/7oo
>--£-
HISTORY
OF
MICHIGAN
\
y
BY
CHARLES MOORE
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME II
CHICAGO
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
1915
k.^^
P8IL;
'■-■■■i«^^
i. 'V'^
'^^^.
History of Michigan
James Frederick Joy. The distinction of having been the prime
factor in the building of more than sixteen hmidred miles of railroad in
Michigan alone is of itself sufficient to make the name of James F. Joy
one of the most significant in the hi-story of this state. From 1836
until his death in 1896, Mr. Joy was a resident of the city of Detroit. Be-
ginning his career there as a struggling young attorney, he rose to be
one of the foremost business men of the United States, a recognized au-
thority on finance, and one of the ablest railroad managers of the mid-
dle west. His achievements both in his profession and in practical affairs
is remarkable. With his great executive ability he combined attri-
butes of character which marked him as one of the most distinguished
of Michigan's citizens. It has been said of him that he was too honest
to be politic, too conscientious to be sycophantic and that his practice
of all times telling the truth often made enemies of small-minded men,
but brought him the friendship, never violated, of the greatest individ-
uals of his time.
James Frederick Joy was born at Durham. Xew Hampshire, Decem-
ber 2, 1810, a son of James and Sarah (^Pickering) Joy. His father
was a blacksmith by trade, and at Durham manufactured scythes and also
engaged in ship building. The first ancestor of the name was Thomas
Joy, who left England about 1632, locating at Boston. The town rec-
ords show him to have been a landholder at Boston in 1636. James Joy,
the father, was a man of strong character, of much enterprise and orig-
inality, was a Federalist in politics, a Calvinist in religion, and a leader
in both religious and civil life in his community. His character and ex-
ample were influential in the lives of his children, and from him the
great railroad builder and lawyer inherited some of his best native traits.
The common schools of New England introduced James Frederick
Toy to a knowledge of life, and he completed his education in an academy,
a short distance from his home. He then took up teaching and with
some assistance from his father finally entered upon a collegiate course,
graduating at the head of his class at Dartmouth College, with the
degree of Bachelor of Arts. From Dartmouth he went to Harvard Col-
lege, and took up the study of law. His finances did not allow him_ to
continue until graduation, and he supplemented his income by teaching
in the academy at Pittfield, Massachusetts, and for a year as a tutor in
Dartmouth College. Resuming his studies at Harvard, he completed
the course within a year and- was admitted to the bar at Boston.
In September, 1836, Mr. Joy arrived at Detroit, and entered the law
office of Hon. Augustus S. "Porter, later United States senator from
Michigan. In 1837 he opened a law office of his own, and became asso-
ciated in practice with George F. Porter, who had a large acquaintance
with prominent moneyed interests in this state and elsewhere. Mr. Joy
649
650 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
took a front rank as an able attorney, and in a few years his pro-
fessional and business ability were directed into the channels where he
made his greatest success. During the decades of the thirties and for-
ties, Michigan, like many other states had entered upon a great scheme
for internal improvements, and a part of the system was the construc-
tion of a railroad line across the southern half of the state. In 1846,
the state treasury had become bankrupt through the attempt to com-
plete and manage this railroad and undertakings of a similar character,
and the result of this disastrous experience was that the state finally
sold what was then called the Michigan Central Railroad to a private
corporation. In the interests of this corporation Mr. Joy framed the
charter, organized the company, and induced capitalists to embark in
the enterprise. The new company undertook to extend the road to Chi-
cago, and in the litigation connected therewith Mr. Joy was busily en-
gaged and from that time forward gradually made railway law his
specialty, and in his time had no superior as a railway attorney in the
entire country. From serving as legal adviser of railroads he was grad-
ually drawn into the management and became prominent in extending
railway connections and new constructions, occupying places of executive
control among the new lines. The last important case in which Mr. Joy
appeared as leading counsel and advocate was that of ejectment of
George C. Bates against the [Michigan Central and Illinois Central Rail-
road Companies in the United States Circuit Court. The case involved
the title of the two companies to the station grounds at Chicago — prop-
erty valued at that time at more than two million dollars. The argu-
ments of Mr. Joy. in this trial have been models for attorneys ever since,
and it was his successful conduct of the litigation that brought to a climax
a career as counsel and attorney which placed Mr. Joy among the great-
est of his class during the generation.
The record of the late James F. Joy as a railroad builder and or-
ganizer introduces many of the best known transportation systems in
the middle west. He organized the company which constructed the Chi-
cago, Burlington & Quincy at a cost of sixty million dollars, and before
any of the construction work was begun he made a trip on foot over the
proposed route. For many years he was president of the corporation
and under his direction the road was extended to both Quincy and
(Imaha. The railroad from Kansas City to the Indian Territory was
another enterprise projected by him, and it was finished along the route
he indicated. Mr. Joy also was chiefly instrumental in constructing the
first bridge across the Missouri River at Kansas City, thus giving great
impetus to the development of that community. About 1850 Mr. Joy
became interested with J\lr. J. W. Brooks, and they made the contract for
completing the construction of the Sault Ste. Marie Canal. Within two
years the canal was completed much to the benefit of the navigation in-
terests of the inland seas.
For many years INIr. Joy had been general counsel for the Michigan
Central Railroad, and in 1867 became its president. In that office he
superintended the rebuilding of the line, and the new equipment of every
department, and it was largely owing to his effective labors that the Mich-
igan Central came to rank as one of the leading trunk lines between
the east and middle west. During his presidency the road was double-
tracked over a greater part of the distance; and the old style rails were
replaced with steel rails which cost one hundred and thirty dollars
($130.00) in gold per ton in England. Mr. Joy promoted and finally se-
cured control of the Jackson, Lansing & Saginaw Railroad, which was
built from Jackson to Saginaw and from the latter place to ]\Iackinaw. He
was also instrumental in the construction of the line from Jackson to
• HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 6ol
Grand Rapids, both of these roads now being parts of the MicTiigan
Central System. He built the Detroit & Bay City, and the Detroit, Lans-
ing & Northern Railroad, also the Alichigan Central's Air Line from
Jackson to Niles, the Kalamazoo & South Haven, and the Chicago and
West Michigan. During the early seventies, Mr. Joy became interested
in a railroad projected to run along the west bank of the Mississippi
River from Dubuque, Iowa, to a point opposite La Crosse, Wisconsin,
and the line completed as the result of his efforts is now a part of the
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul System. His work was an important
factor in securing to Detroit its connection with the Wabash Railroad,
and in the planning and establishment of adequate station facilities at
Detroit. With other influential Detroit capitalists he supplied most
of the money which built the Wabash from Detroit to Logansport, In-
diana. He and four other business men constructed the Union Station
and the Western Detroit facilities now enjoyed by the Wabash.
For several years before his death Mr. Joy lived in retirement, but
up to the end of his life his advice and counsel were often sought by
men of large affairs, not only in jNIichigan, but throughtout the nation.
His death occurred September 24, 1896, at the advanced age of eighty-
six years. It has justly been said of him : "His life was of great bene-
fit to his city and state, as well as to Chicago and the western country.
Few men have guided and invested such vast sums for a number of
years as he did."
Mr. Joy was one of the Michigan capitalists, who, in 1845, bought
the stock of the jNIichigan State Bank, and that institution paid regular
annual dividends of ten per cent until the expiration of its charter in
1855, 3-t which time its stockholders received one hundred and fifteen
per cent. He was also a director of the Second National Bank of De-
troit, when its charter expired. The Second National was succeeded by
the Detroit National, and Mr. Joy was one of its honored directors until
his death. In politics though a vigorous advocate of the principles of
the Republican party, Mr. Joy was never prominent as a practical poli-
tician, though he gave serious and beneficial attention to the dtUies of
citizenship. He was elected a school inspector of Detroit in 18.^8, and
in 1848 was city recorder. In 1861 much against his will, he was in-
duced to accept nomination for the legislature, and was elected by an
overwhelming majority, serving during the Civil war period when patriots
were needed at the helm of the ship of state. Until, business affairs com-
pelled him to resign, he also served as a regent of the University of
Michigan.
James F. Joy was twice married. His first wife was Martha .\rger
Reed, a daughter of Hon. John Reed of Yarmouth, Massachusetts, at
one time a congressman and lieutenant governor of his state. Mrs. Joy
at her death left children : Sara Reed, who married Dr. Edward W.
Jenks, both now deceased ; Martha Arger. who married Henry A. New-
land, both of whom were killed in a railway accident on the Michigan
Central Railroad; and James Joy. By his marriage to Miss Mary
Bourne, of Hartford, Connecticut, Mr. Joy became the father of : Fred-
erick, who died in 1805 ■ Henry Bourne Joy. now at the head of large
business interests in Detroit, including the Packard Motor Company of
which he is president : and Richard Pickering Joy, president of the
National Bank of Commerce of Detroit.
RiCH.^RD P. Joy. While none of his sons has attained to such a pre-
eminent position in connection with such large and varied affairs, as was
occupied by the late James F. Joy — and under the modern methods of
business organization and system, the possibilities of such individual pre-
652 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
eminence are now greatly limited — Richard P. Joy has for a number of
years been regarded as one of Detroit's foremost bankers, and has well
upheld the dignity and importance of the family name and fortune.
Richard P. Joy was born in the city of Detroit, January 25, 1870. He
received his education in the public schools and then entered Phillips
Academy at Andover, Massachusetts, where he graduated in 1890. His
active business career began in the engineering department of the Fort
Street Union Depot Company, and he quickly demonstrated his in-
dividual capacity for business and proved a worthy son of his father.
Mr. Joy was one of the young men of wealth and social prominence,
who early manifested a large interest and took a public spirited part in
civic affairs. He devoted much of his time to the study of municipal
problems, and from 1898 to 1901 served as alderman in the city council
from the second ward. In 1906-07, he served in the office of comptroller
of Detroit.
When there came an advantageous opening for a new bank to afford
more adequate facilities for the commerce of Detroit, Mr. Joy became
interested in the formation of the National Bank of Commerce, of which
h.; was made president bv the unanimous vote of the board of directors.
From its beginning this bank has been exceedingly successful. It was
the first large bank of Detroit to establish its quarters on the second floor
of a building, a situation which caused many firms to predict its early
failure. The founders of the institutions believed that bttsiness would
go where it was best taken care of, and their judgment was proved sound
when $8oo.O(X) was deposited in the National Bank of Commerce on the
opening of the institution. The bank proved one of the strongest of local
concerns during the crisis of 1907, and since that time no Detroit bank
has stood higher in the confidence of the people than the National Bank
of Commerce.
Aside from his duties as president of this bank, Mr. Joy is vice
president of the Detroit Copper & Brass Rolling mills, a director in
the Packard Motor Car Company, director in the Diamond Manufactur-
ing Company, president of the Detroit Union Railroad Depot & Station
Company, and stock holder in many manufacturing enterprises. His
social clubs are the Detroit Club, the Detroit Board of Commerce, the
Yondotega Club, the Country Club, the Old Club, the New York Yacht
Club and others. In 1908 "Sir. Richard P. Joy married Miss Mary Moore
and their three children are Ella H., Richard P., Jr., and William Moore.
Hexrv Bourxe Joy. On other pages of this work is a review of the
career and a consistent tribute to the memory of the late James F. Joy,
father of him whose name initiates this review, and thus it is not neces-
sary to oft'er further record concerning the family history or to designate
the pre-eminent position held by James F. Joy as one of the most influ-
ential and honored citizens of ^lichigan, a state in which his sons have
distinctively furthered the high prestige of the family name. Henry
Bourne Joy has been one of the dynamic forces in connection with the
great industrial and commercial progress of his native city, where his
capitalistic interests are many and varied and where he stands forth as
an alert, enterprising business man and a loyal, public-spirited citizen, so
that he is fully entitled to specific recognition in this history of his native
state.
Henry B. Joy was born in Detroit, on the 23d of November, 1864,
and here his early educational training was acquired in the public schools
and private schools. This was supplemented by attendance in the Michi-
gan Military Academy at Orchard Lake, and the historic Phillips
Academy at Andover, Massachusetts, in which he was graduated as a
member of the class of 1883. Thereafter he was a student for three
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 653
years in the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University, from which
institution he withdrew in 1886, in his junior year. His business career
began in the offices of the Peninsular Car Company, a Detroit corporation,
and with this company he filled successively the offices of clerk, pay-
master and assistant treasurer. From 1887 to 1889 Mr. Joy was actively
identified with mining operations in Utah. In November, 1890, he was
appointed secretary of the Fort Street Union Depot Company, Detroit,
on the 4th of February, 1891, was made secretary and assistant treasurer
of the company, and on February 7, 1900, was elected director, positions
which he held until February 5, 1902. He was elected a director of the
Detroit Union Railroad Depot and Station Company February 7, 1894,
elected treasurer October 8, 1896, vice president and treasurer, February
2, 1898. and from February i, 1899, to February 5, 1913, was president,
and in the last named year was elected vice president. Specific mention
of the building of the fine union station is made in the sketch of the life
of his father, elsewhere in this volume. From 1899 to 1906 Henry B.
Joy served as treasurer and director of the Peninsular Sugar Refining
Company, and from 1906 to May 25, 1910, he was a director in the
Michigan Sugar Company, which absorbed the interests of the former
corporation. His most important industrial connection is with the Pack-
ard Motor Car Company, which has contributed greatly to the precedence
of Detroit as the leading center of the American automobile industry.
This company was founded by James W. Packard at Warren, Ohio. One
of the earliest purchasers of Packard cars was Henry B. Joy, who later in-
terested Detroit capitalists and the Packard plant was moved to this city
in 1903, he becoming a director and the general manager of the company.
In 1908 he was elected to the presidency of the same, — a position which
he has since held. From a review of the history of the automobile busi-
ness in Detroit are taken the following facts :
"On October 12, 1903, the Packard Alotor Car Company, which had
operated at Warren, Ohio, opened its new plant in Detroit. Henry B.
Joy had been one of the early owners of a Packard phaeton, and his en-
thusiasm was so great that a company was formed and a handsome fac-
tory was built on the boulevard. An interesting commentary on how
little even the men in the industry anticipated the expansion that would
take place is that the Packard Company did not buy the frontage on the
boulevard, but contented themselves with seven and one-half acres of
ground about two hundred feet off the street, figuring that not for many
years would they need to acquire the piece of ground between their prop-
erty and the street. Today this company owns all the frontage for
blocks on both sides of the boulevard, and their property covers fifty-two
and one-half acres. The Packard was the first company in the city
to make a motor car with four cylinders, and was one of the pioneers
in the building of six-cylinder cars, which it now builds exclusively."
Mr. Joy has not only been most prominently identified with important
enterprises that have conserved the material progress and prosperity of
the beautiful Michigan metropolis, but he has also entered fully into its
representative civic activities and social life. For five years he was a
member of the ^Michigan Naval Militia, and he served in the United
States navy in the Spanish-American war, in which he was chief boats-
wain's mate, the Michigan Naval Reserves, consisting of eleven officers
and two hundred and seventy men. having been detailed on the auxiliary
cruiser "Yosemite" and having seen service in Havana, Santiago and
other points. In all situations they won the approval of the regular
naval authorities and honored the state which they represented. For the
sinking of the Spanish transport "Antonio Lopez," off San Juan, Porto
Rico, June 28, 1898, the crew of the "Yosemite" was, in 1902, allowed
654 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
by congress a bounty of fifty thousand dollars. Mr. Joy is a member of
the Navy League of the United States, is affiliated with the Yale Uni-
versity Chapter of the Delta Psi fraternity, and in his home city he holds
membership in and is a director of the Detroit Board of Commerce, a
member of the Detroit Club, the Countr)^ Club, the New Detroit Athletic
Club, the Old Club, the Detroit Boat Club, the University Club, the Yon-
dotega Club. He is also a member of the Yale Club of New York and
the New York Yacht Club. He is a director of the American Fair Trade
League of New York and of the American Protective Tariff League, New
York. Mr. Joy's wide interest in public affairs has made his name known
all over America, and as president of the Lincoln Highway Association,
which is building a concrete road from New York to San Francisco, as
a memorial to Abraham Lincoln, his work has won the favorable comment
of the motor enthusiasts and nature lovers of the nation.
On the nth of October, 1892, Mr. Joy was married to Miss Helen
Hall Newberry, of Detroit, and they have two children, Helen Bourne
an Henry Bourne, Jr.
Charles Edwin TitoMAS. Since the establishment of organized gov-
ernment, the legal profession has attracted to it men of unusual ability.
It is a calling that brings out the best in an individual, developing his
natural talents so that he is able to cope with opportunities that arise in
his own life or those about him, and it is not therefore unusual to find
the lawyer acting in positions of responsibility in various other fields of
endeavor. Battle Creek can boast of some of the most learned and pro-
found legists in the state of Michigan, and among them one who has
arisen to merited eminence in a professional way and who is widely
known among his fellow citizens as one who has ever been ready to give
of himself in the cause of the public welfare, is Charles Edwin Thomas.
A native son of this city, his entire life has been passed within its borders.
He was born November 28, 1S44, his parents being Thomas H. and Ma-
rinda (Whitford) Thomas, natives of New YoVk. He is a member of a
family which was founded in this country by his great-grandparents in
J 806, they coming to America from Wales. On his mother's side he is
of English and Irish descent. The parents of Mr. Thomas came to Mich-
igan in 1835, and his father, Thomas H. Thomas, became one of the lead-
ing contractors and builders of this part of the state. Nearly all of the early
bridges of the IMichigan Central Railroad and some of the early mills of
Calhoun and Kalamazoo counties were erected by him. When he passed
away, December 2j, 1850, he was known as one of the substantial and
highly respected citizens of Calhoun county.
Charles Edwin Thomas attended the public schools of his native city.
In 1858 he entered the home of Dr. Edward Cox, well remembered as one
of the pioneers of Michigan in the medical profession. Mr. Thomas
entered the law department of the University of Michigan in 1864, and
graduated therefrom in 1868. During the progress of his law course he
studied under the preceptorship of and in the offices of Judge Benjamin F.
Graves and Myron H. Joy. In 1869 he entered active practice as a member
of the law firm of Dibble, Brown & Thomas, an association which con-
tinued until 1871, in which year was formed the firm of Brown & Thomas.
When IMr. Brown died, in 1887, Mr. Thomas succeeded to the business,
and for a number of years continued in practice alone until the business
of the Advance Thresher Company took his whole time.
jNIr. Thomas became one of the five original stockholders of the .\d-
vance Thresher Company, at the time of its organization, May i, 1881,
and when it went out of business was the only surviving stockholder. He
acted in the capacity of director, legal advisor and member of the execu-
tive board from the date of its organization until November, 191 1, at
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 655
which time the business of the Advance Thresher Company was sold to
the Rumely Company, Indiana. Mr. Thomas was also one of the organ-
izers of the Union School Furniture Company and several other corpora-
tions. He has ever taken a warm pride in the growth and development
of his native city by taking hold of incipient industries and developing
them to their full power, and few men have done more to stimulate
business.
From his young manhood Mr. Tiiomas has been interested and ac-
tively engaged in politics. In politics he is a Democrat of the old school,
and was early recognized as the leader of his party in this part of
Michigan, and, although his party was generally in the minority, his per-
sonal popularity and influence took him time and again to public office.
He became a member of the school board in 1873, a position which he
occupied for eighteen years continuously, during all of which time he acted
as secretary, and in this period a debt of $81,000 was liquidated and three
new buildings erected without bonding, an accomplishment which may be
in a large part accredited to his unflagging and well-directed efforts. He
had been first sent to the city council in 1871, and in 1873 was elected to
that office for a second term. He was appointed to fill a vacancy therein
in 1887, and in the following spring was elected for a full term. He stood
high in the confidence of his colleagues, and in the capacity of chairman
of the ways and means committee provided the way in the payment of
$200,000 railroad aid bonds, the payment of which had been stopped by
the Michigan courts and enforced by the United States courts, after a
lapse of five years. These bonds, bearing interest of eight and ten per
cent, accumulated a large indebtedness. While a member of the council
for seven years, and of the school board for eighteen years, no bonds or
indebtedness were created, save the bonds for construction of water works.
He was chairman of the committee which negotiated the sale of these
bonds, they being the first to bear a low rate of interest. It has always
been Mr. Thomas's belief, and the policy under which he has worked, that
posterity should not be made to bear the burden created by a former .
generation. Also, while a member of the board of supervisors, he repre-
sented Calhoun county before the State Board of Equalization. He was
chosen a circuit court commissioner in 18S2, being one of the three candi-
dates elected on the Democratic ticket for the first time in Calhoun county
in a period of twenty-four years. He served Battle Creek as city attorney
two terms, and while so engaged drew up most of the city ordinances,
and which were the ground work of the present ordinances. In 1894
came his appointment from President Cleveland to the postmaster-
ship of Battle Creek, and his administration was marked by numerous
innovations and improvements to the ser\'ice, this postoffice being ad-
vanced from a second-class to a first-class station. Another helpful public
service was as a member of the charter commission of Battle Creek, when
he was delegated by the commissioners to make the first draft whicii
was adopted by the commission and people.
Mr. Thomas is well and favorably known in fraternal circles, being
connected with the Knights of Pythias and the Royal Arch Masons. He
belongs also to the Athelstan and Country Clubs. He takes a keen in-
terest in the welfare of Oakhill Cemetery and during the past forty years
has served as clerk. With implicit confidence in the future welfare and
advancement of his native city, he has invested heavily in real estate, and
in addition to the Thomas Block, in which is located the Central
National Bank, he owns the Doctor Cox block which he built and has
a handsome residence at No. 216 South Jeft'erson street. Mr. Thomas
is very fond of travel and has visited every state in the "Union, with
the exception of North Carolina and Florida, and has been to California
more than twenty times. In 1913, with Mrs. Thomas, he took an ex-
656 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
tended trip to the Orient, during which he visited various interesting
points in Hawaii, Japan, China and the PhiHppines. In 1914 they took
a trip through England, Scotland. Wales, France, Belgium, Holland and
Germany. They were at Berlin for four weeks after the war was declared
and reached home without trouble through Holland and England.
Mr. Thomas has been an eye-witness to the wonderful changes which
have developed Battle Creek from a straggling village into a metropolis
which, by reason of its numerous industries and the men who control
Ihem, is known all over the world. No man has labored more steadfastly
or helpfully to make the municipality's prosperity permanent and his
public-spirited and unselfish service has been of a nature signally encour-
aging to the city's growth. It but naturally follows that he stands high
in public esteem and confidence and that many trusts have been placed
in his capable hands. In company with Hon. F. W. JNIoore he was
executor of the large estate of the late Charles Willard, carrying out his
wishes faithfully in the erection of the Young [Men's Christian Asso-
ciation Home and the Charles Willard Library, in Battle Creek, and also
in the dedicating to the city of the Charles \\'illard Park. He also handled
the $23,000 fund donated by the late Charlotte ^I. Rogers to the Char-
itable Union, a benefaction which enabled the society to build the Jabez
Rogers annex to the Nichols Hospital. These are but few of the num-
erous trusts which have been carefully and conscientiously executed by
Mr. Thomas.
The marriage of Mr. Thomas occurred November 25, 1874, to Miss
Isabell Adams. One daughter has been born to this union : j\Iaud A.,
who was born at the old family homestead, which stood on the present
site of the [Michigan Central Passenger Depot, Battle Creek, and in which
Mr. Thomas was also bom.
Judge Cl.^rence W. Sessions. As judge of the United States dis-
trict court for the western district of Michigan, Judge Sessions of
Muskegon fills a place of distinction and important public service in this
state. He has been identified with the Muskegon bar for nearly thirty
years, and for upwards of eight years has been either on the state or
federal bench. His record of service classifies him as a fine type of the
modern judge. As a lawyer he has represented the best ability of the
Muskegon bar, and whether alone or in partnership, had a place second
to none among his contemporaries.
Clarence W. Sessions was born in the town of North Plains, in
Ionia county, Michigan, February 8, 1859, a son of William and Julia
(Jennings) Sessions. The paternal grandparents were Nathaniel and
Chloe Sessions, natives of Connecticut, who lived in New '^'ork State
until 1837, in which year, marked by the entrance of [Michigan territory
to the union of states, they came west and settled on a farm in Michigan.
The maternal grandparents were John and Elizabeth Jennings, who
came from New York to [Michigan in 1843. Thus it is seen that on both
sides the famil}- has been represented in this state since pioneer days.
William Sessions, father of the judge, was born in Chautauqua county,
New York, in 1821, and died in 1894. The mother was born in Livings-
ton county. New York, in 1832, and died in 1908. They were married in
[Michigan in 1854, and in 1871 moved to the city of Ionia. The father
was a farmer there, and afterwards moved to [Montcalm county, where
he died on a farm. He was a man in prosperous circumstances and had
a prominent part in social and civic affairs. He was a deacon and elder
for many years in the Presbyterian church, was a Republican in politics,
and for sixteen years serv^ed as supervisor of his township, and in 1873
was elected a member of the state legislature. There were three children,
and two are now living. John F.. the brother of Judge Sessions is a
fanner in Montcalm countv on the old homestead.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 657
Judge Sessions grew up on a farm, where he attended district
schools, and also the Ionia high school. Entering the University of
Michigan, he was graduated in the Arts Department in 1881. He then
studied law at the University and was admitted to the bar in 1884. For
a short time he was in the lumber business, but in 1885 established his
practice at Muskegon, and was at first in partnership with Lewis M.
Miller, for one year. After practicing alone for a while he joined Dan
T. Chamberlain, in 1887, and that firm continued until 1S91. Later for
two years he was with Alexander Sutherland. From 1902 to 1906,
Judge Sessions was a member of the most prominent law firm of Mus-
kegon and one of the largest in western Michigan, his associates being
Smith, Xims, Hoyt and Erwin.
A Republican in politics, Judge Sessions has given much time to
public alTairs. He served as city attorney of IMuskegon for six terms,
and in 1906 was elected circuit judge of the fourteenth judicial circuit
of Alichigan. He continued on the state bench, until his appointment
in 191 1, as U. S. District Judge for the Western District of Michigan.
In 1882 at Ionia, Michigan, Judge Sessions married Mary S. Foote,
a daughter of Charles Foote, who for a number of years was pastor of
the Presbyterian church at Ionia, and died in 1880. ]\Irs. Sessions was
born in Jerseyville, Illinois, August 19, 1862, and was educated in a
seminary at Springfield, that state. Judge Sessions and wife have two
children : Marjorie F., a graduate of the high school at Muskegon, and
of Ferry Hall, at Lake Forest, Illinois, and now serving as her father's
secretary; Clarence N., a young attorney of Muskegon, concerning whose
career brief mention will be found in later paragraphs.
Judge Sessions and family belong to the Congregational Church.
In Masonry he is one of the best known in Michigan, having affiliattions
with the Blue Lodge, the Chapter and the Knights Templars. He is
also a thirty-third degree Scottish Rite Mason. He was Eminent Com-
mander of Muskegon Commandery for two years and at present is com-
mander-in-chief of DeWitt Clinton Consistory at Grand Rapids. He is
also affiliated with the Knights of Maccabees, the Independent Order
of Foresters, and the Modern Woodmen of America.
Clarence N. Sessions, a son of Judge Sessions, was born at Muske-
gon, April 2, 1890. He graduated from the Muskegon high school, and
'also spent one year in Cornell LTniversity, and in 1912 graduated from
the Universitv of jMichigan Law Department. Returning to his native
citv he established himself in practice as a member of the firm of Suther-
land, lohnson & Sessions, and they are doing a large general practice, Mr.
Sessions has been admitted to practice in all the courts except the United
States supreme court. Fraternally he has membership in the Phi Kappa
Psi College fraternity, and is a thirty-second degree !Mason. In politics
he is a Republican.
Stephen" Edwin Wait. The residence of Stephen Edwin Wait in
Traverse City dates back to the days when this now thriving community
was little more than a wilderness, with but small promise of becoming
a center of intense industrial and commercial activity. From that time
to the present, Mr. Wait has been engaged in a variety of pursuits, all
connected with the rising business interests of the citj', being intimately
identified with its growth, and prospering with its great prosperity. Ship-
building and navigation, exportation of produce and educational activities,
all ha-fe shared his labor, while the drug business has been the longest
and most important of his undertakings, having engaged his attention
for thirty-nine years. At the age of eighty years Mr. Wait survives to
witness the scattering population of a few hundred souls that he joined
more than sixty years ago increased to 13,000, and the straggling hamlet of
658 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
his first location become one of the leading cities of the Northwest.
Mr. Wait was born at Fairfield, Franklin county, Vermont, July 21, 1834,
and is a son of John J. and Maryann E. (Fox) Whittier. His father
died when Stephen E. was but three years of age, and in 1837 his mother
married Martin S. \\'ait, whose name the youth subsequently adopted.
Stephen Edwin ^^'ait was still a child when taken by his mother and
stepfather to Ohio, and there secured his early' education in the public
schools. Several years later the family residence was changed to Mackinac
Island, Michigan, where the youth completed his schooling, and at the age
of si.xteen years began to learn the trade of wagonmaker in the shop
of his stepfather. In 1848 the family moved to Old ^fission, Grand
Traverse county, locating on a farm, upon which Mr. and Mrs. Wait
passed the remainder of their lives. ]\Iartin S. Wait was one of the
strong and forceful men of his community, was well known in business
circles, and was a stalwart Republican, filling various offices for some
years, including that of justice of the peace. Five children were born
to him and his wife: Dudley Monroe, Mary Elizabeth, Francis Martin,
Sarah Ann and Arthur Wellesley.
Stephen Edwin Wait left home to embark upon a career of his own as
a youth and went to Old [Mission, where he had the experience of teach-
ing the first white school in this county. In November, 1851, there arri\ed
at Old Mission, on the schooner Madeline, five young men, three brothers
named Fitzgerald, a fourth, William Boyce, and another, all good sailors
but with no education. The teacher secured to teach at Old Mission failing
to arrive, Mr. Wait, then nineteen years old, was employed at $20 per
month and board, the Madeline was brought to Bowers Harbor and
anchored for the winter, the afterhold was converted into a dining room
and kitchen, and the cabin became the school. Regular hours were
observed and strict discipline was maintained, and under yir. Wait's
teaching the young men made very satisfactory progress. After leaving
Old JMission, .Mr. Wait went to Elk Rapids, and following this spent one
summer at Middlevillage and a year at Pashabatown. During President
Lincoln's administration he was appointed by D. C. Leach, Indian agent,
to teach the Chippewa Indians, and rounded out his career as an educator
in Summit county, Ohio, where he taught one winter. JMr. Wait was
known as one of the most popular and efficient instructors of his day and
numerous citizens who afterwards rose to position and prosperity in the
community gave credit for much of their success to his kind and careful
instruction during their youth. Mr. Wait was widely known for his
thoroughness and accuracy, particularly in mathematics.
Upon giving up the profession of educator, Mr. Wait went to Elk
Rapids, Michigan, where for eight years he was employed by the firm
of Dexter & Noble, mill owners, in the capacity of carpenter. Subse-
quentl}' he planned and superintended the building of the old side-wheel
steamer Albatross, the first vessel of its kind to operate on inland lakes,
and later returned to Traverse Cit)^, attaching himself to the grocerj- de-
partment of the Hannah & Lay Company and soon becoming clerk and
steward of the City of Traverse, a vessel belonging to this concern, which
plied between Traverse City and Chicago and also made special trips,
loaded with grain, to Buffalo, New York. Upon leaving the employ of
this concern. Mr. ^^'ait received his introduction to the drug business as
bookkee]:)er for L. \^'. Hubbell, the pioneer druggist of Traverse City,
and so thoroughly mastered the details of this business that in 1875 '^^
purchased his employer's interests and since that time has continued as
proprietor of the largest and best-patronized pharmacy in Traverse City,
a period of thirty-nine years. Mr. \\'ait has seen marvelous transforma-
tions during his day, and still retains sufficient vigor of body and mind to
interest himself in the busy life that surges about him and to enjoy the good
_J2. yy. ^oA^rJ^yi/rz^^
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 659
thinss with which Providence has crowned a life of industry and probity.
During pleasant weather his figure is a familiar sight on the streets of the
city which has been his home for so many years and to which he has
contributed so largely.
IMr. \\'ait has taken a keen and intelligent interest in all that has gone
to make for the welfare of his community, and has faithfully discharged
the duties of citizenship, serving as township clerk for two years, as justice
of the peace for one season, and in other capacities. While a resident
of Elk Rapids he served as town clerk for two years. Politically, Mr. Wait
is a Republican. As clerk in the Congregational Church for a period of
thirty-eight years, Mr. Wait has established a record for continuous serv-
ice, in every walk of life has conscientiously given of his best to the
responsibilities which have devolved upon him, and at all times has fully
merited the high esteem and regard in which he has been held by those
with whom he has been associated. The pleasant home in which Mr. \\'ait
now resides was built in 1866 by Mr. Wait, and with the passing of the
years has been improved by him from time to time, it now being one of
the most attractive residences of the city. Here, surrounded by his family,
Mr. Wait is passing the evening of life, still fulfilling the obligations of
citizen, father and neighbor in the kindliest manner.
