History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, Part 76

Author: Durant, Samuel W. comp
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia. Everts & Abbott
Number of Pages: 761

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ney. For three years he practiced his profession, two years of the time in partnership with his law preceptor. In 1846 he became owner and editor of the Kalamazoo Ga- zette, to the management of which for sixteen years he devoted time, energy, and ability, achieving thereby local fame, wide-spread influence, and a modest competence. His health, never robust, began to fail in 1860. This was caused partly by too close attention to business and its consequent neglect of hygienic laws, and largely by the distress which impending political dangers, clearly foreseen, caused in his patriotic heart. Hoping to renew his strength for the then impending conflict, he went to Europe early in 1861. He returned home at the end of the year improved in health, but unable to resume his editorial or business pursuits; therefore in 1862 he reluctantly sold the journal, to which he had given so many years of labor and almost life itself. During the years 1864, 1868, and 1874, he again and again sought the priceless boon of health among the capitals, his- toric scenes, art treasures, and health-giving resorts of Eu- rope, but all to little purpose, except to enrich the already overflowing treasures of his memory and to expand an in- tellectual capacity already too great for its physical founda- tion. For five more years his health and strength contin- ued gradually to fail, until his death, at home in Kalamazoo, on the 21st day of February, 1879.

In early life Mr. Hascall held various local offices, and at different times he was member and chairman of various State and local committees for political and other important pur- poses. In 1850 he was elected, from Kalamazoo County, to the State Constitutional Convention, of which he was an active and useful member. In 1857 he was appointed by the President register of the general land-office for the Western District of Michigan, a position which he held until the land-office was moved from Kalamazoo. In 1844, Mr. Hascall married Miss Louisa A. Sweetland, of Genesee Co., N. Y., who died in 1862. On Jan. 1, 1864, he mar- ried Miss Sophie Beerstecher, a native of Nuveville, Canton Berne, Switzerland, who yet survives. He left no children.

Thus briefly we may summarize the notable events of the life even of a notable man, and though such events may sometimes indicate the high estimate of a man by his con- temporaries and friends, yet how feebly this enumeration portrays the man to strangers, and how unsatisfactorily to friends! The accurately-written analysis of a rare flower may enable a botanist to classify it, but how inadequate, till he sees it, will be his conception of its beauty and its fra- grance ! So any attempted pen-portraiture of Mr. Hascall will be peculiarly unsatisfactory, because all who thoroughly knew him in life know that he was; in fact, a much greater man than he seemed to be, even to most of his acquaint- ances.

Those who knew him here, from first to last, remember him as a diffident lad and man, endowed by natural inher- itance with an insatiable thirst for knowledge, a remarkable memory, a broad, logical, philosophical, and forcible intel- lect, capable of grappling successfully with great questions; with a wit and humor that, according to occasion, was sun- shine or a thunderbolt ; with a love of truth and justice that neither swerved nor tolerated swerving from right; with a fidelity that never forsook a true friend or a just

V.Hascall.

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cause ; with a charity that was always ready to mantle, on proper occasion, human weakness and defect; and with a heart warm for all humanity, and tender and true to the few admitted to its inmost recesses.

If now we add to such unusual endowments his mag- nificent acquirements in literature, philosophy, fine arts, and general practical knowledge of men and of the world, we have in view a man who is capable of filling almost any public position with credit to himself and with profit to those he serves. But extreme diffidence, and in later years feeble health, kept him from the public eye.

He began business life as a lawyer, because he loved law as a study ; but its practice as a profession proved not to his taste, because he found himself unfitted for its forensic contests. As an editorial writer he was terse, clear, logical, forcible, and convincing, and for many years he and his journal were a political power. In this field he attained distinction, many of his editorial contributions to the " high debate" of great constitutional and political questions at- tracting attention in all parts of the Union. Politically he was a Democrat in the strictest and purest sense ; he con- tended for principles, not men ; for policies, not parties ; for the good of all, not for the good of one ; while as a cit- izen he was always earnest, patriotic, self-sacrificing, prompt in defense of the rights of the people, and loyal to the government and its written code.

Mr. Hascall ever was a staunch friend and a liberal con- tributor to the various religious, educational, and public enterprises of the locality, especially interesting himself in the education of young men, many of whom will remember him gratefully for his timely aid and good counsels.

