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 73
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Mr. Lamphier is a Republican, and has served his community as township treasurer. He is now justice of the peace being elected to the latter office on a mixed ticket of Democrat and Republican.
Mr. Lamphier is not only a successful and intelligent farmer, but he is a man well versed in the topics of the day, and a good and reputable citizen with the confidence and respect of all who know him.
ABRAM L. WOOD. Conspicuous among the foremost agriculturists and successful business men of Calhoun county is Abram L. Wood, of Athens township, an extensive landholder and stock grower, and a member of the firm of Wood Brothers & Outman, the leading cattle dealers of this part of the state. A native of Ohio, he was born March 18, 1851, near the city of Cleveland, the son of Smolleff and Martha (Johnson) Wood.
Smolleff Wood was born in New York state during the latter twenties, and spent a part of his earlier life in Cleveland, Ohio, where he acquired some property. Shortly after his marriage he exchanged his Cleveland holdings for one hundred acres of land in Athens township, Calhoun county, Michigan, and immediately assumed its possession. He em- barked in agricultural pursuits, and in addition to general farming be- came one of the foremost stock dealers of Calhoun county, buying and shipping cattle by the train-load to the New York market. He died in Quincy, Michigan, during the Civil war, leaving to his heirs a fine estate. His widow, who was born in New York state about the same year that he was born, died in Calhoun county.
Abram L. Wood, after completing his studies in the district schools, continued in the free and independent occupation of his ancestors, and is now engaged in agricultural pursuits on a finely improved farm of two hundred acres. Inheriting in no small measure the foresight and ability
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in a business way which was the secret of his father's success, Mr. Wood, together with his brother, L. B. Wood and Mr. Outman, has built up a good business in buying and shipping stock This enterprising firm of Wood Brothers & Outman ships on an average four or five car loads of stock every Wednesday from all points along the railroad line from Battle Creek south. Their business is established on sound principles, and the firm is well and favorably known throughout the territory in which they operate.
In 1885 Mr. Wood was united in marriage with Miss Lydia Race, daughter of John and Mary Race, natives of New York state. Mr. Race was engaged in the dairy business in that state for a number of years, and after coming to Michigan turned his attention to mercantile pur- suits and farming, living first in Union City and later in Grand Rapids, where his death occurred in 1901. He was a man of sterling integrity, a Republican in politics, and a consistent member of the Baptist church, while his wife was a Congregationalist. They had two children-Anna, the wife of Grove Church, and Mrs. Wood. One child was born to Mr. and Mrs. Wood -- Lynn, who is yet with his parents.
GEORGE S. BARNES. The success and influence of no enterprise in Battle Creek have been more noteworthy than that of "The Michigan Poultry Breeder," a journal which has had a growing prosperity and circulating for more than a quarter of a century. Its originator, Mr. George S. Barnes, is still its editor, and the remarkable success of the publication is an achievement for which he deserves full credit. Mr. Barnes began his career when a boy by learning the printing trade. A practical printer, he later became both a practical and professional poultryman, and the permanence and continued influence of his journal have been the result of this thorough experience in two lines of accom- plishment.
Mr. Barnes is a native of Rochester, New York, where he was born March 6, 1867, the son of Wilsey G. and Madeline (Sackett) Barnes. The mother was a resident of Albion, Michigan, before her marriage, and was married there, after which she went east to reside. The father was a druggist, and it is an item of interest that he put the long-known breath perfume, "Trix," on the market. About three years after the birth of the son George, the parents moved to Battle Creek, where his mother soon afterward died. His father on account of poor health went to northern Michigan and returned to this city only a few weeks before his death in 1889.
At this early age George S. Barnes was left in the care of his father's unmarried brother and sister, Uncle Philander and Aunt Harriet Barnes, in Battle Creek. He attended the public schools here, and at the age of sixteen learned the printing trade. For a year and a half he worked on the Reed City Clarion, in this state, and afterwards was employed in printing establishments of Battle Creek for a time.
