USA > Michigan > St Joseph County > History of St. Joseph County, Michigan; Volume II > Part 15
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The mother of Charles A. Palmer was born in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, July 21, 1818, and is still living at the age of ninety-two years, her intellect being unimpaired at this ad- vanced age. She was a young maiden twelve years of age when she came to Michigan with her parents, John F. and Susannah (Wam- bold) Schreder. In the family there were six children, five daughters and one son, and three survive at the present day. She received a good education for those days, attending Brussel- town Academy and afterward she taught school in Lenawee county, this state. She is an ideal mother, having ever been de- voted to the interests of her children, and ever mindful of their moral training. She has a great heart and the poor, the needy and the disconsolate have ever found in her a friend. She still maintains her home in Wasepi.
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Mr. Palmer was reared as a farmer's boy and was educated in the township schools. At the age of eighteen he began life for himself with no capital save courage, energy and persistence. His first services were as a farm hand at a wage of eleven dollars a month, but he did not stay long at the bottom of the ladder of life. The first land he bought was thirteen acres of Nottawa township, all wild land.
He married Miss Ella Nora Powers, August 9, 1864, at Stur- gis, Michigan, and one daughter, Lora, was the issue of their union. The untimely death of this daughter occurred at the age of twenty-nine years. She was a graduate of the Mendon high school and a proficient musician, both vocal and instrumental, and a favorite in the community both for her noble character and her accomplishments. The first Mrs. Palmer died August 15, 1901, and on January 1, 1904, Mr. Palmer wedded Miss Julia Newland. She is a native of Ohio, her parents being Robert and Pauline (Brunney) Newland, who removed to Manton, and it was there that she received her education. It was in 1892 that Mr. Palmer began merchandising in Wasepi, and he has continued ever since. He is a stalwart Republican and cast his first vote for the martyred Lincoln, and he was a strong advocate of the President's principles at the time of the Rebellion and has supported every Republican candidate since his maiden vote. He has many times been dele- gate to county conventions and has advocated all measures for the betterment of his county and state. Officially he has fulfilled his part. At the age of twenty-four he was elected justice of the peace in Nottawa township and he has held the office ever since with the exception of four years,-certainly a splendid record. He has been township drain commissioner for twenty years, and county drain commissioner for sixteen, this office being one of the most impor- tant of the county trusts. Thousands and thousands of dollars have passed through his hands and thousands and thousands of acres have been reclaimed. One of the greatest benefits of this drain work was its sanitary effect, for it did away with all miasmatic troubles and with fever and ague. Mr. Palmer has served as school director for a quarter of a century, and he is, indeed, a stanch champion of the betterment of that bulwark of the nation, the pub- lic schools. In 1887, under President Cleveland's administration, he was appointed postmaster at Wasepi, Michigan, to fill out a vacancy. In 1900 he was relieved of the office and in 1904 he re- ceived his regular appointment, as postmaster at Wasepi.
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Fraternally Mr. Palmer is a member of the Mendon Masonic body, F. & A. M. No. 137, and he was Worshipful Master for four- teen years. He became a Master Mason, December 24, 1862, and he is a member of the Centerville Chapter, R. A. M., that connec- tion dating from March 4, 1863. In 1904 he joined the Three Rivers Commandery No. 29. He has been a delegate to the Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter as many as twenty times.
Mr. Palmer is a man who has passed his entire life in his na- tive county and state. He stands high in the estimation of the people of St. Joseph county and all who know him, are convinced of his honor and strict integrity of character. Prominent and useful in every walk of life, his value as a citizen is indeed high.
CALVIN MONTGOMERY BINGAMAN .- An able representative of the agricultural, horticultural and floricultural interests of St. Joseph county, Calvin M. Bingaman, of Flowerfield township, is a thorough master of his pleasant and profitable calling. He pos- sesses rare business ability, and this, combined with his close ap- plication to the various branches of his favorite industry, has given him a place of importance among the foremost farmers of this section of the state. He was born May 2, 1850, in Buffalo township, Center county, Pennsylvania, a son of Peter Bingaman, Jr. His grandfather, Peter Bingaman, Sr., was born in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, of German ancestors, and was a life-long farmer in his native state.
