USA > Michigan > Newaygo County > Portrait and biographical album of Newaygo County, Michigan : containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county also containing a complete history of the county, from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 41
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In addition to his medical business, Dr. Webster has been and is now engaged in lumbering to a con- siderable extent. He is the owner of 80 acres of land on section 21, and 40 acres in Goodwell Town- ship.
The portraits of Dr. and Mrs. Webster may be found on other pages. Their addition to the collec- tion in the Newaygo County Album will be a source of gratification to a large circle of relatives and ap- preciative friends.
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ucius W. Pickett, farmer, section 32, Ash- land Township, was born Aug. 23, 1835, in Onondaga Co., N. Y., and is a son of Peter and Theda (Norton) Pickett. The parents were born in New York, the one of a descent which has been of such long standing in America as to be lost in regard to European nation- ality ; the other of English lineage. They came to Michigan in 1842, and engaged in farming in Eaton County.
Mr. Pickett remained under his father's care until he was 18 years old, busy on the farm and obtaining his education at the common schools. In 1853 he came to Casnovia, Muskegon Co., Mich., where he followed agriculture until the year made memorable by the rebellion of the Southern States. He enlisted Aug. 12, 1861, in the Second Mich. Cav., Co. E, the regiment going at once to the front, and joining the Army of the Cumberland, under Gen. Buell. Mr. Pickett enrolled at Grand Rapids, his command rendezvousing at Detroit, whence the regiment pro- ceeded to Mississippi and afterward to Kentucky, where he was in the fight at Perryville, June 2, 1862. While doing patrol guard duty near Franklin, Tenn., he was wounded by a "bushwhacker," the shot tak- ing effect in his right arm between the elbow and shoulder, and shattered the bone to such an extent as to require summary amputation. This ended his career as a military man, and Aug. 9, 1862, he received an honorable discharge and returned to his farm. In 1871 he disposed of his place and located on 160 acres of land in Newaygo County, where he has since resided and managed his agricultural affairs to the best purpose. He has 90 acres of land in a fine state of cultivation, and is now erecting a superior class of farm buildings. His orchard is justly rated one of the best and most productive in the county.
Mr. Pickett was married Jan. 1, 1860, at Casnovia, to Maria S., daughter of Oliver and Parthena (Smith) Walkley, both of whom were natives of Connecticut. After their marriage they located in Ohio, where the daughter was born Oct. 29, 1842. The parents came during the first year of her life to Hillsdale Co., Mich., and afterward to Muskegon County. Three children
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Pickett, as follow : Mary C., Oct. 22, 1860; Lauren, Nov. 14, 1862; Ola, Nov. 19, 1875. Mr. Pickett is a member of the National Greenback party, and belongs to the Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 302, at Trent, in which he has " passed the chairs," and is now holding the post of R. S. V. G. Himself and wife belong to the Patrons of Husbandry, Lodge No. 372, at Trent.
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yrus W. Utley, farmer and lumberman, section 8, Big Prairie Township, was born in the town where he is a resident, April 12, 1855. His father, William S. Utley, is of English and Irish descent and was born in 1828, in Ontario Co., N. Y. His mother, Lucy B. (Gooch) Utley, was born of English parent- age, in Plymouth, April 27, 1835, and was married in Dewitt, Clinton Co., Mich., in 1854. (See sketch of Wm. S. Utley.)
Mr. Utley, though a young man, is one of the lead- ing and most enterprising agriculturists of Big Prairie. He owns 240 acres of fine farming land, 190 acres of which are in a cultivated condition, and his improved acreage is increasing at the rate of an acre per day. He owns an interest in pine land in different loca- tions, where he engages in the lumber business dur- ing the winter seasons.
Mr. Utley was married at Galesburg, Kalamazoo Co., Mich., March 24, 1881, to Nettie, daughter of H. C. and Delilah (Danley) Rowland, natives of Lyons, N. Y., and of English- descent. Mrs. Utley was born at Galesburg, Nov. 6, 1859.
yman R. Meeker, drayman. Newaygo, was born July 14, 1833, in Camden, Oneida Co., N. Y., and is a son of Aaron and Lena (Earl) Meeker. His parents were natives of Schoharie County, in the Empire State, remov- ing after their marriage to Camden, where, in 1834, his father was drowned while bathing. His mother still resides at Camden.