The publication of the Michigan Poultry Breeder was begun in 1885 when Mr. Barnes was eighteen years old. For three years nearly all the work on the journal was done at night, during the day the proprietor and editor was engaged in his regular trade in order to earn the necessary capital to place his publication on an independent basis. At the same time he bought the Game Fancier's Journal, which was continued for a quarter of a century until 1909, when Mr. Barnes sold it. The first issue of the Poultry Breeder, in January, 1885, was distributed free, and de- pended on its own merit to win subscriptions and popularity. It was at first an eight-page paper. After three years the journal was self-sup- porting, and since then Mr. Barnes has given most of his energies to
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making this one of the best monthly journals of the kind in the United States, and has succeeded so well that only a few enterprises of the kind rank in the same class. The size of the Breeder has been increased and the monthly issue is several thousand copies, and its subscribers are to be found in every one of the forty-eight states of the Union.
As a practical poultryman, Mr. Barnes has since 1891 been engaged in the breeding of high class Single Comb Buff Leghorns, of which he has one of the finest flocks in America. His exhibits at the various poultry shows have won blue ribbons in Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, New York and other cities. Besides city real estate and a farm of forty acres, Mr. Barnes is the owner of a model home just inside the city limits, where he conducts this branch of his business, which has assumed very profitable proportions.
An elegant four family flat is located on Green street, one of the most handsome and best shaded thoroughfares in Battle Creek, and is owned by ex-mayor of the city, Geo. S. Barnes, proprietor of the famous S. C. Buff Leghorn yards. This flat is free and clear from all incumbrances. It was entirely paid for by a yearly flock of from 125 to 150 Buff Leg- horns, in just twelve years time.
In politics a Republican, casting his first presidential vote for Harri- son in 1888, Mr. Barnes has taken an active part in local political and municipal affairs. As alderman from the Fourth Ward for four years, he was chairman of the committee on printing, the police department, and the side and cross walks. His efforts to divorce politics from the police department, was successful, and proved a great benefit. He was one of the most energetic supporters of the street paving measure, which was carried over the mayor's veto, thus providing for the first permanent paving in Battle Creek. He was a member of the board of public works six years, during which time he was its secretary and also president. During the years 1905-06 he served as mayor of the city, an administra- tion which was productive of much substantial benefit to the municipal- ity. In the fall of 1910 Mr. Barnes was first a candidate for county office, at which time he was elected county treasurer, and has held that office since the first of January, 1911. Fraternally he is a member of the Elks lodge. For five years he has been a member of the executive board of the American Poultry Association, and has been secretary and treasurer of the American Buff Leghorn Club for the past eleven years.
Mr. Barnes and his family reside at 678 Maple street in Battle Creek. He was married December 4, 1889, to Miss Fannie C. Webb. Mrs. Barnes is a native of Battle Creek, where she received her education. Her parents, both of whom are now deceased, were Caleb and Sarah (Green) Webb, old and respected residents of this city. One child was born to Mr. and Mrs. Barnes: Madeline P., who died on May 19, 1912, at the age of twenty-one years. A local paper has to say of the sad event :
"The home of County Treasurer and Mrs. George S. Barnes, 678 Maple street, is saddened by the demise of their only child, Miss Made- line Barnes, who passed away at 4:30 o'clock Sunday morning after an illness which began Feb. 27, when Miss Barnes was stricken with typhoid fever. Since that time the disease has run its tedious course, resulting in a complicated stomach trouble which terminated the life of this inter- esting young woman, who had attained the age of 21 years. The deced- ent was born and educated in Battle Creek, finishing her school work with graduation in the class of 1909. With the election of Mr. Barnes as county treasurer his daughter was duly appointed deputy and has since given the duties of that office her conscientious attention, discharg- ing all the responsibilities with promptness and to the satisfaction of the county. A wide circle of business acquaintances was acquired and the
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many testimonials to the worth and character of this young woman are evidence of her proficiency and courtesy. Miss Barnes was of very quiet and retiring disposition, but those traits won the lasting affection and esteem of hosts of friends who will join the family in mourning the un- timely departure of one in the springtime of life. In the home of the decedent was an obedient and devoted daughter, giving her parents the best love of a pure and tender heart, and it is here that the affliction falls heaviest. Services in memory of Miss Barnes will be held at the resi- dence Wednesday afternoon at 3 o'clock, Rev. William S. Potter, officiat- ing, followed by a committal service in Oak Hill. The court house at Marshall was closed for the afternoon out of respect to her memory."
