USA > Michigan > St Joseph County > History of St. Joseph County, Michigan; Volume I > Part 36
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The Mendon press is now represented by the Leader, edited and published by T. Z. Eveland. His father, D. M. Eveland, founded the Mendon Globe in April, 1880, and the son had a thor- ough training in printing and journalism before he himself estab- lished the Leader in April, 1893. In September, 1909, the two were consolidated under the name of Leader, with T. Z. Eveland as editor and publisher.
CHURCHES AND SOCIETIES.
Brief mention has been made of the religious, moral and social life of Mendon, as evinced by its churches and societies. Aside from its leading churches-the Catholic and Methodist-it has a Baptist society, under the pastorate of Rev. C. L. Randall, and one sup- ported by the Adventists, who have quite a unique house of wor- ship built in the cottage style. The Catholic church (St. Edward's parish), Father Henry Kaufmann in charge, has one of the most striking edifices in the county, and the Methodists (Rev. J. B. Peat- ling, pastor) also worship in a most substantial and tasteful relig- ious home.
CATHOLICISM IN SOUTHERN MICHIGAN.
The Chicago Historical Society claims that the Recollect Father, Louis Hennepin, the companion of La Salle, came up the St. Joseph river as far as where Three Rivers is now situated. It is certain that Father Marquette explored the river upwards about twenty-five miles and gave it the name St. Joseph. Tradi- tion has it that an Indian mission was established and for a long time flourished close by the concrete bridge in Three Rivers. This mission may have been founded by Father Allouez, who came to Niles in 1680, and labored along the St. Joseph river till his death in 1690.
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When Fort St. Joseph was attacked in 1759, all the mission- aries were taken as prisoners to Quebec. For nearly one hundred years the Christian Indians were left orphans. Nevertheless, the "poor natives preserved the memory of the Faithful Black Robes and their belief in the Christian religion. The log chapels and the various articles of the sacred service of the church were, in numer- ous places, guarded by the bereaved Christians, and often they made touching appeals for priests to instruct their children in the faith of their fathers."
Father Richard, of Detroit, secured the services of the famous Kentucky missionary, the Rev. Stephen Theodore Badin. Fathers Badin, Louis de Seille and Benj. Marie Petit consecutively looked after the spiritual needs of the Christian Indians of northern In- diana and southern Michigan from 1830 to 1838.
The Pottowatomies were "banished" by the government to the country beyond the Mississippi. Father Petit would not abandon his dear Indians, and so he accompanied them to the far west.
Some Indians contrived to evade the order of banishment in spite of the presence of Governor Cass and his agents (the Godfrois) preferring to live and die in the land on the mitchi sawgyegan (great lake), from which is derived the name Lake Michigan. To these Indians as well as to the white men who now came in large numbers, the Fathers of the Holy Cross for several years admin- istered the consolations of Catholicism. They visited the mis- sions and the scattered families from St. Joseph to Kalamazoo. The names of Frs. Cointet, Granger, Schilling, Murriveaux are still held in grateful memory.
ST. EDWARD'S PARISH.
Francis Moutan with his wife and three children were the first white settlers of Mendon. Mr. Moutaw had charge of the trading post established by J. J. Godfroi, in 1831, and in 1833 was succeeded by Patrick Marantette. Frances, the daughter of Mr. Moutaw, married, in 1835, Patrick Marantette. The next white settlers were Leander Mette, Peter Neddaux and others. Elizabeth, a daughter of Patrick and Frances Marantette, who afterwards became Mrs. Reed, was the first white child born in the settle- ment. This occurred in the year 1836. Father Charles Boss, in 1837, traveling from Detroit to Grand Rapids, visited the local
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trading post and laid the foundations of the future St. Edward's congregation. Mr. Marantette generously offered his house for divine services, and for twenty years the whites and the reds gath- ered within its hospitable walls to attend the Holy Sacrifice and to hear the word of God whenever a priest could visit them. Thanks to the fervent zeal and spirit of self-sacrifice which ani- mated Mr. and Mrs. Marantette these visits were frequent enough
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ST. EDWARD'S PARISH CHURCH, MENDON.
to keep alive the faith of the infant congregation. From 1836 to 1856, Fathers Barnie, Sorin, Quentin, Borcau, Schilling, Granger, Murriveaux, members of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, at- tended Mendon, enduring many inconveniences and much fatigue, for every visit meant a ride on horseback of sixty miles each way.
