Fulton County Biographies

JOSEPH 0. ALLEN, M. D., long numbered among the representative physicians and business men of Fulton county, has maintained his home in Fayette for more than half a century and is one of the most honored citizens of the town. He was born in Clarkson, Monroe county, N. Y., September 20, 1830, and is a son of Isaac and Mary (Terry) Allen, both of whom were born in Connecticut . Dr. Allen passed his boyhood days in his native town, where he was afforded the advantages of the Clarkson Academy, later attending a seminary at Lima, N. Y., after which he took up the study of medicine under private preceptorship, in Clarkson, and finally entered the medical department of the Buffalo University, being graduated in February, 1851, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine.   In the same year he came to Fulton county and located in what is now the town of Fayette , though at that time there was no vestige of a town on the site. Here, under the disadvantages which attended the lot of the average pioneer physician, he labored with all of zeal and self-abnegation, ministering to those in affliction and devoting his entire attention to his professional work for fifteen years, in the meanwhile erecting the mill which he still owns and operates, the same being equipped for the manufacture
of both flour and lumber.  In the conducting of this enterprise the Doctor was associated with Renselaer S. Humphrey until the time of the latter's death.   He continued in active practice of his profession until 1870. when he was employed as a representative by the Chicago and Canadian Southern Railroad Company to secure the right of way for their proposed line between this section and the city of Chicago . He devoted two years to this important work, and then took charge of the timber interests of the same road, when the company went into liquidation he resumed his active connection with his milling business and also with the practice of his profession.   He is now practically ■retired, but gives his general supervision to his two fine farms and to his milling and other interests, and he has the affectionate regard of the people of this community, where he has labored so long and faithfully as a true friend of humanity.

 In politics Dr. Allen is a stanch adherent of the Democratic party, he has held various local
offices, including those of township trustee and treasurer, and he has also been the candidate of his party for sheriff and for representative in the State Legislature.   He has twice served as Postmaster of Fayette, O.   He is a member of various medical societies and is identified with the Masonic fraternity. In 1856. in Columbiana county. Dr. Allen was
united in marriage to Miss Sarah A. McLean, and they became the parents of five children, namely: Rosa, who is deceased; Lillie, who is the wife of Edward Crittenden, of Fayette; Donald A., who is a successful dentist in Toledo ; Viola, who is deceased; and Earl, deceased, who was a drug salesman, residing in Grand Rapids , Mich.

WILLIAM BURR ALLEN, proprietor of a livery and sales-stable at Swanton, was born in Lucas county, one and one-half miles east of his present home, on October 27, 1858. He is the son of Frederick and Amanda (Herrick) Allen, both natives of Ohio .
Frederick Allen was born in Norwalk and from there removed to Lucas county. He was a carpenter and joiner by occupation and lost his life on August 13, 1869, by falling from the scaffold of a building in process of erection at " Toledo . His widow is still living and makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Minnie Atkinson of Canton , O. Here follows the names of the seven children born to
this couple: James L., a locomotive engineer of Toledo, O.; Emma, the wife of Lewis Chambard, a resident of Rathdrum, Idaho; William Burr; Catherine, who married in Silver King, Idaho; Viola, the wife of Jacob Gehring, station agent at Swanton of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway; Minnie, now Mrs. Atkinson, and one child that died in infancy. William Burr Allen grew to manhood at the homestead, receiving a public school education. He learned the occupation of locomotive engineering, and in that capacity was employed by the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Company for more than eleven years, his residence being at Toledo , where he lived for eighteen years. After his marriage he located on a farm in Fulton township and followed farming for six years. On September 13, 1893, he removed to. Swanton and embarked in the livery business and in that of buying and selling horses, in which best of horses and up-to-date vehicles, has proved a paying venture. He is a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, of the Knights of Pythias and of the Modern Woodmen of America. In politics he is a Republican. On May 15, 1883, he was united in the bonds of matrimonv with Miss Mable Witt,  a native of Fulton county and the daughter of Horatio and Alvira Witt. No children were born to this marriage. His first wife having died on the 22nd day of December. 1891, on May 13, 1894, he was wedded to Miss Mary Duncan of Fulton county. This union has been blessed by two children, named Frederick Seymour and Herrick.

