USA > Michigan > St Joseph County > History of St. Joseph County, Michigan; Volume II > Part 12
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Lillie May Weinberg received good educational advantages as a girl; while under her mother's instruction she acquired a practical knowledge of domestic affairs. On December 3, 1891, she married Frank Mendenhall, of whom a brief sketch also ap- pears in this volume. In 1903 Mrs. and Mr. Mendenhall opened a mercantile establishment in Moore Park, and have since built
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up an extensive and lucrative trade. The business is under the exclusive management of Mrs. Mendenhall, a woman of tried and true ability, who is meeting with eminent success in her mercan- tile career. Gifted with a charming personality, she has a host of warm friends, and both she and her husband, whose time is fully occupied at the railway station, are held in high esteem. In addition to managing the store, Mrs. Mendenhall is also serving as postmistress. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Mendenhall, namely: a daughter, Vera; and a son, Adrian, who died in infancy. Vera wedded Glenn D. Reiff, who is engaged in the railroad business, being the present agent of the Lake Shore Railroad, at Moore Park, Michigan. They reside with Mr. and Mrs. Mendenhall. Mrs. Mendenhall is an active member of the Royal Neighbors Society, No. 1,059, and was recorder of this order for a number of years.
JAMES W. FERGUSON .- Noteworthy among the many active ! and prosperous agriculturists of St. Joseph county is James W. Ferguson, who is successfully employed in general farming in Fabius township, having a well-improved estate. A son of David Ferguson, he was born March 8, 1848, in Toledo, Ohio, coming from thrifty Scotch ancestry.
A native of Scotland, David Ferguson was born September 25, 1825, in Wigtonshire, and when a small boy was left father- less. At the age of ten years he began to earn his own living by herding sheep in the green pastures of his native county. At the age of twelve years he began to learn the shoemaker's trade at Kirkoswald, in Ayrshire, where he served an apprenticeship of five years. He afterwards worked as a journeyman, and sup- ported his aged mother. In 1846, at the age of thirty-one years, he started for America, crossing the Atlantic in a sailing vessel, and being seventy days in making the voyage. Provisions and water ran short, and the passengers landed in New York City a worn and hungry crowd. After living a few months at Nyack-on- the-Hudson, David Ferguson moved to Toledo, Ohio, where for six years he carried on an extensive business in manufacturing soles for custom-made shoes. Coming from there to Michigan, he spent one winter at Sturgis, and then located at Constantine, St. Joseph county, where he was engaged in business until 1856. In that year he bought, in Fabius township, forty acres of land, seven of which had been cleared. Building a log house, he cleared and im- proved about thirty acres of his farm, living there seven years.
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Returning to Constantine in 1863, he was there employed as fore- man in a shoe factory for a number of years, after which he opened a store, and in the sale of shoes, and as a cobbler, he carried on an extensive business, being quite active until his death, in the eighty-third year of his age. He married Jane Boyd, who was born in Greenock, Scotland. She died at the age of thirty-nine years, leaving six children, namely : James W., the subject of this sketch; John B., Ellen, Walter S., David, and Euphemia.
James W. Ferguson was a boy of eight years when the family located in Fabius township. There were but few schools in the place at that time, and he first attended the one located near the Morrison cemetery, and the next year attended the Hopkins School, which had been erected in the meantime. At the age of fifteen years he went to Cass county, where for three years he was employed as a farm laborer. Returning to Fabius township, he continued thus employed until 1871, when he assumed charge of his father's farm, which he managed for six years. Removing then to Three Rivers, Mr. Ferguson was for a time employed in a paper mill, after which he was engaged in teaming until 1892. The following three years he had supervision of the Hopkins farm, and on giving it up moved to Nottawa township, where he rented land for three years. Successful in his undertakings, Mr. Ferguson then bought the farm of sixty acres in Fabius town- ship, on section 22, which he now owns and occupies. Here he is carrying on general farming with encouraging results, having his land in a good state of cultivation, and fairly improved.