The zeal and piety of Mr. Marantette was further manifested when, in 1861, he arranged the upper floor of the store on Main
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street as a chapel, and here for eleven years the people assembled to assist at Holy Mass. Father C. Ryckaert, to whose charge Mendon was added at this time, offered up the Holy Sacrifice for the first time in the store-chapel, on or about the eleventh of No- vember, the feast of St. Martin of Tours, and thenceforth the chapel was called after the great Apostle of Gaul. Father Ryck- aert continued to visit Mendon till 1866, when he was succeeded by Father C. Korst, who had charge until 1870.
FIRST CATHOLIC CHURCH IN COUNTY.
The time had now come when it seemed proper to the twenty- five families which made up the congregation, to build a church, and Mr. Marantette who, from the very beginning of the mission, had been its chief supporter, not only donated the site of the proposed church, but also gave a liberal donation, thus making the erection of the building possible. His generous efforts were fittingly seconded by all the Catholics of the place. Under the direction of Father Labelle the church was finished in 1871; but the dedication did not take place till the following year.
How great must have been the joy of those self-sacrificing Catholic pioneers of Mendon when, on November 4, 1872, the first Catholic church in St. Joseph county was solemnly dedicated by the Rt. Rev. C. H. Borgess, bishop of Detroit.
PASTORS OF ST. EDWARD'S PARISH.
Father McKenna was appointed the first resident pastor, but owing to ill-health and almost total loss of sight, he was obliged after a few months to give up his charge. Father C. Korst, in 1877, again looked after the spiritual wants of Mendon, and came at regu- lar intervals until 1883. In that year the second resident pastor, Rev. Peter Laughran, now of Emmet, was appointed and during his pastorate of one year he built the rectory, a frame structure costing about $1,500. From 1884 to 1888, Father O'Brien, of Kala- mazoo, took charge of Mendon ; his assistants, Fathers Thomas Ryan and J. McManus, attended most of the time, celebrating mass once a month. Then came Father Kroll, the third resident pastor, who administered to the spiritual needs of Mendon Catholics from 1888 to 1890. Father Lempka succeeded him, but died soon afterwards, having contracted a severe cold while attending the sick. Kalama-
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zoo again came to the fore, and for five years sent its assistants. The following names appear on the parish books: Father Dennis Mulcahy, Father George Maurer, Father E. M. Cullinane, Father C. J. Kennedy and Father J. Rivard.
With the advent of Father Fred Schaeper, in the year 1895, as the fifth resident pastor, a new era began in the history of St. Ed- ward's. From May, 1895, to September of the same year, he attended from Bronson, being the assistant of Rev. C. Rohowski. In September he took up his residence in Mendon and labored there until March of 1903. The church property was badly in need of repairs and improvements, and the new pastor set to work. He at once reshingled the church, painted the rectory, frescoed, for the first time, the interior of the church, purchased matting for the aisles, put in the two side altars, and wired the church for electric light. Then he built the sidewalks to the church and in front of the rectory, and set out shade trees. Through his efforts a petition was submitted to the village authorities for the grading of the streets. The basement was enlarged and the old furnace replaced by a new one. The lot north of the cemetery was secured for hitching purposes, and the lot east of the rectory was purchased by Father Schaeper, in his own name, and was donated by him to the congregation. All this and more was accomplished without incur- ring any debt. Meanwhile the spiritual wants were zealously at- tended to. Two missions were given, one by the Fathers of the Precious Blood and another by the Paulists, the latter to non-Cath- olics. When Father Schaeper was transferred to Adrian, he left the parish in good condition, both spiritually and financially.
The Rev. Henry J. Kaufmann, the sixth and present pastor, succeeded Father Schaeper in March, 1903. He is a native of Ger- many, who came to America in 1886. After three years of business life, he took up the studies for the priesthood at the Jesuit College in Detroit. Philosophy and theology, he studied in St. Francis, Wisconsin. He was ordained by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Foley in 1899, and appointed as assistant pastor of Sacred Heart church of Detroit.
ERECTION OF PRESENT CHURCH.
In the spring of 1906 the proposition to build a new church in Mendon was presented to the congregation. The old church, al- though badly in need of repairs, could have been used for several years longer, but it seemed to the pastor an extravagant waste of
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money to spend so much on an old building which did not meet the requirements of the people.
The congregation took the pastor at his word, and the pro- posed rock church became a fact. Today as the pastor and the people look back and recall the labor and the sacrifices of the two years that the building was under construction, their hearts are touched with gratitude to God for having preserved that unity among the members and their good will towards the pastor, which are the two essentials for success in every parochial enterprise.