While a traveler he proved to be a close and a wise ob- server of the intellectual, moral, social, and political aspects of the Old World, and his published letters prove him to have been well fitted for the difficult duties of a foreign correspondent.

Of the religious aspect of his character, it is enough to say here that his philosophical nature was too well balanced and too sweet to accept either infidelity or atheism, and it was too broad to permit him to be a sectary or a bigot ; he was an earnest, unsectarian believer in the divinity and teachings of Jesus Christ. His religious faith, which sus- tained him to the end with the sure hope of a blessed immortality beyond, enabled him to bear nearly twenty years of suffering and baffled hopes with a patience and a forbearance that won the admiration of all around him.

But it was in his social life, among those he loved and whose tastes were congenial, that his best qualities were most fully displayed. It was here, too, where he was most fully appreciated, that he was most respected and most loved. It has already been said of him that he was greater than he seemed, and it was in the easy abandon of private life, and when conversing on some congenial topic, that his native mental power was most fully displayed ; it was here that the wealth of his knowledge was unreservedly exposed; it was here that his inner and true life was shown to be much richer and greater than that outer life which was known to the world. Those who knew him here knew the man ; to all others he was, and will remain, relatively a stranger.

GEN. ISAAC MOFFATT,

a resident of the village of Kalamazoo, Mich., since the year 1839, was born in Otsego Co., N. Y., June 23, A.D. 1791. His earlier education in school was limited to the common branches of reading, writing, and arithmetic. In

GEN. ISAAC MOFFATT.

his boyhood, on the farm, and subsequently as a merchant's clerk, he learned that success in life depended mainly on industry and correct habits. Leaving his native town, he spent some time as a clerk in Albany, thence moving to Jefferson Co., N. Y., where he was engaged for himself and others in farming and merchandising. During the war of 1812 he joined the army, and served at Sacket's Harbor and places on the St. Lawrence River, under the immediate command of Gen. Jacob Brown. For his military service he has received from the United States one hundred and sixty acres of bounty land, and is now in the receipt of a pension for said service. He emigrated to Michigan in 1836, and was first engaged in erecting mills and improving a large body of land in Berrien County. From thence he moved to Kalamazoo, and was there associated with Hiram Arnold and Charles A. Sheldon in merchandising and ship- ping wheat to an Eastern market. Until within a few years Gen. Moffatt has been actively engaged in business pursuits, and by his untiring industry secured a competence for his coming years. He was receiver of public moneys at the district land-office under President Tyler. His ancestors and relatives have been somewhat remarkable for length of life, his grandfather dying at the age of one hundred years and five months, his father at the age of ninety-five years, and three of his sisters are now living (1879), aged re- spectively seventy-three, seventy-four, and eighty-one years.

HIRAM ARNOLD

has been intimately identified with the business interests of Kalamazoo for more than forty years, and a brief sketch of his life at this time will be appropriate.

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HISTORY OF KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

He was born in Brownsville, Jefferson Co., N. Y., July 14, 1808. When fifteen years of age he engaged, as clerk in a store, to learn the mercantile business; this he con- tinued until 1836. At this time he had saved from his earnings one thousand dollars. Thinking he could estab- lish himself better in a new country, he joined the tide of emigration then setting West, and chanced to locate at Kalamazoo, in July, 1836, where he engaged in the mercan- tile business, which he continued some twenty years under various names and firms. In 1840 he was associated with C. A. Sheldon and Gen. Moffatt in the general mercantile business. Their transactions were quite extensive; they received their goods from Buffalo by water at the mouth of the St. Joseph River, and by team from there. At that time farm products had only a local demand and were very low. Wheat had a nominal value of three shillings per bushel, but was not a cash article. To accommodate the farmers, this firm received their wheat, teamed it to the mouth of the river, and shipped it to Buffalo. This enter- prise was undertaken in 1840, which was the first ship- ment of wheat from Kalamazoo.

In 1855, Mr. Arnold withdrew from the mercantile busi- ness and engaged in banking. In 1859 he retired to his farm, some two miles north of the village, and built a fine residence, with pleasant surroundings, where he has since resided.

Mr. Arnold was married Oct. 16, 1831, at Brownsville, N. Y., to Betsey Woodbury Massey, daughter of Edward Massey, who died when she was a child. She was adopted and grew up in the family of Solon Massey, of Watertown, N. Y., who was a son of Deacon Hart Massey, of Watertown, N. Y. She died Aug. 17, 1879, leaving six children, two having died in infancy. Mrs. Arnold was an active and consistent member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church of Kalamazoo from its organization.