Peter Bingaman, Jr., was also born in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, where he was reared to agricultural pursuits. In early manhood he removed to Center county, and having purchased a tract of timbered land in Buffalo township, cleared and improved a homestead, and was there employed in farming and stock rais- ing until his death, at the age of seventy-six years. He married Catherine Martz, who was born in Union county, Pennsylvania, and died, at the age of seventy-two years, on the home farm.
One of a family of nine children, Calvin M. Bingaman re- mained with his parents until fifteen years old, when he started in life for himself. Ambitious to take advantage of every offered opportunity, he came directly to Michigan, arriving here a stranger among strangers, with no available capital excepting willing hands and a courageous heart. For two years he worked as a farm hand, after which he was employed on a railroad for a year. Then, although quite young, Mr. Bingaman commenced his career as an independent farmer, renting a tract of land. Pros-
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perity smiled upon his ventures, and in the course of four years he was enabled to buy eighty acres of land, a tract that is now in- cluded in his present fine farm in Flowerfield township. At first he confined his attention almost entirely to the raising of stock and grain. Soon, however, seeing the great possibilities in grow- ing fruit, Mr. Bingaman turned his attention to that industry, and is now an extensive grower of apples, pears, peaches, grapes and small fruits, reaping abundant harvests each season. About 1895 he began raising garden herbs, including tansy, peppermint and spearmint, and in connection with this line of business ope- rates a distillery. To these numerous enterprises Mr. Bingaman gives his personal attention, and, it is needless to say, is meeting with eminent success. He now owns upwards of three hundred acres of choice land, situated in sections 34 and 35, his estate, which is one of the finest in its improvements and appointments of any in this part of the county, being a credit to his energy, sagacity and superior judgment and foresight.
Mr. Bingaman married, when but eighteen years of age, Mary M. Null, who was born in Ohio, a daughter of Isaac and Martha Null, who were pioneers of Ohio, migrating there from Pennsylvania, their native state. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Bingaman has been brightened by the birth of nine children, namely : William, Franklin, Ida, Newton, Irving, Rosa, Arthur, Lonas, and Claudia. Politically Mr. Bingaman is a sturdy Re- publican, and religiously Mrs. Bingaman is a worthy member of the United Brethren church in Flowerfield township.
PETER L. HARTMAN, M. D .- The medical profession in St. Joseph county has an able representative in the subject of this review, who has here been engaged in the successful practice of his profession since 1893, maintaining his home in the attractive little city of Colon and controlling a large and representative practice throughout this section, where he is held in unqualified esteem as a physician and as a loyal and progressive citizen. The doctor was reared in the stern school of adversity, and his advance- ment stands as the direct result of his energy and well ordered efforts, so that he is the more worthy of commendation for the large and definite success that it has been his to achieve.
Dr. Hartman claims the fine old keystone state of the Union as the place of his nativity and there also were born his parents, a fact that bears evidence that the respective families were early established in that commonwealth. He was born in Luzerne
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county, Pennsylvania, on the 9th of November, 1866, and is the younger of the two sons of Daniel and Rebeccah (Rood) Hartman. The elder son, Rev. Franklin E., is a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was graduated in the Williamsport Sem- inary, Pennsylvania, and in the Drew Theological Seminary, in New Jersey. He is now pastor of a church at Mahaffey, Clearfield county, Pennsylvania. The father was born and reared in Penn- sylvania and there followed mechanical pursuits during the major portion of his active career. He died in 1868. His wife long sur- vived him, her death having occurred in 1901.
