History of Calhoun County, Michigan, a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume II, Part 53

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 53

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Mr. Haddock remained in the Wakelee store until 1871, when he went into partnership with N. A .. Osgood, in the Riley Block, now occupied by the Central ' National Bank, and remained there until 1875, when ill health compelled him to retire from business. He was a great sufferer from that time until his death, and his infirmities prevented him from reengaging in active business, but his energetic spirit demanded some outlet and he was engaged until his death in buying and selling real estate, and in repairing and building up his own property. He was of a quiet, retiring disposition, loved by those who knew him best, of sterl- ing honor and integrity in business dealings, a loyal husband and a stanch friend. He was a Royal Arch Mason, having joined the local order of Masons in 1859. and their principles were to him, if followed, the

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highest guide of manhood. He died April 28, 1888, at his home, No. 69 Maple street, and was carried to his last rest, as he wished, by his brother Masons, the funeral being conducted at the grave according to Masonic ritual, the Rev. George F. Chipperfield officiating, and was largely at- tended. He was survived by his wife and one daughter, Georgia, who was married in 1891 to Harry E. Burt, of Battle Creek.

In 1899 the family home was bought by the public schools of Battle Creek, and the site is now occupied by the Willard Library. The old home was of interest as being one of the fine old Colonial mansions, built in 1850, by William Brooks, later owned by Chester Buckley, and pur- chased from his estate by Mr. Haddock.

LEWIS R. MEAD. The first line of business that was carried on in the history of the world was that of farming, and from then to the present day men have found it profitable to till the soil and to raise crops and breed stock upon it. Calhoun county is no exception to this rule, in that within its confines many of its leading citizens are found to be the owners of well-regulated farms, and in this class stands Lewis R. Mead, of Clarendon township, who has spent his entire life in Calhoun county. He was born in Clarendon township, on the farm of his father, January 3, 1862, and is a son of Franklin and Mary (Lewis) Mead, the former born in 1826 and the latter in 1832, natives respec- tively of New York and Calhoun county, Michigan. His grandfather, Timothy Mead, was a native of New York, and about the year 1835 or 1836 came to Calhoun county with his family, and here remained during the rest of his life. Franklin Mead received a district school educa- tion, was reared to agricultural pursuits, and continued to remain on the home place as his father's assistant until the latter's death, at which time he received his due share of the estate. He subsequently accumulated 127 acres of land, became very successful in a financial way, and at his death, in 1886, was one of his community's most highly esteemed citizens. A Republican in his political views, he served as highway commissioner for a number of years, and he and his wife were faithful members of the Free Will Baptist church. His wife was a daughter of Asa Lewis, a native of New York, who came to Michigan during the early 'thirties, and lived and died in Homer, where he suc- cessfully followed the milling business for many years. Mrs. Mead died in 1874.

The only child of his parents, Lewis R. Mead secured a district school education and then went to Hillsdale, where he attended school for two years. Returning to the farm of his father, he devoted himself to working thereon, but decided to strike out on his own account and accordingly rented a farm for two years. At the time of his father's death. however, he inherited a part of the old homestead, and at this time is cultivating sixty-seven acres. He is one of the progressive farmers of his locality and one who is steadily forging ahead. His business record is excellent, he has every reason to be proud of what he has accomplished, while his neighbors respect and honor him as an hon- est, reliable citizen.

In 1882 Mr. Mead was married to Miss Rosamond Chapin, daughter of Royal Chapin, a native of New York, who is now living in Burling- ton township, Calhoun county, and she died in 1895, in the faith of the Presbyterian Church, having been the mother of two children: Frank Lane, living in Albion, Michigan; and Mary F., living at home. In 1897 Mr. Mead was married to Miss Lillian Chapin, sister of his first wife, and they have two children: Stephen, who is attending school ; and Earl Chapin. Mr. and Mrs. Mead are members of the

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HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY

Presbyterian Church, and fraternally he is connected with Humanity Lodge No. 29, F. & A. M. and Chapter No. 130, at Homer, in which he has held office. In political matters he is a Republican, and has served as township treasurer, highway commissioner and justice of the peace, and in 1912 was elected a member of the board of supervisors, a posi- tion which he is acceptably filling at the present time.

