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 75
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Mr. Garlinghouse married, in 1850, Agnes A. Rose, a daughter of Cyler Rose, a thriving farmer living near Burlingame, Kansas. She passed to the life beyond, July 21, 1911, leaving three children, namely : Raymond E., in partnership with his father, married June 25, 1884, Nellie L., daughter of Warren and Addie Tompkins of Litchfield, Michigan, and has one daughter, Valeria M., born April 25, 1885, now a teacher in the public schools at Ft. Wayne, Indiana; Leona M., the wife of William Waterman, now living at St. Joseph, Michigan, has one daughter, Jessie E., wife of Willis Williams, of St. Joseph; Charley A., working for his father, married September 20, 1892, Louise, daughter of James and Helen Hess of Homer and has two children, Bryan H., born February 27, 1897, and Viola L., born March 13, 1901. Abraham A. Garlinghouse is a supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, and in addition to having served as township clerk and assessor has been a member of the city council of Homer four terms. He married again June 29, 1912, Mrs. Villa Brooks of Union City becoming his wife. He is a member of the Episcopal church, to which his wife also belongs.
HON. GEORGE WILLARD. If the city of Battle Creek had wished to express through the character of one citizen its best ideals of thought and action during the second half of the nineteenth century, no one man could have represented them so broadly and fully as the late George Willard. An educator, an editor, a speaker and leader in public affairs, a man of many interests and accomplishments, he was without a doubt a peer of any of his contemporaries in the state.
Hon. George Willard was born in Bolton, Chittenden county, Ver- mont, March 20, 1824, and died at his home in Battle Creek, March 26, 1901, aged seventy-seven years. Like many of the early settlers of southern Michigan, the Willards were of old New England families dating back into colonial times. Simon Willard, the founder of the American branch, was born in England in 1607, emigrated to Massa- chusetts in 1634, and the following year joined the Rev. Bullock in establishing the colony of Concord. From 1636 to 1652 he successively represented that colony in the general court of the Massachusetts colony, and then served as governor's assistant up to 1676. He explored the headwaters of the Merrimac, and was one of the commissioners to set- tle the boundary line dispute between New Hampshire and Massachu- setts, the stone boundary mark still bearing his initials. During King Philip's war he commanded the Middlesex county militia, and led a force to the relief of Deerfield.
From this remarkable figure in old colonial days many generations have traced their descent. One of his sons, Major Samuel, was a pastor of Old South church in Boston and acting president of Harvard College, and also a contributor to the religious literature of the period. An- other descendant at a later date was president of Harvard, and another was commander of Fort Dummer, the first settlement in Vermont. Oliver Willard, great-grandfather of George Willard, received from the colony of New York a patent to Hartland township, and first set- tled there.
The parents of the late Mr. Willard were Allen and Eliza (Barron) Willard. Allen Willard was born at Hartland, Vermont, February 10,
George Millerdo.
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1794, and in 1816 entered Dartmouth College, where one of his mates was Rufus Choate. In the disturbed conditions incident to the epoch-mak- ing Dartmouth College case, during his junior year he left college and located at Bolton, Vermont, and engaged in teaching and later in farm- ing, until 1836, when he came to Michigan and settled on the place at Goguac lake which for three quarters of a century has been the Wil- lard homestead. Allen Willard had an interesting character. He was independent in forming his views of men and measures. At the first nomination of Andrew Jackson for the presidency he was one of the three men in his Vermont town who cast their votes for him. Later, after Jackson's executive interference with the United States Bank, he left the Democratic party, became a Whig. He was a lover of literature, especially the Greek and Latin, which he continued to read until the last years of his life. His death occurred February 12, 1876, at the age of eighty-two. His wife was a descendant of one of the early Irish families that settled in New England. Their two children were George and Charles Willard.
