USA > Michigan > Monroe County > History of Monroe County, Michigan : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests Volume II > Part 34
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Dr. Stanley O. Newcomb was educated primarily in the public schools of his home town and later was a graduate of the Monroe high school. He then entered the Detroit College of Medicine, his father's Alma Mater, and after pursuing a four years course he was graduated in 1904 with the degree of M. D. He located in Ida, Michigan, in December, 1904, where he has since been engaged in general practice, and with the passing years has won to himself a most worthy clientele, and estab- lishing a reputation for ability and skill, with a willingness to serve, which has brought him many firm and steadfast friends in and about the community. He is a member of the Monroe county and State Medical societies, and in a fraternal way is connected with Samaria Lodge No. 438 Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He is a Republican and at the present time is filling the office of health officer of Raisinville township.
June 27, 1906, Dr. Newcomb was united in marriage with Miss Julia R. Snell, the daughter of Charles T. Snell, a lady of much refinement
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and culture, and a descendant of one of the oldest families in Monroe county. They have two children,-Charles D., born May 13, 1908 and Margret E., born July 29, 1911.
Dr. and Mrs. Newcomb are highly esteemed in Ida and the surround- ing community, where their sterling characters and kindly natures have won the confidence and regard of all with whom they come in contact, and the influence of their lives can not fail to have an uplifting effect upon the communal life of the village.
AMBROSE P. FALING. As proprietor and publisher of the Peters- burg Sun, a popular and reliable newspaper published at Petersburg, Michigan, which he is editing with characteristic spirit and ability, Ambrose P. Faling holds a prominent position in business and journal- istic circles of Monroe county, and in addition to being a versatile writer and successful newspaper man, has also taken a foremost place in the ranks of those who have prestige in public and social life. Mr. Faling is a native of the state of New York, where he was born August 20, 1865, and is a son of James E. and Mary E. (Fuller) Faling, and a grandson of Peter Faling, who spent his life in the Empire state.
James E. Faling was born and reared in New York state, where as a boy he attended the public schools, subsequently learning the miller's trade. After his marriage he came west to Adrian, Michigan, being head miller in an establishment in that city for some years, but subsequently removed to Morenci, Michigan, where his death occurred October 24, 1890, while his wife passed away September 30, 1902. They were the parents of four children, of whom three are living in 1912, namely : Neil, who is engaged in farming in Tennessee; Ambrose P .; and Frances, who is the wife of Isaac King, and resides in Los Angeles, California.
Ambrose P. Faling received his education in the public schools of Adrian, Michigan, and as a lad began to learn the trade of printer, an occupation which he first followed as an employe of the Morenci Observer. He held a position with that sheet as a compositor and job printer, incidentally learning much that was to prove of benefit to him in the newspaper field, and on September 20, 1891, came to Peters- burg and purchased the equipment of the old Petersburg Bulletin, a paper which had become defunct through mismanagement. The young journalist settled down to work to gain the confidence and pat- ronage of the citizens of Petersburg, who were soon attracted to the young man and his paper on account of his zeal, perseverance and courageous spirit, and because of the very apparent fact that he was determined to conduct his sheet along new lines, being fearless in his attacks on anything that he felt was detrimental to the best interests of his community, and stalwart in his support of all good measures and movements. As a natural consequence of this policy his paper gained subscribers rapidly and was soon on a sound financial basis, and he was able to move from the fifteen by fifteen feet upstairs room to a new building which he had erected, and in which he had placed some of the finest equipment to be purchased. The Sun is now recognized as one of the leading newspapers of Monroe county, and its editor as a wide-
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awake, substantial, well-esteemed citizen. The proprietor and editor of a newspaper occupies a vantage ground which may make or mar a reputation, build up or break down a cause worthy of public approval or support, and for this reason the citizens of Petersburg and the sur- rounding country have reason for congratulation that the Sun is in such safe, sagacious and thoroughly clean hands.
Mr. Faling was married to Mrs. Ada May Cornell, who was born in Branch county, Michigan, August 19, 1865, daughter of Dr. Samuel L. Jones, and she died October 27, 1907, having been the mother of five children, of whom four are now living: Clara May, born September 12, 1893; Frances A., born August 5, 1896; Harry A., born June 21, 1903; and Margaret A., born October 9, 1906.