Mr. \\'ait was married first at Old Mission, Michigan, April 8, 1858,
to !Maria Louisa Colburn, who died at Traverse City, Michigan, January
29, 1868. Two children were born to this union: Ida Rowena, at Elk
Rapids, May 8, 1859, who died at Traverse City, April 29, 1879; and
Cora Louisa, born at Traverse City, October 26, 1867. Mr. Wait's second
marriage occurred at Racine, Wisconsin, June 23, 1870, when he was
united with Miss Ellen Packard, and they had three children : Minnie
Belle, born at Traverse City, December 8, 1871, a graduate of the local
high school, and now the wife of Frank O. Nicholson; Edmund Whittier,
born at Traverse City, July 14, 1873. a graduate of the National Institute
of Pharmacy, Chicago, Illinois, and now associated in business with his
father, married Miss Etta ]\Iae O'Neal ; and Cyrus Raymond, born at
Traverse City, April 3, 1877, a graduate of the National Institute of
Pharmacy, and now engaged in the drug business in Detroit, married
first. Miss Mary Seager, at Cadillac, Michigan, September 4, 1901, and
second ^Miss Frances Margaret Condon, of Isabella county, Michigan. The
mother of these children passed away at Traverse City, May 9, 1903.
C. H. H.XBERKORN. The Haberkorn family has lived in Detroit over
fifty years, and during the greater part of the time the name has been
associated with important manufacturing and general business activities.
Furniture dealers in all parts of the United States, Europe and South
America are familiar with the output of the Haberkorn Furniture Factory,
and in Detroit the family has also been prominent in real estate circles and
civic and social life.
C. H. Haberkorn, capitalist, president of C. H. Haberkorn & Co., treas-
urer of the Grosse Pointe Park Corporation and president of the Haber-
korn Investment Company, was born in Detroit. July 27, 1856. Flis father,
the late Henry Haberkorn, was born in Altenburg, Hesse-Darmstadt,
Germany, in 1831, and was a younger son of the mayor of that place,
descended from an old Bavarian family which had come to Hesse toward
the end of the fifteenth century. The elder Haberkorn came to the United
States in 1851 and settled in Detroit, where he was married in the same
year to Margaret Kolby, who had likewise come to this country from
Germany a few years before.
After an education in the public schools of Detroit, C. H. Haberkorn
went to San Francisco early in the '70s, and was engaged in the construe-
660 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
tion of several of the first large buildings erected in that city. His return
to Detroit was followed by a beginning in the manufacture of furniture,
resulting in 1878 in the establishment of the C. H. Haberkorn & Co.,
which has since been incorporated and of which he is president.
In 1884 Mr. Haberkorn was married to Miss Frances H. Ruehle,
daughter of Frederick Ruehle, who was one of the most prominent figures
in the early city government of Detroit, having been president of the Board
of Public W'orks and one of the four founders of the old Michigan Demo-
crat. From this marriage there are two children : Christian Henry Haber-
korn, Jr., and Adelaide Dorothea Haberkorn. ]Mrs. Haberkorn died in
1910, and Mr. Haberkorn in 1913 married Miss Helen Hortance Harvey
of Detroit.
The business energ\- of Mr. Haberkorn has been devoted chiefly to the
building up of the business of C. H. Haberkorn'& Co. in the manufacture
of high-grade furniture and of motor car accessories, and to the improv-
ing of real estate in and about Detroit. He is also interested in a number
of the banking concerns and railroads of the country. In addition to these
business activities Mr. Haberkorn is an extensive traveler, and spends con-
siderable part of each year away from Detroit.
Outside of practical affairs his associations are as a member and trustee
of the First Congregational church of Detroit, a member of the Detroit
Club, the Detroit Country Club, the Detroit Golf Club, the Wayne Club,
Detroit Board of Commerce, the Geographical Society of America and
The Old Club. His residence is at 45 E. Ferry avenue and his office at 393
W. Elizabeth Street.
Christian Henry Haberkorn, Jr. A son of C. H. Haberkorn, Sr.,
and of Frances H. Ruehle, whose family has been prominent in Detroit
for four generations. Christian Henry Haberkorn, Jr., is an example of
the aggressive college man in business aflfairs, and is a manufacturer,
secretary and treasurer of C. H. Haberkorn & Company, secretary of
the Grosse Pointe Corporation, and secretary and treasurer of the Haber-
korn Investment Company.
Born in Detroit, May 24, 1889, he received his preparatory education
at the Detroit University School and entered Harvard University in the
fall of 1908. At Harvard he was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha
of Massachusetts ; the Sigma Alpha Phi Society of Harvard University,
the Harvard ^Mission, the Star Chamber, the Student Council, the Harvard
Cosmopolitan Club, the Cercle Francais, the Deutscher Verein, and the
Harvard History Club. He took his degree of Bachelor of Arts with the
class of 1912, holding a John Harvard Scholarship and being First Marshal
of Phi Beta Kappa.
In the spring of 19 12 Mr. Haberkorn entered into the active affairs of
C. H. Haberkorn & Co., manufacturers of furniture, and is secretary and
treasurer of that important Detroit industry. His other associations with
the large business interests of his father make him secretary of the Grosse
Pointe Corporation and secretary and treasurer of the Haberkorn Invest-
ment Company.
In 191 3 'Sir. Haberkorn was given the degree of Master of Arts by
Harvard University, and besides his membership in the various college and
honorary societies already mentioned, is also a member of the Old Club
and of the American Economic Association. On September 17, 1913, was
celebrated his marriage to Miss Charlotte M. Beck, daughter of George
Beck, president of the Beck Cereal Company and a past president of the
Detroit Board of Trade. ^^Ir. Haberkorn's residence is at 1005 Second
avenue and his office is at 393 W. Elizabeth street.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 661
William F. Hicks. During many years of his lifetime a civic
leader and business man of Hastings, which city was his home for more
than thirty-five years, William F. Hicks, deceased, was an honored veteran
of the great Civil War, lived in Michigan for seventy years, and made a
most creditable record in all the activities which at different periods of
his life engaged his attention.
His birth occurred in the state of New York, in Clinton county, April
6, 1840, as the third son of M. W. and Sarah (Fox) Hicks, both parents
also natives of the state of New York. In 1844, when William F. was
four years old, the family came west and settled at Southfield, in Oak-
land county. Michigan. The father was a man of no little importance
in Oakland county during many years, and the character of his activities
were such as to constitute a valued service to the people. He was pro-
prietor of both a mill and a store, besides operating a considerable tract
of farming land. His store and mill were patronized by the people of a
large territory, and the mill was for a number of years the only one in
this section of the state, and its facilities were proportionately valuable.
In 1868 he moved to Bay City, Michigan, where his death occurred in
i86g, and his widow survived only a short time.
William F. Hicks grew up in Oakland county, was a student in the
public schools at Southfield until his eighteenth year, and after some fur-
ther preparation in a select school, took up the work of a teacher, which
vocation was followed by him in several different school districts. In
the meantime his active assistance had been given to his father in the
store, but soon after reaching his majority his services were enlisted in
the cause of freedom and the preservation of the Union. In 1862 he en-
listed in Company D of the Twenty-fourth Michigan Infantry, under
Colonel Henry A. Morris. This company was soon sent to the front
and saw service in a number of skirmishes, and Mr. Hicks fought in the
battle of South Mountain. Soon after that engagement he fell ill, was
sent to a hospital and later to Philadelphia, remaining in that city until
August, 1863, and was then given a discharge on a surgeon's certificate.
His return home to Oakland county was followed by a period of compara-
tive inactivity in consequence of the hardships of army life, but on re-
covering his health he moved to Bay City, became a clerk in a general
store, and after several years bought an interest in the establishment.
Finally disposing of his mercantile holdings at Bay City, in 1878, Mr.
Hicks moved to Hastings and began dealing in ice and salt. At the end
of two years this business was sold, and most of his time for a numl^er
of vears was taken up with the operation of a farm and in looking after
various private interests and public affairs. In 1910 he again bought an
ice business, and continued it to the time of his death. He owned a farm
of forty-six acres near Hastings, and made that almost a model place,
well stocked and improved, and gave his own personal supervision to
its management.
The name of Mr. Hicks was an influential one in Democratic politics
in Barry county for a number of years. In 1900 he was made a mem-
ber of the Democratic Central Committee, and in 1912 was a member of
the State Democratic Central Committee, and gave active support to the
campaign of Champ Clark during that year. In the city of Hastings his
chief public service was in the office of alderman, of which he was the
incumbent for sixteen years from the Fourth Ward. Fraternally he affil-
iated with Hastings Lodge, No. 52, A. F. & A. M. ; Flastings Chapter,
No. 68, R. A. M., and he took much interest in Masonic affairs. Mr.
Hicks' wife preceded him in death some years, and their only daughter,
Belle, served as her father's private secretary.
662 HISTORY OF AIICHIGAN
Henry Hulst, AI. D. In preparing a biographical sketch of such a
man as Dr. Hulst, whose brilliant professional achievements are based
on an intimate knowledge of the sciences, the historian feels the limita-
tions of his knowledge. In truth, any biography of such a man should
be prepared by some one having adequate professional knowledge, and
might be better presented in the pages of medical journals, whose readers
are familiar with the subjects which have engaged his thoughts, and can
follow the line of original investigation which it has been his fortune
to make in some important lines of medical science. The present writer
must be content to confine himself merely to the salient points of a bril-
liant career; briefly to present the life of an eminent citizen as it has
been seen by the mass of unprofessional people.
Dr. Hulst is a native of the Netherlands, and was born June 25, 1859,
a son of Rev. Lammert Jan and Aebeltje-(Hellenga") Hulst. His father,
for sixty years a minister of the Christian Reformed church, was largely
instrumental in the formation of that branch of the organization, leading
his followers from the Dutch Reformed to the Christian Reforrned. He
is an author of wide reputation, and has published a number of books
on theology, and an autobiography, which have enjoved a remarkable
sale, both in the Dutch and English languages. He had held a charge
in Illinois before he was located in Grand Rapids, and although he is
now living retired at the home of his daughter in Ottawa county, being
ninety years of age, he still preaches a large number of sermons each
year. This remarkable man began life as a poor shepherd boy in the
Netherlands, early received his call to preach the Gospel, and studied
faithfully for a number of years at a theological seminary, but mainly
educated himself. His life has been one of usefulness and helpfulness
to his fellow-men, and he has done much to forward the cause of his
Master. His wife, who was also bom in the Netherlands, passed away
after becoming the mother of six children, of whom the subject of this
sketch is the second in order of birth. Another son, John Hulst, a grad-
uate of the University of Michigan, is now chief engineer for the Car-
negie Steel Works, maintaining his home in Pittsburgh.
The early education of Dr. Henry Hulst was secured in the public
schools of his native land. He was fourteen years of age when he accom-
panied his parents to the United States, and after graduating from Hope
College and for a time attending Princeton University, he entered the Uni-
versity of IMichigan, where he was graduated in 1888, as president of his
medical class. He then spent two years at the Northern Alichigan Asylum,
as assistant physician, and at the end of that period came to Grand
Rapids, which city has since been his home and the scene of his profes-
sional labors and successes. Here, December 31, 1889, Dr. Hulst mar-
ried Miss Cornelia Stetekee, daughter of John and Catherine (van der
Boegh) Stetekee. of Dutch and Hugenot stock. Both parents had come
to the United States when fourteen years of age, and settled in Kent
county, Michigan. Mr. Stetekee's father, Jan Stetekee. was a leader of
the colony that came from the province of Zeeland to Michigan and set-
tled the town of Zeeland. John Stetekee's occupation was that of a
notary public and conveyancer, and through good management and ener-
getic efforts he was able to amass a competency. He stood high in gen-
eral public esteem, and he was one of the foremost Republicans of his
day, serving for years as supervisor, as deputy sheriff for Kent county,
as U. S. collector of internal revenue, and as consul for the Netherlands.
Mrs. Hulst is widely known in educational and literary circles. A stu-
dent of the University of Michigan in 1888-1889. in 1914 she was given
the honorary degrees of Master of Pedagogy by the Michigan State Nor-
mal College and -Master of Arts by the University of Michigan. She is
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 663
instructor in English literature at the Central High School of Grand
Rapids, and is the author of several books which have attracted a wide-
spread and favorable attention, one book being of the legend and history
of St. George of Capadocia, and the other book, Indian sketches, a study
in Michigan history. In 1912 she was elected vice-president of the Na-
tional Educational Association, and in 1913 became president of the
Michigan State Teachers' Association. She is also a charter member
and officer of the National Council of English Teachers. She was the
first president of the Drama League of Grand Rapids, and has contributed
greatly to the aesthetic development of the people of Grand Rapids.
In the line of his profession. Dr. Hulst is a member of the Kent County
Medical Society, the Michigan State Medical Society, and the American
Medical Association. A man of advanced thought, he has made an ex-
haustive study of hypnotism, and conducted some experiments of value
to it, but he has gained his greatest reputation in the use of the X-Ray.
On both of these subjects he has written papers which have been ac-
cepted as keen and thorough studies, and he is frequently quoted as an
authority abroad as well as in America. Among the more notable papers
which Dr. Hulst has published are the following: "Gastrostomy in
Hypnosis," "An Experimental Study in Artificial Multiple Personality,"
"An Experiment in Automatic Writing," "An Examination of the Lungs
by Roentgen Rays," "The Compression Cylinder in Skiagraphy of Cal-
culi," "Roentgenography in Diseases of Stomach and Intestines," "Fur-
ther Observations on the Roentgenography of the Stomach and Intes-
tines," "Soft Tissue Roentgenography." Dr. Hulst was the first physi-
cian to displav X-Ray plates of one-quarter second exposure, thus secur-
ing lung cletail, and served for one term as president of the National
American Roentgen Society. In 1908 he was made the American repre-
sentative to the International Congress of Electrology and Radiology,
and attended its meetings in Amsterdam. Still in the fullness of his
powers, with the best years of his life apparently before him, he has
already accomplished what would seem satisfactory, even after a lifetime
of endeavor. Few men stand higher in the ranks of their calling or in
the general esteem and admiration of the public.
Frank Woodm.an Eddy. The late Frank Woodman Eddy, for nearly
forty years was closely identified with the financial, commercial, industrial
and social life of Detroit, and during the major part of that time was a
dominant factor in a number of the city's leading concerns, and ever an
influence in the direction of the higher things of life. Mr. Eddy first
became identified with business in Detroit, in 1875, in which year he
held a clerkship with the house of N. D. Edwards & Co. The following
year saw him admitted as a member of that firm, and from that time on
he kept forging toward the front, year after year, until he became one of
the leaders in business at Detroit. His rise in the business world was not
meteoric; neither was it the result of a plodding career, but rather his
plans came to fruition through well ordered methods, keen foresight, a
clear understanding of men and their limitations and a quiet persistence
along each line of activity until the legitimate end was reached.
Frank Woodman Eddy was born at Warsaw, Wyoming county, New
York, July 29, 1851, and his death occurred June 12, 1914, at his Grosse
Point "residence, Detroit. His parents were Rev. Zachary and Malvina
(Cochran) Eddv, the father a native of Vermont and the mother of New
York. The Eddy family is of Puritan colonial stock and an uninter-
rupted line of ancestry may be traced to Rev. \\'illiam Eddye, vicar of
St. Dunstan, Cranbrook, England, for many years, whose son, Samuel
Eddy, came to the shores of New England in 1630 and was the American
664 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
ancestor. He settled at Plymouth, Massachusetts, where his son, Obediah,
probably was born. The latter became the father of children, among them
Samuel (2j, who was the father of Samuel (3), and he in turn liecame the
father of Nathan, who was the father of Isaac Eddy, who was the
grandfather of Francis Woodman Eddy. One of the direct descendants
of the marriage between John Alden's daughter and Miles Standish s son,
married Nathan Eddy, and they were the great-grandparents of the late
Frank Eddy. . ...
Rev. Zachary Eddy, son of Isaac Eddy, was a Congregational minister.
He came to Detroit in 1873 and for ten years was pastor of the First
Congregational Church in this city. In 1883 he practically retired from
the pulpit, although afterward he had charge of a church at .\tlanta, Geor-
gia, for a short time. After the death of his wife in that city he returned
to Detroit and his life closed in this city.
Mr. Eddy, familiarly and affectionately known as "Frank," attended
the Round Hill school, the public schools of Northampton, Massachusetts,
and the Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, New York, to
which city the family had removed in 1866. He finished his school days
in Williams College, at Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he spent two
years. Mr. Eddy's entrance into business life was as a clerk in a whole-
sale hardware store in New York City. In 1873 lie went to Sacramento,
California, where for two years he was engaged in a hardware store, after
which he was interested, for a short time, in the newspaper and printing
business. His family having come to Detroit in 1873, he joined them in
1875, and this remained his home ever afterward. His first employment
in Detroit, interesting because hereby he took the initial step that led on
to fortune, was as a clerk for H. D. Edwards & Co. As previously stated,
he had some measure of experience and here he became so useful and so
clearly demonstrated his capacity for business, that in 1876 he was admit-
ted to the firm as a member, and from that time on was the dominating
factor in that company. His inherent business ability led him into many
other fields of enterprise. He was a director of the Morgan & Wright
Company, manufacturers of rubber tires, leaders in the line at that day.
a company he was largely instrumental in bringing to Detroit ; was a di-
rector of the Rubber Goods Manufacturing Company of New York
City : was president of the National Can Company, Detroit ; a director of
the Detroit Oak Belting Company; of the Wayne County Savings Bank;
of the Detroit Trust Company ; of the Detroit Fire and Alarine Insurance
Company; and treasurer of the H. V. Hartz Company of Cleveland, Ohio.
Mr. Eddy married Florence Taylor, a niece of Mrs. William A. But-
ler of Detroit, and to that union the following children were born : Kath-
leen, who married William Oft'utt Mundy, of Kentucky; Marian, who
married William Colburn Standish, of Detroit; Florence, who married
Frederick S. Munger, of Utica, New York; Grace Fletcher, who married
Aikman Armstrong, of Detroit ; Dorothy, who married William AlcPher-
son Browning, of Detroit; and Frank Woodman, residing with the
mother.
Mr. Eddy was notably public spirited and always exerted, on account
of his high character, a marked influence. He ever evinced a deep interest
in all public affairs, civic movements and charitable endeavors. As a
trustee of the new General Hospital he gave freely both of time, advice
and means, and during the administration of President Taft he was ap-
pointed a member of the Red Cross Society. Mr. Eddy was an ex-presi-
dent of the Detroit Club, was the first president of the Detroit Athletic
Club and was prominently concerned with the reorganization of that club
in 1913, when the movem'ent to build the present club building was under
consideration. He was a charter member of the Detroit Boat Club, and
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 665
was a member of the Country Club, the Yontodega Club, the Grosse
Pointe Hunt Club and of the Big Point and Caledon Mountain Clubs of
Ontario.
George Albert Baldwin. This Munising citizen and business man,
for many years identified with the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, has a
specially notable family record, the line being traced back directly for
many generations to prominent early Englishmen. The following gene-
alogy has been carefully compiled from documentary sources, and may
be considered a reliable sketch of the Baldwin family in this particular
branch.
Richard Baldwin of the county of Bucks, England, described as of
"Dourigge" in the Parish of Aston-Clinton, made his will January i6,
1552. He was a brother of Sir John Baldwin, Chief Justice of England.
Richard Baldwin's wife's name was Ellen, and they had six children.
Henry Baldwin, the first child, died June i, 1603, and his wife's name
was Allice. They were the parents of seven children.
Of these the fourth child was Sylvester Baldwin, who died on board
the ship "Martin," June 21, 1638, while emigrating to America. He was
married in England to Sarah Bryan. They had nine children.
Richard Baldwin, the second child and oldest son, was one of the
three brothers who were with their parents on the ship Martin.
He was baptised in the Parish of Aston-Clinton, Buckinghamshire,
August 25, 1622, and was probably born not long before. He settled
in Milford, Connecticut, in 1638, becoming one of the founders of
that place. He evidently had a good education for the time, since
his handwriting is as good as that seen in any early records. He
frec|uently appeared as attorney before the general court at New Haven,
and his arguments are so redolent of the shrewd, technical manner of
the times that it would seem that he must have had some schooling. It
appears likely that he was in some attorney's office, perhaps in London,
a position to which the Baldwins of Bucks and Herts inclined, influenced
thereto no doubt by the eminent success of their kinsman, Sir John Bald-
win, the chief justice. He was probably in the office of his Uncle Henry,
an attorney. Richard Baldwin married Elizabeth Alsop on February 5,
1642-3, and his death occurred July 2^,, 1665. His children's names and
date of baptism at Milford are as follows: Elizabeth, September, 1644;
Sylvanus, November, 1646; Sarah, April i, 1649: Temperance, June 29,
1651; Mary, November 6, 1653; Theophilus, April 26, 1659; Zachariah,
September 22, 1660; and Martha, April i, 1663.
Theophilus Baldwin, the sixth child, was born April 26, 1659. He was
married in Milford, February 8, 1682-3, to Elizabeth Campfield, prob-
ably a daughter of Thomas. He died June 22, 1698. His children were:
Martha, born in 1690; Abigail, born in 1694; Theophilus, born in 1694;
and Hezekiah, born in 1697 — Milford being the birthplace of all.
Captain Theophilus Baldwin, the third child, born in 1694 in Milford,
settled at New Milford, Connecticut, as one of the founders of the town.
At that place on June 5, 1722, he married Jerusha Beecher. He was ad-
mitted to the New A-Iilford church, June 19, 1727. He was a captain of
the militia during the early Indian wars, in cha'rge of the military stores.
For seven sessions he was a member of the General Assembly. His chil-
dren, all born in New Milford, were as follows: Jerusha, born August
22, 1723; Elizabeth, September 16, 1725: Theophilus, January 16, 1728;
Hezekiah, September 26, 1732; Isaac, March 17, 1735; Israel, March 1.9,
^73(^-7 '• Asel, June 29, 1739; David, December 5, 1741 ; Anne, November
25, 1744-
666 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Captain Hezekiah Baldwin, the fourth child among the above, was
born September 26, 1732, in Xew Milford. In a late (1904) examina-
tion of the Xew Milford records he is found described as Lieutenant Bald-
win. He was a lieutenant in the French and Indian war with Abercrom-
bie and is said to have been at Crown Point and Ticonderoga. He was a
captain in the Revolutionary war. He served as captain of the Second
Regiment of New York forces commanded by Colonel Goose Van Schaick.
-■-Vt the siege of Quebec he was with Arnold and ^Montgomery. In 1795
Captain Hezekiah visited New Milford in company with his son-in-law,
Hon. Norman Fo.x. He was married in New -Milford in 1759 to Abigail
Peet, who was born in 1735. She died IMarch 13, 1803, and he on May
II, 1822. at Chestertown, New York. His two eldest sons were born at
New Milford, and the others at Chestertown, New York. The children
were: Jerusha, born September 9, 1760; Hezekiah, born March 25,
1762; jMartha, born October 15, 1766; Abel, born ]March 25, 1769; Reu-
ben, born May 4, 1772; Aaron, born in February, 1775; Israel P., born
IMay 8, 1778. Of these Jerusha Baldwin Fox died September 3, 1819;
Martha Baldwin Graves died September 27, 1822 : Reuben died June 12,
1813; Israel P. in 1815. Israel P. Baldwin was town clerk and school
commissioner of Queensbury township in Warren county, New York.
Hon. Seth Baldwin, Chancellor of New York, after whom the town of
Lake George was named, was the son of one of these children. Israel
P. Baldwin is recorded as having been a contributor to the building fund
of the first church built in Glens Falls, New York.
Lieutenant Hezekiah Baldwin, the second child, was born at New
Milford, March 25, 1762, and died at Chestertown, New York, May 7,
1831. He married Abiel Curtis, September 22, 1784, at New Canaan,
New York. She was born November 9, 1762, and died September 4,
1843. Hezekiah was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, his service hav-
ing been in Colonel ]Marenius Willett's Regiment, New York troops. In
1795 he was appointed a lieutenant in the New York militia, an office he
held until 1805. For many years he was a justice of the peace and was
familiarlv called Squire Baldwin. His court records are now in the hands
of his grandson, Philander Baldwin, of Glens Falls, New York. He was
engaged in the lumber business and built and operated the first two mills
north of Fort Edwards on the Hudson river. His children were : Svl-
vester, born November 5, 1786: Calvin, born May 21, 1788; Hulda, born
March 16, 1790: Philo. born February 13, 1792: Samuel, born February
16, 1794: John, born May 18, 1796; David, born April 8, 1801 ; Hezekiah,
born June 20. — .
Captain Sylvester Baldwin, the oldest of the last named children, was
born in Chestertown, New York, November 5, 1786. He married Phoebe
Sherman, daughter of Nathan and Rachel Osborne Sherman, at Saratoga.
New York, shortly after which he settled at Newport, Herkimer county.
New York. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, having been an officer
in Colonel Bellinger's regiment of New York militia. In 1854 he re-
moved to Camp Douglas, AMsconsin. and he and his children were granted
5,120 acres of land in recognition of his senice in the War of 1812. His
death occurred at Camp Douglas August 12, 1872. His children, born at
Newport, were as follows: Rachel Baldwin Junkins, born in October,
1810, and died April 8, 1866; Israel P., born April 15, 1815, and died in
1894: Norman Sylvester Baldwin, born October 8, 1820 : Esther Bald-
win Jones, born May 3, — , died November 5, 1894: Hannah Baldwin
\^'hitmore, born in March — , — , died March 4, 1861 : Phoebe Baldwin
W'ood, born April 28, 1832, died January 15, 1894; Abigail Baldwin
HISTORY OF AIICHIGAN 667
Eaton, born — , — ; John Baldwin, last known in 1878 was living in
Rochester, Xew York.
Norman Sylvester Baldwin was born at Newport, New York, Octo-
ber 8, 1820. He was married at Percy, Ontario, to Emma Miles, who was
born in England and was the daughter of John and Lady Snooks-Miles.
Lady Jane Snooks was the daughter of a Dorsetshire baronet who disin-
herited her for marrying beneath her station. His children were all born
in Percy. The following notice of Norman Sylvester Baldwin's death,
which occurred September 16, 1886, is from the Howard City (Michigan)
Record of September 24, 1886: ''Norman Baldwin, Sr., died at his
home in Maple Valley last Saturday, his death resulting from a fall on
the end of a plank last Thursday. Mr. Baldwin was born in Herkimer
county, New York, October 8, 1820. ^\'hen fifteen years of age he
moved to Canada and came to Alichigan in 1865. He had been a resi-
dent of ;\Iaple \'alley about twelve years, was a member of the Coral I\L
E. church and very much respected by all who were fortunate to make
his acquaintance. He was the father of F. A. Baldwin of Coral." His
children were as follows: Elizabeth Baldwin Black, born November 15,
1840; Frederick A., born September 8, 1843; Emma Baldwin Emory,
born April 25, 1846; Hannah Baldwin Sturdevant, born November 5,
183 1 ; Norman S., born February 28, 1853; and Sophia Baldwin Tracy,
born in 1855.
Frederick A. Baldwin, the second child, was born at Percy, C)ntario,
September 8, 1843. He was married at Brighton, Ontario, Decemljer 2j.
1866, to Aurilla Maria Sherman, who was born ;\Iay 24, 1843, the daugh-
ter of John and Mary Cryderman Sherman. Leaving his father's home
in 1862, he settled at Ann Arbor, Michigan, and after his marriage be-
gan the manufacture of wagons and carriages at Dexter, IMichigan. From
this place he moved to Coral, ^Michigan, in 1S72, where he died February
3, 1000. His children, born at Dexter, were: Frederick J., born Sep-
tember 2j. 1867; Earl E., born December 10, 1868. died in September.
i86q; George Albert, born April 26, 1870; Francis L.. born February 7,
1872; while the three following had Coral as their birthplace: Mary
A., bom September i, 1873: Charles A., born February 20, 1878; and
Eugene E., born September 18, 1879. The oldest child, Frederick J.,
was married November 6, 1890, to Mary Haviland,' daughter of Rev.
Daniel S. and ]\Iary Cambum Haviland. He was associated with his
brother, Charles, in the hardware and agricultural business under the
firm name of LaDu & Baldwin at Coral. Michigan. His children are:
Frederick Haviland, born April 15, 1900: and Faith Olive, born April
22, 1 901.
George Albert Baldwin, whose line of ancestry has thus been traced
through the various generations from its original seat in England, was
born at Dexter, Michigan, April 26, 1870. He was married at Coral,
Michigan, January 28, 1889, to Adah, daughter of Edv.in R. and Augusta
B. (Wood) :Nredes, who was born March 12. 1871, at Coral. Mr. Bald-
win graduated from the ^^■est ^Michigan Business L'niversity at Grand
Rapids in the spring of 1891, accepted a position with the Harrison \\'agon
Company of Grand Rapids, and was assigned to its store at Williams (or
Harrison) to take charge of the business at that place. On the first day
of March, 1892, he came to the Upper Peninsula of ]\Iichigan to take a
position in his brother, Francis L.'s printing office at AuTrain, where he
remained several months. Leaving the printing office he went with the
Onota Charcoal ;Manufacturing Company at Onota as store and book-
keeper. In January, 1803, returning to AuTrain and again engaging in
the printing business with his brother, he remained in that employment
668 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
until the spring of 1895, when his connections with the printing trade
were permanently severed. Then followed his embarking in the hard-
ware and implement business at AuTrain. While there he took an active
part in public affairs, served as postmaster for eight years, as register
of deeds in Alger county from 1899 to 1902 inclusive, and was poor com-
missioner of the same county from October, 1895, to 1906, inclusive.
On November 18, 1902, Mr. Baldwin and his family moved to Munis-
ing, Michigan, and lived at 120 Onota street in a residence which had
just been completed. His business relations were continued with the
hardware trade until he sold out to W. C. Flye in April, 191 1. Mr.
Baldwin made and is now the owner of the first set of abstract books
covering all the lands of Alger county.
After moving to Munising Mr. Baldwin was elected register of deeds
for Alger county, serving from January, 1909, to December, 19 12. In
the primary of 1912 he was defeated for the same office by Charles G.
Peterson. From March 1906, to March 1912, he was a member of the
village board of trustees. He was a memlier of Grand Island Lodge No.
422, F. & A. M., at Munising, and on December 5, 1913, took the higher
degrees in ^Masonry, and is a member of the Francis M. Moore Consis-
tory, thirty-second degree Masons, at Marcjuette. Fle was also a member of
Ahmed Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Marquette. In politics he is a
Republican and his church associations are with the Methodist Epis-
copal.
Mrs. Baldwin's father was in the grocery business at Coral, Michigan,
and died in March, 1892. To the marriage of Mr. and ^Irs. Baldwin
have been born the following children : Ethelyn Augusta, born Novem-
ber 29, 1S89, at Coral, and married June 26, 1912, to Jacob U. Korpela;
Ruth May, born at Onota, Michigan, June 3, 1892 ; Mabel Luella, born
September 9, 1894, at AuTrain; Mildred Naomi, born at Munising, June
II, 1903; George Sherman Baldwin, born at Munising, August 24, 1905;
and Jean Lillian, born at Munising, August 22, 1912.
Hox. Don M. Dickinson. For forty years one of Michigan's most
distinguished lawyers and public men, Don M. Dickinson has many
achievements to his credit, and in Detroit, which has been his home city
for so many years, he enjoys a place of peculiar esteem.
Don McDonald Dickinson was born. at Fort Ontario, Oswego county,
New York, January 17, 1846. The fine old American family to which
he belongs has a residence ante-dating the Revolutionary war, and num-
bers among its members, patriot, statesmen, judges, lawyers, and edu-
cators. The father. Col. Asa C. Dickinson, in 1820 explored the shore of
Lake Erie, Huron and Michigan in a canoe, and in 184S moved his fam-
ily from New York and bought and settled on Dickinson's Island in the
Delta of St. Clair River. In 1852 the home was transferred to Detroit
Col. Dickinson married Minerva Holmes, a daughter of the Rev. Jesse-
niah Holmes of Pomfret, Connecticut.
Don M. Dickinson attended both public and private schools in De-
troit. He was graduated LL. B. from the law department of the Uni-
versity of Michigan, vi'ith the class of 1866. Not having arrived at his
majority at the time of his graduation he was not admitted to the bar
until the following year, starting practice in Detroit, he soon took rank
as one of the leading young lawyers of Michigan, and in the course of
a few years his position was impregnable as one of the ablest and
most brilliant lawyers of a bar which at that time numbered many dis-
tinguished men. and for general ability, has perhaps never been sur-
passed. Mr. Dickinson as a lawyer has gained many splendid successes,
not only in the local and state but in the Federal Court, and Supreme
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 669
Court of United States, his practice having been especially large and
important in the latter. While Detroit has always been his home, much
of his practice has been in the cities of New York and Washington, and
he is equally well known in all these cities. In politics and in public
affairs, Mr. Dickinson has long enjoyed conspicuous prominence. From
his early manhood, an active Democrat, he was in 1872 Secretary of the
Democratic State Central Committee, and in the memorable campaign
of 1876, when Hayes and Tilden contested for the presidency, he was
chairman of the State Central Committee. In 1880 he was delegate at
large from Michigan to the Democratic Convention of Cincinnati, and
at that convention was unanimously chosen chairman of the Michigan
delegation. In 1884 he presided over the Michigan State Convention
when delegates were chosen to the St. Louis National Convention, and
was made Michigan representative upon the national Democratic ticket.
He served as chairman of the Democratic National Campaign Committee
in 1892.
In October, 1887, President Cleveland tendered the position of post-
master general to Mr. Dickinson upon the formation of his cabinet,
but Mr. Dickinson declined. But in October, upon the personal appeal
of Mr. Cleveland, he accepted the position and as a member of the cabinet
the relations of the president and the postmaster general were of a very
intimate character and the later was throughout that administration a
very close adviser of this great statesman. In 1888 Mr. Dickinson's name
was. without his knowledge, mentioned for vice president on the ticket,
but he personally supported Mr. Thurman of Ohio. In 1893 ^'^^- Dick-
inson declined the offer of a cabinet position.