Mr. Meeker was reared on a farm and was married
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at Camden, Sept. 20, 1855, to Lucy A., daughter of Harvey and Samantha Scoville, born, March 3, 1837, in Camden. Of their marriage two children were born : Ella D., wife of Eugene Jennison, farmer at Jennisonville, Michigan, where the husband's family were pioneer settlers, and the town received their name. Eva C., younger daughter, died when two years of age. Mr. Meeker removed in the same year of his marriage to a farm near Olivet, Eaton County, where he bought 80 acres of land and pur- sued agriculture about two and a half years. He came to Newaygo in 1858 and operated to a consid- erable extent as a lumber contractor until the advent of the civil war. He enlisted Aug. 14, 1862, in Co. E, 21st Mich. Vol. Inf., Capt. A. B. Turner, and was in the Union service two years and eleven months. He left Newaygo in the capacity of a private soldier, and while in rendezvous at Ionia was promoted as Corporal. He was in action at Perryville and Mur- freesboro, after which he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. He was also under fire at Chicka- mauga, Savannah, Bentonville, and in a large num- ber of skirmishes. On being mustered out at Detroit, in July, 1865, he returned to Newaygo, engaging as a sawyer, and kept a boarding house at Hess Lake, in Newaygo County, where he was thus engaged about two years. He then entered the employment of the Newaygo Lumber Company, and until 1883 was occupied in scaling and running logs and in other departments of lumbering, besides taking charge of lumber shipments from Newaygo to Chicago. He commenced his business as drayman in April, 1883. He is a member of the Masonic Order, and owns his place of residence.
Henry Barton, farmer and lumberman, sec- JUUL tion 7, Big Prairie Township, was born June 2, 1839, in Cook Co., Ill. He is the second son of Hon. James Barton, Probate Judge of Newaygo County, and one of the oldest and foremost officials in the county. (See sketch.) Mr. Barton was eleven years of age when his parents came to Newaygo County. The traveling facilities of those days in this section of the Penin- sular State were in strong contrast with those to which he had been accustomed, and its incidents
made a strong impression upon the boy, eager for novelty and full of interest in even the least of things that promised food for the gratification of the appetite, which is essentially the property of the young and ardent. All the incidents of that journey are indeli- bly impressed upon his memory, and none more ineffaceably than its closing scene, when the raft was built, and, laden with the small belongings of the pioneers, was floated across the Muskegon River, the women of the household walking across the boom. His father's was the third family to settle perma- nently in Big Prairie Township. In that day of unorganized municipal regulations, there was no established school; but the landholders erected a school-house and hired a teacher, and under such conditions Mr. Barton obtained a common-school education so far as books were concerned; but his experiences and observations have afforded him in most respects a training commensurate, if not in the same avenue, with the discipline contained in the curriculum of the higher institutions of learning.
Mr. Barton is a part of the history and progress of Newaygo County. From his boyhood he has identi- fied his interests with those of his township, and been a factor in her advancement. Her farmers, as a class, are men of a much more than ordinary grade and add greatly to the pre-eminence of the county of Newaygo. He is one of her leading agriculturists, owning 300 acres of land, with 260 acres under culture. His buildings are creditable to his energy; taste and judgment, and all his improvements are of advanced grade. He also owns 500 acres of pine land, on which he is engaged in lumbering winters. In political matters he is a Republican, and has served his township in various public capacities.
His history displays his fealty to the Government whose protection he enjoys, and to which he accords its just due in relation to its supporters. He enlisted in the first year of the war, in behalf of the flag of the United States, his papers bearing date of Sept. 25, 186r. He was mustered in Co. E, Second Mich. Cav., for three years, and was continuously in active service until the date of his discharge, Oct. 28, 1864. He was in the actions at Corinth and Booneville, was in the retreat of Bragg from Louisville to Cumberland Gap, and was at Perryville and Stone River. In the spring of 1863 his command was attached to the corps of Gen. Rosecrans, and he participated in the battles
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of the Army of the Cumberland. He was promoted to the position of Second Lieutenant in March, 1863, and in August following was commissioned First Lieutenant, and commanded his company until his discharge.
Mr. Barton was married Nov. 10, 1864, in Big Prairie Township, to Louisa, daughter of Alexander and Jane (Marsh) Dalziel. She was born in Ionia Co., Mich., Aug. 15, 1845. Her father was born April 2, 1800, near Glasgow, Scotland, and died Aug. I, 1882. The mother was born Aug. 9, 1808, in Seneca Co., N. Y. She was of original German descent, and her parents were among the earliest settlers of Newaygo County ; she died Oct. 6, 1875, at Big Rapids.
Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Barton, two of whom, a son and daughter, died in infancy. Susie J., Philip, Alexander, Charles, Gordon and Benjamin D. are the names of the surviving children.
