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 6
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The early education of William I. Fell was secured in the public and high schools of Belleville, Michigan, and after graduating from the latter in 1879 he took a course in the Detroit Business College. Desir- ing to obtain a thorough knowledge of business practices and methods, he was for a number of years engaged in minor capacities in various business houses, his first employment being in the store of the leading clothier of Ypsilanti. the late J. F. Sanders. After five years with Mr.
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Sanders. He decided to embark upon a business career on his own ac- count, accordingly, Mr. Fell then formed a partnership with G. W. Densmore, and under the firm name of Densmore & Fell opened a clothing and furnishing goods store at Ypsilanti, this business being continued successfully for eight years. In 'the fall of 1898 Mr. Fell sold his interest to Mr. Densmore, and came to Battle Creek, and with William F. Fischer bought out the firm of Wadham, Ryan & Reule, who had a store here as well as a large one in Ann Arbor, the latter city being their headquarters and place of residence. The partnership con- cern of Fell & Fischer continued for three years, at the end of which time Mr. Fell sold his interests and engaged in the manufacturing busi- ness, becoming one of the founders of the Hygienic Food Company, and remaining as treasurer and member of the managing board during the next five years. In April, 1907, he organized the Michigan Carton which took over the Record Carton & Publishing Company, the present offi- cers of which are William H. Mason, president; J. F. Byrne, vice presi- dent, and Mr. Fell, secretary, treasurer and manager. The firm manu- factures folding paper boxes for food products, proprietary medicines and other package goods, as well as paper shipping containers, grouped cartons for window displays, cardboard signs and kindred articles, and has a trade that has been almost phenomenal in growth. On March 1, 1912, the forty-ton paper mill, which cost a quarter of a million of dollars, and in which is manufactured the card-board used by the company, was put into operation. It adjoins the plant at the back from the other street, and is connected therewith by a steel structure over the Kalamazoo river.
The value of this great plant in advancing the manufacturing in- terests of Battle Creek cannot be overestimated, and for his participa- tion in the movement that brought about its erection, if for no other reason, Mr. Fell must be recognized as one of the leading figures in the industrial world of this section. He is also a stockholder in various en- terprises. Fraternally he is connected with A. T. Metcalf Lodge, F. & A. M., and has taken the Commandery degrees, also belonging to the Shriners at Detroit, the Elks and the Athelstan Club of Battle Creek. With his family he attends St. Thomas' Episcopal church. His career shows a distinct and unqualified success. His personal character has won esteem, and the consensus of public opinion shows that he is a man of strict integrity, and as a progressive he has won a place for himself in the confidence of his business associates and the respect of his fellow- citizens.
On May 17, 1893, Mr. Fell was married to Miss Frances Gibson, daughter of the late Hon. Samuel Gibson, of Constantine, Michigan, who died there in 1911. Mrs. Fell was born and educated at Constan- tine, and also attended the Conservatory of Music at the State Normal school, at Ypsilanti, where Mr. Fell first met her. Their wedding trip included an extended visit to the World's Columbian Exposition, at Chicago. One child, Lawrence G., was born at Ypsilanti, June 14, 1897. The family residence is at No. 31 Orchard avenue.
CHARLES O. BALL, postmaster at Homer, is faithfully and satisfac- torily discharging the duties devolving upon him in that capacity, and at the same time materially assists in maintaining the reputation of his home township as being one of the finest and richest agricultural regions of Calhoun county, having a well improved farm, which he is manag- ing successfully. A native of Calhoun county, he was born, October 19, 1848, in Albion township, a son of Orrin and Sarah (Cogswell) Ball, being the youngest child in a family of four children. His parents
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were born and reared in the Empire state, and settled in Michigan while a large part of the state was in its original wildness, the Indians still claiming the dense forests as their happy hunting grounds, and wild animals of all kinds roaming at will. Sarah Cogswell's father, Solo- mon Cogswell, was a lifelong resident of New York.
