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			JOHN D. AND LUCY C. (BORDEN)  FARGO

	Among the truly representative pioneers of Montcalm County, few, if any have been more 
intimately associated with the early settlement than John D. Fargo.  He has witnessed the 
transformation of a trackless wilderness into a populous and highly cultivated community. 
	He was born in Herkimer Co., N. FSY., Nov. 14, 1817, and was the oldest of ten children 
of Daniel Fargo.  When John D. was seventeen years of age he left the paternal home to learn the 
trade of shoemaker and tanner with his uncle, Arial Chapman, in Trumbull Co., Ohio;  here he 
remain five years.  In 1840 he was married to Miss Lucy C. Borden, of Hartford, Trumbull Co.  
Being without means, and ambitious to secure a home, the young couple concluded to try a new 
country; accordingly came to Ionia in the spring of 1853, where they remained a year or two 
working as best they could, when Jerome, a brother of Mr. Fargo, came on,  the two brothers 
taking a job of logging in the then remote frontier of Montcalm County.  Mrs. Fargo, being a true
helpmeet, accompanied her husband to the cabin in the forest and cooked for the men.  This was 
beyond the pale of civilization, and she did not see the face of a woman for five months.  To 
procure provisions Mr. Fargo made shingles nights, and hauled them to Ionia, thirty miles, where 
he sold them for one dollar and twenty-five cents per thousand.  In this semi-civilized way they 
lived two or three years, when, in 1847, the brothers purchased a tracts of land in Fair Plains, 
paying the little money they had saved, and running in debt for the greater part.  They worked 
together on the land a few years, when a division was made, John D. taking the land where he now 
lives, and soon after building the substantial house where he has since resided, having a large, 
well-improved farm, with pleasant surroundings. 
	They have been the parents of four children three of whom are now living.  Densel P. is 
deputy warden in the House of Correction at Ionia, James P. is a farmer in Dakota, and Mara 
Adella is a teacher in the school at Greenville.
	Politically Mr. Fargo is a Republican, has held several offices of trust and honor, was 
supervisor for five years, and has represented his district in the Legislature.  As this pioneer
couple look back over a married life of forty years, they have the satisfaction of having acted 
well their part as they enjoy their comfortable home and the respect of all.



This biography is taken from "HISTORY OF IONIA AND MONTCALM COUNTIES, MICHIGAN" 
by John S. Schenck. Philadelphia:  D. W. Ensign & Co., 1881.  Page 458.  Fair Plains Twp.