USA > Michigan > St Joseph County > History of St. Joseph County, Michigan; Volume II > Part 26
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Soon after the attainment of his majority, David W. Embley started out for himself as a farmer, by working land on shares. He married in 1864, and by the exercise of industry and thrift, he and his wife were enabled to become independent land owners. They farmed successfully for a number of years, then disposed of part of their land to a son and came to Mendon where they se- cured a home and are here spending their later years. Mr. Embley subscribes to the policies of the Republican party, is interested in matters pertaining to the common good and for a number of terms
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served as justice of the peace. He and his good wife are consistent members of the Methodist church, and give their sympathy to all its good works.
Mrs. Embley's name before her marriage was Sarah Eliza Barnabee, she being a daughter of Stephen and Maria Barnabee. They came early in the nineteenth century from Ohio and located near Schoolcraft township, where the father entered a farm in 1833. They removed to Mendon township and later to Mendon village where they lived out the remainder of their days. Mrs. Embley was born July 5, 1844, north of Mendon, and was one of a family of nine children. Her union to Mr. Embley was celebrated on the first day of January, 1864. They are the parents of a good sized family of children, as follows : Edson S., born April 17, 1865, lives on the farm once owned by his father and upon which his wife's father also once lived; his wife was before her marriage Mrs. Nettie (Hall) Caldwell, and there are no children; Nellie M., born November 8, 1866, died October 9, 1867; Margaret was born August 28, 1868, and became the wife of Daniel Marten, and they were the parents of one child; Mr. Marten was killed by lightning about twelve years ago, and the widow married Frank Baer, who is also deceased and she is now living in Idaho; Irvin S. was born December 24, 1872, and died September 9, 1873; Verna, born May 31, 1874, (her twin dying unnamed) is now the wife of Orson Kellogg, an Idaho farmer, and the mother of three children; Jennie, born August 1, 1876, is the widow of Carl Roberts of Men- don, whose death occurred in October, 1909; she has two sons; Louella, born February 16, 1880, is the wife of Guy Hamilton, who is engaged in the implement business in Mendon. Mr. and Mrs. Embley have thus manifold interests in their children and grand- children and are to be numbered among Mendon's most genial and delightful citizens.
WILLIAM H. BURGER is one of the land owners, agriculturists and prominent business men of Constantine township, and he was born in this township July 12, 1857, a son of Jacob and a grandson of Henry Burger. The last named was born in Pennsylvania and was by trade a stone mason. He came to Michigan during its early history, and his son Jacob was born in Pennsylvania in 1830. He married Lavinia George, and their five children are: Mrs. W. B. Allerton, of Constantine township; William H .; Charles M .; John J., deceased; and one who died in infancy. Jacob Burger was a
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self-made man and one of the prosperous agriculturists of St. Joseph county. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity.
William H. Burger was born, reared and educated in Constan- tine township, and he now owns two hundred and fifty acres of its rich farming lands and is well known as a general farmer and stock raiser, raising a good grade of stock. He is one of the orig- inal stockholders as well as one of the present directors of the Com- mercial Bank of Constantine, and he owns a half interest in the Constantine Lumber Company. Mr. Burger married first Lizzie Smith, a daughter of Dan and Ellen Smith, and the only child of that union, William M. Burger, was born in May of 1893, and is now a student in the Constantine High School. Mrs. Burger died in September of 1895, and he married for his second wife Carrie E. Helme, born at Rockford, Illinois. The second union has been without issue. Mr. Burger is one of the supporters of the Repub- lican party, and he is one of the most highly esteemed business men and citizens of Constantine township.
WILLIAM SMITH is one of the most prominent of the farmers and stock raisers of Constantine township. He was born within the borders of this township on the 10th of November, 1865, and he represents one of the early pioneer families of St. Joseph county. His parents, August and Philipena (Mabius) Smith, came from Germany to this country and established their home in Constantine township, St. Joseph county, Michigan, where they were farming people for many years. There were five children in their family, namely : Christ P., of Three Rivers; Emma, the wife of Carl John- son, of New York; Minnie, deceased; Henry, of Constantine; and William.