Messrs. John A. Haas, Michael Dukette and Patrick H. Maran- tette were elected as a committee by the congregation to assist the pastor in the erection of the church, and these gentlemen performed their duties faithfully, cheerfully and effectively. Michael Dukette also presented the church with a clock which has been installed in the steeple and has grown into favor with the people of Mendon and vicinity.
THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
About 1857 the Methodists formed a class in Mendon, but their first building was not erected until 1860, the expenses in- curred in construction being borne almost entirely by Ezra Bourn, the well-to-do planing mill proprietor. Besides Mr. and Mrs. Bourn (the former of whom was class leader and steward), the early members of the society were A. J. Troy, George Maring, L. Blyman, Ziba White, Gilbert Bennett and Lentulus Huntley, with their wives, and Mrs. Adaline Pellett.
The original church of the society, erected by Mr. Bourn, was a large brick building on the main street of the village, arranged for three hundred sittings, and the society has shown a cordial and democratic spirit for the first-a spirit which ensured its early and solid establishment in the community and its continued growth. Its Sunday school was organized during the year the church was built, and its large library has always been a strong agent in the growth of its wide influence as a society. The foun- dation of the library was laid largely through the generosity of Paulina (Harmon) McMillan.
From 1860 to 1875, the pastors of the Mendon Methodist church have been as follows: Rev. Patterson, E. Kellogg, Beach, Joseph Jones, James L. Childs, William Mathias, William Rice, R. C. Welch, W. I. Cogshall and J. C. Abbott.
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Both the Mendon and the Nottawa Prairie charges are now under Rev. J. B. Peatling, the latter society enrolling about fifty of the total three hundred members. The Nottawa Prairie society was organized in 1905. The original house of worship was rebuilt and enlarged in 1904, and in 1909 a comfortable parsonage was added to the church property.
SECRET AND BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES.
The secret and benevolent orders represented by societies, or lodges, in Mendon are the Masons (with their auxiliary, the Eastern Star), Foresters, Woodmen, Maccabees and Grand Army of the Republic. The local organizations are as follows: Mendon Lodge No. 137, A. F. & A. M .; Mendon Chapter No. 154, Eastern Star; Court Mendon No. 1121, Foresters; Mendon Lodge No. 1853, Wood- men ; Mendon Tent No. 389, K. O. T. M .; and O. J. Fast Post No. 193, G. A. R.
Mendon Lodge No. 137, A. F. & A. M. was instituted under dispensation in 1861 and chartered in 1863, with N. S. Johnson, worthy master. The lodge now numbers about one hundred, with the following officers: W. M., Glover E. Laird; S. W., I. J. Ste- phens; J. W., Guy Hamilton; S. D., Clarence V. Hoff; treasurer, J. H. Worthington ; secretary, A. H. Estes; chaplain, D. E. Kuhn ; marshal, William Baird.
Court Mendon No. 1121, Foresters, was organized in 1897. It has a present membership of about thirty-five, with the following officers : (Elective) D. L. Worthington, C. R .; J. A. Mckinley, V. C. R .; F. Flanders, R. S .; P. I. Mervine, F. S .; Guy Hamilton, treasurer. Commissioned : F. F. Flanders, C. D .; Dr. C. E. Barn- inger, physician.
Mendon Tent No. 389, K. O. T. M., was organized in 1891. It now numbers more than sixty members and has the following of- ficers : P. C., P. H. Marantette ; C., H. F. Appleman; L. C., William Baird; R. K. & F. K., C. E. Klose ; chaplain, G. E. Laird; physician. C. E. Barninger.
The Odd Fellows first organized Morrison Lodge No. 136, Jan- uary 7, 1870, its charter members being William Harrington, N. G .; Rev. William Mathias, V. G .; G. Engle, treasurer ; T. H. Toby, secretary, and I. N. Caldwell. Morrison Encampment of Patri- archs was instituted in February, 1873, both bodies being named in honor of R. H. Morrison, of Sturgis, an eminent member of the order. At present the I. O. O. F. is unrepresented at Mendon.
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CHAPTER XVII.
CENTERVILLE AND BURR OAK.
THE TOLLS AT CENTERVILLE-VILLAGE CORPORATION-LANDLORDS AND POLITICS-CENTERVILLE FLOUR MILLS-KNIT GOODS MAN- UFACTURING-BANKING CRAZE-SOLID BANKS-JOSIAH WOLF -VILLAGE OF TO-DAY-THE CENTERVILLE PRESS-SCHOOLS- THE M. E. AND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES-MASONS, MACCA- BEES AND OTHER SOCIETIES-BURR OAK VILLAGE-THE COR- PORATION-SHEFFIELD MANUFACTURING COMPANY-GARMENT FACTORIES-BURR OAK BANKS-UNION SCHOOL-ELECTRIC LIGHT AND POWER PLANT-TELEPHONE COMPANY-"THE BURR OAK ACORN"-THE M. E. AND EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCHES-SECRET AND BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES.
