HON. SIMPSON HOWLAND was born in Stillwater, Saratoga Co., N. Y., May 18, 1822. He was the eldest son in the family of Edward K. and Margaret (Simpson) Howland. The elder Howland was also a native of Saratoga, and was born in the town of Old Saratoga in the year 1800. When Simpson was fourteen years of age the family emigrated to Michigan, and settled upon lands located the previous year by the elder Howland, who, in company with Powell Howland, a cousin, made an extended tour of observation throughout the State; the latter settled near Indianapolis, Indiana, while the former located two sections of land in the town of Ross. At this time (1836) Ross was a wilderness, and the nearest neighbors were Dr. Upjohn, on the northwest, and Dr. King, at what is now Augusta village. Soon after their arrival Mr. Howland built a saw-mill, and subsequently erected a grist-mill, which was the pioneer mill in that section. In 1842, Simpson purchased his father's property, including the mills and the farm of four hundred acres, and commenced business for himself. In 1848 he married Miss Sarah, daughter of Henry Berger, one of the prominent pioneers of Battle Creek. Mrs. Howland was born in the town of Henrietta, Monroe Co., N. Y., Feb. 15, 1830. Mr. Howland has been prominently identified with the political history of the county, and has filled many positions of trust, the duties of which he has discharged to the satisfaction of his constituents. In 1875 lie was elected to the representative branch of the Legislature, serving on the important committees of fisheries and municipal corporations. In 1877 he was re-elected. He is a staunch Republican, and an earnest exponent of the principles of that party.
History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan., Samuel W. Durant
Philadelphia.: Everts & Abbott, 1880.
The parents of Hon. Simpson Howland, Edward K., and Margaret (Simpson) Howland. were among the earliest pioneers of Ross town ship, this county, having come to the county in 1836, from Stillwater, Saratoga county, N. Y., where their son was born on May I8, 1822. Both 1,arents were of English ancestry, whose AmericanI progenitors became residents of the United States in colonial times, three brothers Ilowland, on the one side, settling at New Bedford, Mass., before the Revolutionary war. On their arrival it this county the family located on a tract of land i, Ross township, and on this land the son now resides, living retired from active pursuits after lnearly seventy years of active usefulness in proiioting the development and progress of the section and the substantial welfare of its people. The land when they took possession of it was in its state of natural wildness, and lay in the midst of a vast wilderness wherein the foot of the white man had seldom trodden, and the (lawn of civilization was just at hand. The children of the household, now all deceased but the subject of this sketch, and one sister, Margaret, who resides with our subject, were obliged to undergo all the privations, dangers and hardships of the wildest frontier life, and grew to maturity amid scenes of toil and peril, without the conveniences of comfortable living, receiving meager scholastic training at the primitive country schools around. them, and securing the greater and most valuable part of their education from actual experience in the duties of life, overcoming its difficulties. meeting with sturdy will and ready hands its ar(luous requirements, and depending on their own resources for every step of their advancement. The many-voiced forces of nature were their tutors, and the exactions of every hour of strenuous life their stimulants to earnest endeavor. So they became men and women, with hearts attuned to the simple life of the frontier, and hands skilled in its necessary labors, ready for any emergency, fortified against any disaster, and equal to any re(luirement, rather than prodigies of scholastic attainments or social graces. At the same time, the very alertness and breadth of view begotten of their circumstances,made them studious,and gave them a wide range and considerable store of useful general information. Their father died in 188I and their mother in 1848, both seeing the end of life on the old homestead, which they had redeemed from the waste and transformed into a comfortable and productive farm. Of their six children three grew to maturity, Simpson, Mary, the wife of H. D. Palmer, and Margaret, the wife of L. H. Martin. One daughter died some years ago, leaving their brother, Simpson, and sister, Margaret, the only surviving members of the family. Almost as soon as he became of age Simpson took charge of the home farm, and he has ever since conducted its operations, keeping up the spirit of enterprise and improvement which his father had inaugurated, and seeking ever to bring the place to its highest development and utmost fruitfulness. On March 9, 1848, he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Berger, a native of New York state. Thev had three children, DeWitt, Alice V., now the wife of James Spier, and Albert O. The sons are deceased, Dewitt having died many years ago, and Albert on August II, I896. Their mother is a daughter of Henry and Hannah (King) Berger, honored pioneers of Calhoun county, this state. Mr. Howland's father built and operated the pioneer grist mill in this section, and also the pioneer saw mill, and was prominent in the business circles of the early days.' The grist mill is still standing and doing good service on the old place. The son has also been prominent and active in public affairs, serving for years as a justice of the peace and as supervisor and treasurer of Ross township. He was elected to the legislature in 1875, and again in I877, and served in the body with distinction to himself and advantage to his constituents, occupying the important positions of chairman of the committee on fisheries and of the committee on municipal corporations. He owns a large farm, and has been more than ordinarily successful in all his undertakings. He is virtually a self-made man; and his vast possessions are the result of his thrift, enterprise and business capacity. In early life he was a Whig in politics, but since the organization of the Republican party he has been affiliated with it. Although not a member of any particular religious denomination, he is a liberal and cheerful contributor to all, and an ardent friend to all movements for the elevation and advancement of his community. No citizen of his township is more highly respected, and none deserves to be.
