USA > Michigan > St Joseph County > History of St. Joseph county, Michigan, with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, palatial residences, public buildings, fine blocks, and important manufactories > Part 52
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In September, 1843, he removed with his family to the township of Park, St. Joseph county, Michigan, and located a large tract of land (six hundred acres), which was wild and uncultivated, but which his sons, under his man- agement, subdued and brought to a high state of productiveness. He built a fine brick residence on the old homestead,-the first one in the township, and at the time, and for many years afterwards, the best one on the Buckhorn road (so-called). He removed to Three Rivers in 1864, purchased a com- fortable residence, in which he resided two years, and then went into the northern part of the State for about two years longer,-returning to Three Rivers in 1868, and remaining there until his decease, October 31, 1874. At the time of his death, Mr. Macomber was a director in the Manufacturers' National Bank of Three Rivers, which institution he contributed largely to organize. His business calling, for the last few years of his life, was principally that of a capitalist.
While he resided in Perry he met an estimable young lady (five years his junior), Miss Mary Burt, and won her for his bride,-leading her to the altar on the 16th day of May, 1822, from whence they journeyed together, under the lights and shades incident to human life, for a period of over fitty- two years. During this long pilgrimage, eleven children were born to them,-eight of whom are now living, viz: Reuben, of Three Rivers; Mrs. Caroline Roach, Mrs. Electa Wheeler and Mrs. Maria Smith, of Three Rivers ; Mrs. Mary Sabin, Mrs. Nettie Wheeler, Mrs. Jennie Mather and Mrs. Ella Hewings. Mrs. Roach and Mrs. Electa Wheeler reside at Mor- ley, and Mrs. Sabin, Mrs. Mather and Mrs. Hewings, at Howard, in Michi- gan ; Mrs. Nettie Wheeler, at Reynolds, Indiana. Jerome, the eldest son,
died while en route to California, in 1849-50. He and Reuben, during the first six years of their residence in Park, broke up over eight hundred acres of wild land for their father and neighbors.
Mr. Macomber's religious views were those of the Baptist faith, to which church he joined himself in Alabama township, being baptised in 1830. When he came to Park,-there being no church of the Baptist denomination in that vicinity,-he united with the Wesleyan Methodist society, and remained in that communion until his death. In politics he was in early life a Whig,- joining the Republican party at its organization, and remaining a member thereof until his death. His decease was sudden, but not unexpected,-nor did the grim messenger find a fearful listener, for having already accom- plished something more than the span of life allotted to man on the earth, he was ready for the summons which his failing health warned him might come at any moment, but which he might well anticipate with composure after a long life of strict integrity and uprightness. Peaceful as his life had been, his change came, and he passed from earth as the light of an autumn day fades into the twilight ; going to the grave, crowned with years, and willing to be garnered to the everlasting rest.
Mary Burt, the daughter of Alpheus and Chloe Burt, was born in Hunt- ington, Chittenden county, Vermont, March 10, 1805,-removing therefrom with her parents to Riga, New York, in 1809, and from thence, in 1818, to Perry, where she was married to Charles Macomber, May 16, 1822. In 1827 she removed with her husband and family to Alabama township, Gen- esee county, and from thence to Park township, St. Joseph county, Michi- gan, in 1843,-in which township, and at Three Rivers, she resided, except two years (1864-6) in Ionia county, up to the time of her husband's death, in 1874; since which event she has passed her time with her children at their homes, and among her relatives in the east, where she is ever a wel- come and honored guest.
She joined the Baptist church with her husband in 1830, and with him also the Wesleyan Methodist society in Park ; but on her removal to Three Rivers she worshiped with her children in the Presbyterian congregation,-of which they were members,-she herself joining it afterwards in 1870. She has been a help-meet indeed, and her husband appreciated and often ac- knowledged the fact. After seventy-two years of life's experience lighted with joy and shaded with sorrow, she is looking calmly forward to the time when she will pass through the same dark portals which her loved ones have passed before her, to the joy of the reunion beyond.
HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
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JOHN WOLF.
The paternal ancestor of the subject of this sketch, whose name was John Wolf, was born in Wittemberg, Germany, April 18, 1769, and emigrated to America with his parents, when he was but two years old, settling with them in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, where he died April 18, 1824. His ma- ternal ancestor, whose name was Catharine Hoan, a daughter of David Hoan, was born in Pennsylvania, May 8, 1776, and died in Lockport town- ship, Michigan, September 28, 1835.
