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 24
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Alta M. ( Burt) Sweet was deprived of a mother's care at an early age and lived for some time with an aunt in Ohio, until her marriage to Hart- well P. Sweet. They were the parents of two children. Clarence and Louise. the latter of whom is the wife of Ralph C. Miller, and lives on a farm near
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Greenville. In 1915, after submitting to two operations for appendicitis, Mrs. Alta Sweet died on July 15, after loving hands and the best medical skill had accomplished all that was possible. During her life she was always an active worker in the Methodist Episcopal church and took great interest in the various societies of the church. She was a kind neighbor and was ever ready to assist in sickness and adversity. Mr. H. P. Sweet is also a member and an active worker in the church. He has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the encampment at Maple Ridge for many years.
Clarence .. Sweet lived at home until he was eighteen years of age, when he went to live with his uncle. Dr. C. A. Sweet, at East Jordan. Ilis intention was to be a doctor, but after one year's work he became aware that it would be impossible for him to operate and gave up the study. He returned home and engaged in painting and paper-hanging, which he has followed ever since. Mr. Sweet is a very active and influential Republican, and takes much interest in the campaigns of the party. He has served as a member of the town board and at present is completing his fourth year as treasurer of Bloomer township.
In 1901 Clarence A. Sweet was married to Pearl Dewey, who was born at Pewamo, and is the daughter of Fred D. and Eugenia ( Vance ) Dewey. They are the parents of two children, Paul and Mary.
Fred D. Dewey is a native of Pewamo, where he conducted a drug store until 1800. when he moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where he continued the business. He is the son of Thomas H. and Rachel ( Harding) Dewey. Thomas Il. was born in Connecticut on December 31, 1814, and moved to Lyons in 1837, having walked all the way. He moved to Pewamo about 1862 and clerked in a store for many years, later becoming a member of the firm of Coon, Dewey & Rickey. He died on March 11, 1903. He was the son of Christopher. Jr .. and Hulda ( Babcock ) Dewey. Christopher, Jr .. was the son of Christopher. Sr .. and Peggy ( Brown) Dewey, the former the son of David and Deborah ( Tracy) Dewey, the former the son of Jabez and Deborah ( York ) Dewey, the former the son of Israel Dewey, Jr .. the son of Israel. Sr., and Abigail ( Drake) Dewey. Israel, Sr., was the son of Thomas and Frances Dewey. Thomas Dewey is known as the founder of the family in this country, having come from Kent, England, with Governor Winthrop and Rev. John Warham and settled at Salem in February, 1637.
Margaret Brown, the wife of Christopher Dewey, was the daughter of Ruben Brown, son of Humphrey Brown. son of Thomas Brown, son of
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Nicholas Brown, who was the son of Edward Brown, of Worcestershire, England.
The family history of Deborah Tracy, the wife of David Dewey, has been traced through many generations. Her father, Jonathan Tracy, was the third son of Thomas Tracy, the settler of Norwich, Connecticut, who was the son of Gov. William Tracy, the governor of Berksley Hundred, from 1620 to 1622, in Virginia. Governor Tracy came to America at the solicitation of Capt John Smith. After the death of Governor Tracy, his widow and young son, Thomas, returned to England. Some years later Thomas returned to America, settling first in Watertown, Massachusetts, then at Salem and later founded Norwich.
Governor Tracy was of noble birth. the family history being traced through nineteen generations to Lord Dudley and his wife. Grace de Traci, the latter of whom was a granddaughter of Baron de Traci, who came to England with William the Conqueror and fought in the battle of Hastings in 1066. 1.ord Dudley traced his history through four generations, to Ethel- red, king of England from 979 to 1015. Ile was the seventh in the line of English kings, beginning with Egbert, who ruled from 800 to 838.
King Egbert's ancestry is recorded to Cedric, the first king of West Saxony, in 534, while that of Cedric is traced to Woden, who was master of a great part of northern Europe in the third century. Some claim to have traced this famous ruler through Darius to Japtha, the son of Noah.