George Willard lived in southern Michigan from the age of twelve years until his death, and witnessed practically the entire period of de- velopment from pioneer conditions to the modern twentieth century. Owing to his father's scholarship and his own ardent desire for learn- ing-an intellectual curiosity which all the years of his long life never satiated-the crude school facilities of the new county did not prevent him from acquiring what would still be called a liberal education. The Three R's he had mastered by the time he was eighty years old, and at fourteen he read the gospels in the original Greek and was also familiar with Homer. At sixteen he was teaching school at LeRoy, and at the age of twenty was graduated from Kalamazoo College. The succeeding years he spent in teaching and preparing himself for the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal church, to which he was ordained in 1848.
With that event he began the career of varied activity and accom- plishment which continued for more than half a century. He was successively rector of churches in Coldwater, Battle Creek and Kalama- zoo, until 1862, when, his convictions of duty having undergone a change so that he felt he could no longer continue in the discharge of the priestly office, he resigned and soon afterward accepted the chair of Latin in Kalamazoo College. Already he had been drawn into the current of discussion and affairs that steadily flowed toward the crisis of war. In 1855, during the excitement in regard to the Kansas-Nebraska bill, he wrote a letter to Hon. William H. Seward on the subject, receiving a reply from which the following extract is of interest: "Truth in every department of human knowledge and action, is entitled to open, free confession and vindication by all classes of society; and I know of no ground upon which any man anywhere, much less any man in a republic, can suppress his convictions or refrain from giving his sup- port to the truth on any great and vital question."
In 1856 Mr. Willard became a member of the state board of educa- tion, on which he served six years. His influence and exertions con- tributed largely to the establishment of the State Agricultural Col- lege at Lansing, which opened in 1857, and forty years later, as the only surviving member of the board, he delivered the anniversary ad- dress at the college. In 1863 he was elected regent of the University of Michigan. It was he who drew up the resolution opening the university to women, and this action was characteristic of his advanced position in many public affairs. He also strongly advocated the establishment of a chair of homeopathy in the medical department, and he had much
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to do with securing the services of President Angell for the univer- sity.
From this time forward for many years his public services were almost constant. He was never a politician in the usual sense of the word, for his public service was always disinterested and directed by his convictions and his sense of duty. Elected in 1866 to the legislature, he became chairman of the house committee on education and the fol- lowing year was appointed to the same position in the constitutional convention, of which he was also a member. In the state Republican convention of 1868 he was chairman of the committee on resolutions. In 1872 he was appointed a member of the centennial board of finance, and in the same year was a delegate at large to the national convention at Philadelphia, in which convention he was a member of the committee on rules.
The same year having been nominated by this district for Congress, he was elected by the unprecedented majority of 7,547. He was a mem- ber of the committees on civil service and on coinage, weights and meas- ures, and during his second term was a member of these committees and also of the committee on the District of Columbia. After the famous contested presidential election of 1876 he was a member of the com- mittee to provide a method of counting the electoral vote, and he and Mr. Springer were the sub-committee which later compiled the history of the electoral count. With Senator Thurman of Ohio, he was made a member of the United States Monetary Commission in 1877, and in that connection thoroughly studied the silver question, attending all meetings of the committee both in Washington and New York.
While in Congress Mr. Willard labored zealously for the adjustment of sectional difficulties, and advocated a speedy settlement of the south- ern question on the basis of justice and charity. From almost the beginning of his first term he attracted notice as a speaker who com- manded a vast array of specific facts and relied on their logical pres- entation more than on the ordinary forensic arts. His speeches on the . subject of cheap transportation, in opposition to the Force bill, and advocacy of a popular government, and on a bill to regulate the presi- dential vote, gave him a national reputation, and the last mentioned speech was published in all the leading papers of both parties. Prob- ably no representative in Congress at the time worked harder or more intelligently on the matters within the scope of his duties. While he looked after the material interests of his own district, he never forgot that his responsibilities were of national character.
