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 7
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110
ALMON O. JONES. It has been said that the beginning of civilization is the discovery of some useful arts, by which men acquire property, comforts or luxuries. The necessity or desire of preserving them leads to laws and social institutions. In reality, the origin, as well as the progress and improvement of civil society, is founded on mechanical and chemical inventions, and in reviewing the circumstances of the life of Almon O. Jones, it will be found that while acquiring business promi- nence and financial success, he has also contributed to the comfort and convenience of mankind. Almon O. Jones was born in the Province of Ontario, April 26, 1867, and is a son of Lorenzo and Hannah (Irvin) Jones, the former a native of Sunderland, Ontario, and the latter of Erie county, New York. Lorenzo Jones was born in 1830, and spent his life in agricultural pursuits, passing away at Sunderland, where he was buried, and where his widow still resides. They had a family of two daughters and four sons, of whom Almon O. was the youngest, and all of whom survive, although the subject of this sketch is the only resi- dent of the United States.
Almon O. Jones secured his education in the common schools of Sunderland, Canada, and his first employment was in a heating business
650
HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
in Toronto. About three years later he went to Buffalo, New York, where he remained a like period, removal then being made to Chicago, Illinois, where he made his home for eleven years, but at the same time traveled out of Milwaukee for five years in the employ of R. J. Schwab & Sons Company. For six years he traveled in the interests of the Boynton Furnace Company of Chicago, and then went to Toledo, Ohio, where he remained a year and bought an interest in the Toledo Furnace Company. It was while in Toledo that Mr. Jones conceived the idea and invented and patented what is known as the Jones Side Wall Warm Air Register, and in 1901 came to Battle Creek. Here he in- terested capital in his invention, and in February, 1902, the United States Register Company, Ltd., was formed and the manufacture of the product was begun in a small rented place on State street. The en- terprise met with almost instant success and by 1904 it was necessary to secure other quarters to meet the rapidly increasing demand, the pres- ent building, to which there have been made several additions, being oc- cupied at this time. The Jones Side Wall Register, which according to its manufacturers has done more to elevate the warm air heating busi- ness than any one improvement in the last decade, is sold to dealers and jobbers only, and in the United States alone the company has more than 8,000 customers, covering the country from Maine to California. Branch factories are located in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Kansas City, Missouri; Des Moines, Iowa; Toronto, Canada (the Jones Register Company ) ; and Albany, New York, and the goods are manufactured in all these cities except Des Moines. The officers of the company are L. F. Moblo, chairman ; James P. Hamilton, vice-chairman; Almon O. Jones, secretary-manager ; J. G. Redner, treasurer; and Charles J. Pear- son, director.
Mr. Jones has not confined his energies to this company, but has been connected with various other enterprises of an extensive nature. He is a director and a stock-holder in the Merchants Savings Bank of Battle Creek. Politically a Republican, he is at present a member of the board of public works, and has also shown a decided interest in fraternal matters, being a master Mason of Lodge No. 12, Battle Creek, a member of Moslem Temple, Shriners of Detroit, and a thirty-second degree Mason; past chancellor of Athol Lodge No. 278, Knights of Pythias, Chicago, and a member of the Grand Lodge of Michigan. He also holds membership in the Athelstan and Country Clubs of Battle Creek, with the members of which he is decidedly popular. He and Mrs. Jones attend the Congregational Church, and have been liberal in their support of its movements.
On June, 4, 1886, Mr. Jones was married to Miss Alice Wilson, of Napanee, Canada, who died in 1892, in Buffalo, New York, having been the mother of one child, Florence May, who resides with her father and was educated at the convent at Guelph, Ontario. On August 20, 1895, Mr. Jones married Christine MacBeth, of Battle Creek, who died Oc- tober 20, 1907. Mr. Jones' third marriage took place May 12, 1909, when he was united with Genevieve Sheldon, who was born and edu- cated in Battle Creek. The pleasant family residence is situated at No. 129 Maple street.
Mr. Jones is a man of strong mentality and marked independence in thought and action, progressive and public-spirited in attitude, and ever ready to lend his aid and influence in behalf of all worthy causes and projects which tend to progress and advancement. The family occupy a prominent place in the social life of Battle Creek, and the spacious and attractive home is a center of gracious and unreserved hos- pitality.