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He, of whose life we here present a brief sketch, was born November 17, 1794, in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, where he lived nearly forty years. He was educated in the German language ; and the only knowledge he ever obtained of the English tongue was such as was communicated to him by his children in after years, and by intercourse with his neighbors who spoke that language. He learned the trade of miller, and followed it exclusively during the last nine or ten years of his residence in Pennsylvania.
In the spring of the year 1834 he removed from that State to St. Joseph county, Michigan, locating three hundred and twenty acres in section twenty- seven in the township of Lockport, on which he resided till his decease, October 16, 1851. He followed agriculture principally during his life in Michigan, but his practical knowledge in milling brought his services into requisition frequently to dress the stones in the different mills in the county, and to put them in operation.
In the year 1815 Mr. Wolf was united in marriage to Barbara Drescher, by whom the following children were born to him :
SAMUEL, who died August 17, 1839 ; STEPHEN, who died September 20, 1828, when but ten years old ; JOSIAH ; CATHARINE, afterwards Mrs. Isaac Fort of Lockport, but now deceased ; DANIEL F .; JOHN F .; AARON, now dead ; AMOS C .; MARY ANN, afterwards the wife of David D. Antes, of Centreville, but now deceased, and THOMAS B.
The living sons are all now located in the township of Lockport on fine farms of their own, and rank among the leading farmers of the county ; . Amos C. being on the old homestead purchased of the government forty- three years ago. John F. and Daniel F. have been, and still are among the very heaviest mint-oil producers of the county.
Mrs. Wolf was born in Pennsylvania, in August, 1790, where she was married. The family arrived at P. H. Hoffman's, in Lockport, May 28, 1834, after a wearisome journey of a month in wagons, which latter vehicles and a small board shanty furnished them their only shelter during the first summer. In the fall of the year they removed into a frame house Mr. Wolf had built himself, for though a miller by trade, his genius was not by any means confined to that branch of handiwork, but he was an adept at any- thing in mechanics necessary to be done in a new community.
Mrs. Wolf died on the 2d of April, 1866, in Centreville, at the residence of Daniel F. Wolf, with whom her home had been for eight years previ- ously. Mr. and Mrs. Wolf were members of the Methodist church of Cen- treville, at the time of their death ; Mr. Wolf being one of its stewards for many years. They united with the church in Pennsylvania some years be- fore they removed west.
In politics Mr. Wolf was a Democrat, but not being a strict partisan, he voted for "Tippecanoe and Tyler too," in 1840. He filled offices of trust in the township, and assisted in laying many of its early roads, being one of the highway commissioners for several years.
This pioneer pair filled their station in life, well and quietly, without os- tentation or parade, giving all who came to their house a hospitable wel- come, unstinted in measure, and unalloyed in quality ; and they have left behind them naught but pleasing memories.
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152
HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
CHARLES B. FITCH,
judge and farmer, came of English parentage, his grandfather having been one of the early governors of Connecticut, under British authority. He (Charles B.) was born in that State about the year 1774, and remained there until 1806, when he removed to Trumbull county, Ohio, and was one of the pioneers in that section of country.
In the war of 1812 he entered the American army, and was fought several engagements along Lake Erie, at Detroit, &c. He afterwards served in the Black Hawk war.
Removing to Lower Sandusky (now Fremont), Ohio, at an early day, he soon won the confidence and esteem of the people, and was elected county judge. Removing to Seneca county, Ohio, he was honored with the same office, which he filled, as before, most satisfactorily.
In 1830 he removed with his family to Michigan, and settled temporarily on Pigeon prairie, where he entered five eighties of government land. The following year he came to Lockport (then Buck) township, where he entered two hundred acres of land, and took up his residence upon it. He was afterwards chosen county judge of St. Joseph county, which office he con- tinued to hold for several years.
