been built. Mr. Keet advocates paying the teachers such salaries that the best services can be secured, it being his conviction that in the im- portant matter of education the best is none too good. In all matters he demonstrates that public spirit which makes him so good a citizen, while in business circles he is a leader. He has been connected with . the board of education for fifteen years of his thirty-three in Battle Creek.
Mr. Keet has the distinction of being the first undertaker in Battle Creek to establish an exclusive undertaking concern. He is decidedly an innovator and owned the first ambulance in the city.
JUDSON C. PEEK. Well worthy of representation in this volume is Judson C. Peek, one of the leading farmers of Clarence township, who is highly regarded in his community both for his ability in a busi- ness way and as a citizen of character and worth.
A son of Egbert Peek, he was born in Ontario county, New York, on September 16, 1861. He has no recollections of his birth state, how- ever, as he was but three years old when his parents came to Michigan in 1864 and located in Eaton Rapids. Orphaned of his father when but a child, he was thereafter largely dependent upon his own re- sources in making his way in life and every dollar's worth of property he has acquired has come to him as a result of his own efforts. He received a common school education and when he began life for himself he chose farming as his occupation and business. He first became an
855
HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
independent owner of land in 1900 when he bought sixty acres in Clar- ence township, Calhoun county. This he cleared and provided with the necessary farm buildings and then bought forty acres more. An- other subsequent purchase has brought his holdings up to 120 acres of good fertile land, and as a husbandman he has shown that skill and practical knowledge of agriculture which have made his farming opera- tions result in both pleasure and profit. His political views are those of the Republican party, and his fraternal associations are as a mem- ber of Springport Lodge No. 131, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Egbert Peek, the father of Judson C., was born in New York, and died in Eaton Rapids, Michigan, on March 20, 1869. He was married in his native state to Mary A. Enos and with his wife and family removed to Eaton Rapids in 1864. A master workman in his trade of moulder and blacksmith, he was thus employed in Eaton Rapids until his death, at which time he left a fair estate. He was a staunch Democrat and was an active and prominent worker in behalf of his party in Eaton county. His father was Vanslyke Peek, who spent his entire life in his native state of New York. To Egbert Peek and wife were born six children, of whom Judson C. was fifth in order of birth. Two daughters, Mrs. James M. Gifford and Mrs. Daniel C. Allen, are also residents of Clarence town- ship, Calhoun county. Mrs. Peek is still living and resides with her son Judson. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
NEWTON PERRY CASE, for many years a resident of Calhoun county, is a native of Ohio, born in Huron county, July 11, 1830. He is the son of Chauncey and Paulina (Perry) Case, both natives of Connecti- cut, who were among the early settlers of Huron county, Ohio. Both parents passed the remainder of their lives in that state, where the father was a prosperous farmer in Huron county.
Their son, Newton Perry Case, acquired his early education in the public schools, and after leaving school in his teens, he spent seven years on the home farm, then removing to LaPorte, Indiana. For a time he was employed on the Lake Shore railroad as fireman, after which, he went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and then to Muskegon, Mich- igan, where he was employed by a lumbering firm in the pine woods for several months. His next move took him to Calhoun county, Michi- gan, where he purchased eighty acres of land in Marshall township and engaged in general farming and stock raising. This farm is in an excellent state of development and cultivation and has good buildings. It is now occupied by Mr. Newton Case's son, Liva, while Mr. Case resides on a smaller place of fifteen acres of choice land, upon which he has reared a substantial brick dwelling and suitable out-buildings. This little farm is devoted to pasture land and small farming on a portion which Mr. Case has leased, and here he is passing his declining years in well deserved comfort, and in a manner retired from active farm life.
In 1860 Mr. Case married Miss Jane Brown, a native of Ohio where she was reared and passed her girlhood days. To them were born three children: Liva, the eldest, is living on the home farm, as mentioned above; Clara is a seamstress in Marshall and Frank P. is engaged in business in Marshall.
Mr. Case has taken an active part in the politics of his community, but has never been a candidate for office or in any way ambitious for honors in that way, although he has served for fourteen years as a member of the school board. doing good and efficient work for the cause of education in Marshall township. He is a member of the Bap- tist church and has always taken a hearty interest in the work of the
.