In 1868 he purchased the Battle Creek Journal, and four years later established the daily issue of this paper, of which he continued as editor and proprietor up to the date of his death. The qualities and attain- ments of his mind and character made him an ideal editor. The paper was dominated by his personality, and in this respect was typical of the best in what is now called the old-style journalism, the most notable example of which was Greeley's New York Tribune. Mr. Willard's vast and well digested information, his broad range of reading in many lan- guages, his extended experience with men and affairs, and the breadth of his sympathies, thoroughly pervaded his editorials and gave them a lofty dignity and judicious independence that are rarely found in the utterances of the neo-journalism.
A great reader, a student of both ancient and modern history, a fine linguist who possessed a familiar acquaintance with German, French, Italian, Spanish, Latin and Greek, Mr. Willard's scholarship, supple- menting fine natural gifts, made him one of the foremost among the throng of brilliant men of which Michigan is so justly proud. Although
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advanced in years he had always possessed good health, and up to his last illness retained fully the mental qualities of his vigorous manhood. He was of medium height, of erect, robust figure, a fine head, blue eyes and clear-cut intellectual features. His manner was dignified, and in conversation he was both entertaining and instructive. In all that tended to the development and progress of Battle Creek he took a deep interest, and contributed largely, by voice and pen and in other ways, to its prosperity. A man of strictest integrity, with the courage of his convictions, a gentleman in the truest sense of the word, he deserved the high regard and esteem in which he was held. The tributes to his career, spoken by representative citizens in various spheres of life at the memorial services following his death, were of rare sincerity and spontaneity, and the subjects taken by the different speakers indicate the great range of Mr. Willard's activities and influence. As a leader in religious thought, as an editor and competitor, what he stood for in the city, as a political leader, as senior warden of St. Thomas church, and chief of all, his fine manhood and character-from each of these viewpoints it was possible to find instruction and inspiration in his past life.
Mr. Willard always remained prominent in the church in whose service his career began, and was a delegate to its triennial conventions in 1856, 1886, 1889, 1892, and 1898. On April 10, 1844, he married Miss Emily Harris, daughter of Rev. John Harris, of Battle Creek. They were the parents of four children: Frances A., died July 6th 1912, the widow of Charles D. Brewer of Battle Creek; Charles, who died in childhood ; Lillie E., wife of E. W. Moore, who was former busi- ness manager of the Journal and is now a resident of Benton Harbor ; and George B., whose sketch is given below. Mrs. Brewer was educated at Battle Creek and Kalamazoo, and Mrs. Moore received most of her education in Ypsilanti. Mrs. Emily Willard, mother of these children, died in 1885. In 1887 Mr. Willard married Mrs. Elizabeth A. Willard, who survived him.
GEORGE B. WILLARD. The only surviving son of the late George Wil- lard is Mr. George B. Willard, who for many years has been actively identified with the business and civic affairs of Battle Creek, and parti- cularly in newspaper work has supplemented and continued his father's worthy activities.
Born in this city, June 11, 1858, Mr. Willard attended the local schools and the business college, and in the Journal office gained the initial experiences which determined his career. During his first years in the office he became familiar with the printing trade and all the mechanical industry connected with printing, and a natural talent and thorough training equipped him for the editorial management. Dur- ing the many years of his connection with the Journal he was recognized as one of the ablest all-around newspaper men in southern Michigan. His editorial control kept the Journal upon a high plane-it was pro- gressive without being sensational, and was a definite influence in the life of the community. Associated with his brother-in-law, Hon. E. W. Moore, he continued the Journal after his father's death until April, 1906, when he sold his interests and retired from newspaper work.
He is owner of a beautiful farm of two hundred acres at Goguac lake, which has already been mentioned as the original Willard home- stead, having been settled by his grandfather Allen Willard. From him it descended to Charles Willard, uncle of George B., and then to the latter. Mr. Willard has his summer home there, and is the owner of
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considerable city property, including the home at 91 Fountain street. Since leaving the newspaper work, he has been chiefly interested in looking after this property. He and his family usually spend the winter either in California or the south.