When the county seat was fixed at Centerville, it was foreor- dained that some kind of a settlement was to spring up at that point, and the coming of such men as Thomas W. Langley and John W. and George Talbot, as the pioneers of its tradesmen and man- ufacturers, has been noted. The goods that Mr. Langley brought from New York were bought by Niles F. Smith, who exposed the stock for sale about Christmas, 1832. It is on record that from that date until the following 20th of February, the sales amounted to $1,600; and, consequently, Mr. Smith decided he "had struck a good location."
Dr. Johnson and C. H. Stewart opened a large stock of goods in 1833, but afterward came into control of the mills at the east of the village and removed their store to that locality.
THE TOLLS AT CENTERVILLE.
The year 1834 witnessed the arrival of Captain Philip R. Toll, from Schenectady, New York, with his sons, Isaac D. and Alfred, and nephews, Philip R. and Charles H. As the nephews were then
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young men, they were active assistants of Captain Toll in his mer- cantile and manufacturing ventures at Centerville, but in 1838 all the Toll interests were transformed to Fawn River township. Isaac D. Toll was then but in his seventeenth year-a gay youth who is credited with promoting the first dance at Centerville-but in after years was to become one of the bravest soldiers and most prominent citizens ever credited to St. Joseph county, although he was not to make his record while living at the county seat.
THOMAS W. AND WILLIAM B. LANGLEY.
Foremost among the enterprising and sturdy pioneers of St. Joseph county was Thomas W. Langley, the first actual settler on the site of Centerville. Energetic and untiring, he achieved fully as much, if not more, with the means at his disposal, than any other man in the early days of the settlement of the county. Buying the bare site of the county set, he pushed to completion in the short space of three months, a frame court-house, twenty-four by thirty; the largest log-house in the county for hotel purposes, a blacksmith shop, store-building, and a flouring and saw-mill; and also had a postoffice, a school, and religious services in regular and successful operation. He was constantly doing something to aid in the pros- perity of the village and enhance the value of the property therein. He brought in the first stock of goods sold in Centerville, and en- gaged, at various times, in mercantile, manufacturing and agricul- tural pursuits, and, as occasion required, kept the hotel of the vil- lage. He was the first postmaster of the village, and held the posi- tion from 1833 to 1840.
Mr. Langley was born in Murray street, New York, in the year 1801. His father, William Langley, was a native of England; he was a mason by trade, and assisted in the building of the Drury Lane theater, in London, the old Bowery and the old City Bank in New York, and the first capitol buildings at Albany.
Thomas W. Langley, the only son, served an apprenticeship in the woolen manufacturing business, and at the age of twenty-one went into partnership with his brother-in-law at Germantown, near Philadelphia, at the same time being connected with his mother in the mercantile trade, at Philadelphia. In 1832 Mr. Langley came to the territory of Michigan in quest of a location. He selected the site of the present town of Centerville, as the town had already been platted, and was owned by two or three individuals, of whom Mr.
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Langley purchased the entire prospective village. He also entered seven government lots, lying contiguous. He then returned to Philadelphia and closed up his business, and his journey hither has been fully described. As also stated, he was for many years actively engaged in a variety of enterprises, such as farming, milling, dis- tilling, hotel-keeping and selling goods, in all of which William B. Langley, his eldest son, actively assisted him. The latter received a good education, both at home and in the east, and soon after his marriage in 1847, to Miss Julia V. R. Woodworth, of Centerville, moved to his farm three miles north of the village, on the south bank of the St. Joseph river, where he spent his later years.
VILLAGE CORPORATION.
Centerville was first incorporated as a village in 1837 and at an election held on May 1st of that year Captain Toll, J. W. Cof- finberry, Alexander V. Sill, Cyrus Ingerson, Edmund White, E. J. Van Buren, and John Graham were chosen trustees. The first ac- tion of the board was to express their gratitude to their constitu- ents, and invite them to partake of a collation at the Centerville ho- tel, kept by Mr. Sill. He and Thomas W. Langley were the stand- by landlords of the place.
LANDLORDS AND POLITICS.
