USA > Michigan > St Joseph County > History of St. Joseph County, Michigan; Volume II > Part 24
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Rachel Wescott, who was born in New York state, a daughter of Samuel and Deborah (Brown) Wescott, and died in Three Rivers, Michigan, at the home of her daughter, with whom she lived after the death of her husband. Deborah Ann Rider married first, in 1838, Daniel Francisco, a son of Cornelius Francisco. Mr. Fran- cisco lived in his native state until 1844, when he migrated to Michigan, locating in Lockport township, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits for eight years, after which he resided at Three Rivers until his death. On September 14, 1893, as above stated, Mrs. Francisco married Mr. Wescott. By her marriage with Mr. Francisco, Mrs. Wescott had two children, namely : Wil- liam B., who married Josetta Knapp, and has two children, Grace and Frank L .; and Frank E., who married Nellie Clapp. Mr. Wescott's oldest son, Alfred B. Wescott, married Anna Hosmer, and they are the parents of three children, namely: Stella, wife of Otis Day, has two children ; George; and Charles. The younger son, Charles O. Wescott, married Hattie Needham. Fraternally Mr. Wescott is a member of Three Rivers Lodge, No. 62, A. F. & A. M., and of Ed. M. Prutzman Post, No. 72, G. A. R.
GEORGE W. BUCK .- A venerable and highly respected citizen of Three Rivers, George W. Buck is a son of George Buck, an early pioneer of St. Joseph county, who dauntlessly pushed his way into an uncultivated country, and has left behind him a record for persistent industry, enterprise and usefulness of which his descend- ants may well be proud. Mr. Buck was born, November 12, 1829, in Columbiana county, Ohio, coming from thrifty Scotch-Irish ancestry.
A son of John Buck, George Buck spent his early life in Ohio. In July, 1830, accompanied by his wife and seven children, he came to the territory of Michigan, crossing the intervening country with an ox-team, and a horse, being several weeks on the trip, in the meantime camping and cooking by the wayside. Leaving his family at Mottville, St. Joseph county, he started in search of a favorable location. This entire section was then a wilderness, with only here and there an opening in which stood the cabin of the early settler. Deer, bears, wolves, and other wild animals were plentiful, wild turkeys being more abundant than the barn- yard fowl in those days. The land was owned by the government, and sold at the uniform price of $1.25 an acre. On the present site of Three Rivers there were just six log cabins. He selected a tract of timber containing six hundred and forty acres, a part of
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which is now included within the corporate limits of the city of Three Rivers, and then went back for his family. On his return, he erected his little cabin at what is now the junction of Buck and Fourth streets, plastering it inside and out with clay, and build- ing a stick and clay chimney. He made the floor of puncheon split from bass wood logs, and the doors of the same material, while the shake-covered roof was held in place by poles. He immedi- ately began clearing his land and putting it under cultivation, in his work having only the most primitive implements, the share of his wooden plow having been covered with tin, while the drag had wooden teeth. He cleared much of his land, and for many years raised flax, and following his trade of a weaver, which he had learned when young, used to scutch, spin and weave the home- spun material from which his wife fashioned all the garments worn by the family.
A few years after locating here, Mr. George Buck erected a two-story frame house, and opened it to travelers, it being the first public house in this locality. It was known as Buck's Hotel, and the place was called in his honor Bucktown. He built boats, and for several years operated a ferry. He served as first postmaster of the town, as first justice of the peace, and the first convention to nominate county officers was held at his hotel, being largely at- tended, Mrs. Buck, with the help of his hired man, serving dinners to seventy-six people. The Pottawatomie Indians at that time had a camp near Three Rivers. They were friendly with the whites, and gladly exchanged honey or wild game for potatoes or flour. When the hotel was completed they came there and had a dance in a large room, having no musical instruments, but chanting as they danced.
Mr. George Buck married Martha Ira, who was born, it is thought, in Virginia, coming from Holland ancestry. He died in 1856, aged sixty-six years, and she outlived him a number of years, passing away in the seventy-eighth year of her age. Of the thir- teen children born of their union, twelve grew to years of matur- ity, namely : Philip, Lewis, Rachel, Elizabeth, George W., Martha, Hannah, Mary, Susan, Robert, Thomas, and Charles.