In 1896-97 on appointment by the president, Mr. Dickinson served as
senior counsel of the United States before the International High Com-
mission on Behring Sea claims, under the fur seal arbitration. Later he
was a member with Rt. Hon. Henry Strong of the British Privy Coun-
cil, and Senor Dr. Don Pacas of Salvador, of the court of arbitrations,
to adjust the controversy between the United States and the Repulilic
of Salvador and wrote the opinion of the court which was in favor of
the United States, this being in 1902.
In his social and civic relations, Mr. Dickinson is well known in
many bodies, both in Detroit and elsewhere. He is an ex-president
and trustee of the Detroit Museum of Arts, vice president of the Jeffer-
son Memorial Association ; trustee of the Detroit University school ;
president of the Senator McMillan Memorial Association ; member of
the Detroit Board of Commerce; a director of the First National Bank
of Detroit ; member of the National Geographical Society ; the American
Historical Association; the American Bar Association; the Michigan
Bar Association ; Detroit Bar Association, of which he is an ex-presi-
dent. Fie belongs to the Chi Psi Fraternity and his principal clubs are
the Pilgrims of London, the Manhattan, the National Democratic, the
Pilgrims of United States, these last named clubs being in New York
City ; the Huron Mountains, the Detroit, of which he was the first
president, the Bankers, the Detroit Boat, the University, and the Coun-
try Club of Detroit.
Mr. Dickinson has his residence at Trenton in Wayne county. He
was married at Grand Rapids. Michigan, on June 15, 1869, to Miss
Frances Piatt, a daughter of Dr. Alonzo Piatt, a celebrated physician
of western Michigan.
Hon. D.^niel W. Buck. The capital city of Lansing has had an
interesting development and its citizenship has comprised many splendid
men, but none more note worthy as pioneers, as business builders and in the
670 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
larger field of citizenship than the late Hon. Daniel W. Buck, who was
three times honored with the office of mayor of his citv and for more
than sixty years was prominent in the manufacturing and mercantile
affairs of the community.
Daniel W. Buck was a native of New York state, born at East Lan-
sing, Tompkins county, on April 21, 1828. He was a son of Daniel Buck
and a grandson of the Rev. Daniel Buck, of Puritan ancestrv. Rev.
Daniel Buck served as an American soldier in the Revolutionary war.
Daniel Buck, the father, was born in New York state, became a sub-
stantial citizen of East Lansing, and was a deacon in the Baptist church
there. That old New York state community has an interesting relation-
ship with the present capital city of Michigan, and that was due chiefly
to members of the Buck family. Levi Buck, an older brother of Daniel
W., early in the decade of the forties came out to ^Michigan in company
with a number' of other citizens from Tompkins county, including an
uncle, Joseph North. Their chief reason for coming to this then western
wilderness was to test some wonderful stories that had been spread over
Tompkins county by a party of hunters, who had fabricated a glowing
account of a city which had been founded by them at the junction of the
Grand and Cedar rivers, the site of the present city of Lansing. This
party of hunters, on the strength of their representations, succeeded m
selling some lots of their supposed city to citizens of East Lansing. The
substance of their stories and the city itself were a product of vivid
imal^ination, largely prompted by mercenary motives, and the entire
location which they described was little more than a swamp. A little later
those who had bought lots at East Lansing organized a party to go out
and take possession, and they reached Detroit before they learned the
real truth about the swindle. Many of them then turned back, but Levi
Buck and his uncle, Joseph North, determined to make the best of a bad
bargain and accordingly came out to the location of the townsite that
had been pictured to them, and there took up tracts of government land.
It was Levi Buck and Joseph North who afterward really established
the site of the town of Lansing, which they named in honor of their old
home village in New York.
A young man not yet twenty years of age, whose experiences had
come from a quiet life in Tompkins county, with an education in the local
schools, Daniel \\'. Buck, in 1847, set out for Alichigan to visit his brother
at Lansing. The result of tliis visit was a determination to remain with
the young community. Having served an apprenticeship at the cabinet
maker's trade in Ithaca, New York, he engaged in business at his trade,
and was one of the pioneers in that line at Lansing. His first shop was
a hunter's cabin, eight by twelve feet, five feet high, and constructed of
logs without windows. In those cramped quarters he fitted up a bench
and began work on his first piece of furniture October 8, 1848. The
first article made in this shop was a table with folding leaves, which he
sold for four dollars. That table is still in use. after more than sixty-
six years, in a good state of repair, and is the prized possession of a
grandson of the buyer. .After the old cabin had been his headquarters
for about six weeks Mr. Buck's brother built a better shop at what is
now the northeast corner of Michigan and Washington avenues. Daniel
W. Buck had acciuired the land there, and later sold the lot for three
hundred dollars. The same corner today is regarded as the most valu-
able piece of real estate in Lansing, in the very heart of the business
section. Some time later he acquired a lot on \\'ashington avenue, where
the Beck clothing store now stands, and sold that for a twenty dollar
gold piece. The "first bureau manufactured in Mr. Bucks' shop was sold
for a load of potatoes, an equivalent of twelve dollars.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 671
Six months from the humble begimiing of his work as a cabinet maker
he was employing a force of ten men in his shop, and from 3'ear to year
his business increased until there were from forty to sixty employes under
his general direction. In 1854 he erected a large factory on the northw-est
corner of Washington avenue and Ionia street, the site occupied liy the
present Buck furniture store. For many years this factory continued to
produce all kinds of furniture, much of it hand made, and with a repu-
tation for durability and finish such as only the highest priced goods of
the present time could equal. The output of the factory was sold
through his own retail store. In 1890, largely due to the invasion of ma-
chine and corporation methods of manufacture, Mr. Buck discontinued
the manufacturing end and devoted his time entirely to selling furniture
at retail. For fifty-four years he was in business on one site, and at
the time of his death was the oldest business man in point of active ex-
perience in Lansing, his aggregate of service comprising sixty-one years.
While his career as a manufacturer and merchant was sufficient to
give him distinction among Lansing's citizens, it by no means included
all his usefulness to the community. To him is due the credit for the
erection of the Buck Opera House, which was dedicated in IMarch, 1873,
and opened the following May by Edwin Booth, and was for many years
the home of theatrical and musical entertainments in the city. Mr. Buck
and his son, Mayton J., conducted this opera house until 1891. Mr.
Buck even in the years of his old age never lost interest in local affairs,
and one of his greatest pleasures when the sun of his life was setting
was to have old customers come into his store and ask his personal service
in attending to their wants. ]\Iany were the distinctions paid this hon-
ored business veteran, and at the Annual Business Men's Banquet in
1902 he was made the guest of honor.
In politics a Democrat, Mr. Buck took an active part in the affairs of
his party, yet was no office seeker. It was only through his sense of civic
responsibilities and the opportunities for unselfish service that caused
him to accept any official preferment. He was a member of the board of
aldermen during the early seventies, and in 1874 was elected mayor of
the city, followed by re-election in 1875 and by another election in 1886.
It was with a sense of direct bereavement that the community of
Lansing regarded the death of this pioneer citizen on March 30, igoS.
His funeral services were conducted by Knight Templars, of which he
was at the time the oldest member, and was likewise the oldest surviving
member of Lansing Lodge, No. 33, A. F. & A. M. A pleasing tribute
paid at the time of his death was the presence of Mayor Hugh Lyons and
nine ex-mayors of the city in the capacity of honorary pall bearers.
On May 11, 1863, ^Ir. Buck married Miss Nancy M. Russell, of
Crown Point, Essex county. New York. Her death occurred in 1885.
The following children survived : ]\Iayton J., a Lansing merchant : Flor-
ence A. ; Mary E. ; Bailey ]\I. : Martha E., who is the wife of Roderick I.
Speer, of Fort Wayne, Indiana. There are also six grandchildren.
The late Mr. Buck saw Lansing grow from a village of two hundred
inhabitants to a city of thirty-five thousand, and in that growth his own
business enterprise w'as a conspicuous factor, and he was of the class of
men who had the ability to increase their own powers and capacity in
proportion to the growth of the community. From a cabinet maker with
a log cabin shop, located practically in the w-oods, his business has been
developed to a furniture factory employing over half a hundred work-
men, and after his retirement from manufacturing he continued as one
of the city's foremost merchants throughout his long and eventful career
in Lansing. His business methods, his probity and his public spirit were
672 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
so manifest that he was both honored and respected by everybody with
whom he came into social or business relations.
Maynard D. Smith. The city of Detroit has a number of con-
tractors whose operations are carried on upon a very extensive scale, and
whose work is known not only in the immediate vicinity of their home
city, but throughout this part of the country, where they have been en-
gaged to erect large public buildings, manufacturing plants and other
edifices requiring the expenditure of many thousands of dollars. Fore-
most among these stands the firm of Andrew J. Smith Construction Com-
pany, the president of which, Maynard D. Smith, belongs to a family
which has contributed three generations of capable and prominent Mich-
igan contractors.
Mr. Smith is a native of Michigan, and was born at Port Huron, De-
cember 22, 1876, the son of Andrew J. and Mary (Quinn) Smith. His
paternal grandfather, David Smith, was a native of England, who went
from his native land to Scotland in young manhood, and came thence to
America, spending first about two years in Ontario, Canada, and then
removing to Port Huron, Michigan, where he passed the remainder of his
life. A contractor by occupation, he carried on business both in Canada
and Port Huron for many years, and became widely and favorably
known in his chosen line. Andrew J. Smith was born in Scotland, and
was a lad of four or five years when brought to America. His education
was secured in the public schools of Canada and Michigan, and when he
laid aside his school books, he adopted the occupation in which his father
had been engaged, and with him learned the contracting business. For
years Mr. Smith has been one of the leading contractors of Port Huron,
where he is the head of the Andrew J. Smith & Sons Contracting Com-
pany, and has erected the majority of the important buildings in the St.
Clair county city. He has been prominent in Port Huron affairs in gen-
eral from the time that he served three years as a member of the first
board of governing commissioners of that city, under the new city law,
and few men stand higher in public esteem. Mrs. Smith also survives,
and is a native of St. Clair county, where she was born on a farm as the
daughter of a pioneer.
Maynard D. Smith received his education in the public schools of
Port Huron, and while he applied himself assiduously to his studies in
the school terms, in the vacation periods he was always to be found assist-
ing his father in the work of contracting, which from his boyhood had an
intense attraction for him. When he laid aside his studies, he devoted
himself entirely to learning the contracting business, with the result that
he eventually became a partner in the firm of Andrew J. Smith & Sons,
contractors of Port Huron, and he was so engaged at the outbreak of the
war between the United States and Spain. He at once volunteered for
service, was accepted, and went to the front as a member of Company F,
Thirty -third Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry, subsequently see-
ing active service in Cuba, where he was stationed at the time peace was
declared. Upon his return to Port Huron he resumed contracting with
his father, and was so engaged until June, 1909, when he came to Detroit
and organized the Andrew J. Smith Construction Company, of which he
has since continued to be president. This firm has built many of the larg-
est and best buildings erected in Detroit in recent years, among them
being the new J. L. Hudson Company's Woodward avenue store, the new
Broadway Market building, the Henry Clay hotel, the Riverside and
Leonard storage plants, portions of the Packard Automobile Company's
plant, the Hudson Motor Car Company plants and many of the buildings
of the Ford Motor Car Company. Mr. Smith is one of the distinctively
helpful men of his city, public spirited and progressive, and no move-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 673
ment for the real advancement of the city is launched that does not receive
his active and hearty co-operation. He is preeminently an organizer and
an executive, a man of business talent, and one upon which his associates
can depend absolutely in matters of importance. He is a member of the
Detroit Athletic Club, the Town Club, the Red Run Golf Club, and is
prominent in masonry as a Knight Templar and a Shriner. He main-
tains offices at No. i8 Campau building.
Mr. Smith was united in marriage with Miss Laura Seville Reynolds,
who was born in St. Clair county, JMichigan. and they have become the
parents of two sons, namely : Andrew Reynolds and Maynard Seville.
John Stoughton Newberry. With the strongest incision and clear-
est definition must be limned the depicture of the character and services
of the late John S. Newberry, whose name was prominently and in-
separably linked with the history of Michigan and its metropolis for
more than thirty years and to whom is due for all time a tribute of honor,
by reason of his fine intellectual ken, his sterling integrity, his distinctive
business and professional ability and his liberality and loyalty as a citizen.
He contributed in generous measure to the progress and prosperity of
Detroit, and the versatility of his genius could not lack for objective
recognition. As a lawyer he won definite prestige and honor; as a busi-
ness man he produced results of most benignant and positive order and
as a public official he served with signal fidelity and ability. He accu-
mulated a substantial fortune and made good use of the same, with
naught of selfishness or parsimony and with a high sense of stewardship,
his civic liberality having been potent in furthering the best interests of
his home city, where his name and memory are held in lasting honor. His
strength was as the number of his days and the record of his noble career
offers both lesson and inspiration.
John Stoughton Newberry was born at Waterville, Oneida county.
New York, on the i8th of November. 1826, and at his home in the city
of Detroit he was summoned to eternal rest on the 2d of January, 1R87.
He was a son of Elihu and Rhoda (Phelps) Newberry, both of whom
were natives of Connecticut and representatives of families that were
founded in New England in the colonial era. Thomas Newberry, grand-
father of Elihu, immigrated from England to America in 162^ and
settled at Dorchester, Massachusetts, whence members of the family
later removed to Connecticut. John S. Newberry was a lad of five
years at the time of his parents' removal to the territory of Michigan,
and the family home was established at Romeo, IMacomb county, where
he availed himself of the advantages of the pioneer schools. He thereafter
continued his studies in the schools at Ann Arbor, where he finally en-
tered the literary department of the University of Michigan, in which
he was graduated as valedictorian of the class of 1845 and from which
he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In the meanwhile he had
acquired a practical knowledge of civil engineering and surveying, and
after his graduation he attached himself to the construction depart-
ment of the Michigan Central Railroad, in which service he continued
two years, thereafter passing one year in traveling through the west-
ern territories. Upon returning to Michigan Mr. Newberry located in
Detroit and began the study of law under the preceptorship of the
well known law firm of Van Dyke & Emmons. In 1853 he was admitted
to the bar, and in the practice of his chosen profession he became a mem-
ber of the firm of Towle, Hunt & Newberry. After the dissolution of
this alliance he entered into partnership with Ashley Pond, under the
title of Pond & Newberry, and a little later the firm was augmented by
the admission of Henry B. Brown, who finally became an associate jus-
674 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
tice of the supreme court of the United States. After "the withdrawal
of Mr. Brown from the firm, Messrs. Newberry and Pond continued to
be associated in practice until 1863, when Mr. Newberry decided to
abandon the work of his profession, in which he had confined his at-
tention almost exclusively to the trial of admiralty cases in the federal
courts. It is worthy of special note that before his retirement from the
bar he compiled a valuable work on admiralty law and practice — a work
that has continued to be recognized as a standard authority in its province.
In 1863, in company with Messrs. ]\IcMillan, Dean and Eaton, Mr.
Newberry assumed a government contract to build railway cars for army
purposes, and this venture proved highly remunerative, with the result
that, in the following year, the Alichigan Car Company was organized
and incorporated, with Mr. Newberry as president and one of the larg-
est stockholders. From this enterprise have sprung some of the most
important manufacturing industries of Detroit, including the Baugh
Steam Forge Company, the Detroit Car Wheel Company, the Fulton
Iron & Engine Works, and many kindred concerns, in each of which
Mr. Newberry was president and had large financial interests. Un-
der his able administration the several industries transacted an average
volume of business ranging from three to five million dollars annually,
and employment was given to nearly three thousand persons. Mr. New-
berry was also largely interested in car-building enterprises at London.
Ontario, and St. Louis, Missouri. At the time of his death he was a
director of each of the following named corporations : The Detroit &
Cleveland Steam Navigation Company : the Vulcan Furnace Company,
at Newberry, Michigan, a village named in his honor : the Detroit National
Bank : the Detroit, Bay City & Alpena Railroad Company ; the great
Detroit seed house of D, M. Ferry & Company; and many other promi-
nent corporations of Michigan.
Mr. Newberry was distinctively a careful and conservative man of
affairs — so much so, in fact, that his death caused no cessation of busi-
ness in any of the corporations in which he was financially interested and
which had felt the strength of his directing influence. He was a large
investor in real estate during the later years of his life, especially in
centrally located business property in Detroit, and wherever his monej'
was thus placed it has proved of metropolitan benefit.
Upon attaining to his legal majority Mr. Newberry identified him-
self with the \Miig party, the cause of which he continued to support
until the organization of the Republican party, when he transferred his
allegiance to the latter. He was the first person to be appointed by
President Lincoln to the ofiice of provost marshal of ^lichigan. and he
served in that capacity during 1862 and 1863, with the rank of captain
of cavalry. During this period of the Civil \var he had charge of the
drafts for military service in his jurisdiction, and he personally attended
to the forwarding of the drafted men and the substitutes to the stage
of polemic activities. In 1879 •^^i'- Newberry was elected to represent
the First District of ^lichigan in the United States congress, in which
he served during the session of 1879 and 18S0. As a member of the
house committee on commerce he accomplished a splendid work in the
advancement and protection of the commercial interests of the nation.
He served also on other important committees, to the labors of which
he devoted himself with characteristic earnestness and ability.
Realizing that his personal business affairs demanded his attention,
Mr. Newberry positively declined a renomination for congress, and lui-
til the hour of his death he thereafter devoted his great energies toward
the development and supervision of his vast business interests. In early
life Mr, Newbern' was a member of the Congregational church, but
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 675
upon establishing his home in Detroit he united with the Jefferson Avenue
Presbyterian church, upon whose services he continued a regular attend-
ant, besides contributing with marked liberality to the support of the vari-
ous departments of its work. In contributions to charitable and philan-
thropic causes he had few equals in Detroit, and his crowning act in this
direction transpired after his death, when it was found that he had be-
queathed $650,000 to charitable institutions. Within the last years of
his life, in company with his honored business associate, the late Hon.
James ^Mc^Iillan, he founded Grace Homeopathic Hospital, one of the
noble institutions of Detroit, and to this worthy cause he contributed
more than $150,000.
Mr. Newberry's abiding interest in his alma mater, the great Uni-
versity of Alichigan, was shown in no uncertain way, and Newberry
Hall, a magnificent modern structure erected at Ann Arbor by ]\Irs.
Newberry-, as a memorial to him and for the use of the Students' Chris-
tian Association, constitutes an enduring montmient to his memory. A
second consistent memorial erected in honor of j\Ir. Newberry is the
Newberry Memorial Chapel, which was erected by his widow, in 1887,
at a cost of about $70,000, and which was presented to the Jefferson
Avenue Presbyterian church. This unique edifice is located at the corner
of Larned and Rivard streets, Detroit, and is utilized for church purposes.
In the year 1855 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Newberry to
-Miss Harriet N. Robinson, of Buffalo, New York, and her death oc-
curred early in the following year. She was survived by one son, Harry
R. Newberry, who died in October, 1910, who was one of the repre-
sentative capitalists and business men of Detroit. C)n the 6th of October,
1859, Mr. New^berry wedded Miss Helen P. Handy, daughter of the
late Truman P. Handy, who was one of the pioneers and most honored
and influential citizens of Cleveland, Ohio. Mrs. Newberry survived her
honored husband until the 17th of December, 1912, and until her death
maintained her home in Detroit, as. do also their three children — Truman
H., John S., and Helen H. The only daughter is now the wife of Henry
E. Joy, son of the late James F. Joy, of Detroit, who was one of the most
prominent citizens of the state and who served as president of the Alich-
igan Central Railroad Company. Truman H. Newberry was assistant
secretary of the United States Navy, to which office he was appointed
in 1905, by President Roosevelt, and in November, 1908, he was ad-
vanced to the position of secretary of the navy, since his retirement
from which office he has continued to reside in Detroit. John S. New-
berry II is individually mentioned on other pages of this publication.
John Stoughton Newberry, II. An eff'ective exponent of the pro-
gressive spirit and stalwart initiative power that have caused Detroit to
forge so rapidly forward as an industrial and commercial center, Mr.
Newberry holds secure place as one of the representative business men
and loyal and public-spirited citizens of the metropolis of his native state,
where he is president and general manager of the Detroit Steel Castings
Company, besides having other capitalistic interests of important order.
A memorial tribute to his father, the late Hon. John S. Newberry, appears
on other pages of this publication, and thus it is not necessary to again
incorporate the family data.
Mr. Newberry was born in the beautiful old family homestead, at
483 Jeff'erson avenue, Detroit, on the 21st of July, 1866, and after
availing himself of the advantages of the public schools he continued his
educational discipline in the jMichigan Alilitary Academy, at Orchard
Lake, an admirable institution whose recent obliteration should be a
matter of uniform regret throughout the state. After leaving this acad-
676 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN ■
emy Mr. Newberry attended for two years the excellent military school
at Chester, Pennsylvania, and in 1890-91 he was a student in Cornell
University, at Ithaca, New York, where he completed a special course
in the engineering department. Upon his return to Detroit Mr. New-
berry became assistant manager of the Detroit Steel & Spring Com-
pany and in this connection he gained valuable experience. In 1902 he
was associated in the organization of the Detroit Steel Castings Com-
pany, of which he was assistant manager until 1905, since wliich time
he has been president and general manager of the important corporation,
the affairs of which he has administered with marked discrimination and
ability. He is a director of the National Bank of Commerce, Detroit,
and is a trustee of Grace Hospital, of which his father was one of the
founders. He has given unswerving allegiance to the Republican party,
but has had no aspiration for political preferment. He is a valued mem-
ber of the Detroit Board of Commerce, and holds membership in such
other representative organizations as the Detroit Club, the Yondotega
Club, the Detroit Boat Club, the Detroit Country Club, the Detroit Au-
tomobile Club, and the Lake St. Clair Shooting and Fishing Club, which
is familiarly known as the Old Club. Concerning him the following
pertinent and consistent estimate has been oft'ered: "Mr. Newberry
exemplifies, in his courteous bearing and democratic ways, the gracious
and cultured influences under which he was reared, and he enjoys marked
popularity in the business and social circles of his native city, to the
interests of which he is insistently loyal, even as he is fully appreciative
of the city's manifold attractions and advantages. Mr. Newberry has
been prominently identified with the Michigan Naval Reserves, with
which he continued in active service from 1894 to 1899, both dates in-
clusive. During the Spanish- American war he was chief quartermaster
on the United States cruiser 'Yosemite,' which made an admirable rec-
ord at Havana, Santiago and other points and the crew of which re-
ceived from the government a bounty of $50,000 for the sinking of the
Spanish vessel, 'Antonio Lopez,' off San Juan, Porto Rico. At the pres-
ent time Mr. Newberry is a member of the Gilbert Wilkes Command,
Naval War Veterans, besides which he is identified with the Society of
Colonial Wars."
On the 30th of September, 1908. was solemnized the marriage of
Mr. Newberry to Mrs. Edith Stanton Field, daughter of Alexander M.
Stanton, a representative citizen of Detroit and a member of one of the
old and honored families of this city. Two children have been born to
this union. John Stoughton. Jr., and Rhoda Phelps.
Ch.\kles Louis Palms. A scion of a distinguished and patrician familv
whose name has been one of significant prominence in connection with
the annals of Michigan and the city of Detroit in particular, Charles L.
Palms is one of the influential citizens of the Michigan metropolis and
is well upholding the prestige of the honored name which he bears.
Charles Louis Palms was born in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana,
on the 2d of June, 1871, and is a son of Francis F. and Celimene (Pellerin)
Palms. His early educational discipline was acquired in excellent private
schools in his native city of Detroit, and in 1889 he was graduated in
Georgetown L^niversity. in the District of Columbia, with the degree of
Bachelor of Philosophy. He subsequently attended the law school of
Harvard University. After finishing his education Mr. Palms traveled
extensively in Europe, and upon his return to Detroit, in 1892. he became
associated with his father in the management of the estate of his grand-
father, the late Francis Palms, who died in this city on the 4th of Novem-
ber, 1886. Mr. Palms has been trustee of his grandfather's estate and
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 677
administrator of that of his father since 1905. He is identified with a
number of interests of broad scope and importance, and in this Hne it
may be noted that he is secretary and a director of the Detroit Journal
Company, and a director of each the First National Bank, the Union Trust
Company, the Alichigan Stove Company, the Michigan Fire & Marine In-
surance Company, besides being a stockholder in other Detroit corpora-
tions.
Mr. Palms accords allegiance to the Republican party, and among the
representative Detroit organizations with which he is affiliated may be
mentioned the Detroit Club, the Covmtry Club, the Bankers' Club, the
Detroit Boat Club, the Players' Club, and the University Club. He is also
a member of the Michigan Naval Reserve Veterans and is president of the
Alliance Francaise of Detroit. His office is maintained in the Campau
building.
In the city of St. Louis, Missouri, in 1894, was solemnized the marriage
of Mr. Palms to Miss Isabel De Mun Walsh, daughter of Julius S. Walsh,
president of the Mississippi \'alley Trust Company. Their residence is
maintained at 452 Jeft'erson avenue, Detroit.
Francis F. Palms, father of him whose name initiates this review, died
in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, on the 4th of March, 1905, his
habit having been to pass the winters in that historic old city during the
last twenty years of his life. On his last trip to the south he contracted
a severe cold, which developed into la grippe and finally resulted in his
death. The date of his departure from Detroit for New Orleans was the
19th of January prior to his demise. He was a well known and influential
banker and manufacturer of Detroit, contributed in a very definite degree
to the development and progress of this beautiful city, in which his interests
were centered, and was a citizen who not only exerted a potent and benig-
nant influence in community affairs but also held inviolable place in the
confidence and esteem of those with whom he came in contact in the
various relations of life.
Francis F. Palms was a scion of an ancient and distinguished Belgian
family. His grandfather, Ange Palms, was a resident of the city of
Antwerp and served as quartermaster of one of the divisions of Napoleon's
army at Waterloo. For his successful effort in savmg a part of the ammu-
nition in this disastrous battle. Napoleon, on the battlefield, made him a
chevalier of the Legion of Honor. During the stormy period incident to
the dethronement of Charles. N and the elevation of Louis Phillippe, the
citizen king, Ange Palms was compelled to leave Belgium. After spending
two years at Mayence, Germany, he immigrated with his family to
America, bringing letters of introduction from the Prince of Liege to
President Martin Van Buren. On his travels he proceeded as far as
Detroit, Michigan, where, on the 26th of August, 1833, his wife died of
cholera. "Thus," says a biographist, "a new land became her tomb," even
as it became the cradle of the Palms race on American soil.
Francis F. Palms was a child at the time of his mother's death and was
taken to the home of his grandfather in New Orleans, where he received
his early education. In 1854 he entered the college at Georgetown, District
of Columbia, in which he was graduated three years later. After leaving
college he opened an engineering office at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where
he continued in this field of professional enterprise until the outbreak of
the Civil war, when he manifested his loyalty to the cause of the Confeder-
acy by enlisting in the Fourth Louisiana Infantry. In 1862 he organized
a signal corps, with which he rendered great service to the Confederate
cause at the siege of Port Hudson. He established a range of signals
extending fifteen miles on the west side of the river, and by means of
these signals the besieged forces were kept informed at all times of the
678 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
movements of the Federal troops under General Banks. General Banks
finally got the upper hand, and it was the fortune of war that Lieutenant
Palms should fall into the hands of this Union general while in command
of the line of signals which he had established. He was sent as a prisoner
of war to Fortress Monroe, \'irginia, but within a short time his exchange
was effected and he rejoined his command. He served with marked gal-
lantry and valor until the close of the war, and on more than one occasion
distinguished himself for mature judgment, qtiick action and master of
expedients in connection with military operations. At the close of the great
conflict betw^een the states of the north and the south Lieutenant Palms
returned to the parish of West Baton Rouge, where he engaged in the
cotton-planting industry. His crops were destroyed in the flood of 1867,
whereupon he abandoned his enterprise as a planter and removed to New
Orleans.
Soon after thus establishing his home in the metropolis of Louisiana
Mr. Palms was appointed chief clerk in the office of the register of deeds
in that city, and of this position he continued the incumbent until 1870.
In that year he was appointed minute clerk of the Fourth civil district court,
parish of Orleans, for a term of eight years, at the expiration of which
he was reappointed, his incumbency of the otifice continuing until 1880. At
the urgent request of his father he then resigned his position and became
his father's private secretary. In this position he assumed the management
of his father's affairs, which he conducted until the death of his honored
sire, in 1886. There were but two heirs to the vast Palms estate, — Francis
F. and a half-sister, Clotilde, wife of Dr. James B. Book, of Detroit. This
estate was left to the two for life, with a reversion to their children, but
wath a provision for the continuation of the trust through any grandchild's
minority. The grandfather sought to prevent any possible overturning of
the will by a provision that should either of his two children contest the
will that one should be disinherited. The chief beneficiaries evaded this
provision by uniting in a petition to the circuit court for a construction of
the will, which was upheld in every particular.
Francis F. Palms was a man or broad and varied interests, many of
which were in Detroit. He was president of the National Loan & Invest-
ment Company; president of the Buck Stove Company, of St. Louis, Mis-
souri ; vice-president of the Peninsular Stove Company, of Detroit ; and
in the ^Michigan metropolis he was also a director of each the People's
Savings Bank, the Michigan Stove Company, the Standard Life & Accident
Insurance Company, and the Matthews-Ireland Company. In politics he
was unswerving in his allegiance to the Democratic party, and for a time
he served as a member of the Detroit board of park commissioners. A
short time prior to his death he resigned his position as a member of the
municipal art commission of Detroit.
The domestic chapter in the life of Francis F. Palms shows that he was
thrice wedded. In July, 1866, he married ]\Iiss Devall, daughter of a
prominent planter of Baton Rouge. Louisiana, but her death occurred
within the same year. In 1869 was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Palms to ]Miss Celimene Pellerin, of Breaux Bridge, St. Martinsville
parish, Louisiana, she having been a representative of one of the patri-
cian old French families of that state. This gentle and gracious woman
was summoned to eternal rest in 1S88, her death having occurred in
Detroit. She was survived by seven children. The eldest was Martha,
the Countess of Champeaux, who died in France, in 1904: Bertha is the
wife of A. Ingersoll Lewis, of Detroit ; Charles L. ; Viola is the wife
of Dr. Burt R. Shurly, of Detroit ; Corinne is the wife of Hamilton
Carhartt Jr., of Detroit; Francis, of Detroit; and William, who died
May 19, 1913. In 1890 Mr. Palms contracted a third marriage. Miss
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 679
Marie Aimee Martin becoming his wife. Mrs. Palms survives her hus-
band and maintains her home in Detroit. She is a daughter of Hon. S.
V. Alartin, of St. Martinsville parish, Louisiana. Of the third marriage
were born three children, — Helene, Clarence and Marie Louise, and of
these Clarence is deceased.
Francis F. Palms, distinguished and honored as a citizen and as a
man of the highest integrity, was sixty-seven years of age at the time
of his death. His remains were brought from Xew Orleans to Detroit
and were laid to rest in Mt. Elliott cemetery. Mr. Palms was a man of
courtly presence and of remarkable kindliness and benevolence. His
gracious personality gained to him the friendship of all with whom he
came in contact. While in\ariably unostentatious in his charities and
benevolences, he was at heart one of the most generous of men, and
especially at Christmas time he never failed to remember with gifts the
charitable institutions of Detroit. In this city his memory will long be
cherished, and he will be remembered alike for his charming personality,
his good deeds, and his public-spirited attitude toward all movements for
the general good of the community.
Brv.\nt W.^lker. The name Walker has since 1845 been continu-
ously associated with the Detroit bar, and with the citizenship of that
metropolis since 1837, at the beginning of Michigan's statehood. In the
law, during nearly threescore and ten years, the work of father and son
have been marked by all the efficiency of solid ability and singular devo-
tion to the interest of their clientage. The career of the senior Walker
was distinguished by public service of the larger sort, sufficient to place
him on the roll of public benefactors to his state during its formative
period and in succeeding decades. For personal attainments and pro-
fessional and public services, few Michigan families have been more note-
worthy. The late Edward Carey Walker was born at Butternuts, Otsego
county, New York on July 4, 1820, a son of Stephen and Lydia Walker.
At an early age he became an inmate of the family of his brother Ferdi-
nand Walker, then living at Hamilton, Madison county. New York. He
was prepared for college at the Hamilton Academy, but at the age of
fifteen left school to take a position with an engineer corps engaged in
building the Chenango Canal. After two years' experience with the
engineer corps he met with an accident. Thrown from a carriage his
knee was broken, and he was unfitted for active continuance with his
work. In September, 1837 (the year of Michigan's admission as a state),
while still suffering from his injuries and obliged to use crutches, young
Walker came to Detroit to visit his sister Mrs. Alexander C. McGraw.
Mr. McGraw advised him to resume his studies, offering to bear the
expense. This kind offer was accepted, and the young man entered the
University of Michigan, then located at Detroit. In 1840, entering Yale
College lie was graduated with honors, in the class of 1842. On his
return to Detroit he taught school for a time in the branch of the Uni-
versity, and then took up the study of law in the office of Jo_v & Porter.
Subsequently a year was spent in study at the Harvard Law School. In
1845, Mr. Walker, having been admitted to the bar, began the practice
at Detroit, which through his career and that of his son has been continu-
ous in all succeeding years. In 1850, at his request, he was joined by his
brother, Charles I. Walker, under the firm name of C. I. & E. C. Walker.
