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 94
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HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY
South Dakota; Mrs. Libbie Ward, also a resident of South Dakota; Rob- ert, who resides in Marshall, Calhoun county; B. W. Phillips, the sub- ject of this sketch; and Edward, a resident of Texas. Steven Phillips, the grandfather of our subject, was a native of England and died there after reaching the remarkable age of 112 years. He was a farmer by occupation and until his death was active in body, with his mental faculties seemingly unimpaired and as keen as ever. Thomas B. Teague, the maternal grandfather, also owned his nativity to England and spent his active years there as a shoemaker.
B. W. Phillips received his education in New York State and was old enough at the time of the war to remember some of the privations and hardships that so often attended the families of absent soldiers. He began life on his own responsibility at the age of thirteen as a farm hand. About a year after he had reached man's estate, or in 1877, he went west and bought 160 acres of land in Minnesota. This he sold, however, and in 1879 returned to Calhoun county, Michigan, where he bought a sixty acre farm in Newton township, the nucleus of his present holdings now comprising 235 acres of fine land. What Mr. Phillips had accomplished represents years of toil, industry and good management, together with good business acumen in the handling of his interests. Much of his land was timbered. This he cleared and he has placed good improvements upon the property. His attention is devoted to general ,farming.
December 25, 1879, he married Carrie Francisco, a daughter of Henry Francisco, a native of Germany and an early settler in Newton township who prospered there as a farmer and left a large estate to his four children. To Mr. and Mrs. Phillips have been born six children, as follows: Emery, now located in Battle Creek; Lottie, who married Herb- ert Salsbury and resides in Emmett township of this county; Henry, associated with his father in the work of the home farm; Oral and Goldie, at the parental home; and John, a pupil in the public schools.
Mr. Phillips is a member of the local Grange, and in politics is aligned with the progressive branch of the Republican party.
ARZA L. MCCUTCHEON has heen engaged in the real estate and fire insurance business in Albion since 1886, and he is without a doubt one of the best known, insurance men in Calhoun county today. He con- trols a goodly share of the fire insurance business of this city, repre- senting a number of the most reliable concerns in that line known in the east, and is, on the whole, particularly well established. In addition to his other business he is justice of the peace, an office which he has held continuously since 1904.
A native son of Michigan and Calhoun county, Arza L. Mccutcheon was born in Albion township on his father's farm, on May 10, 1855. He is a son of Rensselaer and Elvira (Bishop) Mccutcheon, both of whom were natives of Tompkins county, New York state, from whence, in 1839, they removed to Michigan, and settling in Albion township, Cal- houn county, and there securing land from the government. He fol- lowed farming until the close of his life, and died at his home in the city of Albion on May 2, 1880. His wife survived him until February 8, 1892. The Mccutcheon family originated in Scotland, and in the early days of our National independence emigrated to this country, settling in New England, and finally finding a location in New York state. Their son, Arza L., acquired his early education in the district school and later entered Albion College. there pursuing his studies for three years. He left college in 1876 owing to depleted health and some little time there- after opened a real-estate and insurance office in Albion, which he has
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since continued to conduct. His success from the beginning was of an encouraging order, and, representing as he did some of the best com- panies in the fire insurance world, he soon gained a reputation which has been one of the most valuable assets in his possession. The business has grown with the passing years, until it has reached splendid propor- tions, and he is well known in and about Albion in the insurance business.
In 1900 Mr. Mccutcheon married Miss Adah Stevens of Jackson county, a daughter of Oscar W. Stevens, one of the prosperous and highly respected citizens of the county. One son was born to Mr. and Mrs. McCutcheon-Thomas T., who is attending school in his native town.
Mr. Mccutcheon is a Democrat of pronounced type, and gives un- failing support to the labors of that party. He has done his full duty as a citizen in Albion, and has served the city in various capacities. In 1897 he was elected mayor by a flattering majority, and during his administration a number of valuable improvements came to pass within the city. In 1904 he was elected justice of the peace, and as mentioned previously, he is still the incumbent of that office, having been reelected from time to time and serving with credit throughout the years.
Fraternally, Mr. Mccutcheon is affiliated with Calhoun Lodge No. 60 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 113 Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and of the Knights of the Modern Maccabees. He is a member of the Royal Arcanum and is past president of the local lodge of the Fraternal Order of Eagles.
