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			ALLEN AND ESTHER (SWARTHOUT) MACOMBER

	This gentleman--an only son, and one of two children in the family of George Macomber and
wife (the latter's maiden-name was Barnes)--was born in Perry township, Genesee (now Wyoming) 
Co., N. Y., April 27, 1831.  His parents were both natives of that State, and his father was, in 
his younger days, a manufacturer of cradles, scythe-snaths, etc., and a large farmer and dealer 
in stock.  At an early day he invested in "prize lands" in this State, which he finally sold at 
a good profit.  In 1846 he removed with his family to Michigan, locating in Macomb Co., where he 
died in 1879, his wife having died two years previously.  After his death his estate, amounting 
to one hundred and sixty thousand dollars, was divided between his two children.
	Allen Macomber began business for himself at the age of twenty-four, engaging in 
lumbering, in which he is considered as one of the pioneers in this section of the State.  In 
1859 he purchased lands near his present home, and in 1869 bought a saw-mill on Tamarack Lake, 
which he sold, after operating a few years, to Mr. Anthony, and contacted to furnish stock for 
three years for a larger mill, which is the one at the present village.  He has been a prominent 
mill man, and has speculated to some extent in pine-lands, having sold over two thousand acres in
the past two years, and being the present owner of one thousand acres.  He has also invested 
largely in Colorado mining-stock, which yields good dividends.
	His present home is one of the finest in this part of the State.  Sept. 21, 1866, he 
married Miss Esther Swarthout, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1843, being the second in a family
of four children, two boys and two girls, in the family of Moses Swarthout and wife (the latter's
maiden-name being Reynolds).  Moses Swarthout and wife were born in Seneca Co., N. Y., and in 
1833 were married and removed to Erie Co., Pa.,--the birthplace of Mrs. Macomber,--where Mr. 
Swarthout engaged in farming.  In 1856, Mr. Swarthout (with his family) became a pioneer in the 
then unbroken wilderness of Northern Michigan, and settled in Montcalm County at a time when 
almost their only neighbors were the dusky denizens of the pine forests that surrounded them.
	Mr. and Mrs. Macomber are the parents of three children, now living,--Nora, born Sept. 
21, 1871; Georgiana, born Oct. 15, 1873; and Allen, born Oct. 8, 1875.
	Mr. Macomber is a Republican in politics, of the, of the stalwart kind, but not an 
aspirant for office, preferring the peace and quiet of his home and the peaceful avocations of 
life to the heated strife of political contests.  He held the position of treasurer of the 
township where he resides.  His early educational advantages were good, and, being of studious 
habits and a careful observer, he has acquired a fund of practical knowledge embracing a broad 
field.
	Mr. and Mrs. Macomber, having settled at Lake View at a time when the grand pines of the 
primeval forests towered above the site of their beautiful home, where they slept to the music of

				"The soughing of the winds
				 Among the moaning pines,
				 And the cry of the wild beast at their door,"

have witnessed and have been active in the development of Lake View and vicinity.
	Mr. Macomber, although the wealthiest man in the community where he resides, is not an 
aristocrat.  He is liberal in aid of all public and charitable enterprises, and considerate of
the rights of others in his business relations.  He spent the summer of 1880 in Colorado, where 
he invested largely in mining-stocks, and intends to spend the summer of 1881 there, looking 
after his interests.



This biography is taken from "HISTORY OF IONIA AND MONTCALM COUNTIES, MICHIGAN" 
by John S. Schenck. Philadelphia:  D. W. Ensign & Co., 1881.  Pages 439-440.  Cato Township.