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 56
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however, have been combined absolute integrity, honesty to himself and to his neighbor, and that regard for the rights of others which leads men to acquit themselves with honor in the business arena. Such a man is a credit to any community, and as such Mr. Snyder holds the esteem and regard of his fellow citizens.
On October 19, 1878, Mr. Snyder was united in marriage with Miss Ellen Cawthorpe, daughter of James Cawthorpe, a native of England who now lives in northern Michigan, and four children have been born to this union : Phillip, who assists his father in the work of the home farm; Bessie, who died, aged 22 years; Rollo and Harlen, who are attending school. In his political belief Mr. Snyder is a Democrat, and fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Ancient Order of United Workmen
MARTIN A. SINCLEIR. Calhoun county holds no uncertain rank among the numerous rich agricultural counties of Michigan and among the en- terprising and self-reliant men who conduct its farming interests mention is deserved by Martin A. Sincleir, of Clarence township, whose farmstead is one of the most attractive and most valuable for its size of any in that locality.
Mr. Sincleir was born July 30, 1854, in a log cabin that stood on the place he now owns. Cornelius Sincleir, his father, born in New York in 1827, moved to Branch county, Michigan with his mother when twelve years old and there grew to manhood. He married Emily Nye, also a native of New York, in which state she was born in 1832, whose father was a native of Vermont, was reared there and died there. Cornelius and Emily (Nye) Sincleir became the parents of six children, as follows: Marietta, who became the wife of E. Page and now resides at the Sol- diers Home at Grand Rapids, Michigan; Edgar L., who spent twenty- five years in the Methodist ministry and now resides in Berry county, Michigan; Martin A., the subject of this review; Marilla, deceased; Emma, the wife of E. Collyer, of Springport, Michigan; and Rollin O., who is located in Idaho. Both parents are deceased, the father having passed away in 1894 and the mother in 1909. They were members of the United Brethren church. Cornelius Sincleir was a stanch adherent of the Republican party and took a warm interest in its work. He entered the Union army in August, 1864, as a member of the Twenty- eighth Michigan Infantry and served until January 1, 1865. This regi- ment was mustered in October 26, 1864, and left the state that day for Louisville, Kentucky, where it arrived on the 29th and was ordered to Camp Nelson to act as a guard for a wagon train from that point to Nashville, reaching the latter place December 5. There the regiment was assigned to the 23d army corps and participated in the battle of Nash- ville in December, gaining a reputation for valor at once. Mr. Sincleir was held three days as a reserve at Nashville. Taken sick with pneu- monia during this time, he was unfit for further duty and was dis- charged. He was a son of John Sincleir and Catherine Quigley Sin- cleir, the former of whom ran away from his native Scotland at the age of eighteen and made his way to the United States, locating in New York, where he thereafter spent his life as a farmer. The mother of Catherine Quigley was one of the children that strewed flowers in front of Washington in the great celebration over his defeat of Cornwallis.
Martin A. Sincleir received a common school education and assisted with the work of the home farm until twenty-eight years of age, when he started out for himself, working in the woods for a number of winters. In the meantime, in 1881, he contracted for eighty acres of land, which he cleared from the stump and on which he placed good and substantial
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improvements in the way of buildings. This is his present homestead and forms a beautiful country home. The farm is a model as to cultivation, for under Mr. Sincleir's intelligent management the fertile acres are made to reach a high state of productivity and well reward him for his thought and care. For this accomplishment Mr. Sincleir has been wholly dependent upon the resources within himself.
In 1875 he took as his wife Miss Etta Clark, daughter of James and Emily J. (Cortright) Clark, the former of whom was born in Ohio and the latter in New York. Mr. Clark was a traveling salesman and also a farmer and he and his wife were early settlers in Calhoun county. Mr. and Mrs. Sincleir have two daughters: Lodessa, who became the wife of Ira Bair and resides in Clarence township, and Nora, now Mrs. George Boult, of Eaton county, Michigan. Mr. Sincleir is a member of Olivet Lodge No. 267 Free and Accepted Masons and holds his chapter membership at Springport. In politics he is a Republican. He has not entered into public life in an official way except for six weeks' service on the jury at Battle Creek, during which time he helped to settle some very important cases, but he is nevertheless interested in all that advances Calhoun county or makes for public progress in any way.