Mr. Mccutcheon is one of a family of six. His brothers, Isaac and Robert, are both deceased; Melissa, the only sister, married, and is now a widow; Otis E. Mccutcheon is dean of the law department of the University of Idaho, and Orrin died July 4, 1912. He was a conductor in the service of the Michigan Central Railroad, and between that com- pany and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul had served for forty-two years.
SAMUEL I. ABBEY. During a residence of thirty-five years in Bat- tle Creek, Samuel I. Abbey has been one of the most useful citizens, successful in business, and a kindly, energetic, public-spirited member of the community. While he has not taken the conspicuous roles in public life, his citizenship has always been a wholesome factor for the welfare and advancement of his city.
A native of Madison county, New York, he was born on a farm near Brookfield, May 13, 1846, and was a son of Ira and Rhoda B. (Rhodes) Abbey, who were also natives of New York state. The parents came out and settled at Battle Creek in 1871, and for three years the father was superintendent of the institution which has since become the Bat- tle Creek Sanitarium. In 1876 he and his wife returned to New York, and again made their home on the old farm of one hundred and eighty- seven acres which had been in the possession of the Abbey family for one hundred and twenty-five years. This old homestead lies in the beautiful Chenango valley within view of the Lackawanna railroad. On both sides the parents were descended from ancestors whose orig- inal home was at Hartford, Connecticut, and several of the mother's uncles were sea captains. The parents both died in California, where their bodies now rest. There were seven children in the family, two sons and five daughters, namely: Lucinda M. Abbey, of Battle Creek ; Mrs. Wheeler, of California; Mrs. Eleanor Satterlee, of Battle Creek ; Rosette Perry, of Brookfield, New York; Decilvin Abbey, who is now deceased ; and Lillian Caron, of California.
Mr. Samuel I. Abbey, who was the fourth in order of birth, spent
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his early life on the farm in the vicinity of Brookfield. Besides the district schools which he attended, he was also a student in a select school at Hamilton, New York, and for three winters was in the Bryant & Stratton Business College at Rochester. He did not choose a voca- tion but merely followed the leadings of his strong delight in horses and at an early age began buying and selling horses, which was his occupation throughout his residence in New York state. Most of his purchases were made in Canada, and were disposed of in the New England states.
In 1877 Mr. Abbey permanently located at Battle Creek, and en- gaged in the livery business at the Sanitarium barns, from which fact he was long known as the Sanitarium liveryman. Later he built the two barns at 169-170 Champion street, where he continued the business until 1907, in all a period of thirty years, so that at the time of his retirement from the business he was the oldest liveryman of the city. When the water works plant was established in Battle Creek, he had the contract for drawing all the water mains. He has always been an active, vigorous business man, and for a number of years has given much of his time to the development of real estate. He has built over forty houses, and good ones at that, and is building and selling this class of property all the time, having at this writing some ten resi- dences in the city. He formerly owned the North Meadow farm in As- syria township, Barry county, located on the "base line," and sold this fine estate in 1892.
In politics he is a Republican, but is not an office seeker. His inter- ests in behalf of the social welfare have been very quietly but effectively directed to the acts of helpfulness and real philanthropy which he and his good wife have for years carried on among the poor. Mr. and Mrs. Abbey are both members of the Adventists Tabernacle. Mrs. Abbey has for many years sung at funeral occasions there, and is still called on for that purpose. Mrs. Abbey, before her marriage, which occurred March 19, 1871, was Miss Mary L. Smith, daughter of Cyrenius and Louise (Sawyer) Smith. Her father was born in Vermont and her mother in Massachusetts, and they were among the very early pioneers of Michigan. In 1832 they settled in Jackson county near what was then the hamlet of Jackson, but the farm is now included in the city limits of Jackson. On this homestead, now covered by the residence and business buildings of Jackson, Mrs. Abbey was born, but her par- ents moving to Battle Creek in 1855, she was educated in this city. Before her marriage she learned the trade of printing and proof-read- ing, and a number of years ago looked after the proof-reading of the Sanitarium for Dr. J. H. Kellogg. The Kellogg and Smith families were close neighbors and friends here in the early days.