In early life he sided with the Democrats, but in 1848 he joined the "Free Soilers," and acted and voted with the Republican party from its organization to the close of his life, believing its principles to be those most conductive to the preservation and perpetuity of our government. He always had the best interests of his township at heart, and had few equals, and perhaps no superior, in his efforts for its development. Thus, when past the confines of fourscore years, he could look back over an active and blameless life, conscious of having made diligent use of the talents committed to his care-displaying a character remarkable for its purity, for its extraordinary energy, its power of endurance, the warmth of its friendship, its social geniality, and its domestic affection. Thus he enjoyed to the last, a vigorous frame, and, when called upon to yield to the inevita- ble destiny of man, he met death calmly, and left his relatives and friends a reasonable consciousness that he "was not lost, but gone before."
SAMUEL A. FITCH,
fourth son of Judge Charles B. Fitch, was born in Trumbull (now Mahon- ing) county, Ohio, October 18, 1811. When in his nineteenth year, he accompanied his parents, and settled first on Pigeon prairie, and subse- quently in what is now Lockport township. He remained on his father's farm until 1838, when he branched off for himself, purchasing eighty acres
on section thirty-one, being a part of his present farm. By subsequent pur- chases he has added to his original tract until he now has four hundred acres in a body, of which almost half is under excellent cultivation-the remainder mostly timber, with about forty acres of marsh.
March 23, 1837, he married Catharine Riemsnyder, a native of West Earl township, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania; by whom he had six children, two only surviving, namely :
MILTON B., born August 8, 1838 ; married Susan Caseman, and resides in a part of the homestead.
FRANLIN M., born May 21, 1852 ; married Alice Talkalberry, and resides with his parents. Of the others
CHARLES SAMUEL, born October 28, 1840, died of apoplexy, at Bowling Green, Kentucky, while serving in the war of the rebellion in 1863; and
EDWARD HENRY, born October 4, 1855, was accidentally drowned in the St. Joseph river, August 12, 1862.
In the troublous times of the Black Hawk outbreak, the Fitches, father and son, went to the front, doing active service in its suppression. The sub- ject of our sketch served in Captain Alvin Calhoon's company.
Politically, Mr. Fitch is a Democrat, but liberal and non-partisan. He advocates the principles of the Greenback party, believing that the finan- cial policy of our government is wanting in that security which it should have in order to insure its permanent prosperity. In character he is upright and honest, in his social relations, genial, and in his domestic circle kind and affectionate, a fond husband and father, and a good citizen. His admirable wife has been to him a help-meet indeed, these forty years, and to her good judgment and sound common sense he attributes a fair share of the success which has attended him through life.
This worthy couple rightfully enjoy the respect and esteem of the com- munity in which they live, and we feel assured that their portraits, and that of Judge Fitch, as also the illustration of their residence, will be a source of genuine satisfaction to themselves, to their children and to their many friends.
WILLIAM F. ARNOLD.
William Foote Arnold, the son of Caleb and Rachel Arnold, was born in Unadilla, Otsego county, New York, August 6, 1812, removing with his parents in 1815 to Berkshire, Broome county (now known as Richford, Tioga county), in the same State, at which place he resided and received a common school education, assisting his father in a saw and grist-mill and carding- factory after he was of age suficient to be useful, until he was twenty years old, when, with his father, he came to St. Joseph county in the year 1832. His father located a farm in Fabius township, and William went back for the family, returning with them in the following autumn.
On the 15th day of May, 1834. he married Rhoda Churchill, a daughter of Deacon William Churchill, of Constantine, and also the first female school teacher in Constantine township. The fruits of this union were eight chil- dren, five daughters, four of whom are married and now living, and three sons, one of whom died in infancy.
Mrs. Arnold died October 6, 1854, and Mr. Arnold finding it not good for man to be alone, took to himself another wife on the 17th day of March, 1856, in the person of Mrs. Margaret Greene, by whom one son, Ira, has been born to him.
Mr. Arnold bought lands on Broad street, in Constantine, and, until 1854, resided alternately on those, and the farm in Fabius. At that date he re- moved to Three Rivers, in what is now known as the second ward of the city, where he has since resided.
Mr. Arnold was elected town clerk of Fabius in 1844-45, and supervisor in 1846. He has held the office of justice of the peace in Lockport town- ship for twelve years since 1856, and the office of supervisor of the township has been filled continuously by him from the fall of that year, to the present time, with the exception of the years 1863 and 1872.
Mr. Arnold, with his former wife, united with the Baptist church of Con- stantine, being baptised in 1838, and he and his present wife are members of the same church at Three Rivers.