GEORGE H. KIEFER. One of the most popular and esteemed members of the farming community of Homer township, George H. Kiefer uses sound judgment and wise business in his calling, and is meeting with well deserved success, his finely improved property, with its substantial and convenient· buildings, giving to the passerby ample evidence of his skill and ability as a practical and progressive agriculturist. A son of John Kiefer, Jr., he was born May 19, 1849, in Homer township, coming on the paternal side of the house of German ancestry.
His grandfather, John Kiefer, Sr., emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1827, bringing his wife and children with him, and settling in Homer township, Calhoun county, Michigan. Taking up one hundred and sixty acres of timbered land from the Government, he cleared and improved the homestead on which he lived during the remainder of his life.
Born in Germany in 1817, John Kiefer, Jr., was but ten years old when he came with his parents to Calhoun county. He assisted his fa- ther in the pioneer task of redeeming a farm from the wilderness, spend- ing his youthful days in the log cabin which his father built in the forest. He learned the miller's trade when young, and for thirteen years, while in the employ of Lewis & Smith, had charge of the Calhoun County Grist Mill, being engaged in the manufacture of flour, which he hauled to Albion with teams, that being the nearest market and shipping point. Subsequently returning to the old Kiefer homestead, he was there suc- cessfully engaged in tilling the soil until his death, October 29, 1870. He married Jane Bailey, who was born in New York state in 1826, and died on the home farm, in Michigan, in 1859. He was a stanch Republican in politics, and an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church, while his wife was a Presbyterian in religion. Of the three children born of their union, George H., the subject of this sketch, is the only one living.
After leaving the district schools, George H. Kiefer entered Albion College, intending to there complete the course of study, but the death of his father after he had been there two years changed his plans, neces- sitating his return to the home farm. Mr. Kiefer has since carried on general farming with splendid results, his estate being one of the best in its improvements and appointments of any in the township. A Repub- lican in politics, he is genuinely interested in local matters, and has
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served as justice of the peace and as constable, and for three years was highway commissioner.
On February 22, 1871, Mr. Kiefer was united in marriage with Lois Bond, of Allen, Michigan, a daughter of John Bond, for many years a prosperous farmer of Hillsdale county, where he spent his last years. Mr. and Mrs. Kiefer have one daughter, Myrtle, wife of S. C. Eslow, who is engaged in the shoe business in Homer.
WILLIAM G. NONEMAN. The Noneman families have been well known in Marshall for many years, contributing materially to the necessary in- dustries of the place and holding a leading position in the Germany social activities of the city. Louis Noneman of Wittenberg, Germany, came with his wife, Louisa (Heugel) Noneman, and their family, to this country in the year 1882. For a time they stopped at Ann Arbor, Michigan; they then spent a few years on a farm in Huron county; in 1885 he located in Marshall, which has since that time continued to be the home of the family. Louis Noneman is now retired, his time being chiefly employed in the oversight of his property, which is of considerable value and extent.
One of the sons of this family is William G. Noneman, Marshall's present city marshall and a retired ice merchant. He was born in Wit- tenberg on the sixth of November, 1867. His education began in the fatherland and was continued in the public schools of Michigan. After the family's emigration to this country, agricultural interests claimed his practical attention for several years. After a time, however, he went to Grand Rapids to gain information and experience in mercantile transactions. He was there employed in a grocery store until 1894. He subsequently returned to Marshall, where he conducted a similar business with his brother Louis. In 1903 they sold out. In 1906 they bought out the Marshall Ice & Fruit Company and conducted it until 1912, when William retired from active commercial pursuits.
Mr. Noneman's family consists of. his wife and one daughter. Mrs. Noneman, formerly Miss Rose Noneman, was only distantly related to the family of which William Noneman was a son. Her father was Carl M. Noneman, one of Marshall's old residents. During the years of her union with Mr. Noneman, one daughter has been born to them, who was named Norma and who is now attending school.
The Deutschen Order of Harugari claims William Noneman as its president, an office which he has filled for two years. He is also a member of the Arbeiter Unterstuetzungs Verein. In the Independent Order of Odd Fellows he is connected with Peninsular Lodge Number 5. Politically he is a Democrat. In April of 1912 he was appointed to the position of city marshall, the duties of which he discharges with conscien- tiousness and diligence.
