USA > Michigan > Montcalm County > History of Montcalm County, Michigan its people, industries and institutions...with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families Volume II > Part 15
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Lewis E. Bracey remained at home until he was thirty years of age. assisting on the farm of his father. After having completed the common and high school course at Greenville he studied two years at Ann Arbor where he devoted his time to medicine. He then was out of school for a year. after which he entered the Detroit School of Medicine, and after two
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years was graduated from that institution in 1905. In the fall of the same vear he located in Sheridan, where he has since that time been a successful physician.
Lewis E. Bracey was married on December 26, 1900, to Elizabeth Edsall. the adopted daughter of James and Alwilda (Garrett) Edsall. Mwilda Garrett was a native of Oakland county, while James Edsall was born at Ehira. New York, and later settled in Oakland county, where he and Alwilda Garrett were married.
Elizabeth Edsall was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Edsall soon after their marriage. She was a native of Trenton, Gibson county, Tennessee. The parents moved to Kansas where they died, leaving three children. Two of the children were adopted by one family and the baby by another.
Doctor and Mrs. Bracey have no children of their own, but they have adopted one. Lee Edward Bracey, he receiving the same kind and careful training as one of their own.
Doctor Bracey is a member of the county, state and American Med- ical Societies, taking much interest in all the activities of these organizations that tend toward his improvement as a physician. He is also the president of the Montcalm county pension board and his work has been satisfactory to all concerned.
GEORGE WASHINGTON CAADWELL.
George Washington Cadwell, a retired merchant of Carson City, was born in Watertown, New York, in 1839 and is the son of Almeron C. and Christena C. ( Rich ) Cadwell. He arrived at Carson City, Montcalm county, on May 7. 1888, to act as cashier of the savings bank and has been connected with the interests of the town since that time.
Almeron C. Cadwell was married to Christena C. Rich in Prescott, Canada, she being a native of that country, while he was a native of Ver- inont. The Cadwell family later moved to Pennsylvania and then to Painted Post, New York. At the age of fifteen, the son George left home and rode to Detroit, experiencing the hardships of winter travel in those days. having been snow bound, for forty-eight hours, at London, Canada. From Detroit he proceeded to lonia, by way of Lansing and Eagle, the entire journey being one of great hardship. He remained at Ionia for ten years, where he clerked for his uncle. Hon. Hampton Rich, who did a general mercantile business in connection with the handling of grain and lumber. Mr. Rich was
MR. AND MRS. GEORGE W. CADWELL.
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the brother of Mrs. Cadwell, and was one of the founders and the first presi- dent of the Pere Marquette railroad. He was at one time a state senator and very active in state politics; he was a cousin of Governor Rich, who was a second cousin of George W. Cadwell.
The year after George W. came to Ionia his parents came and took up their residence in the town and later the father became a partner with Mr. Rich. Later, the father and son were engaged in business as partners for three years in the town and then removed their store to Portland where they remained for ten years. At this time the son retired from the mercan- tile business and engaged in agriculture on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Sibawa township, lonia county. The farm was practically unde- veloped, with but forty acres cleared and the balance wild. With the assist- ance of an additional man and two yoke of oxen, Mr. Cadwell soon caused a wonderful transformation in the place and in a short time, much of the farm was improved and under cultivation. The second year he traded the farm for one of one hundred and sixty acres in Lyons township, which he later sold to his father, after which he moved to Lyons, where he clerked in the drug store owned by his father-in-law, Dr. David Kelley. Later, the two became partners in the ownership of one of the finest drug stores in Lyons. This partnership continued until 1888. when Mr. Cadwell was elected a cashier of the Carson City Savings Bank and he became a resident of that place. After two years he purchased a stock of drugs, school books and groceries and for the next two years, in connection with his duties as cashier. did a most successful mercantile business. After resigning his position as cashier, he devoted his energies to the development of his fast- growing business. On his retirement from active business, in 1896, he was the owner of many substantial business blocks in his home town, as well as. at Crystal.