While on the subject of early hotels, mention must be made of the "Exchange," built in 1837 by Mr. Langley, and kept by E. J. Van Buren and Charles H. Knox. It was not so much noted for its menu, as for its architecture-the prominent feature of which was its balcony in front supported by huge, unbarked burr-oak pillars.
Dr. Cyrus Ingerson was also landlord of the Mansion House, previous to 1840.
In fact, as is quite apt to be the case with all county seats, Centerville was, if anything, over-supplied with hotels in its earlier years-the advantages, in a business way, attaching to a center of county government and politics being generally somewhat over- estimated, although it is generally admitted that there is much transient trade and travel which are always drawn toward the county seat. A landlord is considered especially well situated to further any little political ambitions he may have; and this point
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is illustrated in the presence of two of the landlords of Centerville on its first board of trustees.
CENTERVILLE FLOUR MILLS.
The first flour mills in the village were built by George Talbot and Henry D. Cushman in 1851, the dam being built by Mr. Lang- ley and sold to the firm. The mill, which first had three run of stone, was burned in 1856, but rebuilt soon afterward by Brokaw & Hoffman, and was owned in the seventies by D. D. Antes and Sam- uel Kline.
The Centerville Roller Mills have been operated since about 1896 by A. H. Reynolds, although several years ago Rev. H. A. Simpson and his brother, John, were interested for a short time in the business. The plant has a capacity of about 100 barrels of flour every twenty-four hours.
KNIT GOODS MANUFACTURING.
In 1872 the Centerville Knit Goods Manufacturing Company was established by the business men and farmers of the village and vicinity, such citizens as H. C. Campbell, John J. Joss, W. J. and John J. Major and the five Wolf brothers being interested in the enterprise during its early stages. The various business steps taken and the complications unraveled, which finally resulted in the es- tablishment of the present substantial corporation known as the "Dr. Denton Sleeping Garment Mills" are given in detail in other pages. The concern operates on a capital stock of $50,000, has a fine plant, and the following personal organization : H. P. Stewart, president; F. W. Thomas, vice president and general manager; Frank S. Cummings, secretary and treasurer; W. S. Herron, sales manager; W. E. Clogher, superintendent of manufacturing.
CENTERVILLE'S BANKING CRAZE.
As the political center of the county and a municipality of good prospects, Centerville had a bad case of the banking craze in the late thirties. Its people gave both kinds a trial-the "wild cat" and the "red dog." The St. Joseph County Bank, a "wild cat," was chartered in the summer of 1837, a few weeks after Cen- terville was incorporated as a village. It had an authorized capi- Vol. 1-27
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tal of $100,000, ten per cent of which was paid in specie by the following November. The bank was chiefly sustained by the farm- ers of the locality, and its first officers consisted of Columbia Lan- caster, president, and W. E. Boardman, cashier. Before the new institution had received a single note of its own for redemption in specie, counterfeits had been passed over the counter, and in a very short time its affairs were in confusion. As shown by the bank commissioners' statement March 6, 1838, its condition was as follows: Authorized capital, $100,000 (paid in, unknown) ; cir- culation, $18,095; specie on hand and on deposit with Bank of Con- stantine for redemption, $1,038; bills of other banks, $734.
The Farmers' and Merchants' Bank, a "red dog" institution, was designed for St. Joseph, Berrien county, but began business in Centerville. It was chartered February 1, 1838, and on the 6th of that month the stockholders elected a board of directors and officers, but had difficulty in getting them to serve, as the "wild cat" institution was already of somewhat uncertain life and in considerable disfavor. Finally the men most interested in the new bank gave bonds to T. W. Langley for the prompt redemption of the notes issued, and he published a notice warning the people against selling the notes at a discount, as they would be redeemed at par in twenty days. But the parties who gave the bonds did not fulfill their agreements, and the bank failed in the spring of 1838, after even a shorter career than the St. Joseph County Bank.
The primary causes of failure of all these early banks, whether "wild cat" or "red dog," were the flooding of the market with counterfeits, discount of genuine notes by holders, and the at- tempt of the banks themselves to make a limited amount of specie serve the purposes of redemption for too many institutions.
THE SOLID BANKS.
The banking facilities of Centerville were not placed on a really substantial basis until the First National Bank was organ- ized, January 22, 1873, with C. T. Chaffee, president; Edward Talbot, cashier, and Henry S. Platt, assistant cashier. D. F. Wolf succeeded Mr. Chaffee as president, and was himself succeeded by L. A. Clapp.
The First National Bank, of Centerville, was followed by the private institution known as the A. C. Wolf & Brothers' Bank, the members of which were Amos C., Josiah, John F., Daniel and
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