In 1853, Alfred Russell became a member of the firm, and this partner-
ship continued until i860. In the meantime, in 1857. Charles I. W'al^ker
retired from the firm and for the fifteen years following Charles A. Kent
was associated with Mr. Edward C. Walker, under the firm name of
680 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Walker & Kent. In 1884, Mr. Walker was joined by his son Bryant
Walker in the practice, under the tirm name of Walker & Walker, a
firm which continued until the death of the senior member in 1894. The
late Edward C. Walker was regarded as one of the most successful mem-
bers of the Detroit bar, and in his line, that of commercial law, land
titles, and corporations, he stood foremost.
For many years Mr. Walker served as a member and secretary of
the Detroit Board of Education. In 1846, he was secretary of the first
temperance society, organized in Detroit. He was long a member and
elder of the Fort Street Presbyterian Church. In politics a Republican,
for four years he served as chairman of the Republican State Central
Committee. In 1863 he was elected by popular vote of the state regent
of the University of Michigan, and drawing by lot the short term, served
two years, and was then reelected for the long term of eight jears. In
1873 he was again elected regent for a similar period. In 1876 his legis-
lative district elected him to the Michigan Legislature, and while a repre-
sentative he served as a chairman of the house committee and judiciary.
Especially noteworthy was the service of the late Mr. Walker during the
Civil war. Always a persistent supporter of the Federal government,
he gave liberally of his time and money in aid of the cause of the union.
In 1863 he was one of the organizers and the chairman of the Michigan
Branch of the United States Christian Commission, which sent dele-
gates to the hospitals and fields and expended more than thirty-five thou-
sand dollars in ministering to the welfare and comfort of the Union
soldiers. As a member of the Commission ^Ir. Walker spent six weeks in
caring for the wounded after the battle of the Wilderness. In 1852
Edward Carey W'alker married IMiss Lucy Bryant, of Buffalo, New York.
Bryant Walker, a son of Edward C. and Lucy Walker, was born in
the city of Detroit on July 3, 1856. His boyhood and youth were spent
in his native city, where he attended the schools of I'hilo M*. Patterson,
later entered the University of Michigan, where he was graduated A. B.
in the class of 1876. He then entered the law department of the same
University, and won his degree LL. B. in 1879. Admitted to the bar in
the same year, he took up practice in Detroit, in the office of the firm of
VX'alker & Kent. In 1884 he became associated with his father under
the firm name of Walker & Walker, and this firm continued until dis-
solved by the death of his father. Since then Mr. Walker has been at
the head of the well known legal firm of Walker & Spalding. ^Mr. Walker
has membership in the Society of Colonial Wars, in the Detroit & Old
Clubs, and the Detroit Bar Association.
At Washington, D. C, in 1890, Mr. Bryant Walker married Aliss
Mary McGuire.
Hex. J. Byron Judkins. It is now forty years since Mr. Judkins
began his practice as a member of the Alichigan bar. In that time many
of the finest distinctions of the law have come to him. Three times he
was elected judge of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, without opposition.
His popularity is equalled by his efficiency as a jurist, and there is good
basis for the claim that fewer cases from Judge Judkins' court were re-
versed by the higher court than was true of any other circuit in the state.
Since leaving the bench. Judge Judkins has been in active practice of the
law. at Grand Rapids, where he stands among the leaders of the Kent
county bar.
J. Bvron Judkins was born at Coldwater. Ohio, in 185 1. His par-
ents were Tames and IMarv (Dornick) Judkins. His father moved from
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 681
Ohio to Michigan in 1870, and lived in Mecosta county, until his death in
1905. During the Civil war he went out with an Ohio regiment, and be-
came captain of Company I in the One Hundred and Fifty-Sixth Ohio
Infantr}'. There were five children, and the only now living besides Judge
Judkins is Lewis F., a railroad man whose home is at Fife Lake, in this
state.
Judge Judkins spent most of his boyhood in Mercer countv, C)hio,
where he attended the public schools, and later was a student in the high
school of Celina in Mercer county. After two years of college work at
Liber College in Indiana, he came to Michigan, and pursued his studies
in the law at Big Rapids with the firm of Nottingham & ^lurdock and
Judge Michael Brown. His admission to the bar came in January, 1874.
He soon afterwards located at Hersey, in Osceola county, where he re-
mained in active practice until 1880. During that time he was a member
of the law firm of Burch, Beardsley & Judkins.
On March 12, 1880, Governor Croswell appointed Mr. Judkins as
judge of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, and in the fall of the same
year he was elected to fill the vacancy. In 1881 came his reelection for
the full term of six years, and his tenure of office was continued in 1887
by another election, so that he served altogether nearly fourteen years,
and presided over the Nineteenth Circuit with a rare ability and with
the complete confidence of both the bar and the laity. In the popular
election for the ofiice all parties united in supporting him, and at the
conclusion of his last term he declined a renomination, since he believed
it his duty to apply himself to private practice. He then came to Grand
Rapids, where for the past twenty years he has been one of the leading
lawyers. During his career as a judge he decided some of the most
important cases ever tried in the circuit courts of the state, several in-
volving hundred of thousands of dollars.
Judge Judkins was married at Cedar Springs, Michigan, October 31,
1876, to Miss Anna L. Haskins, a daughter of Abram and Margaret
Haskins. Her father was a veteran of the Union army, and his remains
now rest in the National Cemetery at Nashville, Tennessee. l\Irs. Haskins
died in 1890. ^Irs. Judkins received her education in the public schools
of Kent county and Cedar Springs high school. To their marriage have
been born three children as follows : Laverne M., who was educated in
the Grand Rapids schools, and in Oxford College, Ohio, and lives at
home : Carolyn A., who attended the Grand Rapids schools, and com-
pleted her education in, the Ward Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee, is
the wife of Frank D. Longyear of Lansing, and has one son, Byron J. ;
Edna C, after attending the Grand Rapids high school and Oxford Col-
lege, Ohio, married J. Wade Tucker, a lumberman and now lives in
Florida, and their two children are Clara L. and Joseph W.
Judge Judkins's ancestry on his father's side goes back to North Caro-
lina, and his grandfather, James Judkins, came from that state and set-
tled in Coldwater, in Western Ohio, during the decade of the forties, and
practiced his profession of medicine in that vicinity for nearly a half a
century. The maternal ancestors came from Pennsylvania, and were
settlers in Ohio, about 1840. Judge Judkins among other interests is a
director in the First National Bank of Reed City, and is its counsel. In
the fall of 1898 he was elected regent of the University of Michigan, but
it subsequently transpired that no vacancy existed, so that he never filled
the office to which he was elected. He has membership in the Lincoln
Club at Grand Rapids, belongs to the Grand Rapids Bar Association, and
in politics is a Republican. He affiliates with Park Congregational church.
682 HISTORY OF AIICHIGAN
of which his wife and daughter are members. Judge Judkins has his
office in the Widdecomb Building, and his home is at 639 Kellogg Street.
Jeremi.\h Dwyer. In this age of huge industrial enterprise to have
made one plant the greatest concern of it kind in the world, is a distinction
such as few men can expect to possess and one which stamps the holder
as truly a captain of industry. That honor will be readily granted to
Jeremiah Dwyer. president of the Michigan Stove Company, a plant which
with its branches manufactures more stoves and ranges than any other
similar organization in the world. Mr. Dwyer has for half a century been
identified with stove manufacture, and a resident of the city for nearly
seventy-five years, he is one of Michigan's oldest and ablest business men,
and citizens.
The branch of the Dwyer family to which Jeremiah belongs was
founded in Michigan in 1838, the year following the admission of the
territory to the Union. His parents were Michael and Mary (O'Donnell)
Dwyer, both of whom were born in the south of Ireland. Michael Dwyer
was a contractor in Brooklyn, New York, until he moved his family west
to ^lichigan in 1838. He became one of the early settlers and farmers in
Wayne county, and reclaimed and cultivated his land, until his death in
1848. His widow then disposed of the farm and moved into the city of
Detroit, where she invested her means in city property.
Jeremiah Dwyer was born in Brooklyn, New York, August 22, 1838,
and was about three months old when the family located in Michigan.
His earliest years were spent on a farm, and after his schooling he found
his first regular employment in the planing mill of Smith & Dwight. From
that time forward, barring intervals of ill health, his efforts have been
directed chiefly along industrial lines, and he early distinguished himself
not only as a hard but an intelligent worker, and quickly found a position
of independence. After one year in a planing mill, he became an appren-
tice at the moulder's trade, in the Hydraulic Iron Works operated by
Kellogg & Van Schoick. His apprenticeship there produced a master
workman, and the first three years after reaching majority were spent
as a journeyman founder in difterent cities of the east. His health became
impaired at this strenuous toil, and he then returned to Detroit, and for
the time was employed with the Detroit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee Rail-
road Company.
In 1859 Mr. Dwyer took the position of foreman with the Geary &
Russell foundry at Detroit. In 1861. in company with his brother James,
and Thomas W. Meisner, he organized J. Dwyer & Company, manufactur-
ers of stoves. They had a small foundry for the manufacture of their
castings, and the annual product of the plant would hardly equal one day's
output of the present giant industry of which ^Ir. Dwyer is the head.
However, the stoves were of excellent quality, and his partners were not
only successful manufacturers, but good salesmen, and the business saw a
growing prosperity. In 1S63 the IMeisner interests were bought by William
H. Tefft, though the firm name remained the same as previously. In
1864 the business was incorporated under the name Detroit Stove Works.
In a short time i\Ir. Dwyer again suffered impairment of health, and was
obliged to go south to recuperate. Before going he sold his interests in
the Detroit Stove Works to his brother James and Edwin S. Barbour.
After about a year in the south, Mr. Dwyer returned greatly improved if
not entirely restored, and again resumed his place as one of the leading
manufacturers of the city. In the fall of 1871 he effected the organization
and incorporation of a new concern under the title of the Michigan Stove
Company. He was vice president and manager of this industry, and sub-
sequently was elevated to the presidency, a post which he continues to
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 683'
hold, and it is through his detailed knowledge of stove manufacture and
his broad vision of the large field of business comprised under this de-
partment of industry that the INIichigan Stove Company has easily attained
its place as the largest establishment of its kind in the world. The facil-
ities of the plant have been increased from year to year, and the output
in stoves and ranges from the Detroit factories are now sold through
branches in all the larger cities of the United States, also in London, Paris,
Berlin and other foreign markets, and countries.
As a matter of course, Mr. Dwyer has become identified with various
other business concerns, was one of the founders of the People's Savings
Bank of Detroit, a member of the Board of Directors of the present time,
and is a director in the Michigan Copper & Brass Company of Detroit,
the Ideal Alanufacturing Company of that city, and holds stock in many
other important enterprises.
Mr. Dwyer is a memljcr of the Catholic church, and his clubs are the
Detroit Club and the Country Club. On November 22, 1859, he married
Miss Marv L. Long, who was born in ^Michigan, the daughter of John R.
Long. They are the parents of seven sons and one daughter. James W.
(deceased) ; John M.; Elizabeth B. : William A.; Francis T. (deceased) ;
\''incent R. (deceased) ; Emmett and Gratton L.
Russell A. Alger. Were one to name half a dozen of the_ most
eminent characters in j\Iichigan's history, there would be no question as
to the inclusion of the late General Alger in the list. General Alger
began his career as a lawyer in ^Michigan shortly before the Civil war,
went out from this state as a Company Captain, reached the^ rank of
Brevet Major-General, returned home and soon became conspicuous in
the lumber operations of Michigan, and when the basis of his_ large for-
tune had been securely laid, he consented to enter the political arena,
where his name soon became conspicuous, not only in his home state,
but in the nation. The late General Alger possessed remarkable business
genius, was a commanding figure in public affairs, and was equally npta-
h\e for his beautiful personality and his many kindly and varied relations
with his fellowmen.
Russell Alexander Alger was born in a log cabin in Medina county,
Ohio, February 27, 1836, and died in the city of Washington, where
he was representing his state in the office of United States senator,
January 24, 1907. His parents were Russell and Caroline (Moulton)
Alger. The first American settler of the name came from England in
1759, and the ancestral stock has been traced back to the time of William
the Conqueror. His great-grandfather, John Alger, was a gallant soldier
on the American side during the American Revolution. The mother of
General Alger was a direct descendant of Robert Moulton. who came
to the colony of Massachusetts in 1627, in charge of a vessel laden with
ship building material, and he brought with him a number of skilled ship
carpenters. The first sea-going vessel built in IMassachusetts was built
under his supervision. The family moved from New England to Ohio
early in the nineteenth century, and were pioneers in that commonwealth.
The career of the late Russell A. Alger is notable for the difliculties
overcome during his youth, and that has a place alongside of many other
stories of other eminent men familiar to our American annals. His
parents were in very modest circumstances, and the greater part of their
lives in poor health, so that more than average responsibility fell upon
the shoulders of the boy as he grew from childhood to youth. Left an
orphan at the age of twelve, he was then thrown entirely upon his own
resources, and assisted in providing for his younger brother and sister.
He had little schooling, and nine years of the period of life which modern
684 ^ HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
youth spend largely in school were devoted by him to work on a farm
in Summitt county, Ohio. In this stern school of necessity he developed
the powers of self-reliance and courage, which stood him in better stead
for the great responsibilities confronting him in after years than college
education. While he was working on the farm, he attended a nearby
academy during the winter months, and studied and progressed in a
manner characteristic of so many whose opportunities are limited, but
whose ambition and energy are apparently inexhaustible. He finally
cjualified himself as a teacher, and followed that vocation and worked
on a farm during the vacation months. In Alarch, 1857, soon after
reaching his twenty-first birthday, he took up the study of law at Akron,
Ohio. In 1859 he was admitted to the bar before the Supreme Court of
Ohio, and then found a position in the office of a law firm at Cleveland.
As the result of his arduous study through the preceding years his
health failed, and that event proved the turning point in his destiny,
and led him to the great lumber regions of ]\Iichigan.
Coming to Michigan in 1859 h^ located at Grand Rapids, then a mere
village. The lumber industry was the one great enterprise of that
vicinity, and he was soon on a fair way to large success and prosperity.
His business career was interrupted by the shadow of the Civil war,
and he was among the first to tender his services to the Union.
In August, 1861, Mr. Alger enlisted as a private in the Second Michi-
gan Volunteer Cavalry. The official record of his army service is as
follows: "Captain Second Cavalry, September 2, 1861 ; Major, April 2,
1862; Lieutenant-Colonel Sixth ^lichigan Cavalry, October 16, 1862;
Colonel Fifth Michigan Cavalry, February 28, 1863; wounded in action
at Boonesboro, [Maryland, July 8, 1863; resigned September 20, 1864,
and honorably discharged. Brevet Brigadier General United States
\^olunteer for gallant and meritorious services, to rank from the battle
of Trevilian Station, Virginia, June 11. 1864; Brevet Major-General
United States \'olunteers, June 11, 1865, for gallant and meritorious serv-
ice during the war." Every advancement in his military career was
honestly and meritoriously won. During the first year of the war he
served in the south and the west, but the largest portion of his service
was with the Army of the Potomac. As colonel of the Fifth Michigan
Cavalry, he entered Gettysburg on the twenty-eighth of June, 1863, his
being the first Union regiment to reach the village. On July i, 1862,
he participated in the battle of Booneville, where he was acting as cap-
tain of Company C of the Second Cavalry. General Chalmers, with five
thousand mounted Confederates, made an attack on Booneville, which
was held by Colonel Sheridan, who brought with him at the time only
two small regiments, the Second Michigan Cavalry and the Second Iowa
Cavalry, numbering in all less than nine hundred men. The Second
Michigan were armed with sabers, Colt's revolvers and revolving car-
bines. So great was the heroism displayed by these two regiments that
General Chalmers was led to believe that he had been deceived in the
strength of the enemy, as he inferred that the slaughter effected by the
Michigan regiment with their carbines must certainly be the work of an
infantrv bridage. Sheridan, with his little body of men, was in danger
of being surrounded and captured, and in this emergency he decided
to send out ninet3'-six men. in command of Captain Alger, to make a
circuit of the enemy and charge upon the rear with "sabers and cheers."
This ruse had the desired eft'ect, for as soon as Captain Alger and his
men charged upon the enemy, numbering at least two thousand men,
they broke and fled, as did also the force directly in front of Sheridan,
leaving one hundred and twenty-five of their comrades upon the field.
The Second Michigan, which had borne the burden of the fight, lost
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 685
forty-one dead and wounded. In the official reports of engagements,
General Alger was frequently mentioned for distinguished services,
notably by Custer in his report on the Battle of Gettysburg. On July 8,
1S63, he was seriously wounded in the fight near Boonesboro, Maryland,
and did not resume service until September. He served with distinction
during the campaigns of 1863-64, taking part in all the engagements of
the Army of the Potomac within this period, and with his brigade ac-
companied Sheridan to the Shenandoah Valley in 1864. In all General
Alger participated in sixty-six battles and skirmishes, and by bravery
and faithfulness richly merited the distinctions which he gained.
In 1866 General Alger established his home in Detroit. In the fol-
lowing year he engaged in business as a member of the firm of Moore,
Alger & Company, dealers in pine lands and lumber. This was the line
of enterprise to which he had directed his energies while at Grand
Rapids. Soon the firm became Moore & Alger, and this was succeeded
by R. A. Alger & Company, and subsequently the business was incorpo-
rated as Alger, Smith & Company. Of this corporation General Alger
was president from the beginning until his death. In the lumber field
his operations have probably been as extensive as those of any other
individual concern in the United States. His success in this field led
Genera! Alger's participation in numerous other corporate and indi-
vidual enterprises, and it would be a large task to enumerate the various
business connections which he held through many years in Michigan
and elsewhere. Through normal and legitimate means he gained a large
fortune, the use and stewardship of which was always a matter of deep
concern to him.
Though one of Michigan's prominent men from the time of the Civil
war, General Alger steadily refused any political honors until his busi-
ness ambition had been well satisfied. In 1884 he was a delegate to the
Republican National Convention in Chicago, and in the same year was
nominee of his party for governor of Michigan. Though that was a
Democratic year, and Michigan had been Democratic for some time.
General Alger was elected by a plurality of 3.953, and he gave his state
the most capable administration as governor, refusing at the end of his
term to accept the nomination for a second term.
As a favorite son of Michigan, and a man whose name was not
unfamiliar in many states. General Alger was one of the most prominent
among the various candidates in 1888 for nomination before the Repub-
lican National Convention. His name was presented at the beginning
of the session, and after a number of ballots his strength increased to
one hundred and forty-three votes. On the sixth ballot a break was
made among his followers, and as a result General Harrison was brought
forward and received the nomination. In the national convention of
1892 General Alger was again a popular candidate, though the judgment
of his party conferred the choice upon the then incumbent of the White
House.
■ Few men reach so high a position in public life as did the late General
Alger without enduring the almost inevitable reverses which attend a
public career. In the life of General Alger that came during his service
in the office of Secretary of the War, under President ^IcKinley, and
at the time of the Spanish-American war. Time has already shown how
unjust were the criticisms directed against this loyal, honorable and
patriotic citizen and able official In 1896 he was called to the cabinet
of President McKinley, and assumed the duties of his office March 4,
1897. The unpleasantness which marked his administration was the
result of "long existent conditions revealed by the stern test of war."
Practically all citizens who followed the course of events during the
686 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
succeeding years understand the source of trouble from which General
Alger was an innocent victim. The conditions were summed up by the
New York Post at the time of his death in the following words : "He
was a victim of the wretched organization of the army and the depart-
ment which clung to the system of the Civil war that had long been
outgrown." When he resigned his post as Secretary of War in August,
1899, he returned to ^Michigan to receive one of the most enthusiastic
and sympathetic receptions ever accorded to one who had served faith-
fully, but against heavy odds, in the public cause. After General
Alger's death, Mr. Taft, then secretary of war, paid him the following
tribute: "General Alger was patriotic, earnest and most devoted to the
interests of the army and, especially, considered the welfare of the en-
listed men. He was a gentle, kindly man, with great confidence in his
friends and associates, and was much beloved by his subordinates. He
was the subject of unjust criticism because of the country's lack of
preparedness for war when war came, although for this he was in no
wise responsible."
General Alger was a])pointed a member of the United States Senate,
September 27, 1902, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Senator
James McAIillan, and in the foUovving January was regularly elected to
the office by the legislature. Owing to failing health he declined to
become a candidate for reelection and his first term would have expired
March 4, 1908. He had been sitting as a member of the senate until
confined to his home by his last illness. An editorial in the W'ashington
Herald published at the time of his passing containing a few of many
similar tributes paid by the press throughout the country: "General
Russell A. .\lger did not live in vain. A kindly, lovable character, he
was helpful to his fellows and served his country well. He was the type
of rich man whom riches do not spoil — a man who had his wealth to
good ends, while material success did not put him out of touch with
humanity. Michigan loved him as he loved Michigan." Many tributes
were paid to him in Congress and elsewhere, but the most distinctive
were those enacted at Detroit while his body lay in state at the city
hall, and when the entire community of the city showed its deep sense
of personal loss.
General Alger was a member of the ^lilitary Order of the Loyal
Legion of the United States and of Fairbanks Post No. 17, Grand Army
of the Republic, of Detroit. His affection for and sympathy with his
old comrades in arms endured to the end and one of the last acts of his
life was in connection with securing a merited pension for an old soldier
of his command. In 1889, at the National Encampment, General Alger
was unanimously elected Commander-in-Chief of the Order. In the
memorial address given by Hon. Edwin Denby of Michigan in the House
of Representatives in Washington appear the following statements : "If
I were asked to name the qualities of General Alger which more than
others accounted for his remarkable success in political life and for the
devotion of his friends. I would say his kindness, generosity, tact and
sweetness of disposition — the great human attributes which charm and
attract and make the world akin. His course through life was marked
by many deeds of almost unostentatious charity. How much he gave
will never be known, but that his bounties were large is evident from
the occasional instances brought to public notices. In Detroit he was
mourned by none more thoroughly than the newsboys of that city- There
the}' have a large organization, consisting of six or seven hundred mem-
bers, called the Newsboys' Association. General Alger helped the boys
in and out of the Association with clothing and other necessaries, and
with his kindly cheer, year after year, until he became the 'Newsboys'
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 687
Friend,' a badge of honor he was well worthy to wear. How many other
persons there are who regard his passing as the lost of their best earthly
friends will not be known. His charities he tried to hide, but you will
hear today some instances that could not be concealed. He rendered
back to society in constant benefactions the riches it gave him. He was
one of the kindest, most lovable men in public life.''
Said Senator Spooner in the United States Senate at the same
memorial session of Congress: "No man without noble purpose, well-
justified ambitions, strong fiber, and splendid qualities in abundance
could have carved out and left behind him such a career. His pathway
was from the beginning upward, and all along it, at every stage of it.
he discharged well every duty which manhood could demand, and all
along he scattered with generous hand seeds of kindness and helpfulness
to those who were in need, sowing the seed which blossomed in fra-
grance along his pathway and made it beautiful."
General Alger was married in Grand Rapids, Michigan, April 2,
1861, to Miss Annette H. Henry, daughter of William G. Henry, of
that city. This marriage occurred four months before General Alger
went away to the war. Of the nine children of their marriage, five are
living, as follows : Caroline, wife of Henry D. Sheldon, of Detroit ;
Fay, wife of William E. Bailey, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania : Frances,
wife of Charles B. Pike, of Chicago; Russell A. and Captain Frederick
M. Alger, of Detroit, who have largely assumed the business interests
and responsibilities conducted by their late father. Mrs. Alger, who
throughout their married companionship was a worthy helper to her
husband, and who possessed distinctive social qualities and many notable
attributes of personal character, is still living, and divides her time be-
tween her beautiful homes in Detroit and Grosse Pointe.
Russell A. Alger, Jr. With ample capital and the precedent of his
father's great success behind him, the younger Alger has proved himself
in every way capable and worthy of his great heritage, both of name and
fortune, and for some years, practically ever since leaving college, has
been an efficient business man of Detroit.
Russell Alexander Alger, the younger, was born in Detroit, February
27, 1873. From the public schools he entered the Michigan Military
Academy at Orchard Lake, and later the Phillips Academy at Andover,
Massachusetts. His admirable business training was largely under the
eye of his father, and he became well prepared for the administration
of the great responsibilities which subsequently devolved upon him.
He has succeeded his father in the presidency of the great lumber cor-
poration of Alger, Smith & Company, with offices at 1213 Ford Build-
ing. He is an executor of the large Alger estate, and he and his younger
brother. Captain Alger, are associated in its management. Since 1903
Mr. Alger has also been an independent factor in Detroit and Michigan
business aflfairs. He is executive head of the Anderson Forge & Machine
Company, vice president of the Packard Motor Car Company, treasurer
of the Duluth & Northern Alinnesota Railroad Company, a director in
the Security Trust Company, the People's State Bank, the Manistique
Lumber Company, and the' Alger-Sullivan Company. Mr. Alger has
his home at Grosse Pointe Farm.
In politics he gives his staunch allegiance to the party in which his
father was so distinguished. His club membership includes connection
with the Detroit Club, the Yontedoga Club, the Country Club, the Detroit
Yacht Club, the Detroit Boat Club, the Detroit Automobile Club, the
Detroit Racquet & Curling Club, and the Old Club. He is also a member
of the New York Yacht Club, the Automobile Club of America of New
Vol. II— 4
688 HISTORY OF AIICHIGAN
York City, the Kitchi Gami (Dutch) Ckib of Duhith, and belongs to the
Mount Royal Club of Montreal, Canada. Mr. and Mrs. Alger have
membership in the Fort Street Presbyterian Church of Detroit.
On January 23, 1896, he married Miss Marion Jarves, daughter of
Deming Jarves, of Detroit. Their children are Josephine, Fay and
Russell A., Jr.
The Russel Family of Detroit. Among the notable Michigan
families, none has been more conspicuous in public and professional life,
nor borne the responsibilities of citizenship with greater dignity and
social service than have the Russels during their residence in the state
since the year 1836. The founder of the family, the late Dr. George B.
Russel, had no superior as a pioneer physician, and as a broad-minded and
enterprising business man. His four sons have since upheld the reputa-
tion established by their honored father, and George H., the oldest, is
president of the People's State Bank of Detroit ; Henry is the General
Counsel of the Michigan Central Railroad Company, and at the head of
one of the most important law firms of Detroit ; Walter S. is president
of the Russel Wheel and Foundry Company ; and John R. is vice presi-
dent and secretary of the Great Lakes Engineering Works. The daugh-
ter, Sarah, is the wife of Jere C. Hutchins, president of the Detroit
United Railway, and the other surviving member of that generation is
Miss Anne D. Russel.
The career of the late Dr. George B. Russel, who died at his home in
Detroit, August 31, 1903, in his eighty-eighth year, is in reality a chapter
from the pioneer history of medicine and business affairs of Detroit
Born in the village of Russelville, Chester county. Pennsylvania, March
7, 1816, he came of an old American family. The house in which he was
born had been built by his great-grandfather before the war of the Revo-
lution. Hugh Russel, the builder of the home just mentioned, was born
in Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1726, and fought in the great battle of Culloden
in 1746. After that defeat he became an exile and fled to the north of
Ireland and from there with three brothers came to America and estab-
lished his home at the settlement in Pennsylvania which was founded
and named Russelville. Alexander Russel, a son of Hugh, was born at
Russelville July 4. 1756, and died there in 1799. Francis, son of Alex-
ander, was born at Russelville, June 14. 1783. and died there in 1859.
He served with the rank of colonel, during the war of 1812. Francis
Russel married a Miss Whiteside, whose family came from Ireland to
America in 1718. Dr. George B. Russel, a son of Francis Russel, had
his early schooling in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and later in the West
Chester Academy, an institution which did much to form and direct his
young mind. The scholarship of Mr. Russel was such that he acted as
tutor in giving instruction in mathematics and Latin when only fourteen
years of age. At the age of seventeen he completed the course at Frank-
lin and Marshall College, and at this time was able to read the Bible in
five different languages. In 1836, at the age of twenty, he was gradu-
ated doctor of medicine from Jefferson College at Philadelphia. He was
associated with and had friends among many conspicuous members of
the older generation. Among these was General George B. Porter, who
afterwards became governor of Michigan territory, and who had invited
young Russel to come out to Michigan as soon as his medical education
was completed. Though Governor Porter had in the meantime died,
the invitation really proved the cause of Dr. Russel's removal to the
west. At the time of his graduation in 1836, Dr. Russel was still under
age and unable to begin his practice under the laws of Pennsylvania. He
made the trip west by stage coach and canal, and by lake vessel from
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 689
Cleveland, arriving in Detroit, April 24, 1836. It is said that almost on
the same day he took up the duties of what proved a busy and successful
medical career. In Detroit he found Drs. Chapin, Rice, Pitcher, Hurd
and a number of others. Soon after locating in Detroit, he was one of
the local physicians who gave their services in combating the cholera and
the smallpox epidemic. Afterwards he returned to Philadelphia and took
a post-graduate course during 1837-38, and then located in Detroit in
1839, where he began practice with Dr. Adrian R. Terry.
Concerning the early labors of Dr. Russel, much has been written,
but the following so well illustrates the conditions of pioneer medical
practice, not only for Detroit, but for the state that its inclusion in this
work needs no apology.
In those days the practice of local physicians was difficult and ardu-
ous. Dr. Russel's medical and surgical circuit was on both sides of the
Detroit River. In Canada it extended from Amherstburg to Belle River,
a distance of thirty-three miles. On the American side it extended from
Trenton to Lake St. Clair, and inland along the four leading avenues of
Detroit to Mount Clemens, Romeo, Royal Oak, Birmingham, Pontiac,
Farmington, Dearborn and Wayne. All these routes were traveled on
horseback, and in the saddle-bags were carried the needed drugs with
scales and measures to till his prescriptions, as well as surgical instru-
ments. Of the six thousand inhabitants in 1838, about four thousand
were French speaking. The roads were very bad and many hardships
were encountered. Dr. Russel was in the saddle for twenty-seven years,
and then retired from general practice. As a physician, his memory
will always fill a beautiful place in the annals of Detroit. He was a
skillful healer and a philanthropist. He gave every day of his time,
skill and money to poverty-stricken, and suffering humanity. In his daily
ministrations among the poor his beneficence was perennial, and grate-
ful thanks from the recipients were scattered at his feet like flowers.
An educated and scientific man, fully abreast with medical science and
a wise physician, he was a John the Baptist who recognized that his only
mission was to prepare the way for a greater than himself — Nature. He
was very active in epidemics of smallpox and cholera, and successfully
treated many cases of the former disease shortly after he arrived in
Michigan. In October, 1837, a tribe of seven hundred Indians from the
Saginaw region arrived in Detroit to receive their annual present and
camped on Conner's Creek near Gratiot Avenue, a few miles from
Detroit. The doctor learned the smallpox had broken out among them,
and he proceeded there at once. About twelve Indians, living in five
tents were found to be infested. Aided by Richard Conner, the pro-
prietor of the farm, and Sister Therese of the Sisters of Sainte Claire,
whose convent at that time was at the southwest corner of Larned and
Randolph Streets, he treated six persons and also vaccinated, or rather
inoculated every member of the tribe. This work occupied fully twenty-
four hours and was performed without rest or sleep. A daughter of
Henry R. Schoolcraft, the famous Indian ethnologist and historian, was
visiting friends in Detroit, and afterward related this episode to her
father at Albany. Mr. Schoolcraft promptly informed the United States
Indian bureau, which procured an appropriation of seven hundred dollars
which was paid to Dr. Russel in 1842. In the same year the doctor built
a smallpox hospital on the present site of the House of Correction on
Russel Street. In this hospital he gratuitously treated about two hundred
cases, principally colored people and white immigrants. He was also
active and efficient during the cholera seasons of 1849-1852 and 1854.
During the so-called Patriot War on the Canadian side, in 1838, a battle
occurred in which the Patriots were defeated, and some of their wounded
690 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
men were brought to Detroit, where they were attended by Dr. Russel.
His service was mentioned to the British minister at Washington, and
one day Dr. Russel was surprised to receive a letter of thanks, and one
year's pay as assistant surgeon in the British army from the British
government. As chief physician and a trustee of Harper Hospital for
about a quarter of a century. Dr. Russel greatly advanced the interests
of that noble Detroit institution. It was largely through his influence
that Nancy Alartin, the old market woman, donated part of the land,
now the site of the hospital. In addition to his distinction as a physician.
Dr. Russel was a remarkable .business man and a pioneer of some of De-
troit's greatest enterprises. In 1863, he reliquished the general practice
of medicine, though he continued to minister to his family, his relatives
and to indigent persons to the end of his life.
In the early fifties Dr. Russel built the first car-ferry boat, which
plied between Detroit and Windsor, and which brought over the first
locomotive in 1854, — which year marked the connecting of the Great
Western Railway, now the Grand Trunk with Detroit. He founded the
Detroit Car Works, an enterprise subsequently merged into the Pullman
Car Company. He originated the project upon which George ^I. Pull-
man, John S. Newberry, and James McMillan rose to fortune. To Dr.
Russel is also due the credit for having built the first iron furnace and
produced the first ton of pig-iron at Detroit. He built the first large
steamer of more than thirty-foot beam on the Detroit River, and the
first steamer especially designed to carry iron ore upon the great
lakes. He was the leading spirit in building up the ferry system now
controlled by the Detroit, Belle Isle and Windsor Ferry Company.
Manv houses were built by him in Detroit and vicinity, he was the owner
of thousands of acres of land in the city and suburbs, and property once
owned by him is now worth many millions of dollars. In the panic of
1857 his losses were severe, but he recovered and was one of the most
prominent men of Detroit during the constructive era of the late sixties.
In 1880 following in his footsteps his son George H. established the
Russel Wheel & Foundry Company, now one of the large industrial con-
cerns of the city and still owned principally by the Russel family. Dr.