LAMB BROTHERS. One of the best known and popular families of Clarence township is the Lamb family, composed of the three sons and four daughters of the late Isaac M. Lamb, who had been a resident of Calhoun county nearly seventy years and was a citizen held in high esteem. His sons Seward, Bert and Alger are agriculturists and all of that progressive type which recognizes the value of brains as well as brawn in successful farming and regard their vocation as a science and a business instead of a commonplace occupation. They stand rep- resentative of the best strength of Calhoun county's younger genera- tion of native sons.

Isaac M. Lamb, born in New York in 1842, when but an infant came to Calhoun county, Michigan with his parents, who located in Sheri- dan township. There as a lad he received his education in the district schools. While still young he started out for himself as a farmer and located in Clarence township, where he bought an eighty acre farm. To this he added from time to time until at his death in 1909 he owned 240 acres, his attention having been given wholly to general farming. In politics he was a Republican, and fraternally he affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He saw two years of hard and active service in defense of the Union during the Civil war as a mem- ber of Company G, Seventh Michigan Cavalry, which regiment bore a gallant part at Gettysburg, participated in the Wilderness campaign, and during its service was in almost continuous activity, participating in many of the important engagements of the Eastern campaign. Daniel Lamb, the father of Isaac M., was born in New York and after a num- ber of years' residence in Calhoun county finally returned to his native state, where he resided thereafter until his death. Isaac M. Lamb mar- ried Annette Huffman, whose father James Huffman spent his whole life in New York. She died in 1902. Eight children came to their union and the seven now living are all unmarried and remain at the parental home. In order of birth they are: Grace, Ida, Calista, Sew- ard, Effie, Bert and Alger.

Seward Lamb, the eldest of the three sons, was born in Clarence township, Calhoun county, Michigan, on December 18, 1880. As pre- viously mentioned, he has chosen farming as his vocation and is in every sense a progressive agriculturist. He is a member of the Ancient Or- der of United Workmen, and in politics is a Republican.

Bert Lamb, the second son, was born in Clarence township on De- cember 15, 1886, and Alger, the youngest of the three, was born August 2, 1889. The brothers are associated together in the management of the home farm of 240 acres and. besides general farming they give con- siderable attention to the breeding and raising of fine stock, especially of Shropshire sheep and Brown Swiss cattle, of which they have a fine large herd of imported stock. They are alert and resourceful young men who have shown good business ability in the management of their farming interests and stand at the fore among the most successful farmers of this section.

RALPH S. DOOLITTLE. The occupation of farming is a profitable one to those who know how to properly conduct their business, com-

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bining the various branches of the industry to the best advantage. One of the leading farmers of Calhoun county, who has found that modern scientific farming, in place of the old hit-or-miss style, pays well, is Ralph S. Doolittle, the owner of a handsome farm of 160 acres in Clarendon township. Mr. Doolittle has been a resident of Calhoun county all his life, having been born at Clarendon, Michigan, March 9, 1872, and is a son of Augustus A. and Emma (Humeston) Doolittle.

Augustus A. Doolittle was born in Delaware county, New York, in 1830, and in 1836 came to Michigan with his parents, settling in Claren- don township, where he received a district school education. On com- pleting his literary training, he started out on a business career with meager financial advantages and no influential friends, and the success which he gained in life was entirely the result of his tireless energy, inherent ability and strict integrity. He at first accumulated a small farm of ninety acres, but subsequently acquired his father's homestead, a tract of 160 acres, and later purchased a farm in Tekonsha, having in all about 450 acres of good land. His death occurred in Tekonsha, where he was held in the highest esteem by all who knew him. He and his wife, who was born in Homer township, Calhoun county, in 1843, had six children, all of whom are living, while Ralph S. is the fifth in order of birth. Irwin Doolittle resides in Tekonsha township; Dwight A., is a resident of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the three sisters are living at the Tekonsha home. Politically a Republican, Mr. Doolit- tle held all the minor township offices, and at the time of his death, in 1900, left a record unmarred by stain or blemish.

Ralph S. Doolittle was educated in the district schools and the vil- lage schools of Tekonsha, and his business activities have always been devoted to agricultural pursuits. On starting out on his own account he had but little financial aid, but by the time he was twenty-seven years of age had his original purchase of eighty acres all paid for. He purchased his present farm of 160 acres in 1899, and this he has devel- oped into one of the finest properties of its size in this part of the county, erecting a handsome residence and outbuildings and making an ideal country home.