Fraternally, Mr. Falling is connected with Blanchard Lodge No. 102, of the Masonic fraternity, of which he has served as secretary and senior warden. He is a Democrat politically and cast his first presiden- tial vote for President Cleveland, and he has been selected as delegate to county and state conventions to represent his party. He was pres- ident and councilman of the village council, on which he is now serving as a member. Mr. Faling's career demonstrates what can be accom- plished by persistent effort and enterprise, for he came to his present locality practically empty-handed and by good management and ability has steadily worked nis way upward.
EMANUEL S. LAUER, who is prominently identified wtih the business and political interests of Petersburg, bears an old and honorable Ger- man name, one that he has lived up to, his sterling character being gen- erally recognized by his fellow citizens who have, on many occasions, placed their public interests in his hands. The various industries of Petersburg have grown and developed to an amazing extent during the past few years and the credit for this desirable state of affairs may be given to the enterprising business man, whose energy and modern methods have put the village on a sound financial basis, while co-op- erating with the village officials in looking after its municipal needs. It may be said of Mr. Lauer that he belongs to both classes, for not only is he one of Petersburg's representative business men, but he has also served efficiently in public office. He was born in Monroe, Mon- roe county, Michigan, December 6, 1850, and is a son of Sebastian and Phoebe (Seitz) Lauer, natives of the Fatherland. They had a family of three children: Lucy, the wife of J. Frederick Wagner, of Monroe, Michigan ; Emanuel S .; and Ed. G. J. Lauer, who also lives in Monroe.
Emanuel S. Lauer was educated in the city of Monroe, attending the German Lutheran and public schools until he was thirteen years of age, at which time he was apprenticed to the trade of baker, an occupation which he followed for about fifteen years. He then turned his atten- tion to farming in Monroe county, and for five or six years was engaged in tilling the soil but eventually entered a dry goods store, conducted by his brother at Monroe, and for a short time was employed as a clerk. In 1887, however, he decided to enter business on his own account, and after seeking for some time for a suitable location, chose Petersburg as his field of endeavor. He has had no reason to regret his choice, as
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his success was assured from the start, and he has built up a trade that places him among the substantial men of his community. He is the owner of the building in which he carries on his business, and there has a large stock of dry goods and other articles demanded by his trade. Starting on nothing, he has built up one of the best trades in his line in the county, and his establishment is well and favorably known to the residents of the country surrounding for a radius of several miles. In various ways he has contributed to the growth and development of his section, and all movements calculated to benefit Petersburg meet with his approval and enlist his immediate support.
On June 10, 1896, Mr. Lauer was married to Miss Bertha C. Morse, who was born in Summerfield township, Monroe county, Michigan, and they have had three children, as follows: Helen M., aged fifteen years, and Eunice P., fourteen years old, both of whom are graduates of the eighth grade of the public schools; and Edward W., who is nine years old and is attending school. Mrs. Lauer is a member of the Presbyterian church, and is widely and favorably known as a church and charitable worker. In political matters her husband is a Democrat, and has served as township clerk of Summerfield township four years, and as president of the village board of Petersburg for two terms. He has many friends throughout this section who note with gratified interest his business success and political achievements.
THOMAS E. VERDON, well known and prosperous farmer of section 25, Ida township, was born on the farm he now owns, on July 23, 1874, the son of William R. and Barbara (Yarger) Verdon. The father, William R. Verdon, also claimed the Verdon farm as his birthplace, his natal day being in October, 1844; he died October, 1882. He was a son of Griffith Verdon, born in Monroe county. William R. Verdon was the father of seven children, of that number four sons and one daughter being alive today. They are: Thomas E., of this review ; Henry L., George G., William R. and Wilma R.
The usual school advantages of the country youth fell to the lot of Thomas E. Verdon, and after he was sixteen years old he was occupied at work on the home farm until he reached his legal majority. When he was twenty years old he married Mary Rauch, on September 12, 1894. She was the daughter of Ephraim and Sarah (Hartman) Rauch of Bedford township. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Verdon, and three are living, viz .: Olive E., born February 21, 1896; Emery T., January 12, 1903; and Roy W., April 21, 1912. The family are members of the Evangelical church at Neriah in Ida township.
The parents of Mrs. Verdon, Ephraim and Sarah (Hartman) Rauch, were natives of Pennsylvania and came from the Pennsylvania German stock. They emigrated to Monroe county, Michigan, in an early day and settled in Bedford township. The father was an agriculturist and a man who commanded the respect of all for his honesty of purpose. Both he and wife could speak the German and English language.