Dr. Hartman was afforded the advantages of the common schools of his native state, but early began to depend largely upon his own resources. His ambition to secure an education was satis- fied through his own endeavors, as he earned the funds which enabled him to prosecute his higher academic studies, as well as his professional course. He was for two years a student in the high school at Pleasant Hill, Pennsylvania, and for an equal period of time continued his studies in Huntington Mills Seminary, that state, after which he devoted two years to successful teaching in the public schools of Pennsylvania. He began the study of medi- cine in a private way and made excellent advancement in his work. Finally, in 1887, he was matriculated in the celebrated Jefferson Medical College, in the city of Philadelphia, in which he com- pleted the prescribed course and was graduated as a member of the class of 1890, duly receiving his well earned degree of Doctor of Medicine. He initiated the practice of his profession at Jami- son City, Columbia county, Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1893, when he came to Michigan and established his home in St. Joseph county, which has since continued the stage of his earnest and successful endeavors as a physician and surgeon. He has maintained his home in the attractive village of Colon from the time of coming to the county and his practice extends not only throughout this section of St. Joseph county but also into the adjacent county of Branch. The doctor has ever continued a close student of his profession, has a fine library of standard medi- cal works, is a subscriber to the best periodical literature of his profession and keeps in close touch with the advances made in both medicine and surgery, so that he is admirably equipped for the onerous duties and responsibilities of his exacting profession, to which he is devoting his most careful attention. He is a mem- ber of the American Medical Association and also of the Michigan State Medical Society. As a citizen he is loyal and public spirited
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and his political allegiance is given to the Republican party. In the Masonic fraternity he is identified with Colon Lodge, No. 73, Free & Accepted Masons; Colon Chapter, No. 81, Royal Arch Masons; and Sturgis Commandery, No. 18, Knights Templars, at Sturgis, this county. He and his wife are popular factors in connection with the best social activities of the community. Their home is one of the many attractive and modern residences of Colon and is a center of generous hospitality.
Dr. Hartman has been twice married. In 1886 was solemnized his marriage to Miss Daisy Barrett and she is survived by one daughter, Hazel H., who is now the wife of Thomas Lutz, a suc- cessful merchant and representative citizen of Cambria, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania. On the 17th of June, 1909, Dr. Hartman was married to Miss Alma Decker, who was born in the city of Muskegon, Michigan, on the 25th of November, 1876, and who was reared in St. Joseph county, this state. She is a daughter of George and Jane (Arnold) Decker. Her father was a native of Pennsylvania and passed the closing years of his life in St. Joseph county, where the mother, who was born in the state of New York, still resides. No children have been born to the second union.
CHARLES H. KEPLER, a retired merchant, ex-postmaster and honored pioneer of Flowerfield, St. Joseph county, is a native of Three Rivers, born April 26, 1840, so that he is now in his seventieth year of his residence in the county. He was but one year old when his parents moved from Three Rivers, where the father had resided for several years as a merchant, and located on the Flowerfield homestead. At that time there was not only no railroad in St. Joseph county, but very little of the farming land was improved, deer, wild turkey and Indians being chiefly in possession of the country. At the usual age the boy commenced his winter schooling in the district institution nearest home, James Bates being his first teacher. In the summer months he worked on the family farm, and resided with his parents as long as they lived.
In 1862, when he was twenty-two years of age, Mr. Kepler enlisted in Company G, Nineteenth Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry ; was with his regiment in all its campaigns and battles ; and finally participated in Sherman's famous march to Atlanta, with his northward movements through the Carolinas, and the great review of the Union armies in Washington, one of the most noteworthy military parades of history. Returning to his home Vol. II-10
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in Flowerfield township, Mr. Kepler resumed farming for six years, and then located at the village of Flowerfield to engage in general mercantile pursuits. In this line and as postmaster of the place, he was busily and profitably engaged for the succeeding eighteen years, after which he sold his business and retired to the comforts and honors which he had so fairly earned.