Compendium of History and Biography of Kalamazoo County, Mich. David Fisher and Frank Little, editors. Chicago A.W. Bowen & Co., 1906
History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan., Samuel W. Durant
Philadelphia.: Everts & Abbott, 1880.
The parents of Hon. Simpson Howland, Edward K., and Margaret (Simpson) Howland. were among the earliest pioneers of Ross town ship, this county, having come to the county in 1836, from Stillwater, Saratoga county, N. Y., where their son was born on May I8, 1822. Both 1,arents were of English ancestry, whose AmericanI progenitors became residents of the United States in colonial times, three brothers Ilowland, on the one side, settling at New Bedford, Mass., before the Revolutionary war. On their arrival it this county the family located on a tract of land i, Ross township, and on this land the son now resides, living retired from active pursuits after lnearly seventy years of active usefulness in proiioting the development and progress of the section and the substantial welfare of its people. The land when they took possession of it was in its state of natural wildness, and lay in the midst of a vast wilderness wherein the foot of the white man had seldom trodden, and the (lawn of civilization was just at hand. The children of the household, now all deceased but the subject of this sketch, and one sister, Margaret, who resides with our subject, were obliged to undergo all the privations, dangers and hardships of the wildest frontier life, and grew to maturity amid scenes of toil and peril, without the conveniences of comfortable living, receiving meager scholastic training at the primitive country schools around. them, and securing the greater and most valuable part of their education from actual experience in the duties of life, overcoming its difficulties. meeting with sturdy will and ready hands its ar(luous requirements, and depending on their own resources for every step of their advancement. The many-voiced forces of nature were their tutors, and the exactions of every hour of strenuous life their stimulants to earnest endeavor. So they became men and women, with hearts attuned to the simple life of the frontier, and hands skilled in its necessary labors, ready for any emergency, fortified against any disaster, and equal to any re(luirement, rather than prodigies of scholastic attainments or social graces. At the same time, the very alertness and breadth of view begotten of their circumstances,made them studious,and gave them a wide range and considerable store of useful general information. Their father died in 188I and their mother in 1848, both seeing the end of life on the old homestead, which they had redeemed from the waste and transformed into a comfortable and productive farm. Of their six children three grew to maturity, Simpson, Mary, the wife of H. D. Palmer, and Margaret, the wife of L. H. Martin. One daughter died some years ago, leaving their brother, Simpson, and sister, Margaret, the only surviving members of the family. Almost as soon as he became of age Simpson took charge of the home farm, and he has ever since conducted its operations, keeping up the spirit of enterprise and improvement which his father had inaugurated, and seeking ever to bring the place to its highest development and utmost fruitfulness. On March 9, 1848, he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Berger, a native of New York state. Thev had three children, DeWitt, Alice V., now the wife of James Spier, and Albert O. The sons are deceased, Dewitt having died many years ago, and Albert on August II, I896. Their mother is a daughter of Henry and Hannah (King) Berger, honored pioneers of Calhoun county, this state. Mr. Howland's father built and operated the pioneer grist mill in this section, and also the pioneer saw mill, and was prominent in the business circles of the early days.' The grist mill is still standing and doing good service on the old place. The son has also been prominent and active in public affairs, serving for years as a justice of the peace and as supervisor and treasurer of Ross township. He was elected to the legislature in 1875, and again in I877, and served in the body with distinction to himself and advantage to his constituents, occupying the important positions of chairman of the committee on fisheries and of the committee on municipal corporations. He owns a large farm, and has been more than ordinarily successful in all his undertakings. He is virtually a self-made man; and his vast possessions are the result of his thrift, enterprise and business capacity. In early life he was a Whig in politics, but since the organization of the Republican party he has been affiliated with it. Although not a member of any particular religious denomination, he is a liberal and cheerful contributor to all, and an ardent friend to all movements for the elevation and advancement of his community. No citizen of his township is more highly respected, and none deserves to be.