William Smith was reared to farm life, and choosing it as a life occupation he has become an agriculturist and he and his wife own an estate of one hundred and ninety-four acres, one hundred and ten acres of which lie in Constantine township. The farm con- tains one of the finest homes in the township, and it is a valuable estate, well improved and productive. Mr. Smith started in life for himself as a poor lad, and the competence which he has secured is the result of his own patient endeavor. He was married Octo- ber 9, 1889, to Emma P. Morrison, who was born in February, 1872, and she was reared on a farm in St. Joseph county. The two chil- dren of this union are Ethel F. and Gertrude N., born respectively in 1890 and in 1895, and the younger is a student in the district schools. Mr. Smith in politics is a member of the Democratic party.
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WILLIAM L. WHITE is numbered among the business men of Constantine, and he was born in Sherman township of St. Joseph county on the 25th of August, 1870, a son of John W. and Martha (Bayn) White. Although his father was a Methodist Episcopal minister William L. White was born and reared on a farm, and he assisted with the farm work while attending school, passing through the high school and later attending college at Albion, Michigan. After farming for a short time he embarked in the real estate business at Coldwater in Branch county, this state, and re- turning to Constantine in November of 1905 he resumed his real estate operations here, and he is a stock seller and promoter of prominence. He is a member of the firm of White and Stark Com- pany with offices in both Constantine, Michigan, and Elkhart, In- diana, Mr. Stark residing in the latter city.
Mr. White married in 1890 Lizza Johnson, and of their five children, Earl L., Rena Mae, Paul N., Bessie and Marguerite, four are living. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. White is also associated with Constantine Lodge, No. 241, Knights of Pythias. He is a Republican, and while in Branch county he served as a deputy sheriff. He is numbered among the representative business men and citizens of Constantine.
ZIBA B. RUGGLES .- For the long period of sixty-five years has the honored subject of this sketch maintained his home in St. Joseph county, and his is the noteworthy distinction of being at the present time the most venerable citizen of this county, as he is ninety-two years of age at the time of this writing, in 1910. His has been an earnest and upright life, and, while he has endured his quota of the vicissitudes and reverses that come to all, he has ever retained a buoyant optimism and has found satisfaction and due recompense in numbering himself among the world's noble army of workers. It is a matter of much gratification to the publishers of this work to be able to offer within its pages a brief review of the career of this patriarchal citizen of Three Rivers.
Ziba Bennett Ruggles claims the old Keystone state of the Un- ion as his native heath, as he was born in Hanover township, Lu- zerne county, Pennsylvania, on the 22d of June, 1818. He is a son of Lorenzo and Polly (Bennett) Ruggles, born in Connecticut, where the father followed the trade of blacksmith during the major part of his active career and he resided in Pennsylvania until his death, in his seventy-seventh year. At the present time there are no authentic data by which may be decisively determined the ori-
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gin of the Ruggles family genealogy, but it is supposed to trace back to stanch German stock and that two brothers of the name came from the Teutonic fatherland in an early day and established homes respectively in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The brother who settled in the latter state became a citizen of prominence and in- fluence and held the office of judge of one of the courts. The lin- eage of the Bennett family is traced back to French origin, and many representatives of the name were enrolled as valiant soldiers in the Continental line in the war of the Revolution, among the number being the father of Polly Bennett, who became the mother of him whose name introduces this review; she likewise continued to reside in Pennsylvania until her death.