CHARLES ARNSBARGER. one of the progressive young farmers and business men of Fulton county, residing in the village of Brailey, is incumbent of the office of trustee of Swan Creek township, and is a member of one of the old and well known families of this favored section of the Buckeye state, four generations of the same being at the present time resident in the village of Brailey. He is a son of Orlando Arnsbarger, of whom individual mention is made in the succeeding memoir, so that further reference to the family
history is not demanded in the present connection. Charles Arnsbarger was born on a farm in Chesterfield township, this county, on the 10th of October, 1872, and when he was still a small child his parents removed to Dover township, where he was reared to maturity on the homestead farm, and his educational discipline was secured in the excellent public schools of North Dover . On the 12th of May, 1897, he located on the farm which he now owns, in
Swan Creek township, adjacent to the village of Brailey . The farm is under effective cultivation, is equipped with excellent buildings and is otherwise well improved. The village of Brailey was platted about 1901, and ever since it began to assume aught of pretentiousness as a trade center Mr. Arnsbarger has here been engaged in the sale of farming implements and machinery, pumps, etc., and he also operates a well-drilling outfit, in the meanwhile con-
tinuing to give his supervision to his farm. He has been enterprising and has manifested much discrimination in his business affairs, and he is the owner of the Charles Arnsbarger addition to the village of Brailey , having platted the same into a considerable number of most desirable building lots, which have met with an appreciative demand. In his political allegiance Mr. Arnsbarger is a consistent and uncompromising Republican, taking a loyal interest in the
public affairs of the nation and especially in local matters. In November, 1904, he was elected trustee of Swan Creek township, with jurisdiction over the northeast portion of the township, in matters pertaining to general improvements, construction of bridges, care of the indigent, etc. He is a member of Swanton Lodge, No. 590, Knights of Pythias. Mrs. Arnsbarger is a zealous and valued member of the United Brethren church, taking an active part in the various departments of the church work and being held in high regard in the social circles of the community. December 24, 1896, Mr. Arnsbarger was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Free, who was born in York township, this county, being a daughter of John and Adeline (Andrews) Free, now residents of Wauseon. Mr. and Mrs. Arnsbarger have three sons, whose names, with respective dates of birth, are as follows: Perry, March 16, 1898; Coy, September 24, 1900, and Howard, January 3, 1903.

ORLANDO ARNSBARGER, .one of the substantial farmers and honored citizens of Swan Creek township, owning a well improved farm a short distance east of the village of Brailey, is a native of the adjoining State of Michigan, having been born in Adrian, Lenawee county, on the 27th of June, 1851, and being a son of Daniel and Abigail (Barber) Arnsbarger, the former of whom
was born in Cumberland county. Pa. , September 2, 1826, and the latter was born in the State of New York , in 1831, their marriage being solemnized in Williams county, Ohio , where their respective families located in the early pioneer days. The parents of Daniel Arnsbarger located in that county in 1840, and there he was reared to maturity, continuing his residence there for a number of years thereafter and for a time residing in Lenawee county, Mich., but after the Civil war he took up his abode on a farm which he purchased in Dover township, Fulton county, where he and his wife remained until 1897, when they took up their residence in the village of Brailey , where they now make their home, venerable in years and held in unqualified regard by all who know them. Mr. Arnsbarger is a stanch Democrat in politics and both he and his wife are members of the Christian or Disciples' church. It is interesting to record that in the village of Brailey four generations of the family are now found represented. Orlando Arnsbarger was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm, in Williams and Fulton counties, and is indebted to the common schools for his early educational advantages, which were somewhat limited. He became one of the representative farmers and citizens of Dover township and continued to give his active supervision to the operation of his fine farm until
1901, when he took up his residence in Brailey, purchasing forty acres of land contiguous to the village, having platted a portion of the tract into village lots, which he has placed on the market as Arnsbarger's addition to the village of Brailey, and he is also devoting special attention to the handling of wood for fuel purposes, cutting and preparing the timber to a large extent from the land in
his own possession.

In politics Mr. Arnsbarger has ever given his allegiance to the Democracy, and while a resident of Dover township he served several years as school director. Mrs. Arnsbarger became a member of the Disciples' church when fifteen years of age, but in later years has been identified with the United Brethren. In 1871
Mr. Arnsbarger was united in marriage to Miss Mina Cameron, daughter of John D. and Margaret (Lee) Cameron, both of whom were born in Holmes county, Ohio . Mrs. Cameron died on the 20th of June, 1898, and her husband is now living in Ossian, Ind. Mr. and Mrs. Arnsbarger have four children, namely: Charles, Franklin, Delia and Lucelia. Charles is individually mentioned else-
where in this publication; Delia is the wife of Lewis C. Winzeler, a farmer near   Brailey. and Lucelia is the wife of Ernst L. Kirkman, who is a resident of the village of Brailey .