WILL LAUPP. The great Empire of Germany has contributed its fair quota to the upbuilding of the United States and among its representa- tives in this country are to be found prominent men in every walk of life,-from the professions to the successful farmer. Will Laupp, though a native of Michigan, is a son of German parents. He is the owner of the old homestead on which he was born and the same is located in Newton township, Calhoun county, Michigan.
February 2, 1868, in Newton township, Calhoun county, occurred the birth of Will Laupp, who is a son of Michael and Fredericka (Schulster) Laupp, both of whom were born in Germany. The father came to America as a young man in the early '50s and located in Michigan, where he worked for a number of years as a farm hand. In 1864 was
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solemnized his marriage to Fredericka Schulster, who came to America with a brother and settled in Marshall, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Laupp became the parents of five children, concerning whom the following brief data are here incorporated: Fred is engaged in farming in Lee town- ship, Calhoun county ; Lizzie is married and lives in Marshall; Will, of this review; Julia married Fred Weedle and they make their home in Battle Creek; John. After his marriage Michael Laupp purchased eighty acres of land in the northern part of Newton township and after clearing the same he erected a number of substantial buildings and began farming. He was decidedly successful as an agriculturist and was sum- moned to the life eternal in 1896. His cherished and devoted wife passed away in 1894. Religiously he and his wife were members of the Luth- eran church.
Will Laupp passed his early life on the home farm, in the work and management of which he early began to assist his father, and his educa- tional training was obtained in the neighboring district schools. At the age of twenty years he started out on his own responsibility, working by the month on various farms for the ensuing four years. For twelve years he was engaged in threshing, and was the owner of a complete equipment for that work. He has always made his home on the parental estate, and has bought out the shares of his brothers and sisters. His farm comprises eighty acres of some of the most arable land in Calhoun county and on the same he is engaged in diversified agriculture and the raising of high grade stock. He has owned other lands in various sections of the state as a speculation. In politics he maintains an independent attitude; preferring to give his support to men and measures meeting with the approval of his judgment rather than to vote along strictly partisan lines. In 1911 he was the efficient incumbent of the office of highway commissioner. For recreation Mr. Laupp and his family find automobiling suited to their tastes and have made many a pleasureable jaunt in their car. Mr. Laupp is an enthusiast on the subject of motoring and motor cars and is an expert mechanician along those lines.
In 1898 Mr. Laupp was united in marriage with Miss Frances Glau. She is a daughter of William Glau, a sketch of whose career appears elsewhere in this history. Mr. and Mrs. Laupp are the parents of one son, Lee, who was born in 1899, and who is now attending school in New- ton township.
PLATT A. MUMAW, office superintendent of the extensive monu- ment business conducted by the members of his firm and family, is well known as the son of Henry W. Mumaw, who was for thirty years engaged in that business in Marshall. The latter, Henry W. Mumaw, who was a native of Wilmot, Ohio, came to Marshall with his family in the year 1881. His was an important share in the life of this city; for not only did he build up a high-class business in marble and granite materials, but was a useful and valuable citizen in other ways. For several years he was a member of the Marshall fire department, of which he was for one year chief engineer under Mayor F. W. Dickey. He was an active Republican and was in 1906 honored by his party with the nomination for sheriff. The order of the Knights of the Modern Maccabees claimed him as. one of its members in Marshall Tent Number 105, and he was also much interested in the work of the German Benevolent Society, of which he was a member. His earthly life closed in February, 1911, at the age of fifty-five. Those of his family who survive him are Mrs. Mumaw, his wife; his three sons, Arlo, Harry and the subject of this sketch; and a daughter, Mrs. W. J. Rudland of Red Wing, Minnesota. Ten of his
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fourteen brothers and sisters are also still living and are residents of various parts of Ohio.
Platt A. Mumaw was born in Sevill, Ohio, February 10, 1880. He was educated in the public and high schools of Marshall, after which he spent four years in the Bliss Electric School of Washington, D. C. Hav- ing completed this period of study, he entered the employ of the Bell Telephone Company in Washington. Three years later, however, he joined his father in the steadily expanding granite and monument busi- ness in Marshall. Their partnership continued until the elder Mr. Mumaw's death, at which time Platt A. Mumaw and his brother Arlo succeeded to the business. This firm has since been conducting a steadily growing business in the handling of material for monuments, their marble and granite being obtained from the quarries of Vermont and Massachusetts, as well as from those of Missouri and the Red Sand Stone quarries of Missouri. These men are noted for the quality of their work as well as for superior marbles, having turned out many of the finest pieces of work to be found in Oakridge and other cemeteries. Their business extends throughout Calhoun and adjoining counties.