In 1864 Mr. Cadwell was married to Frances E. Kelley. a native of Newfield. New York, and a daughter of David and Elizabeth ( Horton ) Kelley. Mr. Kelley was a native of Tompkins county, New York. where he was born in 1816. He studied medicine in Geneva College and at Cleve- land. Ohio, after which he practiced at Adrian before he took up his work a: Lyons. He was a captain of a company in the Civil War for over two years and retired owing to poor health.
Mrs. Cadwell was born in 1841 and was but a child when her parents moved to Lyons and here she grew to womanhood and was married to Mr. Cadwell in 1864. She died in 1915, at Travis City, after over fifty (11b)
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years of married life. She and Mr. Cadwell were the parents of two chil- dren, both of whom died in infancy. They adopted two after this, one of whom died and the other was returned to its mother at the age of seven Years.
Mr. Cadwell became a Mason. at the age of twenty-one, and has been a member for over fifty-five years and is perhaps the oldest member in the county.
SCOTT SWARTHOUT.
Scott Swarthout is a man of genial disposition. public spirited and pro- gressively active, and bears a high reputation for honesty and accuracy in, as well as ont of. office. His birth occurred on January 7, 1869, in Win- field township, this county, and he is the son of Jacob H. and Mary A. ( Rittenburg ) Swarthout. Jacob 11. Swarthout was a native of Erie county, Pennsylvania, his birth occurring on December 28, 1834. In 1858 his par- ents located in Michigan, bringing him with them, and made a temporary home in Pierson township. Montcalm county, but later removed to Winfield township, in the same county. It was here that his marriage to Mary A. Rittenburg was solemmized in 1859, and from where he enlisted in the Civil War. On August 29. 1864, he was mustered into Company A, Twenty-first Michigan Volunteer Engineer Corps, and served until the close of the con- fict. after which he returned to his home in Montcalm county. In 1875 he engaged in the carpentering business in which he continued until his death on November 4. 1887. He was an active member of the Andrew Macomber Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. in Lakeview, Michigan, and an active Republican in politics. His wife, Mary .A. (Rittenburg) Swarthout. was born in Ontario, Canada, and was the daughter of Henry and Susan Rittenburg, who located in Winfield township, Montcalm county, for a short time, later moving to Clinton county, and thence to Ottawa county, where their remaining days were spent. Mary A. ( Rittenburg) Swarthout died on November 28, 1912, at the age of seventy-two years. She and her husband were the parents of the following children : Adelaide ( Bale), of Lakeview, Michigan: Marion, deceased: Frank, deceased; Estella, deceased; Scott and Dora ( Andrews). now of Grand Rapids. Michigan.
Scott Swarthout was but four years of age when his parents located in Lakeview. Michigan, which place has since been his home. Until sixteen years of age he was a student in the schools of Lakeview, Michigan, and he
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then entered business as a barber and continued in this from 1889 until 1908. Shortly after the shop was sold, he was appointed as postmaster of Lake- view, Michigan, and served for two terms under the Republican adminis- tration or. from 1906 until 1914. Since that time he has been elected as township supervisor of Cato township, and appointed as deputy sheriff, both offices having been taken in 1914. Mr. Swarthont is also village treasurer, in which office he is serving his first term. He also served as township clerk from 1898 until 1904, and is still holding the office of secretary of the school board, in which office he has been active for more than four years. From 1894 until 1898, he served as town constable. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Free and Accepted Masons, being the secretary of Lake- view Lodge No. 380, at Lakeview, Michigan, and is a member of Howard City Lodge No. 260, Knights of Pythias. He is also record and finance keeper of the Knights of the Maccabees of the World, and a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. in the lodge at Lakeview, Michigan. He is a member of the Eastern Star and quartermaster of the National League of Veterans and Sons, both at Lakeview.
On October 1. 1805. Scott Swarthout was united in marriage to Myrta Garland. and to their union three children have been born, as follow: Ade- laide, born on June 6, 1900: Elor, December 15. 1902. and Rosalind. Febru- ary 2. 1909. The mother of these children was born in Chase, Michigan, and she is the daughter of John D. and Gene ( Collins) Garland.
SHERMAN E. NEFF.