-
651
HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
EDWARD AUSTIN. An essentially representative citizen and business man of the county which has been his home from his childhood days, Edward Austin is a scion of a family whose name has been worthily linked with the history of this county for nearly half a century, and the prestage of the name he has most admirably upheld through his ac- tivities along industrial lines and through his prominence and influence in public affairs. He has long been a prominent factor in the councils of the Democratic party in Michigan and besides serving in various minor offices he was incumbent of the position of county clerk of Cal- houn county for three successive terms. He has contributed substan- tially to the civic and industrial advancement of his home county and his sterling character has given him secure vantage ground in popular confidence and esteem. He is essentially a man of affairs and his stand- ing in the community is such as eminently to entitle him to special recognition in this history of the county which has been his home during virtually his entire life.
Edward Austin was born in the village of Canadice, Ontario county, New York, on the 8th of April, 1861, and is a son of Alanson W. and Mary A. (Stevens) Austin, the former a native of Orange county, New York, and the latter of Ontario county, that state, within the borders of which commonwealth the respective families were founded in the pion- eer days. The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Mary A. (Stevens) Austin was a valiant soldier in the Continental line in the war of the Revolu- tion, and her father served as a soldier in the war of 1812. Alanson W. Austin was reared and educated in his native state and was a man of superior intellectuality and business ability. In his earlier manhood he followed the profession of civil engineering in the state of New York and there also he was engaged in teaching in the public schools dur- ing a period of sixteen years. He served as a member of the New York legislature, was county commissioner of schools in Ontario county, New York, and also served as county treasurer, besides having held minor offices of public trust. In 1865 he came with his family to Calhoun county, Michigan, where he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in Battle Creek township, the same now constituting the site of Merrill Park, one of the attractive suburbs of Battle Creek. Mr. Austin not only became one of the representative exponents of the agricultural industry in the county, but as a man of fine ability and impregnable integrity he wielded much influence in public affairs of a local order, the while he ever measured up most fully to the metewand of popular approbation. He was a staunch and effective advocate of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands organically sponsor and was an influential figure in its ranks in his home county. He was a most zealous member of the Presbyterian church, of which his widow also has long been a devout adherent, and he continued to reside on his old homestead place for more than a quarter of a century, until the time of his death, which there occurred in January, 1891. He was a man of exalted character and most generous impulses, kindly and helpful in his association with others, and his name will long be revered in the county which was his home for so many years.' His wife who is eighty-five years of age at the time of this writing, in 1912, still resides in the old home, which is endeared to her by the hallowed memories of the past, and she is one of the most venerable pioneer women of the county,-one held in affectionate regard by all who have come within the sphere of her gentle influence. Alanson W. and Mary. A. Austin became the parents of three sons,-Jesse S., who resides in Battle Creek, where he is engaged in farming; Marcus H., who died in Battle Creek
652
HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
township, at the age of fifty-one years; and Edward, who is the youngest of the number and is the immediate subject of this review.
Edward Austin was about four years of age at the time of the family removal to Michigan and he was reared to maturity on the old home farm in Battle Creek township. After duly availing himself of the ad- vantages of the public schools, including the Battle Creek high school, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1879, he was matriculated in the University of Michigan, in which famous institution but owing to illness was prevented from graduating with the class of 1883.
From his youth to the present time Mr. Austin has been actively identified with industrial interests in Calhoun county, and he is now the owner of one of the finest dairy farms in this section of the state, the same comprising 170 acres and being situated in Battle Creek town- ship. This figures as the oldest dairy farm in the county, as it has been maintained as such, and principally under his personal supervi- sion, since 1881. The most modern facilities are utilized on the farm and the sanitary provisions are of the best. From the place milk and cream are supplied for the Pullman dining car service on the Grand Trunk Railway. In addition to his fine farm Mr. Austin is the owner of valuable realty in the city of Battle Creek, including his attractive modern residence, which he erected in 1894 and which is located at 38 College avenue. He removed from his farm to the city in the year last mentioned, in order to afford his children the advantages of the local high school.
Mr. Austin has identified himself with other lines of progressive enterprise in his home county and has ever given his co-operation in the furtherance of measures projected for the general good of the com- munity. He is manager of the Roman Cut Stone & Brick Company, one of the important industrial concerns of Battle Creek and one in which he is a large stockholder. Among other enterprises in which he is an interested principal is the Battle Creek Electric Light & Power Company.
In politics Mr. Austin has ever accorded unqualified allegiance to the Democratic party and for many years he has been a power in con- nection with party affairs in Michigan. He is now a member of the Democratic state central committee and has retained this position since 1904, being now one of the oldest members of that body in point of con- secutive service. He has been a most zealous and effective worker in behalf of the principles and policies of his party and has been called upon to serve in various offices of public trust. He was virtually run the gamut of all official preferments in Battle Creek township, as he has served in every township office save that of supervisor, for which last he refused to become a candidate. In 1896 he was elected county clerk and he continued incumbent of this important office for three consecu- tive terms,-from 1897 to 1903,-during which he gave a most careful and acceptable administration. He has been a delegate to the state con- ventions of the Democratic party in Michigan and has twice served as delegate to its national conventions.