Mr. Mumaw's marriage took place August 23, 1910. Mrs. Mumaw, nee Pauline Hoyer. She and Mr. Mumaw are the parents of one son, named Henry. The fraternal organizations of Marshall are among Mr. Mumaw's various interests, the Albion Lodge Number 20 of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Lafayette Chapter Number 4 of the Royal Arch Masons and the Knights of Pythias all including him among their mem- bers. He also belongs to the German Benevolent Society. In public service he has done worthy service for two years as City Recorder, which office he held during the years 1904-1905.
WILLIAM R. WOODEN. Of that type of citizenship of whose produc- tion the great state of Michigan is particularly proud is William R. Wooden, secretary of the Nichols & Shepard Company of Battle Creek. He is one of the representative men of Battle Creek, where he has main- tained his residence since 1883 and no one has proved more loyal to its interests. In addition to the connection above referred to, Mr. Wooden has considerable property interests in this city. He is a leader in the camp of local Republicanism and his word is of weight in party coun- cils of the Grand Old Party, to which he has given heart and hand for many years.
Mr. Wooden was born in Lenawee county, Michigan, October 6, 1856, the son of Joseph W. and Elizabeth (Lair) Wooden. The mother sur- vives at the present time, but the father passed to his eternal rest in February, 1896, the scene of the demise of this worthy gentleman being Battle Creek. In his earlier life he engaged in farming, and subsequently embarked in the ice business in Tecumseh. There were five children in the family, two being sons and three daughters, and at the present three are living, the subject and two sisters. One, Mrs. J. J. Wakeham, resides in Battle Creek, and Bertha is unmarried and makes her home with Mr Wooden.
William R. Wooden received his preliminary general education in the public schools of Tecumseh, from whose higher department he was graduated. Desiring to drink deeper of the "Pierian spring" of knowl- edge, he matriculated in the University of Michigan and believing that he wanted to enter the ranks of the legists, he made professional prepa- ration in that famous institution, and received the degree of LL. B. in 1879. He first hung out his shingle in Tecumseh and remained at that place engaged in practice until 1883. In that year he came to Battle Creek and entered the employ of Nichols & Shepard as an office employe
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and also having charge of the collection department. His ability and loyalty were recognized and rewarded by his election to the office of sec- retary of this important concern, which position he has ever since held. He owns considerable real estate in this city.
Mr. Wooden has always taken a firm stand for whatever he considered to be for the best interests of the community and society in general and has always been the friend of good government and as much as possible endeavored to follow after the things that make for harmony. Mr. Wooden has not always been a Republican leader; in truth his first vote was given to the cause of the Democratic party, and its men and meas- ures he supported until 1896, it being his record to attend every Demo- cratic convention between the years 1880 and 1896, as a delegate. In the year last mentioned he experienced a change of heart and ever since has attended Republican state conventions, given the causes represented by the Republican party the same whole-hearted loyalty accorded its rival in other days. He was sent as a delegate from this district to the national convention in Chicago which nominated President Taft in June, 1908. In 1890 Mr. Wooden was elected alderman on the Democratic ticket and when Bryan was nominated in 1896 he was alternate delegate at large. At the present time he is a member of the charter com- mission to make a new charter for the city of Battle Creek, an eminently appropriate selection, for Mr. Wooden has ever done everything in his power to advance the best interests of his fellow citizens and by inde- fatigable devotion to public duty has commended himself to the com- munity at large.
The subject is affiliated with the Masonic order belonging to all the bodies represented in Battle Creek. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and to the Country Club and the Athelstan Club. He is past presiding officer of the Knights Templars and the Elks.
On June 9, 1880, Mr. Wooden established an independent household and congenial life companionship by his union with Minnie C. Hopkins, of Tecumseh, daughter of Charles and Clarissa (Walker) Hopkins. Mrs. Wooden was born in Binghamton, New York and received her edu- cation in the public schools of Tecumseh. Their union has been blessed with one daughter, Clara, wife of R. S. Hinsdell, of Chicago, who was born in Tecumseh and educated in Battle Creek and at St. Mary's Acad- emy at Notre Dame. Mr. and Mrs. Wooden enjoy general confidence and regard and maintain a hospitable home at 548 East Main street.
