My Genealogy Hound

JAMES E. GOULD. Cass County, Mich., is conspicuous for its magnificent farms that are faultless in the way of management and the order in which they are kept. Those in Volinia Township are especially advantageously located, the land being rolling and well watered, fertile and productive. No one is to be more complimented on the perfect method and order with which his agricultural affairs are conducted than he whose name is given above. Mr. Gould is a farmer and stock-raiser on section 32, where he has a fine home, the house being commodious and attractive, with capacious and well-filled barns and granaries. The fields are wide-spreading and productive and consist of over two hundred and eighty-seven acres.

Our subject is a descendant of an old and prominent Massachusetts family, in which State his parents, James H. and Elizabeth (Quimby) Gould, were born, the former April 23, 1798, and the latter in 1797. The paternal grandfather, William Gould, was a native of the old Bay State, and was a farmer and blacksmith by occupation. The maternal grandfather, Zachariah Quimby, was born in Massachusetts, and there followed farming for many years. He was a soldier in the War of 1812.

The parents of our subject were inmates of a Shaker village in Massachusetts, and were obliged to run away to marry. They settled on a farm in Cayuga County, N. Y., and remained there until the spring of 1846, when they started Westward. They found their way to Michigan, and settled in the wilds of Cass County. Mr. Gould cut the first road in here from the old Government road. At that time there was only one house between his place and Young’s Prairie. He erected a log house, and after partly clearing the farm, moved close to the southern line of Volinia Township, where he made a permanent home. This much-esteemed and prominent pioneer died in October, 1866, and his wife in February, 1879. He was industrious and enterprising, and although when became to Michigan he had but little of this world’s goods, he soon gathered around him many of the comforts of life. Both were members of the German Baptist Church and active workers in the same. Six of their seven children are now living: Mrs. Minerva Townsend, Mrs. Permelia Tietsort, Mrs. Harriet Tietsort, Mrs. Maria Clark, Mrs. Diana Gibbs and James E.

The last-named was fourth in order of birth, born June 19, 1839, in Cayuga County, N. Y., and was seven years of age when became to Michigan. He grew to manhood in the wilderness, received his scholastic training in the common schools, and remained under the home roof until eighteen years of age. On the 6th of September, 1857, he married Miss Christiana Bleacher, a native of Lancaster County, Pa., born June 15, 1840. Her parents, Daniel and Mary (Barr) Bleacher, were both natives of the Keystone State. They came to Michigan in 1845, settled on La Grange Prairie, and there passed the remainder of their days. Their union resulted in the birth of twelve children, six of whom are now living: Mrs. Maria Smith, Mrs. Susan Shanafelt, Mrs. Fannie Blackman, Mrs. Esther Barnaby, Mrs. Sarah Bleacher and Mrs. Gould. Both father and mother were members of the Lutheran Church, and he was a Republican in politics.

After marriage, Mr. Gould settled in Volinia Township, and with the exception of one year spent in Jersey County, Ill., and one year in Calhoun County, Iowa, he has resided here since. Five children blessed his union: Lowell E., who married Miss Belle Morris; Ira L., Jennie S., James Newton and Minnie. All these children have had good educational advantages and are possessed of more than ordinary ability. Mr. Gould has been connected with the School Board for twenty years and is now Moderator. He is the owner of over two hundred and eighty-seven acres of land, all in a body, and all but about ten acres improved. He is engaged in general farming and stock-raising, and recently sold a team of his own raising for $1,000. He buys, sells and raises fine horses, of the “Dauntless” and “Post Boy” stock, and sold a span of blacks for $750. Socially, Mr. Gould is a Mason. He is a member of the Anti-Horse Thief Association, of which he has been a member four years, and he also takes a deep interest in the Volinia Farmers’ Club. In politics he is a Republican, and cast his first Presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln. He is frequently a delegate to conventions, etc., and is a man of sound understanding and excellent judgment. Both are members of the Progressive Brethren Church in Penn Township.