Miss Barnes was one of the fair young flowers of her home city, and one of the brightest girls in the Battle Creek high school, from which she was graduated with the class of 1909. Her untimely passing has brought sorrow to many and filled the lives of her parents with a grief which time alone may in some measure assuage but may never obliterate.
CALEB WEBB. One of the highly respected citizens of the last century in Battle Creek was the late Caleb Webb, who had been a resident for nearly half a century. Mr. Webb died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. George S. Barnes, on March 16, 1899, in the sixty-ninth year of his life.
Of English birth and ancestry, he was born in Sibford, Oxfordshire, February 26, 1830, and was reared and attained his majority in the old country. Emigrating to America in 1853, he located in the town of Battle Creek the same year. In England he had acquired a thorough knowledge of gardening, and this was his principal business during the active years of his residence at Battle Creek. For a number of years he was also the janitor for the St. Thomas Episcopal church, and later was sexton of Oak Hill cemetery. A quiet, unassuming man, without being conspicuous in business affairs, he was neverthless one of the honored citizens and discharged his responsibilities in a manner deserving of the respect of his own and subsequent generations. His last resting place is in the Hicks cemetery in Pennfield.
Mr. Webb left a family of seven children, three sons and four daugh- ters, namely : Fred H. (see sketch elsewhere) Earnest D., Horace A., Mrs. E. D. Sutton, Mrs. M. S. Hicks, Mrs. George S. Barnes, and Mrs. J. O. Barden.
ALVARES E. HOWELL. Ranking high among the more busy and pros- perous citizens of Homer is Alvares E. Howell, one of the most intelli- gent and skillful veterinary surgeons of Calhoun county, and an agricul- turist of experience and prominence. A native of this county, he was born, April 6, 1838, in Albion township, where his father, Hiram Howell, settled in territorial days. His grandparents, Jacob and Jane Howell, were born, reared and married in New Jersey, but later moved to New York, and there resided the remainder of their lives.
Born and bred in Montezuma, New York, Hiram Howell served for two years in the War of 1812, enlisting when young, and was wounded in a skirmish. In 1834, desirous of making a permanent home for himself and family, he journeyed to Michigan, settling in Calhoun county, which was then a heavily wooded country. His total capital consisted of seven- teen dollars and fifty cents in cash, a small sum on which to begin life in a new and strange land. Nothing daunted, however, he managed to secure title to eighty acres of government land in Albion township, and by dint of persevering labor met with success in improving his prop- erty. He subsequently bought more land in the same township, in course of time becoming a prosperous agriculturist, and a man of influence. On
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retiring from active pursuits, he moved to Albion, and there spent his declining years. He was a Democrat in politics, and held various town- ship offices, and was also a prominent member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons. He married Lucy Downing, who was born in New Jersey, where her father, John Downing, spent his entire life, having been a farmer by occupation. They reared seven children, of whom three are now living, Alvares E. having been the sixth child in succession of birth. Mrs. Hiram Howell was a true Christian, and a faithful member of the Baptist church.
As a boy and youth Alvares E. Howell attended the district schools, in the meantime obtaining a thorough knowledge of the different branches of agriculture. Leaving home at the age of twenty-three years, he took a full course of study at the Toronto Veterinary College, and has since followed his profession most successfully in Homer, where he has built up a very extensive practice, his skill as a veterinary surgeon being widely known and highly appreciated. Mr. Howell is likewise success- fully employed in agricultural pursuits, having a finely improved and productive farm of two hundred and thirty-four acres, which he is man- aging along scientific and systematic lines. For several years he made a specialty of breeding horses, raising thoroughbred Hambletonian stock, and for seven years he drove horses on the track, winning an excellent reputation as a skilful driver.
Mr. Howell married, November 6, 1861, Josephine Pixley, a daughter of Ebenezer Pixley, who came from New York to Calhoun county in 1859, and spent his remaining days on a farm in Albion township. Mr. and Mrs. Howell are both valued and trustworthy members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, and contribute liberally towards its support. Fraternally Mr. Howell is a member of Humanity Lodge, No. 29, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, and politically he is identified with the Prohibitionists.
