G-2.1 Caroline Gruner Cooley (1857-1935), the eldest child of Anton and Caroline Pilz Gruner, married A. W. Cooley (1854-1936) in 1876. His family owned the farm nearby on River Road and his parents, the Wilson J. Cooley’s, made the couple a wedding gift of the farm in Batavia Township on Colon Road (now M 86). There was a farm house standing on it until they built this brick house in 1890, thanks in part to the success of raising Berkshire hogs. The old house still stands after being used as a shop, tool shed and feed storage.

They were able to furnish this home with many conveniences not always found in rural homes of the times. There is oak woodwork, an open stairway and fancy windows with stain glass in some of them. There was a large water tank upstairs providing pressure for faucets down below. A quality brick was used and a slate roof, something seldom seen because of the high cost. The slate roof and the gingerbread trim around the porch still remain.

Their daughter Florence (1881-1954) married Robert Dovey and took over the farm after the parents died. Rob Dovey was a brother to Frank Dovey and Ella Dovey Gruner (see page 8). Florence was a teacher in Branch County schools and died In Battle Creek Hospital in May 1954. Shortly thereafter Rob was killed when he drove his tractor in front of an on coming train near the Williams Grain Elevator located in buildings originally built by the Wolverine Portland Cement Company. The last family occupants of the home was their son Ralph Dovey and his wife Evelyn, they had no children, and died in the 1970's.

The farm was sold out of the family in the 1960's and has gone through several owners since then. The land was sold separately and the house and buildings remain fairly well preserved.