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 60
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Spencer McClellan was married on September 22, 1871, to Frances Story, who was born in Seneca county, New York. Mrs. McClellan passed away June 29, 1913, deeply mourned by her husband and a large number of friends in this community.
Mr. McClellan is a member of the Baptist church and takes an active interest in all religious matters. Fraternally, he is a member of Greenville Lodge No. 96, Free and Accepted Masons. In politics, Mr. McClellan is a Democrat and has served as postmaster of Gowen since November 11, 1904, filling this office very efficiently and to the entire satisfaction of the citizens of Gowen, which is proved by his long tenure in this position. Mr. McClellan is well liked and highly respected by a host of friends in Gowen and through- out Montcalm county.
JOHN C. DESPELTER.
John C. Despelter, the proprietor of "East Side Farm," was born in Southfield township, Oakland county, Michigan, August 25, 1846, the son of Peter and Dina ( Debree) Despelter. Both Peter and Dina Despelter were natives of Holland, where they were reared, educated and married, com- ing to the United States in 1845 and locating in Oakland county, Michigan, where he was a carpenter and contractor. On October 20, 1854, they moved to Montcalm county, where they purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty- six acres in Montcalm township, and here they lived until their deaths, he dying on August 6, 1888, and she ten years later, in 1898. Both were active church workers. Peter Despelter was a Republican in politics and at one time treasurer of the township. They were the parents of seven children. five of whom are now living: John C., the subject of this sketch; Jacob A., a farmer and business man in Eureka township; P. J., a retired farmer of Greenville; Anna, the wife of J. H. Ver Plank, of Bushnell township. and E. J., a retired farmer of Greenville.
John C. Despelter was reared on his father's farm in Montcalm town- ship and, being the eldest in the family, had to help his father on the farm
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during the summers, but attended school in the winters until he was eighteen --- years of age. He remained at home until he was twenty-one years of age, when he was married and started farming for himself on a farm of eighty acres in Montcalm township. This farm is known as "East Side Farm" and is situated one mile east and four miles north of Greenville.
John C. Despelter was married in 1867 to Helen Van Ness, who is of Dutch descent, her ancestors having come to the United States from Holland in 1642. She was born in Greenville, August 10, 1849, the daughter of George Van Ness, and was educated in both the common and high schools, having been a teacher before her marriage. To this union have been born four children : Will, who married Nettie Thompson and lives near Six Lakes; Nettie, a graduate of Alma College, is the wife of Howard Moore, but was formerly a trained nurse, having graduated from the Cook county hospital and, for seven years, served as superintendent of the Kenosha hos- pital; Nora, who is a graduate of the Cook county hospital and now the wife of J. E. Walker, of Lansing, Michigan, and J. Howard, who is in the third year of the Greenville high school.
Mr. Despelter and his family are members of the Montcalm Methodist Episcopal church, in which all are enthusiastic workers, Mr. Despelter being a member of the official board. In politics, Mr. Desplter is a Republican, but has never been an office seeker.
WILLIAM J. STAINES.
William, J. Staines, a well-known farmer of Fairplain township Mont- calm county, and the proprietor of "Woodside Farm," was born in Bushnell township, December 17, 1863. He is the son of William C. and Sarah A. ( Hammant) Staines, the former of whom was born in New York state, in October, 1834, and the latter in Lincolnshire, England, in 1840. Sarah A. Hammant came to the United States with her parents and grew up in New York state, where she was married. After her marriage, she came with her husband to Michigan, settling on a farm in Bushnell township, where she lived until her death, April 1, 1872, when her son, William J., was only eight years of age. To William C. and Sarah A. (Hammant) Staines were born three children : William J., the subject of this sketch; Fred J., a farmer in Eureka township, and Emma J., the wife of George W. Peabody. After the death of his wife, William C. Staines was married a second time.