Source:
History of Fulton County
Northwestern Historical Association 1905
Transcribed by Linda Blue Dietz  

ALLEN, Mrs. Mary Wood, physician, author and lecturer, born in Delta, Ohio , 19th October, 1841. She is the daughter of George Wood, who emigrated from his English home when just of age, and in the wilds of southern Michigan met and married Miss Sarah Seely. The young couple settled where the village of Delta now stands, but at that time there were but two dwellings in the place. In one of these Mary was born, and there her childhood was passed. Even in those early days her future was shadowed forth, for she never played with dolls except to doctor them in severe illnesses. They often died under her treatment, and then she enjoyed having a funeral, in which she figured as chief mourner, preacher and sexton, as she had neither brother nor sister, and her playmates were few. At fourteen she had exhausted the resources of the village school. She manifested a love for study, especially of music, and before fifteen years of age had established herself in central Ohio as a music teacher with a class of twenty pupils. Her talent in music was a direct inheritance from her mother who had a remarkable voice. As a music teacher Mary earned money to begin her college course in Delaware , Ohio , where she proved an ardent student, putting four years work into three and, as a result breaking down in health. After graduation she taught music, French and German in a collegiate institute in Battle Ground, Ind. , continuing there until her marriage to Chillon B Allen, a graduate of the classical department of the Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware , Ohio , and of the Ann Arbor Law School . Her own delicate health led her into the investigation of many therapeutical measures, and after the death of her first child in infancy she, with her husband, began the study of medicine, first in her own country and then in Europe, where she spent three years, returning to graduate in medicine from Ann Arbor in 1875. In Newark , N. J., where she settled and practiced her profession, her first important literary work was done. This was the beginning of the "Man Wonderful and the House Beautiful" (New York, 1884), an allegorical physiology. The first ten chapters appeared in the "Christian Union," and received such a recognition that their expansion into a book was began, and she and her husband united in completing the volume. Dr. Allen has also been a contributor of both prose and poetry to many leading periodicals, her poem entitled "Motherhood" having won for itself immediate fame. It is, however, as a lecturer that Dr. Allen has won her brightest laurels. A paper upon heredity which she presented at the State convention of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in Cortland , N. Y., was both eloquent and logical and aroused the interest of the whole convention, and as a result Dr. Allen was appointed national lecturer of the 

Woman's Christian Temperance Union in the departments of heredity and hygiene. Since then she has received calls from various parts of the United States to lecture upon these and kindred topics. A demand soon arose for her instruction in teachers' institutes and normal colleges upon the subject of temperance physiology. Her presentation of the topic gave general satisfaction. At present Dr. Allen has her home in Toledo , Ohio , whence she goes forth into the lecture field. Glorious as has been her work for temperance, that which she has done, and is doing, for social purity is more beautiful. Upon this subject, so difficult to handle, she has spoken Sabbath evenings in many pulpits, and has received the unqualified praise of such noted clergymen as Dr. Heber Newton, Dr. Theodore Cuyler and Dr. Pentecost in the East, and Dr. McLean upon the Pacific coast. She manifests a peculiar fitness for giving wise counsel to girls, and has done acceptable work in this line in schools and colleges. During several winters, by invitation of Miss Grace Dodge, she has spoken to the Working Girl's Clubs of New York City. It is a scene of absorbing interest when, with rare tact and delicacy, she addresses large audiences of young men on the work of the White Cross. Her mission in the work of reform and philanthropy demands a peculiar talent which she possesses in an unusual degree; a scientific education which enables her to speak with authority ; a winning presence ; a musical voice which makes itself heard in the largest building with no apparent effort, and which by its sympathetic quality arrests attention and touches the heart, while her words appeal to the reason, and a gentle womanly manner which converts the most pronounced opposer of woman's public work. To those who hear her on the platform or in the pulpit, she is a living voice, alluring her hearers to lives of truth and purity, and to those who know her personally she is a sweet womanly presence, the embodiment of those graces which are the power in the home.

(American Women, Fifteen Hundred Biographies, Vol 1, Publ. 1897. Transcribed by Marla Snow.)  

Source:  The Book of Detroiters Edited by Albert Nelson Marquis
Copyright, 1908 by Albert Nelson Marquis
Transcribed by Christine Walters
 
SHIPMAN, Frederick Charles, lawyer; born, Delta, O., Aug. 28, 1870; son of Richard and Otelia (Verhoeff) Shipman; educated in public schools and Detroit College of Law, degree of LL.B., 1904; married at Detroit, May 29,1894, Frances L. Ostler. Has practiced in Detroit since 1904, specializing in probate and real estate law; proprietor Shipman Real Estate Exchange, founded, 1891. Member 1st Regiment, Michigan National Guard, 2d lieutenant, 1878, 1st lieutenant, 1901, captain since 1904. Republican. Congregationalist. Member of Detroit Real Estate Board, Detroit Board of Commerce, Michigan State Bar Association. Royal Arch Mason. Club: Detroit. Recreations: Automobiling, boating. Office; 411 Union Trust Bldg. Residence: 43 Blaine Av.