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 90
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DEVILLE HUBBARD. Beginning life for himself not on the plane of affluence, but in humble circumstances, Deville Hubbard, late of Mar- shall, Michigan, attained noteworthy success in agricultural and in- dustrial circles, and to say that he was a "self-made man" expresses an evident truth in commonplace language. He was born, February 7, 1829, in Sangerfield, Onedia county, New York, coming on both sides of the house of substantial ancestry, his relatives having been able and influential citizens.
His father, Cyrus Hubbard, came from New York state to Michigan in 1835, bringing with him his wife and children. Purchasing eighty acres of land lying north of Marshall, he cleared a farm, which later became a part of the large estate of his son Deville. Clearing an open- ing in the primeval woods, he erected the typical log house of the pioneer, and for many years thereafter was active in advancing the settlement of his adopted township. To Cyrus and Clarissa Hubbard, three children were born, namely : Lawrence, Deville, and Caroline.
But six years old when he came with his parents to Calhoun county, Deville Hubbard grew to manhood among pioneer scenes, obtaining his education in the old log schoolhouse in Marshall, which was then a mere hamlet, he and his brother Lawrence bravely trudging back and forth each day through the long strip of almost pathless woods, taking their dinner with them. The wild beasts of the forests had not then fled before the advancing steps of civilization, and the howling of the wolves along their path often filled their hearts with fear.
Deville Hubbard was a lad of much determination and resolution, and through persistency seemingly found a way to conquer all difficul- ties. When he was yet young his mother, who was tired, worn out physically, and homesick, was anxious to visit her early home, there seemed to be no possible way by which she could procure money enough to pay her expenses on the journey. Deville, who was energetic, enter- prising, and full of resources, determined at once that her desire should be gratified. Going forth with his traps, he set many in the surround- ing woods, and two weeks later he had the gratification of presenting his mother with one hundred dollars which he had received from a Marshall man, who dealt in pelts.
After leaving school Deville Hubbard worked on the farm for three years. Then, on attaining his majority, he, with two companions, James Culver of Barry county, and Stanley Meacham, of Battle Creek, made an overland trip to the Pacific coast, Mr. Hubbard driving the four- horse team. Spending a few days in Salt Lake City, Mr. Hubbard worked for Brigham Young as a hand in the harvest fields, receiving six dollars a day, a small sum compared with the sixteen dollars a day in gold which was later paid harvest hands in that vicinity. Arriving at Yuba river, Mr. Hubbard met with much success in his mining opera-
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tions, at the end of twenty months spent in the California gold regions returning to Michigan, and buying, from Dr. Sibley, two hundred and forty acres of land adjoining his father's farm. Cutting down and clearing off the timber, he upturned the sod, and later embarked in general farming, making a specialty of sheep raising, his favorite breed having been the Shropshires, of which he usually had large flocks.
In 1861 Mr. Hubbard was instrumental in raising the First Michigan Volunteer Infantry, furnishing the money therefor, and going to the front as captain of Company I, and taking an active part in many en- gagements, including the Battle of Bull Run. Public-spirited and gen- erous, Mr. Hubbard was ever one of the foremost in the establishment of beneficial enterprises, and was one of the leaders in securing money and means for building railways. He was one of the stockholders in manufacturing interests, and was identified with nearly every project designed to promote the welfare of city or county. His death, which oc- curred at his home, February 27, 1884, was a loss to the community, and a cause of general regret.
Mr. Hubbard married, in 1862, Miss Alice Moore, who was born in Syracuse, New York, January 11, 1845, and was educated in the Packard Institute, at Brooklyn, New York. When nineteen years of age she came with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Moore, to Marshall, Michigan, and here spent her remaining days, passing away June 20, 1905. Five children were born of their union, among whom, of those now living, are Owen L. Hubbard, of whom a brief sketch may be found on another page of this volume; and Mrs. Beatrice Babbitt.
Mrs. Babbitt was born on the Hubbard homestead, in Marshall, and after her graduation from the Marshall high school attended the Chicago Musical College, there developing her musical talent, and becoming a most skillful pianist. She resides in the fine residence erected by her father several years before his death, it being one of the most at- tractive and beautiful homes in the county. She is an extensive land owner, having a thousand acres of highly improved and productive land adjoining Marshall. Mrs. Babbitt has one son, Allison Babbitt, of Marshall.