Mr. Austin and his family hold membership in the Presbyterian church, and he is affiliated with a number of the representative fraternal bodies in Battle Creek, including the following named Masonic organ- izations : Battle Creek Lodge, No. 12, Free & Accepted Masons; Battle Creek Chapter, No. 19, Royal Arch Masons; Council, No .- ,Royal & Select Masters; and Marshall Commandery, No. 17, Knights Templars. He is also identified with the Knights of the Modern Maccabees and the Modern Woodmen of America. He was a charter member of the
*
653
HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
Country Club, but is not actively identified with the same at the pres- ent time.
On the 4th of January, 1883, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Austin to Miss Elnora C. Fuller, who was born in Orange county, New York, and who was a child at the time of the family removal to Battle Creek, where she was reared and educated and where she was graduated in the high school as a member of the class of 1880. She is a daughter of the late William E. and Lavina ( Miller) Fuller, who were numbered among the old and honored citizens of Battle Creek at the time of their death, the father having here been engaged in farming for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Austin have three children,-Ethel L., E. Clarke, and H. Marjorie. The elder daughter was graduated in the Battle Creek high school in 1904 and in Wells College, at Aurora, New York, as a member of the class of 1908. She was a successful and popular teacher in the public schools of Battle Creek until the time of her marriage, on the 20th of December, 1911, to Solon Wilhelm Webb, who was graduated in the department of mechanical engineering in the University of Michigan and who now holds a responsible position in the engineering department of the Advance Thresher Company, of Battle Creek. E. Clarke Austin was graduated in the Battle Creek high school in 1907, later com- pleted a course in mining and engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, at Golden, Colorado. He now holds a position in the employ of the Durant-Doet Company, extensive carriage manufacturers in the city of Flint, Michigan. Miss H. Marjorie Austin was graduated in the local high school as a member of the class of 1910 and is now a member of the class of 1914 in Wells College, her sister's alma mater.
ARCHIBLE E. MACGREGOR, M. D. Dr. MacGregor in his professional service has been prompted by a laudable ambition for advancement as well as by deep sympathy and humanitarian principles that urge him to put forth his best efforts in the alleviation of pain and suffering. He has gained recognition from the profession as one of its able represen- tatives and the trust reposed in him by the public is indicated by the liberal patronage awarded him. He has been a resident of Battle Creek, Michigan, since September, 1903, and at present he is recognized as one of the most capable physicians in Calhoun county.
A native son of the Wolverine state, Dr. MacGregor was born in Saginaw, Michigan, on the 17th of February, 1877. He is a son of Wil- liam P. MacGregor, who was born in Dumphries, Scotland, where he was reared to the age of nineteen years when he came to America alone. He was a lineal descendant of Rob Roy MacGregor. At the time of the inception of the Civil war he enlisted for service in the Union ranks at Saginaw, Michigan, becoming a member of Company E, Michigan Volun- teer Infantry. He was a gallant soldier for a period of four years. As a business man he devoted his attention to lumbering operations and to farming. He was the owner of a fine estate of two hundred and forty acres in Tamouth township, Saginaw county, which he farmed until 1897, in which year he removed to Saginaw, residing in that city until his demise, in 1906. He was an unusually shrewd business man and gained a competency prior to his death. He married Isabelle Miller, who was born and reared in the state of New York and who is a daugh- ter of Alexander Miller. The Miller family located in the vicinity of Flushing, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. MacGregor were married in the year 1866 and had been together for forty years when Mr. MacGregor was called to rest. Mrs. MacGregor survives her honored husband husband and still resides in Saginaw, where she is deeply beloved and esteemed by all with whom she has come in contact. Of the five children born to Mr. and Mrs. MacGregor, all are living, in 1912.
654
HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
Dr. MacGregor was reared and educated in Saginaw county and he completed a high school course at Clio, after which he was engaged in teaching school for a period of four years. He then, in 1897, entered the Detroit Medical College, in which excellent institution he was grad- uated May 9, 1901. For one year thereafter he was house surgeon in the Detroit Sanitarium and September 1st, 1903, he came to Battle Creek, where he has since maintained his home and where he now con- trols an extensive and very lucrative patronage. He is local surgeon for the Grand Trunk Railway and is a member of and secretary of the Staff of Physicians at the Nichols Memorial Hospital at Battle Creek. In connection with the work of his profession he is a valued and appreciative member of the Calhoun County Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association.