But seven months old when he came with his parents to Three Rivers, George W. Buck was here brought up. The old log school house in which he received his first lessons was furnished with slab seats having wooden pins for legs, with no desks in front. As a boy he began to assist in felling the giants of the forest, remain- ing at home until ready to establish a household of his own. His
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father then gave him two lots in the village, and in 1855 he erected a dwelling house there. In the meantime his father had organ- ized a company to develop the local water power, and Mr. Buck and his brother Lewis took the contract to build the race, which was to be three-fourths of a mile in length. Subsequently the two brothers built a sawmill, which they operated successfully a num- ber of years. Mr. Buck then invested in land, buying a farm southeast of Three Rivers, where he still continued his residence, at the same time looking after his land. On December 21, 1861, Mr. Buck enlisted in Company H, Thirteenth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and served about ten months, when he was honorably discharged on account of physical disability.
On June 21, 1854, Mr. Buck was united in marriage with Lucy J. Arnold, who was born in Constantine township, St. Joseph county, September 1, 1836, a daughter of William F. Arnold, Esq. Her grandfather, Caleb Arnold, for many years a farmer in New York state, came to St. Joseph county about 1830, purchased a tract of timbered land in Constantine township, and was there engaged in tilling the soil until his death. His wife, whose maiden name was Rachel Bennett, was born in New York state, and died in Constantine township, Michigan. William F. Arnold was born on the home farm, near Unadilla, in 1812, and as a young man ac- companied the family to Michigan. Moving from Constantine township to Three Rivers in 1854, he purchased land in Lockport township, and a part of the farm which he improved is now within the city limits. Soon after locating here, Mr. Arnold was elected supervisor, and served in that capacity, and was also justice of the peace several terms. He died at the advanced age of seventy- eight years. The maiden name of his wife was Rhoda Churchill. She was born in Ohio, a daughter of William Churchill, a pioneer settler of St. Joseph county. She died at the early age of thirty- seven years, leaving nine children.
Mr. and Mrs. Buck are the parents of two children, namely : Effie M., and Gertrude. Effie, married Henry Robinson, who died in 1906, leaving two children, John, who married Mamie O'Keefe; and Lulu, wife of Lee Carpenter. Gertrude Buck married Roy Gleason, and they have one child, Harriet Gleason. Mr. Buck is a charter member of the Ed. M. Prutzman Post, No. 72, G. A. R.
Mr. Buck's father, George Buck, was a soldier in the war in 1812, and his grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Three brothers, Robert, Thomas, and Charles, besides Mr. Buck
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himself were soldiers in the Civil war, and all lived to return home and were never wounded.
CHARLES S. HUFF is a native born son of Mottville township, where on the 17th of December, 1848, he was born to the marriage union of A. W. and Elizabeth (Sixbey) Huff. Nicholas I. Sixbey, his maternal grandfather, was one of the first settlers of White Pigeon township, settling there among the Indians, and he spent the greater part of the remainder of his life there. He was a mem- ber of the Dutch Reformed church at Constantine. A. W. Huff was born at Montgomery county, New York, February 24, 1816, a son of a wealthy farmer and land owner in the Mohawk Valley, the latter owning an estate of four hundred acres there. A. W. Huff came to Three Rivers, Michigan, when a young man, and being a cooper by trade he found ready employment there, but subsequently he moved to the farm of two hundred acres in White Pigeon township, now the property of L. S. Huff, and lived there until his death. He was the father of seven children: Charles S., Edward, Ida O., L. S., Anna, Henrietta and Meda.
Charles S. Huff was reared on his father's farm in White Pigeon township, attending in the meantime the district and other schools, and he assisted with the work of that homestead until his marriage. He now owns one hundred and twenty acres of land, a part in Mottville township and the remainder in Constantine township, and he is both a farmer and stock raiser, raising both a high grade of cattle and horses. His marriage in 1875 was to Miss Martha Caskey, born in Mottville township in 1849, and a daugh- ter, Grace, was born to them on the 22d of October, 1876. She attended the public schools and the State Normal at Ypsilanti, and following her graduation at that institution taught in both the country and graded schools. She married on the 10th of March, 1909, and is living on a large farm in Canada. Mr. Huff is a mem- ber of the Democratic party, of the Grange and of the Methodist Episcopal church at White Pigeon. He is well known in the com- munity in which he has so long resided and is one of Mottville's representative citizens and business men.