ALLISON J. FLINT. A man of scholarly attainments and much force of character, Allison J. Flint, superintendent of the public schools of Homer, is prominent in educational circles, and especially well known among the young men and boys of the county, having been instrumental in the organization of the Young Men's Christian Association in Cal- houn county, and being scoutmaster of the Boy Scouts, and athletic coach of the high school. He was born, July 22, 1878, in Clarendon town- ship, Calhoun county, a son of Samuel A. Flint. He is of substantial New England ancestry, and of honored pioneer stock, his grandfather, Aseryl Flint, having migrated from Vermont to Michigan in territorial days, and being here engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, in 1856. His grandmother, Salome Flint, died in 1899, aged ninety years.
Samuel A. Flint, who was born in Vermont in 1832, came with his parents to Clarendon township, Calhoun county, Michigan, in 1838, and was there reared to a sturdy manhood. After his marriage he bought the farm of his father-in-law, the old Cooper homestead of one hundred and fifty acres, and continued a tiller of the soil. He served as a soldier in the Civil war, belonging to Company I, Ninth Michigan Volunteer Infantry. A man of far more than average intelligence and ability, he filled various public offices of trust and responsibility, having been town- ship supervisor for twenty years, and notary public for a long time. He married Laura Diantha Cooper, who was born in New York state in 1836, and came to Clarendon township, Calhoun county, Michigan, with her father, William Cooper, in 1838. Four children were born of their union, of whom two are now living, as follows: Albert W., of whom a
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brief account may be found on another page of this sketch; and Allison J. The father died in October, 1900, and the mother in January, 1912. They were people of marked integrity and sterling worth, and valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Having been graduated from the Ypsilanti State Normal school with the class of 1907, Allison J. Flint taught school in Deckerville, Michigan, four years, gaining a good reputation for professional knowledge and ability. In 1911 he accepted his present position as superintendent of the schools in Homer, and has since fulfilled the duties devolving upon him most satisfactorily, being popular with both the parents and the pupils. He still retains the ownership of the old homestead farm on which his parents lived and died, and which was originally owned by his Grandfather Cooper. He devotes his summers to the care of his farm, and throughout the year has charge of a large class in the Sunday school. As scoutmaster Mr. Flint is in realty the physical, mental and character trainer of the boys, his work with them going far toward making them self-reliant, alert, and honest citizens.
Mr. Flint married, April 10, 1901, Jennie B. Hopkins, a successful teacher and a daughter of Alvin and Clara (Andrus) Hopkins, and they are the parents of two children, namely : Falvin Earl, and Don Albert. Mr. and Mrs. Flint are active and prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Fraternally Mr. Flint belongs to Humanity Lodge, No. 29, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons.
Albert W. Flint, the oldest child of Samuel A. and Laura D. (Cooper) Flint, and an elder brother of Allison J. Flint, was born in Clarendon township, Calhoun county, Michigan, October 15, 1857, and was educated in the rural schools of his native district. Forming an intimate acquaint- ance with the different branches of agriculture while young, he found the occupation so congenial and profitable that he has continued a farmer ever since. In 1879 he bought sixty acres of the land included in his present estate, and five years later bought eighty-four acres of adjoining land, and in its improvement has met with assured success. He carries on general farming after the best known methods, and raises considerable stock, including cattle and sheep. He is a Republican in politics, and has served as school inspector, and for the past fourteen years has been justice of the peace.
Mr. Albert W. Flint has been twice married. He married first, in April, 1879, Emma S., daughter of E. A. and Margaret Coggswell, of Calhoun county, and she lived but thirteen weeks after their marriage, passing away in July, 1879. He married second, in September, 1881, Ella E. Smith, a daughter of Eli and Sarah Cook Smith, of Homer, and they have three children, namely : Sarah L. and Lena A., students in the Ypsilanti State Normal school; and Mabel I., a student in the Homer high school.
WILLIAM S. FRUIN. An essentially prominent and influential citizen of Pennfield township, Calhoun county, Michigan, is William S. Fruin, who is the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and twenty acres, the same being eligibly located a few miles distant from the city of Battle Creek on Route No. 11. Mr. Fruin has been incumbent of the office of township clerk and takes an active part in the local councils of the Republican party. He devoted his attention to farming and stock-raising and in those lines of endeavor has been wonderfully successful.