In 1900 Mr. Doolittle was married to Miss Mae Harmon, daughter of John Harmon, who was born in Michigan and served in the Civil war. To this union there have been three children: Joy B., Stewart A. and Ralph, Jr. Mr. Doolittle is a Baptist in his religious belief, and during the past fifteen years has acted in the capacity of clerk of the Baptist church, while his wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal de- nomination. In political matters he is a Republican, and has served as supervisor for three years and as chairman of the board for one . year. He was also a candidate for the office for county treasurer, but on account of political conditions at that time met with defeat. His popularity is assured among his fellow-townsmen, and he is known as a man who can be counted upon to support movements tending to prog- ress, morality, education and good citizenship.

JACOB LUTZ. On his eighty-acre farm in Newton township, Calhoun county, Michigan, Jacob Lutz is profitably engaged in diversified agri- culture and the raising of high grade live stock. He is a citizen of prominence and influence in his home community and has represented Newton township in various official capacities of trust and responsibility. He has been highway commissioner and at the present time (1912) is holding the office of township treasurer, in which he has already proven his ability in that capacity.

Jacob Lutz was born November 8, 1866, in Washtenaw county, Michi-

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gan, and he is a son of Michael and Mary (Mohardt) Lutz, both of whom were born in Wittenburg, Germany, in 1834 and 1836, respec- tively. The father immigrated to America in the year 1857, when he was a young man of twenty-three years of age. He came direct to Michigan and located in the vicinity of Ann Arbor, where he turned his attention to farming. He came to Calhoun county in the early '70s and settled in Fredonia township, subsequently purchasing a farm of forty acres in that township. Later he removed to Kent county where he resided for eleven years, at the end of which he came to Calhoun county, where he purchased a small place, and he continued to operate it until 1900, when he retired from active farm life and has since made his home with his children. His beloved wife passed away on October 3, 1898. They became the parents of children as follows: Fred; Michael, Jr., died June 1, 1911, in Newton township; Jacob of this re- view ; Tina; Anna, Carrie and Addie. Michael Lutz is a Democrat in his political faith, and his churchly affiliations are maintained in the Luth- eran church.

Under the sturdy and invigorating influence of the old home farm Jacob Lutz was reared to adult age. His educational training was ob- tained in the public school, and at the age of twenty-one he started out for himself as a farmer and thresher. In 1905 he purchased his first farm, consisting of eighty acres. His land is in a high state of cultivation and he ranks as one of the best informed farmers in New- ton township. Mr. Lutz is a stalwart Democrat in his political con- victions and was honored by his fellow citizens with election to the office of highway commissioner, being subsequently elected to the office of township treasurer, of which office he is still the incumbent in 1912.

In 1897 Mr. Lutz was united in marriage with Miss Cora Dekoger, a daughter of John and Martha (Young) Dekoger, who were residents of Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Mrs. Lutz was born, in 1876. Mr. and Mrs. Lutz are the parents of four children :- Glenn F., Neva G., Beulah Mae and Donald F., the names being here listed in the respec- tive order of their birth.

RANDALL Z. CASE. A Calhoun county citizen whose mundane exist- ence began in the earlier half of the preceding century and who has rendered both military and pioneer service to this commonwealth is Mr. Randall Z. Case, former postmaster of Partello and retired farmer of Marshall. His place of nativity was a farm near Brockport, New York, and the date of his birth was September 7, 1840. When but a small child the exigencies of the farm were such that he, the eldest of five chil- dren, was necessarily required to assist with labors heavy and difficult for one so young. His memories of days spent in clearing land are still rendered vivid by the presence of a scar above his eye. The school op- portunities of Randall Case were those of the primitive rural districts and were permitted during only a part of each year. The rough build- ing in which he learned his "three r's" was located just a mile from Erie Canal. When his parents came to Lee township, in Calhoun coun- ty, Michigan, he was fifteen years of age, and from that time to the present, he has called this locality his home.