In politics Dr. MacGregor is a staunch advocate of the principles promulgated by the Republican party and fraternally he is affiliated with Lodge No. 279, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; the Benevo- lent & Protective Order of Elks; Battle Creek Lodge, No. 12, Free and Accepted Masons; and Battle Creek Commandery, No. 33, Knights Tem- plars. He is also connected with the Athelstan Club of Battle Creek.
FREDERICK J. HEYSER. The career of Frederick J. Heyser is a noble illustration of what independence, self-faith and persistency can accom- plish in America. He is a self-made man in the most significant sense of the word for no one helped him in a financial way and he is self- educated. As a young man he was strong, vigorous and self-reliant. He trusted in his own ability and did things single-handed and alone. To-day he stands supreme as a successful business man and a loyal and public-spirited citizen. Most of his attention has been devoted to work along mechanical lines but since 1906 he has been connected with the Gartner Baking Company at Battle Creek, of which concern he is sec- retary and treasurer.
Frederick J. Heyser was born at Marshall, Michigan, September 25, 1868, and he is a son of Phillip and Agnes (Schmidt) Heyser, both of whom were born in Germany, the former at Schifferstadt and the lat- ter at Rosenberg. The parents came to America alone, while young, and they met and married at Detroit, Michigan. Phillip Heyser was an engineer on the Michigan Central Railroad in the antebellum days when the old strap rails and wood-burner engines were in use. During the war he was engineer on the Illinois Central lines and after the close of hostilities he again entered the service of the Michigan Central road. The family home was maintained at Marshall, Michigan, where the subject of this review was born. Phillip Heyser lost one of his eyes while on the road and after that accident he became a machinist in the locomotive department of the Michigan Central, removing from Marshall to Jackson when the Michigan Central Locomotive shops were removed to the latter place. Mr. Heyser died in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he went for an operation, and his demise occurred December 25, 1897. His cherished and devoted wife died January 30, 1899. Con- cerning the three children born to Mr. and Mrs. Heyser, John is a resident of Battle Creek and is mentioned elsewhere in this work; Eliza- beth is the wife of John A. Weickgenart, of this city ; and Frederick J. is the immediate subject of this review.
In the public schools of Jackson Frederick J. Heyser received his educational training. As a boy he learned the machinist's trade in the Michigan Central Locomotive shops at Jackson and he followed the work of that trade up to 1906. He came to Battle Creek for the first time when he was seventeen years of age and for a time worked in the shops
655
HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
of the Union Manufacturing Company (now the Union Steam Pump Company ). He returned to Jackson after a short sojourn in this city and completed his apprenticeship in the Michigan Central Locomotive car shops. In February, 1891, he went to Livingston, Montana, and there worked for the Northern Pacific Railroad Company until the fall of that year, when he returned to Battle Creek and commenced to work for the Advance Thresher Company, in the tool room. He was with the latter concern and with other companies during the ensuing three years. April 6, 1906, he became connected with the Gartner Baking Company, of which prominent concern he is now secretary and treas- urer. This company was incorporated January 1, 1911, and Carl F. Gartner is president. The Gartner Baking Company, in addition to a fine line of cakes, cookies and pies, makes a specialty of Jersey Cream bread, which is in great demand. They also bake the widely renowned Buster Brown bread and the Holsum bread, turning out about forty- five thusand loaves of bread per week. Shipments are made to all points within a near radius of Battle Creek and some bread is sent even as far as Goshen and Middleburg, Indiana.
Mr. Heyser is also financially interested in the Jackson Baking Com- pany, of Jackson, Michigan, being a director of that concern. He is affi- liated with Battle Creek Lodge, No. 12, Free and Accepted Masons ;
Chapter, No. 19, Royal Arch Masons; and Battle Creek Commandery, No. 33, Knights Templars. He is likewise a valued member of the Elks, the Eagles and the Moose and is connected with the German Workmen's Benevolent Association, all of Battle Creek, and also with the U. C. T. and the I. C. A.
May 24, 1893, Mr. Heyser married Miss Ida Kummer, a daughter of John and Anna (Brummer) Kummer, the former of whom is deceased and the latter of whom resides in Jackson, Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Heyser have four children,-Clarence F., Warren R., Mildred H. and Edith V., all of whom were born in Battle Creek.