Sherman E. Neff. well-known banker at McBrides, this county, and long recognized as one of the most active men of affairs in this section of the state, his connection with the banking and lumber interests of this region having begun in the days of his youth when he was made a partner in the extensive business of his father. is a native son of Michigan, having been born at Muir, in the neighboring county of lonia, this state, December 6, 1867, son of Frederick and Hannah (Greenhoe) Neff, the former a native of Massachusetts and the latter of Ohio.
Frederick Neff. who for years was one of the most influential and powerful factors in the great lumber industry of this section of Michigan, was born at Roxbury, a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, November 7, 1842. son of George and Marianne (Barronsville) Neff, natives of France.
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George Neff was born in the city of Paris and after his marriage he and his wife lived in Alsace until early in 1841, at which time they came to the United States, locating at Roxbury, where they remained until 1846. in which year they moved to Grafton, Ohio, where they spent the remainder of their lives on a small farm. George Neff was an accomplished musician and composer and for years traveled with a circus as a member of the band. He had little ability as a farmer, however, and less as a financier or manager and his family was reared amid straitened circumstances. Ile and his wife were the parents of twelve children, ten sons and two daughters.
Of these ten sons, Frederick Neff was about four years old when his parents moved to Ohio and he grew up on the small home farnt, in the Grafton neighborhood, incidentally learning to make boots and shoes, a form of craftsmanship in which he became quite proficient. In 1861, he then being about nineteen years of age. Frederick Neff went to Cleveland, Ohio. and enlisted in Battery D. First Ohio Light Artillery, with which he served until the close of the Civil War. He was the battery's bugler, and a good one he was, for he had acquired an excellent musical education from his gifted father. He was taken prisoner by the Confederates at Green River bridge, in Kentucky, but shortly afterward was rescued by his comrades of the Union arms and served through the war with distinction, his personal bravery and activity frequently securing the special recognition of the higher officers, who found his services valuable in the execution of special orders. such as carrying dispatches and the like.
At the close of the war Frederick Neff returned to Grafton and shortly thereafter engaged in the boot and shoe business with several of his brothers at Napoleon, Ohio. all the brothers having become excellent boot and shoe makers, a thriving business in those days of custom-made boots. After a brief business experience at Napoleon, Mr. Neff became attracted by the glowing reports then reaching the East regarding the promising conditions then prevailing in this section of Michigan and he came up here, settling at Muir. in Tonia county, where he started a small general store. Mnir at that time was the center of trade for quite a wide territory, settlers from as far away as Elm Hall trading there. the principal objects of barter then being shaved shingles, which passed. with a fixed value, abont as readily as the currency of the land. It was thus that Frederick Neff received his intro- duction to the great shingle and lumber industry of this section and he gradu- ally found himself working into that business. presently becoming recognized as one of the prime factors in the industry hereabout.
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Before leaving Ohio Frederick Neff had married Hannah Greenhoe, who was born at Grafton, that state, and who died at Muir on March 28, 1869. leaving two sons, Frederick E., who died on June 24, 1870, and Sherman E., the immediate subject of this biographical review. Frederick Neff married, secondly, Susanna Richards, who also was born in Ohio, and who survives him, now living at MeBrides, this county, where she has a very pleasant home and where she enjoys many evidences of the high esteem in which she is held throughout this community.
About the year 1873 Frederick Neff left Muir and came to this county, locating at Sheridan, where he engaged in the general merchandise business, at the same time extending his already extensive lumber business. In asso- ciation with John W. Prestel, who had been a boy with him in Ohio as well as a comrade in the army, and with whom he ever maintained the closest and most brotherly relations. Mr. Neff established a shingle-mill east of Sheridan and gradually worked up the shingle timber in that section. Dur- ing the late seventies the mill was moved to the McBrides neighborhood and set up about two and one-half miles southeast of the village, Mr. Neff at that time establishing his permanent home in MeBrides. Soon after locating there the railroad was extended through MeBrides. from Stanton, north to Fdmore. and Neff & Prestel continued advancing their timber operations north until about 1882, by which time the pine thereabout had been pretty well worked up, they having reached as far north as Harrison. In the mean- time the firm had undergone a change which meant much for the subject of this sketch. In addition to his connection with John W. Prestel, Mr. Neff, whose energies ever were seeking an outlet in the extension of his business, was for a time engaged in shingle manufacturing in partnership with C. E. Walls. of lonia, and in 1882 he formed a new connection, taking his son, Sherman E. Neff. who at that time was only fifteen years old, but who had acquired a thorough acquaintance with the shingle industry, into partner- ship with him, he and Mr. Prestel dividing their holdings at McBrides and Sheridan, Mr. Prestel retaining the Sheridan plant and Mr. Neff retaining the plant at McBrides, the new firm being known as F. Neff & Son.