Mr. and Mrs. Abbey are the parents of one son, J. Lynne, who was born in this city, April 21, 1883. He married Miss Lillian J. Babcock, of this city, and they have three daughters, Dorothy, Beryl and Eliza- beth. The son and family reside at 36 Buckeye street. Mr. and Mrs. Abbey's home is at 171 Champion street.
ANDREW C. HEBBLE. Among the enterprising citizens of Battle Creek who owe their success and advancement in life to their own in- dustry and well-directed efforts, is Andrew C. Hebble, funeral director, who conducts one of the most modern establishments in this part of the state. Mr. Hebble is one of the valued citizens who were given to this city by the Keystone state, his eyes having first opened to the light of day in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on December 26, 1862. His father was Benjamin Hebble and the name of his mother previous to her mar-
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riage was Lydia Shaffer, the former being a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Maryland. They were united in the bonds of matri- mony in Frederick, Maryland, the town made famous by the incident of Barbara Fritche at the time of the Civil war. Previous to coming to Michigan Benjamin Hebble engaged in the carpenter's trade, but upon his location in new scenes he devoted his activities to the great basic industry, his farm being situated in Assyria township, Barry county. He still owns the old homestead farm upon which he has lived for a half century and resides upon it, his years now numbering eighty-three, but the good wife and mother passed away in the year 1900. Two children born to this couple lived to years of maturity, the subject's sister, Mrs. J. W. Bird, being also a resident of this city.
Young Hebble received his early education in the district schools of Barry county, Michigan, and having decided to devote his endeavors to business he became a student in the old Battle Creek Business Col- lege. In 1890 he came to Battle Creek and for a number of years en- gaged in mechanical work, but subsequently made a study of embalm- ing and undertaking. He has now been independently in business for three years, since 1909, and has one of the large establishments, if not the largest in the field of any undertaker in Calhoun county. He has made an enviable reputation for square dealing and for work of ex- cellent quality and enjoys the confidence of the entire community He is alert to adopt and secure every advance made in his science and every new and modernized equipment. He owns the white ambulance and has a fine and most complete outfit of funeral cars, together with casket service and flower wagon equal in beauty and excellence to the finest establishments in far larger cities.
Mr. Hebble is a Mason and exemplifies in his own living the ideals of moral and social justice and brotherly love for which the order stands. His affiliation is with Battle Creek Lodge, No. 12, and the Knights of the Tented Maccabees, the Moose, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
On November 30, 1888, Mr. Hebble was happily married to Miss Esther H. Smith, of Penfield, Michigan, thus establishing an inde- pendent household. Mrs. Hebble is a native of his home district-As- syria township, Barry county and was educated there and at Hastings, Michigan. Subsequent to that she attended the State Normal College at Valparaiso, Indiana, and then taught school both in Barry county and up to a few years ago in the schools of this city. The Hebble resi- ยท dence, an attractive and cultured abode, is located at 225 North avenue and is the center of a gracious hospitality. Mr. Hebble's undertaking establishment is at 108 West Main street.
INGRAM W. SCHRAM. One of the most prominent members of the Real Estate Board of Battle Creek is Ingram W. Schram. While en- gaged in a general real estate and insurance business, he is less of a broker than an actual builder and developer of city property. An il- lustration of his enterprise is found in his activities for the year 1912. With another real estate man, W. S. Eells, he has joined in the order- ing of an entire trainload of building material, comprising altogether between fifteen and twenty cars of lumber and other material. In ad- dition to the many houses which he has already erected in the city, he is planning to build, from his share of this train load, some twenty-five houses north and west of the Sanitarium annex besides about twenty other in different parts of the city. The building of houses for sale on easy terms has been developed by him to a large business, and many families now live in homes of their own who could never have attained
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this element of independence without such facilities as are offered by Mr. Schram.