CHARLES F. RADFORD, prominent among the more successful agri- cultural men of Le Roy township, has been a resident of the state since his boyhood, although he was born in Lysander, New York, on January 11, 1847. He is the son of James and Lydia (Zimmerman) Radford, na- tives of Albany, New York, the father born there in 1812 and she in 1809. In 1855 James Radford came to Michigan, bringing his family with him. He bought a farm in Le Roy township in 1858, buying the place on credit, and depending entirely upon himself and his energy to pay for the place and make of it a tillable piece of land. In the course of a few years he had reduced the land to a fine state of cultivation, had paid for it, and was on the highroad to financial independence,- an independence which none know so well nor can so well appreciate as the man with a productive farm. In 1868 Mr. Radford died, his wife surviving him until 1883. The maternal grandfather of Charles F. Radford of this sketch was Conrad Zimmerman, a native of New York state, where he passed his life. He was a veteran of the war of 1812. Mrs. Radford was one of a family of fourteen children.
Charles F. Radford was educated in the grade schools, but his train- ing in that respect was not of a generous character, the farm claiming much of his attention as a boy and youth. In 1870 he became the owner of the old homestead, and he has lived on the place continuously since that time. He has carried on the good work conducted so profit- Vol. II-39
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ably during his father's lifetime, and has brought about many improve- ments in the matter of buildings and other necessary equipment. He is engaged in diversified farming and stock raising, and is generally con- ceded to be one of the most successful men in his business in the town- ship, or indeed, in the county.
In 1869 Mr. Radford was united in marriage with Martha Scott, a daughter of Andrew Scott, born in Germany. Mr. Scott came to Amer- ica as a young man and lived a great many years in New York. He later in life came to Michigan, where he became absorbed in farm life, and here he passed his latter days. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Radford. Elbert J., the eldest, is a farmer, as is also Frank E. Edith married William Doubleday, and Fred is located in Lansing, where he is in the employ of the Reo Automobile Company.
The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Radford is a member of the Grange, to which he gives a deal of his time and attention in the interests of the lodge. He is a Democrat, but is not politically ambitious, although he is a citizen of the best type, conscientious in his every duty of citizenship, and a valuable member of society in his community
HON. ABRAHAM T. METCALF, D. D. S., was born February 26, 1831, in Whitestown, New York, and is a representative of a family that has been conspicuous in New England history from an early period in the seventeenth century. His ancestors were English dissenters who sought a home and religious liberty in the New World. The early education of Dr. Metcalf was acquired in an academy in his native town, after which he entered upon an apprenticeship as a worker in sheet metal. He came with his father's family to Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1848, but remained only a few months and then returned to New York in order that he might take up the study of dentistry in Utica. After his prep- aration for the profession he began practice, in which he was very suc- cessful, and continued in the east until 1854, when he visited his father in Battle Creek. At the solicitation of Governor Ransom, who desired his professional council, he went to Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he took up his abode in 1855. His patronage almost immediately reached extensive as well as profitable proportions, but close application to bus- iness and the hardships of the climate proved detrimental to his health, and he was obliged to seek rest and recuperation. In 1857 he went south to New Orleans, where he rapidly recovered, and then formed a partner- ship with Dr. A. P. Dostie, a dentist of that city. After Gen. Butler entered that city, Dr. Dostie was made collector of the port, and he was afterwards made a member of the Constitutional Convention, for his acts in which body he was shot down and killed on the streets of New Orleans. Dr. Metcalf spent the summer months in Kalamazoo, but the winter seasons were passed in the south, where he continued until the outbreak of the Civil war.
Dr. Metcalf was a close and earnest student of the great problems which aroused the interest of the country prior to the war, and his sympathy was with the Union cause, not hesitating to express his ideas as to the questions at stake. In the spring of 1861, soon after Louisiana had passed the ordinance of secession, the Doctor was imprisoned for treason against the state, the first arrest made upon this charge in New Orleans. The affidavit solemnly stated that the good doctor had "uttered seditious language against the government, saying that, if he were in Lincoln's place, before a single state should be allowed to go out of the Union, he would burn the city of Charleston to the ground and drown the city of New Orleans with the water of the Mississippi river; and
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other incendiary language." He was released from prison on the au- thority of the attorney general of the state.