HENRY BONEBRIGHT .- The name of Henry Bonebright is en- rolled on the pages of the history of St. Joseph county as the first white child born within its borders, and he has always lived here and been prominently identified with its agricultural interests. Jacob Bonebright, his father, was born in Pennsylvania, and mov-
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ing from there to Stark county, Ohio, he was married to Barbara Myers, also from Pennsylvania. Together they came to Constan- tine, Michigan, arriving on the 20th of May, 1829, and Jacob Bone- bright entered one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 22, and later entered another tract of forty acres. He lived there until 1835, settling then at the present home of his son Henry, and the latter has known no other home. Jacob Bonebright built the second house in Constantine, a log cabin with a puncheon floor. The first house had been built by Judge Meek, who laid out the town and it was first called Meek's Mills. Mr. Bonebright died on the 3d of February, 1857, and his wife survived until the year of 1880. They were the parents of nine children, namely : John and Joseph, both deceased; Delilah, born July 16, 1828, is the widow of James H. Voorhees and the mother of two children; Mary J. is the wife of Oliver Harker, of Denver, Colorado; Samuel and Jacob were twins, and both are deceased; Henry was the next born; Catherine was born July 3, 1832; and Rebecca was born November 24, 1834, and is deceased. The children all received good common school educations.
Henry Bonebright, born on the 3d of February, 1830, owns the old Bonebright homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, and he resides there with his two sisters, Delilah and Catherine. He is a Democrat in his political affiliations, and he has served in the office of path master. He is highly esteemed in the community where he has so long resided, and he bears a name which is honored in the pioneer history of St. Joseph county.
WILLIAM H. WILSON, who is established in the successful prac- tice of his profession in the city of Three Rivers, merits recognition in this volume as one of the representative members of the bar of St. Joseph county. He is a native son of the Wolverine state, where he has ever maintained his home and where he has won prestige in one of the most exacting of professions,-a fact that implies thorough knowledge of the science of jurisprudence and the power of apply- ing its principles and precedents in the practical work of the advo- cate and counselor.
William H. Wilson was born in Marlette township, Sanilac county, Michigan, on the 12th of March, 1874, and is a son of George and Eliza (Rudd) Wilson, both of whom were born in Ireland, but both of whom were children at the time of the immigration of the respective families from the fair Emerald Isle to America. The Wilson family came in the year 1859 and first located in the prov-
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ince of Ontaria, Canada; the Rudd family came in the preceding year, establishing a home in the state of New York, but they shortly afterward came to Michigan, where the mother of the subject of this review was reared to maturity and where was solemnized her mar- riage to George Wilson. Of this union were born five sons and three daughters, all of whom grew to maturity and of whom Wil- liam H. was the third in order of birth. All are now living. The parents are residents of Marlette township, where the father is a farmer.
William H. Wilson was reared to maturity in his native county and there received his early educational discipline, which included a course in the high school at Marlette, Michigan, and in this school he was graduated as a member of the class of 1892. That he made good use of the opportunities thus afforded him is evident when we revert to the fact that upon leaving the high school he proved him- self eligible for pedagogic honors, and for a period of seven years he was a successful and popular teacher in the public schools of his native state. He then, in 1899, with the financial reinforcement gained through his efforts as a teacher, was matriculated in the law department of the celebrated University of Michigan, in which he completed the prescribed technical course and was graduated as a member of the class of 1902, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was forthwith admitted to the bar of his native state and he initiated the practice of his chosen profession by locating at Bald- win, the judicial center of Lake county, Michigan, where he soon justified his choice of vocation and proved himself an able trial lawyer and well fortified counselor. He became one of the promi- nent young representatives of the bar of the northern part of the state, served for six years as prosecuting attorney of Lake county, and continued his residence at Baldwin until 1908, in the fall of which year he came to Three Rivers, where he has found a wider and more attractive field for his professional labors, which have here been likewise attended with unequivocal success, as he is rap- idly building up a substantial business and has gained a represen- tative clientage. He has admirably proved his powers in connec- tion with important litigations since coming to Three Rivers, and his abilty and his close observance of the unwrtten ethical code of his profession have gained him the high esteem of his confreres as well as that of the general public. In politics Mr. Wilson has ever accorded an unwavering allegiance to the Republican party, in whose cause he has given effective service in various campaigns as well as in its local councils. He is affiliated with the Masonic fra-
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ternity, and both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
On the 6th of August, 1904, Mr. Wilson was united in marriage to Mrs. Rachel (Vernon) McLean, who was born and reared in Canada, and who is a daughter of William Vernon, who is engaged in agriculture at Sarnia, Canada. Attorney Wilson has one of the full and complete law libraries of Three Rivers, Michigan, and is a great reader.