Eugenia Vance, the mother of Mrs. Clarence A. Sweet, was born on a farm near Pewamo and was the daughter of Madison R. and Mary ( Beck- with ) Vance. Madison R. Vance was born in Yates county, New York, on April 16, 1822. He was one of five brothers who moved to Tonia county and settled in East Plains. He was a man of robust constitution and was able to withstand the many hardships of pioneer life. By his efforts he was enabled to spend his later days in comfort and enjoy the respect and confi- dence of his neighbors and friends. He died on May 13, 1908. His wife, Mary ( Beckwith) Vance, was born in 1825. in Monroe county, New York. and moved with her parents to East Plains, where she was married. Mr. and Mrs. Vance were active and faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church until their death.
Mr. Sweet is a quiet, but sociable man, with many friends. He enjoys his beautiful home and family rather than the social life of the world. ITe is highly respected by all who know him.
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HOWARD C. KIPP.
Howard C. Kipp, leading business man and prominent citizen of Green- ville, Montcalm county, Michigan, was born at Carson City, this county, on August 25, 1884, a son of Isaac and Drusilla ( England) Kipp, natives of lonia, Michigan, and of Canada, respectively.
Isaac Kipp, after the completion of his education in the conumnon schools of Ionia, learned the trade of a shoemaker, an occupation which he followed after coming to Carson City when he was seventeen years of age, for some years. Later, the elder Kipp established himself in business as a shoe dealer, a business which he followed most successfully at Carson City until 1896, when Isaac Kipp moved to Greenville aud opened a store, carrying a general line of merchandise and furnishings. As a merchant of Greenville, the elder Kipp prospered until he not only was the owner of his successful business, but was the owner of considerable property in this town.
Isaac Kipp was prominent in the efforts of the Democratic party in Montcalm county, and while a resident of Carson City was treasurer of the town for some time. Fraternally. Mr. Kipp was a member of Eureka Lodge No. 9, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Isaac Kipp was a leading mem- ber and worker of the Methodist church and for some time served as a member of the official board of this church at Greenville. Isaac and Dru- silla Kipp were the parents of three children: Sadie B., who was educated in and graduated from the Greenville high school, she now living at home; Howard C., and Keith, of Greenville.
Howard C. Kipp received his early education in the public schools of Carson City, afterward becoming a student at the Greenville high school, from which institution he was graduated in 1903. Later, Mr. Kipp became a student of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, after two years of study at that school going to Chicago, Illinois, where he spent two years as an employee of the Western Electric Company. He then returned to Green- ville, and on account of the disability of his father, took charge of the busi- ness interests of the elder Kipp, after whose death Howard C. Kipp con- tinned in that work until a rearrangement of the business into a co-partner- ship, when Mr. Kipp was retained as manager. Howard C. Kipp now spe- cializes in the grocery business, conducting one of the best kept and most effi- ciently managed business houses of Greenville.
During the year 1911 Howard C. Kipp was married to Adelaide E. Siple, who was born near Greenville, educated in the Greenville public schools
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and graduated from the Greenville high school. Mrs. Kipp is an active mem- ber and devout worker in the Congregational church of Greenville.
Howard C. Kipp is a member of LeRoy Lodge No. 9. Knights of Pythias, and is a citizen who is active in the support of the policies and efforts of the Republican party in Montcalm county.
CORNELIUS DEYOUNG.
Cornelius De Young, well-known hardware merchant at Crystal, this county, and former representative in the state Legislature from this county, is a native son of Michigan, having been born at Grand Rapids, this state, Jannary 23. 1860, son of William and Mary ( Minderhout) De Young, both natives of Holland and both born in the year 1830, the former of whom. when a young man of nineteen, came to the United States and settled at Grand Rapids, where he engaged in the grocery business. Mary Minderhout was about twenty years old when she came to this country and she, too. located at Grand Rapids, where she and William De Young were shortly afterward married. They made their home in that city until 1877, in which year they came to this county, locating at what then was known as the Burke Pond saw-mill. on Fish creek, at a point now included in the southeastern section of the town of Crystal, and there William De Young bought the saw- mill and established his home, he and his family thus being among the very earliest settlers of that section and were among the leaders in the develop- ment of the now thriving little city of Crystal.