Russel also established ship yards at Detroit, and contributed largely to
the development of local iron industry.
For a number of years before his death Dr. Russel spent most of his
time on his farm on the banks of Lake St. Claire in Canada. His son
Walter has a fine summer home there, but the doctor preferred to live
in a cabin nearby, and with only a man ser\-ant to help him lived free
and independent. He cut down trees, repaired fences, and did other
vigorous work and lived ideally the simple life.
His long years were the result of this sane and simple mode of liv-
ing. A large man, weighing over two hundred pounds, he was very ac-
tive in his movements, and never lost his mental alertness, reading two
newspapers every day, and keeping in close touch with the advance-
ment in medicine and surgerj^ up to his last years. He disdained all
formality in his speech and habits, and was also outspoken, hearty and
genial in conversation and social relations. He was considered among
his associates as a remarkably handsome man, and as a gentleman of the
old school always dressed in fine broadcloth and wore a silk hat. His
face was ruddy, his complexion clear, and his eye quick and penetrating.
He frequently said he thought he would reach the century mark, and
might have easily done so had not an accident occurred which short-
ened ,his span of natural existence. While stepping from a street car
he was struck by a bicycle, and the injury terminated in his death a
few days later. In special spheres of activit)% Dr. Russel had his su-
HISTORY OF AIICHIGAN 691
periors, but in his varied and successful attention to many affairs, in
professional, business, manufacturing and social duties, he occupied a
unique position. His own accomplishments and the impress which he
left through his family and others whom he stimulated to useful en-
deavor will remain a conspicuous part of the history of Detroit. As a
youth he had had the advantage of recourse to one of the finest private
libraries, that of his uncle, John Whiteside, and to the end continued to
be a student and reader. For many years he was reputed to be the best
informed man in his knowledge of English literature in ]\lichigan, and
he memorized large portions of the Bible, Shakespeare, and other Eng-
lish, Latin. Greek and French authors, especially the poets.
Dr. Russel was married at Detroit, July 7, 1845, to Miss Anna E.
Davenport, a daughter of Lewis Davenport, a pioneer of Detroit. Mrs.
Russel, as well as her mother and grandmother, was born in Detroit,
and as a wife and mother and socially was a worthy companion and
helpmate to her honored husband. Her death occurred June 8, 1888.
The second of the four sons of the late Dr. Russel, Henry Russel
has for many years been one of the leading lawyers, capitalists and
business men of Detroit. He was born in Detroit, :May 16, 1S52, at-
tended the public schools, and the classical and mathematical academy
conducted by Philo Patterson, after which he entered the University of
:\Iichigan, and was graduated A. B. in 1873. His preparation for the law
was pursued in the offices of Alfred Russell and Judge Cooley and in the
university, where he was graduated LL. B. in 1875. In the same year
the degree, ;Master of Arts, was conferred upon him. On leaving the
university, Mr. Russel continued his law studies in the office of Alfred
Russell, then one of the leading members of the Detroit bar. In 1877
Mr. Russel became assistant attorney to the Michigan Central Railroad
Company. In later years yir. Russel has become General Counsel for
the road. In 1878 he established a partnership with Henry M. Campbell,
under the name of Russel & Cam])bell, and this partnership has since
been expanded to the present firm of Russel, Campbell, Bulkley & Led-
yard. I\Ir. Russel has large interests in business affairs. He is a director
in many banking, railroad, manufacturing and land companies, and is
president of several of them. He projected and eff'ected the construction
of several important railroads, and the upbuilding of diff"erent manufactur-
ing institutions. Suburban real estate has received much of his attention,
and he was the pioneer in the reclamation and improving of the outlying
marshlands along the River Rouge.
A man of wide culture and literary tastes, Mr. Russel has found
time to travel extensively and to cultivate an acquaintance with the best
of classic and current literature. In politics he is a Democrat, and is a
liberal supporter of the Presbyterian church. Public spirited, his
genial disposition and rare humor has brought him many friends and
great popularity. His outdoor sports are pursued principally through
the diversions "of golf and fishing. He has membership in the Detroit
Club, the Country Club, the Detroit Golf Club, the University Club and
the Fontinalis Club.
On Tune 3, 1880, he married :\l!ss Helen H. :\Iuir, a daughter of
the late" William K. Muir of Detroit. Their five children were: Christ-
ine M., wife of Allen F. Edwards; Anne Davenport, wife of James
Thayer McMillan ; Helen, wife of Harold F. Wardwell ; John Farrand
and William Muir, of whom John F. is deceased. Mrs. Russel was
active in church and charitable "works, belonged to the Jefferson Avenue
Presbyterian church and was for many years president of the Pastor's
Aid Society. She was also on the executive board of the Thompson
Home for Old Ladies, and was identified with other charitable and
692 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
philanthropic works. Mrs. Russel was born in Detroit, June 29, 1858,
and died November 23, 1908. On FelDruary 15, 1912, Mr. Russel mar-
ried Mrs. Eleanor Towle, a resident of Detroit for many years and a
distant relative of the Russel family.
James McMillan. From 1889 until his death in Manchester,
Massachusetts, August 10, 1902, James McMillan was one of the nation's
leaders, and for the greater part of his service in the United States senate
was one of the commanding personalities in that body. In the city of
Detroit, and the State of Michigan, the late James McMillan will long
be remembered for many other activities and for his prominence in
political atifairs. He was one of the men who did much to develop the
transportation interests of the state, especially in the northern penin-
sula. His liberality and enterprise in Detroit has been evidenced by
many contributions to the institutional and educational departments of
the city. He was an eminent business man, a large-minded statesman
and was strong of mind, strong of heart, and noble and true in his
ideals.
Of sturdy Scotch ancestry, James McMillan was a native of Canada,
born at Hamilton, Ontario, May 12, 1838, a son of William and Grace
McMillan, both of whom were born and reared in Scotland, and after
their marriage came to America in 1836. It was their intention to
locate in the State of Illinois, but a visit to friends in Hamilton, Onta-
rio, led them to make that city their home. William McMillan, it has
been said, was a man of exceptionally strong and symmetrical char-
acter and of the highest integrity. His business interests were wide,
and his identification with many and important enterprises made his
name well known throughout Ontario. He became specially interested
in the promotion and management of railway enterprises, and from the
inception of the Great Western Railway until his death in 1S77 was a
stockholder, and much of the time an executive officer. As he was
prosperous in business, so was he also influential in civil and religious
activities. The McMillan home, if somewhat stern in discipline, after
the fashion of those days, was one of comfort, intelligence and piety.
The wife of William I\TcAIillan survived him several years, and the
remains of both were laid to rest in a cemetery at Hamilton.
James McMillan was a resident of Detroit from 1885 until his
death. His early education was received in the Hamilton grammar
schools, where he had unusual advantages under the direction of Dr.
Tassie, one of the best educators of his time. His inclinations led him
to business as soon as his preparatory course was completed, and at the
age of fourteen he became clerk in a hardware establishment at Hamil-
ton. Four years were given to learning the details of the business, and
when he arrived in Detroit in 1855 he was seventeen years of age. With
letters of introduction which he presented to several influential mer-
chants of this city, he at once secured a place in the hardware trade,
and later, through the influence of his father, became purchasing agent
of the Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railroad. An interruption
to this service was caused when he accpted a place on the staff of a
prominent railroad contractor, who was then finishing the western end
of the railroad. In 1864 his business ability led a firm of car builders
in Detroit to seek him for a partner in their splendid enterprise. The
late John S. Newberry also joined in the partnership, and under ]\Ir.
McMillan's active and energetic supervision the Michigan Car Company
grew to be one of the great manufacturing concerns of the country.
In the meantime it put forth important branches, such as the Detroit
Car Wheel Company, the Detroit Iron Furnace Company, the Baugh
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 693
Steam Forge Company, and the Detroit Pipe and Foundry Company,
in which establishment employment was given to between five and six
thousand men. Practically every undertaking to which Mr. McMillan
put his hand in a business way prospered. In time he became inter-
ested in vessel building at the works of the Detroit Dry Docks Com-
pany, in marine passenger transportation in Cleveland, Detroit and
Mackinac, and in lake transportation by means of fast freighters.
A very conspicuous enterprise in which the late Senator McMillan
participated was the construction of the semi-political railroad project
linking the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan by the road that
is now the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railroad. His was largely
the enterprise and money that carried the enterprise through, after
death had removed several of his associates and when obstacles seemed
insuperable. Of this railroad company Mr. AlcMillan was president
until he resigned soon after entering the United States senate. Always
ready to take hold of new enterprises, and to lend to them his con-
structive and administrative power, yet in spite of his busy career Sen-
ator McMillan always had leisure for society and money for charity
and philanthropy. Extensive foreign travel aided in cultivating a nat-
urally refined taste, and led him to take a deep and active interest in
those things that represented the higher ideals of human existence.
This was specially manifested in his interest in the Detroit Museum
of Art, of which he was president for several years. Mr. McMillan
gave to the University of Michigan a comprehensive Shakespeare
library. At the same institution he built for the Presbyterian students
a fine hall to be used in connection with theological training. He
was also the donor of a large dormitory at Mary Allen Seminary, a
school for the education of colored girls at Crockett, Texas. To Allsion
College, a Methodist institution at Albion, Michigan, he gave a fine
chemical laboratory building, which bears his name. His thoughts
were always of his home city, and he planned and assisted in carrying
out many institutional improvements. He planned a free hospital for
the city, and in association with his partner, the late John S. Newberry,
erected Grace Hospital on land set apart for such a purpose by the late
Amos Chafl^ee. The hospital was amply endowed by Mr. McMillan
and others, and he was its president at the time of his death. His pri-
vate benevolences and charities were large but unostentatious, and the
sum of them can never accurately be estimated. He accumulated a
splendid fortune and used it to a good end, and few rich men have
showed a higher sense of their responsibility to the community than the
late Senator McMillan.
From the early years of his citizenship Mr. McMillan interested
himself in the cause of the Republican party. He had a large personal
acquaintance among the leading men of Michigan, and at one time was
a very efficient worker in the interests of Hon. Zachariah Chandler,
who secured the aid of Mr. McMillan as a member of the State Central
Committee. In 1886, when the Republican party in Michigan was very
much in need of his services and influences, Mr. McMillan became
chairman of the committee, and held the chairmanship until he declined
re-election in 1896. It was as a result of his valuable services to the
party and to the state that the Republicans in the legislature in 1889
unanimously elected Mr. McMillan to the office of United States sen-
ator. In 1895 he was re-elected by a unanimous vote in the legislature,
an honor seldom conferred in the history of senatorial elections. He
was elected for a third term, and that term, which would have expired
in 1907, was abbreviated by his death. In the senate Mr. McMillan
was noted for his industry and ability to deal comprehensively with
694 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
questions of detail. He served on the committees of commerce, post
oflice and naval affairs, and on the District of Columbia committee, in
the chairmanship of which he succeeded the late Senator Ingalls. At
the same time his familiarity with the great industry of Michigan
enabled him to be of service to his state, particularly when river and
harbor matters were under consideration.
On entering the senate, Mr. McMillan relinquished the active man-
agement of much of his business to his older sons, and was thus free
to devote practically all his attention to his legislative duties, and this
fact, combined with his extraordinary broad experience and ability as
a business man caused him to be regarded as one of the ablest legis-
lators in Congress during the last decade of the previous century. In
Washington, as well as Detroit, Mr. and Mrs. McMillan were prominent
in social affairs, and their home in the national capital was a center for
quiet and distinguished hospitality. Since the death of her husband
Mrs. McMillan has passed much of her time in Washington, though
she still retains her love for Detroit, a city endeared to her by the asso-
ciation and memories of many years. ]\Irs. Mc^Millan is an active mem-
ber of the Presbyterian church, to which her husband belonged, and
she has been liberal in carrying on its work and benevolence in the
various departments.
Mr. AIcMillan in i860 married ]\Iary L. Wetmore, daughter of
Charles P. Wetmore of Detroit. Of their six children, three sons and
one daughter survived Senator ^McMillan, but since then one of the
sons died. All of the sons graduated from Yale University, and the
record of the children is as follows : William C, who died on the
twenty-first of February, 1907, leaving a widow and two children,
James T. and Doris ; Grace McAIillan Jarvis, who died in 1888, leaving
one daughter, Grace McMillan Jarvis ; James Howard McMillan, who
died in 1902, leaving one daughter, Gladys; Amy McMillan, who is now
Lady Harrington of England ; Philip H. and Francis W. IMc^Iillan, the
surviving sons in Detroit, have the general supervision of the family
estate and many of the interests formerly supervised by their honored
father.
Samuel H. Ranck. Librarian of the Grand Rapids Public Library.
Mr. Ranck is one of the best known men in the L^nited States in a pro-
fession which has been developed largely within his own tin:'e, and which,
as a result of the spread of library facilities throughout the country, has
become one of the most important of the learned professions. Mr. Ranck
is a scholar, has active, and at times has held official, membership in many
learned societies.
Samuel Haverstick Ranck was born near Lancaster, Pennsylvania,
October 23, 1866, a son of Jacob Eby and Martha Bausman (Haber-
stick) Ranck. Both parents were also bom in Lancaster county, Penn-
sylvania, and still live there. His father's ancestors (French Huguenots)
came to the LTnited States in 1729 and settled in Pennsylvania, where
the various successive generations have lived. His mother's ancestors
(German and Swiss) came to America a little later in the i8th century.
The oldest of six children, Samuel H. Ranck at the age of five years
entered the district school, and at sixteen became a student in the First
Pennsylvania Normal School at ]Millersville, Pennsylvania. After two
years in that school he taught a district school during 1885-86, and 1886-
87. Matriculating in Franklin and Marshall College, he was graduated
A. B. in 1892, and in 1895 the same institution conferred upon him the
degree of A. M. The introduction tq his present line of work began dur-
ing his freshman year in college, when he was appointed an assistant in
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 695
the Goethean Literary Society Library. During his two years as hbrarian
he re-catalogued a collection of about six thousand volumes in that library.
In 1892, three months before his graduation from College, he became con-
nected with the Enoch Pratt Free Library at Baltimore, Maryland, where
he was assistant librarian from 1898 to 1904. Since October i, 1904, he
has been in Grand Rapids as librarian of the public library in this city.
Since 1895 he has been Chairman of the Publishing Committee and
editor of the Franklin and Marshall College Alumni Association's pub-
lications, during which period the Association has issued 35 books,
pamphlets and leaflets. The most important of these edited or written
by Air. Ranck are the Catalogue of Officers and Students of the College,
1787-1903 and the Obituary Record containing biographies of all the
graduates of the College who have died. Since it was established in 1903
he has been President of the Alumni Council of the College.
On the general subjects of his profession, on college education, and
topics presented by his wide excursions into literary and outdoor af-
fairs, Mr. Ranck has contributed much to magazines and newspapers.
Since 1896 he has been a regular monthly contributor to the Library
Journal. He has been a member of the council of the American Library
Association since 1908, twice elected to that position, and is a life mem-
ber of the association. His other relations with learned societies include
membership in the American Historical Association, the Maryland His-
torical Society, the Lancaster County Historical Society, the Michigan
Pioneer and Historical Society, the Historical Society of Grand Rapids,
of which he has been secretary since 1905, the American Economic Asso-
ciation, the Bibliographical Society of America, the American A. A. A. S.,
the Michigan Library Association of which he was president during
1905-07, the Pennsylvania Library Club, the American Civic Association,
the Society of Chemical Industry, etc. Mr. Ranck is a Phi Beta Kappa,
and belongs to the Grand Rapids Boat and Canoe Club, and the Grand
Rapids Association of Commerce. During his vacations his time is spent
chiefly in canoeing, on the fivers of Michigan, and in that way he has cov-
ered thousands of miles of the various water courses, and has a collec-
tion of photographs of Michigan waterways of unusual interest and value.
Mr. Ranck is in politics an Independent, and in religion a member of the
Society of Friends (Quakers).
On October 15, 1901, he was married to ]\Iiss Judith A., daughter of
Edwin and Maria (Powell) Blackburn. Mrs. Ranck is a graduate of
Wellesley College, 1897. Their three children are: Elizabeth Powell
Ranck, Theodore \''alentine and Wilson Marcy, all of whom are attend-
ing school in Grand Rapids. Their home is at 728 Terrace Avenue, with
a summer home on their farm near Grand Rapids — Woodbrooke Farm.
Hon. Charles E. Townsend. In the choice of Charles E. Townsend
for the LTnited States Senate, Michigan contributed one of its ablest law-
yers and public men to the honors and activities of the larger sphere of
national government. The campaign of Mr. Townsend for his present
oftice is still fresh in the minds of Michigan citizens, and is interesting for
its breaking of long established precedents in state political history. As
a member of the senate of the United States, Mr. Townsend by reason of
his profound ability, his progressive attitude, and his thorough training in
political life, has become one of the strongest individual factors in that
august body, and to his work as senator brought a ripe experience from
eight years of service in the house of representatives.
The career of Senator Townsend has abundant material for an inspir-
ing story of earlv struggle against heavy odds and linal accomplishment
of secure success and attainment of one of the highest offices in the nation.
696 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
His birth occurred on a farm, one mile west of the village of Concord,
in Jackson county, Alichigan, August 15, 1856, of a family of pioneers
in this part of Michigan, his father being James W. Townsend, who was
born in Wayne county, Xew York in 1825. When his father was less than
nine years of age his parents, Isaac and Hannah (Penny) Townsend,
in 1834, located a home in the wilderness of Michigan territory. The
journey from the east to the west was accomplished in the typical style of
that day, in a covered wagon, drawn by an ox team. Journeying westward
from Detroit, they passed through the village of Jacksonburg, as it was then
called, containing only a few rude log cabins, but what is now the pros-
perous and growing city of Jackson. James W. Townsend married Eunice
S. Parmeter, who was born in Allegany county, New York in 1827, and
was six years of age when her parents, Jesse and Electa (Van W^ormer)
Parmeter emigrated west also in pioneer style in 1833, and settled in Con-
cord township of Jackson county. The Townsend and Pamieter families
were both of substantial New York State stock, and they settled in Con-
cord township within two miles of each other. James W. Townsend who
was a farmer and was also honored with various local offices, died April
3, 1892, before his son had attained any of the larger honors of his politi-
cal career. The mother passed away September 5, 1908, in her eightieth
year. The parents were married on Christmas Day of the year 1850, and
of their four children Senator Townsend was the third and now the only
survivor.
The place where he was born was the homestead which the Grandfather
Isaac Townsend had located in 1834, and thus the senator has many pleas-
ing associations with this locality, and few men in Michigan public life
have more substantial claim to pioneer lineage. His boyhood days were
spent on the farm, and the household comprised his father and mother,
and four children, all of whom lived in a humble home consisting of only
two rooms. One of the first institutions with which Senator Townsend
became familiar as a boy was a mortgage, and he continued on more or
less intimate though embarrassing terms with it until after he had grown
up and established a home of his own. The home farm was burdened with
a mortgage representing a large proportion of its total value, and the
burden had come down from the time of the grandfather. The annual
interest payment at ten per cent, proved a heavy drain upon the parental
resources, and it was a well understood fact that the children could expect
no education beyond that supplied by the schools located within the home
district. Charles E. Townsend from boyhood had an ambition for knowl-
edge and for higher usefulness than was bounded by the limits of a small
countr}' comnnmity. After completing the ordinary branches in the dis-
trict school, he determined to continue his studies in the Jackson high
school. The distance between the home farm and the city was fourteen
miles. However, that was no bar to his determination. Every night and
morning he made the trip to and from school on the old ''Air Line" Rail-
road, but during the last year improved matters by keeping "batch" in a
room which he rented in the city, and while he lived in the simplest man-
ner he kept down expenses by bringing all his provisions from the home
farm. He was twenty-one years of age when he graduated at the Jackson
high school in 1877. A well-to-do citizen, who admired the plucky fight
made by the voung man then loaned him two hundred dollars, with which
sum he entered the freshman class of the University of Michigan, and
spent one year there. In 1878, at the end of his first year of college, he
resolved to begin work and rid himself of this debt of two hundred dollars.
Returning to Concord township, he was engaged to teach school for fifteen
months in district No. 6, and for the following seven years was principal
of the Parma schools in Parma township. Many of his old pupils are
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 697
still to be found in various parts of Michigan, and they all speak highly of
his example and his general work as a teacher. During the first year his
salary was six hundred dollars, and finally it was advanced to nine hundred
dollars a year. In the meantime there were some heavy obligations to be
met with this comparatively meagre income. Besides the two hundred
dollars which he had borrowed to attend University and besides the requir-
ments of his individual household, he applied all he could save toward the
reduction of the mortgage on the old homestead. The interest rate of ten
per cent proved almost too much for his limited income, and though he
did not succeed while teaching in wiping out the debt, he did materially
reduce it.
Practically from the time he cast his first vote, Mr. Townsend has
taken a vigorous interest in political affairs. In 1886 he was made a dele-
gate to the Republican county convention at Jackson from Sandstone
township. In the same convention sat his father, James W. Townsend, a
delegate from Concord township. The father was chosen temporary chair-
man of the convention and when it came time to choose the permanent
chainnan that choice fell upon the son, an honor which he greatly appreci-
ated and which proved one of the stepping stones to his larger political
career. That same convention placed his name on the county ticket for the
office of register of deeds, and after he had accepted the nomination he
started out to make a complete canvass of the county. Nearly every even-
ing during the campaign, he was found speaking at some school house,
and five days of the week were spent in holding his job as principal of the
Parma schools. His popularity as a citizen, and his known qualification
brought him at election time eight hundred majority for the office, and
after that he was four times re-elected, so that he served at the county
seat and in the office of register of deeds for ten years.
In the meantime even while teaching school, Mr. Townsend had his
ambition fixed upon the law, as his ultimate career, and was studying
while teaching and also while in the office of register of deeds. In 1895
he was admitted to the bar, and then announced that at the conclusion of
his fifth term he would not again be a candidate for the office with which he
had so long been honored. In December, 1896, he formed a legal partner-
ship with the late Hon. Charles A. Blair, and the Hon. Charles H. Smith,
both of whom are now deceased. This law firm, composed of three men
each of whom bore the name Charles, was familiarly known as "The Three
Charlies," or officially as Blair, Smith & Townsend. These partners agreed
that neither member of the firm should become a candidate for any public
office for a period of four years. This agreement was carried out. In
1902 Mr. Smith was appointed by president Roosevelt, prosecuting attorney
at Manila, and in the same year Mr. Townsend was elected to Congress
from the Second Michigan t)istrict, while in 1904 Mr. Blair was elected
attorney general of Michigan. Thus all three entered upon public life at
about the same time.
Senator Townsend in 1888 was a delegate to the Republican National
Convention in Chicago, and was a ineml>er of the Republican State Central
Committee from 1898 to 1902. At the district Republican convention_ at
Adrian, in 1902, Mr. Townsend on the eighth hundred and thirty-third
ballot, was nominated for congress. His election followed in the fall, and
in 1904 he was renominated by acclamation. In 1906 he was nominated
for the first term under the new' primary system and he was unopposed both
in the primarv and at tiie election. His election in 1908 came by a very
large majority. In 1910 he had the field without opposition, and though
elected for a fifth term in the house of representatives, he had announced
that he would be a candidate before the Michigan primaries held in Sep-
tember, 1910, for the office of United States senator. This was a bold step,
698 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
notwithstanding the fact that he had proved himself one of the most pro-
gressive and useful workers in congress. In the office to which Mr. Town-
send aspired, Hon. Julius C. Burrows had served so long that he apparently
had a prescriptive" right to its continuance, and it was apparently very
presumptuous for a comparatively young congressman to combat the posi-
tion of a man who for more than a third of a century had been either in
the house of representatives or the senate. Both Mr. Townsend and
Senator Burrows made a thorough canvas of the state, under the primary
system, and when the votes were counted there showed a majority of about
forty-one thousand in favor of Townsend. Thus he accomplished what
was supposed by his best friends to be only a forlorn hope. Senator Town-
send took his seat in the United States Senate March 4, 191 1.
When he entered the House of Representatives in 1903 he was made
a member of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. This
gave him an opportunity for some useful service during his first term, in
Congress. He introduced what was known as the Townsend bill for the
regulation of railroads, enlarging the powers of the Interstate Commerce
Commission and creating a court of transportation, as its chief features.
In the last days of the Fiftv-eighth Congress this bill was passed through
the house, but failed of passage in the senate. At the beginning of the
Fifty-ninth Congress, Mr. Townsend reintroduced a similar bill and m the
meantime the great agitation throughout the country and a general public
conviction that manv" important refarms were needed in railroad legisla-
tion, opened the wav for the almost certain passage of this proposed bill.
However, the chairman of the committee. Col. W. P. Hepburn, introduced
a similar bill, and asked as a special favor that his bill be accepted instead
of that of Mr. Townsend. Accordingly the railroad legislation enacted
that year was chiefly under the name of Hepburn liill, though in all its
. essential provisions, it was a copy of Mr. Townsend's bill and the latter is
probably deserving of more credit for the legislation than any other mem-
ber of Congress. In the Fifty-ninth Congress, Mr. Townsend introduced
a bill relieving the state of Michigan from paying ninety-six thousand
dollars interest to the Federal government on what was known as the Soo
Canal Funds. This measure was enacted into law, and a large sum was
thus saved to the state. While a member of the house Mr. Townsend was
a warm personal friend and a supporter of the policies of President Roose-
velt and had charge of some of the Roosevelt measures in Congress. The
insurgency of the House a few years ago against the iron-clad rule of the
speaker is a well remembered movement by all who have kept in touch
with political developments within the last decade. It is of interest in this
sketch to mention that the first meeting of the socalled insurgents was held
in Mr. Townsend's office, and all the subsequent meetings were held there
until the office became too small to accommodate the growing faction. Mr.
Townsend was verv prominent in the movement by which the house was
finally emancipated' from the objectionable rules which had for years inter-
ferred with the deliberate character of the body, and which concentrated
an autocratic authority in the speaker. He insisted that at least one day
in each week should be set apart to consider bills which had been reported
from committees, regardless of whether the speaker favored their con-
sideration or not. Mr. Townsend prepared and introduced the resolution
providing for this reform, and its adoption made it a rule of the house
which is still standing. Still later in his congressional career Mr. Townsend
during the sixtv-first" session had charge of the administration bill enlarging
the powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission over the regulation of
railroad rates. Among other features this bill contained a provision for
controlling the issuance of stocks and bonds, and also one prohibiting the
ownership by one railroad of a competing line. However, both those com-
9
cr-t^-^:^-^y<'-^
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 699
mendable provisions were stricken from the bill before it was finally
enacted into law. In the last three sessions of congress, Mr. Townsend
has again and again introduced a bill providing for the settlement of dis-
putes between capital and labor. In the senate he introduced a bill au-
thorizing the president to enter into a treaty with Canada for the pur-
pose of creating a deep water way from the Atlantic Ocean to the great
lakes, by way of the St. Lawrence River. Such a waterway would per-
mit all ocean-going vessels to load and unload their cargoes at the im-
portant lake ports, thus saving the great expense and additional time
and labor required for the transfer of goods from water to land traffic.
This bill has now passed the senate, and at this writing President
Wilson has submitted the measure to the International Commission
for consideration. Senator Townsend is a member of the Inter-
state Commerce Committee, the Committee on post offices and post
roads, on Indian affairs, and coast and insular surveys, and reforms in the
civil service and several minor committees. He is a member of three stand-
ing commissions of congress, one relating to parcel post, one to Indian
affairs generally and the third to the health of Indians, the establishment of
a tuberculosis asylum for Indians, and the settlement of the irrigation
project in the Yakima \'alley of Washington.
On September i, i8So, while still a teacher, and struggling with debt.
Senator Townsend was married to Miss Rena Paddock. She had grown
up in Concord township and had been one of his schoolmates. They have
no children living. Senator Townsend is a Knight Templar Mason and
Shriner, having served as eminent commander, and also belongs to the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Loyal Order of Moose.
In a business way he is second vice president and a director of the Jackson
State Savings Bank.
Ch.\rles Carroll Hodges. The character and achievement of ^Ir.
Hodges had benignant and potent influence upon the civic and material
history of the jNIichigan metropolis, where his name and memor>- are
held in lasting honor and where he long lived and labored to righteous
ends and worthy accomplishment in connection with temporal affairs.
He was one of the strong, resourceful and representative business men
and loyal citizens of Michigan and there is all of consistency in accord-
ing to him a specific tribute in this publication. Mr. Hodges was
associated with his brother, Henry C, in the founding of one of the
most important industrial enterprises of Detroit and was closely iden-
tified with its development and upbuilding, and preliminary to more
specific data it is pleasing to reproduce the statements appearing in a
previously written review of his career: "One of the most energetic,
enterprising, upright business men of Detroit, distinguished for his civic
patriotism and broad-minded views on all questions, the late Charles
Carroll Hodges left behind him a memory which is honored by all those
with whom he came in contact. A man of indomitable energy, inviolable
integritv and genial personality, he was loved and admired by all who
knew him.''
Mr. Hodges claimed the old Green Mountain state as the place of
his nativity and in his character exemplified the sturdiness ever attrib-
uted to that historic commonwealth. He was born at South Hero, Grand
Isle county, Vermont, on the 22d of July, 1830, and was a son of Nathaniel
and Clara (Phelps) Hodges. He acquired his early education in the
common schools of his native county, but was a mere lad when he be-
gan to depend largely upon his own resources, by assuming a position
as general-utility boy in a general merchandise store at St. Albans, Ver-
mont. He was a gifted penman and was independent and self-reliant
700 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
even as a boy. He early showed marked energy and adaptability in
connection with business activities, and the result was that he was soon
promoted to the position of bookkeeper. He continued as a valued and
trusted employe in the store at St. Albans for several years and he then
found means to indulge his ambitious desire to identify himself with
the pioneer activities of the "far west," as Michigan was then designated
in the states of New England. Coming to Michigan he established his
home at Battle Creek, the present thriving metropolis of Calhoun county,
where he had kinsfolk, and there he obtained a position in the gen-
eral store conducted by the firm of Wallace & Collier, the junior mem-
ber of the firm having been V. P. Collier, who later served as state
treasurer of Michigan. The young man from New England soon won
secure place in popular confidence and esteem in the new home and
here he was not long in availing himself of opportunity to engage in an
independent business venture. He became associated with William An-
drus in the purchase of an established drug store in Battle Creek, and
they conducted the same successfully until 1862, when Mr. Hodges sold
his interest. In the following year he removed to Detroit, in which city
was initiated the larger business career which was to bring to him both
prestige and large prosperity.
In the Michigan metropolis Mr. Hodges and his elder brother, Henry
C, who is still a resident and honored pioneer citizen of Detroit, were
made general agents for the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Com-
pany, with an immense territory in their jurisdiction. Their field of
operations included the greater part of the eastern provinces of Canada,
besides all of Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota. Un-
der their effective administration the business was developed to such
extensive administration the business was developed to such extensive
proportions that they found it expedient to sell a part of the territory
originally assigned to them. During this period of successful operations
in the insurance field Mr. Hodges and his brother entered the real-estate
business, and their energy and discrimination enabled them to gain
marked precedence and success in their operations, which were car-
ried forward with distinctive progressiveness, courage and judgment. At
a time when such a venture was looked upon as most precarious, they
purchased and platted that portion of the Woodbridge farm lying north
of Grand River avenue, and in the handling of the new addition their
success fully attested their business foresight as well as their sagacity in
an executive way, as they disposed of the land at a gratifying profit. The
Hodges brothers were also the founders of the Detroit Lubricator Works,
and this enterprise likewise proved a distinctive success, as well as a
factor in fostering the industrial and commercial precedence of Detroit.
Of this company Henry C. Hodges was president and Charles C. Hodges,
treasurer. The plant of this corporation has been enlarged from time
to time until it is now one of the most extensive and important of its
kind in the country. In 1882 the Hodges brothers effected the organiza-
tion and incorporation of the Detroit Radiator Company, and they were
the first to manufacture the type of cast-iron radiators which have since
become the standard throughout the world. The subject of this memoir
was prominently concerned with the upbuilding of this splendid indus-
trial enterprise, which was eventually consolidated with the present Amer-
ican Radiator Company. Mr. Hodges became the owner of valuable real
estate in Detroit and through improving the same he contributed much
to the development of the city.
Though essentially a zealous and indefatigable business man. Mr.
Hodges did not deny himself those gracious amenities and indulgences
that represent the higher ideals of human existence. He was a painter
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 701
of genuine talent, both in oils and water colors, and for many years he
passed a portion of his summers in travel, with his easel and pallette as
prized companions. Many line specimens of his art work remain to
attest his excellent talent. He was one of the organizers and most
valued members of the Detroit Water Color Society and was president
of the same at the time of his death. In his travels abroad and in his
native land his abiding appreciation was shown by his collecting many art
treasures, and the same now adorn the beautiful home in which his in-
terests and affections ever centered. He was not only an artist but also
a cultured musician, with a voice of exceptional purity and sympathetic
timbre. He was one of the founders of the Detroit Philharmonic So-
ciety, as well as a charter member of the Prismatic Club. In the face
of the exections and cares of business he broadened and matured his
mental ken and kept in touch with the best in classical, standard and
periodical literature. Through self-application he acquired the equiv-
alent of a liberal education, though his opportunities in his youth had
been meager.