Ziba B. Ruggles was reared to the age of sixteen years in his native county and his early experiences were those gained in con- nection with farm work and through assisting his father in the blacksmith shop. His limited educational edvantages were those offered in the common schools of the locality and period and at the age noted he went to Columbia county, Pennsylvania, where he learned the trade of carriage-maker, serving an apprenticeship of four and one-half years' duration. Thereafter he was for a time engaged in farming for a period of six years in the same county, that state, and in 1845 he came to St. Joseph county, Michigan, and established his home in Three Rivers. For the first four years he was employed by the day, at various lines of work, and he then purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, in Lockport township, where he continued to be identified with agricultural pursuits for six years. He then returned to Three Rivers, where he erected a small shop and engaged in the work of his trade, in which he continued under these conditions for four years. He then purchased an established manufactory of carriages and wagons, and with this line of enterprise he continued to be actively identi- fied for many years. He built up a large and prosperous enter- prise and for a number of years gave employment to an average force of twenty-five men. Mr. Ruggles finally disposed of his busi- ness and has since lived virtually retired, save that for some time he was engaged in traveling as a salesman of monuments and tomb- stones. Through his earnest and well directed efforts he gained a sufficient competency to enable him to pass the golden evening of his life in peace and comfort. He is a man of strong mentality and has ever taken deep interest in all that has touched the welfare of his home city and county, as well as in public matters of a generic order. His political allegiance was originally given to the Whig
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party, but upon the organization of the Republican party, "under the oaks," in Jackson, Michigan, he was among the first to align himself as a supporter of its cause. During the long intervening years he has continued to be a stanch advocate of the principles and policies of the "grand old party."
Mr. Ruggles has been a devout and earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church since he was seventeen years of age and he is the most revered figure in the local church of this denom- ination in which he has been most zealous as a worker and in which he has served in every official position except that of pastor. He identified himself with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows many years ago, but does not now maintain active affiliation there- with. He is well known throughout the county that has so long represented his home and no citizen is held in more unqualified confidence and esteem than this sterling patriarch.
In the year 1839 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ruggles to Miss Mary Gearhart, who was born and reared in Pennsylvania and who has continued his devoted wife and helpmeet during the long intervening period of more than sixty years. She died about 1905. Mr. and Mrs. Ruggles became the parents of one son, Ezra C., who died in 1909.
SHERMAN D. HASS resides in Constantine, prominently identi- fied both with its business and official life. He was born in Elk- hart county, Indiana, August 5, 1868, a son of William and Re- becca (Gray) Hass, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania. They came from there to St. Joseph county, Michigan, but later moved to Elkhart county, Indiana, and both have passed away. Sherman D. was the sixth born of their children, and only two others are now living, Melvin H. and Elizabath, the latter the wife of Alonzo Rainer.
Sherman D. Hass was reared on his father's farm in Elkhart county, Indiana, receiving his education in the meantime in the nearby district school, and he remained at home with his parents until the age of twenty-one. During the six years following his marriage he lived in Mottville, and he came from there to Constan- tine in the fall of 1896. His first work here was running a dray, while later he embarked in the ice and coal business, and he is now employed with the Constantine Hydraulic Company. Mr. Hass is also the present township and village treasurer, and during four years he served as a member of the Constantine council. His polit- ical party is the Republican.
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Mrs. Hass was before marriage Ida M. Mann, and a daughter, Vinnie, was born to them on the 29th of August, 1890. She was born in Indiana, and is now a high school student. Mr. Hass is a member of Siloam Lodge, No. 35, F. & A. M., and he is also a mem- ber of the Modern Woodmen of America. He owns his own prop- erty on White Pigeon street, Constantine.
JAMES DONOVAN, of Three Rivers, so well known as an inven- tor and an originator and patentee of related devices, is a native of Bath, province of Ontario, Canada, where he was born April 3, 1858. The history of the family in North America commences with the father, for the grandparents spent their lives in their na- tive county of Cork, Ireland, and so far as known Richard Donovan and his brother Michael were the only members of the family to cross the Atlantic in search of homes and more favorable condi- tions than were to be found in the Emerald Isle. Michael settled in New York state, while Richard first located at Kingston, later purchasing a farm at Bath, eighteen miles west of that city. There the father spent the remainder of his life, rearing seven children and leaving the heritage of an honorable name.
James Donovan, of this sketch, was educated in the schools of Bath, and in his early youth was apprenticed to the trade of car- pentry, of which he became a master after four years of faithful work as a learner and a subordinate. At the age of twenty-two he moved to New York state and there conducted a good business as a contractor and builder until 1891, when he became a resident of Three Rivers. At once entering the employ of the Roberts Car Wheel Company as a pattern maker, Mr. Donovan was soon ad- vanced to general superintendent, and while holding that position invented and patented the Donovan Car Wheel and several minor devices quite extensively adopted by car manufacturers. In 1905 he resigned as superintendent, sold his patents and has since de- voted himself to the care and development of his investments.
