St. Joseph County MI

Albert May Todd of Kalamazoo MI

Albert May Todd8, (Alfred7, Caleb6, Caleb5, Stephen4, Samuel3, Samuel2, Christopher1) born June 3, 1850, in Nottawa, Mich., married Jan. 23, 1878, Augusta Margaret, daughter of John and Mary (Engle) Allman, who was born Sept. 20, 1855. Mr. Todd was born on a farm near the village of Nottawa, St. Joseph County, Mich., the youngest of ten children, all of whom were supported upon forty-five acres of cleared land, which was the total area that was practical for tillage on his father’s eighty acre farm. Their lives were necessarily plain, but extremely happy. For the first few years after he entered … Read more

James Alfred Todd of North Dakota

James Alfred Todd8, (Alfred7, Caleb6, Caleb5, Stephen4, Samuel3, Samuel2, Christopher1) born Jan. 1, 1838, in Marcellus, Anondaga County, N. Y., married Sept. 17, 1863, Marien W., daughter of Rev. Gabriel and Sarah Burdick (Grey) Smith, who was born July 12, 1841, in New York City. Mr. Todd, when less than year old was taken by his parents in Sept., 1838, to Nottawa Township, St. Joseph County, Mich., where he attended the county school and then two winters in High School in Sturgis, Mich. He has been a farmer most of his life, and at the present time (1913) has a … Read more

Alfred Todd of Portland OR

Alfred Todd9, (Oliver H.8, Alfred7, Caleb6, Caleb5, Stephen4, Samuel3, Samuel2, Christopher1) born Dec. 24, 1878, in Colon, Mich., married Oct. 10, 1907, Myrtle Biddleman, of Thornberg, Iowa. He graduated from the University of Michigan, June 20, 1906, after which he practised law in Lamar, Colo., for about six years. They moved later to Portland, Ore. Children: 2569. Oliver Elwyn, b. May 24, 1909. 2570. Rebecca Biddleman, b. April 29, 1911. 2571. Priscilla Fredericka, b. Jan. 6, 1913.

Early Native American Gardening

Grand River Michigan Ancient Garden Beds - Plate 6

What proportion of the prairies of the West may be assigned as falling under the inference of having been abandoned fields, may constitute a subject of general speculation. It appears to be clear that the great area of the prairies proper is independent of that cause. Fire is the evident cause of the denudation of trees and shrubs in a large part of the area between the Rocky and the Allegheny mountains. Water comes in for a share of the denudation in valleys and moist prairies, which may be supposed to be the result of a more recent emergence from its former … Read more

Biography of Hon. Arthur Thompson Crocker

Hon. Arthur Thompson Crocker, present state senator from Chase County, is a member of the firm Crocker Brothers, who as stockmen and farmers have developed some of the biggest interests in that line in the State of Kansas. The center of their operations is near Bazaar in Chase County. Senator Crocker is a native of Chase County and was born on his father’s cattle ranch here January 17, 1874. He is a son of Erastus Bryant and Annie Elizabeth (Grey) Crocker. Erastus B. Crocker, who was born in New York State in 1840, is a son of Alexander and Dorcas … Read more

Bowman, Dorcas Tabitha Simonton – Obituary

Mrs. Dorcas Bowman, 83, passed away this morning at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Edith Barnell, 504 North Prospect Street, after being ill for a period of seven weeks. She was born in LaGro, Ind., on August 3, 1856, the child of John R. and Mary Simonton. In 1876 [May 12, 1877} she was married to Sylvester Bowman in Shydler, Ind. For the past 30 years, however, she has made her home in Sturgis, where she was a member of the Gospel Hall. She is survived by her husband, who is living with a son in LeRoy, Mich.; five … Read more

1894 Michigan State Census – St. Joseph County

United States Soldiers of the Civil War Residing in Michigan, June 1, 1894 [ Names within brackets are reported in letters. ] Burr Oak Township – Roswell Wilcox, Orrin M. Brooks, Stephen Gilkerson, Henry Kiser, William H. Wells, Alfred Sargent, James Billman, George Hackman, John J. Van Vorst, Leonard 0. Green, John Botzner, Henry W. Fretter, Harlow C. Gilson, Abner G. Van Vorst, John W. Green, Philip Rusher, Erwin Tisdal, George Skimp, James Prouty. Village of Burr Oak – George Sheffield, David H. Carter, Anton Miller, John C. Rollman, James Downs, Seymour H. Hogle, Albert Slingerland, George Robinson, Leander B. … Read more

Biography of Judge Charles Wheeler

Judge Charles Wheeler, judge of the city court of Muskogee, was born in Three Rivers, Michigan, November 11, 1856, and is a son of Ransley and Electa (MacOmber) Wheeler. The father was a miller and farmer and active business man. The son obtained a country school education and afterward attended the preparatory department of Hillsdale College, where he pursued the regular four years college course, graduating in 1882 with the B. A. degree. Later he became a student in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. His law studies were pursued in an office in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and later in … Read more

Bowman, Wallace R., Sr. – Obituary

Wallace R. Bowman, Sr., 73 years old, 27198 Oak Drive, died Aug. 20, 1988, at the Veterans Administration Hospital, Fort Wayne, Ind. He was born July 19, 1915, in Elkhart County, Ind., a son of Frank A. and Carrie (Lampe) Bowman. On Feb. 4, 1943, he married Marion Schrader in Hot Springs, Ark. She died March 12, 1978. On April 6, 1983, he married Nancy Hunt in Sturgis. He was a Sturgis resident most of his life and was employed at the Kirsch Company. For 42 years, he had operated the B & W Tavern, retiring in 1983. He was … Read more

Biography of David Bailey

David Bailey. In the latter part of 1854 or the early part of 1855 Mr. Bailey moved to Monticello, Illinois. After a short sojourn there he came to Urbana, and in March or April, 1856, moved to Champaign, where for a number of years, in connection with W. B. Bailey, he conducted a small country store in a frame building that he erected on the site now occupied by the Robeson Department Store. David Bailey was one of the thirteen men who founded the First National Bank of Champaign, in 1865. Application for organization was made to the government in … Read more