My Genealogy Hound

THOMAS SPIERS. The prosperity of Berrien County, and its high standing in the galaxy of Michigan counties, are due in no small measure to the people of English birth or parentage who are residents here. Among those who have crossed the ocean and exchanged a home in the Queen’s dominion for one in the Republic of the United States, mention should be made of Mr. Spiers. For many years in business at Benton Harbor, he now lives retired, and as he possesses a competency he has surrounded himself with all the comforts and many of the luxuries of life.

The son of George and Mary Spiers, our subject was born in Gravesend, England, December 21, 1820, and acquired a good practical education in the schools of his native village. In 1838, when a youth of eighteen, he came to America and settled in Canada, where he served for ten years in the British regular army in Quebec. In 1848 he removed from Canada to Three Mile Bay, Jefferson County, N. Y., and there worked at the trade of a tailor, which he had learned prior to his emigration to America.

Although not an American by birth, Mr. Spiers possessed the truest patriotic spirit and was roused to action by the attack on Ft. Sumter. October 14, 1861, he enlisted as a member of Company H, Thirty-fifth New York Infantry, and served for twenty-two months, when he was honorably discharged, his term of enlistment having expired. In January, 1864, he re-enlisted as a member of the Second New York Artillery, and participated in all the battles of the Wilderness and the numerous engagements of Grant’s army. In September, 1865, at the close of the war, he was mustered out of service at Crosby, N. Y.

Coming to Michigan in 1867, Mr. Spiers settled in Benton Harbor and commenced to work at his trade, being the first merchant tailor in the village. He soon gained the confidence of the people, and both in business and social circles has always been quite popular. Politically, he affiliates with the Republican party, and both in local and national elections casts his ballot for the candidates of that political organization. The lady who, in 1851, was united in marriage with Mr. Spiers was Miss Eliza Dike, a native of New York, and the daughter of Charles Dike, also a native of that State. The first representatives of the Dike family in the United States crossed in the “Mayflower” and thenceforth they and their descendants were closely connected with the progress of their various communities. Grandfather Nathan Dike served as a soldier in the War of the Revolution. Mr. and Mrs. Spiers are the parents of two children: Mary, wife of Sylvester Warner, residing in Benton Harbor; and Charles D., who is married and resides in Minneapolis, Minn. The religious home of the family is in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which they are active members.