Acquiring his rudimentary education in the district schools of Al- bion township, Charles O. Ball finished his studies in the public schools of Albion and Homer. Reared under the parental roof-tree, he be- came familiar with the manual labor of the farm when quite young, and on the death of his father assumed the management of the home- stead, which contains one hundred and sixty acres of land, and this farm is now in his possession, and to its improvement he still devotes his leisure time. Politically identified with the Republican party, Mr. Ball has filled many positions of prominence among the official authori- ties of town and county. He has served as justice of the peace; was for four years, from 1903 until 1907, registrar of deeds; and in 1910 was appointed postmaster of Homer, and is filling the office most effi- ciently. Fraternally Mr. Ball is a member of Humanity Lodge, No. 29, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons; of Lodge, No. 88, Knights of Pythias, of Homer; of Tent, No. 145, Knights of the Maccabees of the World; and of Lodge, No. 131, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Battle Creek.
Mr. Ball married, in 1878, Fidelia Gridley, a daughter of Abram and Jane (Babcock) Gridley, both of whom died on their homestead in Albion township. Four children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Ball, namely : Frank E., plumber in Homer; Arthur, living in Homer; Estell, a stenographer in Albion; and Floyd, living at home.
CHARLES GILCHRIST, who for the past fifteen years has been identified with the manufacturing department of the great enterprise conducted by Dr. Kellogg, is one of the well known citizens of Battle Creek. He has lived here since his boyhood, when he began in a minor capacity the service which from year to year has brought him increased responsibili- ties.
Mr. Gilchirst was born at Hornell, New York, July 10, 1880, the youngest of the seven children born to Alexander A. and Margaret (McLane) Gilchrist. Both his parents were natives of New York, were married there, and the father died in that state, while the mother now resides at Binghamton. The father, who was a painter by trade, owned a shop of his own at Hornell, and was also for a number of years superintendent of the painting department of the Erie Railroad shops at that place. He was also a soldier of the Civil war, having served a short time with an Ohio company. Four children of the family are now living, the other three being: John G., of Morristown, New Jersey ; Catherine Doremus, of Duluth, Minnesota; and Nellie, of Retsof, New York. Two of the children died in childhood, and a son was killed on the railroad. All were natives of Hornell, but during their youth and later years became widely scattered.
Charles Gilchrist spent most of his younger days on a farm and was educated at Grand Traverse, Michigan. Fifteen years ago he entered the employment of Dr. J. H. Kellogg at Battle Creek, being first in the power house of the Sanitarium plant. Since 1903 he has been connected with the plant of the Kellogg Food Company, and at the present time he is the director of the baking and shipping departments.
Outside of the varied responsibilities of his business, Mr. Gilchrist finds his greatest pleasures in his home at 105 Walter avenue. He has a fine library and is a constant reader. He is not connected with any
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of the fraternal organizations, though his father was a chapter Mason at Hornell. Mr. Gilchrist was married in Battle Creek, June 18, 1907, to Miss Mina Bell Harding, daughter of William and Eliza Harding. Her parents were natives of Devonshire, England, and came to America after the Civil war. Her father was a farmer at Maple Grove, Barry county, where his death occurred in the spring of 1911, and where his widow still lives. Mrs. Gilchrist was born at Maple Grove, but received her education in Battle Creek. Mr. and Mrs. Gilchrist have a happy home life, and are esteemed members of a large circle of friends.
HENRY HALLADAY. A resident of Battle Creek and vicinity dur- ing a period covering something more than seventy years, and for thirty years of this time living in the same locality, Cass and Kalamazoo streets, Henry Halladay is well known to the people of this city as a man, who as an extensive contractor and builder, assisted in forwarding the growth and development of the city. At the present time Mr. Hal- laday is living practically retired, although his active, energetic nature will not allow of complete resignation from business affairs and his alert mind is kept occupied in looking after his farm in Bedford town- ship and his various real estate holdings in Battle Creek. Mr. Halla- day was born four miles north of Grass Lake, in Jackson county, Michi- gan, October 23, 1840, and is a son of Austin D. and Johanna (Scid- more) Halladay.
Calvin Halladay, grandfather of Henry, came from the East, being a native of the Empire State, and located in Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1838. Subsequently, however, he acquired property in Bedford town- ship, Calhoun county, and this locality is now known as the Halladay neighborhood, and the cemetery, in which grandfather Halladay and his wife were both buried, is known as Halladay Cemetery. The grand- father became a prominent and successful citizen and gave to each of his children eighty acres of well-improved and valuable land.