Mr. Arnold's political views are, and ever have been, in sympathy with those of the Democratic party, but during the rebellion he was in favor of a vigorous prosecution of the war, and was represented in the Union army by his two sons, Philo and Edward P.
E. S. MOORE
"MOORE PARK" RES. OF E. S. MOORE , ST. JOSEPH CO ., MICHIGAN.
PARK TP.
153
HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
HON. ABRAHAM C. PRUTZMAN.
Among the public-spirited and enterprising citizens of the thriving city of Three Rivers, Abraham C. Prutzman stands in the front rank. Liberal towards all measures for the common good, and zealously active in their ac- complishment, Mr. Prutzman has been, and still is, noted for his benefac- tions to churches, and to enterprises for the general prosperity and advance- ment of his town and city.
He was born in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, March 6, 1813, and from thence removed with his parents, Joseph and Maria Prutzman, to Danville in the same State, when but a lad.
Mr. Joseph Prutzman was the second sheriff of Columbia county, and also surveyor for some years.
When the subject of our sketch was but fourteen years old, he was in- dentured by his father, as an apprentice to Colb & Donaldson, to learn the business of a merchant; and with them he remained four years. He then went to Pottsville, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, where he followed the same business until the fall of 1834, when he formed a co-partnership with his brother-in-law, Hon. Edward S. Moore, and with him, removed to St. Joseph county, Michigan, sending their goods around the lakes to the mouth of the St. Joseph. On account of the lateness of the season, the vessel on which they were shipped was not able to get into the harbor, but lay all winter at Grand Haven.
Mr. Prutzman spent the winter of 1834-5 at Prairie Ronde, and in the spring of that year the firm of Moore & Prutzman opened a mercantile establishment, where they retailed goods of all kinds for two years, when they closed up the business there and removed their stock to Three Rivers, and a year afterwards leased the flouring-mills of Smith & Bowman, and purchased them in 1840. They continued the business of merchandizing and manufacturing until 1859, when the partnership, which had existed a quar- ter of a century, was dissolved by mutual consent.
Mr. Prutzman continued in the mercantile line alone, and subsequently with his sons, until 1867, when he retired from active business, and has never re-entered the lists of trade.
On the 14th day of July, 1836, Mr. Prutzman was united in marriage with Mary L., daughter of John Phillips, of Chester county, Pennsylvania. The children of this marriage were : Joseph E., John P., and Edward M. (who was adjutant of the 25th Michigan Infantry, and killed at Reseca ) ; Maggie M. (now Mrs. C. B. Tucker of Three Rivers), and A. Clifford Prutzman.
The sons are extensively engaged in the manufacture of pumps and plows at Three Rivers, under the name of the Michigan Pump Company and the Three Rivers Plow Company.
In politics Mr. Prutzman was a Whig, and has been a staunch, unfalter- ing Republican since the organization of that party.
He held for ten years a position on the State board of agriculture of Michigan, and for six years represented St. Joseph county in the State Senate.
Mr. and Mrs. Prutzman are both members of the Presbyterian church- Mr. Prutzman an elder, at Three Rivers, for several years. He and E. S. Moore were the main pillars and support of the society, during all its in- fancy, and well nigh in its maturer years. His donations to the church- building have been munificent.
Mr. Prutzman was also efficient in securing the location of the railroads through the town, and not a scheme for the prosperity of the town or the advancement of its interests in any way, morally or financially, has been initiated, that does not bear his impress, and has not felt the aid of his vigor or his purse.
HON. EDWARD S. MOORE.
On the banks of the historic Delaware, four miles above the city of Tren- ton, in the State of New Jersey, Edward S. Moore first opened his eyes to the light of day on the 4th day of June, 1805. His parents, Stephen and Perthenia Moore, had ten children born to them, eight sons and two daugh- ters, of whom the subject of this sketch was the youngest.
When Edward was three years old his parents and their family removed to the county of Northumberland, Pennsylvania, to a tract of country that was then a wild tangle of woods, but is now known as Mooresburg. Five years afterwards the father died, leaving the family to struggle on alone, with but little means besides their own hands for support.
At ten years of age Edward was sent to Danville, Columbia county, as copyist in the register's office, and two years afterwards went to reside
with Dr. Petrikin, where he remained one year, attending the district-schools. At the end of the year he was apprenticed to William Wyley to learn the tailor's trade, and served several years; but finding the business uncongenial to his tastes, he bought his time of his master, and commenced for himself.