Politically, Mr. Arnold has ever been a Democrat, but not a politician, although he has held several offices of trust and honor, among them that of president of the village, and now, after an active and industrious life of threescore years and ten, he looks back with the satisfaction of having acted well his part. He enjoys a well-earned competency and the respect of all.

GEORGE TORREY

was born in Salem, Mass., in 1801. After receiving a lib- eral education he embarked in mercantile pursuits, in which business he continued until 1832, when he resolved to go West. He came to Michigan in 1833, and was so well pleased with the country that he brought his family (with the exception of one son, who was sent to attend school with his uncle, Professor Joseph Torrey, at Burlington, Vt.) to Richland, in Kalamazoo County.

After a trial of farming for a year or more, he removed to Yorkville and engaged in the dry-goods business. At this place his wife died in 1839, and he soon after removed to Augusta village, where he purchased mill property. In 1844 he removed to Kalamazoo village, where, in company with H. B. Miller, he engaged in the publication of the

Kalamazoo Telegraph, which had been established in Sep- tember of that year by Mr. Miller.

In 1845 he purchased Mr. Miller's interest in the paper, and soon after associated with him in the business Mr. William Milliken. This partnership continued until the autumn of 1846, when it was dissolved, and Mr. Milliken, contrary to agreement, as Mr. Torrey claimed, established another paper in the village, which he also named the Tele- graph. During the following winter the two papers ap- pealed to the people for support, each claiming to be the genuine Telegraph. This condition of things continued for a short period, to the pecuniary loss of both publishers, when the warfare was ended by Mr. Alexander J. Sheldon, who purchased the interests of both Mr. Torrey and Mr. Milliken, and consolidated the two under one name.

In 1850, Mr. Torrey was appointed light-house keeper at Grand Haven, Mich., where he remained four years, when he removed to the location of the Holland Company, where he had an extensive interest in pine-lands. Here he erected a mill and carried on the lumber business in connection with other parties. In the summer of 1854 he was taken ill, and while on his way to Kalamazoo, accom- panied by Dr. Marsh, died at Chicago, and his remains were brought to Kalamazoo, where his son George resided, and interred in Mountain Home Cemetery.

Mr. Torrey was a member of one of the oldest New England families, and was a man of fine literary accom- plishments, of a genial nature, and a useful member of society. He was editor of the Telegraph from 1844 until 1850, and in many ways contributed to the development and growth of Western Michigan. He came of a family which for generations had been noted in literary circles, and many of whom had held high rank in theological, lit- erary, and other professional pursuits. His compositions, both in prose and verse, were marked with elegance of diction, purity of expression, and force and clearness of utterance.

As a pioneer he was among the first in the county, and an ever-willing helper in all work tending to the develop- ment and promotion of the best interests of the community. For years he was organist in St. Luke's Church, of which he was a member, and in many ways contributed to the building up of society and to the progress of Kalamazoo, which he loved and took great pride in,-no man ever more so. Three sons and one daughter survive him.

ORRIN N. GIDDINGS

was born in Beekman, Dutchess Co., N. Y., Feb. 21, 1814, and left home at the early age of fifteen, going to Pough- keepsie to learn general business, and remaining there until he was about twenty-two years of age. At that time he married a daughter of the late Ambrose Cock, and during the same year in company with his father-in-law and far- ily removed to Michigan, arriving at Charleston, in this county, in June, 1836, where, in company with a brother- in-law, he erected a store-building and carried on a general mercantile business combined with farming until 1840; from which date until 1847 he continued at farming, when he removed to Augusta, taking charge of a store there until

MRS. HIRAM ARNOLD.

HIRAM ARNOLD.

BROOKSIDE." RES. OF HIRAM ARNOLD, KALAMAZOO,

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VILLAGE OF KALAMAZOO.

1849, when he leased the Augusta Mills. In January, 1853, he removed to Kalamazoo village, where he is living at this date.