Although practically all of his business career has been spent in Battle Creek, Mr. Schram is a native of the northwest. He was born in Blue Earth county, Minnesota, October 21, 1874. His parents were Horace and Catherine (Donnelly) Schram, who were natives of Can- ada and were married there, and in 1872 moved to Blue Earth county, where the father took up one hundred and sixty acres of government land. This he improved into a good home and resided on it until his death, which occurred March 5, 1909. Though by nature very retiring. and never participating in public life, he was an exceptionally good farmer and a very industrious and ambitious citizen. The mother now resides in the state of Washington. Of the ten children in the family, one daughter died when two years old, and the rest are scattered in Washington, Minnesota, Kansas and Michigan. The oldest is Mrs. Wil- liam Franklin, of Blue Earth county; Mrs. M. H. Gregory, of Inde- pendence, Kansas; Mrs. E. C. Mericle, of Blue Earth county; Mrs. A. S. Coon, of Pomeroy, Washington, both she and her husband being osteopathic physicians; James A., of Pomeroy, Washington; Mrs. M. B. Gregory, of Battle Creek; George B., of Blue Earth county ; Ingram W., of Battle Creek; and E. D., of Battle Creek. The three eldest were born in Canada, and the others in Blue Earth county, where all of them received their educations.
Mr. Schram was reared on the farm and worked there up to the age of nineteen, and then, in October, 1893, arrived in Battle Creek, which has been his place of residence for nearly twenty years. For the first ten years he was engaged in several lines of work, and then in 1903 established on a small scale the business which he has since developed to such profitable and large proportions. His office was at 35 Washington street until 1909, and since then he has occupied quar- ters at West Main and Washington. He is a member of the Real Es- tate Board, and is now president of the Home Land Company of this city. Politically, he is a Republican, but has never engaged in prac- tical politics.
His pleasant home is at No. 392 Washington avenue North. He was married at Eaton Rapids, Michigan, November 3, 1897, to Miss Hattie Wilbur. Mrs. Schram was born and educated in that town, and was the oldest daughter of William and Marilla Wilbur of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Schram are the parents of three children, all of them born in Battle Creek, namely: Fern Lenora, aged twelve; Wil- bur Alden, aged seven ; and Marjorie Ruth, aged two.
WARREN D. BAKER. One of the wealthy and influential men of Calhoun county, Michigan is Warren D. Baker, whose estate of 305 acres all in one body lies in Burlington township and forms one of the finest homesteads of the county. Mr. Baker is not only one of the most extensive farmers of this section and a prominent man in public affairs, but his name has become very widely known in his own state and practically all over the Union as a breeder of fine horses.
He was born in Genesee county, New York on September 10, 1834, a scion of an old New York family that was originally of German lineage. His parents, Nathan and Eliza (De Mott) Baker, were both natives of the Empire State, where the former was born in 1796 and the latter in 1798. Nathan Baker was the son of Rev. Nathan Baker, who was born in New York and spent his entire life there in the Bap- tist ministry. Nathan Baker was reared and educated in New York. Early in his career he removed to Wisconsin; then about 1834 or 1835
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he bought land in Le Roy township, Calhoun county, Michigan. About 1855 he brought his family to Burlington township and continued to reside there until his death, at which time he left a large estate. All of his life had been devoted to farming and with marked success. War- ren D. Baker is now the only surviving member of this family. The maternal grandparents of our subject, also were natives of New York. After her husband's death Mrs. De Mott took up her residence in Mich- igan and died in this state.
Mr. Baker received both a common and high school education, his studies having been pursued in Racine, Wisconsin and in Battle Creek, Michigan. He began life for himself on a farm and has devoted many years to the great basic industry of agriculture, his efforts having been attended by the most successful results. Though now well ad- vanced in years, he continues in the active management of his large estate of 305 acres and also raises considerable stock. As previously mentioned, Mr. Baker was for a number of years actively engaged in the breeding of fine blooded horses. He bred Robert Kernan, that had a record of 2:061/4 and later was purchased by John D. Rockefeller and used two years by him as a driving horse. Mr. Baker has sold horses all over the United States, the last one of which he disposed having become the property of A. W. Shulthis, of Independence, Kan- sas. Mr. Baker is a staunch Republican and has taken considerable interest in the political affairs of his party in Calhoun county. He was once a candidate to become a member of the Michigan legislature and failed of election by but one vote. He has accumulated wealth by the exercise of a keen business judgment and by a half century or more of useful and honorable activity, and by his individual enter- prise and public spirit has been a potent force in contributing to the material wealth and prestige of Calhoun county.