ROLLIN D. ACKLEY. Distinguished as a business man of eminent qualification, a public-spirited citizen and representative of an honored pioneer family, the name of Rollin D. Ackley has for a number of years been closely interwoven with the history and development of Battle Creek. Mr. Ackley is superintendent of Battle Creek's great concern, the American Steam Pump Company and his ability and sound judg- ment have contributed in no indefinite fashion to the remarkable growth of the industry. It is, in truth, due to to his fine methods that its busi- ness has increased to its present great and ever-growing proportions.
Mr. Ackley was born in Convis township, Calhoun county, Michigan, August 23, 1870, the son of Charles H. and Mary Elizabeth Corwin (Morse) Ackley. The father was born in Shenango county, New York, August 25, 1836, the son of Anson Ackley and Olive (Holliday) Ackley, both natives of the Empire state. They were among Michigan's early pioneers, coming across country in 1838 and settling in Monroe county, where they resided for a short time before coming on to Calhoun county. Arrived within the boundaries of the county, Anson Ackley located in Convis township in 1839 and on this homestead farm he and his wife lived until their term of life was ended. They were good citizens in the highest sense of the term and stood for all that was best in the many- sided life of the community. Ackley Lake in Convis township was named after Anson Ackley, this body of water joining his farm on the north. Under his roof-tree were reared to maturity seven fine children, three being boys and four girls. Today, the father of the immediate subject, and his sister, Mrs. Sarah M. Fitzgerald of Battle Creek are the only survivors of the number. Vol. II-4
656
HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
Charles H. Ackley was educated in the district schools of Convis township, this county and also was a student at Olivet before it became a college, at that period in its history when it was known as Olivet Institute. Before he had finished its curriculum, however, it had become Olivet College. After finishing his education, Charles H. and his father, Anson Ackley, purchased a mill property in Barry county, Michigan, and this they conducted for a number of years in association. Charles H. later purchased a farm, a part of which was the old homestead in Convis township and he owned at one time one hundred and eighty- eight acres, but later made a deal with his brother and this left him with only one hundred and thirty-three which he subsequently sold. Mr. Ackley was a most successful farmer and farmed on wholly scientific lines, knowing just what the soil needed to produce big crops, and on only fair farm land raising fifty bushels of wheat to the acre and one hundred and forty bushels of ear corn on a similar amount of land. In- stinctively he knew all the secrets of rotation of crops and fertilization. He resided on his country property from 1866 to 1885 and in the latter year removed to Bellevue, Michigan, where for a short time he engaged in the agricultural implement business and was subsequently on the road for five years for different firms in the implement line. In 1890 he came to Battle Creek to live and at the present time resides just outside the city limits on West Main street, where he owns some valu- able real estate and does some interesting gardening, rather in the ama- teur spirit than otherwise. This estimable gentleman is a veteran of the Civil war, having served as private in Company M, of the Second Michi- gan Cavalry, which was organized from volunteers from this county under Captain Dickie, of Marshall, Michigan. He enlisted September 20, 1861, and served under his country's flag for three years and two months, being mustered out on October 20, 1864. He belongs to Farra- gut Post, No. 32, Grand Army of the Republic and takes great pleasure in renewing the comradeship of other days. In politics he is a Republi- can and when a resident of Convis township was for eight years high- way commissioner. He belongs to the First Baptist church of this city in which he and the various members of his family are active workers. He took as his wife Miss Mary Elizabeth Corwin Morse, the date of their union being December 18, 1867, and its scene Walled Lake, Oakland county, Michigan. Her father was Samuel K. Morse, who was a third cousin of the celebrated Morse who invented the telegraph. The spirit of invention evidently ran in the blood, for her father, S. K. Morse, invented the modern hay loader which is used today, the devise being hitched to the back of the wagon and raking up and loading at the same time-a remarkable improvement over the old method. He died soon after inventing this and never received the credit which was due him. Mrs. Charles H. Ackley was born in Pontiac township, Oakland county, Michigan, and was educated there and in the Northville schools, and when a young woman she attended the State Normal school at Ypsilanti, Michigan. Her mother was Sarepta (Reed) Morse. There were eleven children in the family of which the subject is a member, six being boys and five girls. The eldest of these is Mrs. George A. Case, of Battle Creek, a half-sister of the others, as she is a child of Charles H. Ackley's first marriage. S. A. Ackley is general secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association of the state of Virginia, with headquarters at Richmond, that state. He is a native of this state and is a graduate of the Bellevue high school of Eaton county, Michigan. Rollin D., im- mediate subject, is the next in order of birth. Edith M., is a member of the parental household. Gertrude E. is the wife of P. R. Finlay, of Chicago, Illinois. Charles E., of Jackson, Michigan, is a graduate of the
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.