Austin D. Halladay was born near Seneca Lake, New York, February 21, 1812, and died in Battle Creek, Michigan, June 10, 1899. His wife was also born in the same neighborhood in New York, October 19, 1811, and passed away in Battle Creek, December 11, 1893. They came from Geneva, New York, in 1836, to Jackson county, Michigan, and in 1842 to his farm in Bedford township, Calhoun county, and settled on the farm, where they carried on farming, reared their children, and rounded out long and useful lives. The eighty-acre farm which was the original homestead of Austin D. Halladay is now in the possession of his son Henry. He and his worthy wife are buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Bat- tle Creek. They were the parents of six children, four sons and two daughters, as follows: Reuben S., who died April 26, 1907, in Battle Creek ; Catherine E. and Henry, residing in this city; Austin C., who died November 17, 1890; Abram, who married Mrs. Ella Andrus Helton. of Battle Creek, and has two children, Mabel now the wife of Maurice Willison, and Clarence M. of Battle Creek; and Mary Etta, who mar- ried Samuel D. Ball has one son, James of Battle Creek. Reuben S. was a veteran of the Civil war, during which he participated in the famous March to the Sea.
Henry Halladay received his education in the district schools of Hal- laday neighborhood, in Bedford township, which he attended during the winter months, his summers being spent in the work of the farm. As a young man, however, he decided to follow a business career in preference to the vocation of an agriculturist, and this determination he has followed out, having been a contractor and builder during nearly all of his life. In 1872 he formed a partnership with M. M. Lewis,
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under the firm name of Halladay & Lewis, and this association continued twenty-two years, but in the spring of 1894 disposed of his interests to . Mr. Lewis and since that time had carried on operations alone up to the year 1905, when he disposed of his holdings to Gillis & Snyder. Since that time he has devoted the greater part of his attention to look- ing after his farm in Bedford township, located two miles from the city line, and also owns seven houses in Battle Creek, in addition to his own residence, at No. 147 Kalamazoo street, which he erected some twenty years ago. He has lived on the corner of Kalamazoo and Cass streets for over thirty years, and is widely and favorably known throughout the city. He is a stockholder in the M. Rumely Company. In politics a Republican in national affairs, he uses his own judgment in local affairs, selecting his favorite candidate rather on account of his abilities than on account of party allegiance. During the administration of J. L. Whit- comb as mayor of Battle Creek, Mr. Halladay acted as alderman of the Third Ward for two years. His religious affiliation is with the Meth- odist Episcopal church.
On May 20, 1861, Mr. Halladay was united in marriage with Miss Sarah A. West, of Bedford township, and she died at Battle Creek, November 21, 1880, having been the mother of three children, namely : William H., who is deceased; Emma C., who married E. A. Kipp, has two children, John H. and Evalyn May, and resides on a part of the old farm in Bedford township; and Mrs. Clara May McCarthy, of this city. Mrs. McCarthy has three children : Carl, Agnes and Marion. All were born and educated in Battle Creek. On November 26, 1885, Mr. Hal- laday was married (second) to Miss Eva A. Belding, of Battle Creek, and they have one son: Walter Earl, now bookkeeper for M. Maas & Son of this city. He was born and educated in Battle Creek, attending the Michigan Normal and Business College, and is married and resides in this city.
Members of this old and honored family have distinguished them- selves in various lines of endeavor, but none have left for their descend- ants a finer record than has Mr. Halladay,-a record without stain or blemish, and one which reflects credit upon his work and himself.
CAPT. ALMON E. PRESTON. A man who during more than sixty-six years of residence in Battle Creek has made his influence felt in pro- moting various movements for the betterment of municipal conditions, as well as being an important factor in business, political and social life, is Capt. Almon E. Preston, of No. 116 West street, who during the past ten years has lived retired. He was born in Orleans county, New York, July 15, 1832, the fifth in order of birth of the seven children of Ephraim and Lucy (Rogers) Preston.
Ephraim Preston was born April 11, 1797, in Chautauqua county, New York, a Quaker, of Quaker parentage. He was a millwright by trade, at which vocation he worked for many years, and in 1844 left the East and came to Michigan, settling first at Grass Lake, Jackson county. Two years later he came to the Quaker settlement at Battle Creek; in this city he did a great deal of work in putting in new water wheels and similar labor, and here died July 25, 1877. His wife was born December 18, 1801, either in Eastern New York or Connecticut, her parents being natives of the latter state, where the men in the family followed seafaring occupations. Her death occurred at Battle Creek, August 22, 1869, and both she and her husband were buried in Oak Hill Cemetery. They had a family of four daughters and three sons, and all are now deceased except Almon E. and a brother, the latter of
I. E. arnold DO.
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whom is now eighty-four years of age and a resident of the Quaker town of Whittier, near Los Angeles, California.