During Mr. Giddings' residence in the State he has been prominently known in politics, having been in early days a staunch Whig, and afterwards one of the organizers of the Republican party. While a resident of the town of Charleston he held the position of justice and supervisor, and in 1847 was elected a representative of Kalamazoo County in the State Legislature, serving one term ; while living in Ross he served as supervisor several terms, and in 1852 was elected county treasurer, serving in that position four suc- cessive terms ; in 1865 he was appointed by Governor Crapo quartermaster-general of the State, serving in that position for three years. In his private and official life he has always stood high in the county as a man of strict integrity, and few men in the county have stronger personal friends.

ALEXANDER J. SHELDON.

When the history of those men who by their individual efforts have done most for Kalamazoo and its improvement shall be written, the name of Alexander J. Sheldon should be first. Mr. Sheldon came to Kalamazoo in 1843, and for nearly ten years carried on the book business, for which he was peculiarly adapted, both by years of experience in Buf- falo, N. Y., and by his literary tastes. In 1845 he turned his attention to the improvement of this village, then with- out a sidewalk or street-crossing of any kind, without a fire department, and with scarcely a village government. Within four years by his energy he had brought order and beauty out of confusion and unsightliness. He laid down the first walk, in front of the Episcopal church, at his own cost, beginning a system of village improvements then unknown in any town in the State save Detroit. The people, having full confidence, appointed him village marshal, and he was allowed to do whatever in his judgment he saw fit to do. He started a revolution, and the neatness, order, and pride of the village may date from his movements. Sidewalks extended, crossings were put down, mud-holes were filled, grades were established, cattle were taken from the streets, the park was converted from mere commons and pasture to a well-regulated inclosed park, with hundreds of shade- trees planted upon it, and throughout the village. He drafted a new charter and ordinances for the government of the municipality, and placed the village on the best pos- sible basis for the times and the population, and from that time her habits, her character, and her progress date. So with the fire companies ; he was the first chief engineer, and he gave time, money, and ability to the encouragement of efforts which he inspired in behalf of fire protection ; he originated and promoted the building of Firemen's Hall and the two plank-roads. He did very much towards the building up of the first Episcopal Church ; he gave freely to any and all purposes which would redound to the advan- tage and the good name of Kalamazoo. He was prominent in all enterprises of that day. He built a fine store, kept a large and excellent stock of books and stationery ; he helped others, he was everybody's friend, and was himself always poor. Elsewhere we speak of him as an editor and

publisher. He filled so many places and made such an impress upon his times that for nearly half a score of years his name, more than that of any other man, must be stamped upon the progress of Kalamazoo. He removed to Buffalo in 1853, and, after filling a number of positions, for a time being librarian of the Grosvenor Library of that city, died there in March, 1876.

ISRAEL KELLOGG.

Among the old residents of Kalamazoo, Israel Kellogg deserves remembrance, for he has been a busy worker and prominent citizen for many years, and contributed a full share to the growth and prosperity of the place.

He was born in New Canaan, Columbia Co., N. Y., near the western line of Massachusetts, in 1798. When eight years of age the family removed to the town of Warren, Herkimer Co., lying in the historic valley of the Mohawk, adjoining the celebrated "German Flats." In 1817 the family once more removed to Clayton, Jefferson Co., N. Y., and this time to the banks of the finest and grandest river on the globe,-the noble and majestic St. Lawrence.

Mr. Kellogg first visited Michigan in 1836, and pur- chased land, but not in Kalamazoo County. He visited Berrien County in the fall of that year, but returned to New York. He was at Kalamazoo for about one year, in 1839-40, but returned to Berrien County, where he re- mained for two years, when he again came to Kalamazoo and made it his permanent home. He was for ten years land- lord of the famous Kalamazoo House, probably from about 1842 to 1852, and when the old original frame building was removed and the modern brick one erected in its place, he had the contract, and erected the new hotel. He was also the first building superintendent of the Michigan Asylum for the Insane, and erected a large portion of the original buildings.

About 1874, Mr. Kellogg became owner of the old " Academy" building, which stood in the park until about 1857, and in which the Kalamazoo branch of the State University was located for several years. The building now stands on Willard Street, between Cooley and West Streets, and is still in a good state of repair. For the past five years Mr. Kellogg has been an invalid, having been stricken down by paralysis ; but he is still quite vigorous in his mental faculties, and preserves a good recollection of events, though his memory is defective as to exact dates. His life has been long and active.

MAJ. ABRAHAM EDWARDS.

The following notice of a former prominent resident of Kalamazoo village we find in the columns of the Telegraph for May, 1878.

"THE LATE MAJ. EDWARDS.

