History of Calhoun County, Michigan, a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 4

Author: Gardner, Washington, 1845-1928
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 838

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 4

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His permanent settlement was preceded by a tour of exploration in the spring of 1836. From the settlements in eastern Michigan a wild-winding trail led him through dense forests and over untamed prairies into the heart of Calhoun county, and scattering log houses were practically the only evidence of the improvement made by white civilization. On the site of Battle Creek, at the corner now occupied by the Old National Bank, stood the only business house then in this settlement, the general store kept by William Coleman. But to a youth with the enthusiasm of a pioneer, the opportunities of the situation made a strong appeal, and immediately on reaching New York he made prep- arations to move his family to the west. The date of his arrival for permanent settlement was in September, 1836.

His settlement was on the northwest corner of section 1, township 2 south, range 8 west, in the old township of Milton, and the site of his home is now occupied by the Phelps Sanatorium. At the time of his settlement the entire vicinity was covered with underbrush and timber, and it required many days of labor to clear the ground for his first crops. In 1852 he erected on the original site a brick residence, and that remained one of the landmarks, with many intimate associa- tions for the Manchester family, until it was torn down to make room for the Phelps Sanatorium.

The late Mr. Manchester was interested in and prominently identi- fied with the social, temperance, political and religious movements of his lifetime. During his early career he was a Whig in politics, and served his locality as justice of the peace, supervisor, and in other official capacities. He was an ardent abolitionist and free-soiler, and from its organization for a number of years was identified with the

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Republican party. When prohibition became in his judgment the dominant question of American public interest, he espoused the party of that cause, and still later was affiliated with the Greenback party. He never lost his active interest in the temperance movement, and was one of the prominent members of the Good Templars organization and for three years president of the grand lodge of the state. The Grange movement was one to which he gave all the enthusiasm of his nature, and he was a charter member of the Battle Creek Grange, No. 66, Patrons of Husbandry. The grange had charge of his funeral, held at his old home 436 Maple street, and' four of the active members were pall-bearers.

Farming was his regular occupation for many years, but he was also one of the factors in the mercantile affairs of this city. From 1857 to 1863 he was senior member of the firm of Manchester & Averill, which during part of the time was Averill, Briggs & Company. This well known business firm was dissolved in 1863, and Mr. Manchester then returned to farming.

At the age of twenty-one, in his native township of Scipio, New York, he was married by Quaker ceremony, to Miss Amy Ann Howland. Their happy wedded career was protracted for more than sixty years, until the death of Mrs. Manchester on June 28, 1896, and was blessed with the birth of nine children who reached years of maturity. These children, seven of whom are still living, were as follows: Caleb, of Augusta, Michigan (see sketch) ; Adelina and Stephen, deceased; Perry H., of Butte, Montana; Charles E., of Battle Creek, (see sketch) ; Elias, of Kansas City, Missouri; Mary, the wife of the late William Galloway, of Battle Creek; Frank of Rockford, Illinois; and H. W., of Battle Creek. All were born and educated in Battle Creek, and the family record is further notable for the fact that five of the sons were soldiers of the Union at the same time. Elias and Charles were in the same company of the First Michigan Cavalry; Caleb was in the Eleventh Michigan Cavalry, Stephen was in Company C of the Twentieth Michi- gan Infantry, and later with Charles and Elias in Company F, First Cavalry ; while Perry was a member of the Twentieth Michigan Infan- try and was wounded in the battle of the Wilderness.

The late Mr. Manchester, as already noted, was brought up in the Quaker faith, but later in life found his religious comfort in spirit- ualism, was one of the prominent members of the local society, and for three years was president of the state association. In religion and all other serious subjects of life he exercised an independent judgment. What commended itself to his reason he accepted and made an integral part of his daily life. And at the same time he rejected no theory or faith without an impartial examination. He was a reader all his life, and considered deeply all he found in books or the conversation of men. In his family and in his community he bore a lifelong reputation for integrity and high-principled character, and among the pioneers of Battle Creek none deserves greater esteem and more lasting memory than the one who at his death was the last survivor of the times when Battle Creek was an outpost of civilization in the midst of the unbroken wilderness.