Compendium of History and Biography of Kalamazoo County, Mich. David Fisher and Frank Little, editors. Chicago A.W. Bowen & Co., 1906
HON. SIMPSON HOWLAND was born in Stillwater, Saratoga Co., N. Y., May 18, 1822. He was the eldest son in the family of Edward K. and Margaret (Simpson) Howland. The elder Howland was also a native of Saratoga, and was born in the town of Old Saratoga in the year 1800. When Simpson was fourteen years of age the family emigrated to Michigan, and settled upon lands located the previous year by the elder Howland, who, in company with Powell Howland, a cousin, made an extended tour of observation throughout the State; the latter settled near Indianapolis, Indiana, while the former located two sections of land in the town of Ross. At this time (1836) Ross was a wilderness, and the nearest neighbors were Dr. Upjohn, on the northwest, and Dr. King, at what is now Augusta village. Soon after their arrival Mr. Howland built a saw-mill, and subsequently erected a grist-mill, which was the pioneer mill in that section. In 1842, Simpson purchased his father's property, including the mills and the farm of four hundred acres, and commenced business for himself. In 1848 he married Miss Sarah, daughter of Henry Berger, one of the prominent pioneers of Battle Creek. Mrs. Howland was born in the town of Henrietta, Monroe Co., N. Y., Feb. 15, 1830. Mr. Howland has been prominently identified with the political history of the county, and has filled many positions of trust, the duties of which he has discharged to the satisfaction of his constituents. In 1875 lie was elected to the representative branch of the Legislature, serving on the important committees of fisheries and municipal corporations. In 1877 he was re-elected. He is a staunch Republican, and an earnest exponent of the principles of that party.
History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan., Samuel W. Durant
Philadelphia.: Everts & Abbott, 1880.
The parents of Hon. Simpson Howland, Edward K., and Margaret (Simpson) Howland. were among the earliest pioneers of Ross town ship, this county, having come to the county in 1836, from Stillwater, Saratoga county, N. Y., where their son was born on May I8, 1822. Both 1,arents were of English ancestry, whose AmericanI progenitors became residents of the United States in colonial times, three brothers Ilowland, on the one side, settling at New Bedford, Mass., before the Revolutionary war. On their arrival it this county the family located on a tract of land i, Ross township, and on this land the son now resides, living retired from active pursuits after lnearly seventy years of active usefulness in proiioting the development and progress of the section and the substantial welfare of its people. The land when they took possession of it was in its state of natural wildness, and lay in the midst of a vast wilderness wherein the foot of the white man had seldom trodden, and the (lawn of civilization was just at hand. The children of the household, now all deceased but the subject of this sketch, and one sister, Margaret, who resides with our subject, were obliged to undergo all the privations, dangers and hardships of the wildest frontier life, and grew to maturity amid scenes of toil and peril, without the conveniences of comfortable living, receiving meager scholastic training at the primitive country schools around. them, and securing the greater and most valuable part of their education from actual experience in the duties of life, overcoming its difficulties. meeting with sturdy will and ready hands its ar(luous requirements, and depending on their own resources for every step of their advancement. The many-voiced forces of nature were their tutors, and the exactions of every hour of strenuous life their stimulants to earnest endeavor. So they became men and women, with hearts attuned to the simple life of the frontier, and hands skilled in its necessary labors, ready for any emergency, fortified against any disaster, and equal to any re(luirement, rather than prodigies of scholastic attainments or social graces. At the same time, the very alertness and breadth of view begotten of their circumstances,made them studious,and gave them a wide range and considerable store of useful general information. Their father died in 188I and their mother in 1848, both seeing the end of life on the old homestead, which they had redeemed from the waste and transformed into a comfortable and productive farm. Of their six children three grew to maturity, Simpson, Mary, the wife of H. D. Palmer, and Margaret, the wife of L. H. Martin. One daughter died some years ago, leaving their brother, Simpson, and sister, Margaret, the only surviving members of the family. Almost as soon as he became of age Simpson took charge of the home farm, and he has ever since conducted its operations, keeping up the spirit of enterprise and improvement which his father had inaugurated, and seeking ever to bring the place to its highest development and utmost fruitfulness. On March 9, 1848, he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Berger, a native of New York state. Thev had three children, DeWitt, Alice V., now the wife of James Spier, and Albert O. The sons are deceased, Dewitt having died many years ago, and Albert on August II, I896. Their mother is a daughter of Henry and Hannah (King) Berger, honored pioneers of Calhoun county, this state. Mr. Howland's father built and operated the pioneer grist mill in this section, and also the pioneer saw mill, and was prominent in the business circles of the early days.' The grist mill is still standing and doing good service on the old place. The son has also been prominent and active in public affairs, serving for years as a justice of the peace and as supervisor and treasurer of Ross township. He was elected to the legislature in 1875, and again in I877, and served in the body with distinction to himself and advantage to his constituents, occupying the important positions of chairman of the committee on fisheries and of the committee on municipal corporations. He owns a large farm, and has been more than ordinarily successful in all his undertakings. He is virtually a self-made man; and his vast possessions are the result of his thrift, enterprise and business capacity. In early life he was a Whig in politics, but since the organization of the Republican party he has been affiliated with it. Although not a member of any particular religious denomination, he is a liberal and cheerful contributor to all, and an ardent friend to all movements for the elevation and advancement of his community. No citizen of his township is more highly respected, and none deserves to be.
