My Genealogy Hound

ISAAC M. VINCENT. After many years devoted to his chosen calling of agriculture, Mr. Vincent is now passing his declining years tranquilly and comfortably in his pleasant home at Buchanan. He was born in Franklin County, Mass., on the 4th of July, 1822, being the son of Isaac and Susan (Maxam) Vincent, both of whom were natives of the Bay State. The paternal grandfather, Joshua Vincent, was of English descent, and was born in Massachusetts. During the opening years of the great struggle between England and the Colonies, he enlisted in the defense of liberty and freedom, and served with valor until the close of the Revolutionary War.

The father of our subject was born in 1790, and was reared to the life of a farmer. In early manhood he married the daughter of Edmund Maxam, a native of Massachusetts, and one of the old Revolutionary heroes. After their marriage they located on a farm in the Bay State, where they continued to reside until removed hence by death, the father at the age of seventy-five, and the mother when four-score and two years old. While Mr. Vincent followed the occupation of a farmer, principally, he also engaged to some extent in other pursuits, and for four years was a peddler in the Southern States.

The parental family consisted of six children, five sons and one daughter, four of whom grew to mature years. In Franklin County, Mass., our subject was reared to manhood and acquired a common-school education. When ready to establish domestic ties, he was married, on the 12th of March, 1845, to Miss Elizabeth Yaw, who was born in Whitingham, Vt., November 16, 1824. Her grandfather, Moses Yaw, was descended from English-French ancestry, and passed his entire life in Rhode Island. Her father, Oliver Yaw, followed the occupation of a farmer in the Green Mountain State, and married Eliza, daughter of Jonathan Houghton, and a native of Wendall, Mass. Mrs. Vincent is the eldest of thirteen children, and is now the only surviving member of the family.

Ten years after his marriage Mr. Vincent went to Illinois and located at Richmond, where they resided about one year. From Illinois they went to Indiana, and from there to Iowa, thence to Michigan in 1865. Locating near Galien, Berrien County, he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, and remained on that place about three years. In 1869 he sold the land, and in 1871 came to Buchanan, where he now lives retired from business. He and his wife became the parents of two children. Edwin H. was born in Florida, Mass., November 27, 1850, and after reaching manhood, located in Three Oaks, Mich., where he attained considerable prominence. As a successful and accommodating merchant, he enjoyed a large patronage from the city and surrounding country. He served as Supervisor of the township and in other places of trust. His death occurred January 10, 1893. He had married Miss Anna McKie, and they were the parents of a daughter, Maude M., who was seventeen years old at the time of her father’s demise. The other son of our subject, Isaac B., was born in Florida, Mass., December 1, 1854, and became a sleeping-car conductor. While serving in that capacity he was killed at Blue Mound, Ill., on the Wabash & Pacific Railroad, May 11, 1884.

From an humble position in youth, without friends or money, and dependent upon his own unaided exertions for his maintenance, Mr. Vincent has risen to a position of prominence among the public-spirited citizens of Berrien County. Through his industry in earlier life he accumulated the means which enables him at present to live in comfort and unharassed by business cares. He is a man of deep religious convictions, and is a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he has served as Steward and Trustee, and toward the support of which he has always contributed in proportion to his means. Politically, he is a Republican, and always votes the ticket of his party.