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William J. Staines remained at home with his father and stepmother until he was twenty-one years of age, when he began working on the old farm and other farms adjoining. In 1888 he and his brother purchased the farm on which he now lives, but which was then nothing but woods, and, in June of that year, he moved to this farm and began clearing it. This farm consists of one hundred and twenty acres, situated two and one-half miles south and one mile west of Sheridan, and is known by the name "Woodside Farm." Mr. Staines first purchased only eighty acres, which he improved and on which he erected a fine residence, a large barn with annex, put up good fences, and to which he later added forty acres. Besides this farm Mr. Staines owns the old homestead of one hundred acres in Bushnell township. He is an extensive breeder of Holstein cattle and has a fine herd headed by "Ithlia Lyons Harlog," No. 147037, born on January 18, 1914. He keeps about twelve cows all the time, which he milks with an up-to-date milking machine run by a gasoline engine, and finds a market for the milk at the Fenwick cheese factory. Mr. Staines also has a fine flock of well-bred sheep and six or eight good horses. Mr. Staines is the possessor of a large Reo automobile, from which he gets much enjoyment.
On December 25, 1884, William J. Staines was married to Nellie Scott, who was born on May 31, 1866, in Bushnell township, the daughter of Mrs. Ira Scott. She was reared on a farm and educated in the district schools of her home vicinity, having grown up in the same community as her hus- band. To this union has been born one son, Glenn S., who was born on November 15, 1886. He is a graduate of the Michigan State University at Ann Arbor, having graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy. For some time he was an instructor of music, but is now a druggist on East- ern avenue in Grand Rapids. He is a member of Pearl Lake Lodge No. 324, Free and Accepted Masons; the Order of the Eastern Star, and a social member of the Malta lodge.
Fraternally, Mr. Staines is a member of Pearl Lake Lodge No. 324, Free and Accepted Masons. Both he and his wife are members of Pearl Lake Chapter No. 347, Order of the Eastern Star, and the Ladies of the Maccabees, in which Mrs. Staines has served as commander. In politics, Mr. Staines is a Republican, but has never cared to take an active part in political affairs. Mr. and Mrs. Staines have resided in Montcalm county all of their lives and are well known throughout the county. Both are pleasant, affable people and are well liked by all who know them.
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EDWARD W. LINCOLN.
Edward W. Lincoln, a farmer and prominent fruit grower of Montcalm township, Montcalm county, was born in St. Peter, Minnesota, August 18, 1867, the son of William and Elizabeth (Snyder) Lincoln, both of whom were natives of Cortland county, New York, where they grew up and mar- ried. After their marriage they came west locating in Minnesota, but in March, 1869, came to Montcalm county and settled on the farm where Edward W. Lincoln now lives, where they resided until their deaths. They were the parents of five children: L. C., a florist of Greenville; D. S., a farmer and gardener of Big Rapids; Ida, the wife of Frank Bollio, of Green- ville; Edward W., the subject of this article, and Webster, a landscape gardener in California.
Edward W. Lincoln was one and one-half years old when he came with his parents from Minnesota to Michigan and settled on the farm which he now owns. Like the majority of farmer boys, Mr. Lincoln attended school in the winter and assisted his father with the farm work in the summer. At the age of twenty-one years he went into business with his brother at Big Rapids, where he remained for four years, at the end of which time he was married and moved to Colorado, where he opened a book store and bazaar. He continued in this business in Colorado only one year, when he returned to Michigan and located on the old home place, where he took up the occu- pation of fruit growing. This farm is known as "Oak Lawn Fruit Farm" and consists of one hundred acres situated two miles north and one-half mile east of Greenville. Mr. Lincoln raises all kinds of fruits, but makes a specialty of apples, which he ships to all parts of the country, being well known to all apple dealers. He has exhibited his apples at various fairs, including those held at Detroit and has taken many first premiums. Mr. Lincoln's farm is well improved and he has adopted all of the modern Methods of horticulture and is considered a very successful fruit grower.
In 1893 Edward W. Lincoln was united in marriage to Elizabeth Sharp, who was born in Big Rapids, Michigan, the daughter of Thomas J. and Mary ( Rexford) Sharp. Mrs. Lincoln was educated in the Michigan State Nor- mal School and before her marriage was a teacher in the public schools of Big Rapids. To this union have been born five children: Clarence, who is a graduate of the Greenville high school and a fruit grower; Esther, who is a graduate of the Greenville high school and lives at home; Herbert, who is also a graduate of the Greenville high school and a student in the electrical
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engineering department of the Michigan State University; Gertrude and Robert, who are attending the public schools.
Mr. Lincoln is president and one of the organizers of the Greenville Produce & Supply Company, a farmers' organization composed of one hun- dred and sixty members and with a capital stock of five thousand dollars. This company buys and ships all kinds of produce and is a general farmers' supply company.
Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln and family are members of the Congregational church and all take an active interest in church affairs. Mr. Lincoln is a Republican, but, owing to his extensive business interests, he has never taken an active part in politics.
GEORGE W. PEABODY.
George W. Peabody, a farmer living near Sheridan, Montcalm county, Michigan, was born in Bushnell township, November 30, 1868, and is the son of David J. and Judith ( Moulton) Peabody. David J. Peabody was born in Herkimer county, New York, and came to Montcalm county, Mich- igan, purchasing a farm in Bushnell township. Judith Moulton was a native of Pennsylvania and moved to Ionia county, Michigan, where she met and married David J. Peabody. After their marriage, they located on his farm in Bushnell township and here they lived until his death, in 1899, when Mrs. Peabody left the farm and moved to Sheridan, where she now resides. Mr. Peabody was a well-to-do farmer, having accumulated all of his wealth by his own efforts. He was a prominent member of the Grange. Mr. and Mrs. David J. Peabody were the parents of four children: George W., the sub- ject of this sketch; Mary P., who resides at home; Clara A., the wife of L. L. Leslie, of Sheridan, Michigan, and Frank I., who married Lura Wood and lives in Saginaw county, Michigan.
George W. Peabody was reared on a farm in Bushnell township and followed the routine of the ordinary farmer boy, attending school in the winter and working on the farm in the summer. After he was nineteen years of age he devoted all of his attention to work on the farm and remained at home until he was past twenty-five years of age. After his marriage he rented his mother's farm for three or four years, when he bought the farm which he now owns and moved to it, remaining there four years. At the end of this time he went back to the home farm and farmed it for three years, when he returned to his own farm. where he has lived ever since. His
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farm consists of eighty acres of good land and is situated one and one-fourth miles west and two miles north of Fenwick, in section II, of Fairplain town- ship. Mr. Peabody is a progressive and up-to-date farmer and keeps the buildings on his farm in good repair and his farm in a high state of cultiva- tion.
On May 2, 1894, George W. Peabody was married to Emma J. Staines, who was born in Bushnell township, August 15, 1869. She received all of her education at home, having been taught by her stepmother's father. To this union have been born three children, Foster, Norma and Ruth, all of whom are living at home with their parents.
Politically, Mr. Peabody is a Democrat, but has never taken a very active part in politics, practically all of his time being taken up with his per- sonal interests. Fraternally, Mr. Peabody is a member of Fenwick Lodge No. 517, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Ancient Order of Gleaners.
JOHN McGOWAN.
John McGowan, a prominent farmer of Fairplain township, Montcalm county, was born in Lenawee county, Michigan, in August, 1852, the son of John and Lydia (Celia) McGowan. John McGowan, Sr., was born in Dumfries, Scotland, and came to the United States about 1835, locating in New York state, where he followed the trade of a cabinet-maker. He later moved to Defiance, Ohio, where he remained for some time, and then went to Canandaigua, Michigan, where he followed his trade for many years. Later he bought a farm in Lenawee county, near Canandaigua, and farmed there the remainder of his life. John McGowan, Sr., had been married in Scotland and to that union had been born one daughter, Margaret, but both wife and daughter died in that country. After coming to America, he mar- ried Lydia Celia, and to them were born three sons, two of whom are now living: William, a retired farmer in Fayette, Ohio, and John, the subject of this sketch.
John McGowan was reared on a farm in Michigan and attended the district schools of his home neighborhood. After completing the course in the common school, he also attended high school. After living on the farm for some time he sold it and moved to Fulton county, Ohio, where he owned a farm and where he lived a few years. He then sold this farm and went
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to Battle Creek, Iowa, where he conducted a hotel for four years, being very prosperous in this business. In 1882, having previously purchased a farm in Montcalm county, Mr. McGowan sold out his hotel in Iowa and moved to this farm, where he has since resided. This farm consists of one hundred and sixty acres and is situated three and one-fourth miles south of Sheridan, in Fairplain and Bushnell townships. Mr. McGowan is a pro- gressive and up-to-date farmer and his farm is well improved and modern in every respect.
John McGowan was married in 1888 to Nellie Miller, who was born in Ionia county, Michigan, and to them have been born two children, Harry, who is a graduate of the common schools and lives at home, and Flora E., who is a student in the Sheridan high school.