Those movements which have been undertaken for solid prosperity and advancement of the city have always found in Mr. Willard a willing contributor and worker. As the representative of one of the oldest and most esteemed names of this vicinity, he has quietly but effectively exercised his influence many times for the well ordered progress of his city. A lifelong Republican, he has been a delegate to many conven- tions, but has always declined nominations for office. He is affiliated with the Elks and the Knights of Pythias lodges in Battle Creek, is a member of the Athelstan Club, and he and his family attend and sup- port, though not members, the Independent Congregational church.
George B. Willard was married in the home where he still resides, June 16, 1880, to Miss Hattie Henrietta Campbell. Her father, James C. Campbell, who died many years ago, was a well known early citizen of Battle Creek. Her mother is now the wife of William H. Flagg, and they also reside at the Fountain street home.
William H. Flagg has been identified with Battle Creek and vicinity for many years. During the Civil war he was a member of the Second Michigan Infantry for three years and three months, with a record of service including some of the great engagements of the war. As a youth he learned the blacksmith trade, at which he became expert. For several years he was with the Upton Manufacturing Works and later for a number of years with the Nichols & Shepard Company. In 1885, under Mayor F. M. Rathbun's appointment, he became chief of police, and his term set a high mark for the equitable enforcement of law and order. In 1886 H. C. Hall appointed him street commissioner and assistant marshal, an office he held for three years. For several years past he has been occupied with the active management of the Willard farm on Goguac lake.
CHARLES WILLARD. In the death of Charles Willard on January 31, 1897, Battle Creek and this vicinity lost a remarkable citizen and bene- factor. Through a long business career he acquired great wealth, but was never married and always retained the simple tastes which require so little money to satisfy. In this way he became the instrument for the diversion and application of a large private fortune to the benefit of the community, and so wisely were his benefactions bestowed that for generations they will continue to aid the careers of young men and women and increase the spread of culture throughout this vicinity. To Battle Creek probably the best known of his contributions is represented in the Charles Willard Library building, but this was only one of the uses to which his fortune was directed.
Charles Willard was the younger son of Allen Willard and the brother of the late George Willard, the interesting early history of the Willard family being contained in previous sketches. Charles Willard was born at Bolton, Chittenden county, Vermont, April 24, 1827, being three years younger than his brother George. The family arrived at Battle Creek on July 8, 1836, having been two weeks coming from De- troit with ox teams, and the journey from Vermont by way of the Erie canal having taken a month. Like his brother George he received most of his early education from his talented and classically learned father. But though possessed of splendid judgment and intellectual powers, he chose a cereer in the less conspicuous fields of endeavor and was lit- tle known in politics and other public activities. Through his youth
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and mature years he continued to reside on the farm beside Lake Go- guac where his father had located about 1841 or 1842. By honest industry, good judgment and unwavering perseverance he won pros- perity as a farmer. Then for many years he was recognized as a cap- italist of secure standing and one whose property was obtained by means approved both in law and morals.
Farming and the loaning of the accumulations therefrom comprised his chief business until he became interested in the Advance Thresher Company, during the years when the struggle was being made to lay the foundations for what has proved its subsequent splendid prosperity. Manufacturing had appealed to him not so much as a source of profit, but because it would afford employment to so many more people than the ordinary pursuits of an agricultural community, and would thus prove of permanent benefit to his home city. For the success of this company he, with others, was early pledged to the extent of more than a million dollars, and the failure of the enterprise would have meant the loss of all he possessed for his declining years. Yet he had the strongest confidence in the company and never faltered, and the outcome not only justified his expectations of giving this city a great industrial institution, but also added immensely to his own wealth. Aside from private bequests to his family, at the time of his death his public and religious benefactions amounted to fully $271,000. For the Young Men's Christian Association, $37,500; for the Charles Willard Library building, $37,500; to endow a professorship of Latin and literature in the Kalamazoo College, $30,000; the State Baptist Association a total of upwards of $40,000; the poor students fund of the Michigan College of upwards of $40,000; a public park to the city of Battle Creek worth $20,000. These with others would make his gifts nearly a quarter of a million dollars.