Mr. Ferguson married in 1872, Adalia Cochran, who was born in Fabius township, a daughter of the late William Cochran. Mr. Cochran came to Michigan in early manhood, locating as a pioneer in St. Joseph county in the early thirties, and for some time was employed in clearing and breaking land, working for wages. Prudent in his expenditures, he accumulated some money, and subsequently bought forty acres of land in Fabius township, built a log cabin, in which he installed his bride. He was fortunate in his labors, and afterward added by purchase four acres to his farm, and erected a set of substantial frame buildings. He con- tinued his work as an agriculturist until his death, at the age of sixty-seven years. His wife, whose maiden name was Phoebe Williams, came with her parents to St. Joseph county when a girl. She died at the age of sixty-seven years, also, leaving four chil- dren, namely: Adalia, wife of Mr. Ferguson; Thomas, Uriah and Arthur. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson has been blessed by
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the birth of two children, namely: Arthur and Emma. Arthur, owning and occupying a farm near the parental homestead, is now serving as treasurer of Fabius township. He married Dora Pratt. Politically Mr. Ferguson is a stanch supporter of the prin- ciples of the Democratic party, and in 1909 was appointed high- way commissioner.
RECTOR R. RUSSELL, a prosperous farmer of Nottawa town- ship, was born September 30, 1875, and is a son of Andrew C. and Chrysothemus (Thurston) Russell, both natives of Ohio. Andrew C. Russell was born in 1840, son of Joseph Russell, who lived in Ohio. He was married in 1862 in St. Joseph county, Michigan; his wife was born in St. Joseph county, in 1842, and was a daugh- ter of a farmer. After his marriage Mr. Russell purchased a farm in Nottawa township, which he afterwards sold and invested in a livery stable in Sturgis; afterwards he carried on a meat market there and then purchased a farm in Sherman township. He sold this farm and removed to Nebraska, where he followed farming four years and returned to Branch county, Michigan, where he spent four years on a farm, and then he purchased a farm in Not- tawa township, where he spent the remainder of his life. He died in 1901 and his wife survives him. He was a Republican and served as justice of the peace while living in Nebraska. Andrew Russell and his wife had children as follows: Hector D., born in 1866, a farmer of Washington state, married; Clare V., born in 1869, died unmarried in 1889; Iffigenia, born 1873, married Eu- gene Sharp, of Colon, and died in 1901, left two sons, Obid E., four- teen years of age and Leon R., twelve years; Rector R .; Carlton W., of St. Mary's, Idaho, married and has one child, Andrew, four years old; and Cecil L., born in 1886, single, lives at home.
Rector R. Russell was reared on a farm and received his edu- cation in the public schools. When seventeen years of age he be- gan working by the month on a farm, and some time later pur- chased the one hundred and fifty-two acre farm he now occupies. The land is in good condition, he has made all modern improve- ments, and the buildings and fences are in good condition. In pol- itics Mr. Russell is a Republican, and cast his first presidential vote for Mckinley. He is industrious and ambitious, and is a public-spirited citizen.
GRANT E. FARRAND .- A member of one of the honored and venerable, old pioneer families of Colon township, Grant E. Far- Vol. II-8
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rand was born and reared to maturity on the old homestead, on which he still resides. He was born on the 25th of September, 1863, and is a son of Phineas and Betsey M. (Kinne) Farrand, both of whom were natives of Naples, Ontario county, New York. The former was born in 1820 and died in 1896, in St. Joseph county, Michigan, and the latter was born in 1826 and died in the year 1894. In October, 1837, the year which marks the admission of Michigan to statehood, when Phineas Ferrand was a youth of seventeen years of age, he accompanied his parents to Colon town- ship, where they purchased a tract of ninety acres of land, which they reclaimed from the virgin forest to the productive farm on which Grant E., the subject of this sketch, and his brother, Joseph K., now maintain their home; Mrs. Farrand likewise came to Leon- idas township with her parents, in 1845. Their marriage was sol- emnized in Leonidas, St. Joseph county, Michigan, and they be- came the parents of three children, namely: Joseph K., who was born on the 18th of July, 1847, assists his brother in the general supervision and management of the home farm; he is a bachelor ; Theron G., who was born on the 22d of May, 1851, and died in 1875, was married but had no children; and Grant E., the subject of this review. Mr. Farrand was a stanch adherent of the princi- ples and policies of the Republican party after its organization in 1856 and he did much to aid in the upbuilding and development of Colon.