Compendium of History and Biography of Kalamazoo County, Mich. David Fisher and Frank Little, editors. Chicago A.W. Bowen & Co., 1906
History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan., Samuel W. Durant
Philadelphia.: Everts & Abbott, 1880.
The parents of Hon. Simpson Howland, Edward K., and Margaret (Simpson) Howland. were among the earliest pioneers of Ross town ship, this county, having come to the county in 1836, from Stillwater, Saratoga county, N. Y., where their son was born on May I8, 1822. Both 1,arents were of English ancestry, whose AmericanI progenitors became residents of the United States in colonial times, three brothers Ilowland, on the one side, settling at New Bedford, Mass., before the Revolutionary war. On their arrival it this county the family located on a tract of land i, Ross township, and on this land the son now resides, living retired from active pursuits after lnearly seventy years of active usefulness in proiioting the development and progress of the section and the substantial welfare of its people. The land when they took possession of it was in its state of natural wildness, and lay in the midst of a vast wilderness wherein the foot of the white man had seldom trodden, and the (lawn of civilization was just at hand. The children of the household, now all deceased but the subject of this sketch, and one sister, Margaret, who resides with our subject, were obliged to undergo all the privations, dangers and hardships of the wildest frontier life, and grew to maturity amid scenes of toil and peril, without the conveniences of comfortable living, receiving meager scholastic training at the primitive country schools around. them, and securing the greater and most valuable part of their education from actual experience in the duties of life, overcoming its difficulties. meeting with sturdy will and ready hands its ar(luous requirements, and depending on their own resources for every step of their advancement. The many-voiced forces of nature were their tutors, and the exactions of every hour of strenuous life their stimulants to earnest endeavor. So they became men and women, with hearts attuned to the simple life of the frontier, and hands skilled in its necessary labors, ready for any emergency, fortified against any disaster, and equal to any re(luirement, rather than prodigies of scholastic attainments or social graces. At the same time, the very alertness and breadth of view begotten of their circumstances,made them studious,and gave them a wide range and considerable store of useful general information. Their father died in 188I and their mother in 1848, both seeing the end of life on the old homestead, which they had redeemed from the waste and transformed into a comfortable and productive farm. Of their six children three grew to maturity, Simpson, Mary, the wife of H. D. Palmer, and Margaret, the wife of L. H. Martin. One daughter died some years ago, leaving their brother, Simpson, and sister, Margaret, the only surviving members of the family. Almost as soon as he became of age Simpson took charge of the home farm, and he has ever since conducted its operations, keeping up the spirit of enterprise and improvement which his father had inaugurated, and seeking ever to bring the place to its highest development and utmost fruitfulness. On March 9, 1848, he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Berger, a native of New York state. Thev had three children, DeWitt, Alice V., now the wife of James Spier, and Albert O. The sons are deceased, Dewitt having died many years ago, and Albert on August II, I896. Their mother is a daughter of Henry and Hannah (King) Berger, honored pioneers of Calhoun county, this state. Mr. Howland's father built and operated the pioneer grist mill in this section, and also the pioneer saw mill, and was prominent in the business circles of the early days.' The grist mill is still standing and doing good service on the old place. The son has also been prominent and active in public affairs, serving for years as a justice of the peace and as supervisor and treasurer of Ross township. He was elected to the legislature in 1875, and again in I877, and served in the body with distinction to himself and advantage to his constituents, occupying the important positions of chairman of the committee on fisheries and of the committee on municipal corporations. He owns a large farm, and has been more than ordinarily successful in all his undertakings. He is virtually a self-made man; and his vast possessions are the result of his thrift, enterprise and business capacity. In early life he was a Whig in politics, but since the organization of the Republican party he has been affiliated with it. Although not a member of any particular religious denomination, he is a liberal and cheerful contributor to all, and an ardent friend to all movements for the elevation and advancement of his community. No citizen of his township is more highly respected, and none deserves to be.
Compendium of History and Biography of Kalamazoo County, Mich. David Fisher and Frank Little, editors. Chicago A.W. Bowen & Co., 1906
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