"The following brief sketch of the late Maj. Abraham Edwards was found among the papers of H. J. H. Edwards, recently deceased. It is entitled ' Reminiscences in the Life of Abraham Edwards.'

" Abraham Edwards, eldest son of the late Capt. Aaron Edwards, was born at Springfield, N. J., Nov. 17, 1781, and was licensed to practice medicine in the autumn of 1803. In June, 1804, he was ap- pointed by President Jefferson garrison surgeon, and by the Secretary

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HISTORY OF KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

of War, Gen. Dearborn, was ordered to Fort Wayne, Ind., where, in the month of June, 1805, he was married to Ruth Hunt, eldest daughter of the late Col. Thomas Hunt, then commanding the 1st Regiment of United States Infantry at Fort Wayne. There their three eldest children were born,-Thomas, Alexander, and Henry. In 1810, on account of the sickness of Mrs. Edwards, the doctor resigned his commission in the army, and in the spring of that year removed to Dayton, Ohio, and engaged in the practice of medicine. In the autumn of 1811 he was elected a member of the Ohio Legislature from the county of Montgomery, of which Dayton was the county- seat, and in March, 1812, was appointed a captain by President Madison in the 19th Regiment of United States Infantry, as the pros- pect of a war with England was apparent. Gen. Hull was ordered to Dayton, Ohio, to organize an army with which he was to proceed to Detroit to protect that frontier. Three regiments of Ohio volunteers were at Dayton when the general arrived; the regiments were com- manded by Cols. McArthur, Cass, and Findlay. The 4th Regiment of United States Infantry, commanded by Col. James Miller, joined the volunteer regiment at Urbana, to which place they had marched a few days previously. Gen. Hull had been authorized by the President (Mr. Madison) to arrange an army staff, and, as the office of surgeon in the 4th Regiment United States Infantry was vacant, Dr. Edwards was appointed to fill the vacancy during the campaign, and also or- dered to take charge of the medical department of the army as the hospital surgeon, in which capacity he served until the inglorious surrender of the army at Detroit in August, 1812, when he was pa- roled by Gen. Brock and permitted to return to his residence in Ohio, and after being exchanged was ordered to Chillicothe, as a captain in the line of the army, to superintend the recruiting service of that State.

" In November, 1813, he received an order from Gen. Cass, who was then in command at Detroit, to proceed to that place to take com- mand of about 200 men belonging to the 19th Regiment. During the same month he arrived at Detroit, and assumed command, as before mentioned, and in December of the same year, received an order from the War Department to accompany Gen. Cass and other officers to Al- bany, as a witness in the court-martial about to assemble for the trial of Gen. Hull. During the winter of 1813 and 1814 he visited Wash- ington, and was appointed by the President deputy quartermaster- general with the rank of major, and ordered to take charge of the quartermaster stores at Pittsburgh, where he remained until the close of the war, in 1815, when it was left at his option to be retained in the army on the peace establishment as a captain of infantry ; but he chose the walks of private life, and removed to Detroit. When President Monroe made his tour of the United States, in 1816 and 1817, and visited Detroit, Maj. Edwards was president of the board of trustees, and with the corporate authoirties of Detroit visited the President at Governor Cass' residence and tendered him the hospitali- ties of the town, and a few days after, when he was about to leave for Ohio, made him another visit, and in the name of the corporation presented him with a pair of horses and a wagon to convey his bag- gage to Ohio. In 1818, Governor Cass organized the militia and made appointments in the same.

" Maj. Edwards was appointed first aid to the commander-in-chief, with the rank of colonel, in 1823. The first legislative council was elected in 1824; the first legislative session was held at Detroit, and Maj. Edwards was unanimously elected president of the council, which place he filled for eight years. In the month of March, 1831, he was appointed register of the United States land-office for the Western District of Michigan, by President Jackson, previous to which appointment he had held the office of sub Indian agent for the Indians residing in St. Joseph Co., Mich., and Northern Indiana. The office of register of the United States land-office was held by Maj. Edwards until after the election of Gen. Taylor, when he was removed for being a Democrat. Maj. Edwards was one of the Presidential elec-

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History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, Part 76

Author: Durant, Samuel W. comp Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia. Everts & Abbott Number of Pages: 761

Author: Durant, Samuel W. comp
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia. Everts & Abbott
Number of Pages: 761