WILLIAM T. HAMILTON. Owning and occupying a valuable farm in the near vicinity of Homer, William T. Hamilton is a man of excellent business capacity, intelligence, and enterprise, and stands prominent among the active and progressive agriculturists of Calhoun county. He was born, December 6, 1863, in Hamilton, Canada, a son of Thomas Hamilton. He is of Irish ancestry, his paternal grandfather, William Hamilton, having been a life-long resident of County Donegal, Ireland.
Thomas Hamilton was born, in 1827, in Ireland, and there spent his days of boyhood and youth. At the age of eighteen years he bade good- bye to home and friends, and crossed the ocean in his search for better opportunities of increasing his finances. Settling in Canada, he took up two hundred acres of government land, and began clearing it. He sub- sequently sold at an advantage, and in 1867 came to Michigan, locating first in Lenawee county, where he remained a year. In 1868 he bought land in Litchfield, Hillsdale county, and was there engaged in tilling the soil until 1904. Retiring from active pursuits in that year, he came to Homer, and thenceforward made his home with his son William until
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his death, December 4, 1910. He married Caroline T. Barnes, who was born in London, England, and died in Homer, Michigan. They were consistent Christian people, uniting with the Congregational church when they were young, but later becoming members of the Homer Presbyterian church. They were the parents of two children, as follows: William T., the subject of this sketch; and Martha M., wife of John Kerr, of Homer.
Completing his early studies in the public schools of Litchfield, William T. Hamilton gained a practical knowiedge of agriculture while young, and assisted his father on the home farm until twenty-eight years of age. In 1890 he bought forty acres of land in Calhoun county, but disposed of it a short time later, and in 1891 bought a part of the land which he now occupies. He afterwards purchased fifty acres of adjoin- ing land, and still later purchased fifty acres lying just across the road from his original purchase, and now after having disposed of some, he still has a fine farm of one hundred acres, on which he has made im- provements of an excellent character. He is carrying on general farm- ing most successfully, being never satisfied with less than the best pos- sible results in his agricultural operations, and is paying considerable attention to stock raising, breeding Durham cattle to some extent.
On March 12, 1890, Mr. Hamilton was united in marriage with Lena Boyd, a daughter of William Boyd, who was born in Ireland, and on coming to this country located in Lenawee county, Michigan, where he spent the remainder of his life. Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton have three children, namely : Buell Boyd, born May 26, 1891; Amos G., born March 17, 1895 ; and Thelma Irene, born July 16, 1901. Mr. Hamilton invariably casts his vote in favor of the Republican party. In 1908 he was elected supervisor, and is now serving in that capacity for the fourth year.
FRANK PONTO is a young agriculturist of Clarence township, Calhoun county, who in the few years of his independent career has demonstrated that the farm gives ample business opportunity to the man of ability and discernment. He comes directly of German forbears and to what extent his ancestral inheritance is responsible for his accomplishments may not be stated, but certain it is that for his part he has well upheld the proverbial reputation of the German as a thrifty and successful agriculturist.
He was born in Clarence township, Calhoun county, Michigan, Jan- uary 15, 1884, the youngest of the six children of his parents. Gottleib and Henrietta (Schmidt) Ponto, his parents, were both born in Germany. he in 1831 and she in 1833. They emigrated to America in 1871 and located at Albion, Michigan, where they resided nine years and where the father was employed as a laboring man. In 1880 he bought eighty acres of the farm which Frank now owns and built thereon a beautiful country home, together with other substantial farm buildings, making it a homestead both attractive and valuable. He added to his original purchase until at the time of his death his holdings comprised 160 acres. Here he passed the remainder of his life and passed away in 1907. His wife is still living and continues to reside at the old home. Four sons and three daughters were the issue of their union, viz .: William, Henry and John, all of whom are farmer residents of Clarence township ; Amelia, now Mrs. Lewis Stacher, of Battle Creek, Michigan; Minnie, who became the wife of Otto Greenman and resides in Calhoun county ; Emma, the wife of Albert Behling of Albion township ; and Frank, whose name introduces this review. Gottleib Ponto was a Democrat in politics and in church affiliations was a Lutheran, in the faith of which denomina- tion he was reared from childhood.
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