856
HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
church, and for a time was a teacher of the bible class. Altogether, he is one of the solid and reliable men of the village, and his influence has ever been a power for good in his community.
THOMAS L. CRONIN. A man of sterling integrity and ability, the late Thomas L. Cronin was for many years one of foremost merchants of Marshall, but his prosperity instead of being accidental was the legitimate result of years of persevering industry, combined with an amount of good sense and sound judgment that would have com- manded success in any business. A life-long resident of Calhoun county, he was born, February 12, 1842, in Marshall, and here, on May 14, 1909, he died, his death being a loss to the entire community, as well as to his immediate family. His parents, Jeremiah and Elizabeth (Lee) Cronin, natives of New York state, came to Michigan in 1836, ere it assumed the garb of statehood, locating in Marshall, where they reared their family of nine children, of whom Thomas L. was the youngest child, and was also the last survivor of the family, all of whom died very suddenly, passing out of the world with scarce any warning. The subject was an able business man, and founder of the large mercantile business now carried on by Harry L. Cronin.
Acquiring a substantial education in the public schools, Thomas L. Cronin became familiar with the details of mercantile trade while serving as a clerk under his older brother, Jeremiah Cronin, Jr., founder of the S. E. Cronin Company, of Marshall, who was then con- ducting a general store in Exchange street, on the present site of George Hindenach's blacksmith's shop, which was then in the very heart of the business portion of the city. In November, 1869, in com- pany with another brother, Henry Cronin, embarked in business on his own account, opening a store in the Stuart block, where Joseph Cunningham is now located. The new firm of Cronin Brothers prospered, and in 1876 built the brick block at the corner of State and Jefferson streets, where the brothers subsequently continued in business as long as they lived. Mr. Cronin was a member of the first board of directors of the Commercial Savings Bank, and so remained until his death, and, with W. J. Dibble, was one of its original promoters.
On December 4, 1876, Mr. Cronin was united in marriage with Miss Orpha Cary, and of their union two sons and one daughter were born, namely : Jessie, Harry L., of whom a brief sketch may be found elsewhere in this volume; and Thomas L., Jr. Of a deeply sym- pathetic and charitable nature, Mr. Cronin was ever animated by the broadest spirit of humanitarianism, and was always ready to lend aid to the sorrowful or needy, as many an individual and family can tes- tify. Honest and upright in all of his dealings, Mr. Cronin gained the confidence and esteem of the people, and built up not only a large and lucrative patronage, but won the sincere friendship of a large circle of people.
HARRY L. CRONIN. Although yet a young man, Harry L. Cronin has already attained a position of prominence and influence among the keen-sighted, progressive business men of Marshall, where he is prosperously engaged in mercantile pursuits, having succeeded to the trade first established by his father and uncle, Thomas L. and Henry M., which was afterward continued by Thomas L. Cronin, Harry L. Cronin's father. A brief biography of the father appears on another page of this work.
Obtaining the rudiments of his education in the Marshall schools, Harry L. Cronin took the commercial course of study in the Ypsilanti
857
HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
Business School, there fitting himself for a business career. After his graduation from that institution, he was a clerk in the store which he now owns and occupies until the death of his father, in May, 1909. He then assumed charge of the store, and in addition to settling his father's estate has since continued the business in a manner satisfac- tory to all concerned, his establishment, in which he carries a large . line of selected groceries, being centrally located on State street, in a two-story brick building, twenty-two feet by eighty feet. Mr. Cronin is also financially interested in various other substantial enterprises, being a stockholder of the Commercial Savings Bank; of the Burrough & Blood Buggy Company; of the Lambert Machine Company; of the Citizens' Telephone Company; and of the Athwood Steel Company of Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Cronin owns two automobiles, one being employed in his business for delivery purposes, the other being a five- passenger car which he uses for pleasure.
Mr. Cronin married, November 9, 1902, Miss Myrtle DeLong, of Kingfisher, Oklahoma, and they have one son, Harry L. Cronin, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Cronin, who have a cozy residence at 214 North Madison street, are members of the Episcopal Church, and take an active part in the social affairs of Marshall.