SEYMOUR H. HOGLE, cashier of the Burr Oak State Bank, was born at Dale, New York, January 19, 1845. He is a son of Hugh R. and Minerva (Fuller) Hogle, natives of the state of New York. Hugh Hogle was born in 1810, and died in Pekin, Illinois, in 1853; his wife was born in 1826 and died in 1891, in Grand Rapids, Mich- igan. When nine years of age Mr. Hogle came with his mother and stepfather, David Green, of New York, to Auburn, Indiana, where they spent a year and then went to Wisconsin, where they spent another year, and in 1856 came to Coldwater, Michigan. Mr. Green died in Coldwater and his widow removed to Grand Rapids to live with a son. To Hugh R. Hogle and his wife were born children as follows: Seymour H .; and Alma, born in New York, in 1850, died in Denver, Colorado. The latter was the wife of Henry Kale, formerly of Branch county, Michigan, who re- moved to Denver; he was a farmer, and they had two sons. Mr. Green and his wife had two children, William H. and Elmer E. William H. Green, born about 1857-8, lives in Chicago, where he is employed as foreman in a shop; he is married and has one daughter. Elmer E. Green, born in 1862, lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is married and has a daughter.
Seymour H. Hogle began working on a farm by the month when twelve years of age, going to school in the winters, until he was seventeen years old, and then he enlisted in Battery C, First Michigan Light Artillery; he was with Sherman's Army all the time. He took part in the Atlanta campaign in the march to the sea, up through the Carolinas, and took part in twenty-two im- portant engagements, the battle of Atlanta being one of them. Mr. Hogle served under Captain William W. Hyzer, and was mustered out in June, 1865, at Detroit. During the entire war he was wounded only slightly.
In 1866 Mr. Hogle returned to Branch county, Michigan, and married Belle, daughter of Jacob Lilly, of Noble township, Branch county ; she was born in 1849 and died in Burr Oak in 1897. Her
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parents, who were farmers, are now deceased. After his marriage Mr. Hogle removed to Burr Oak and worked four years as clerk in a general store; he then went into partnership with Ed Smith in the line of dry goods and groceries, the firm doing business about a year and a half. He was with D. F. Parsons seven or eight years and then purchased the business of Mr. Parsons, carrying it on until 1898. He sold out his mercantile interests and took care of a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which he continued until taking his present position in the bank.
Mr. Hogle enlisted while attending school at Coldwater, Mich- igan; he holds a scholarship in Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College, from which he graduated in 1866, immediately after he was mustered out. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Re- public, being the first Post Commander in St. Joseph county, The Post, B. G. Bennett Post, has lost nearly all the older members. Mr. Hogle is affiliated with the Masonic Order, and is a Knight Templar; he held the office of Worthy Master of Eagle Lodge No. 124, and has held an office ever since becoming a member. He belongs to the Presbyterian church of Burr Oak, in which he is an elder, and he was elected a delegate to the National Assembly at Philadelphia, in 1901. He is a prominent and influential citizen, and well known in the community, where he has won universal respect and esteem.
Mr. Hogle and his wife had children as follows : Clifford, born in 1871, died November 1, 1909; he lived in Cheyenne, Wyoming, married Cora Fuller, of Bronson, and they had one daughter; Fayette, born in 1880, of Roodhouse, Illinois, married Lucy Doran, of Chicago, and has no children ; Marjorie, born in 1890, unmarried, lives at home. Marjorie graduated from Burr Oak High School and for the past year has been in college in Ontario, Canada ; she is specializing in music and domestic art.
Mr. Hogle married (second) in 1898, Mary Bennett, of Sturgis, Michigan; she is a daughter of Atwell Bennett, who lived at Law- ton, Michigan. They have no children.
GEORGE S. SHEFFIELD, a leading manufacturer and business man of Burr Oak, was born September 8, 1831, in Geneva, New York; he is a son of James G. and Lydia Ann (Edwards) Shef- field, the father a native of New York and the mother of Rhode Island. James G. Sheffield was born in 1811 and died in 1905; his first wife was born in 1813 and died in 1875. He married (second) Ann Shummell, of Nottawa, who died in 1901. The family came
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to Branch county in 1856, and lived with a brother in St. Joseph county some time, where Mrs. Sheffield died. By his first wife James G. Sheffield had children as follows: George S .; Liza Jane, wife of James Henry Mathieson, moved to Kankakee, Illinois, and had three children, both parents now dead; William H., married Miss Hammontree, and has no children; James U., married and living on a farm in Colon township; Mary, wife of James McKay, of Grand Rapids; and Josephine, wife of J. K. Finehart, of Detroit, who died, leaving two children. James G. Sheffield was a Demo- crat and a member of the Baptist church. He purchased a farm in Branch county, and was a member of Bronson Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.