Almon E. Preston received what educational advantages were ob- tainable in the little schools of Battle Creek when he was a lad, and as a youth worked as a carpenter and millwright with his father. In the fall of 1861 he enlisted for service in the Civil war in what was known as the Howland Engineers, a company raised here for signal purposes, but this organization was subsequently mustered out of the service, by order of Gen. Scofield, having been adjudged illegal. Later, in the fall of 1862, Mr. Preston raised Company L, Merrill's Horse, of which he served bravely and faithfully as captain until August, 1864, when, on account of disability, he received his honorable discharge at Little Rock, Arkansas. On his return to Battle Creek, Mr. Preston built a factory on South Jefferson street, for the manufacture of extension tables, and during the four years that followed employed many men, but subsequently sold his interests. In the meantime, with Capt. Rowell and a Mr. Brown, Capt. Preston was engaged in a furniture business on South Jefferson street, under the firm style of Preston & Rowell, with which he was identified four years. He then entered the employ of the Battle Creek Machinery Company, with which he remained for many years, and while in this company's service was elected supervisor of Battle Creek, his duties including the making of the city assessment, a task which he accomplished alone, although the same work now requires the labor of many persons. About 1870 Capt. Preston was sent to the State Legislature. While a member of the board of supervisors the new Court House was erected under his supervision, and while in the city council he introduced the resolution to bond the city for $50,000, for the building of the water works which are still owned by the city, he being a member of the committee on water supply and alderman of the Third Ward. He has also been a member of the board of educa- tion and in various ways has assisted in advancing the city's growth and development. In political matters he is independent, preferring to rely upon his own judgment in choosing the candidate best fitted for the office, and recognizing no party ties. During the last ten years he has lived retired, but since that time has invented a table slide, and numer- ous other inventions in wood working appliances and similar articles. During the past thirty-five years he has lived in the same residence at No. 116 West street. For some years he was identified with fraternal work, but advancing years have caused his retirement from various so- cieties, and his only connection outside of his home is with the Inde- pendent Congregational church.
On April 8, 1855, Mr. Preston was married to Miss Abigail Emeline Freeman, of Victor, Ontario county, New York, born October 1, 1834, at that place, and married in Battle Creek. She died here April 10, 1905, having been the mother of eight children, as follows: Mrs. Ade- line Charlotte Fisher, of Ontario county, New York, who died in March, 1897 ; Frank H., of Butte, Montana ; May Preston, who is connected with the city treasurer's office in Battle Creek; Grace L., residing at Mis- soula, Montana ; Mrs. E. W. A. Rowles, of Chicago, Illinois; Mrs. Her- bert McCowen, also of Chicago, and two sons who died in infancy. All of these children who grew to maturity were educated in Battle Creek and graduated from the high school here.
DR. GEORGE E. ARNOLD is one of the best established representa- tives of his profession in this community, where he has been located since his graduation in 1903. He is recognized as one of the advanc- ing and ablest exponents of osteopathy known in these parts, and he has
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already built up a large and lucrative practice among the representa- tive citizens of Albion. A native of Minnesota, Dr. Arnold was born in the vicinity of Rochester, July 26, 1868, the son of James and Mary Ann (Wheeling) Arnold, both natives of England and early settlers of Minnesota. The father was a farmer, to which calling he devoted the best years of his life, and he died in Minnesota, well advanced in years.
Dr. Arnold received his education in the public and high school, supplementing that early training by a course of study in the Wasioja, a Wesleyan Methodist Seminary, after which he went to Minneapolis and pursued a commercial course in Caton's College of business training, from which he was graduated. He then entered the Still College of Osteopathy at Des Moines, Iowa, from which he was grad- uated in 1903, and immediately thereafter he came to Albion, where he opened an office and began his practice. His office is located in the post office block, where he has six rooms, thoroughly fitted and equipped with every modern appliance known for the successful prac- tice of his profession.