The business of F. Neff & Son grew by leaps and bounds. extending to cover various enterprises and several states. Large investments in timber lands in Arkansas, owned by Neff & Prestel, were exchanged in 1800 for a tract of about five thousand acres in the state of Washington, besides which the firm of Neff & Son possessed large timber interests in the state of Minne- sota. In 1880 the shingle plant was moved from the McBrides neighbor-
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hood to Gladwin and new timber material was found there sufficient to keep it going for about nine years. It had been the general custom of the lun- bermen in Michigan to take off the timber and leave the land useless, but Neff & Son's policy was otherwise and it was thus that the firm presently had developed the great Neff ranch of more than one thousand acres in Day township, as well as four hundred and eighty acres in Ferris township, a quarter section near Westville and a considerable tract of valuable mineral land in Minnesota. The need of better banking facilities for the firm led to the organization, in October, 190.4, of the Neff Bank at MeBrides, an institu- tion which has become a large factor in the financial life of the county and which is still the only bank at that place. In the organization of this bank Neff & Son associated with them the elder Neff's brother, Louis Neff, and on December 27. 1897, Frederick Nett & Son, in association with John W. Pfeiffer. Henry Burch and E. K. Horton. the latter of Chicago, organized the Edmore State Bank of Edmore, this county, which is still being oper- ated under the original control, heirs of the deceased members of the original company continuing to represent the latter interests, the bank at MeBrides also being continued by the families of Frederick and Louis Neff, under the active direction of Sherman F. Neff and Jacob Neff. the latter of whom is a son of Lonis Neff. Frederick Neff died on December 20, 1914, and was widely mourned throughout this region, for he had done a good work here- about and his name was held in high respect wherever his influence had touched during his long and busy career.
For years before his father's death Sherman E. Neff had been the practical director of the firm's extensive interests, having relieved his father as much as possible, during the latter's declining years, of the routine details of the business and the affairs of the firm therefore were continued without interruption or alteration of policy after the death of the elder Neff. The Neff interests hereabout mean nmich to the community and Sherman E. Neff is very properly regarded as one of the leaders in the financial and industrial life of this section. Te is a very busy man, in the nature of things. but he ever has found time from his large personal interests to devote a good citizen's attention to public affairs and ever has been an active promoter of such movements of a local character as have been designed to advance the common good throughout this section of the state, being held in high esteem by all and enjoying the full confidence and respect of business circles gen- erally.
In 1893 Sherman E. Neff was united in marriage to Florence Pingle.
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who was born at Ovid, near Muir, in the adjoining county of Tonia, daugh- ter of Joseph and Lois ( Bradshaw) Pingle, the former a native of Mecklen- burg-Schwerin, Germany, and the latter of the state of New York. Joseph Pingle was engaged in the stave business in Clinton county, making his home at Elm Hall, when his daughter, Florence, became a teacher in the schools at MeBrides, where her acquaintance with Mr. Neff began, and to the happy union which culminated from this acquaintance two daughters have been born. Edith Blanche and Mary Helen. Mr. and Mrs. Neff occupy a high place in the social life of this region and are warmly interested in all proper activities of a cultural character. being held in high regard by all. Mr. Neff is a Royal Arch Mason and takes a warm interest in Masonic affairs.
HORACE L. KIRTLAND.
Horace 1 .. Kirtland, manager for the Union Telephone Company at Lakeview, Montcalm county, is a native of this state, born in Springport, Jackson county, November 7, 1863, being a son of Horace L. and Sarah E. (Jewell ) Kirtland. Both parents were born and reared in the state of New York and were descended from French and English ancestors respectively, while the family name is Scotch in its origin.