In his professional career Dr. Metcalf attained distinguished honor and success. He was instrumental in organizing the Michigan State Dental Association in 1855, and was the first secretary . of that body and several times president and later the historian. He secured from the Legislature the first appropriation for the dental department of the University of Michigan, a college that now stands second to no other dental college in the world. He was also mainly instrumental in secur- ing the passage of the law creating a State Board of Examiners in den- tistry and was the first president of the board and a member thereof for several years. He invented the dental engine and the first device of this kind ever made he placed on the market. He also invented the dentists' annealing lamp, which was invaluable to the profession previous to the introduction of adhesive gold foil. He was also the first to in- troduce the preparation for filling teeth known as sponge gold, and with his brother invented the tinman's pattern sheet which is an indis- pensable guide to workers in sheet metal. In 1872 the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery was conferred upon him by the New Orleans Dental College, and thus in the city in which he had once suffered imprisonment because of his loyalty to honest convictions, he was later honored by a leading collegiate institution. At the time of his removal to Battle Creek, in 1890, he retired from active practice and has since given his attention to real estate interests and to the management of several valuable estates. He has done considerable building here and contrib- uted largely to the development and improvement of Battle Creek.
On June 25, 1857, Dr. Metcalf was married to Miss Helen E. Noble, daughter of Hon. Alonzo Noble, one of the prominent pioneer settlers of this city. She was born in Milton township, Vermont, March 27, 1834, and was brought by her parents to Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1836, and here she acquired her early education, which was supple- mented by a course of study in the Ladies' Seminary, of Rochester, New York. Following her father's death, she and her husband came to Bat- tle Creek to care for her mother. They had but one child, Alonzo T. Metcalf, who was a very bright boy, but died suddenly of rheumatic fever when but fourteen years of age. Mrs. Metcalf, because of her culture, refinement and kindly spirit, became a leader in social and church circle of Battle Creek. She was very prominent in the society of St. Thomas' Episcopal church, and her life was largely filled with generous. deeds, it being noticeable that she rarely, if ever, spoke ill of others, always putting a most charitable construction on the motives of those* with whom she was associated. She died in Los Angeles, California, February 26, 1898, and her remains were brought to Battle Creek for burial. As a tribute to her worth and beautiful womanly character, the various municipal offices of the city were closed on the day of her funeral from two to five o'clock.
Dr. Metcalf is a member of St. Thomas Episcopal church, although for years he was a vestryman of St. John's church, of Kalamazoo, and after his removal to this city continued as vestryman here, and is now the only warden of St. Thomas' church, the senior warden having been removed by death.
In Masonic circles, Dr. Metcalf is recognized as a leader throughout Michigan, and is the highest Mason in the United States at this time and has been since the death of Gen. Samuel C. Lawrence, of Boston, Massachusetts, who died during 1911. Dr. Metcalf, who is now supreme councilman for the Northern Jurisdiction, was made a Master Mason, November 26, 1856, in Kalamazoo Lodge No. 22, F. & A. M., and quickly
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advanced in the organization until in 1861 he was made worshipful master. He was re-elected in 1862, in 1863 and again in 1869, and in 1887 was demitted with others from Kalamazoo Lodge for the purpose of reviving Anchor Lodge of Strict Observance No. 87, and in February, 1888, was made the first worshipful master under the restored charter. Soon after his removal to Battle Creek, a new lodge was formed and named in his honor, A. T. Metcalf Lodge No. 419, of which lodge he became the first worshipful master. He was chosen junior grand warden of the Grand Lodge of Michigan, in January, 1862, and re-elected in 1863, and was elected right worthy senior grand warden in 1864-5. He was elected deputy grand master in 1865, 1867 and 1868, and became grand master of the state in 1869 and re-elected in 1870. He succeeded to this office at a critical period in the history of the Michigan Grand Lodge. The many strong and determined acts which he performed during his first year to correct the loose habits into which some of the lodges of the state had fallen, aroused marked antagonism on the one hand and remarkable appreciation on the other, and his position and attitude were sustained by the Grand Lodge in the face of all efforts to the contrary. In Capitular Masonry, he held several offices, having been elected high priest of Kalamazoo Chapter in 1861 and again in 1868. His identification with Chivalric Masonry began in 1860, when he was made a Knight Templar in Peninsular Commandery No. 8, Kalamazoo. He served as eminent commander in 1868, 1869 and 1882, and in 1892 was admitted to Battle Creek Commandery No. 32, K. T., and was elected commander of the latter about the same year. He is an officer of Zabud Council, R. & S. M., of Battle Creek, and has been an active representative of the Scottish Rite for many years. In 1866 he was elected commander in chief of De Witt Clinton Consistory, and was re-elected each succeeding year up to and including 1870. He is now an active member of Supreme Council of Sovereign Grand In- spectors General for the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States, and for six years was district deputy for Michigan. He has attained an honor accorded few representatives of the craft, that of being a thirty-third degree Mason.
