My Genealogy Hound

CHARLES TIETSORT, a prosperous agriculturist of Cass County, residing on section 25, La Grange Township, was born in the village of Cassopolis, this county, April 9, 1843. The family of which he is a worthy representative originated in Holland and the name was formerly spelled Tietsworth. The first of the name who emigrated to the United States had a son Peter, who was born in New Jersey in 1744, and died in Butler County, Ohio, in 1831. His life occupation was that of a farmer. In New Jersey he married a Miss Huff, and when his son Abraham was a young man he removed to Kentucky, where he remained for a few years, and thence went to Butler County, Ohio. Politically, he was a Democrat and a strong anti-slavery man. He and his wife reared the following children: Cornelius; Catherine, the wife of Frederick Reed; Peter, Jr.; Elizabeth, who married Isaac Thompson; and Abraham.

The grandfather of our subject, Abraham Tietsort, was born in New Jersey in 1777 and was reared to manhood in that State. His education was received in the common schools, and being fond of reading he became a very apt scholar for the time in which he lived. Accompanying his parents to Kentucky, he there married, February 14, 1802, Miss Margaret, the daughter of Henry Banta, and a native of Kentucky, having been born there on the 6th of January, 1784. The year following his marriage Abraham Tietsort moved to Butler County, Ohio, and entered Government land twenty-eight miles from the present site of Cincinnati, which then was not even a village.

In 1828 Grandfather Tietsort migrated to Michigan and settled at Niles, but about one year afterward came to Cass County, entering land near where Cassopolis now stands. His eldest son entered about one-half the land occupied by the present site of the village. This pioneer family, being of limited means, brought all their earthly effects with them in wagons from Ohio and in this new country endured all the hardships incident to frontier life. Abraham Tietsort was a man of irreproachable character, charitable to those in need and lenient in disposition. In his religious belief he was a Universalist and was a close student of the Bible. His political views were in harmony with the Democratic party. Socially, he was a member of the Masonic fraternity and was present at the organization of the Niles lodge, which was one of the first in western Michigan. Although not an office- seeker, he was frequently called upon to fill different positions in the township and county.

Abraham and Margaret Tietsort had a family of six children, namely: Abraham, Jr.; Catherine, the wife of Washington Reed; Levi, Henry, Cornelius B. (father of our subject) and Squire, all of them being now deceased with the exception of Henry. The first home of this pioneer family in Cass County was of a very modest kind, being constructed of round logs, with a puncheon floor and stick chimney, while the dimensions of the structure were only 18x16 feet. On their trip to Michigan there was not a single house on the road between Ft. Wayne and Elkhart, Ind., where may now be seen thriving villages and finely-improved farms. Father and sons labored to build up a comfortable home, and lived to enjoy to some extent the fruits of their labors. Grandfather Tietsort was a patriotic man and served in the War of 1812, while his eldest son took an active part in the Black Hawk War.

Cornelius B. Tietsort, father of our subject, was born in Butler County, Ohio, January 24, 1820. At the age of eight years he accompanied his parents to Michigan, where he grew to manhood in the wild country with the children of savage Indians for his only playmates. Through his wide range of reading he acquired a general knowledge of the world and its history, though his education was limited to the rudest of the early schools of a now country. In his youth he learned the trade of carpenter and joiner, which he followed during the greater part of his life in connection with his farming pursuits.

The marriage of Cornelius B. Tietsort to Elizabeth McEnterfer was solemnized in 1840. Mrs. Tietsort was born in Wayne County, Ohio, January 7, 1823, and was six years old when she accompanied her parents, Jacob and Catherine (Fisher) McEnterfer, to Michigan, settling in White Pigeon. The union of Cornelius B. and Elizabeth Tietsort was blessed by the birth of three children: Charles, Satiah and Frank; the daughter became Mrs. Charles Berry, but is now deceased. Socially, the father was identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Cassopolis, and in his political belief he was a stanch Democrat. After his marriage he resided for two years on a farm in St. Joseph County, Mich., whence he returned to Cass County and remained there until his death, which occurred April 22, 1870. His wife survived him a score of years, passing away April 21, 1890.

The education of our subject was received in the schools of Cassopolis, and at the age of twenty-one he and his brother assumed the management of the home farm, which they operated for a number of years together. He is the owner of eighty acres of highly-cultivated and finely-improved land, lying just outside of the corporate limits of the village of Cassopolis. As a farmer, he brings to the cultivation of the land his energies and abilities, and as a result of his efforts he has accumulated a competency and gained a position among the foremost agriculturists of the county. A Democrat in his political connections, he has been chosen to represent his party in numerous county conventions, and has rendered efficient service in whatever position he has been called to occupy.