Mr. Hodges was unswerving in his allegiance to the Republican party
and was a member of the historic company which met "under the oaks"
in the city of Jackson, Michigan, where on that occasion the party had
its birth. A man of large affairs and diversified interests, he liad in all
the relations of life a high sense of personal stewardship, and this was
significantly manifest in his civic attitude, though he never sought or
desired the honors or emoluments of public office. He was a member
of the Detroit Club and was identified with representative philanthropic
and social organizations in his home city. His religious faith was of
the deepest order and dominated his course in all relations. He was a
devout communicant of the Protestant Episcopal church. It has well
been said that "There was no ostentation about either his religion or his
charity, but the evidences of both were everywhere apparent, and he
enjoyed the love of his associates in the highest walk of life."
Mr. Hodges passed to the life eternal on the i8th of December,
1901, and it is but consistent to offer in reproduction an estimate that
appeared at the time in one of the Detroit daily newspapers ;
"By the death of Charles C. Hodges Detroit has lost an excellent
citizen, in all that the term implies. It is doubtful if there was a citizen
of Detroit who possessed a great variety of interests or lived a more
rounded life than Mr. Hodges. None of his tastes was warped or
dwarfed. Personally he was a singularly charming man. Broad in his
religious views and utterly without ostentation or affectation of any kind,
scrupulously honest in all the aft'airs of life, and charitable in the ex-
treme, he gave gladly and freely, but his was not the charity that loves
to parade itself in the newspapers. All in all, Detroit has sheltered no
kindlier, gentler, nobler, manlier man."
The associations which represented the domestic chapter in the life
of !Mr. Hodges were of ideal order, and there can be no wish to lift the
gracious veil further than to enter the briefest of data. In 1853 was
solemnized his marriage to Miss Harriet Pew, of Battle Creek, who
has been a loved figure in the best social life of Detroit, where she still
maintains her home. Of the four children two survived the honored
father. Dr. Rollin C, a representative physician and surgeon of Houston,
Texas, who died in 1907, and Fanny, who became the wife of a prominent
banker of Cleveland, Ohio, Albert L. Withington, who died in 1907.
Isaac Odel Chapman. The march of progress, while admittedly the
proper thing for any community, and the one element that is perhaps more
to be desired in a given place than any other, still takes with it some-
702 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
thing of the early charm of that community, and none will be found
who will make this assertion more boldly than Isaac Odel Qiapman, who
was born in Shiawassee county, and has been familiar with the conditions
here since the ear'y sixties. He has seen the gradual cleaning up of the
county, which in his boyhood was a wilderness, and which today boasts
cities, towns and villages far removed from existing conditions of fifty
years ago. While he appreciates the growth of the district, he yet deplores
the lack of early conditions to a certain extent, and remembers fondly
the days when the howl of the wolf was not strange to his ears, and when
the hunt of the deer and the wild turkey gave additional charms to
the country life of his boyhood. All these pleasures have been replaced
by the more modern and perhaps artificial sports, and the men of another
generation remember with some regret the joys of their boy life, with
which their children and grandchildren have little or no acquaintance,
save by hearsay. Mr. Chapman, one of the most prominent and success-
ful lawyers of Owosso and the county, has spent his entire life within
the confines of Shiawassee county, where he was born on January 24,
1859, <^^ Caledonia, one mile south of Corunna. A one story log cabin
on the farm familiarly known as the old McCarthy place, is the exact
spot of his birth, and in that vicinity he was reared. He is the son of
Robert and Mary ( Derr) Chapman. His father was born in Lincoln-
shire, England, and came to Michigan in 1837, settling in Shiawassee
county, where he identified himself with farm life and continued in that
occupation all the rest of his days. He was fairly successful, and he
died at his home in 1896, when he was eighty-one years of age. The
mother of Mr. Chapman comes of one of the oldest families in America
today. The Derrs were natives of Hesse, Germany, and the founder of
the American branch of the family came to America in the days of the
Revolution as a soldier in the Hessian army, in British service. He was
captured by General Washington on the memorable night of the Crossing
of the Delaware, and later he joined the service of the Continental army
and fought under Washington until the close of the war. In 1812 George
Derr and two brothers fought in the War of that time, and when peace
finally settled down the family settled in Maryland. John Derr, the
maternal grandfather of Isaac Odel Chapman, came west, and settled
in Michigan, and here the mother of the subject was reared. She
lived to be seventy-nine years of age, death claiming her in 1894. They
were the parents of four children. John W. Chapman died in 1855,
when he was thirtv-two years of age. He was a Methodist minister and
a man of splendid standing. Isaac O. was the next born. Idell Chap-
man married Herbert H. Hill and they reside in New Haven township,
in Shiawassee county. Edwin M. Chapmann, the youngest of the four, is
a ranchman and contractor of some prominence ir Libby, Montana.
Isaac O. Chapman attended the public schools as a boy and when he
had graduated from the high school he entered the State University of
Michigan and continued there for two years. In 1879 he began the
study "of law in the office of Hon. A. R. McBride, of Corunna, two
years later gaining his admission to the bar. He began practice in Co-
runna, where he remained until 1883. and in the autumn of that year
he set out upon an extended trip through the west, including travel in
Montana. Idaho, Oregon and W'ashingon. He spent two years in his
tour of those states, and in 1885 returned to Shiawassee county and took
up the practice of law at Bancroft. After two years there he moved to
Owosso, and he has since 1887 been engaged in active practice in this
place. It is quite needless to say that he has built up an extensive practice
here, or that he is among the foremost lawyers of the county, and in a
professional wav he has represented every large corporation in Owosso
HISTORY OF MICHIGx\N 703
for many years past. His position in professional as well in other circles
is undeniably secure, and he stands forth among the leaders before the
Shiawassee county bar.
In the years of his activity in his profession, Mr. Chapman has won
and retained the friendship of many men of national importance and
reputation, for he has always been a leader in public affairs. An orator
of some note in the state, he has stumped Michigan for ten j^ears on
national issues, and in the years of the free silver agitation he fought
a valiant fight for sound money whenever the matter was up for decision.
Not alone has he confined his attention to professional and political affairs,
but he has identified himself with other matters in the best interests of the
city and county. He is a large stockholder in the Citizens National Bank
and for more than twenty years has held a similar relation with the
Owosso Savings Bank, both vvell established and reliable financial insti-
tutions of the county. JMr. Chapman owns one of the finest farms in
the countv, twelve hundred and forty acres making up its extent, and
the place is one to which he devotes not a little of his time and attention.
His fine home in Owosso also adds to the attractiveness of his particular
locality, and he has in many ways been active in the growth and upbuild-
ing of the city proper.
On March 28, 1884, Mr. Chapman was married to Miss Edna A.
Rathbone, the daughter of Daniel Spofford Rathbone, and to them have
been born three sons: Albert R. ; Odell, Jr., and Wellington Chapman.
The second named is prominent in athletics in the state and is well known
in foot ball circles, where he is something of a favorite.
Mr. Chapman has gained not a little prominence on account of his
oratorical abilities. Possessing a splendid memory, he is mentally quick
and sharp, and in debate is especially apt. He has a fund of rem-
iniscences that make him a most interesting person to engage in con-
versation, and while he enjoys a good story, he is known for his ability
to always match such a recital with a better one. He is enthusiastic in
his sentiment regarding education for the masses, and has done good
work in the interests of education in his town. He is the owner of a
magnificent private library, while his law library is said to be the finest
in the state. His suite of offices in the IMiner building are perhaps the
best equipped in Owosso. ]Mr. Chapman is still an enthusiastic fisher-
man, and finds a deal of innocent pleasure in that way.
W1LLI.A.M Robert Grieve. During twenty-five years of residence in
the state of Michigan William R. Grieve was continuously identified with
milling, and until recently was proprietor of the largest flour mills at
Owosso. He learned the trade by thorough apprenticeship when a boy,
gave close attention to his duties, advanced himself from one responsi-
bility to the next higher, until eventually he was on an independent foot-
ing. On account oi ill health Mr. Grieve sold his milling interests in
Owosso in the spring of 1914, and is now residing at the great health
resort of Hot Springs, Arkansas. His value and influence as a business
man and citizen has been greatly missed at Owosso, and there are many
ties of friendship, business associations and long residence which still
connect him with this state.
William Robert Grieve is a Canadian by birth, born at Guelph in
Ontario November 14, 1868, the ninth among the twelve children of John
and Ellen (Murry) Grieve. Both his parents were from Scotland, and
after their marriage crossed the ocean and settled in Canada in 1843.
John Grieve made a success of life, being engaged in real estate and
other commercial ventures, and was a man of exceptional character.
704 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
_\\ illiam R. Grieve had his early training in the common schools, fin-
ishing with a course in a commercial college. At the age of seventeen he
began learning the trade of millwright and miller. After two years in
his native city, in 1887, he came to Michigan, first locating at North
Branch, and was employed in a flour mill for one year. By this time his
apprenticeship was completed, and as a journeyman he worked six years
in different parts of the state. In 1896 Mr. Grieve went to Portland,
Michigan, and for thirteen years w-as superintendent of the Portland
Mills, and his efficiency brought him to a high standard of business suc-
cess and quality of products. In the fall of 1908, with his brother A. M.
Grieve, now of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mr. Grieve purchased the
Owosso City Mills, and changed the name to Owosso Milling Company.
As a practical miller, 'Sir. Grieve did much to improve the plant, and
made it a profitable industry with a capacity of one hundred barrels per
day. In 1913 Mr. C. M. Jones of Edmore bought an interest in the mills,
and less than a year later Mr. Grieve sold his interest in the property and
moved from the state.
In April, 1894, Mr. Grieve married Miss Bessie Eoff, a native of
Lapere, Michigan, and daughter of Jacob Eoff. an early settler of Lapere
and prominent as a real estate man during his active life, but now retired
and one of the highly respected citizens of his home town. The two chil-
dren of Mr. and Airs. Grieve are: Marie and William Earl. Mr.
Grieve is a Democrat, but has not participated in practical politics. Dur-
ing his residence in Owosso he had one of the attractive homes and it
was regarded as one of the social centers of that city.
Ch.'\rles Herman Fr.\ntz. On October 9, 1899, with a capital of
less than five hundred dollars, but with a good reputation for business
ability, which gave him substantial credit. Mr. Frantz started a drug
business in a modest way at 407 Center Street in Bay City. There was
no doubt about his prosperity from the start, and in 1905 his business
had grown to a point where it was necessary to secure larger and better
quarters. He then obtained the corner of Center and Battery Park
Place, where since then he has developed the largest and best retail drug
house in the city. When he started to retail drugs in this city he had
no assistance, but now employs nine clerks, and his entire establish-
ment is a credit to Bay City.
Charles Herman Frantz was born December 29. 1871, at Bay City,
a son of Charles Herman and Theresa S. (Strassburg) Frantz. His
father was born in Baden Baden, and the mother in Heldrungen, Prus-
sia. The senior Frantz, who w-as born March 9, 1842, and died in Bay
City, May 30, 1877, was educated in Baden, adopted merchandising as
his vocation and came to the United States and located in Bay City,
January 15, 1865. He was married in this city in 1869. For a number
of years he was general agent and superintendent of the Toledo Brewing
Company, and was at one time superintendent of building the old Camp-
bell House. Besides his activity in a business way, he had a prominent
part in Bay county politics, was active in Gennan fraternal societies, was
captain of the Turn Verein, was fond of athletic sports, and a general
favorite in social circles. He built a fine home and accumulated con-
siderable other real estate. He had two sons, Charles H. and Adolph
Rudolph Frantz. After his death his widow married John M. Schucker,
now deceased, and there were three children by that union, the two
survivors being; Clara Schucker, bookkeeper for her brother, Charles H.
Frantz, and Ella Schucker, wife of Otto H. Schmidt, of Saint Marys,
Ohio; John F., died, aged 15 years. Since the death of her second
husband, Mrs. Schucker returned to the old homestead in Bay City, where
she resides at the age of sixty-eight years.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 705
Charles H. Frantz was educated in the Bay City public schools, and
his first experience in the line of a regular vocation was in the employ
of G. L. Frederick Von Walthausen, the pioneer pharmacist of Bay City.
Under him he studied pharmacy, and did a general clerk's duties for
two years, then went as clerk with Arthur Loranger, druggist, at the
corner of Third and Washington Avenue, and on November 5, 1889,
passed his examination before the state board and was qualified as a
registered pharmacist. At Saginaw, he found employment with R.
Bruske, and when the latter died he became manager of the business. In
April. 1896, he became assistant manager of the stores conducted by
the West Drug Company at Grand Rapids, and continued there until
he returned to Bay City in 1899, and started business on his own account.
Mr. Frantz is active in fraternal and social affairs, belongs to the
York Rite Masonic body, and is past commander of Bay City Com-
mandery No. 26, K. T., and has been a delegate to the Knights Templars'
Conclaves at Louisville, and in Chicago. He is also affiliated with the
Elks, is a charter member of the Bay City Country Club, belongs to the
Bay City Boat Club, and is an enthusiastic hunter and fisherman. A
Republican, he has always refused oflicial honor, but is public spirited
in his attitude toward all movements for the public benefit. He is the
owner of a pleasant home, and has other city real estate.
On January 25, 1905, Mr. Frantz married Edith (Twist) Traham.
They have two sons, Charles Herman, Jr., born March 9, 1906, and
Virgil Theodore, born July 4, 1910. Mrs. Frantz is entirely a home
woman, belongs to the Congregational church, and in a quiet way, so far
as other responsibilities do not interfere is a worker for the social
welfare. She belongs to the Civic League and was organizer of a sewing
club which spent one year in making clothes for the poor, and their
distribution proved one of the philanthropies undertaken in Bay City
in a long time.
BoEHRiNGER BROTHERS. For twenty years the name Boehringer
Brothers has represented the finest greenhouse products in Bay City and
all that part of the state. They have a splendid establishment at 325
Park Avenue, and from their hot houses they supply more flowers than
anv other single establishment in northern Michigan. The Inisiness,
like many other substantial concerns, was started on a modest scale,
and has been growing from year to year, until the plant now covers
large acreage and is supplied with all the facilities for the growing of
roses, violets, carnations, chrysanthemums, and other flowers. The pro-
prietors are Albert G. and Rudolf G. Boehringer, both of whom are
thoroughly experienced and scientific floriculturists, and through their
energy and enterprise have never had occasion to fear competition.
Alfred Galjriel Boehringer, the older of the brothers, was born Sept.
20. 1868, at P.rettach, Wuertemberg, Germany, a son of Rudolph and
Barbara (Widener) Boehringer, and a grandson of Gabriel Boehringer.
Rudolph Boehringer, who died at Brettach, February 18, 1885, at the
age of forty-eight, was a farmer, and also did a large business as a beet-
sugar contractor. He contracted to supply a beet-sugar factory with the
products from twelve or fifteen villages, and after the beets were out of
the ground he stored and kept them until the factory was ready for
manufacture. His wife, Barbara Boehringer, who was born October 8,
1840, some years after her husband's death moved to Bay City. There
were seven children in the family and the four who reached maturity
all came to Bay City, as follow's: Pauline, wife of George Nusselt ;
Albert G., and Rudolph G., and Amel-ia.
Albert G. Boehringer grew up in his native locality, was educated
in the schools there, and after the death of his father in the fall of 1885
706 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
came to America and located in Bay City. He was then seventeen
years of age. His uncle Albert had emigrated to America, and found a
home in Bay City in 1868, and in 1885, while visiting Germany, being
without children of his own, he persuaded his nephew to go back with
him to Bay City. During the first year Albert G. Boehringer worked
with his uncle, who was a butcher, and then secured employment with
the John A. Irvine Greenhouse Company. During the five years spent
with that company, he acquired a thorough practical knowledge of both
horticulture and floriculture, and at the same time was diligently con-
tinuing his studies in preparation for an independent business career.
During three winters he attended night school, and then took a course
of special study in the Michigan Agricultural College at Lansing, where
he specialized in horticulture and floriculture. On his return to Bay
City in August, 1893, he formed a partnership with his younger brother
Rudolph, under the firm name of Boehringer Brothers, and thus was
launched the enterprise which in twenty years has been constantly grow-
ing. They began with one acre of ground and two small greenhouses, and
at first divided their attention between vegetables and cut flowers and
potted plants. Almost every year saw the erection of a new green
house, and also the acreage has been increased until the pleasant plant
covers twelve acres of ground, and there are thirteen green houses. More
than fifty thousand square feet are under glass, and it requires nearly two
miles of steam pipes for the heating of these houses. The brothers have
made a special reputation in the growing of carnations, and have improved
several seedlings by hybridation and fertilization until the Boehringer
carnations are among the finest and most perfect flowers of the time.
Besides the local business, both brothers are technical and scientific men
in their profession, and have a large reputation as landscape gardeners,
and among their work in this connection they have assisted in the laying
out of the beautiful park system of Bay City. Their trade in flowers
goes throughout northern IMichigan. When they started, the two brothers
did practically all the work, but at the present time they require the
assistance of fifteen einployes.
Alfred G. Boehringer was married July 25, 1894, to Miss Margaret
\\'eber. Mrs. Boehringer, who was a daughter of Philip Weber, died
February 17, 1911, and is interred in Elm Lawn Cemetery. Six children
were born to their union, three sons and three daughters, named as
follows : Alma M., a graduate of the Bay City Business College, and
now a bookkeeper for the firm of Boehringer Brothers ; Dorothy W. ;
Nelda Gertrude ; Edwin Oscar ; Carl Herman ; and Albert William. Mr.
Albert Boehringer is prominent in the German Lutheran Church, has
served as president of the Lutheran Society seven years, and was twice
elected vice president of the State Society. He has been a trustee of the
German Lutheran Church in Bay City for twelve years.
Rudolph G. Boehringer, the junior member of the firm was born in
Brettach, Germany, June 23, 1872. His early training and education
were given him in his native village, and in 1888 he followed his older
brother to America, and at the age of sixteen began work in the Irvine
Greenhouses at Bay City. After four and a half years under the Irvine
Company, he was in the employ of Charles Breitmeyer a year, and then
joined his brother in the partnership above described, and has since
contributed his full share to the successful operation of the business.
Both brothers are Republicans in politics, and as self-made men who
have risen on their own resources to places of influence and prosperity,
they enjoy the highest esteem of the community.
Rudolph Boehringer was married in Bay City, September 25, 1900,
to Miss Emma Gansser. who was born in Wuertemberg, Germany, and
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 707
was two years of age when her parents, August and Johanna (Bauer)
Gansser, located in Bay City. Rudolph and wife have three children,
Elsie, Clara and Rudolph, Jr.
August Gansser, brother of Mrs. Rudolph Boehringer, has long been
a well known citizen of Bay City, and has made a reputation as an author,
and among his works was the history of Bay and Saginaw counties, pub-
lished in 1905, a work which will always remain a permanent monument
to his careful and painstaking endeavor as a historian.
Rev. Frederick J. Schalk, C. P. P. S. Since 1909 pastor of the Holy
Trinity Catholic Church of Bay City, the life work of Father Schalk
in the service of his church has been of almost unbroken activity since
he entered the ministry at the age of twenty-three. His labors have
called him from one state to another, and the forty years that have
elapsed since he entered upon his life's duties, he has done service in
many places and among all classes of people. His special ability has been
along the line of church organization and rehabilitation, and for this
reason he has had both the variety and the arduous toil of the pioneer
and the missionary.
He was born at New Riegel, Ohio, March 2, 1850, a son of Martin
and Emilia (Rose) Schalk, who were born in Bavaria, Germany. The
father came to America when a boy of fourteen, was a poor German
lad, and found means of getting a livelihood by working on farms in
Seneca county. Later he married and continued farming in that county
until his death in 1874, at the age of fifty-one. Flis wife lived to the
age of sixty-four. They were hard working, honest people, and only
through their combined efforts acquired a substantial prosperity, and
were liberal in providing for the education and training of their chil-
dren. They were devout Catholics, and reared their children in that
faith. The children were six in number, and two are now deceased.
Those living besides Father Frederick are: Anthony Schalk, born in
1852, after a successful career as a farmer, is now living retired at Tiffin,
Ohio; Rev. Francis Schalk, born in 1859, is now in charge of the
novitiate of the Order of Precious Blood at Burkettsville, Ohio. He
was educated in the parochial schools at New Riegel, studied for the
priesthood at Carthagena, Ohio, was ordained a priest in 1882, and has
had a continuous record of service since that time. He was first assist-
ant pastor of the Church of the Assumption at Nashville, Tennessee,
then became assistant pastor of the Church of the Sacred Heart at
Sedalia, Missouri, went to Tipton, Kansas, and later to Cawker City,
Kansas, to succeed his brother. Rev. Frederick, as pastor of the Church
of Sts. Peter and Paul, and for many years was superintendent of edu-
cation at Rensselaer, Indiana. Joseph E. Schalk. the youngest of the
sons, born in i860, is now connected with the Logan Gas & Fuel Com-
pany at Tiffin, Ohio.
Father Frederick, as he is affectionately called by his many friends,
was educated in the parochial schools of New Riegel, and after his first
communion at the age of fourteen entered upon the study for the priest-
hood in the community of Precious Blood. At the age of twenty-three he
took his first pastorate at Ottawa, Ohio, in charge of Sts. Peter and Paul
Church, where he remained two years. Llis next work as pastor of the
Holy Rosary Church at St. Marvs, Ohio, where he remained until 1878.
From Ohio Father Frederick was transferred to the unsettled country
of western Kansas, and at Stockton succeeded in building a substantial
stone church, and for two years endured the hardships of a pioneer
priest. There were no railroads in this part of the state, and in his
labors he covered eight counties, most of his travel being by horseback.
708 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
As a reward for his excellent service in Kansas, Bishop Fink, in 1880,
promoted him to a pastorate at Beloit, Kansas, where he was four years
pastor at St. John's Church. He then became pastor at Cawker City,
where he remained for four years, and the following four years were
spent at Wapakoneta, Ohio. While there, among other successful under-
takings, he built the parsonage for St. Joseph's church, and continued
as pastor until 1892. At that juncture a failure of health compelled him
to retire from his duties for fifteen months, and most of that time was
spent in travel abroad. On his return he undertook missionary work
tliroughout the states of Indiana, C)hio and Illinois, and that service
brought him into connection with many different parishes and com-
munities. In 1909 he was sent to Bay City, and given charge of the
Parish of the Holy Trinity. That this parish is now- one of the most flour-
ishing in the city and a worthy rival of the eight or nine other Catholic
churches is due to the efficient leadership of Father Frederick. The
church when he took charge had little vitality, it was in debt and its
membership losing members and interest, and the situation required the
services of just such a man as Father Frederick. Although his parish
is closely surrounded by other Catholic churches, which had previously
proved a drain upon the Holy Trinity, he has succeeded in increasing
his regular communicants to one hundred and twenty-five families, has
undertaken plans for a school, which will be in complete operation by
the fall of 1914, and has purchased several properties adjoining the
church for the erection of a teacher's home. Father Frederick is an
enthusiastic scholar as well as a worker, a man of fine physic|ue, is cheer-
ful in temperament, large-hearted and generous, and is not only a bearer
of sympathy and practical help to those in need, but as a charming con-
versationalist proves himself good company among all classes of men.
Henry Stephens. When a young man, in 1844, Henry Stephens
came to Michigan and at Romeo in Macomb county became a pioneer
merchant and for some years did business on a moderate scale. His
success gradually broadened, resulting in the opening of a branch store
at Almont. Lapeer county, and from one point to another his enterprise
spread until few names suggested more power and none was more hon-
ored in the great lumber industry of Michigan.
Henry Stephens was born in the city of Dublin, Ireland, March 14,
1823, and died at Alission San Jose, Alameda County, California, Febru-
ary 22, 1884. His great-great-grandfather. James Stephens, gave to the
city of Dublin that part which is now called "Stephens' Green," being
about in the center of the city. His mother, Emily O'Brien Stephens,
died at his birth. His father, Robert L. Stephens, brought him to Kings-
but these were largely due to his efiforts to assist his half-brother, James,
who at that time conducted the old "Checkered" store in Detroit. Soon
Mrs. Thomas Marrah, who, with her husband, had established their
home in that city some years previous. His father then returned to Ire-
land. His father was three times married and had children by each wife,
and his death occurred while at sea enroute to' Dublin.
Only limited educational opportunities were presented to Henry Ste-
phens as a boy, but by his alert intelligence and remarkable industry
and enterprise more than made up for such a handicap. Soon after
reaching his majority in 1844 he came to Michigan and invested his
capital of three hundred dollars in a stock of merchandise at Romeo.
His business grew and in 1856, on moving to Detroit, the firm of Stephens
& ^larvin w^as established in the hardware business, but Mr. Stephens
soon became sole proprietor. The panic of 1857 brought him reverses,
ton, Ontario, when he was six years old, to leave him with his half-sister,
afterwards Mr. Stephens closed his business career in Detroit and in 1861
lefX
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 709
moved to Almont and took personal charge of the branch store which
had previously been established by him in that town.
In the year preceding the Civil war Mr. Stephens was active in the
abolition cause and served as station-master on the underground rail-
way, assisting many negroes to freedom across the Canadian boundary,
the cellar of his home at Almont having been a place of refuge for many
slaves in escaping the tyranny of their southern owners. At Jackson in
1854 Henry Stephens was one of the delegates who met "under the
Oaks" and organized the Republican party, and his support was given
to that party in a financial way at a time when it was most needed.
Though a man of prominence in the state and in the party, and although
ofifered some of the highest honors in the gift of his political organiza-
tion, he never accepted public office, but continued to contribute in a
financial way and as one of the active leaders in the Republican ranks
until his death. When civil war was declared he bought nails and
cotton. His foresight led him to recognize the value of Michigan pine
lands at the time when they were almost unbroken, and his purchases
began as early as 1868, with his acquisition of large tracts in Lapeer and
adjoining counties. His first mill was a shingle factory at Clear Lake
in Lapeer county. In a large tract of land north of Lapeer which had
been purchased by him there was operated imder hife financial control
the largest lumber plant of its kind south of Saginaw, and' he also did a
large business in handling lumber purchased from other mill operators
in that section of the state. Subsequently his capital and enterprise
brought about the establishment of large plants^ a^ St.llielen in Ros-
common county, and at Waters in Otsego county, whicfi were among
the largest and best equipped lumber mills in the state- • The logging,
milling and general operating and sales department of the lumber busi-
ness developed by Henry Stephens gave employment to an average of
four thousand men, and he was also the builder of many miles of log-
ging railway through his property. In 1882 Mr. Stephens organized the
stock company, under the title Henry Stephens & Company, in which
he associated his two sons, Henry Jr. and Albert L., and twelve of his
old and trusted employes. The management of the large lumbering in-
dustry conducted by this company was continued by Henry Stephens
until his death two years later.
At a time when the lumber business in Michigan was at its high tide
and far and away the largest and most valuable resource of .the state,
the name of Henry Stephens suggested a leadership and power hardly
second to none. At his mills at St. Helen alone more than a billion feet
of lumber were manufactured within a period of fourteen years. The late
Mr. Stephens was a man of great executive ability, and from a begin-
ning which was practically one of poverty rose to success that was as
honorable as it was great.
On September 20, 1853, Henry Stephens married Miss Clarinda
Leete, whose father. Dr. Albert Leete, was a pioneer physician and early
citizen of Macomb county, establishing his home there in 1830. Mr. and
Mrs. Stephens became the parents of three children : Henry Jr., who
died in iQio; Albert L. ; and Catherine. Albert L. lives in Detroit, and
the daughter, who became the wife of Charles Mclver, died in 1898, in
California. Mrs. Henry Stephens has reached the venerable age of
eighty-three years, and spends part of her time in California and the re-
mainder at the old home at Romeo, Michigan.
Albert L. Stephens. Bearing a name which has been worthily
identified with the annals of IVIichigan for nearly seventy years, and a
son of Henry Stephens, who in his time was one of the lumber kings of
this state, Albert L. Stephens has since 1887 been one of the leading
men of afifairs at Detroit, and his business interests are of a varied and
710 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
important nature. During his earlier years he was identified with the
lumber industry which his father had developed.
Born at Romeo, Alacomb county, Michigan. November ii, 1857, a
son of Henry and Clarinda (Leete) Stephens, Albert L. Stephens at-
tended the public schools of his native town, and in 1874, when about
seventeen years old, became actively associated with his father in the
latter's extensive lumbering operations. The senior Stephens died in
1884, and Albert and his brother Henry then assumed the care and man-
agement of the large holdings and factories previously acquired by their
father, and continued business together until 1895. Since that date Al-
bert L. Stephens has given most of his attention to the management of
the affairs of several important corporations in which he is a stockholder
and official. Of the many enterprises which now claim a share of his
attention the more noteworthy are as follows : the Wabash Portland
Cement Company of Stroh, Indiana, of which he is president, the O. &
W. Thum Company, manufacturers of the celebrated "Tanglefoot" fly-
paper, with headquarters in the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, of
which Mr. Stephens is one of the largest stockholders ; The Hugh
Wallace Company of Detroit, of which he is vice president ; the Ouincy
Gas Company of Quincy, Illinois, of which he is president ; and a director
in the Wayne County Savings Bank, in the First National Bank and the
Union Trust Company, a director of the Detroit Fire & Marine Insur-
ance Company, and was special commissioner in charge of the closing up
of the affairs of the old Preston National Bank after its liquidation.
His part in the community has been that of a public spirited citizen,
although like his father never an aspirant for public office and content
to do his duty as at: individual. He was one of the first appointed of
the Mackinac Island State Park Commission when the Island was turned
over to the State of IMichigan by the United States government. He
was one of the state commissioners for three years of the Home for the
Feeble Minded and Epileptics and was a member of the Detroit Board of
Water Commissioners in 1894-97. His social relations are with the De-
troit Club, the Yondotega Club, the Detroit Boat Club, the Lake St.
Clair Shooting and Fishing Club, better known as the Old Club, and the
Caledon Mountain Club of Canada. In March, 1884, Mr. Stephens
married Miss Frances Harvey, daughter of the late Dr. James Harvey
of Romeo. Mrs. Stephens, who died March 16, 1910, was the mother of
one child, Marjorie. In October, 1912, Mr. Stephens married ]\Irs. Mary
CLoree") Sheldon, of Guelph, Ontario.
John Alexander McDon.m.d. Since 1868. for forty-five years, the
name i\IcDonald has been identified with the grain milling and elevator
business at Bay City. This fact speaks well of the family integrity and
permanence, and there is no name in the city more entitled to the respect
and esteem paid it than that of McDonald. John A. McDonald, after
some experience in the flour mills operated by his father, finally got into
the grain elevator and the bean trade, and at the present time, besides
the large plant in Bay City, he operates elevators in various locations
in this vicinity. Mr. McDonald is one of the leading business men and
public-spirited citizens of Bay City.
John Alexander McDonald was born at Chatham, Ontario, November
30, 1867, a son of John Naughton and Man- (Warren) McDonald. The
mother was a daughter of Charles Warren, of Cold Spring, New York,
whose ancestry goes back in direct line to General Warren, the patriot
hero at Bunker Hill, who lost his life in that first important engagement
after the opening of hostilities between the American colonies and Great
Britain. The senior John McDonald early in life took up the trade of
miller, and in 1868 brought his wife and family to Bay City. He was
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 711
a man of some means, and for the time considered well-to-do. In Bay
City he built a flour mill at the corner of First and North Water streets,
that being the tirst flour mill in Bay City. The industry was inaugurated
under most adverse conditions. During the late sixties wheat sold as
high as three dollars a bushel, and thereafter began to decline steadily
until the price reached about as low a point as has been known within
the past half century. The senior John ^McDonald operated iiis mills
at Bay City for a period of thirty years. In 1872 the mills were totally
destroyed by fire, causing a large financial loss and a severe handicap
to the business. He rebuilt the plant, and in later years there came
another heavy loss by fire. In 1898, thirty years from his beginning,
he retired from active business cares, leaving a record of substantial
success and prominence in the community. John McDonald was one of
the organizers of the First Presbyterian church of Bay City, a trustee,
and always an active worker in the denomination. His death occurred
when sixty-four years old in Bay City in 1903, and his wife passed away
March 27, 1913. They are both interred at Elm Lawn Cemetery. John
McDonald was a member of the board of education of Bay City for
many years, was always willing to sacrifice his personal interests in
behalf of the community welfare, and was in politics a regular Democrat,
but in 1896 voted for McKinley and sound money. Fraternally he was
affiliated with the Masonic Order. There were six children, two of
whom are deceased, and those living are: William Archibald McDonald,
a prominent lumberman at Seattle, Washington ; Margaret, wife of John
A. Stewart, the present county clerk of Bay county; Annie, wife of
Albert H. Morley, a well-known banker at Saginaw.
John A. ]\IcDonald was educated in the Bay City public schools, also
attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and when nineteen
years of age began his experience in his father's mill. His association
with his father in the well-known industry, established in 1868, con-
tinued until the latter's retirement, and then changed and broadened his
operations, starting in a modest way in the wholesale grain and bean
business at Bay City. Under his shrewd and active management the
business has grown to be the largest bean picking plant in the state. It
requires the service of the two hundred employes to conduct the enter-
prise. The elevator and warehouse and other equipments are located
in an ideal situation on Arbor Avenue and the ^Michigan Central Rail-
road. Adequate shipping facilities, side-tracks, and all the modern ma-
chinery have been installed, and the entire business is conducted along
modern lines. Mr. McDonald possesses the ability of the born business
man, is keen in his perceptions of opportunities, through a long number
of years has made his word as good as his bond in dealing with pro-
ducers and business men generally, is quick to act on his judgment, and
his success can be credited entirely to his own efl:orts. Personally he
probably has as many friends as any other business man in Bay City,
and is a quick-witted, genial gentleman, enjoys a joke, even at his own
expense, and his hearty laugh and cordial manner goes a long way in
facilitating his business relations. The central plant of his business at
Bay City covers a space of one hundred by two hundred feet.