In politics Dr. Metcalf has held prominent position. As a mem- ber of the Democratic party, he was elected to the board of trustees in Kalamazoo, and was chosen president of that village by popular suf- frage in 1879. He represented the second district of Kalamazoo county in the State Legislature in 1875-6. After his removal to Battle Creek, he was elected mayor of the city in 1897, and many of his friends in both parties consider him one of the best mayors the city ever had, his efforts being among progressive and practical lines which would prove of the greatest good to the greatest number. A clean and well-spent life has left him sound in body and mind at the age of eighty-one years, and much of his good health he attributes to out-of-door exercise, even the coldest days of winter finding him taking his long walks. His is a familiar figure on the streets of Battle Creek, where he is accorded the respect and esteem due those whose activities have served to advance their community's interests, and he is universally regarded as one of Battle Creek's foremost citizens.
ALONZO NOBLE. The late Alonzo Noble was so closely associated with the development and business interests of Battle Creek that his life history forms an integral chapter in its annals, which if omitted would leave an incomplete record of the city. He established the second store in what was then the little hamlet, and from that time identified himself with the various changes and enterprises that caused its growth into a
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great commercial and industrial center. Mr. Noble was born in Rich- mond, Chittenden county, Vermont, June 3, 1809, and was a son of Enoch Noble whose birth occurred in Westfield, Massachusetts, two years prior to the beginning of the Revolutionary war, and three years before the writing of the Declaration of Independence. Enoch Noble was reared to manhood in Westfield and was married there to Matilda Smith, who was born in the old Bay state, July 17, 1771. Soon after his marriage, Enoch Noble removed to Richmond, Vermont, where he fol- lowed the blacksmith's trade, and it was in that town that Alonzo Noble was reared to manhood.
Alonzo Noble received a good practical education and as a boy entered a store in the capacity of a clerk, in which business he was promoted from time to time. When he had sufficient capital, which he had saved by industry and economy, he engaged in business for himself at Milton, Vermont, and remained there until 1836, when he disposed of his store and started for the great and growing west. Making his way to Mich- igan, he settled in Battle Creek and established a store at the corner of Jefferson avenue and Main street, bringing to this hamlet its second stock of dry goods, a Mr. Coleman having opened a store a few months before. Mr. Noble erected a small building, in which was placed the first briek chimney in Battle Creek. This was a two-story structure and the second floor was used by Mr. Noble and his wife as a residence. They occupied it for twelve years, after which time, Mr. Noble having been successful in his business ventures, he erected one of the most modern and beautiful residences in the city. In 1850 the frame building in which he had commenced business was replaced by a substantial three-story brick block, which is still standing and known as the Noble Block. He occu- pied this with a large and well-selected line of dry goods, and for many years had the leading mercantile establishment of Battle Creek, and in all his dealings displayed integrity and probity. The passing years brought him a competence that enabled him at a later date to put aside all business cares and to live a retired life.