Like his father before him, Mr. McGowan is a stanch Republican in politics and has always taken an active interest in all political affairs, having served his township efficiently as treasurer and as commissioner. Fraternally, Mr. McGowan is a member of Pearl Lake Lodge No. 324, Free and Accepted Masons, and his son, Harry, is also a member of this lodge. Because of his deep interest in all public affairs and his hearty co-operation with all meas- ures which are for the good of the community, Mr. McGowan is popular and well liked throughout Montcalm county.
THOMAS W. WORDEN.
Thomas W. Worden, farmer, merchant, former postmaster and man of prominence in the affairs of Fenwick, Montcalm county, Michigan, was born in Niagara county, New York, June 10, 1856, the son of Alexander and Mary (Noddins) Worden, the former born in New York state, the latter in England, from which country she came to America with her par- ents and located in Niagara county, New York, when she was a small child.
Alexander Worden was a carpenter, a trade which he followed, toge- ther with general farming, until 1854, when the elder Worden moved to Michigan and located in Berlin township, of Ionia county, a place where Alexander Worden lived as a farmer for the remainder of his days. Alex- ander Worden was married, in Niagara county, New York, to Mary Nod- dins, and to this marriage were born three children, Adelbert, Anna (de- ceased) and Thomas W.
Thomas W. Worden received his education in the public schools of
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Ionia county, Michigan, where he lived until twenty-eight years of age and then entered the general merchandise and farming business, a line of work which Mr. Worden followed until 1907, when he was appointed to the office as postmaster of Fenwick, in Montcalm county, an office which Thomas W. Worden occupied until September 1, 1915.
During the year 1880 Thomas W. Worden was married to Helen Bailey, and to them were born four children: Anna, who died in infancy; Frank, who since graduating from the Sheridan high school has operated the Fen- wick elevator; Nellie, who died in infancy, and Robert, who after grad- uating from the Sheridan high school and the United States Telegraph Institute at Cincinnati, Ohio, is now an employee of the Great Northern Rail- way Company, at Aaron Guard, North Dakota During the year 1888 Helen, the wife of Thomas W. Worden, died, and after some time Mr. Worden was married, secondly, to Laura Heydlauf. To this marriage no children have been born.
Thomas W. Worden is a prominent member of the Congregational church at Fenwick, and has served this church as clerk for eight years and as superintendent of the Sunday school for some time. Mr. Worden is a member of Fenwick Lodge No. 517, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; he has served this organization as noble grand and he is a member of the grand lodge. Thomas W. Worden is also a member of the Modern Wood- men of America. In politics, Mr. Worden is an ardent Republican. Thomas W. Worden is the owner of one of the choice properties of Fenwick, Mont- calm county, and he is the owner of one hundred and ten acres of land in Fairplain township.
EDWIN J. KINDELL.
Edwin J. Kindell, successful farmer and stockman, business man and prominent citizen of Fenwick, Fairplain township, Montcalm county, Michi- gan, was born in Richland township, Dekalb county, Indiana, September I, 1857, the son of John S. and Sarah E. (Sherman) Kindell, natives of Wayne county, Ohio, and of Cayuga county, New York, respectively.
John S. Kindell moved to Dekalb county, Indiana, when he was a young man, where he lived as a farmer until August 15, 1862, when he enlisted in Company A, One Hundredth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, for service in the Civil War, the elder Kindell having served with this command. first as a private and later as an adjutant, until his death, on January II.
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1863. John S. and Sarah E. Kindell were the parents of three children : Edwin J., Ida A., and Eunice, deceased. Later, Sarah E., the widow of John S. Kindell, was married, in 1864, to a Mr. Lockwood, and to this mar- riage were born two children, Della and Cora.
Edwin J. Kindell moved, with his mother, to Montcalm county, Mich- igan, one-half mile north of Fenwick, in 1869. When he was a small boy and after his school days he engaged in farming, working on a neighboring farm for S. W. Tompkins, who gave to Edwin J. Kindell the sum of one hundred dollars when he reached the age of twenty-one years. Two years later Edwin J. Kindell went to the state of Indiana, where he remained two years and then went to Ionia county, Michigan, and worked as a farmer for some time, after which he went to Shiloh, Michigan, near where he worked as a farmer for three years. Later, Edwin J. Kindell, with money which he had saved from his farm work, purchased sixty acres of unbroken and uncleared land, a place which Mr. Kindell improved, after which he pur- chased a farm of eighty acres in sections 23, 25 and 26, of Fairplain town- ship, a place which is the present home of Mr. Kindell, who is now one of the prosperous farmers of Montcalm county. The farm of Edwin J. Kin- dell is known as "Pleasant View Farm." In addition to the general farm activities of Mr. Kindell, he is successfully engaged in the raising of high- grade live stock, his product in this line being of the best to be found in the community. Mr. Kindell is also the owner of considerable property in Fenwick.