William S. Fruin was born in Berry countv. Michigan. January 28, 1876, and he is a son of Richard C. and Ada O. (Shepard) Fruin, the for- mer of whom was born in Eaton county, Michigan. The paternal grandfather of him to whom this sketch is dedicated was Richard C. Val. DJ-32
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Fruin, Sr., and he was a native of Milton, England, where he was reared and educated and whence he came to America as a young man, settling in Eaton county, Michigan, where he cleared a farm and con- tinued to reside until his demise. In the maternal line William S. Fruin is a grandson of F. Merritt Shepard, who was born in New York and who came to Michigan in the early '30s, at which time there were only two log stores in Battle Creek. He entered a tract of government land, which he cleared for cultivation and which proved to be an excel- lent farm; it is now owned by his son, Albert F. Shepard. F. Merritt Shepard was a soldier in the Civil war and he died at the early age of thirty-three years.
After completing the curriculum of the district schools of his native place, William S. Fruin worked on his father's farm until he had reached mature years, when he purchased a farm of ninety acres. He dis- posed of that estate in 1906 and bought his present estate, which com- prises one hundred and twenty acres and which is located in Pennfield township. He raises cattle and hogs, in addition to which he runs a large dairy and raises grain. He is now breeding Guernsey cattle. In politics he is a stalwart Republican and he has ever manifested a deep and sincere interest in community affairs. He was elected township clerk and he served with the utmost efficiency in that capacity for a period of six years. On different occasions he has been a member of the Republican County Committee of Berry county and he is very prominent in the local councils of his party. He is a business man of marked ability and is loyal and public-spirited in his attitude toward all that affects the good of the general welfare.
March 7, 1901, Mr. Fruin was united in marriage to Miss Bertha E. Kent, of Assyria, Berry county, Michigan. She is a daughter of A. G. Kent, who was a very early settler in Berry county and who is a well- to-do farmer. Mr. Kent is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party and for a number of years was postmaster at Assyria. Mr. and Mrs. Fruin have one son, Percy C., who is now a pupil in the district schools of Pennfield township. In a fraternal way Mr. Fruin is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of the Mac- cabees.
SAMUEL D. STRONG. Possessing not only business qualifications of a high order, but inventive talent and mechanical ability, Samuel D. Strong holds a foremost position among the leading citizens of Homer, Calhoun county, where he has built up an extensive trade as a hardware merchant and furnace manufacturer and dealer. A native of Calhoun county, he was born in Tekonsha township, March 10, 1862, of pioneer ancestry.
His father, the late Chauncey G. Strong, was born, June 10, 1832, in East Bloomfield, New York, and at the age of sixteen years came with his parents to Calhoun county, Michigan, locating in Tekonsha township, where his father purchased from the government a tract of heavily tim- bered land. He assisted in clearing and improving a homestead, and during his early life was prosperously engaged in tilling the soil. He subsequently opened a hardware store in Tekonsha, where he continued in business until his death, January 6, 1908. He was active in public affairs, being a Republican in politics, and a valued member of the Pres- byterian church, to which his wife also belonged. He married Fannie E. Withal, who was born in England, near London, August 8, 1835, and at the age of nine years came with her parents to America, living for three years thereafter in New York, and then coming with the family to Bur- lington, Michigan. She survived her husband, passing away January 25,
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1911. Of the eight children born of their union, five are living, Samuel D. being the third child in order of birth.
Brought up on the home farm in Tekonsha township, Samuel D. Strong was educated in the public schools, attending first the school in district number six, the Windfall school. During his earlier years he worked on the farm, but not caring to engage in agricultural pursuits as an occupation, he served an apprenticeship at the tinner's trade in the store which he now owns, and which, when he was twenty-four years old, he, with his brother, purchased, and for twenty years managed. Utilizing his inventive genius, Mr. Strong devised a well-drilling ma- chine, which he handled outside of his regular business, and he also be- came an extensive dealer in grain and lumber, an industry which proved quite profitable, and in which he has recently sold his interest. Mr. Strong likewise invented the "Home Ventilator Furnace," which has proved a very popular heater in the modernly built houses of this part of the country, its sales amounting to about a thousand a year, the par- ticular feature of its construction, and the one that recommends it to the public, being its one opening for both the cold air and hot air blast. Mr. Strong is still interested in agriculture, he and his brother owning one hundred and ninety acres of land in Tekonsha township.
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