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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
1906 - 20th Century History of Berrien County, Michigan
WILLIAM CAMFIELD was the pioneer in "the spraying of fruit trees" in Berrien county. He began this work twenty years ago and demonstrated that it was followed by such excellent results that the custom soon came into general use. He has long been known as one of the prominent and successful fruit growers of this portion of the state and now lives in Hagar township, where he has valuable property. He was born in County Norfolk, Ontario, Canada, October 9, 1832, and was reared to manhood in that country. He remained at home until his marriage, which, however, was celebrated before he was twenty years of age. The lady of his choice was Miss Sarah M. Ferguson, and they removed from Norfolk county to Walsingham*, on Long Point Bay, an arm of Lake Erie, where Mr. Camfleld improved two farms.
He there resided until the spring of 1866, when he came to Berrien county, Michigan. He had a brother, Leavitt Camfield, who had been a resident of St. Joseph for two years at that time and was engaged in blacksmithing. William Camfleld had a contract to put in wood which he was piling on the bank of Lake Erie, when a freshet swept it into the lake and he thus lost three thousand cords. This left him without financial resources and in this condition he came to Michigan. Here he cleared a part of a farm for his brother, the tract lying just north of Benton Harbor, and upon that place Leavitt Camfleld made his home until his death, which was occasioned by the kick of a horse. He erected the octagonal brick house a mile and a quarter north of Benton Harbor, which is one of the landmarks in this section of the county.
In 1867 William Camfleld located on his present farm, first purchasing seven acres where he lives on the border of Hagar and Benton townships, three and a half miles north of the city of Benton Harbor. He erected here a log house and for thirty-eight years has resided continuously upon this place. As his financial resources have increased he has added to his farm until it now comprises twenty-nine and a half acres. He started in debt for the seven acres, for which he paid seven hundred dollars, and in addition he owed two hundred dollars. His seven acres was all covered with timber and he had to cut a road to get to it, making the road along the town line. Two years later he paid one thousand dollars for five acres adjoining. This was planted to berries. He worked energetically, persistently and capably in the development and care of his property and the year 1873 found him free from debt. He then arranged to purchase sixty acres of land for nine thousand dollars in company with his son-in-law. This he had also purchased on time. It was planted to peaches but the yellows took his trees and in two years he let the property revert to the original owner, losing two thousand dollars on the deal.
He then engaged in lumbering, in which he continued for seven years. He got out the lumber and timber for The Lora; the first steamboat that was built in this locality, selecting the timber in the woods. It was cut and hewed by him, after which it was sawed. He would take contracts tor lumbering and at times kept several teams, having as high as seventy one winter. He employed a number of choppers and sometimes boarded his men. One winter he cleared one hundred and fourteen acres of heavy timber at Sister Lakes fifteen miles from Benton Harbor. Half of this was sent to Benton Harbor and the remaining half to Dowagiac. In his lumbering operations he prospered and in the meantime he operated his little farm of twelve acres, and also turned his attention to dealing in fruit. He would purchase fruit on the trees and in one season paid four thousand dollars for peaches on the trees. He bought fruit in this way from fifteen to twenty years and generally met with success in this undertaking. He added more land from time to time, buying in small tracts and for one tract of five acres paid seven hundred and fifty dollars.
It is eighteen years since he bought a ten-acre tract in Benton township opposite his present farm for eight hundred dollars, and eighteen years ago he married his present wife. He deeded to his son by his first wife fifteen acres of land, but three years later he paid him twenty-three hundred dollars for this same tract: This gives him now twenty-nine and a half acres near Lake Michigan. It is all high-grade fruit land, unsurpassed by any in the county and devoted to the raising of fruit, including apples, pears, peaches, cherries and grapes. He has sold his apple crop for fifteen hundred dollars in a single season. In 1905 he had over thirteen hundred dollars clear income above all expenses of operation. In 1903 he took in three thousand dollars, in 1904 fourteen hundred dollars and in 1905 two thousand dollars, clearing one thousand dollars above all expenses. He makes a specialty of Dutchess apples, the trees being worth one hundred dollars apiece and if his entire farm were covered with trees as good as his one hundred trees of this variety, it would pay an interest on a basis of one hundred thousand dollars.
Mr. Camfield has great faith in a brilliant future for this section of the country as a fruit belt and has often expressed himself that "this country is the best place for a live man but the poorest for a dead one to be in." He is growing for commercial purposes and his orchards are in excellent condition, being cared for along modern progressive methods. Formerly Mr. Camfield engaged quite extensively in raising berries, having seven hundred dollars worth of berries picked in a single day in 1874, and for a time he was known as the berry king of the county. He was the pioneer in the process of spraying trees, beginning this twenty years ago in order to exterminate the codling moth on appIe trees. The result surprised all and the second year he sprayed for several other fruit-growers of the community. Leading men said after the crop was harvested that he had added six hundred dollars to their profits. One man said an hour's work of this kind in his orchard paid him one hundred dollars. One man refused to pay for spraying, saying that it had hurt several trees. Mr. Camfield therefore bought the man's crop for five hundred dollars less the spraying bill and a few weeks after. the spraying was done he sold the orchard for fifteen hundred dollars, thus clearing one thousand dollars. His efforts in this direction being so successful he was then sought to write articles for papers as to the benefit of spraying and is considered an authority upon the subject.
In July, 1887, Mr. Camfield lost his first wife after they had lived together for thirty- four years. On the 31st of December, 1888, he married Miss Exilea C. Gordon, who was reared in Brooklyn, New York, but was visiting her sister in Berrien county. Her family are of French lineage. Her father owned an island in Lake Champlain, on which she was born and by reason of that fact she was named Exilea. She was reared, however, in Brooklyn. Her father was part owner of a vessel on Lake Champlain. Coming to the west to visit she met Mr Camfield while in Berrien county and gave him her hand in marriage. Two children have been born unto them: John Nellis, nine years of age; and Victor Newton, three years of age. By his first marriage Mr. Camfield had seven children. Two sons, Charles E. and Fred Lorenzo, are fruit-growers of this vicinity. George Allen is a farmer of Mason County. Alexa is the wife of John McKenzie, of Hagar township. The others are deceased.
Mr. Camfield gives his entire time and attention to the supervision of his fruit raising interests and in operating the place employs two or three men. In his political views he is a Republican and rather independent. His efforts have been a practical demonstration of the value of this district as fruit producing center and his success has been the direct result of his untiring labors.
* William Camfield was born in Townsend Township, Norfolk County, then moved to Walsingham Township which is also in Norfolk County.
On the 1870 Census of Post Office Benton Harbor, Benton, Berrien, Michigan are:
Camfield William, Aged 37, Male, White, Farm Laborer, Value of Real Estate 2000, Value of Personal Estate 150, Born Canada
Camfield Sarah, Aged 38, Female, White, Born Canada
Camfield Alexia, Aged 15, Female, White, Born Canada
Camfield Elijha, Aged 13, Male, White, Born Canada
Camfield Charles, Aged 11, Male, White, Born Canada
Camfield Lorenzo, Aged 9, Male, White, Born Canada
Camfield Allen, Aged 8, Male, White, Born Michigan
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Rainham Builders
1832 - 
, d. 16 Mar 1879, Townsend Township, Norfolk County