Mr. Baker has been twice married. His first wife was Elizabeth Jenner, a daughter of Lomas Jenner and the great-great-granddaugh- ter of Dr. Edward Jenner, an English physician who was the discoverer of vaccination. She died, leaving one son who died at the age of thir- teen years, In 1876, Miss Martha Wells became the second wife of Mr. Baker. She is the daughter of Lewis B. and Lois H. (Kimball) Wells, both natives of New York, from whence they came to Michigan where they spent the remainder of their lives on a farm. The father was a blacksmith by trade. Mr. and Mrs. Baker have two children, both of whom have been afforded excellent educational advantages. Vivian D., their daughter, completed the literary course in the University of Michigan and was graduated from that well known institution in 1911; Gerald is a graduate of the high school at Union City, Michigan. Both are at home with their parents.
A. J. BAADER. Since 1902 A. J. Baader has been engaged in the manufacture of cigars in Albion, and is known for one of the leading manufacturers in the community today. He is prominent, progressive and popular, and is recognized among the substantial citizens of the city in which he has made his home since his boyhood.
A native of Germany. born in Baden, March 19, 1863. Mr. Baader is the son of Carl and Hannah (Lane) Baader. In 1872 the family emigrated to America, proceeding at once to Manchester, Michigan, after their arrival in New York city. The father, a man of humble means, was for years engaged as a section foreman in railroad bed construction, and he died in 1876. His wife, ever devoted to him and a kind and indulgent mother, survived him until 1902. Their son, A. J. Baader of this brief review, received his initial schooling in his
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native land, and after coming to the United States with his parents entered the Manchester high school, wherein his education was com- pleted. When he was thirteen years old he left school and began to work for himself, his first employment being in the cigar business, where he was engaged by M. G. Lonecker at Jackson, Michigan, where he was for eighteen years and then in 1894, came to Albion, and in that early position he gained a comprehensive knowledge of the manufac- ture of cigars, to which business he has devoted himself from then to the present time.
In 1902 Mr. Baader started in business on his own responsibility and erected a suitable building for his work on the lot on which his private residence is located. For a time he was associated in the busi- ness with one F. A. Wocholz, under the firm name of Wocholz & Baa- der, and this partnership endured for three and a half years, at the end of which time Mr. Baader bought his partner's interest in the , business and continued operations under the firm name of A. J. Baader & Company. Mr. Baader employs ten people in his factory, and his product is well known in this section of the country, supplying many of the neighboring towns.
On September 8, 1886, Mr. Baader was married to Miss Henrietta Beilfuss, and four children have been born to them: Minnie is the wife of Fred Ficher; Della is at home, as is also Mary and Carl, the young- est, is yet a student.
Mr. Baader is affiliated with various fraternal orders, among them the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Modern Woodmen of America and the German Lodge, D. O. H., of which he is a supreme member. He is likewise a member of the Cigar Makers' Union and of the Illinois Commercial Travelers Association, also the Supreme Mac- cabees. He is a Democrat and in 1897 was elected alderman of the Third ward, serving two years in that capacity, and further proving the high order of his citizenship while filling the office.
L. P. SEBASTIAN is a member of the firm of L. P. Sebastian & Son, dealers in granite and monuments, originally known as Barry & Se- bastian, when the firm was first established in Albion in 1891. Five years after the organization of the firm, Mr. Sebastian bought out the interest of his partner, Mr. Barry, and the new firm of Sebastian & Son came into existence. From its inception, the business has grown apace, and the operations of this concern today extend throughout Calhoun and many adjoining counties.
Mr. Sebastian is a native son of Calhoun county, born on one of its farms on January 27, 1859. He is the son of Frederick D. and Salome (Kimmer) Sebastian, both natives of Baden, Germany. The family emigrated to America in 1835 or thereabouts, and upon arrival in New York city came direct to Calhoun county, where they bought an eighty acre farm in Sheridan township, to which they added until their hold- ings totaled one hundred and sixty acres. They engaged in general farming and stock raising and Frederick Sebastian came to be regarded as one of the most successful farmers of the township. He died on the farm which had represented his home and the center of his ac- tivities from the time of his arrival in America, his death occurring in 1875, and his widow still survives him. She makes her home on the old Sebastian homestead, and although now in her eightieth year, is yet hale and hearty. Eleven children were born to Frederick and Sa- lome Sebastian, named as follows: William W .. Frederick D., Charles H .. L. P., of this review, George E., Flora C., Kate A. M. and Reuben, Vol. II-41
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