WALTER WATERS WOOLNOUGH. The name of Walter Waters Wool- nough is closely allied with the history of Battle Creek which for fifty- nine years he aided in upbuilding by personal endeavor and a facile pen, dying February 2d, 1904, at the age of 83 years. At the time of his demise he was the dean of Michigan journalists.
Mr. Woolnough was born in Bungay, Suffolk county, England, July 10th, 1821. Coming to this country with his parents when a lad of eleven years, he acquired a thorough knowledge of the art of printing in Rochester, New York, working under the apprentice cus- toms of that time. . He came west to embark in business for himself, settling in Battle Creek in 1845, where he started the first newspaper printed in the city, The Western Citizen. In 1846 he was editor and publisher of The Michigan Tribune which went out of existence two years later for want of patronage.
In 1852 Mr. Woolnough became editor and publisher of the Battle Creek Journal, started the previous year, and which is now a leading local publication, thus making him the founder not only of the first newspaper printed in Battle Creek, but of having placed on a per- manent foundation a present-day publication. He disposed of the Journal in 1863 and rested for a time. From 1871 to 1877 he was part owner and editor of a second Michigan Tribune, selling his interest to his partner in the latter year.
Mr. Woolnough served in the State Legislature, was an alderman four years, member of the Board of Education nine years and a justice of the peace. In politics he originally was a Whig, belonging to the anti- slavery wing and was one of the first, in fact there is good reason to believe the first, to advocate the dissolution of the Whig party and formation of the Republican party through the columns of the Journal. It is a matter of incontrovertible history that the first steps toward the organization of the Republican party were taken at a meeting held in Mr. Wolnough's office early in 1854, himself acting as chairman.
Resolutions were adopted at this meeting and were later ratified at a mass meting held under the Oaks at Jackson, Michigan, July 6th, 1854, he being one of sixty delegates. This matter of local history is recorded in the newspaper files now reposing in Willard Library.
When Horace Greeley was nominated for the presidency Mr. Wool-
.
858
HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
nough gave him ardent support and from that time adhered to the tenets of true democracy, supporting Samuel J. Tilden by pen, through the columns of the Michigan T'ribune, as well as on the plat- form in the fight for the presidency in 1876.
For nearly twenty years Mr. Woolnough was political editor of. the Battle Creek Daily Moon, his vigorous work being recognized throughout this state.
He maintained an unimpaired mind to the day of his death and was looked upon as a local historian, so accurate was his knowledge of dates and events.
His life was an example worthy of emulation as the highest type of splendid manhood and good citizenship.
Mr. Woolnough was married August 23d, 1843, to Emeline Dorcas Manley of Ashtabula, Ohio, a woman of culture and refinement whose death occurred March 10th, 1899. Two daughters of Mr. Woolnough are living, Mrs. Frank W. Clapp and Mrs. Emeline W. Egery, of Battle Creek, the latter a member of the Daily Moon editorial staff.
MRS. JULIA D. BOLLES, formerly Mrs. William H. Mesrole, has had a varied and interesting life, much of which has been lived in this state, chiefly in this vicinity. She was a daughter of Jackson and Han- nah (Sandy) Woodmansee, of Lee, Calhoun county, Michigan. Her hand was early sought in marriage by William H. Mesrole, whose name is a familiar one among the old families of Marshall.
Mr. Mesrole was a son of Jonathan Mesrole, of Lorain county, Ohio, and was born in that region in the year 1842. He grew up among agricultural activities and rural school interests, and chose for his vocation the cultivation of the soil and the industries related there- with. He was but a young man, however, when the great conflict which was to preserve the integrity of the nation appealed to his patriotic enthusiasm. On August 9, 1862, he enlisted in Company K, 12th Michigan Infantry, at Jackson, Michigan, and seven days later was mustered into service. But the strenuous conditions and necessary privations of army life were more than his constitution was able to endure. He succumbed to disease, of which he died, on April 14, 1864. His young wife was left with three small children and the memories of a too short life with her courageous young husband.