Mr. McDonald is also largely interested in real estate in Bay City.
His greatest desire is to own and operate a model farm, and aside from
his regular business, he is enthusiastic on model scientific farming. Fie
and his family reside in a pleasant home at iioi Fifth Street in Bay
City. In politics he is both Independent and Progressive, and he and
his family worship in the Presbyterian church. June 29, 1892, at Utica,
New York, Mr. McDonald married Miss Caroline Tompkins, of Utica,
a daughter of Dr. H. H. and Cynthia (Tompkins) Tompkins. The
parents, though of the same name, were not related. Her father was
712 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
for many years a prominent physician at Utica. Mr. and Mrs. McDonald
have two children, Helen and Alarian McDonald. Mr. McDonald is a
member of the Bay City Boat Club, but he and his family usually spend
their vacations in travel.
Charles Coryell. For upwards of half a century the name Coryell
has been identified with the developments in salt manufacture, coal
mining, and other large business undertakings in the vicinity of Bay
City, where the Coryell family have had their residence during the
greater portion of this time. Mr. Charles Coryell is the son of one of
the early salt manufacturers in Bay City county, and to his own inde-
pendent career are to be credited many achievements, particularly in the
direction of coal development, in this part of the state. Mr. Coryell has
for many years enjoyed a place of conspicuous prominence in Bay City,
both as a business and civic leader. He has acquired wealth, but has
used it without ostentation, and has made himself a valued and esteemed
factor in the citizenship of the state.
His birth occurred at Petrolia, Ontario, September 2, 1865. His
parents were John and Elizabeth (Carnell) Coryell, the father a native
of New Market, and the mother of Tiverton, England, and from that
country the father, after getting his education in the local schools, came
to America and settled in Bay City in 1863. During the one year of his
residence there he married, and in 1864 went to Petrolia. Ontario, where
the oil excitement had attracted thousands of prospectors and others in-
terested in the development of petroleum. At Petrolia he engaged in
the work of drilling oil wells. In 1866 the discovery of salt water in
Bay county, Michigan, led him to return to his original place of resi-
dence and he utilized his experience in drilling oil wells in the sinking
of deep wells for the salt beds, and in a year or so became one of the
successful manufacturers of salt. Thereafter his interests grew and
expanded rapidly, and John Coryell became one of the leading business
men of Bay City. He was born in 1843, and his death occurred at
Saginaw, September i, 1905, when sixty-two years of age. His wife,
who was born in 1840, died in 1885 at Bay City, aged forty-five. They
had two children, and the daughter is Mabel Coryell, of Bay City.
Charles Coryell grew up in Bay City, attended the grammar and high
schools until twenty years of age, when he became associated with his
father in the manufacture of salt. At the age of twenty-five he started
on a new line. With Dr. Ferguson he became interested in the coal,
lime and mason's supply business at Bay City, and as active manager
did a large business for the following six years. The firm was known
as the Bay City Coal & Lime Company. It was this experience chiefly
which turned his attention to coal mining, and on leaving mercantile
operations he began prospecting in both Bay and Saginaw counties for
coal, and discovered and brought about the development of what became
the Standard Mine, one of the earliest paying mines opened up in that
section. Mr. Coryell became a director of the Standard Mining Com-
pany. Since the beginning of his career as a mine operator, Mr. Coryell
has been associated with Robert Gage, whose name is that of one of
Michigan's leading and successful business men. After his experience
with the Standard Mine, Mr. Corj'ell located and operated the Central
Coal Mine of Bay county, then the St. Charles Mines, and altogether has
developed fifteen mines in this state, eight being still in active operation.
Six of these were in Bay county, and nine in Saginaw county. In i<)07
the Robert Gage Coal Mining Company was organized and incorporated,
and Mr. Corvell has since been vice-president and general manager of
this well-known organization. The company secured all the interests
of the J. H. Somers Coal IMining Company, and at the present time
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 713
fully twelve hundred men are employed by the Gage Company, which
is regarded as the largest firm of coal operators in the state.
Mr. Coryell is president of the Beaver Coal Mining Company of Bay
City and The Saginaw Salt Company, is also secretary of the Republic
Fuel Company of that city, and is regarded as one of the distinctive
leaders in the larger field of business affairs. In politics he is Repub-
lican, in Masonry has taken the Knights Templar degrees, and belongs
to the Shrine, is an enthusiastic yachtsman, a director in the Bay City
Boat Club, a member and director of the Country Club, a member of
the Bay City Club, and was for three years president of the Elay City
Boat Club. Mr. Coryell owns one of the finest yachts between Bay City
and Detroit. The "Caroline" is a seventy-foot boat, constructed at a
cost of eighteen thousand dollars, luxuriously equipped and furnished,
and during the summer it is put in almost constant use by Mr. Coryell
for the pleasure of his family and their friends.
In April, 1888, Mr. Coryell married Elizabeth Cunning, who was
born in Edinburg, Scotland, a daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth Cun-
ning, now residents of Port Huron, Michigan. Andrew Cunning, who
is now retired, was, during his business career, one of the prominent
coal and mason supply men of Bay City. To the marriage of Mr. and
Mrs. Coryell have been born six children, as follows : Jane Coryell, at
home; Ida, whose marriage, September 27, 1913, at the Center Avenue
Presbyterian church of Bay City to Clarence Ambrose, was the most
brilliant social event of the year in Bay City; John Andrew Coryell,
who is a graduate of the Bay City High School, and is now general
superintendent of the Robert Gage Coal Mining Company ; Charles
Alexander Coryell, a student in the University of Michigan at Ann
Arbor; Margaret Coryell, now attending Gunston Hall at Washington,
D. C. ; and Harry Coryell, still in the grade schools.
John Redmond Cotter. In business and manufacturing, in politics,
and in the field of outdoor sports, Mr. Cotter has won many distinctions
for himself, and there are many persons in every section of the state
who will at once recall some fact of interest about this well-known Bay
City citizen.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, June 29, i860, John Redmond Cotter is a
son of Redmond and Annie (O'Neil) Cotter, both of whom were born
in Dublin, Ireland, and after coming to America lived in Chicago until
1868. The father, a stonecutter by trade, then moved to Essexville, Mich-
igan, a suburb of Bay City. There he continued to follow his trade as
contractor and stonecutter, until his death at the age of eighty-one years.
His wife passed away when seventy-five years old. Of their six children
two are deceased, and besides John R., the others are: Ella, wife of
James Hines of Saginaw ; William H. Cotter, with the Michigan Sugar
"Company of Bay City; James Cotter, principal of the Pinconning High
School at Pinconning. It was a matter of pride to their parents to give
their children the best possible educational advantages, and the second
generation have proved a credit to their parents.
John R. Cotter was educated in the grammar and high schools of
Bay City, where he lived from the age of eight years and in early youth
learned the trade of shingle packing, a vocation which during the high
tide of lumbering was considered the best paid in the entire industry.
That was his regular line of work for a long period of years. In 1907,
Mr. Cotter engaged in boat building. Buying an ideal location at the
foot of Main Street in Essexville, he has built up a successful business
in the building of gasoline power boats, and row boats. He not only
constructs these crafts, but maintains a general boat renting headc|uar-
ters, and has a stock of more than fifty boats of different kinds,
714 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
which are rented to his customers during the open seasons of the year.
His estabHshment is situated on the banks of the Saginaw River, within
two blocks of the car Hne.
Mr. Cotter has long been one of the public spirited citizens of Essex-
ville, which suburb he served as president for one term, for eight years
as marshal, also as street commissioner, for many years as town clerk,
and was deputy sheritY of the county. A Democrat, in a quiet way,
Mr. Cotter has worked hard in behalf of the party, and is well known in
Democratic councils throughout this section of the state. It will now be
in order to say something concerning ^Ir. Cotter's activities in the field
of sports. Mr. Cotter has personal friends among people in all walks of
life, and these friendships have been due not only to his business rela-
tions and political career, but also to his intimate association with the
devotees of sport, particularly with the gun. For many years Mr. Cotter
was the champion trap shot in Michigan, and had the distinction of
winning all the medals and pennants given as trophies by the gun clubs
in Michigan, during the years when his skill was at its height. In 1887
and again in 1888 he won the diamond medal at Detroit, scoring ninety-
seven out of one hundred clay pigeons, in a field comprising more than
one hundred contestants. That score has never since been beaten in the
state of Michigan. During the days of his prominence as a marksman,
Mr. Cotter was as well known among gun enthusiasts as Ty Cobb or
other great ball players are known to the devotees of the national past-
time today, and the daily papers of the state gave a great deal of space
.to his name and achievements. Mr. Cotter is affiliated with the Benevo-
lent and Protective Order of Elks, the Modern Woodmen of America,
and the Knights of the [Maccabees. His genial personality and hon-
orable business efforts have gained him the respect and friendship of all
the people of Bay City. J\ir. Cotter was reared in the faith of the
Catholic religion.
In 1895 Mr. Cotter became the owner of the racing yacht, St. Elmo,
designed by Small Brothers, of Boston, and built by Lon Arnold of Bay
City. After owning and racing this boat for five years, and winning
many events. Air. Cotter sold it to Charles P. Seider of Detroit, who
won every race in which the St. Elmo was an entrant during the siunmer
of 1913. '
In October, 1885, Mr. Cotter married Aliss Alaude Kinderman, a
native of Bay City, and a daughter of Dr. Constantine Kinderman. one
of the prominent pioneer physicians of Bay City, now deceased. They
are the parents of two children : John R. Cotter, of Flint ; and Ellen
M. Cotter, living with her parents.
John Andrew \"ogtm.ann. Among the best known brands of flour
in the country are the Wenonah and Gold Medal brands. That these
flours have so wide a reputation is due almost entirely to the efforts of
one man, the proprietor and manager of the mills, John Andrew Vogt-
mann. Mr. Vogtmann's story is one of hard work, earnest and ambitious
endeavor, the conquering of many difficulties, in short, not at all the sort
of a career that a boy looking for a short cut to prosperity would seek,
but a life that oflfers untold encouragement to the lad with big ambitions
and empty pockets.
John Andrew Vogtmann was bom in Bavaria, Germany, near Heids-
braun, on the 17th of April, 1863. His father was Leanhart ^^ogtmann
and his mother was Elizabeth Vogtmann. His father was a weaver by
profession and both of his parents are deceased, having died in their
native village of Bardoltsdorf. They reared a family of seven children
and, although only in moderate circumstances, they managed to give their
children a fair education. John Andrew Vogtmann was the fifth of his
HISTORY OF AIICHIGAN 715
brothers and sisters. He received liis education in the village schools,
attending school until he was thirteen 3-ears old. He then left school and
at the age of seventeen he was apprenticed to a miller, learning the trade
in the mills near Ansbach. At the age of twenty-one, feeling that he could
better his condition in the newer land across the seas, he came to America.
This was in 1884 and he came directly to Saginaw, Michigan. Here he
found his brother, Adam, who had emigrated four years before, and had
already saved enough money to purchase a farm near Frankenlust. For
three years the young German worked as a farm hand, then having be-
come more accustomed to the language and the people he was able to
secure a better paying job as a lumberman in the Michigan forests. He
remained for nearly two years in this work, but being very anxious to
follow his own profession he went to work without pay in the flour mills
of the Harrison Brothers at Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. He grasped this
opportunity eagerly, for he was very desirous of learning American
methods of milling, although his small savings melted like mist. At the
end of two months they were gone and he was forced to return to lum-
bering once more. This time he found work in the saw mills in Bay
City where he worked for a year. During this time he was constantly
on the watch for an opening in the milling business, and at last he was
offered a position as manager of a flour mill at Freeland, Michigan.
Six months after taking charge of these mills he rented them and thus
began his successful career as a miller.
In 1893, Mr. Vogtmann bought the Hecht Mills at Frankenlust. These
mills had been a financial failure, but under Air. Yogtmann's management
prosperity soon began to smile upon them. He renamed the mills, calling
them the Frankenlust Mills, and the flour soon becam*- famous, farmers
from all parts of the country becoming his customers. These mills had a
capacity of thirty-five barrels per twenty-four hours. He operated the
plant for five years and then, owing to a scarcity of water, and poor
wheat crops, he decided to move the mills. This was in 1908, and he
decided to come to Bay City. Previously he had bought three lots in this
city on the corner of Williams and John Streets, opposite the Michigan
Central railroad yards. In 1906 he had built an elevator on this site, the
building having a capacity of fifteen thousand bushels of grain. Upon
determining to remove to Bay City, ]\Ir. A'ogtmann tore down the mills
at Frankenlust and rebuilt and enlarged the plant in Bay City. He
equipped it with modern machinery, giving the mills a capacity of two
hundred barrels a day. He employs eight or more men to operate this •
mill and that he is an expert in his business is proved by the fame which
the Wenonah Patent Flour has gained throughout the country. In addi-
tion to manufacturing wheat flour, the mills also produce rye, graham and
buckwheat flours.
Aside from his success as a miller, Air. \^ogtmann owns and operates
a fine farm of eighty acres at Frankenlust and is also the owner of his
pleasant home at 306 Midland street. Bay City. Mr. Yogtmann came
to Michigan without a dollar in his pockets, without knowing a word of
the English language, but with undaunted determination. He has won
the esteem of everyone with whom he has come in contact and his strong
character has made him a valued citizen wherever he has resided. Gen-
erous in disposition and always ready to assist in any movement which
has as its object the upbuilding of his city or the state, Mr. Yogtmann
has often been of service to his fellow citizens.
In politics Mr. Yogtmann is a member of the Democratic party. He
and his family are all members of the German Lutheran church. He
was married in 1891 to Miss Catherine Burk, a native of Swabach, Ger-
many. Two children have been born to this union : Mary Yogtmann and
John Matthew \'ogtmann, who is bookkeeper in his father's mills.
716 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
David Whitney, Jr. When David Whitney, Jr., died at Detroit
November 28, 1900, it was said of him: "He coveted success, but scorned
to attain it e.xcept through industry and honest means. He acquired
wealth without fraud or deceit, and the results of his life are full of
inspiration to the rising generation.'' His was one of the productive
careers in the citizenship of Alichigan during the last half of the nine-
teenth century. In the various departments of the lumber industry lay
his chief activities, and his success in that field was sufficient to place
his name alongside that of the great lumber kings of the state. His
business was for many years conducted from Detroit, and the greater
share of his investments was placed in that city.
David Whitney, Jr., was born at Westford, Middlesex county. Alas-
sachusetts, August 23, 1830. He always wrote his name David \Vhitney,
Jr., perhaps partly from early usage and partly from respect for his
honored father. David Whitney, Sr., was of the true New England
type of energy, resourcefulness and rectitude of character, was the owner
of a good farm, and also did lumbering and brick making on a small
scale. The activities of the farm and the common school was the chief
sources of training for David Whitney, Jr., in his boyhood. Through-
out his life he acknowledged a close fellowship with honest toil, and it
was hard work as much as endowment of masterful ability which brought
him success. On coming of age he left the farm and for three years
was clerk in a lumber firm, which also operated a box factory. That
experience proved of great value to him in his subsequent career. He
proved his worth with the firm, and when he left it was superintendent
of the plant. In 1857, at the age of twenty-seven, David \\liitney, Jr.,
came to Detroit. He was western representative and a member of the
firm of C. & D. Whitney, Jr., and of Skillings, Whitneys & Barnes
Lumber Company, which corporation is in existence today and is one
of the oldest corporations in the United States. His brother Charles was
interested with him in those two firms, whose headquarters were in the
east. Mr. Whitney had the immediate management of all the western
business, which was principally the buying and shipping of lumber and
the purchase of pine lands and logs. The two firms mentioned were for
some years among the largest lumber dealers in the United States, and
the work of David Whitney, Jr., covered the states of Michigan, Ohio,
and Pennsvlvania, while the eastern partner had supervision over the
business in the northeastern states and Canada. The partnership of
• C. & D. Whitney Jr., was dissolved in the late seventies, and from that
time forward David Whitney, Jr., operated independently, and invested
heavily in the pine lands of Michigan and Wisconsin, but he still retains
his interest in the Skillings, Whitneys & Barnes Lumber Co. He pos-
sessed a practical knov.dedge of lumbering conditions which made him
almost an authority, and with characteristic foresight he realized that
the great forests of Michigan and Wisconsin before the close of the
century would be called upon to supply a large portion of the lumber
consumed in the United States, and his investments were carefully laid
to take advantage of such development. As the owner of magnificent
tracts of uncut timber, and as a manufacturer, his operations were among
■ the most extensive in the lumber regions of those two states, and event-
ually made him a millionaire.
Naturally his relations with lumbering led him into many related
commercial fields, and into banking. He owned and had in commission
a large fleet of steam barges and other vessels on the Great Lakes, utilized
chiefly for the transportation of lumber, but subsequently also used for
shipping iron ore from the Lake Superior ports to the manufacturing and
distributing centers on the lower lakes. The proceeds of his lumbering
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 717
operations were invested chiefly in Detroit real estate. He was a stock-
holder and director in many banking institutions, and was officiaUy and
financially identified with several industrial and manufacturing plants,
chiefly in the production of lumber material.
The late Mr. Whitney was a Republican in politics, a member of the
Presbyterian church, and a liberal though unostentatious contributor
to the benevolent work of his home city. While an aggressive and force-
ful business man, perhaps his most noteworthy characteristic was his
extreme reticence and his avoidance of all public notice. He knew and
estimated the dispositions and character of men almost as unerringly as
he understood the lumber business, and had many close friends among
his business associates. Personally he was straightforward and frank
in all his relations, and with a proper sense of the responsibilities im-
posed bv success and wealth he used his influence and resources for the
substantial improvement and betterment of his home city and state, and
would never have deserved any other tribute to his memory than an
exact measure of what he accomplished in a business way. Mr. Whitney
left four children, as follows : Grace, now Mrs. John J. Hoflf, of Paris,
France; David C, of Detroit; Flora, wife of R. A. Demme, of Detroit;
and Katherine, wife of Tracy W. McGregor, of Detroit.
Patrick Hurley. A large book binding and printing establishment
of Bay City is the outgrowth of a beginning in this city thirty-five years
ago, and represents the persistent business enterprise of Patrick Hurley,
who learned his trade of printing when a- youth, and who is now con-
sidered one of the successful of Bay City's men.
Born in Ireland, April 28, 1845, Patrick Hurley is a son of Patrick
and Ellen (Hayes) Hurley. Two years after his birth his parents left
their native land, and crossed the ocean to New York, where they lived
for some years and then came west and located in Chicago. The senior
Hurley died in Chicago in 1898 at the age of seventy-eight years, and
the mother passed away in the same city, aged seventy-five. Of their
children the first was William H. Hurley, now deceased, who was a
soldier in the Civil war, in the 37th New York regiment. The second was
Patrick, and the others in order of birth were Michael, Jeremiah Hurley,
of Chicago, and ?ilarv Strath, of Minnesota.
Patrick Hurlev as a boy attended the New York City public schools
and the parochial schools, and was still in his teens when he entered a
printing office and began learning the trade which was to become the
basis for his life's work. For some years he was employed as a journey-
man in New York City and elsewhe're, and in 1874 located at Hancock,
Michigan, where he was in business for himself four years. In 1878 Mr.
Hurlev moved to Bay City, and here on a modest scale established the
plant which has grown under the impetus of his enterprise, and in pace
with the general development of this part of Michigan until it is now a
large plant in Bav City for book binding, printing and stationery. 'Mr.
Hurley makes a specialty of expert printing of all kinds, and his facilities
and stock are now grouped in a building twenty-five by one hundred feet
on two floors. ^ .
Mr. Hurley is Independent in politics, is affiliated with the Knights
of Columbus, 'and the Independent Order of Foresters, and is a com-
municant of the Catholic church. In 1888 at Bay City occurred his mar-
riage to Miss Anna M. Burns, who died in 1909. The five children of
tlieir marriage were: Thomas P. Hurley, born in Bay City in 1892, and
now associated with his father in business; Ellen, born at Bay City
in 189^ and a graduate of the high schools; Genevieve, born in 1897
and still in school; Marion, born in 1899 in Bay City; Rose, born in
1905, and already in school.
718 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Peter Niedzielski. The Fashion Boot Shop, of which Peter Nied-
zielski is president, is one of the best retail shoe stores in northern
Michigan, with an established reputation for its goods, and a high class
patronage which has continued dealing there year after year. A trade
of this kind is a business asset of no small importance, and the leader
who is able to accomplish this is always regarded in business circles as
a successful man. A few years ago Peter Niedzielski, who had acquired
a good deal of practical experience in selling boots and shoes, but who
at the time had only twenty-five dollars in cash, determined to start mer-
chandising on his own account. Few men undertake a project of that
kind with so many obstacles and discouraging facts before them. One
fortunate circumstance was that his previous record enabled him to get
credit for a stock of shoes, which represented five hundred dollars more
than his cash assets. Since then Mr. Niedzielski has steadily and in-
creasingly sold shoes to the Bay City public, and his patronage is now
probably as high class as that enjoyed by any other shoe establishment
in the city, and the annual volume of business amounts to more than
thirty thousand dollars. Four expert salesmen are employed in the es-
tablishment, the store building is modern and equipped in a way to at-
tract and to furnish good service to customers, and the line_ of goods
handled is only of the highest grade, there is nothing cheap in the en-
tire stock. From what has been stated already Mr. Niedzielski started
business with good credit, and as he has never failed in fulfilling his ob-
ligations, and in properly meeting his bills when they fell due, his credit
at the present time with all the wholesale houses and the local banks,
is A-i. He is now president of an incorporated firm, and is also inter-
ested in other business affairs at Bay City.
Peter Niedzielski w^as born in German Poland, October 19, 1870, the
fifth in a family of seven sons, born to Joseph and Mary (Solinzczyk)
Niedzielski. The parents came to America in 1883 settling in Bay
City. The father, who is now living retired at the age of seventy-nine,
was for many years engaged in the brokerage business. The mother
is now seventy-five years of age.
Peter Niedzielski was seventeen years old when the family came_ to
America, and his education was finished in Bay City, with graduation
from the high schools. Several lines of work occupied him for several
years after leaving school, and then for four years he was employed in
the retail shoe business. In 1892 Mr. Niedzielski made the humble be-
ginning in the shoe trade as already described. In 190S the firm was
incorporated as the Fashion Boot Shop, with Mr. Niedzielski as presi-
dent, Mr. H. J. Buck, as vice president, and PI. Clifford as secretary.
Mr. Niedzielski is also director of the Polish Newspaper Company, and
is manager of the Polish Standard. In politics he is Independent, is an
active member of the Polish National Alliance, and worships in the
Catholic faith.
At Grand Rapids, in February, 1900, he married Miss Nettie Ma-
linowski, a daughter of John :Maiinoswki, who is still living. To their
marriage have been born six children. Bay City being the birth place
of all as follows: Theodore, bom December, 1901, and attending school;
Sylvester N., born in 1902, and in school; Helen, born in 1904. and in
school; Bernice. born in 1906 and a school girl; Walter N., born in 1907,
and Clements, born in 191 1.
Rev. Alexander Lipinski. A splendid work as a church builder
has been accomplished bv Father Lipinski during the past six years of
his activities as pastor of St. Hyacinth's Catholic Church in Bay City.
Before coming to Bav City. Father Lipinski made an equally efficient
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN • 719
record for beneficent extension and upbuilding of the church in
Saginaw.
Rev. Alexander Lipinski was born in Prussian Poland, November
27, 1861, a son of Marian and Victoria (Szymanski) Lipinski, both
Polish people. In 1892 the father emigrated to America, locating at
Grand Rapids, and later to Bay City where he died in 1910 at the age
of eighty-six years. The mother died in 1882 in her native land when
sixty-one years of age. Father Lipinski was the fifth of seven children,
the others mentioned as follows : Florentine, who died at Grand Rapids
in 1893 ; Constance, who lives in Wilmington, Delaware ; Felix, a resident
of Wilmington, Delaware; Stanislaus, of Wilmington, Delaware; Rev An-
thony, who is rector of a Catholic church in Kingston, Pennsylvania;
and Francis, of Grand Rapids.
Father Alex Lipinski grew up in Poland, attended the public schools,
and gymnasium, and afterwards entered the Gregorian University in
Rome, where he was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Parrochi in
1888. His first charge, to which he devoted three years was at Krahan and
Lemburg, Galicia. He was then selected for duty across the sea, and
spent the first fourteen months of his residence at Gaylord, Michigan.
Then followed his transfer to Saginaw, where he remained fifteen years
in busy and profitable work for the faith, and in that time built up the
Holy Rosary Church to a point of efficiency never before attained in
its existence. Since 1907 he has had charge of St. Hyacinth's Parish
at Bay City. Some of his activities outside the more formal duties of
the priesthood may be comprehended from the fact that he is at the
head of the following Catholic Societies ; St. Adalbert, St. Michael. Sacred
Heart, St. Joseph, St. Stanislaus, St. Hyacinth, Lady of the Holy Ros-
ary, St. Barbara, St. Rose, Young Ladies' Sodality, Children of Mary
and the Boys' Society.
The parish of St. Hyacinth, up to the time Father Lipinski took
charge was a portion of St. Stanislaus. ' From the beginning Father
Lipinski became very popular with the Polish Congregation, and in a
short time the church building was inadequate to contain the worshipers.
He immediately started upon a series of building operations which have
not yet fulfilled all the plans of this energetic priest. He built a large
modern school, with ground dimensions of one hundred by one hundred
and fifty feet, and now has a modern building and all the facilities
of thorough and systematic instruction. The school is conducted under
the direct supervision of Father Lipinski. The parish house is likewise
a modern home, and grounds about the church and school are ample for
the needs of the large attendance.
Louis Hine. The secretary-treasurer and manager of the Phoenix
Brewery at Bay City, Louis Hine has a record of business accomplish-
ments that rank him among the resourceful men whose united enterprise
has moved Bay City from the small city to a place among the most flour-
ishing industrial centers of the middle west. Bay City is his birthplace
and he has had a loyal interest in all its development, not only on the
purely commercial side, but in behalf of those improvements and adorn-
ments which make for civic pride, comfort and duty.
Born April 5, 1872, in Bay City, Louis Hine is a son of Theodore and
Fredericka (Walke) Hine. Both parents were born in Germany, and
both were brought at an early age to this country. The mother came
when two years of age, and her parents first settled near Fort Wayne,
Indiana, and then in the vicinity of Owosso, Michigan, where her father
took up a farm but died soon afterwards. Theodore Hine was sixteen
vears old when he came to America, and from New York City soon after-
rol. II— 6
720 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
wards moved to Michigan, where the family located near Freeland
Grandfather Henry Hine lived in Michigan for many years and died
in 1872. Theodore Hine and wife were married in Bay City in 1871
where he engaged in the retail meat business and conducted it success-
fully until 1886. After that he was in the lumber business, and is now
living retired at the age of seventy-nine. The hve children of the fam-
ily were: Louis; Julius, who is in business with his father; Charles
superintendent of a sugar factory in Ohio; Fredericka, teacher of
Latin and German in Bay City; and Mrs. J. H. K. Humphrey, whose
husband is a quartermaster in the government service at Panama.
Louis Hine, the oldest of the family grew up in Bay City, attended
the local schools and finished with a course in the Bay City Business
College. He then began working for his father in the meat business
and continued in that line until 1897. In that year he assisted in the or-
ganization of the Phoenix Brewing Companv, and as secretary-treasurer
and manager has kept this industry up to a 'high standard. Some years
ago the plant was entirely destroyed by fire and for two years no business
was done. Mr. Hine then took active charge of the concern, and the
plant now is one of large proportions, employs thirty expert workmen
and does a large bottling and shipping busines's to all" parts of the state.
Mr. Hine is vice president of the Hine Lumber Company, of Bay
City, is a director in the People's Savings Bank of Bay City, and a stock
holder in a number of other well known local concerns.' In public affairs,
great credit should be given to his work in behalf of public ])arks in Bay
City. He served on the park commission for a number of years, and
has always taken the lead in this line of public improvements. ' Mr.
Hine is a Mason, and belongs to the Knights of Pythias, the Independ-
ent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks. He is a trustee of the German Reformed Church at Bay City.
At Bay City on November 25, 1896. Mr. Hine married Miss Wilhel-
mina Kohler, a daughter of John Kohler, now deceased. They have
three sons: Theodore Hine, born at Bay City, in 1901, and attending
school. Louis F. Hine, born in 1903, and also a school boy; and Gus-
tavus E. Hine. born in 1905, and in school. Mr. Hine takes much in-
terest in outdoor life and spends his summers in a delightful cottage on
the bay shore.
Richard H. Fletcher. It is sixty years since the Fletcher family
was established in Bay county. That fact alone gives the family a posi-
tion in the pioneer annals. Richard H. Fletcher, a son of his pioneer
parents, has himself gone through the viccissitudes and strenuous life
of the old lumbering era, employed his energies at farming for a num-
ber of years, recently retired from the office of labor statistics, in which
he made a splendid record in behalf of the public welfare and is now a
prominent real estate man in Bay City.
Richard H. Fletcher was born at Bay City. Tune 2, 1858. His par-
ents were Robert and Marie Rye (Wing) Fletcher, the former a native
of England and the latter of Genessee county. New York. Robert
Fletcher when a young man left England, and on a sailing vessel spent
nine weeks before landing in New York City. He then enlisted for a
three years' cruise on a whaling vessel, and spent three years in the
north Atlantic and Baltic seas. On the expiration of his term, and the
return of the ship to New York he went to Genessee county, and began
working at his trade of blacksmith. At the age of twenty-five he met
and married Aliss Wing, in Genessee county, and then with eleven other
families the young couple came west to ^ili'chigan. Most of the journey
was made overland, and in the year 1853, they arrived in Bay county,
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 721
located on a quarter section of land, eight miles west of Saulsburg. The
eleven other families all likewise took up quarter sections in the same
neighborhood. Indians and wild animals were still a plague in the
country, and these New York families settled close together for pro-
tection. Robert Fletcher opened a blacksmith shop at Grand Blanc
near Flint, conducted it a year, and in the meantime assisted in clearing
the land for his farm. Land near Bay City and Saginaw was then
selling at fifty cents an acre. Farming and blacksmithing occupied the'
energies of this pioneer until his retirement, and he finally moved to
West Bay City, where he died, at the age of eighty-seven years. While
his own part was that of the rugged pioneer laborer in the forest and
in the fields, his wife likewise should be mentioned as a pioneer woman,
who bore her share of hardships and yet reared and cared for a family
of twelve children. In the early days she provided the clothes for the
household, shearing the sheep and spinning the wool into cloth. She
often walked to Bay City to do her marketing. She is still living at the
venerable age of eighty-one and her home is with her son in West
Bay City.
Richard FI. Fletcher, who was third of the twelve children, had no
sooner got into the years of early boyhood before he had to go out into
the forest and assist in the lumber camps, and in the duties of the farm.
In spite of the primitive conditions in which he was reared, he managed
to secure an education by studying at night by the light of an old-fash-
ioned tallow candle. His experience in the woods developed his self-
reliance, so that when he was still very young he took a contract for a
drive of lumber down the Ripple river. The successful fulfillment of
that contract meant everything to his future, and with a force of sixty-
eight lumber jacks, he started in during the fall of the year when the
river already had a thin coat of ice, and he himself stood in the water
up to his waist for hours, while directing and performing much of the
work. Most of his men deserted him in the increasing cold, and he
was finally left practically alone and unaided got the last log through
the boom. After that grilling experience he went home and lay for four
days in bed, and at much bodily sacrifice earned his first thousand dol-
lar's. Following that experience Mr. Fletcher spent ten years at farm-
ing, and then sold out and went into the lumber trade, buying and selling.
A number of years ago he was appointed to a clerical position in the state
labor department, became an inspector, and on August 15, 1908, became
commissioner of labor statistics, an office which he held until July, 191 1.
He was for twenty years connected with the state labor department, and
on resigning he returned to Bay City, and has since engaged in the
real estate and insurance business.
Mr. Fletcher has for the past twenty years been a member of the
Bay County Road Commission. He was elected a member of the City
Council but resigned after one year in 1909. In politics he has always
been an active Republican.
Among other interests acquired by his long business career. ^Ir.
Fletcher is a director and vice president of the Zagelmeyer Machinery
Company of West Bay City, director of the Bay City Cast Stone Com-
pany of West Bay City, and is president of the Grand Rapids Granite
Block Company of Grand Rapids.
Mr. Fletcher has been twice married, and the children of his first
wife were: Mrs. Nettie Whigham, born in Bay City, December 27, 1881,
and now a resident of Cleveland. Ohio : Henry E. Fletcher born at Bay
City, August 13, 1884, a resident of Cleveland, and the father of five chil-
dren : Charles Fletcher, born June 16, 1887, in Bay City, lives in Cleve-
land and has three children : Mrs. Alma Tulley, born February 20, 1889.
722 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
lives in Chillicothe, Ohio, and has one child; Ross, born at Bay City,
June 20, 1892, is a soldier in the United States army and is now sta-
tioned at Pekin, China. At Port Huron, Michigan, August 11, 1895,
Mr. Fletcher married Harriet Phillips, a daughter of Gilbert Phillips,
now deceased. To this marriage have been born the following chil-
dren: Richard Harold Fletcher, born at Bay City, December 17, 1896,
who has completed the work of the grade schools ; Olive Fletcher, born
April 20, 1898, and now attending high school; Harriet, bom August 24,
1899, and a student in the high school; Dorothy Fletcher, born Novem-
ber 24. 1902, and in the sixth grade of the Bay City schools ; and Gertrude
Fletcher, born September 24, 1904, and in the fourth grade of school.