William De Young was one of the most active promoters of the growth of Crystal and was for years regarded as a leader in the business life of that community. He was a Republican and took an active part in the political affairs of the county, his thorough acquaintance with conditions in his part of the county giving much weight to his counsels in the deliberations of the party managers. He died in April, 1888, and his widow survived him for sixteen years, her death occurring in 1904. They were the parents of nine children, namely : James, who lives three miles east of Stanton, in this county; Daniel, who lives four miles cast and one mile north of Stanton ; Cornelius, the immediate subject of this biographical sketch; John, who died in the fall of 1915; Engel. who died in 1912; William, who lives three miles southeast of Crystal; Edward, who is in the hardware business at McBain; Mrs. Mary Markum, who lives in Grand Rapids, and Mrs. Jennie Sykes.
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Cornelius De Young grew up at Crystal and early acquired an excellent business training. In 1886 he began business for himself, starting a store at Fishville, this county, and was engaged in business there until 1890. in which year he returned to Crystal and engaged in the hotel business, and was thus engaged for three years, at the end of which time, in 1893, he entered the hardware field. opening a well-stocked hardware store at Crystal, which he ever since has conducted and in which business he has met with much success, long having been rated as one of the leading merchants of that town.
Mr. DeYoung has not permitted his extensive mercantile interests to detract from his interest in the public service and he has given close and intelligent attention to the civic affairs of the county. In 1894 he was elected clerk of Crystal township and served in that capacity for six years. He later was elected treasurer of the township, in which official capacity he served for one term, and in 1908 was elected as the representative from Montcalm county to the lower house of the Michigan General Assembly. his service in the Legislature during the session of 1900 being creditable not only to himself but to his constituency. he having acquitted himself in the Honse, in the performance of all the exacting duties of his representative office, with serupulous regard to his obligation to his constituency and with an eye single to the public good.
On December 25. 1880. Cornelius De Young was united in marriage to Eva Case, who was born in Crystal township. her father a member of a pio- neer family of that section, his mother. Emmaline Smith Case, having been the first white woman to settle in that township, and to this union two chil- dren were born, Ernest. born in 1887. now living at Crystal, and Lillian, born in 1804. who married Harry Rogers, and now lives at Alma. The mother of these children died in October. 1907, and in July, 1908, Cornelius De Young married. secondly, Bertha Owens, daughter of the Rev. David J. Owens and wife, pioneers of Crystal township, the former of whom, for forty years a well-known minister of the Gospel. is still living in Crystal. and to this second mion one child has been born. a son, Austin, born on August 5. 1900. Mr. and Mrs. De Young are members of and earnest work- ers in the Baptist church at Crystal, Mr. DeYoung being the teacher of the young people's class in the Sunday school and are interested in all good works in their community, being held in high esteem among their many friends thereabout. Mr. De Young has been a member of the Knights of the Maccabees since 1895. in the affairs of which order he has ever taken a
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warm interest. having been a member of the great camp, serving as great second master of the guards for one term and is well known among the members of that popular order throughout the state.
ELLIOTT O. BELLOWS.
Elliott O. Bellows, successful farmer and stock raiser, and citizen prominent in the affairs of Sidney township, Montcalm county, Michigan, was born in Mckean county, Pennsylvania, on April 8, 1853, a son of William and Jane ( Manning ) Bellows, natives of Vermont and of Mckean. Pennsylvania, respectively.
After their marriage, William Bellows and his wife lived at Mckean, Pennsylvania, until 1838. when they moved to Smithport. Pennsylvania, which was their home until 1861. and then they moved to Tioga county, New York, where they lived until 1864. About this time William Bellows and his family went to Carroll county, Illinois, where, a year later. the elder Bellows purchased a farm of eighty acres, which he cultivated for three years and then, selling his land, William Bellows rented a larger farm for two years, afterward buying one hundred and twenty acres of land, on which he lived as a farmer until 1872. William Bellows and his family, with the exception of Elliott O. Bellows. the subject of this sketch, at that time moved to the state of Kansas, where the elder Bellows was prosper- ously engaged in general agricultural pursuits for the remainder of his days. dying on January 30, 1885. William and Jane Bellows were the parents of eleven children : Ellen. William D., Thomas, Orpha. Orcivilla, Cora, Lily and Lydia, who are deceased; and Ada. Elliott O. and Marshall N.