After a season of lonely widowhood, with its heavy family respon- sibilities, Julia Mesrole became the wife of William S. Bolles, a native of New York state, but a resident of Litchfield, Calhoun county. Mr. Bolles was a man of excellent education and one who followed the voca- tion of printing, having had charge of two newspapers at different times. He was a man of genial and kindly disposition, contributing much of generous and indulgent spirit to the atmosphere of the happy home of which he was the head. To him and Mrs. Bolles was born one daughter, Mary Mabel. William Bolles lived until he had passed his 73d year and is remembered for his many excellent qualities.
The children and grandchildren of Mrs. Bolles, together with her property interests, constitute her life's most important interests. Her son, Charles H. Mesrole lives at Olivet, Michigan; her daughter Eliza- beth, who became Mrs. Walter Rich and is now a widow, resides in Lee; her daughter Nellie, the wife of N. J. Brangwin, lives on a farm in Convis township. Her three grandchildren are James G. Brang- win, an artist of Detroit; Guy Harrison, of Battle Creek; and Bertha Church, the daughter of Thomas Church, of Marshall. Mrs. Bolles lives cosily in her neat home in Marshall. her sixty-acre farm being leased and in good hands. The twelve dollars pension which she re- ceives monthly, in addition to the income from her farm, enables her
859
HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
to live independently and comfortably. She lives alone, is hale and hearty, and professes to be perfectly happy.
L. C. WILLIAMS. Especially worthy of mention in a work of this character is Mr. L. C. Williams, of Marshall, who has for many years been an important factor in developing the agricultural prosperity of Calhoun county, and is now rendering able and faithful service as drainage commissioner. He was born, November 22, 1856, in Galena, Illinois, where his childhood days were passed.
His father, W. W. Williams, was born, bred and educated in New York state. When quite young he migrated to Illinois. He married Mariette Williams, before leaving New York, who, although bearing the same surname, was not a relative. He subsequently bought a tract of land in Illinois, and there carried on general farming with excellent pecuniary results for many years. Acquiring a competency, he came to Michigan, and here lived in retirement the remainder of his life, enjoying to the utmost his well-earned leisure.
While a school boy, L. C. Williams attended the Yates Academy, in Yates, New York, and after returning to his home in Michigan pur- sued his studies for a year in the Albion High School and the State Normal at Ypsilanti. Entering then upon a professional career, he taught school sixteen terms, mostly in Calhoun county. Having accu- mulated some money as a teacher, and feeling the lure of the soil, Mr. Williams then bought one hundred and forty acres of land in Lee township, Calhoun county, and having erected a substantial set of buildings, put the greater part of the land under cultivation, and was there successfully engaged in general farming from 1892 until 1910, for ten years making a specialty of handling sheep; an industry which proved profitable.
Public-spirited, and much interested in town, city and county affairs, Mr. Williams has served his fellow-citizens in various capa- cities, and always to the satisfaction of his constituents. In 1891 and 1892 he was a school examiner; from 1906 until 1911, inclusive, he served as township supervisor; and in 1910 was elected to his present position as county drain commissioner for a term of two years.
Mr. Williams married, in 1888, Miss Nora E. Wilcox, of Moscow, Hillsdale county,. Michigan, a daughter of Foster A. Wilcox. Their union has been blessed by the birth of five children, namely : Nellie, a school teacher ; Florence; Foster; Wayne; and L. C., Jr. Fraternally Mr. Williams is a member of Peninsular Lodge, No. 5, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Marshall.
FRED W. EGELER. Another of Marshall's native-born citizens of practical and useful vocation and a man whose industry and economy have raised him from modest means to a position of material success, is Fred W. Egeler, whose work as a moulder is well known in this community. His family represents the solid German virtues which have been proved so important in both intellectual and industrial enter- prises of the world. Mr. Egeler's parents were J. C. and Emily (Hoff- mouth) Egeler, both of whom were born in Wittenberg, Germany, emigrating to America while quite young, J. C. Egeler being but fif- teen years of age when he came to seek his fortunes in a strange land. In 1857 he settled in Michigan, first spending one year in Albion, after which he made Marshall his permanent home. The blacksmith shop which he opened here was long a feature of Marshall's activities, for he conducted it for no less than fifty-six years. His faithful and un- pretentious life continued until January 23, 1908-his seventy-fifth
.