Mr. Case had barely attained the years of his majority when the smouldering opposition between the north and the south burst into the flames of war. In October of 1861, he laid aside his agricultural pur- suits in order to contribute his share to the effort of the nation to pre- serve its integrity. Enlisting in Company H, of the Twelfth Michigan infantry, he was mustered in at Niles. With his regiment he went

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HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY

southward, where he was actively engaged in the conflicts of Pittsburg Landing, Hatchies River and Middleburg, Tennessee. The siege of Vicksburg, that at Little Rock, Arkansas, and at Gregory's Landing . were other engagements in which Mr. Case and his fellow-soldiers par- ticipated, besides lending their courageous efforts in other battles and skirmishes. On one occasion an incident occurred which proved to be serious indeed to Mr. Case. While he and his comrades were being conveyed by steamer from Duval's Bluff, Arkansas, they were fired at by rebels on shore, one of whom severely wounded with buckshot the left wrist of Mr. Case. His patriotic enthusiasm was such that he ig- nored the wound, landed with the others and assisted in the chase of the enemy-some of Thompson's guerillas-fourteen of the rebels being captured. During that exchange of hostilities Mr. Case was wounded by a bullet which grazed his right cheek. Unsparing of himself, he undertook and risked extreme privations and hardships, with the result that his none too robust and always overworked physique suffered ob- viously from the life of the battlefield and the camp. At various times he was obliged to temporarily succumb to illness, at one time spending six weeks in a hospital. In 1862 the young man was granted a fur- lough and was carried home in a greatly weakened and wasted condition. His former weight, which had been considerable for one engaged in heavy farm labor, had decreased through the strenuous experiences of the war until he weighed but ninety pounds. Ever ambitious and always anxious to minimize any indisposition, he rejoined his regi- ment in the fall of 1862. It was soon evident that his reserve force was insufficient to meet the demands made upon it. He was sent to the hospital at Cairo, where for three months he lay sick with typhoid malarial fever. When this period of illness was past, Mr. Case once more rejoined his regiment, remaining with them until the close of the war. Having served long and honorably, he was mustered out at Cam- den, Arkansas, in February, 1866, receiving his discharge papers and his pay on the sixth of the following March.

After his period of military experience was ended, Mr. Case re- turned to his father's farm, where he again devoted his energies to farm tasks. The following autumn he bought forty acres of land upon which he established himself and which he proceeded to clear. Having later purchased an adjacent tract of forty acres, he now is the possessor of eighty acres of land in a superior state of cultivation.

The year in which Mr. Case began his independent farming also marked the beginning of his domestic life with the worthy companion of his home. Mrs Case, nee Mary J. Forsyth, is a native of Ohio and a daughter of James Forsyth, an early settler of Lee township. Three children, named Edward E., Emma E. and Justus M., have comprised the second generation of the Randall Case home. 1

Mr. Case's attitude toward public affairs is indicated by the loyalty he has always shown toward the Republican party. His trustworthi- ness and ability in the administration of any affairs with which he is connected are recognized by his acquaintances, who have honored him with various civic responsibilities. In 1885 he served as a member of the County Board of Supervisors; in 1889 he accepted the office of township clerk: he has been efficient in his former capacity of school director; and he has recently discharged with faithfulness and wide discrimination the duties of school assessor. The most conspicuous honor that has come to him has been his appointment to the office of postmaster of Partello, his term in that position having been that which began with the year 1889. Since the termination of his services connected

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with the postal department, he has retired to his present attractive home in Marshall, where he now resides.

Mr. Case's intelligent interest in practical matters is evident from `his active membership in the order of the Patrons of Industry. His perennial patriotism is indicated by his prominence in the Grand Army Post, No. 256, at Partello, in which he has served both as Past Com- mander and as Adjutant.

HENRY B. WATERMAN. A representative of one of the honored pioneer families of Calhoun county, the late Henry B. Waterman was continuously a resident of Athens township, save for the exception of one year passed at Lockport, Illinois, from 1838 until his death, which occurred in the village of Athens, on the 1st of April, 1895. He well upheld the prestige of the family name and concerning the same and its long and prominent association with the history of the county ade- quate data are given in the memoir dedicated to his younger brother, Adolphus C., on other pages of this volume.