Elmon Evarts, farmer, section 1, Ash- land Township, was born in Grattan, Kent Co., Mich., July 27, 1852, and is a son of Nathaniel K. and Maria L. (Perkins) Evarts. Nathaniel Kingsley Evarts was born June 14, 1812, in West Bloomfield, Ontario Co., N. Y., and was married Oct. 9, 1841, in Troy, Geauga Co., Ohio, to Maria Perkins, who was born March 27, 1814, in the city of Troy, Rensselaer Co., N. Y. Mr. Evarts has been a minister and labored in the interests of the Congregational Church more than 40 years. He closed his continuous active ministry in 1883.
Mr. Evarts of this sketch acquired a fair education in the comnion schools of his native place, and when he was 17 years old attended Olivet College, in Ea- ton County, two years. He returned to Corinth, Kent County, where his father was engaged in mer- cantile business and acted as assistant in the store until the spring of 1873, when he contracted with L. Packard, a builder, of Dorr, Allegan Co., Mich., to be instructed in the details of the carpenter's trade. He remained until April, 1874, when he went to Texas to investigate the reputed promise of that State for young men to open careers of prosperity. He returned in the fall of 1875.
Mr. Evarts married Dec. 18, 1878, in Paris, Kent County, to Jennie M., daughter of George J. S. and Isabella (McBain) Chesebro. She was born Aug. 29, 1857, in Grand Rapids, whither her parents re- moved after their marriage.
Mrs. Chesebro was born Feb. 19, 1840, at Albany, N. Y. Her parents, William and Ellen McBain, were natives of Scotland, and came to the United States in 1839. When their daughter was three years old they returned to their native heaths, Later they came back to America, but left the child with her grandmother, who was perparing to make the New World her home. But, instead, she sickened and died, and the father went back to Scotland again, for his daughter, making in all five journeys across the ocean. The marriage of G. J. S. Chesebro and Isabella McBain occurred Aug. 9, 1856, and within the year they settled at Grand Rapids, where the husband engaged in teaching in the High School. The employment endangering his health, he bought a farm in Paris, Kent County, where he pursued farming until 1863, when he enlisted, and with his regiment joined the Western Army. He marched with Sherman on the long route through Georgia to the sea. Worn out with the toil of that historic journey, he easily succumbed to disease and died April 4, 1865, at Goldsboro, N. C., two days after reaching that place, and exulting with almost his latest breath over the fall of Richmond.
Mrs. Evarts was but eight years old when her father died, but she was already impressed with the necessity of aiding with all her power to relieve the cares of her widowed mother, left with three children, two of them younger than herself. At 16 she com- menced teaching, and taught five terms in the school- house where she liad herself been a pupil, and one term at another point. Meanwhile she had become an accomplished musician, and thereby became en- abled to add materially to the family income by teaching the art.
Mr. Evarts had become proprietor by purchase of IOI acres of stump and timber land in Ashland Township, and after their marriage the young couple made a permanent settlement thereon. It was in the depth of the woods, and they built a frame house. When it was barely ready for occupancy, with the underbrush pressing closely to the entrance, they commenced their wedded life " under their own vine
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and fig tree." Their small possessions installed in the new house, they compared notes to determine the precise condition of their exchequer and found each was the owner of exactly $5 wherewith to be- gin the world together. The farm is now in credita- ble condition, with 25 acres under improvements and all necessary farm buildings.
The household now comprises a young daughter, I. Mabel Evarts, born Nov. 23, 1882.
Mr. Evarts is a Republican in political affiliation and belongs to Lodge No. 34, F. & A. M., at Grand Rapids. He is an adherent to the tenets of the Congregational Church, and Mrs. Evarts belongs to the Methodist Church.