CALEB MANCHESTER. Soldier, business man, public-spirited citizen, farmer and capable official, Caleb Manchester, now residing at Augusta, Michigan, has had a long and active career of usefulness and is emi- nently worthy of mention in a work setting forth the incidents in the lives of the representative men of his part of Michigan. Born January 22, 1838, in Battle Creek, he received his early education in that city,

Caleb Manchester

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HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY

and subsequently attended the Agricultural College one year. When twenty-six years of age, September 1, 1864, he enlisted for service in the Civil war, becoming a private of Company G, Eleventh Michigan Cavalry, at Albion, Michigan. On September 30, 1864, he joined his regiment at Lexington, Kentucky, and in November was made a corporal and on March 1, 1865, was made sergeant, receiving his honorable dis- charge as such, June 16, 1865, at Knoxville, Tennessee. He participated in numerous skirmishes and minor battles, and took part in the Saltville Raid, in Virginia, and a number of others, and throughout his army service proved himself to be a brave and faithful soldier. On his return from the war he resided in Battle Creek for one year, then moving to Ionia county, Michigan, where he made his home until 1883, being extensively engaged in farming. In that year he went to Adrian, Michi- gan, where he devoted his energies to the gravel roofing business during the next ten years, and then returned to Battle Creek and until 1902 was engaged in the fence business.

Since 1902 Mr. Manchester has lived practically retired from business activities, although he owns three acres within the corporation limits of the village of Augusta, in Ross township, Kalamazoo county. Public life has demanded a great deal of his attention, he being a strong and influential Republican. For four years he served as village assessor of Augusta, was elected justice of the peace for four years, and has held various other township offices. Fraternally, he is connected with Adrian Lodge No. 19 F. & A. M., having been connected with the Masonic fra- ternity since 1859; and Bryant Chapter, Eastern Star of Battle Creek. He also belongs to Woodbury Post No. 45, Grand Army of the Republic. of Adrian, and has never missed a reunion of his regiment. For eleven years he was a member of the election board of Battle Creek.

On February 4, 1861, Mr. Manchester was married to Miss Valeda Sawtell, daughter of Zerah Sawtell and wife, of Bedford township, Cal- houn county, Michigan, and she died October 21, 1881, at Muir, Ionia county, Michigan, where she is buried. Mr. and Mrs. Manchester had three children: Cora, born in Parma township, near Albion, Jackson county, Michigan, who was for seventeen years in the telegraph office at Adrian, died in that city, in December, 1905, and is there buried; Addie Valeda, born in Ionia county, and now the wife of L. D. Swisher, of Adrian; they have two sons, Bertram and Donald; and Louis B., of Cleveland. Louis B. married Edna Daniels of Lima, O: They had four children : Ida V., deceased, Cora L., Louise L., and Edna M. Louis B. was born in Ionia county, Michigan, and educated in the schools of Adrian, and in June, 1898, enlisted in the army for service during the Spanish-American war, going first to Porto Rico, with Gen. Miles, as a member of the signal service. He was subsequently transferred to the Philippines in 1900, and after his three years of service had ex- pired he enlisted for another three years, and on the expiration of that term of service prepared to return to his home. At that time, however, the United States government, established a trade school, and he was offered and accepted the telegraph department, of which he had charge until taking charge of the telegraph lines in the Constabulary, in which he became captain, in the island of Cebu. After two years, however, he resigned and came home, and at this time is an employe of the test station of the Western Union Telegraph station at Cleveland, Ohio, where the lines of the Associated Press and the Board of Trade pass through.

CHARLES E. MANCHESTER. One member of the family of the late Elias C. Manchester who has been identified with Battle Creek for many

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years is Charles E. Manchester, whose birth occurred in this city on the 12th of December, 1845.

Mr Manchester during his boyhod attended the old Battle Creek schools, and when he left home to begin his practical career he bought eighty acres of land in Ionia county and was engaged in farming there for eleven years. Farming has been his principal occupation during his active career, but he has also been one of Battle Creek's merchants.