Elliott O. Bellows lived with his parents until July, 1871, and then after three months as a thresher in Carroll county, Illinois, he came to Michigan and located in Montcalm county, where he worked as a lumber- man in the winter of 1871. and in the spring of the year 1872 took up duties as a salesman in a store at Langston. continuing in this work for three and one-half years. In the year 1875 Mr. Bellows again became a Inberman for Que winter, and in 1876 he bought eighty acres of land in Montcalm county, which he cleared and where he farmed, alternately with his duties as a lumberman. until January, 1879. when Elliott O. Bellows sold his land and moved to Kansas and purchased a farm. on which he lived for two years. About the year 1881 Mr. Bellows returned to Mont-
ELLIOTT O. BELLOWS.
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calm county, Michigan, and bought forty acres of land in Montcalm town- ship, a place which he cultivated for about one year and in 1882, in partner- ship with Fred D. Buggs, he entered the mercantile business, two years later disposing of his interest and going to Canada, where he had charge of a crew of men engaged in construction work for the Canadian Pacific Rail- way Company.
After four months in Canada, Mr. Bellows returned to Montcalm county, Michigan, and purchased eighty acres of land in Ferris township, where he made his home for three years. until the spring of the year 1887, and then Elliott O. Bellows again became a merchant, starting a general store at Six Lakes, Montcalm county. During the month of February, 1890, the store of Mr. Bellows was destroyed by fire, and after rebuilding he sold his place of business to his brother and returned to his farm in Ferris township, which was his home until January 1, 1901. Elliott O. Bellows having been elected sheriff of Montcalm county, he moved to the town of Stanton, and there made his home during two terms of office. While living at Stanton, Mr. Bellows, in 1903, sold his farm in Ferris township, and purchased a farm of one hundred acres in Day township, a place to which he added land until he was the owner of two hundred and twenty acres. In 1911 Mr. Bellows sold the farm in Day township and a few months Jater bought one hundred acres of farm land in Sidney township, to which he moved in January. 1914, and where he now lives as a general farmer and as a raiser of purebred Guernsey cattle. In addition to his valuable farm, Mr. Bellows is the owner of fifteen acres of land in the town of Stanton, Montcalm county.
During the year 1875 Elliott O. Bellows was married to Mary John- son, who, in the year 1883, died, leaving two children, Lily M. and Fred E .. both of whom are deceased. In the year 1884 Mr. Bellows was mar- ried, secondly. to Mary A. Peal. and to this marriage were born two chil- dren : Severens E., who, after completing a high school education, became a civil service employee at Lansing, Michigan; and Inez, who, after com- pleting her education, became a school teacher for a short time and then was married to Arthur Strouse, a hardware and grocery merchant of Stan- ton, Montcalm county. On April 20, 1904, Mary, the wife of Elliott O. Bellows, died. and some time later Mr. Bellows was married. thirdly, to Mrs. Evangeline ( Baird) Shauman, a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth ( Miller) Baird. both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania, in which state they lived until moving to Ohio, and later to Elkhart county, Indiana, in
(17b)
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1865. Henry Baird, who was a wagon-maker, and his family lived in Elk- hart county, Indiana. until 1870, when they moved to Michigan, locating first in Mecosta county; and then at Stanton, in Montcalm county, where they spent their last days.
Prior to her marriage to Elliott (. Bellows, Mrs. Bellows was the widow of J. P. Shauman, to whom she was married at Elkhart. Indiana, on April 28, 1879, after which they lived in Elkhart, Indiana, for some time and then moved to Day township, Montcalm county, Michigan, where Mr. Shauman was employed in a mill, he afterward going to Stanton, where he died on July 7, 1902. J. P. and Evangeline Shauman were the parents of two children: Olion, who, after completing a high school education. became a druggist, now being located `at Chelsea, Michigan, and John H .. of Greenville, Montcalm county.
As a public man and official. Elliott O. Bellows has taken a prominent place in Montcalm county, serving as sheriff for two terms, beginning on January 1. 1901. In 1906 Mr. BBellows was appointed to the office as post- master of Stanton, being reappointed in the year 1910, and occupying the office until April. 1914. Elliott O). Bellows was a supervisor of Ferris town- ship for six years and during a long term of activity in the Republican party he has been the occupant of various local offices, all of which he has served in his usual efficient and able manner.
Elliott O. Bellows is a prominent member of Stanton Lodge No. 250. Free and Accepted Masons. is a well-known member of the Knights of the Maccabees, and together with his wife, is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star. In church affiliation, Mrs. Elliott O. Bellows is a member of the Congregational church.