Horac T .. Kirtland, Sr., and his wife came to Michigan in 1859, where he followed his former occupation of farming, devoting all the active years of his life to this vocation. Upon coming to this state, he secured a tract of government land, in its virgin state, and in the course of time converted it into a good farm. He left Jackson county in 1878. coming to this county where he passed the remainder of his life, with his son, Dr. John W. His death occurred May 22, 1899. his wife having died several years previous.
Horace L. Kirtland. Jr., the subject of this sketch, is one of four chil- dren, the others being John W .. George O. and Sarah A. He received his education in the schools of Battle Creek. this state, where the family had varly resided. and after discontinuing his studies, at about the age of seven- teen years, he sought his first employment in the lumber yards in Lakeview, and was associated with this business for a number of years. When twenty- one years of age he assumed the management of a lumber business in the town of Totten, owned by Dan McCoy, an ex-mayor of Grand Rapids. He was with Mr. McCoy for about a year and left his employ to go to Saginaw to take a similar position in a large business owned by eastern parties. He
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remained there for three years, when that branch of the business suffered a severe loss by fire and he then went to Sault Ste. Marie and took charge for the same firm at that point. He was there about two years, when the firm suffered financial reverses and he went to Tomahawk. Wisconsin, where he became manager for another large lumber firm. After four years at that place. he practically gave up his connection with the lumber business, with the exception of a short time when he contracted for lumber, which he graded and shipped.
In 1899 he purchased an established general mercantile business in Sid- naw, Houghtou county, this state, where he remained for about eight years. His second year there he received the appointment of postmaster, which he held as long as he remained there, or until he came to Lakeview about 1907. Ilis first business venture in Lakeview was in the drug business, when he had associated with him his nephews, the firm doing business under the title of Kirtland Mercantile Company. This association, however. lasted but a vear, when the business was disposed of. A manager being needed for the Union Telephone Company of Michigan, at the Lakeview office, Mr. Kirt- land assumed the duties of that position, having previously bought stock in the company. That position he has continued to hold to the present time.
In 1884. in Luther. Lake county, this state, Mr. Kirtland was united in marriage to Martha LeClair, born December 7. 1864. in New York. She is a daughter of Silas and Catherine ( Empy ) LeClair, both natives of New York and of French and Dutch parentage, respectively. The mother died when Mrs. Kirtland was a small child, and when she was fourteen years of age her father brought her to Michigan, which has since been her home. To Ilorace Kirtland and wife have been born four children: Frank L., the eldest. was born February 21. 1885. and was a promising young man. He became an electrical engineer and was employed in that capacity by the city of Flint, this state. During the campaign of 1910, while making some special arrangements for electric lights for election day, he was electrocuted. his death occurring September 5, 1910. He was unmarried. Mabel, born on March 12, 1887. became the wife of William Frank. They resided in Sidnaw, where her husband was killed by being accidentally hit by a baseball. He left one child. William F. George Kirtland was born on May 6, 1893, and ITorace I .. , January 25, 1904.
Mr. Kirtland gives support to the Republican party, and although by no means an active politician, he is a member of the town council. He holds fraternal affiliation with the Knights of Pythias and takes much interest in
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the work of that order. Since becoming a resident of Lakeview, Mr. Kirt- land has demonstrated the genuine quality of his citizenship by evidencing his activity in whatever is planned for the advancement of community interests.
DIZ W. DEAN.
Diz W. Dean, one of the leading merchants and a man of prominence in public and official life of McBride, Montcalm county, Michigan, was born in Bushnell township, Montcalm county, May 16, 1877, the son of George L. and Sarah J. ( Holland ) Dean.
George I .. Dean was born in Cayuga county, New York, in 1834, the son of Henry Dean and wife, and when a young man moved to Hudson, Michigan, where he lived some time and then moved to Bushnell township, Montcalm county, in 1865. where, together with Darius Mills, he oper- ated a saw-mill until 1880, when the mill was destroyed by fire, when George L. Dean became a farnier on land which he had purchased at an earlier time, and on that farm, to which he later added more land, Mr. Dean continued in his agricultural life for the remainder of his days. George L. Dean was a prominent man of his community, having served for thirty years as a justice of the peace and for fifteen years as a director of the schools in Bushnell township.
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