Mr. Kepler's parents were Reuben and Ann (Huckle) Kepler, the family name indicating sound German ancestry. The paternal grandfather, John Kepler, was a native of Pennsylvania, and spent his business life as a hatter. The father, who was born near Dan- ville, same state, learned the trade of a shoemaker and, locating at Three Rivers in 1836, became one of the pioneers of St. Joseph county. For a number of years he was engaged in custom work, in the line of his trade; then worked as a farm hand for about two years and still later renting land. By this time a master farmer, Reuben Kepler purchased eighty acres of land in section 1, Flower- field township, which embraced thirty-five acres of improved land and a small house. This was the family homestead for about twenty years, when, through continuous and wise improvements, it had so increased in value that the property was sold at a fine advance, and a farm of one hundred and forty-one acres purchased in the same section. The latter homestead was the scene of the father's death at the age of sixty-four. His wife was a native of Muncy, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of John and Mary (Adlum) Huckle. Her father was an Englishman, the only member of his family to come to America, who bought large tracts of land near Muncy and prospered as a farmer and a land owner. Mrs. Reuben Kepler, the mother of Charles H., lived to be seventy-three years of age, and also gave birth to two daughters, Mary and Alice. Charles H. Kepler wedded Mary H. Bean, a native of Michigan, of St. Joseph county, in 1871, and they have five children, one son and four daughters; Elta, wife of Guy S. Brown, of Central Lake, Michigan, who has four children : George K., Beulah B., W. Elton and Guy Francis ; Lela I., wife of Clayton Allen, a resident of Kalamazoo, has one daughter, Kathryn L .; Eva M., wife of Harry F. Benton, a resident of Toledo, Ohio, has two daughters, Mary E. and Lucile Genevieve; Loo I., residing in Kalamazoo, was educated in high school; and Chas. Willard, a resident of Toledo, Ohio, is time keeper in the American Canning Company. Mr. Kepler died March 17, 1910, and his remains are interred in Flowerfield Cemetery.
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JOHN W. MILLER .- A scion of one of the honored pioneer families of St. Joseph county, John W. Miller is numbered among the representative farmers of Mendon township, where he was born on the 17th of June, 1859. He is a son of Joseph J. and Margaret (Bachman) Miller, both of whom were born in North- ampton county, Pennsylvania, where they were reared and edu- cated and where their marriage was solemnized. Joseph J. Miller came to St. Joseph county, Michigan, in 1856 and two years later he returned to his native state, where his marriage occurred. He then returned with his wife to St. Joseph county and located in Mendon township, where he reclaimed a farm of eighty acres from the virgin forest. He was one of the honored and influential citizens of his township, where he continued to reside until his death, which occurred on the 28th of August, 1903, and his widow still resides on the old homestead. He was a stanch Democrat in his political proclivities and he served for many years as justice of the peace, having been incumbent of this office at the time of his demise. Joseph J. and Margaret (Bachman) Miller became the parents of five children, concerning whom the following data are given: Mary died in infancy; John W. is the immediate sub- ject of this sketch; Irvin resides in the city of Niles; and Sadie M. is the wife of Perrin Heimbaugh of Mendon township, and they have three children : Margaret, Lillian and Sadie; Margaret is the wife of Harry W. Garman, of Park township, and they have five children : Louise, Neva, Paul, Marlin and infant; Irvin Miller married Miss Pearl Hallam, of Mendon, and they have four chil- dren : Ilah, Martha, Thomas and Genevieve.
John W. Miller was reared to maturity on the home farm and received the advantages of the public schools of his native township and continued to be associated with the work and management of his father's farm until he was married, when he initiated his independent career as a farmer and stock-grower. He is now the owner of one hundred and five acres of land, besides which he has the supervision of the old homestead farm, on which he was born. He is known as one of the enterprising and pro- gressive farmers of Mendon township and his success has been on a parity with his industry and ability. He gives an unswerving allegiance to the Democratic party and has shown at all times a lively interest in public affairs of a local nature, though he has not been an aspirant for public office, he was on the Board of Directors and Justice of the Peace for six years. He and his wife are promi- nent members of the Evangelical Association of their township, of
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which his father was one of the founders, and he is class leader and superintendent of the Sunday school.
On the 28th of September, 1882, Mr. Miller was united in marriage to Miss Mary Lang, who was born near Manheim, Ger- many, on the 13th of July, 1859, and who is a daughter of Barnard and Elizabeth (Kaiser) Lang, who established their home on a farm in Mendon township, St. Joseph county, in 1870, and who here passed the residue of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Miller became the parents of three children : Delbert J., Ralph J. and Mabel V. The elder son was born on the 22nd of July, 1886, and he now re- sides in the city of South Bend, Indiana; he graduated in the public schools and also took a course in a correspondence school; he married Miss Tracy Kehler. Ralph J. is associated in the work of the home farm. Mabel V. is at the parental home and was graduated in the public school, class of 1906, and is a student in the Centerville High School. The pretty homestead is known as "The Elms Farm."