There were thirteen children in the Rauch family ; six sons and seven daughters and the remarkable part of this is that all the children are liv- ing at present (1912).
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Father Rauch died about 1902, and Mother Rauch is yet living in Bedford township, and a member of the United Brethren church.
Mr. Verdon is strictly a Republican politically and both he and wife are members of the Samaria Grange. Their oldest child, Olive, com- pleted the eighth grade in the public schools and for her high scholar- ship and punctuality (not being absent during the entire nine months) she received a certificate of honor June 3, 1911. Mr. and Mrs. Verdon are residing on the same piece of land which his grandfather, Griffith Verdon, purchased from the government and they have the old parch- ment deed executed under the hand and seal of President Andrew Jackson and bears the date of October 1, 1835, which is a valuable heir- loom in the family. This is the fifth deed of the kind which the biogra- pher has found in Monroe county, Michigan.
Mr. Verdon has acquired a fine farm of eighty acres in section 25, and is occupied in general farming, at which he has been more than usually successful, and also gives some attention to stock raising.
Mr. and Mrs. Verdon are people of high standing in the community where they have lived so many years, and are the honored representa- tives of two of the oldest families of that part of the county.
WILLIAM H. MASON, a well known farmer of Ida township, was born in Bedford township, Monroe county, Michigan, on January 5, 1835, and is a son of Henry and Malinda (Brightman) Mason. The father was born in Seneca county, New York, on August 24, 1791, and died on June 13, 1878. The mother was born or. February 24, 1797. They came to Monroe county, Michigan, in 1834, making the trip by wagon, and on arriving in Monroe county located in Bedford township, where they made their home until they passed away. Five children were born to them, of which number two are yet living,-Harriet, who married Lauren Crane and lives in Lenawee county, Michigan, and William H., the subject of this review.
Reared on his father's farm in Monroe county, William H. Mason attended the country school located at what was known as Mason's Corners. He received a good common school education, for his day, being well grounded in the study of the three R's and when he left school became at once engaged in farming. On August 15, he was united in marriage with Miss Christina W. Klink, who was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, on October 11, 1837. She was educated in the schools of her native land to the age of ten years, when she came with her parents to the United States, and located in Monroe county, Michigan. There she resumed her studies, and secured a fairly good education in the schools of the district in which they lived. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Mason: Sarah M. became the wife of A. L. Tuttle of Kansas; Charles H. married Ida Kinney, and lives in Toledo, Ohio; Helen F. is the wife of Loren Burwell, of Geneva, Ohio; Harriet J. married Ira A. Bolton, of Toledo, Ohio; George A. married Laura Bolton, and they live in Toledo, Ohio, also; Lewis M. Mason, Walter H. and Maude M. are unmarried and live at home. The daughters, Harriet and Helen, were school teachers prior to their marriages, and were known for capable and efficient instructors wherever they were employed. Walter
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H. is a member of Samaria Lodge No. 438, A. F. & A. M., and is senior warden of the lodge and is also a member of the Eastern Star lodge. Lewis M., who is the sixth born of his parents' children, was born in 1875, on May 28th. He is one of the ambitious and energetic young farmers of Ida township, and has done some excellent work in connec- tion with his management of his father's farm in recent years. He is a member of Samaria Lodge No. 438, A. F. & A. M. and is now serving his second year as master of the lodge. He is also a member of the Order of Eastern Star, Chapter No. 391, as are also his three sisters, Sarah, Harriet and Maude.
The family are not affiliated with any church in particular, but are known in the community for their high character and general integrity, independent of churchly relations. Mr. Mason is a member of the A. F. & A. M. Lodge No. 438, and of Dundee Chapter, Royal and Select Masters. Politically speaking, he is a Democrat, and he has been prominent in party affairs all his life practically. He is a man of much influence in his community, and his fellow townspeople have shown their confidence in him by electing him to various township offices from time to time. Mr. Mason has come to be the owner of a fine fertile farm of 102 acres in section 35 in Ida township, which is now principally managed by his sons, as intimated in a previous paragraph, he having practically retired from the arduous duties of active farm life. He and his wife are the grandparents of eight children.