He was only a boy when the Civil war broke out, but like the other four brothers of the family he offered his services to the Union, and for ten months was a private in Company F of the First Michigan Cavalry, having his brothers Stephen and Elias as comrades. Mr. Manchester is a Republican in politics, and is a member of the Farragut Post No. 32, G. A. R., at Battle Creek. For seven years he was truant officer for the city schools. Fraternally Mr. Manchester is a Mason, having mem- bership in the Battle Creek Lodge No. 12, A. F. & A. M., and being also a Knight Templar, and is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in this city. For several years he has lived retired, his home being at 179 Upton avenue. He was married on March 26, 1872, to Miss Ella Carpenter, daughter of Elisha Carpenter, of Bedford town- ship, this county. Mrs. Manchester's death occurred June 26, 1901. They had no children.

SOLOMON SELLERS. One of the oldest and most honored families of Calhoun county is represented by Mr. Solomon Sellers, who is him- self one of the oldest living citizens of the county. He was born in Juniata county, Pennsylvania, February 12, 1827, and has passed his eighty-fifth birthday and has lived in this county nearly seventy years. He is one of the few men whose memories carry them back to the actual pioneer conditions that existed in this part of Michigan when he was a boy.

His parents were William and Elizabeth (Horning) Sellers, both natives of Pennsylvania but of German parentage. William Sellers when a boy was bound out according to the old custom then in vogue, and learned the weaver's trade, at which he employed himself during his residence in Pennsylvania and also at odd times later in life. He obtained some education in the German language, but not in the English. A beautiful penman, he did a good deal of work later in life as a book- keeper. He became a settler in Michigan in 1839, and two years later moved from Livingston county to Calhoun county, where one of his sons had already located, in the township of Clarence. This son was the first blacksmith of that town, a distinction which has heretofore been mentioned in histories of this county. William Sellers, the father, bought the one hundred and sixty acres of land in that township which his son Samuel had already located. After four years of residence in Convis township, where he later moved, the death of his wife broke up the home, and he spent the rest of his life in the home of his daughter Mrs. Jane E. Wood, in Livingston county. Of the thirteen children in the family, eight reached maturity, three daughters and five sons.

Of these Solomon was the youngest and is the last survivor. He was about twelve years old when he came to Michigan, and attended school for three months in the district school of Convis township, during the winters but forgot the winter's learning during the summer that followed. Until retiring to Battle Creek he had been a continuous resi- dent of Convis township since 1844, and was one of the successful farm- ers and influential citizens of that vicinity. He served one term as town- ship assessor, and has always been a Republican in politics. He has been a member of the Adventist Tabernacle in Battle Creek since 1861. His home is at 232 West Van Buren street.

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Mr. Sellers was married in Battle Creek, April 25, 1853, to Miss Sarah Ann Dougherty. Their married life was a long and happy one, and nearly eight years passed after the golden anniversary of their wed- ding before their companionship was broken by the death of Mrs. Sellers on the 8th of February, 1911. She was born in New Jersey, a daughter of John and Ellen Dougherty, who came to America from Ireland, and afterwards in 1844 located in Convis township. Mr. and Mrs. Sellers were the parents of four children, one dying in infancy, and the three now living are: John William, who is on the old homestead in Convis township ; Clarence W., of Battle Creek; and Luella M. All were born in Convis township, and were educated in the public schools of Battle Creek and the old college here. The boys both attended the Stone's Business College, and the daughter was formerly a teacher of this city.

CLARENCE W. SELLERS. Clarence W. Sellers, son of the venerable pioneer citizen, Solomon Sellers, is one of the progressive and successful business men of Battle Creek. For a number of years he has been iden- tified with the public affairs of this city and county.

He was born at the old homestead in Convis township, July 22, 1862, and while a boy attended the district schools. Later he entered school in Battle Creek and was a student of the old college. He also spent one year in the high school at Bellevue, Eaton county, and completed his training by a course in C. W. Stone's Business College of Battle Creek.

For two years he was engaged in farming, but since 1894 has been a resident of Battle Creek. In that year he established the Sellers West End Hack and Livery Line, and was more or less actively engaged in its management for about ten years. During the term of Sheriff David Walkingshaw he served as deputy sheriff, and then for three years was a constable of this city. Politically he is a Republican.