Henry B. Waterman was born in Yates county, New York, on the 22d of October, 1822, and thus was seventy-two years and five months of age at the time of his death. In the year following the admission of Michigan to the Union, he came with his parents, John B. and Betsy (Gleason) Waterman, to Athens township, this county, and he was at the time a lad of about sixteen years. He had secured his early educa- tional discipline in his native county and after coming to Calhoun county he was for a time a student in the first school house built in Athens township, the same having been a primitive log structure of the type common to the pioneer days and having been situated in section 14. Mr. Waterman was a man of strong intellectual powers and these he developed and matured through careful and wide reading, through which he became a man of broad and varied information. He con- tinued to be actively associated with the work and management of the old home farm, in section 13, Athens township, until after the death of his first wife, and thereafter he was engaged in the manufacturing of wagons and carriages. in the village of Athens, for a few years. He then removed to his farm, in section 14, northeast of the village, where he continued in the same line of enterprise, in connection with his farming operations. In the summer of 1874 he again established his home in the village of Athens, where he passed the residue of his life. He was a Democrat in politics and was well fortified in his opinions concerning public affairs. The following statements relative to this sturdy pioneer are worthy of perpetuation in this connection: "He was a great lover of outdoor sports, such as horse races, etc., and in his younger, as well as his latter years, was a hail fellow well met. He always enjoyed a visit from his neighbors, and the melodious strains of his violin and fife will always be pleasingly remembered by the com- pany of his generation of years ago, and especially the strains of mar- tial music to the soldier boys in blue."

Mr. Waterman was first married to Miss Lydia A. Woodworth, daughter of Erastus and Electa Woodworth, early settlers of this coun- ty, and four children were born of this union,-Dwight J., Bradley, Dorr and William B. All of these children are now deceased except Dorr and William B., who resides in Athens. Mrs. Waterman was sum- moned to eternal rest on the 28th of April, 1863,, at the age of thirty- three years, and in 1867 Mr. Waterman wedded Miss Celinda Wright, of LeRoy township. They became the parents of six children, namely : Lena, who is the wife of Vine Tenney; Lucy, who is the wife of Eugene Culp; Charles, who is a resident of Athens, Michigan; Fred who resides

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at Battle Creek; Lottie, who is the wife of Frank Bruce and Minnie, who lives with her mother and brother at Athens.

ADOLPHUS C. WATERMAN. Measured by its definite achievement and its integrity of purpose the life of the late Adolphus C. Waterman counted for much, and the name of no one man has been more closely and benignantly associated with the development and upbuilding of the village of Athens, this county, than that of him to whom this me- moir is dedicated. Quiet and unostentatious in bearing, he had much of independence in thought and action and wielded influence of no secondary order in the furtherance of civic and material progress in the village and county which represent his home for many years and in which he was a well known and honored pioneer citizen at the time of his demise. This publication may well take cognizance of his life and labors, as they constitute a very part of the history of Calhoun county.

On a farm four miles west of Penn Yan, Yates county, New York Adolphus Converse Waterman was born on the 14th of July, 1829. He was a son of John B. and Betsy (Gleason) Waterman, the former a native of Coventry, Rhode Island and the latter of Thompson, Con- necticut, the homes of the respective families having been located in the same vicinity, near the boundary line between the two states men- tioned. It is supposed that the marriage of the parents was solemnized in Connecticut and they resided for a number of years thereafter in Rhode Island, where three of their children were born. John B. Water- man, was a skilled mechanic and millwright and finally he removed with his family from Rhode Island to Yates county, New York. There he remained until 1837, when he came to the west and established his residence on Jackson Prairie, in Steuben county, Indiana. In 1839, about two years after the admission of Michigan to the Union, he came to Calhoun county, and here he rented, for a few years, a tract of land from Asahel Stone, whom he had known in the east. Finally he pur- chased a tract of eighty acres of wild land, two miles north of the pres- ent village of Athens, and there he continued to be identified with the great basic industry of agriculture until his death, which occurred Jan- uary 19th, 1847. His wife survived him until April 28, 1863, and they lived up to the full tension of the pioneer era in the history of this sec- tion of Michigan. They became the parents of eight children, the eldest of whom, Louisa Maria, died in Yates county, New York; Benoni Cooke was a resident of Denver, Colorado, at the time of his death; Lucy Ann, who became the wife of William Hanson, died in Lockport, Illinois, as did also her brother John Gleason, who was the next in order of birth; Henry B., who died at Athens, is individually mentioned elsewhere in this work; Betsy was the widow of Elisha Wallace and died in Battle Creek; Adolphus C. is the immediate subject of this memoir; and George died in Steuben county, Indiana, when a child of three years.

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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 53

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