HARRY H. STERNS. Bedford township, Monroe county, Michigan, includes among its prosperous representative farmers the subject of this sketch, Harry H. Sterns, who was born and reared on the farm on which he now lives, a hundred-acre tract on section 25. Mr. Sterns dates his birth September 8, 1860, and he is the only child of Julius and Lavinie (St. Clair) Sterns, both deceased. His father, a native of Ver- mont, and his mother, of New York City, came to Michigan in early life, just after their marriage, and settled on a farm in what was then a pioneer locality. Here they lived and prospered, passed their lives and died, his death occurring in 1891, hers in 1907. Harry H., being an only child, inherited the farm and is continuing the work which his father
began. He carries on diversified farming, and gives special attention to the raising of high grade Holstein cattle, keeping registered male stock. An important feature of his farm is his dairy.
In his youth, Mr. Sterns had good educational advantages. After finishing his studies in the district school near his home he was sent to Trinity school in Toledo, Ohio. And he married a Toledo girl, Miss Lulu A. Skeldon, their marriage being solemnized on October 30, 1883. To them have been given four children: Roy St. Clair, Ethel K., Robert L. and Harry R. The sons are all at home, the youngest being a child of four years. Their daughter is the wife of James Jackman.
Mr. Sterns has membership in the K. O. T. M. at Monroe. He voted
*
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the Republican ticket, and has served his township in the capacity of highway commissioner and township treasurer. Both as a farmer and citizen he is representative of the locality in which he lives.
GEORGE A. STONE. In every community in Michigan are found men who have risen above their fellows in business and political life, not because they have had better advantages, but because their natural abilities created opportunities of which they were quick to take advan- tage. In a section like Monroe county, where good and reliable men are easily found, he who is given preferment above his fellows has indeed attained honor, and in this connection the career of George A. Stone, of Petersburg, is deserving of special mention. Mr. Stone was born in North Adams, Massachusetts, March 13, 1855, and is a son of George A. and Christine (Groshell) Stone, the former a native of Canada and the latter of Germany. Some time after their marriage in Massachu- setts, the parents of Mr. Stone came to Lenawee county, Michigan, there residing until the death of the father, after which the mother was again married. Mr. and Mrs. Stone had three children, of whom two are now living: Ida, the of C. M. Thompson, of Los Angeles, Cali- fornia, and George A.
George A. Stone grew to manhood in Lenawee county, and attended the district schools there until he was about eighteen years of age, at which time he joined the regular army, and for five years was a member of the command of General Crook. On receiving nis honorable discharge, he came to Deerfield, Michigan, and entered the lumber business with his step-father, but after four years went to Sturgis, Michigan, and em- barked in the hardware business, under the firm name of Stone & Kedzie. During the fall of 1886 he came to Petersburg, where he entered the sawmill business, and subsequently established lumber yards. Mr. Stone has been very successful in his business operations, and during his long residence in Petersburg has gained a reputation for honesty, in- tegrity and capability, being known an an efficient and public-spirited citizen whose worth has been tried and not found wanting.
In 1879, Mr. Stone was married to Miss Jennie Kedzie, who was born in Deerfield, Michigan, and they have two children: George A., Jr., a graduate of the Detroit Law School, who owns and operates a private bank at South Boardman, Michigan; and Ida, a graduate of the Adrian College, for some years a teacher, and now the wife of Frank Sayre, now residing in Detroit.
Mrs. Stone is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church of Peters- burg. Her husband's fraternal connections are with Blanchard Lodge No. 102, of the Masonic fraternity, of which he is past master, and with the Knights of the Maccabees. In politics a stalwart Democrat, he is known as an active party worker, and has been elected to positions of public responsibility and trust, serving four years as a member of the board of supervisors of Summerfield township, and as president of the village board. He is half owner of the Pittsford Commercial Bank and has interested himself in various other enterprises, and in business, political and social life has many friends, drawn about him by his many admirable traits of character.
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PHILIP R. TOLL was born May 10, 1793, in Glenville, New York, of a very distinguished ancestry that settled at Hoffman's Ferry in 1685. The first ancestor, Charles Hansen Toll, served in the New York colonial legislature from 1714 to 1726; his son Daniel was killed with Nicholas DeGraff and thirty others in the battle of Brenkendale, July 18, 1748. The parents of the subject of this sketch, Charles R. Toll and Elizabeth Ryley, lived to the ages of eighty-six and eighty-eight respectively. The names of Daniel, Simon, Abram, Andrew, Isaac and Aaron De Graaf are honorably mentioned, as distinguished in the First and Second Infantry companies of 1715 .*
Philip R. Toll was educated as a physician, but never practiced as such except gratuitously. His first business venture was in transpor- tation of freight on the Erie canal, owning several boats, one of which he called the "General Jackson," another the "New Orleans," thus giv- ing evidence of his political tendencies.