MRS. EDWIN R. HILL .- Secure in the possession of the friend- ship and esteem of the inhabitants of Colon, Michigan, is Mrs. Edwin R. Hill, formerly Susan V. Staley, widow of the late Edwin R. Hill, whose loss the town still regrets as one of the flower of her citizenship. To Mrs. Hill, in her capacity of an enlightened and conscientious teacher, is St. Joseph county indebted in high de- gree, for she gave splendid service previous to her marriage in the district and Colon schools. She is bound to Michigan by ties of birth and ancestry, having been born in Colon, January 9, 1864, her parents being Andrew and Catherine (Evarhart) Staley. She was the fourth child in a family consisting of five daughters and one son, all of whom are living at the present day. Ida became the wife of Dayton Hafer, an agriculturist and resides in Stanton, Michigan. She is well educated, having been graduated from the Colon high schools and afterward supplementing this with a course at Valparaiso College. Like her sister, Mrs. Hill, she was a teacher, the scene of her activities in a pedagogical capacity being Branch and St. Joseph counties. Adelia, is the wife of Will- iam Tomlinson, a lumber dealer residing in Colon. She likewise attended Colon high school and Valparaiso College and became a successful teacher. Ella became the wife of Andrew Jackson, a prosperous farmer located in Colon township. It is a singular coincidence that she too became a public school teacher of marked ability. The fifth child, John W., is a Branch county agriculturist,
Edwin Retting alan
**** 4
RESIDENCE OF MR. AND MRS. EDWIN R. HILL COLON, MICHIGAN
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and latterly has engaged in the trades of carpenter and joiner. He married Miss Ellen Copeland. Mary, the youngest child, married Wallace Wagner, a successful poultry dealer, resident in Colon. She also was a teacher in Colon and vicinity.
Andrew Staley, father of the above family, was a native of Ohio, born in 1829 and living until 1901. He received his educa- tion in the common schools and came to Branch county, Michigan, when a young boy. He hearkened to the agricultural calling, which he followed throughout his long life with a good deal of success. He was an adherent of the Republican party, and fra- ternally was a Mason, having membership in the lodge at Colon, Michigan. His wife was a native of Keystone county, Pennsyl- vania, her birth having occurred there in 1831. She was a loyal wife and devoted mother and the poor and needy ever found in her a friend. Truly her good deeds will ever live in the hearts of her children and the many who loved her. Her death occurred in 1907.
Susan V. Staley Hill spent her early years in Colon and there attended the common and high schools, afterwards attending Albion College and the Alma Summer Normal School. She fitted herself for the teacher's profession and at the age of sixteen began upon her career, which consisted of four years in the schools of St. Joseph county, and nine years in those of Colon. She achieved signal success, not only as an instructor, but as an individual whose example in womanhood alone was beneficial, and to this many of her former pupils will enthusiastically attest.
Mrs. Hill was married May 9, 1894, and to her and Mr. Hill were born two children named Amelia Staley and Edwin Ruthven, Jr. The former is preparing to enter the Liggett private school for young ladies, situated at Detroit, and the son is in attendance at the public school. Mrs. Hill and her children reside on State street, in one of the most beautiful residences in Colon, and hers is a home whose portals are ever open to her friends. She is of pleasing personality and plays an important part in the life of the town. She was the founder of the Ladies' Pleasure Club, an organization intended for the attainment of pleasure and literary culture. She was its first president and served in this capacity for four years.
The death of Edwin Ruthven Hill, one of the leading factors in the business and civic life of Colon, occurred May 19, 1909, and was the cause of universal sorrowing in the community in which he was best known. He was born in Ostelic, Chenango county,
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New York, May 21, 1834, and was the son of Elisha and Mariah Cooley Hill, the latter the daughter of Judge Cooley of Philadel- phia. In the '40s Mr. Hill's parents came west to Indiana, later removing to Coldwater, Michigan, and in November, 1849, estab- lishing their home in Colon. Young Edwin was at this time about fifteen years old and two years later he began upon his career as a wage earner by entering Bowman's store as a clerk. Three months later he and his father bought the Bowman store, and the firm of E. Hill & Son came into being. They continued this business until the fall of 1868, when they sold out, and in 1870 they established the Exchange Bank of E. Hill & Sons. This continued until April 1, 1909, when it was changed to the E. Hill & Sons State Bank.
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