In addition to his studies as outlined above, Dr. Arnold was later graduated from the College of Electric Therepeutics at Lima, Ohio, and also from the Eugene Christian College of Applied Food Chemis- try in New York City. He is a member of the American Osteopathic Association, also the State Association and is making rapid and worthy progress in the knowledge and practice of his profession.
Dr. Arnold is known as one of the valuable citizens of Albion, and as a man who is ambitious for the good of the community, being held in the high esteem of his many friends in and about Albion.
LUTELLUS L. SWANK. A long and successful career passed in fol- lowing mercantile pursuits and in contributing materially to the welfare of whatever locality he has resided in, entitles Lutellus L. Swank to a position of prominence among his fellow men in Battle Creek, where he is known as a business man of integrity, ability and sound judgment. At the present time he is the proprietor of a flourishing grocery busi- ness at No. 43 Aldrich street, and his letterhead bears the sub-title "The North Side Grocer." Mr. Swank was born in New Haven, Penn- sylvania, January 1, 1854, and is a son of Jacob and Sarah A. (Roody) Swank, the former born in Pennsylvania and the latter in New Jersey. They were married in Connelsville, Pennsylvania. The father was reared to the woolen manufacturing business, and continued to be engaged therein until late in life, when he opened a grocery at Belleville, Ohio, about five years prior to his death, which occurred about 1885, his wife surviving him about four years, and both were buried at Belle- ville. There were six children in the family. One child died in in- fancy; one youth died at the age of seventeen years; Mrs. Mary Sar- gent died in Belleville, Ohio, Mrs. Carrie Parsons is the wife of S. W. Parsons, of Greenville, Clarion county, Pennsylvania; John H., resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Lutellus L. is the youngest.
Lutellus L. Swank was educated in Pennsylvania, and resided there and was engaged in the wool manufacturing business until he was seventeen years of age, at which time he went to Elmira, New York, and there secured a position as clerk in the Rathburn House. After two years he went to Belleville, whence his father had removed in the mean- time, and entered the grocery business in partnership with his father. Subsequently he went to Delaware, Ohio, where he worked in a woolen mill for a time, and later became a bookkeeper in a grist mill, where he worked for thirteen years. He then spent three years in the grocery
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business at Delaware, and after three years, in 1898, came to Battle Creek and embarked in the grocery business at No. 231 West Main street, with L. D. Hobbs, under the firm style of Swank & Hobbs, but after seven years sold out to his partner, who was his son-in-law, and for nine months lived quietly, being retired from business activities. He was of too energetic a nature, however, to remain long away from the fascination of business life, and accordingly he embarked in business at the corner of Lincoln and Aldrich streets, which he conducted for five and one half years. In 1910 he erected his present cement, white-front block at No. 43 Aldrich street, where he has continued to carry on a fine business to the present time. His residence is at No. 55 North Ken- dall street. In political matters Mr. Swank is a Republican, but, al- though he has been prevailed upon to make the race for the office of alderman in his ward, has never sought public preferment, the activi- ties connected with his business being of such a nature as to satisfy his ambitions. He belongs to Columbia Lodge No. 272 I. O. O. F., in which he has passed all the chairs and is past grand, and was for two years on the building committee which built the Odd Fellows State Home, at Jackson, Michigan. He has also been delegate to the Grand Lodge and the Grand Encampment on several occasions. Mr. Swank manifests an active interest in fraternal work, but his main interest is centered in his home. His wife is a well-known member and was an active worker in the Seventh Day Adventist Church, until twelve years ago when she lost her hearing.
On March 28, 1876, Mr. Swank was married to Miss Lillie J. Null, of Belleville, Ohio, daughter of John and Nancy A. (Toms) Null, Mrs. Swank and her parents being natives of Ohio and educated there. Two children were born to this union: Mrs. L. D. Hobbs, born in Belle- ville, Ohio, and educated at Delaware, who married L. D. Hobbs, a sketch of whose life appears on another page of this work; and Arthur L., born at Delaware, where he attended the public schools, subse- quently taking a course in the Michigan Business and Normal College of Battle Creek, and now a resident of Detroit. The high esteem in which he is held by his fellow lodge members is testified to by a beautiful watch charm which was presented him, and he also has numerous friends in business life. It is a curious fact that Mr. Swank's birthday occurs on New Years Day, while that of his wife falls on Christmas.
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