He served in the War of 1812, first as a sergeant, afterwards as a captain of dragoons or mounted artillery ; was selected as guard at head- quarters of Gen. Wade Hampton, in Canada.
He married, January 4, 1817, Nancy De Graaf; removed to Ovid, Seneca county, state of New York. In 1825 engaged in mercantile and produce operations, carrying on at the same time the manufacture of potash, hats, boots and shoes. At one time C. B. Murphy (later of Monroe) was a clerk of his brother-in-law, John I. De Graaf, his partner in business. Mr. Toll was one of the trustees of the Ovid Academy, and president of the village.
In 1834 he removed with his family to Centerville, St. Joseph county, and engaged in a general supply store, merchandise, drugs and medi- cines, and the manufacture of tinware and leather, mostly supplying the eastern half of St. Joseph county, west part of Calhoun and south part of Kalamazoo counties. He built saw and flouring mills at Fawn river, in the same county, and removed there with his family in 1838. He united with the Dutch Reformed church before his marriage at Schenectady, and at Centreville assisted in forming the first "Chris- tian Association of Believers," so called, the sparse population not then permitting the founding of any denominational church in this place as well as at Fawn river and paying from his own resources the sal- ary and expenses of the Rev. Mr. Day. Mr. Toll's labors at Fawn river were great and exhaustive, in clearing wild land into farms spending the products from his mills, supervising the interests of a growing com- munity, moulding the Christian and educational interests as well. In December, 1836, was one of the delegates from St. Joseph county to the convention for accepting or rejecting the terms proposed by congress for the admission of Michigan into the Union, and a delegate from the same county to the Niles convention for the improvement of the navi- gation of the St. Joseph river.
In October, 1852, he removed with his family to Monroe, purchasing the house now occupied by his son, Charles Toll, on Elm avenue. He died August 17, 1862, of malarial fever, after a brief illness. Nancy
* Professor Pierson 's History.
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De Graaf, his widow, was born September 18, 1797, the daughter of Isaac De Graaf, who served during the entire period of the War of the Revolution, and was judge of the common court pleas of New York. He took the oath prescribed by congress in 1778, which was adminis- tered by Gen. John I. de LaFayette. His son, John I., was the first president of the Mohawk & Hudson Railroad. His nephew, Col. Isaac D. Toll, now of Petoskey, accompanied him on the first through train, with Thurlow Weed and others. In a letter from Commodore McDon- ough, dated September 14, 1814, addressed to Mr. De Graaf, he says : "It was owing to his assistance and means furnished by him, he was able to get the fleet ready to meet the enemy on Lake Champlain, where- by he obtained his great victory. The United States Government was powerless to aid him, Washington having been burned by the British about that time."
CHARLES TOLL, retired capitalist, Monroe, Michigan, who is numbered among the prominent citizens of Monroe county, was born in the city of Schenectady, New York, in 1830. His father was Philip Toll, a native of New York, and was educated as a physician but never en- gaged actively in the practice. The first business of Philip R. Toll was in the transportation of freight on the Erie canal, owning several boats, one of which was called the "General Jackson," another the "New Orleans," thus giving evidence of his political tendencies. He served in the War of 1812, first as a sergeant, afterwards as a captain of dragoons or mounted artillery was selected as guard at headquarters of Gen. Wade Hampton in Canada. He married, January 4, 1817, Nancy De Graaf, removed to Ovid, Seneca county, state of New York. In 1825 engaged in the mercantile and produce business, carrying on at the same time the manufacture of potash, hats, boots and shoes. At one time C. B. Murphy, (later of Monroe), was a clerk of his brother-in-law, John I. De Graaf, his partner in business. Mr. Toll was one of the trus- tees of the Ovid Academy and president of the village. In 1835 he removed his family to Centerville, St. Joseph county, engaged in a general supply store, merchandise, drugs and medicines and the manu- facture of tin and leather, mostly supplying the eastern half of St. Joseph's county. In 1852 he removed with his family to Monroe, pur- chasing the house now occupied by his son, Charles Toll, on Elm ave- nue. He died August 17, 1862. Nancy De Graaf, his widow, was born September 18, 1797, a daughter of Isaac De Graaf.
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