Grant E. Farrand was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and received his preliminary education in the district schools of the locality and period, which he attended during the winter terms, assisting in the cultivation of the farm during the summers. As already stated, he and his brother Joseph K. main- tain their home on the old homestead and they make a specialty of stock-raising, having large herds of registered shorthorn cattle and flocks of Delaine sheep. They are the most extensive stock-growers in the county and their well improved and valuable farm of over 800 acres, on the banks of the St. Joseph river, adds greatly to the attractiveness of this section of the state. The name of this beau- tiful estate is known as Lakeside Stock Farm.
On the 21st of June, 1893, Mr. Farrand was united in mar- riage to Miss Catherine Roy, who traces her lineage back to stanch old Scotch and Irish origin. She was born on the 4th of July, 1865, and is a daughter of John C. and Elizabeth (Tullis) Roy. The former was born at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and was one of the first white children to be born in that vicinity; the latter was
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born in 1837, at Bellefontaine, Logan county, Ohio. They were married at Constantine, St. Joseph county, Michigan, where they maintained their home until their death and where Catherine was reared to maturity. Mr. and Mrs. Grant E. Farrand became the parents of five children, concerning whom the following brief rec- ord is entered here: Phineas Roy was born on the 11th of April, 1894, and he attends the Colon high school; Ray Mckinley was born on the 24th of November, 1896, and attends the public schools of Colon; Theron Kitchel was born on the 3d of February, 1900, died April 26, 1902; Virgil Clark was born on the 20th of March, 1902; and Walter Joseph was born on the 4th of February, 1905. All remain at the parental home.
Mr. Farrand, like his father, gives his political support to the Republican party. He is a member of the board of review and both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Colon.
THOMAS D. GIVAN, M. D .- Within the pages of this historical compilation will be found mention of many of those who stand prominent in professional and business circles, and it is most con- sonant that recognition be accorded to Dr. Givan, who is one of the representative physicians and surgeons of St. Joseph county and who is established in the practice of his profession in the city of Three Rivers, where he holds a secure place in popular confidence and esteem.
Dr. Thomas Dale Givan was born at Liberty, Dekalb county, Tennessee, on the 17th of September, 1875, and is a son of Bluford H. and Cynthia J. (Dodd) Givan, both of whom were likewise born and reared in Tennessee, being representatives of old and honored families of the fair southland. Of the six sons and two daughters all are living except two and all attained to years of maturity, he whose name initiates this review being the fourth son and sixth child.
Bluford H. Givan spent the major part of his active career as a clothing merchant, and about the year 1882 he removed with his family to Missouri. He located at Springfield, Missouri, and Dr. Givan secured his early educational discipline in the public schools and after completing the curriculum of the high school he contin- ued his studies in Neosho College, at Neosho, Missouri.
In 1895 he began the study of medicine, and in preparation for the work of his chosen profession he finally entered the St. Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons, in which he was gradu-
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ated as member of the class of 1900 and from which he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He initiated the active practice of his profession in the city of St. Louis, where he built up an ex- cellent business and where he continued to maintain his home un- til 1906, in which year he came to Three Rivers, where his pro- fessional success has been on a parity with his ability as a physi- cian and surgeon and where his personality has gained to him un- qualified popularity.
In 1908 Dr. Givan completed a post-graduate course in the Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat College, in the city of Chicago, and since that time he has devoted special attention to the treatment of the diseases of the organs mentioned, although he still conducts a gen- eral practice. He has continued a close student of the sciences of medicine and surgery and is thoroughly en rapport with his pro- fession, to which his devotion is of the most insistent order and in which he has gained both success and prestige. The Doctor is identified with the St. Joseph County Medical Society, the Michi- gan State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. In the Masonic order he has become affiliated with the lodge, chap- ter and commandery of Three Rivers and he is a most apprecia- ive member of this time-honored fraternity, besides which he holds a membership in Knights of Pythias and other organizations of fraternal or social order. In politics, although never imbued with aught of desire for public office, he is aligned as a stanch sup- porter of the cause of the Democratic party. He is a member of the Baptist church, and his wife is a member of the English Luth- eran church.