Mr. Noble was married before leaving the east to Miss Rhoda Murray, October 1, 1833, the wedding ceremony being performed at Williston, Vermont, by the Rev. William Arthur, whose son was the late President Arthur. Mrs. Noble was born June 11, 1812, and was a daughter of Calvin and Rhoda ( Allen) Murray. Her father was a farmer and died in early manhood in the Green Mountain state. Unto this union was born a daughter: Helen E., who became the wife of Dr. A. T. Metcalf, whose life is reviewed in another part of this volume.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Noble had a wide circle of friends in Calhoun county, and in public affairs he was prominent and influential. During President Buchanan's administration, he served as postmaster of the city, having the office in his store. He was also one of the early mayors of Battle Creek, being elected to that office on the Democratic ticket, being a stanch adherent of that party. The same honorable dealing that characterized his business life was brought into his administration of public affairs, he regarding his office as a sacred trust. In fraternal matters he belonged to Battle Creek Lodge No. 12, F. & A. M., Chapter No. 19, R. A. M., and Battle Creek Commandery No. 33, K. T .. and was most active in the work of the craft and charter member of the lodge and chapter. In his religious views he was a Universalist, his wife also being a member of that church, but after his death she became identified with St. Thomas' Episcopal church. Mr. Noble died in Battle Creek, March 27, 1874, after a residence in the city that had covered almost four decades. In his death Battle Creek lost a man who was representative of its highest type of citizenship, and he was mourned not
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only by his immediate family and friends, but by those with whom he had come in contact and who had learned to appreciate his many ad- mirable qualities of heart and mind.
JOHN H. CALLAHAN. It has been given Mr. Callahan to gain prestige as one of the most successful and popular hotel men of his native state, and he is at the present time owner of the Albion and Commercial hotel properties in the city of Albion, and also the Clifton hotels in Battle Creek. He gives his personal supervision to the two Clifton hotels in the latter city and rents those in Albion. Exceptional achieve- ment is implied when a man is thus the owner of three hotels in a single county and all of these of high class. Mr. Callahan has shown special adaptability to this important line of enterprise, is most scrupu- lous in maintaining service at high standard, and his genial, whole- souled nature has won to him the high regard of the traveling public and the esteem of the citizens of the two cities in which his interests are centered.
John H. Callahan is a native of Michigan and a scion of pioneer families of this state. He was born on the old homestead farm of his father, in Parma township, Jackson county, on the 7th of October, 1863, and is a son of Michael and Adesia (Carpenter) Callahan, the former of whom was born in County Cork, Ireland, and the latter of whom was born in the state of New York, of English lineage, her parents, Jas. Carpenter and wife, having removed to Michigan when she was a child and having numbered themselves among the pioneers of Ingham county, where her father became a representative farmer and where she was reared to maturity, her marriage having been there solemnized. Michael Callahan was a lad of twelve years when he came with his parents to America, and his father secured a tract of land in Parma town- ship, Jackson county, Michigan, where he reclaimed a productive farm from the forest wilds. Michael Callahan was reared to manhood in that county and there continued to be successfully identified with agri- cultural pursuits during his entire active career,-a man of sterling character, marked industry and unequivocal civic loyalty. He died in 1905, in the Nichols Hospital in Battle Creek, whither he had come for medical treatment, and he was sixty-eight years of age at the time of his demise. Mrs. Adesia (Carpenter) Callahan died on the old homestead in 1864, when her son John H., of this review, was but three years of age, and the father subsequently contracted a second marriage. John H. is the eldest of the three surviving children; Jennie is the wife of Dr. Wm. H. Atterbury, of Litchfield, Hillsdale county; and Josephine is the widow of Chas. Sykes, of Albion.
John H. Callahan was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and after availing himself of the advantages of the public schools of the township of Parma he completed a commercial course in Albion College. Thereafter he was associated in the work and management of the home farm until he had attained to the age of twenty-five years. Thereafter he was engaged in the agricultural-implement business at Albion. May 1, 1891, he became proprietor of the Commercial hotel in the city of Albion. He purchased this excellent property and after personally conducting the hotel for seven years, at the expiration of which he went to Colorado, where he remained about four years, during the greater part of which he was identified with mining enterprises in the Cripple Creek district. He was successful in this line and upon his return to Albion he resumed control of the Commercial hotel and also purchased the Albion House, long the leading hotel of that city. He continued to give his personal supervision to his hotel interests in
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