Mr. Sellers' principal enterprise for several years has been the Sellers Pony and Stock Farm Company, of which he is proprietor. This is one of the noteworthy agricultural and stock establishments of the county, and is located in Penfield township two miles from the city. The farm consists of four hundred acres, and is devoted to the raising of standard bred Shetland ponies and to dairy and other stock raising.

Recently Mr. Sellers became one of the organizers of the Albion Coal Company Ltd. He has a lease on a thousand acres of land in this county, two and a half miles north of Albion, and beneath the surface has been discovered the only commercial coal deposits in this part of the state. The company have struck a three and one-half to five foot vein of good coal, and are pushing the operations for working the deposit at the earliest possible date. Mr. Sellers is also owner of city real estate, including his pleasant home on West Van Buren street, adjoining the residence of his father.

On January 6, 1894, he was married to Miss Amy Rand, of Faribault, Minnesota. Her father, Howard Rand, is now a resident in Battle Creek and her mother is deceased. Mrs. Sellers is a native of Minnesota, where she was educated, attending the Mankato Normal, where she graduated, and then taught school in that state for several years. Mr. and Mrs. Sellers are the parents of two children. Wellyn C. and Lulu M. both born in Battle Creek and both in high school.

HENRY F. BECHMAN. As superintendent of the Duplex Printing Press Company of Battle Creek, Mr. Bechman is prominently identified with the industrial and business activities of the metropolis of Calhoun county, and he has been a resourceful factor in the promotion of the important enterprise with which he has been actively identified for a score of years.

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Mr. Bechman claims the Hawkey state as the place of his nativity and is a scion of one of its sterling pioneer families. He was born at Muscatine, Iowa, on the 18th of February, 1857, and is a son of Henry F. and Katherine Elizabeth (Koerle) Bechman, both of whom were born in the kingdom of Saxony, Germany, and both of whom were children at the time of the immigration of the respective families to America, the mother came in 1838, and the father not long after. The parents of each established their residence in Iowa soon after arrival in the United States and were numbered among the early settlers of that commonwealth, to the civic and industrial development of which they contributed their quota. Henry F. Bechman, Sr., was reared and edu- cated in Germany, as was also his wife, and there their marriage was solemnized. He became a successful contractor and builder and was a man of sterling character,-one who ever commanded secure place in popular confidence and esteem. At the inception of the Civil war he tendered his services in defense of the Union, and he was a musician in the Thirty-seventh Iowa Volunteer Infantry during his term of service. Both he and his wife passed the closing years of their lives at Muscatine, Iowa, and of their three sons Henry F., of this review, is the eldest; William died in the city of Chicago, in March, 1911; and Lewis H. is assistant superintendent of the Duplex Printing Press Company, of which his brother is superintendent.

The early educational discipline of Henry F. Bechman, of this sketch, was secured in the public schools of his native city, and when a mere lad he began to depend largely upon his own resources, as he felt called upon, as the eldest of the children, to provide for his own maintenance. In Muscatine he served a thorough apprenticeship at the machinist's trade, initiating his apprenticeship in 1869, when about thirteen years of age, and eventually becoming a skilled workman. He continued to follow his trade at Muscatine until 1877, when he went to the city of Chicago, where he continued to maintain his home for thirteen consecu- tive years, save for one year passed in St. Louis, Missouri. In the great western metropolis he made substantial advancement along the line of his trade and held positions of increasing trust and responsibility. In January, 1892, Mr. Bechman came to Battle Creek, where he forth- with assumed the position of superintendent of the Duplex Printing Press Company, the enterprise of which was then in its incipiency. He has retained this executive office during the intervening period of twenty years and has given his undivided time and attention to the advance- ment and extension of the business of the company.