In 1878 Mr. Donovan married Miss Harriet Greenwood, a na- tive of Kingston, Canada, daughter of Maxim Greenwood, who was born in Montreal of French ancestry. Mr. and Mrs. Donovan have had two children: Richard, who died at the age of thirteen years, and Oliver, who is now in the grocery business. The latter, who married Miss Margaret Mahana, is the father of a daughter, Eileen. The members of the Donovan families are all identified with the Immaculate Conception church and are loyal Roman Catholics.
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ROBERT MANDIGO represents one of the early pioneer families of St. Joseph county, but he was born in Greene county, New York, October 11, 1838, a son of Archibald Mandigo, born in the same county and state, on the 9th of October, 1800. With his wife and children he journeyed by canal and lake thence to Florence town- ship, St. Joseph county, Michigan, reaching here on the 12th day of October, 1851, and buying a farm in section 11 he spent the re- mainder of his life there and died in 1879. He had married Clor- inda Haines in the state of New York, and she was born at Web- ster in Monroe county of that state in 1804. There were eight children born of that union, Jane, John, David, Archibald, Nich- olas, Robert, Rachel and Jeremiah, but only three of that once large family, David, Nicholas and Robert, are living in 1909.
Robert Mandigo was about fourteen years of age at the time of the family's removal to Florence township, and in those early days he swung the axe, rolled logs and helped to clear, improve and beautify the home farm. He had received the rudiments of his ed- ucation in New York, completing his studies in Michigan, and al- though he never enjoyed the advantages of a high school or col- lege training he became a well read and well educated man. Re- maining under the parental roof until twenty-two years of age, he in 1863 was married to Anna Pashby, born in Florence township, St. Joseph county, September 26, 1842, a daughter of Robinson and Hannah (Scobie) Pashby, both born in Yorkshire, England, the father in 1812 and the mother in 1822. Hannah was a daugh- ter of William and Eliza (Moorehouse) Scobie, from England and Scotland respectively. Robinson Pashby and Hannah Scobie came with their respective parents to the United States and were married in Florence township, St. Joseph county, Michigan, December 15, 1841, and there Mr. Pashby entered his land, made his home and finally died, on the 26th of February, 1888, his wife, Hannah, pass- ing away in March of the same year. They became the parents of nine children, namely : Anna, born September 26, 1842; Charles A., February 6, 1844; William F., April 21, 1846; Joseph, Decem- ber 14, 1848; Mary and Martha, twins, born December 1, 1851; Benjamin F., June 5, 1854; Walter G., March 6, 1857; and Orris L., July 6, 1861. To the marriage union of Robert Mandigo and Anna Pashby seven children were born, five of whom grew to ma- ture years : Edgar, born August 20, 1866; Fannie, May 9, 1868; William, December 31, 1869, and he died in 1903; Clarinda; and Fred, born June 13, 1876.
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"Put" Mandigo, as he is familiarly known to his many friends and acquaintances, is out-spoken in manner but fearless and faith- ful in his honest convictions. He is a member of the Masonic fra- ternity at Centerville, and follows as closely as possible its honor- able precepts. He owns fifteen acres of land on the banks of Klinger Lake in White Pigeon township, a splendid fishing resort and patronized by people from far and near during the fishing seasons. He also owns forty acres of land in section 25, Florence township. Mr. Mandigo is honored and revered in the community in which he has so long made his home.
GEORGE T. BOTHAMLEY is one of Florence township's repre- sentative agriculturists and well known citizens. He was born in Sherman township of St. Joseph county January 5, 1869, a son of John and Isabelle (Corner) Bothamley, both born in England, the father in Yorkshire and the mother in Lincolnshire, and they were married in their native land and came from there to the United States. John Bothamley was twice married, having four children by his first wife and seven by his second, to whom he was married in Constantine, Michigan. The children of the latter are Clem, George T., Ella, Belle, Fred, Emma and Frank, all living at the present time.