His father and mother were Baptist. While he was not a member of the church, the church had great influence with him-and he was always one of the main contributors to its support during his life and he did not forget it in the distribution of his property. While not a member of any church he took great interest in the progress and care of the Baptist Society. His father's ways and religion was his-and had great influence with him. Sixteen acres of oak woods bordering on Goguac lake he deeded before his death as a public park for the benefit of the people of Battle Creek. For the purchase of grounds and the erection of a building he bequeathed $36.750 to the Young Men's Christian Association of Battle Creek.
The bequest in 1875 of ten thousand dollars by the late Henry B. Denman for the support of a public school library was always appre- ciated by Mr. Willard, and the thought doubtless appealed to him that no more useful bequest could be made than the furnishing of a proper home for the books and a convenient place where the public could have free access to them. This was the source of his gift of $36,750 for the Charles Willard Library Building, which was opened to the public in April, 1905, and has ever since been one of the most popular institutions of this city. Mr. Denman and Mr. Willard, both early promoters of the welfare of Battle Creek, left legacies of lasting usefulness to the public, and neither would ask a better acknowledgement of their deeds than that this beautiful library should be constantly used by the people of the city in the betterment of their minds and culture of their under- standings.
Though not college bred, Mr. Willard possessed the broad under- standing and culture that result from thorough study of the best in literature and current affairs. He was a deep thinker, well read in the
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world's history, and his retentive memory stored up information that the ordinary man seldom retains. He had an excellent command of language, and few citizens could talk more entertainingly of the old days in Calhoun county or on the larger topics of knowledge. He never read light or trashy literature, and he thoroughly appreciated the value of sound and solid education for young people, hence his benefactions to education. His career of quiet but successful business and the sturdy traits of his character deserve to be always associated with the institu- tions which have prospered or have become possible through his life.
EGBERT E. PAGE. It has been given this well known citizen of Cal- houn county to achieve marked success and to have become one of the essentially representative business men of his native city of Marshall, where he is secretary and treasurer of the Page Brothers Buggy Com- pany, one of the extensive, substantial and important industrial concerns of the county and one that has done much to further the commercial and civic progress and prosperity of the city in which its fine manufactory is established.
Egbert E. Page has well upheld the prestige of a name that has been closely and worthily identified with the history of Calhoun county for more than half a century. He was born in Marshall, the judicial center of the county, on the 7th of December, 1859, and is a son of William and Amelia (Dean) Page. William Page was born at Newark, the capital of Licking county, Ohio, in 1813, and was a son of Daniel Page, who was one of the sterling pioneers of the old Buckeye state and whose father was a native of England. William Page was reared and educated in Ohio and there learned the carpenter's trade. As a young man he came to Calhoun county, Michigan, and here he became a successful contractor and builder. He continued to maintain his home in the city of Marshall until his death, which occurred in 1876, and he ever commanded secure place in popular confidence and esteem, the while he did much to advance the development and progress of his home city and county. He was a Republican in his political proclivities and both he and his wife held membership in the Methodist church, in the activities of which they took a deep interest. They became the parents of three sons and they are all interested principals in the Page Brothers Buggy Company, of which the eldest son, William L., is president, and in which Lucius F., is an active executive. Mrs. Amelia (Dean) Page, the devoted wife and mother, was a woman of most gracious personality and was held in affectionate regard by all who came within the compass of her gentle influence. She was born in the state of New York, on the 20th of January, 1825, and was a daughter of Lyman Dean, who established his home in Calhoun county, Michigan, in the pioneer days. Mrs. Page was summoned to the life eternal in the year 1871.
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