On December 23, 1886, Edwin J. Kindell was united in marriage to Chloe Emery, a native of Ionia county, Michigan. Chloe, the wife of Edwin J. Kindell, died on March 22, 1892, since which time Ida, the sister of the deceased wife of Mr. Kindell, has acted as his housekeeper.
Edwin J. Kindell has been active in the political life of Fairplain town- ship, having served as treasurer for two years and he now being the occu- pant of the office as justice of the peace, an office which Mr. Kindell has served most efficiently for many years. In politics, Edwin J. Kindell is an ardent Republican.
Mr. Kindell is a member of Pearl Lake Lodge No. 324, Free and Accepted Masons, he having served this lodge as master, and Edwin J. Kindell, with his sister, is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, No. 346. Of this lodge Mr. Kindell was the first to serve as worthy patron. Edwin J. Kindell is known as a man especially interested in education and he has served as a moderator and director for eighteen years.
(40b)
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RUDOLPH NEWTON.
Rudolph Newton, a prominent farmer and stock raiser of Fairplain township, Montcalm county, Michigan, was born in this township on August I, 1873, on a farm just across the road from where he now lives, the son of James E. and Laura Jane (Skey) Newton. James E. Newton was born in Mahoning county, Ohio, June 16, 1843, the son of Charles Newton, who was born in Connecticut and came from that state to Ohio. He was a car- penter by trade and was a young man when he came to Ohio, where he spent the remainder of his life, following his trade and helping to clear and improve the land. Laura Jane Skey was born in Jackson county, Michigan, September 18, 1853, the daughter of Octavius and Mary (Fay) Skey, the former of whom was descended from a noted English family, his father being a well-known physician. Octavius Skey was the eighth son in a family of thirteen children and came to Michigan and located near Detroit. He later moved to Jackson county, where he lived until 1855, when he came to Montcalm county, living there until his death. He was married in Jack- son county to Mary Fay, and to them were born three children, a son and two daughters, of whom Laura Jane was the youngest and is the only one now living.
James E. Newton enlisted in Company E, Second Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, in the spring of 1861, this being the second regiment of cavalry to be mustered into service at Cleveland. He fought in the famous battles of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania Court House, and in May, 1864, was taken prisoner and confined in Libby and Salisbury prisons, where he was kept until the close of the war. He then returned to Ohio and remained there until the spring of 1867, when he came to Montcalm county and went to work on a farm in Eureka township. During the winters he worked in the timber and in the summers on farms until he had saved enough to purchase twenty acres in section 16, Fairplain township, which he improved and cul- tivated. In February, 1871, he was married to Laura Jane Skey and they immediately located on this farm, where they lived for five or six years, when they moved to another farm and lived until August, 1880. They then came to the farm where Rudolph Newton now lives and here James E. Newton died on September 19, 1905. His wife stil survives him and lives on this farm. They were the parents of only one child, Rudolph, the sub- ject of this sketch.
Rudolph Newton received his education in Greenville and was grad-
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uated from the Greenville high school in 1894 with a class of fifteen mem- bers, after which he taught school for two winters. After the death of his father he continued to operate the farm in Fairplain township, which con- sists of two hundred and thirty-five acres situated in section 9. Here he is engaged in general farming and stock raising, in which he has been very successful.
On August 5, 1903, Rudolph Newton was married to Ethel M. Henry, the daughter of Charles E. and Florence (Norton) Henry. To them have been born four children: James Ethelbert, born on August 29, 1904; Charles Henry, January 18, 1909; Rudolph, Jr., May 27, 1911, and Florence A., May 21, 1915.
Mr. and Mrs. Newton and family are members of the First Congrega- tional church at Greenville and take an active interest in all religious affairs. Fraternally, Mr. Newton is a member of Greenville Lodge No. 96, Free and Accepted Masons. Politically, he is a Republican and has always taken an active part in local politics. He has served as clerk of his township for three terms and as school director of his home district.
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