Mr. Bechman began the battle of life with no capital save strong hands and a determination to succeed. He not only has gained a thorough knowledge of machinery and incidental lines but has also become a sure judge of the character and ability of men,-a fact that has had much influence in the furtherance of his personal success and that of the concern with which he has been long and prominently identified. He has worked hard for what he has won, and yet his absorption in his own line of work has never been such as to prevent him from keeping in touch with civic affairs and appreciative of op- portunities presented. This has been proved by his activity in other lines of business and by his service in positions of public trust. He is a modern, aggressive business man, constantly alert and progressive in his attitude, but his own struggle has made him deeply appreciative of the ambitious efforts of others, with the result that he is sympathetic and ever ready to aid those who are striving to achieve success. Instead of becoming hardened by strenuous discipline as one of the world's productive workers, he has broadened and enriched his character, and

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this is shown by his unqualified popularity in his home city and especially among the employes of the concern of which he is superin- tendent.

Mr Bechman is closely identified with the financial and commercial activities of Battle Creek. He is president of the American Motor Com- pany, of this city, and is a member of the directorate of the City Bank of Battle Creek, besides which he is president of each the Bechman & Morton Real Estate Company. Under the administration of Mayor Charles C. Green he served very zealously and efficiently as a member of the board of public works of Battle Creek.

In the city of Chicago, on the 31st of July, 1882, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Bechman to Miss Frances E. Cole, who was born in Rochester, New York, where she was reared and educated. Mr. and Mrs. Bechman have one son, Francis E., who was born in Chicago, on the 13th of August, 1884, and who now resides in New York City, where he is engaged in business. He was graduated in the Battle Creek high school as a member of the class of 1903, and four years later, in 1907, he entered the literary or academic department of the University of Michigan, in which he was graduated in 1911 and from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Mr. and Mrs. Bechman have an attractive home at 195 North avenue.

WILLIAM NEWTON JOSLYN. A worthy representative of an old and honored family that for more than fifty years has been identified with the agricultural interests of Calhoun county, William Newton Joslyn, of Battle Creek, has been living retired during the past twenty years. He was born in the township of Phelps, Ontario county, New York, November 25, 1842, and is a son of Charles H. and Jane (Simmons) Joslyn.

The grandparents of Mr. Joslyn, Charles and Thankful (Field) Joslyn, were of English descent, the former a native of Vermont and the latter of Massachusetts, and were the parents of a family of twelve children, of whom Charles H. was the fifth in order of birth. They lived together for over seventy years on the same farm in Ontario county, New York, the mother dying in April, 1872, at the age of eighty-five years, while her husband survived her until June 3, 1875, and attained the remarkable age of ninety-five years, and both were buried in the cemetery at Phelps. Charles H. Joslyn, father of William Newton, was born at Phelps, Ontario county, New York, August 26, 1815, and passed his youth on the home farm, receiving his education in the district schools After his marriage he purchased a farm of sixty-one acres in New York, on which he resided for six years, then coming to Calhoun county, Michigan, and buying 140 acres of partly improved land, for which he paid $3,400. After spending fifteen years on this land, Mr. Joslyn sold out and bought another place nearby, but remained there only two years, disposing of it to purchase the property in Battle Creek township, near Goguac Lake, that is now owned by his son, and for .which he paid $16,800. The remainder of his life was spent in agri- cultural pursuits, and he rose to be one of the most substantial farmers of his community. His death occurred December 26, 1902, and that of his wife August 5, 1905, and both are buried at Oak Hill cemetery. At the age of twenty-six years, Charles H. Joslyn was united in mar- riage with Miss Jane Simmons, whose parents died in Vermont when she was very young, and at the age of seven years she accompanied her older brother and sisters to Ontario county, New York, where she lived three years. She then entered the household of Ezra Newton, with whom she was residing at the time of her marriage to Mr. Joslyn.

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They had a family of three children, of whom William Newton and Mrs. Alice Redfield are the only survivors. A stanch Republican in his po- litical views, Mr. Joslyn was elected to various positions of trust and responsibility, including township clerk for three years, supervisor, member of the county board two terms and justice of the peace for a long period. He held in the fullest degree the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens and was highly regarded by all who knew him in Battle Creek, in which city the last eleven years of his life were spent.

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History of Calhoun County, Michigan, a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 4

Author: Gardner, Washington, 1845-1928 Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago New York, The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 838

Author: Gardner, Washington, 1845-1928
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago New York, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 838