860
HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
year. He was especially active and prominent in the fraternal life of the city, being a member of Albans Lodge No. 20 of the Free and Ac- cepted Masons; of Lafayette Chapter No. 4, Royal Arch Masons; and of Marshall Commandery No. 17, Knights Templar. Emily (Hoff- mouth) Egeler lived an inconspicuously noble lite, continued until April 16, 1912, at which time she had passed her seventy-sixth year.
Fred W. Egeler, the son of the above-mentioned estimable pair, was born in this city on April 12, 1870. He passed through the public and high schools of Marshall, leaving the latter for the work he found at hand in the blacksmith shop of his father. Here he learned the in- herited trade, in which he continued for five years. This was excellent as preliminary to the occupation to which he then passed; for he next entered the employ of Anton Egeler, his uncle. Having mastered the details and operations of this work, Fred Egeler accepted a position in the establishment of Samuel F. Dobbins, a manufacturer of hot air furnaces. From that time, the year 1899, he has steadily continued in the same line of activities with Mr. Dobbins and has proved himself to be a most efficient workman.
Mr. Egeler's interests are chiefly those of his vocation and of his home. The latter was established when Miss Winifred Hughes became the companion of his domestic life on September 1, 1902. She is a daughter of Patrick Hughes, an old and much respected citizen of Marshall.
Fred Egeler is politically conscientious but not politically conspicu- ous, preferring to let the thoughtful casting of his vote be his chief expression of national and civic interest. He votes the Democratic ticket. Mr. Egeler lives in a comfortable and attractive home, which he owns, at 302 South Madison street. He is in possession of consider- able good property and is regarded as one of the enterprising and honorable citizens of Marshall.
FRANK D. MILLER. One of the leading educators of Calhoun county, Frank D. Miller is widely and favorably known as county school commissioner, a position which he has held for twelve years, during which time he has distinguished himself by the ability and fidelity with which he has discharged the multifarious duties de- volving upon him. Far-sighted and progressive in. the management of the many schools which come under his supervision, he formulates his plans for their betterment with care and wisdom, and in their execution labors with earnest zeal and enthusiasm. A native of Cal- houn county, he was born June 1, 1869, in Tekonsha, on the farm. of his father, Charles H. Miller
Born in Carroll county, Ohio, in 1838, Charles H. Miller came to Calhoun county, Michigan, when a young man, and having purchased land near Tekonsha, cleared and improved a good farm, on which he was for a number of years prosperously employed in tilling the soil. Removing with his family to the village of Tekonsha in 1882, he con- ducted a bakery and meat market for sixteen years, and is now living retired from active business, devoting his time and attention to his private interests. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah A. Davis. was born in Ohio, and died, in 1892, in Tekonsha, Michigan.
Gleaning his elementary education in the common and high schools of Tekonsha, Frank D. Miller subsequently attended the Fenton Nor- mal School, in Genesee county, and the Ypsilanti Normal School, in those institutions preparing himself for a professional career. For sixteen months after leaving school, Mr. Miller was employed in the Chicago Stockyards, first as a bookkeeper, and afterwards as assistant
861
HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
foreman, a position which he resigned during the big strike of 1893. Returning then to Calhoun county, Michigan, he took charge of a school, and continued as a teacher in the public schools for eleven years. In 1904 Mr. Miller had the honor of being appointed county commissioner of schools to fill out the unexpired term of Ernest Burn- ham, a period of three years. In this capacity, he proved himself so capable that in the fall of 1907 he was elected to the position, and has held the office continuously since by re-election, at the last election receiving a majority of four thousand, two hundred and five of the ballots cast, he and Judge North polling the same number of votes. Mr. Miller, whose present term of office will expire on July 1, 1915, has in his circuit one hundred and sixty-four schools, with one hun- dred and ninety-five teachers, every school in the county being under his control, with the exception of the Battle Creek schools and the Albion schools, which are incorporated under the city charter.
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.