On the 8th of March, 1906, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Givan to Miss Emma L. Timm, who was born and reared in St. Joseph county, and who is a daughter of Helmar H. Trimm, an honored pioneer of the county, whither he and his wife came direct from Germany. Dr. and Mrs. Givan are popular factors in connection with the best social activities of the community and as a citizen he is progressive and public-spirited. He and his wife have no children. They reside in one of the prettiest and coziest homes in Three Rivers. It is beautifully lighted by electricity, the stairway is finished in mahogany and the floors laid in squares. The furniture and everything in the place is in keeping with the surroundings. They have a fine library, containing almost one thousand volumes of choice literature. Dr. Givan has his labora- tory and office fitted up in the most approved modern style, his apparatus for electrical treatment being of recent design.
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RED CLOVER STOCK FARM, RESIDENCE OF JOHN F. FRISBIE LEONIDAS TOWNSHIP
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JOHN F. FRISBIE .- The agriculturist is one of the most potent factors in the wealth and prosperity of a state or nation, and in the following review of Mr. Frisbie we present the record of one of the prominent and successful farmers and stockmen of St. Joseph county, where he resides on a beautiful estate in Leonidas township. Mr. Frisbie was born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, April 4, 1854, and is the third in a family of twelve children, -seven sons and five daughters,-born to Theodore and Celia (Moore) Frisbie. There are four sons and three daughters yet living, but only three reside in St. Joseph county.
Theodore Frisbie was a native of Ashtabula county, Ohio, and was born February 29, 1830, and died in 1907. By trade he was a carpenter and joiner and by occupation a farmer, and he was reasonably successful in life. Politically he was an old line Whig and well remembered the "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too," campaign, when the log cabin and a barrel of hard cider were made the slogans, but upon the birth of the Republican party under the "Oaks" at Jackson, Michigan, he ever after advocated those principles. Officially he held such offices as supervisor of his township and also director of the public schools. Fraternally he was a member of the Masonic order, his obsequies being con- ducted by it. He was interred in his home county and cemetery, the latter having been plotted and presented to the community by his father, the subject of this sketch well remembering the plot of ground. The wife and mother was also a native of old Ashtabula county and was reared there. She was a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church and was a true wife and devoted mother to her large family.
Mr. Frisbie, of this review, was reared as a farmer lad and was early in life inured to the tilling of the soil. He is purely a self-made and self-educated man. He began at the early age of eleven years as a wage earner, the first wages he received being six dollars per month. At the age of thirteen he came with his parents to Burr Oak township, St. Joseph county, Michigan, and worked for a Mr. Atwood for five years. Whilst living in Ohio he calls to mind the time of the Civil war, when Lee was invading Pennsylvania and the battle of Gettysburg was fought in '63. At this time the word came to the citizens to collect guns and to be ready to defend their homes, and his employer, Robert Smith, gave him an old musket to do his part, but the citizens escaped being called upon for active duty.
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When Mr. Frisbie began life in Michigan he worked as a farm laborer at fifteen dollars per month, so it is readily seen that he began at the bottom and has had to ascend the ladder of life round by round. His educational advantages were quite meager, as he attended school only three months during the winter time and paid his own way.
Mr. Frisbie wedded Miss Effie C. Whiting, in Mendon, Michi- gan, August 14, 1877, and eight children were born to the union, six living at the present. The eldest is Celia M., wife of Claude Adams, an agriculturist of Colon, Michigan, one child having been born to them, named Cecil; Mrs. Adams was one of the successful teachers of St. Joseph county. Eben T. is a resident of Kalamazoo county and one of its successful farmers; he married Miss Allie West. Ida M. is a student in the Kalamazoo Normal school and is also one of St. Joseph county's teachers. Una B. is at home and is a member of the class of 1911 of the Mendon high school. John B. and Cecil E. are in the ninth and eighth grades at school, respectively. Mrs. Frisbie, the mother of the children, is a native of St. Joseph county and like them was educated in the Mendon high school, and afterward taught in the public schools. She is a member of the Congregational church of Leonidas, Michigan. Her mother still resides in Leonidas township.