When twenty-one years of age George S. Sheffield began work- ing as a carpenter, and about 1858 began as cabinet-maker at Centerville. August 24, 1861, he enlisted in Company A, Eleventh Michigan Infantry, under Captain David Oakes. He went to White Pigeon, to Louisville, Kentucky, and then into camp at Bardstown, Kentucky, for the winter of 1861-2. He went to Elizabethtown, Kentucky, by boat to Louisville and Nashville, and the first battle in which he participated was Murfreesborough. Mr. Sheffield took part in fourteen important battles, went across the Tennessee River to Lookout Mountain, and to Stevens Gap, participated in a hard battle at Davis Cross Roads, also Chick- amauga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Kenesaw Mountain, Rough Station, and wound up with the capture of Atlanta. This division of the regiment was under fire ninety days, and was mustered out September 29, 1864, at Sturgis, Michigan. Mr. Sheffield received no wound, but keeps as a dear possession a to- bacco box which saved his life from a bullet that cut across his shoulder.
Upon returning from the war, Mr. Sheffield spent seven years on a farm and then built a house on the place. In February, 1871, he located in Three Rivers, and began working at pump manu- facturing for Willis & Hagen, and in 1878 he secured a patent on a three-wheeled hand-car; he formed a co-partnership for the manufacture of this car and sold a half interest for a half-interest in a pump factory. Four years later he sold out, and the firm is now Willis & Lindsey. Mr. Sheffield then located in Bronson and began perfecting a hand cornplanter, on which he took out a patent in 1891. It is called the Sheffield corn planter, and is used in all parts of the world. Mr. Sheffield came to Burr Oak and formed a partnership with A. C. Himebaugh for the manufacture of the
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planter; afterwards he erected a fine white brick plant near the rail- road, and the goods are shipped from here to South America, Af- rica, New Zealand, Australia, and all civilized parts of the world. Mr. Sheffield is still engaged in manufacturing the corn planter, and has been very successful in the venture.
Besides his manufacturing interests Mr. Sheffield and Mr. Himebaugh organized the First National Bank, of Burr Oak, of which Mr. Himebaugh is president and Mr. Sheffield holds a half- interest. Mr. Sheffield owns the fine new bank building where the business of the bank is carried on. Mr. Sheffield is an organizer and a large stockholder in the South Michigan Telephone Com- pany. He is a man of good business judgment, and pays close at- tention to his financial interests. He has contributed a large share towards the growth and development of Burr Oak, and is one of the leading citizens.
Mr. Sheffield is a member of Hackett Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of Bronson. He is a Democrat in politics, but is too much occupied with his business affairs to care to hold public office. Mr. Sheffield married Mary, daughter of Alanson and Ann Haynes of Ontario, Wayne county, New York. They came to St. Joseph county and located in Centerville, afterwards removing to Indiana. Mr. Sheffield was married in 1852. He has no children.
WILLIS A. CARPENTER was born in Carlton Center, Barry county, Michigan, August 16, 1876, and is a son of Augustus and Marietta (Conkright) Carpenter, both natives of New York. Augustus Carpenter was born in 1836, and died in Barry county, Michigan, in 1882; his father was a native of Germany. Marietta Conkright was born in Ohio, July 29, 1839; her father was a native of New York, and her grandfather, a Revolutionary soldier, was born in Holland. She was married to Augustus Carpenter in Barry county, Michigan, in 1869, and they had children as follows: Charles H., born September 23, 1872; Frances L., born March 29, 1874, and Willis A. Charles H. is an employe of a railroad and lives at Gladstone, Michigan. Frances L. is the wife of Rev. G. G. Wilson, a pastor of the Church of Christ, of Cadillac, Michigan ; they have two daughters, Bessie and Bertha. Mr. Carpenter was a Republican, and held almost every township office. He and his wife were both members of the Methodist church of Carlton Center. For her second husband Mrs. Carpenter married James DuBois, and now lives at Grand Ledge, Michigan, on a farm. Mrs. DuBois
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