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olomon K. Riblet, merchant at Newaygo, was born in Elizabeth Township, Alle- gheny Co., Pa., Nov. 2, 1834, and is the son of Samuel and Deborah ( Woods) Riblet. The earliest ancestor to whom the family traces its origin was a Huguenot, and a de- scendant from a long line of French nobility, who, in consequence of his embracing the Protestant re- ligion, suffered the extinction of his rank, the con- fiscation of his estates and expatriation, on penalty of being burned as a heretic. His trials differed in no sense or degree from the others of the devoted class, whose sufferings, fortitude and pertinacious adherence to their faith placed them upon the pages of history in all the luster of their heretic struggles for principle, and left a seared stain on the escutch- eon of France. Driven from his native land, he settled in Germany, where he married and reared a large family. Two of his sons, Christian and Bar- tholomew Riblet, emigrated to the United States and settled in Northampton Co., Pa., where John, son of Christian, and grandfather of Samuel Riblet, was born, in the year 1758. John Riblet was still in his minority when the American Colonies revolted from the impositions of the British Crown; and, true to his ancestral blood and inherited sense of justice, he hastened to declare himself the champion of liberty and the foe of oppression. He threw himself, heart and soul, into the exigencies of the Revolution, and was commissioned First Lieutenant of a company belonging to a regiment of riflemen. Soon after he
entered the service, his command was detailed as rear guard to cover the retreat of the Federal troops from Long Island, and after the final withdrawal were taken prisoners. The retreat was so hasty, and the British so close upon them, that they took to the woods, where they ambushed seven days in total destitution, being without food or comfort of any description, which made their capture enevitable. Lieutenant Riblet was placed in custody on board the man-of-war "Roebuck." After his release he married and settled near Hagerstown, Md. His son Solomon, father of Samuel, was born there in August, 1782. - John Riblet removed with his family in the year 1800 to Erie, Pa., and, during the second war with England, adopted the grievance of his country, and was the chief officer of the body-guard of Com- modore Perry during the construction of the flotilla commanded by that officer on Lake Erie during the struggle of 1812. Solomon, his son, was captain in a regiment of minute-men and served with distinc- tion.
Samuel Riblet was born in Harbor Creek, Erie Co., Pa., Feb. 22, 1811. During his childhood his grand- father instructed him in the rudiments of a German education, and he received like training in English at the common schools. At the age of 17 years he attended the academy at Erie and pursued a course of study during the summers of the next three years. teaching winters to obtain necessary funds. Influ- enced by his parents' wishes, that he should become a physician, at the age of 20 he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. A. Beebe, of Erie; but he found it uncongenial, and obtained a situation as teacher near Pittsburg, where he was occupied three years. He was married Nov. 19, 1833, to Deborah Woods, and soon afterward emigrated to Michigan and settled in Litchfield, Hillsdale County, where he purchased 160 acres of land, on which he has since resided. Michigan was in her Territorial days, and settlers from the overflowing East were crowding in, pioneer privations and hardships had then a charac- ter of uniqueness which made them all the more severe, and the allotment of Mr. and Mrs. Riblet, if recorded in its reality, unshaded by fancy and de- picted in all its cost of strain to mind and body, would sound like the exaggerations of fiction. The fall of 1835 is particularly remembered as one of peculiar embarrassment, and only the wise counsel
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and courageous resolution of his wife prevented Mr. Riblet from disposing of his property and abandon- ing the " West," as Michigan was then called. The five children born to them reached maturity and be- came heads of families. The venerable pair whose 46 years of wedded life were interrupted in 1879 by the death of the wife and mother, could boast of 22 grandchildren, and at present date the enumeration of great-grandchildren has begun. Mr. Riblet has always been an important factor in the affairs of his township, as well as in those of more extended scope. On the organization of the Northern Central (Michigan) Railroad Company, he was elected a director and served until the road was sold to the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Company. To the influence and exertions of Mr. Riblet, Litchfield is largely indebted for the construction and location of the road. His mother died in Litchfield, Dec. 21, 1879.
Mr. Riblet of this sketch passed the first 17 years of his life on a farm, and in 1851 turned his atten- tion to the details of the builder's trade, which he followed three years. He came to Newaygo in 1856 and was employed by Leonard & Woolley, druggists. Soon afterward he became manager of the mercan- tile establishment of S. W. Matevey, and three years later (in 1859) became its proprietor by purchase. He has since conducted his business continuously at the same stand. His stock is general, including dry goods, groceries, clothing, hats, caps, crockery, etc.
Mr. Riblet was married in Newaygo, Sept. 10, 1859, to Jennie L., daughter of Pliny E. and Martha (Putnam) Day, a native of Morean, Saratoga Co., N. Y., born Nov. 10, 1837. Mr. and Mrs. Riblet have five children, born as follows: Grace, Oct. 11, 1866; Fred, April 19, 1870; Ruth, Dec. 13, 1872; Mattie, May 30, 1874; Lavinia L., Feb. 2, 1881.
Mr. Riblet has been intimately associated with the progress and development of Newaygo village and county, and has served in most of the official capacities incident to its municipal regulations. He is prominent in temperance work, and was a charter member of the Masonic Lodge at Newaygo, and also of Newaygo Lodge, Order of Good Templars.