Politically Mr. Frisbie is one of the tried and true Republi- cans of his county, having always adhered to the principles of the Grand Old Party. He cast his maiden presidential vote for Hayes and has supported Blaine, Garfield, Mckinley and Roose- velt, and is a great admirer of the Colonel. He has been selected by his party as delegate to the state conventions held at Detroit and Grand Rapids, and a number of times to the county conven- tions to represent the interests of the Republican party. Officially he has been a valued member of his county, serving as deputy sheriff of the county for six years, and he has been director of the home school for years. He is a great friend of the public schools and is highly in favor of universal education for both sexes. Fraternally he has passed all the chairs in the I. O. O. F. at Leonidas Lodge, No. 117, and both he and his wife are members of the Rebekahs. At present he is P. C. P. of his lodge, and both he and Mrs. Frisbie are members of the K. O. T. M. and L. O. T. M. at Leonidas. He has been selected as delegate to the coming grand lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Mr. Frisbie is owner of three hundred and six and one-half acres of fine land all beautifully situated in Leonidas township,
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on the banks of the romantic St. Joseph river. This estate is known as "The Red Clover Stock Farm." Its owner is well known in the county as a buyer and shipper of live stock, having been in the business for twenty-six years, and having been in partnership with Wood Brothers, of Athens, Michigan, for nine- teen years, and recently retired on account of ill health. During the first year the firm did $106,000 worth of business and last year it amounted to $368,000, sixty-eight carloads having been shipped to Chicago, Detroit and Buffalo in one month.
Mr. Frisbie is a gentleman, who, from a business standpoint, has made a signal success of life, for he began with absolutely nothing except strong will power, fortitude and ambition, coupled with rare business ability. It is a pleasure to compile the record of such a man, since it is a worthy example from which poor boys may take courage and try to duplicate.
GEORGE A. ASH .- Conspicuous among the able and intelligent men who have taken an active part in promoting and advancing the agricultural interests of Fabius township is George A. Ash, who has the distinction of being a native-born citizen of St. Joseph county, and one of its representative men. A son of George Ash, he was born in Flowerfield township, April 15, 1841, of English ancestry.
James Ash, his grandfather, was born in Lincolnshire, Eng- land, and after his emigration to America lived several years in Canada. About 1830 he came to the territory of Michigan, and was one of the first settlers of Washtenaw county, where he took up a tract of wild land. Selling out in 1836, he came to St. Joseph county, and bought a section of land in Flowerfield township, where he was one of the first settlers. He cleared and improved a homestead, and acquired a handsome property, as his sons married, giving to each a tract of land, that locality becoming known as the Ash settlement. He lived to the ripe old age of ninety years, and reared four sons and four daughters.
Born in Canada, George Ash came with the family to Wash- tenaw county, Michigan, and there grew to manhood. When he married he received as a gift from his father after his death, eighty acres of land in Flowerfield township, and in the log cabin that he erected he installed his bride as housekeeper. The country roundabout was then in its virgin wildness, game of all kinds was abundant, and the Indians outnumbered the white settlers. There were neither railways nor convenient markets, all trans-
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portation was with teams. He cleared a part of his land, in the meantime working at various employments in order to get ready money. In the fall of 1841 he went down the river with a load of flour, was taken ill, and died away from home. He married, in Washtenaw county, Mary Ann Lewis, who was born in Seneca, Ontario county, New York, a daughter of Charles C. P. Lewis, and grand-daughter of John Lewis.
A native of Massachusetts, John Lewis served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war, after which he settled in New York state, becoming a pioneer of Seneca. Purchasing land, he cleared a farm from the forest, and there resided until his death. He was active in local affairs, and was a member of the State Militia. His wife, whose maiden name was Rebecca Wheaton, was born in Massa- chusetts, and died, at the age of sixty-eight years, in Seneca, New York.
Charles C. P. Lewis was born in York state, and received more educational advantages than the majority of country boys in those days, completing his studies at a college in Geneva. An only son, he assisted his father on the farm during his boyhood days, and after the death of his father, in 1834, he started west- ward in search of cheap lands, traveling by way of the Erie Canal to Buffalo, thence by lake boat to Detroit, and from there to Washtenaw county with a team. Buying land near Salina vil- lage, he began the pioneer labor of reclaiming a farm from the wilderness. Selling out a few years later, he removed to St. Joseph county, and was here a resident a number of years. He spent his last days at the home of a son, in Nebraska.
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