His first independent act was a most happy and opportune one, and was the beginning, as he acknowledges, of all his success in after life. This act was consummated on the 6th day of July, in the year 1824, when he married Mary, daughter of Joseph Prutzman, with whom he lived most happily for more than half a century.
The youthful pair went immediately to Philadelphia, where they remained about a year, and then returned to Danville, whence, leaving his young wife in her father's care, Mr. Moore went to Detroit, Michigan, to look for a loca- tion for business. The outlook seeming favorable, he returned to Danville with the intention of an immediate removal to the West, but was per- suaded to postpone his departure till a later period.
Pennsylvania was then just beginning her canals on the west and north branches of the Susquehanna river, and Mr. Moore became one of an or- ganization of contractors, for building dams, locks, bridges, &c., on the new improvements.
After obtaining several contracts, he sold out his interest in them to his brother Andrew, and entered the mercantile trade, opening a store at Dan- ville, in 1830, and another in Pottsville, in 1832, with his brother Burrows, with whom he remained till 1833, when the brother withdrew from the firm and removed to Three Rivers, St. Joseph county, Michigan, and A. C. Prutz- man, a brother of Mrs. Moore, came into the partnership, which lasted for more than a quarter of a century.
In the fall of 1834 Moore & Prutzman packed their stock, and sent it via New York, Buffalo and the great lakes to the mouth of the St. Joseph river, and taking Mr. Moore's family, started on an overland journey for the west, with no definite idea of a permanent location.
After six weeks of hard travel they arrived October 29, at Three Rivers, which, however, then had not attained to the dignity of a name, being a hamlet of but three or four houses. One of these little dwellings was the home of Burroughs Moore, and under its roof, covering two rooms of twelve by fourteen feet, with outside stairs to reach the upper one, nineteen persons passed several days.
The stock of goods did not arrive until the next spring, on account of the early approach of winter and the harbor of St. Joseph closing up with ice. The family of Mr. Moore, and Mr. Prutzman, he being unmarried, passed the winter on the west side of Prairie Ronde, in Kalamazoo county, and in the spring, the firm built a store on the prairie, and opened their goods, re- maining there for two years, when they removed to Three Rivers, having previously opened a branch store there.
Some two years afterwards they bought the Three Rivers flouring-mill, having rented and run it a year previously, and continued to operate it in connection with their extensive mercantile trade until 1859, when the partnership so long, pleasantly and profitably maintained, was mutually and agreeably dissolved.
Mr. Moore, however, did not long remain an idler in the commuity, with whose business interests he had been so closely and continuously identified ; but in the year 1864 he helped to organize the First National Bank of Three Rivers, was chosen its first president, and has ever since held that position.
He also aided in the organization of the Riverside Cemetery Association; he was its first president, and was also largely instrumental in bringing the Michigan Southern railroad to Three Rivers, from Constantine, as appears more fully elsewhere.
In politics, Mr. Moore has always been called a Democrat, but he has never sought office, nor has he always supported the party nominations ; but has " scratched " the ticket whenever a candidate thereon was believed by him to be immoral or intemperate.
When the great rebellion marshaled its legions against the national au- thority, he proclaimed himself free from all party affiliations till the country was restored to peace, and the laws of the land were once more supreme; and he faithfully kept the pledge throughout the struggle.
During the early part of the war he wrote a private letter to Hon. John Van Buren, of New York, setting forth his views on the situation; which the latter handed to the New York Evening Post for publication, with the endorsement that it contained " the hardest sense he had seen."
In 1850 Mr. Moore was elected a member of the convention of Michigan, to frame a new constitution, in which he took an active part, and claims to have been the means of introducing some of its most conservative articles.
In 1851 Mr. Moore was elected one of the regents of the University of Michigan, serving in that capacity for six years.
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154
HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
In 1852 he was elected to represent St. Joseph county in the upper house of the legislature, and was appointed chairman of the committee on educa- tion; which position he filled with great credit to himself and honor to his constituency. As such chairman he reported the bill requiring the State to replace to the credit of the University fund one hundred thousand dollars previously withdrawn therefrom for other purposes, in violation of the terms of the grant from the general government.
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