George T. Bothamley was reared as a farmer's son in Sherman township, helping with the work of the home farm and attending district schools during his early life, and remaining at home with his parents until twenty-one years, he then began farming for him- self, renting land in company with his brother. He continued as a renter for thirteen years and was prosperous, and on the 19th of April, 1904, he bought eighty acres in section 33, Florence town- ship, where he now lives and follows general farming and stock- raising. He married December 27, 1893, Luella Tash, born in Sherman township September 14, 1874, a daughter of William and Carrie (Hepner) Tash, the father born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and the mother in Sherman township, St. Joseph county, Michi- gan. They were farming people, and their daughter Luella was reared on their farm in Sherman township. Mr. and Mrs. Botham- ley have two sons, Harry, born August 22, 1895, and Clarence, born August 24, 1901, both now attending school. Harry is now a student in White Pigeon High School and Clarence in grammar school. Mr. Bothamley is a Democrat in his political affiliations, but has never cared for the honors or emoluments of public office. His family are numbered among the leading residents of Florence
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township, and they also have a host of friends in Sherman town- ship. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bothamley are affable, unassuming and gracious, and are held in the highest esteem by all who know them.
JOHN A. McKINDLEY is a successful representative of that honorable class, the agriculturists, and the scion of one of St. Joseph county's pioneer families. He is a man revered by his associates for his sterling manhood and integrity of character. Mr. McKind- ley is a native of St. Joseph county, Michigan, having been born within its boundaries, February 10, 1866, and is the youngest in a family of three children, he and a brother William, a resident of Kalamazoo, still surviving. The parents were Francis L. and Su- san M. (Reynolds) McKindley. The father was born in Galway, Saratoga county, New York, July 3, 1817, dying January 25, 1896. He was educated in the public schools, was of studious inclina- tions, and learned the trade of a stone and brick mason. He re- moved to Michigan in 1845 and located in Mendon township, St. Joseph county, where he worked for a very short time at his trade and in the fall of 1845 purchased a one hundred and sixty acre farm in Mendon township. He was an old line Whig, and latterly became a Republican, and although he was interested in the trend of events he was by no means an office seeker. He was a member of the Scotch Reformed church, his ancestry, as the name indicates, having been Scotch. The mother was born near Troy, Rensselaer county, New York, November 20, 1826, and she is now living with her son at the good old age of eighty-four years, her mind clear and her enjoyment of life unimpaired.
John A. McKindley was born and reared in St. Joseph county and received his education in the public schools. He spent his youth upon the farm, learned all the secrets of agriculture, and when he grew to maturity was drawn to adopt the same career. He owns a beautiful estate of one hundred and sixty acres, which he has improved in splendid fashion. He is a productive farmer and stock raiser and one of his specialties is the feeding and shipping of sheep. He has all the most modern machinery and keeps in touch with the latest scientific researches in his line. His home, one of the attractive places of Mendon township, is known as "Sunny Side" and is as convenient and comfortable as a city resi- dence, being fitted with steam heat, water and the like.
The marriage of Mr. McKindley took place December 12, 1888, the lady to become his wife being Miss Vila A. Olds, and the union being solemnized in Athens, Calhoun county, Michigan. They are
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the parents of two sons and a daughter. Mildred A. was a mem- ber of the class of 1909 of the Mendon high school, and after at- tending the Kalamazoo Normal School, took up the profession of a teacher. She belongs to the Women's Club in Mendon and is a communicant of the Methodist Episcopal church. Homer F., al- though but fifteen years of age, is a junior in the Mendon high school, and has unusual attainments as a Latin scholar for one of his years. Ralph Archie, the youngest, is in the sixth grade at school. Mr. and Mrs. McKindley find one of their greatest sources of gratification in their ability to give their children the benefit of a good education.
Mrs. McKindley is a native of Branch county, Michigan, where she was born January 1, 1868. Her parents were Homer H. and Chloe S. (Howard) Olds, and she is the eldest of three children, all of them living. Charles Olds is married, resides in Kalamazoo; and Filla is the wife of Elmer H. Huff, of Reno, Nevada. The father, a native of Genesee county, New York, (born in 1840) is an agri- culturist and a Republican in politics. The mother was born in Berrien county, Michigan, in 1848. Both of them are still living and make their home in Bendon, Michigan.
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