GEORGE EDWARDS.
George Edwards. a coal dealer of Sheridan, Michigan, was born in Bushnell township, Montcalm county, July 16. 1857, the son of George and Anne ( Haysmer ) Edwards. George Edwards and Anne Haysmer were both born in England, where they were reared and married, and. three years after their marriage came to America, their only child dying on the voyage across the ocean. Upon arriving in this country. they came direct to Bushnell township, Montcalm county, and, at the outbreak of the Civil War. George Edwards enlisted in the army, dying while in service. Four children were born to them after their arrival in this country: George, the subject of this
ยท
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sketch; Herbert, who lives in Bushnell township; Frank, who resides in lonia county, and Elizabeth, deceased, who was the wife of Henry Arntz, of Evergreen township. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Anne Edwards was married to Ceph Weigman, of Bushnell township, but no children were born to this union. She is now deceased, but he is still living in Bushnell township.
George Edwards lived at home until he was twenty-one years of age, when he started out for himself, renting a farm for two or three years, in which occupation he was very successful. At the end of that time he was able to purchase forty acres of land in Bushnell township, on which he moved and to which he subsequently added until he now owns one hundred acres in Bushnell township and twenty-seven acres near Sheridan. In Febru- ary, 1911, Mr. Edwards came to Sheridan and engaged in the coal business, which he has followed since that time and in which he has been very pros- perons. Ile rents the farm.
George Edwards was married on July 8, 1877, to Anna Minier, the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth ( Pennington) Minier, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania and came to Ohio with their respective parents. They were reared and married in Ohio, and one son was born to them while still residents of that state. Five years after their marriage they came to Michi- gan and settled in Montcalm county. They were the parents of nine chil- dren, seven of whom are now living: James, who resides at Six Lakes, Michigan; Florence, the wife of David Youngs, of Evart, Michigan; Anna, the wife of Mr. Edwards; George, who lives at Millersburg, Michigan; Simon, who is a resident of Palo, Michigan; Howard, who resides at Lans- ing; and Clara, the wife of Walter Root, of Fenwick, Michigan.
To Mr. and Mrs. George Edwards have been born six children, two of whom, Mable and Floyd, died in infancy. The four living children are : Elmer, a farmer, who resides in Bushnell township; Earl, who is a resident of Sheridan and a railroad man on the Grand Trunk; Jesse, who lives in Bushnell township and farms the home place, and Ella, the wife of Hans Olson, of Lowell, Michigan.
Mrs. Edwards is a member of the Baptist church and an earnest worker in this congregation. Fraternally. Mr. Edwards is a member of Even Lodge No. 57, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is a past noble grand and which he represented at the state encampment in 1915. His son, Elmer. is also a member of this order and represented the local lodge at the grand encampment. Politically, Mr. Edwards is a Republican and has
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always taken an active part in local politics. He has served as school direc- tor in his home district and is now serving his first term on the city council of Sheridan.
CHARLES W. RILEY.
Charles W. Riley, well-known owner and operator of the "Reo" gar- age in Lafayette street, Greenville, but formerly and for years engaged in the meat-market business and stock buying at Greenville, long having been recognized as one of the best-known business men in that city, having grown up there in business in connection with his father's long established business, is a native son of Michigan, having been born at Farmington, in Oakland county, this state, October 27, 1861, son of H. W. and Valeria (Wieand) Riley, the former a native of New York state and the latter of the state of Michigan, who for years were well-known and respected residents of Green- ville, where both spent their last days.
H. W. Riley, who was the son of Henry Riley, came from New York to Michigan when he was a small boy with his parents, who settled in the Farmington neighborhood in Oakland county, where the lad grew to man- hood. He was nineteen years old when the "gold fever" swept over the country, following the opening of the gold fields in California in 1849, and he joined the throng of modern Argonauts who sought their fortunes amid the hazard of the times in the West. He remained in the gold fields for six years and made some money, but was not sufficiently attracted to the place to remain longer and returned to Farmington, where he married Valeria Wieand, a native of that section of the state, whose parents had come from Cayuga county, New York, her father having walked from that state to Michigan to enter a claim in Oakland county, where he established his home and where he spent the rest of his life.
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