Mr. Riblet is heir to the fixedness of principle, in- dustry and frugality and the unrivaled powers of physical endurance of his progenitors. His judg- ment is always reliable, his foresight unerring and
his integrity unimpeachable. He is valuable to Ne- waygo, not only in his stainless citizenship, but in his social relations and through his strongly sympa- thetic character. The needy always find in him a practical friend
phraim Misner was born in the State of New York, July 12, 1823, and was the son of Abraham and Sarah (Newton) Misner, natives of New York and Massachusetts. He lived in his native State until the winter of 1866, when he came to Newaygo County and bought 80 acres of partially improved land in Day- ton Township. He has since added 40 acres, and now has 45 acres under cultivation.
In July, 1850, he was married to Margaret Duling, a native of New York State. This union has re- sulted in six children : Raymond E., Margaret J., Sarah M., William H., Edna C. and Myrtie L. Po- litically, Mr. Misner has generally been identified with the Republican party ; but he is now independ- ent in his views. .
illiam S. Utley, a leading pioneer citizen of Newaygo County, resident on section 7, Big Prairie Township, was born in Rich- mond, Ontario Co., N. Y., Nov. 6, 1827. His father, William Utley, was of English descent and was born April 19, 1797, in Bennington Co., Vt., and his mother, Mahala (Wiley) Utley, of Irish parentage, was born Sept. 22, 1798, in Nashua, N. H. After their marriage they resided in the State of New York.
Mr. Utley was the sixth child of his parents, who came to Michigan and settled in Plymouth, Wayne County, in June, 1828. Ten years later they made another transfer of their interests, namely, to Dewitt, Clinton Co., Mich., where the son was a resident until he was 22 years of age. He had been at liberty since he was 17 years of age, engaged winters in teaching and working summers as a carpenter, fully understanding the value of mechanical skill in a new country, where he designed to settle permanently.
He came to Newaygo County in 1850, and in that
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year built the first bridge that ever spanned the Muskegon River at Croton. John F. Stearns had been appointed Postmaster of Croton postoffice, and Mr. Utley showed him how to make up the first pouch of mail matter put up from that point. In October, 1850, he delivered the first temperance lecture in this vicinity, at Culp's school-house on Stearn's Prairie, Croton Township, and delivered the first Fourth of July oration, on an island in the Mus- kegon River, just below where Newaygo now stands.
Mr. Utley has been active in public affairs since he came to Newaygo County, and has greatly aided in the substantial progress and advancement of both county and township where he has resided. He is now an adherent of the National Greenback party; has served his township in many official positions, among the most important of which has been that of Clerk, in which he officiated 20 years. He was a member of the Legislature of Michigan in 1865-6, and was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1867. He was elected County Clerk in 1858, and again in 1860, serving two terms.
Mr. Utley is one of the most successful agricultur- ists of the township of Big Prairie, and owns 240 acres of fine farming land, constituting a most desirable homestead, under good cultivation and with suitable farm buildings and fixtures.
He was married May 14, 1854, in Dewitt, Clinton Co., Mich., to Lucy B. Gooch. Following are the names of 12 children, of whom they have become the parents : Cyrus W., William W., Irving S., Harry M. (dec.), Charles E., Esther Ardelle, Lucy G. (dec.), Martha Arletta, Glenn W., Fanny F., Ossian T. and Mabel Grace.
Mr. Utley is a member of the Order of Masonry.
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ellington Persons, ex-Register of Deeds of Newaygo County, and one of the oldest and most prominent citizens of Newaygo, was born in' Fenner, Madison Co., N. Y., April 10, 1817. His parents were Festus and Betsy (Town) Persons, the former a native of Chester, Mass., of English descent. The latter was also born in the Bay State, and died in 1857.
Mr. Persons was the second son and third in order of birth of 12 children. He accompanied his parents to Onondaga Co., N. Y., in 1835, where his father died, in 1854. In 1843 he went to Racine Co., Wis., and passed three years in farm labor, coming to Ne- waygo in 1846. He was engaged as a lumberman five successive winters, when an accidental injury to his right knee with an ax necessitated the relinquish- ment of that business. He spent the alternating summers in farming in Wisconsin. The several years succeeding the accident which lamed him for life, he was incapacitated for labor. In 1856 he re- ceived the appointment of Deputy Register and Deputy County Clerk, under Col. John A. Standish. He was elected in 1858 to the position of Register of Deeds, then a separate incumbency from the office of County Clerk. He was re-elected to the post every second year for a period of 20 years, dur- ing which time he made a complete set of abstracts of Newaygo County, which are still in his possession. In 1866 he was appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury, Assistant Assessor for the Fourth Internal Revenue District of Michigan, the duties of which he continued to discharge until 1869. In 1859 he was elected Township Clerk of Brooks and held the position to the year 1866. He has served one term and part of another as Treasurer of the village of Newaygo, and has acted two years as member of the Village Council.
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