Cii.^RLEs B. ^^^\RRE^" has had a career as a lawyer of worthy effort
and accomplishment in the City of Detroit, and his name is well known
in the State ; he is an authority on commercial and international law and
as one of the leaders in the Republican party he has a large acquaintance
that is not confined to the limits of his home state.
Charles Beecher Warren was born at Bay City, Michigan, April loth,
1870. His parents, Hon. Robert L. and Caroline (Beecher) Warren, were
born in Michigan and their respective families were among the pioneers of
the State. Robert L. Warren, after spending his youth in Flint, graduated
from the Universit)- of ^lichigan and became prominent as an editor and
publisher. He had no small intluence in upbuilding of the Saginaw \'alley,
where he was one of the first to publish a daily newspaper. Robert _L.
Warren founded the Bay City Journal and the Saginaw Daily Enterprise,
and for a time was owner and editor of the daily newspapers in the city
of Ann Arbor, where he consolidated the competitive journals under the
ownership of a single company. He is now living in retirement at Ann
Arbor. He sensed in the army, leaving the University of Michigan when
he was a student, but returned later and continued his studies until gradua-
tion. During his earlier life he served as a member of the State legisla-
ture, and has always taken an active part in Republican politics, and in
1908 was a delegate from the second congressional district to the Repub-
lican National Convention. For a number of years he has served as presi-
dent of the board of trustees of the Michigan School for the Deaf at Flint.
When Charles B. Warren was about fourteen years old the family
moved to Albion, where he was a student in both the preparatory and the
regular academic department of Albion College. He was president of the
Freshman class, and during his sophomore year was managing editor of
the college paper. In 1889, leaving Albion, Mr. Warren entered the junior
class of the University of Alichigan, where he graduated in 1891 a Bachelor
of Philosophy. In the university he specialized in history, philosophy and
constitutional law, and was the first editor in chief of "The Inlander," the
literary magazine of the university.
With the law as his chosen vocation, he went from the University of
Detroit and studied in the office and under the direction of Hon. Don M.
Dickinson. He also carried on his studies in the Detroit Law School, an
institution at that time under the management of Professor Floyd Alechem,
who subsequently was one of the ablest members of the faculty in the law
department of the university. Mr. \\'arren graduated with the class of
1893 and was admitted to the bar, and then for a few years continued
as a law clerk in the office of his honored preceptor, Mr. Dickinson. In
1897 came his admission as a partner in the firm of Dickinson, Warren &
Warren. There was hardly a stronger or more successful law firm in
the city of Detroit. In January, 1900, Mr. Warren became associated with
John C. Shaw and William B. Cady in the organization of the firm of
Shaw, Warren & Cadv, and after ilr. Shaw's death, in 191 1, Mr. Warren
©L-i^Jw^/fA/st^^
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 723
became senior member of the present firm of Warren, Cady, Lada and
Hill, one of the large and strong legal organizations of Detroit. While
Mr. Warren has participated in many notable cases and made a distinc-
tive success in the general field of law, he has from the first been consid-
ered an expert and an authority in international law, and achieved the
record of having twice represented his country in great international con-
troversies. In 1896, when twenty-six years of age, he was appointed
associate counsel for the United States before the joint high commission-
ers who adjudicated the claims of Great Britain against the United States
in the long drawn out controversy affecting the rights of these two nations
in the Behring sea. Mr. Warren delivered one of the important arguments
before this tribunal. His work in that connection was of such character
as to give him a place among the ablest younger members of the Michigan
bar. Subsequently President Roosevelt appointed him one of the lawyers
for the United States in the controversy with Great Britain over
the North Atlantic waters and fisheries. The two powers subse-
quently agreed to submit the matters in dispute to The Permanent
Court of Arbitration at the Hague, and before this Court of International
.Arbitration Mr, Warren appeared in 1910 to make one of the arguments
in behalf of his country. Mr. Warren is a member of Phi Beta Kappa,
the honor society of the literary department of American colleges; a mem-
ber of the executive committee of the American Society of International
Law, and is regarded as an authority in both legal and-diplpmaijc affairs
affecting international relations. Mr. Warren is a director bf.i^Miy com-
panies of which he is legal adviser and in which he is finaiicially ThTerested,
including the Detroit Stove Works, the Michigan Sugar Company, the
Paige-Detroit Motor Car Company and The National Bank of Commerce
of Detroit, and others. '^ ' .'. / vi^ -- '-V
Mr. Warren was signally honored in 1914 by ,bei?(g"'el^c1:ea' president of
the Detroit Board of Commerce. ; : . - •
For a number of years Mr. Warren has been one of the influential
Republicans in Michigan. In 1908 he was a delegate at large from the
State to the National Convention, in which his father also sat as a dele-
gate, and was chosen the Michigan member of the Republican National
Committee, and is now serving as a member of the executive committee
of the Republican National Committee and as chairman of the committee
on the revision of the rules regulating the organization of and basis of
representation in the National Convention. He drafted the new rules and
resolutions cutting down the southern representation, and making pro-
vision for the recognition of delegates elected in accordance with the
primary laws of the several States, and in the reorganization of the
party has always stood ~for the progressive and liberal policy.
The social organizations in which he has membership include the
Detroit, the Country and the Yondotega and University Clubs, the Uni-
versity Club of New York City, the Metropolitan Club of Washington,
D. C. He served as vice chairman of the University of Michigan Alumni
committee which had charge of the erection of the beautiful memorial
building on the University Campus. On December 2, 1902, Mr. Warren
married Miss Helen Hunt Wetmore, daughter of Charles Wetniore of
Detroit, and a niece of the late United States Senator James McMillan, of
Detroit. Mr. and Mrs. Warren have four children — Wetmore, Charles
B., Jr., Robert, and John Buel.
Ricii.AlRD Scheurmann. Fr.\nk B. Scheurm.xnn. Soon after
the close of the Civil war the name Scheurmann became familiar to the
then meagre population of Bay City in connection with the retail boot
and shoe "trade. An able young German had opened a store, to which
lumbermen and citizens in general soon found their way when wanting
724 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
reliable goods. A reputation for fair dealing is an asset that increases
rapidl}', and brings the other fruits of success. For fifty years
business so modestly started has gone on and prospered. Its founder
died twenty-five years ago, but was succeeded by his son who has sold
shoes to Bay City people for twenty-seven years, and as a merchant
ranks among the most successful in the state.
Richard Scheurmann, who died at Bay City in i88q was born in
Baden Baden, Gennany, August 25, 1834, a son of Ernst Scheurmann.
His education was acquired from the common schools and also in col-
lege at Stuttgart, and from school he entered directly into merchandising
as a clerk in a large dry goods house. He went in as an apprentice,
served five years, acquired a detailed knowledge of the business, and
was promoted from one grade to another, until thoroughlv proficient.
Leaving Germany for America he spent eight months in Xew York City,
from there to Detroit, and in 1854 located at Saginaw City. He was em-
ployed by a relative for a time on a farm, and also clerked in stores. In
1857 Richard Schuermann moved to Bay City, where he was employed
in a general store conducted by Henry Flatou, and was afterwards with
Binder & Company, shipping and commercial agent, who also con-
ducted a general store. It was in 1866 that Richard Schuermann launched
out for himself with a stock of boots and shoes on Water Street, and
spent five years each in two different locations. In 1876 he moved to 802
North Water Street, and occupied a large store there during the rest of
his active career. He built what is known as the Schuermann Block on
Washington Avenue near Center Street. That was at the time regarded
as one of the best store buildings in Bay City, and presented an impos-
ing and attractive front to that prominent business thoroughfare. In
that block his son has since continued the business established by the
father nearly fifty years ago.
The late Mr. Schuermann was not only a successful business man. but
readily gave his time and energies for the public good. Outside of his
shoe business he had varied interests in real estate, invested in transporta-
tion properties, and was prosperous in every direction. \'arious offices
of trust were conferred upon him in which he served with credit, was
for a number of years a member of the school board, served as police
commissioner, and was tax collector and fire commissioner.
On September 18, 1861, Richard Schuermann. married Miss Cornelia
Boutell. a member of one of the pioneer families in Bay county. Mrs.
Schuermann was highly educated and performed the duties of her house-
hold with a care and devotion which has made her memory blessed
among her children. Her death occurred in Bay City, February 1912,
when sixty-nine years of age. There were six 'children, and three of
them died in childhood. Emma G. is the wife of Albert Etzold, of De-
troit; Minnie A. is the wife of Mr. Campbell of Bay City. The late
Richard Schuermann was a trustee of the Congregational church, and
fraternally was affiliate'd with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
In 1872 he built a beautiful residence on Fifth Avenue and Jackson
Street.
Frank B. Schuermann. who succeeded to the business established by
his father, was born in Bay City, February 4, 1870. His education was
acquired by attendance at the public schools, and he also had private in-
struction and a course in a business college. Entering his father's store,
he was assigned to duties which gave him an intimate knowledge of
everv detail and he has not only maintained the prestige of his father's
mercantile career, but has gone on increasing the reputation of the
Schuermann establishment until today it is foremost of its kind in the
city. Mr. Schuermann has been actively identified as manager of the
enterprise for twenty-seven years. No other store of the kind in Bay
City has so large a patronage.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 725
In political affairs, Mr. Schuermann takes no active part except as a
good citizen, and has always steadily declined any offers for political of-
fice. He is Independent in his views as to party matters. In Masonry
he has taken thirty-two degrees of the Scottish Rite, and also belongs
to the Knight Templar Commandery. Fond of outdoor sport, he takes
his recreation in that way, and is a member of the Bay City Boat Club.
His church is the Congregational.
In January, 1892, Mr. Schuermann married Aliss Mary Berkey, a
daughter of Frederick N. and Josephine Berkey. To their marriage have
been born two children: Miss Cornelia J., born in Bay City in 1895,
is a graduate of the high school : and Richard B. Jr., born in November,
1901, and now a student in the high school. Mr. Schuermann and
family reside in a beautiful home, which is a center of the social life of
Bay City.
T. J. Wason. The Bay City Business College has for years fur-
nished the trained office workers to the city and vicinity, and a large
number of the independently successful business men speak gratefully
of this school as a source of their early training.
This college has been in existence since 1889, -and among its former
proprietors were R. R. Lane and R. Gillespie. In 1905 Gillespie & Wason
bought out Mr. Lane, and have been instrumental in giving this school
its present high standing among commercial colleges.
Mr. Wason is a Scottish Rite Mason of the thirty-second degree, and
affiliates with the Independent Order of Foresters. He is a Progressive
Republican, and a member of the Presbyterian church.
Edw.xrd W. Porter. A Bay City lawyer, who by hard work and by
close attention to business has made a name for himself in his profession
and also as a citizen, Edward W. Porter was admitted to the bar in
1876, and is now one of the older lawyers still active in affairs, and now
reaping the fruit for ability established by many years of careful train-
ing and conscientious administration of the affairs entrusted to his
care.
Edward W. Porter was born at Metamora, Lapeer county, Mich-
igan, March 4, 1851, a son of Moses G. and Maria (Morse) Porter.
Both parents were born in Western New York, and came to Michigan
in early youth, their respective families settling in Oakland county, and
later going to Lapeer county. Moses G. Porter was a farmer throughout
his entire active career and his father was a Revolutionary soldier, and
well known in the earlv history of Connecticut. Moses G. Porter died
in Michigan in 1885 at the age of sixty-four years. The mother was
educated in Granville Seminary in Ohio, now the Denison University, and
she died in this state in 1896, "when seventy-eight years old.
Edward W. Porter, the third in a family of four children, as a
boy attended school in Oakland county, and later at Northville High
school, from which he entered Hillsdale College in 1871 and graduated
in 1 8/5 in the literary department. He graduated with the class of 1876
in the'Cniversitv of ^Michigan law school and after graduation was ad-
mitted to the bar at Pontiac" After a brief period of practice at Saginaw,
he came to Bay City, in March, 1878, and entered the office of Judge
Maxwell, and proceeded vigorously to the work of making himself
known among the local profession.' On October i, 1878, he formed a
partnership with Henrv Lindner, and they were associated in an agree-
able and profitable partnership for seventeen years. Mr. Porter's pres-
ent partner is Mr. Haffev, who came into the fimi in 1885. _ Besides a
large general law practice, Mr. Porter looks after an extensive real es-
726 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
tate business. For one term, from 1882 to 1884, he served as assistant
prosecuting attorney of Bay County. In politics he is a Republican, be-
longs to the Bay County Bar Association, has membership in the Delta
Tau Delta College Fraternity, and he and his family worship in the
First Baptist Church.
In 1883 in Oakland county, Michigan, Mr. Porter married Miss
Alma K. Welsh, a daughter of Andrew J. Welsh of Oakland county.
To their marriage have been born eight children as follows : Sidney
Welsh Porter, born in Bay City in 1887, and who was married in July,
1913: Laura, who died in infancy; ]\Irs. Angle Wells, who was born at
Bay City in 1890 and has one child, David Porter Wells ; Irwin E. Porter,
born in 1891 and died in 1912, a graduate of the high school, and at
the time of his death employed at the Ford Automobile Works in De-
troit ; Wendell J., born in Bay City, in 1893, now at Detroit in the auto-
mobile business; Inez, born in 1897 in Bay City, and attending high
school; Morse, who was born in 1900 at Bay City, in the grade schools;
Frank B., born in 1902 at Bay City, and also in school,
Hon. J.^mes Van Kleeck. As a lawyer James \'an Kleeck has prac-
ticed with many successes and honors in Michigan for over forty years.
Outside his profession his career has been no less prominent. Beginning
in the Civil war, after his discharge bearing a wound which never com-
pletely healed, he has been honored with many offices in municipal,
county and state governments, and his intelligent and disinterested serv-
ice has more than repaid all the distinctions paid him bv a grateful pub-
lic.
James Van Kleeck was born at Exeter, Monroe County, :Michigan,
September 26, 1846. His parents were Robert and Catherine (McMan-
niss) \'an Kleeck. His father was born in New York, Dutchess county,
and was a son of Simeon Van Kleeck, a native of New York State,
who during the Revolutionary war was loyal to the mother country, be-
longed to the class known as United Empire Loyalists, and moved across
the line to Canada, settling in a locality which thereafter was known as
Van Kleeck Hill. The ancestry goes back eight generations in America
to Holland. Robert \'an Kleeck was reared in Canada, when a young
man came to Michigan, first in 1832. lived in ■Monroe county, returned
to Canada to take part in the Rebellion with McKenzie's men, and re-
turned to Michigan as a permanent home in 1837. At Exeter he con-
tinued his labors as a farmer, cleared and lived on land that he reclaimed
from the wilderness, and died in Monroe county in 1906 at the age of
seventy-three.
His wife, Catherine McManniss. was born in ButTalo, New York, and
died in Monroe countv, Michigan, in 1863, at the age of forty-three years.
Of the five children, James Van Kleeck was the third. Reared on a
farm, he attended the common schools, and was fifteen years old when
the Civil war broke out. His boyish patriotism was stirred by the rending
of the country, and in June, 1862, he enlisted in Company D of the
Seventeenth ^lichigan Infantry. From Detroit, his regiment was sent
south to \"irginia, and participated in the battles of South Mountain and
at Antietam, where in September, 1862. Mr. Van Kleeck was twice
wounded. The second time a ball was lodged in his side, and he was
left on the field supposedly dead. Taken to the hospital, he remained for
a number of months in the Frederic City Hospital in Maryland, and was
finally discharged in December, 1863, for disability. For one year after
his wound he was unable to walk, and he has suffered from the injury
more or less ever since. Mr. Van Kleeck when measurably restored to
health proceeded to get a better education, studied law in Monroe county.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 727
and in 1869 entered the law department of the University of Michigan,
where he was graduated LL. B. in 1871. After six months' practice in
Monroe he moved to Midland City. Fifteen years were spent in success-
ful practice at Midland City, and since then he has been one of the fore-
most members of the Bay City Bar. For five years he was in partner-
ship with Mortimer Stanford, and then for two years was associated with
George W. Mann, but with those exceptions has practiced independently.
While at Midland City, Mr. Van Kleeck served two years as city
attorney, and for six years was prosecuting attorney of the county. He
was also president of the Midland County Agricultural Society, and was
elected representative to the state legislature from Midland in 1882 on
the Republican ticket. He was in the legislature which elected Thomas
W. Palmer United States senator. Mr. Van Kleeck served as prosecut-
ing attorney of Bay County, elected in 1886 and serving two years, and
was the last commissioner of immigration, serving until that office was
abolished. In 1907-08, he was representative from Bay County, in the
recent constitutional convention. Mr. Van Kleeck has always taken an
active part in Grand Army circles, and in 1901 was commander of the
Michigan Department. In line with his profession he belongs to the
Bay County, the State and the American Bar Association. In politics
he has been a true-blue Republican since getting his first vote. In
Masonry Mr. Van Kleeck has attained thirty-two degrees of the Scot-
tish Rite. At one time, earlier in his career, he served as judge advocate
of the state under H. M. Duffield.
At Midland City, on July 2, 1873, Mr. \*an Kleeck married Miss
Juliette C. Carpenter. To their marriage have been born three chil-
dren: Edith A. Van Kleeck, a graduate of the University of Michigan;
James C. Van Kleeck, who graduated at the Bay City schools, and is
now practicing with his father; Delia Van Kleeck, a graduate of the
University of Michigan and teacher in the high schools at Brennerton.
Washington. All the children were born in Midland City.
Walter D. Young. It is only the possessor of a mind of tmusual
strength, persistent grasp and broad sweep of abilities who is able to
earn signal success in a field already crowded with keen competitors,
and then to transfer his activities to various other fields, just as difiicult,
and to achieve a like measure of distinction. The character of Walter
D. Young, therefore, is cast in 'no ordinary mold, for his activities have
brought him prominently into widelv separated lines of endeavor, and in
each he has achieved a full measure of prosperity, while at the same
time he has been able to accomplish much for the welfare of his adopted
city.
Mr. Young was born at Albany, New York, September 25, 1855,
and there resided with his parents until 1870. His father, George Young,
was born in Scotland and came to the United States at the age of twelve
years, locating in the city of Albany, where he became a clerk in a grocery
store. He was enterprising and industrious and posi;'essed of the thrift
for which his race is noted, and carefully conserved his earnings until
at length he was able to enter business life as the proprietor of a modest
establishment of his own. This he rapidly built up to large proportions
and gradually branched out into the wholesale trade, meeting with suc-
cess in both lines. In 1870 he removed from Albany to Bay City, Michi-
gan, where he organized and became vice-president of the Bay City
Bank, in which capacity he continued to act up to the time of his death in
1890 at the age of seventy years. He had varied other interests, was
largely engaged in the lumber business, and was known as one of his
community's helpful and enterprising citizens. ^Ir. Young married
728 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Miss Annie McCormick, who was born at Bethlehem, near Albany, New
York, and she died at Bay City in 1897, at the age of seventy-four years.
Four children were born to this union, of whom Walter D. is the
youngest.
The common schools and an academy of Albany furnished Mr.
Young with his educational advantages until he came to Bay City, where
he attended the high school. At the age of eighteen years he began
clerking in the Bay City Bank, where he remained for five years, and in
1877 he engaged in the brewing business, under the firm style of C. E.
Young & Company, which succeeded the firm of \'an Meter & Company.
In 1884 the style was changed to the Bay City Brewing Company, and
Mr. Young has continued as president of this concern, although his other
large interests have made this somewhat of a side issue. Prior to his
advent in the brewing business he had been engaged quite largely in
operating vessels on the Great Lakes, and this has continued to receive a
large part of his attention. In December, 1890, he was the organizer of
the Michigan Log Towing Company, which owns and operates a num-
ber of powerful tugs, some of the largest on the lakes, which do an ex-
tensive business in towing logs from Georgian Bay to Saginaw river. In
March, 1891, Mr. Young organized the Young Transportation Company,
which for a number of years operated two boats on the great lakes en-
gaged in the ore and grain business, namely, the steamer Arizona and
the schooner Plymouth. In 1894 he organized the W. D. Young Co. .Saw
Planing Mills, and Lumber Yards, of which he is sole owner and pro-
prietor. This is one of the large enterprises of Bay City. Mr. Young
is vice-president of the German-American Sugar Company; vice-presi-
dent of the Bay City Bank, of which his brother, George H. Young,
is president; and a large owner of valuable real estate, the latter in-
cluding his own palatial residence, one of the finest on East Center
street. He is possessed of great executive and organizing ability and his
associates constantly rely upon him for counsel and leadership where
matters of importance are at stake. He has ever manifested a public-
spirited willingness to advance Bay City's welfare, and few men have
been so unselfish in contributing of their time and means in forwarding
movements of progress.
Mr. Young was married to Miss Elizabeth Androse, of Bay City,
and they have four children : Fannie M., Walter D., Jr., Florence and
Francis L., a son. Mr. Young is a thirty-second degree Mason, a Knight
Templar and an Elk and belongs also to the Bay City Club. A man of
charitable impulses he has done much for the worthy poor, and all that
makes for good citizenship and religion has his hearty support. His
fidelity and loyalty have made admiring friends out of a large number of
acquaintances.
WiLLi.VM Bryan C.\dv. now a member of the Detroit law firm of
Warren, Cady and Ladd, Mr. Cady has been a member of the Michigan
bar for about thirty years, and has practiced in Detroit since 1897. In
real estate and corporation law, he is an acknowledged leader, and during
the last fifteen years few other Detroit lawyers have handled so large and
important interests in these departments as ]\Ir. Cady.
William Bryan Cady, who was born on a farm in Canton township,
W'ayne county, Michigan, February 10, 1861, belongs to one of this state's
pioneer families, and is in the eighth generation of the name since it was
established in New England during the Colonial period. Nicholas Cady,
founder of the American branch of the family, was of an old English
family, and left Kent, England, in 1630 and established a home at Water-
town, Massachusetts, about the time of the first permanent settlement on
A.J if- ,
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 729
the shores of Massachusetts Bay. His descendants subsequently became
pioneers in the state of Xew York. From Xicholas Cady to William B.
Cady the line of descent is direct and through the following heads : James,
born in 1655; John, in 1680; Ebenezer, in 1714; David, in 1754; Samuel P.,
in 1800; James B., in 1830; and William B., in 1861.
It \¥as David Cady, born in 1754, who founded the family name in
Michigan territory. He was a young man at the beginning of the Revo-
lutionary war, and with his six brothers served with honor and fidelity in
that struggle for independence. A number of years later, when the area
of the Atlantic colonies had been extended across the Alleghanies to the
Mississippi, in 1832 he emigrated to the territory of Michigan. He was
the patriarch of a considerable family colony, including his son Samuel,
and grandson James B.. the latter being then about two years of age.
David Cady was one of the early settlers of \\'ayne county, where he
obtained a tract of wild land and reclaimed it. A portion of his original
homestead is now included in the grounds of the \\'ayne County Home
Farm. Some years later he returned to his old home at Freeport, Xew
York, and lived there until his death at the venerable age of ninety years.
James B. Cady, father of the Detroit lawyer, was born in Xew York statg
in 1830, and was an infant when the family came to the territory of Michi-
gan and settled in \\'ayne county. His life was taken up with the activi-
ties of agriculture and stock raising, angl. for many years he was an
influential citizen of Canton township. ,/ , ■
On his father's farm in ^^'ayne county /V^'jlliam B. C^d*; 3tarted life
with the excellent advantage of rural surroundings, in addition to his
inheritance of an old American name and the elements of a sturdy lineage.
\^'ith such schooling as was afforded in the public institutions -of Wayne
county, he entered the Ann Arbor high sc^oL g'rachiating'iii :i878, and
then began his studies in the literary department of the University of
Michigan, from which he received the degree-Burhelor- oi Philosophy in
1882. After one year in the law department of the university Mr. Cady
continued his studies with the firm of Sawyer & Knowlton at Ann Arbor,
and then for one year was in the offices of Brennan & Donnelly at Detroit.
Soon after being admitted to practice Mr. Cady moved to the northern
peninsula, locating at Sault Ste. Marie, where in a few \ears he had gained
a leading place in the local bar and had built up a large and profitable busi-
ness. In January, 1897, Mr. Cady, having returned to Detroit, engaged in
practice with the late John C. Shaw under the name Shaw & Cady. In
1901 Charles B. Warren and Herbert K. Oakes were admitted to the
partnership, which was entitled Shaw, Warren, Cady and Oakes until
the death of Mr. Shaw in January. 191 1. ^Ir. Oakes later retired from
the fimi to engage in business at Cleveland, Ohio, and Mr. Cady now has
.as his associates Mr. Warren and Sanford \\'. Ladd. Warren, Cady and
Ladd have a large practice at Detroit, and each member of the firm has
some distinctive ability and forte in the law, and together they present
an aggregate of some of the best legal talent to be found in Michigan.
Mr. Cady has brought great strength to the combination by reason of his
admitted ability in real estate and corporation law.
Until the campaign of 1896 ^Nlr. Cady was one of the leading Democrats
in the northern part of the state, but the monetary issues of that year
and the candidacy of ^Ir. Bryan caused him to leave his party. For six
years preceding he had been a member of the Democratic state central
committee of Michigan. On rejecting the platform of the Democrats in
1896, Mr. Cady gave a vigorous support and stumped a large territory in
northern Michigan in behalf of William McKinley. His political as well
as his legal activities in northern Michigan have naturally brought him a
large acquaintance, and he still has much influence in that section of the
state.
730 HISTORY OF AIICHIGAN
Mr. Cady is a Knight Templar Mason, and his social relations are
with the Detroit Club, the University club, the Country club, and the
Detroit Boat club. On June 30, 1904, he married Miss Myra Post, a
daughter of the late Hoyt Post, one of Detroit's honored citizens. The
one child born to their marriage is Elizabeth Winsor.
OcTAVius A. Marsac. This well known resident of Bay City, long
identified with public affairs is now serving as county clerk of Bay
county. Air. Alarsac is well known over the state of Michigan, and is a
son of one of Michigan's distinguished pioneers, and an old-timer who
was associated with Governor Cass, and many other prominent men in
the old territorial days, and also after Michigan became a state.
Octavius A. Marsac was born at Bay City, Alichigan, in April, 1856.
His family was one of the first to locate there, and no name has been
longer or more closely identified with this community. His parents
were Joseph F. and Theresa (Revard) Marsac. His mother, who was
born at Crosse Point, near Detroit, was a daughter of one of the very
first farmers in that locality. Joseph F. Marsac, who was born in 1796,
and died in 1880 at the venerable age of eighty-four, came to Michigan
early in the last century, and showed his ability and usefulness as an
Indian interpreter and also acted as Indian agent. He served as inter-
preter for Governor Cass during the treaty at Saginaw in 1813. For some
years he was engaged in farming, and in 1838 moved to Bay City, when
there was scarcely a single habitation on the site of that now flourishing
center of population and industry. For a number of years he was in the
real estate business. His wife, who died at Bay City, in iSSi at the
age of seventy-four, was a very capable helpmate to her husband during
the pioneer time, and both are well remembered for their many acts of
kindness to travelers and to newcomers, who suffered misfortune in
sickness and in financial troubles. The Marsacs were always quick and
ready to help any unfortunate, and their home in Bay City was always a
place of liberal charity and hospitality. Their familv of children were as
follows: Charles F., a well known resident of Bay City; Mrs. M. South-
worth of Simcoe, Ontario ; Mrs. T. J. McClelian, who lives in Still-
water, Minnesota ; Mrs. G. H. Robinson, of Waterville, Michigan.
Octavius A. Marsac, the youngest of the family, attended the public
schools of Bay City, and also took a commercial course in Detroit, grad-
uating in 1875. From that time forward for a number of years he was
engaged in various lines of business experience, and from 1892 to 1905
was city recorder of Bay City. He also held office for one term as alder-
man and as supervisor. For five years, from 1905 10 191 1. Mr. Alarsac
was in business with the Pioneer Boat & Pattern Compan}-. He was
then nominated and elected county clerk of Bay county, a position which
he has filled most capably for two terms.
Mr. Marsac is one of the influential Democrats in his section of the
.state. Fraternally his relations are with the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks and the Knights of Columbus, and his church is the
Catholic.
In October, 1890. was celebrated his marriage with Miss Marv Conley
in Bay City. Her father, John Conley, now deceased, was long a well
known citizen of Lapeer county, Alichigan. Mr. and Mrs. Marsac have
two children: Miss Marie Marsac, born at Bay City, is a .graduate of
the St. James Catholic School and is now assisting her father in clerk's
office ; Miss Lucy Marsac. a native of Bay City, is also a graduate of the
St. James School.
Rev. R. G. V.\n Rooy, pastor of St. John's Catholic Church. Essex-
ville, Michigan, was born October 18, 1867, in the Province of Xorth
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 731
Brabant, Netherlands, and is a son of Henry and Petronella Van Roov,
still residents of their native land. For a number of years the father
carried on a successful business as a merchant and dealer in iron and
iron castings, but is now living retired, having been succeeded by his
four sons, who continue to carry on the industry. The family consists
of five sons and one daughter, Father Van Rooy being the only mem-
ber to come to the United States.
Until twelve years of age Father Van Rooy attended the parochial
schools of his birthplace, and then for six years enjoyed collegiate ad-
vantages in North Brabant. At the age of eighteen years he entered a
Belgian convent college, and upon his return to the Netherlands he com-
pleted his theological studies at the convent of Heeswijk, following which
he was sent to America by his church superiors. He arrived in the city
of New York, August 4, 1894, and proceeded at once to Wisconsin to
take up work in the Diocese of Green Bay, being settled at D3'ckesville.
There the young priest had a congregation of 180 families, and during
the next ten years built a new church and parish house and became widely
known all through that section for his religious zeal and executive ability.
Father \'an Rooy came to Essexville, Michigan, April i, 1904, taking
charge of a parish of 360 families, made up of many nationalities, includ-
ing 200 French, 160 Hollanders and Belgians, with a considerable sprink-
ling of Irish and Germans. This large parish provides Father Van Rooy
with numerous duties. The parochial school, with an average attendance
of 270 children, is under the care of the Dominican Sisters, and a beau-
tiful residence has been erected on the site of the old academy which was
burned just before the arrival of Father Van Rooy. The first church
was what was erected for a schoolhouse by Father Thomas Rafter, of
Bay City, in 1884, and the first resident pastor was Father Roche, who
came in 1887 and built the present parish house in the following year and
the present church in 1892. Father Roche died here in 1900, and Father
Kenny supplied until Father Bresson came to take charge. The latter
fell iil and was succeeded by Father Van Rooy, who has made many
friends, both within and outside of his congregation, and has impressed
all who have come within the sphere of his influence as a man of su-
perior intelligence, great learning and high Christian character.
In 1884 Father Rafter started a mission in Essexville, and at that time
built the present parochial school, which was used as a temporary place
of worship until the erection of St. John's Church. Work on this edi-
fice was commenced in 1889, and the church was dedicated in 1894. It
has a seating capacity of about 700, and there are in the vicinity of 365
families in the parish. The parochial residence was built in 18S8 by the
Rev. Cornelius Roche, the first resident priest appointed to the parish.
Father Roche met an accidental death by drowning, in June, 1901, and
his work was taken up by Rev. Peter Bresson, who was pastor for two
years and nine months. Father Van Rooy, the present incumbent, took
charge March 27, 1904. The Holy Rosary Academy, a boarding school
for young ladies is presided over by the Dominican Sisters, and the first
building was erected by these holy women in 1898. The structure was
destroyed by fire March 2, 1904, and on its site was built a beautiful
residence, two and one-half stories in height.
William B. Fitzgerald. The sheriiif of Bay county, Michigan,
William B. Fitzgerald, needs no introduction to the citizens of this com-
munity, for more than twenty years he has been an incumbent of office
of a public character, and his signal services to his city and county
have been of a nature to commend him to all. His election to his pres-
ent office, in January, 1913, was but the public's stamp of approval on
732 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
his career, which has demonstrated his fearlessness as an officer, his
executive talents, and his courteous and pleasing personality. Mr. Fitz-
gerald is a native son of Bay City, born June 8, 1873, a son of Daniel
and Margaret (Lee) Fitzgerald.
Daniel Fitzgerald was born in Ireland, and came to the United States
in 1864, settling in Bay City. Here he became identified with the lumber
trade of the growing city, developed into a contractor of standing, and
continued to be connected with this industry during the remainder of his
life. He died March 9, 19 10, at the age of sixty-six years, in the faith
of the Roman Catholic church, of which he had been a lifelong member.
In his political views, Daniel Fitzgerald was a sturdy and stanch Demo-
crat, and his influence was ever given to the party and its candidates.
He married Margaret Lee, who was also a native of Erin, and who came
to the United States as a small child, being reared and educated in Mas-
sachusetts. She met and married Mr. Fitzgerald in Bay City. She is
still living, having reached the advanced age of seventy years, and is the
mother of six children, of whom William B. is the third in order of
birth.
William B. Fitzgerald received his educational training in the public
and parochial schools of Bay City, but at the age of seventeen years laid
aside his books to face the business world. His first experience was
with his father, in the line of lumber contracting, but in 1890 he em-
barked upon a career of his own as the proprietor of a grocery store.
It was not long, however, before Mr. Fitzgerald grew dissatisfied with
the quiet life of the merchant, and he accordingly disposed of his busi-
ness interests to become a member of the Bay City Fire Department, in
which, during the next eight years, he made an enviable record as a
fire-fighter. In 1901, when he left the department, he became a city
police officer, and during the next seven and one-half years served Bay
City faithfully in that capacity, at the expiration of that period becoming
under sheriff^ during the administration of Sheriff Henry J. Kinney. In
this position he continued to serve for four years, and on November 5,
191 2, the people voiced their appreciation of his long and faithful service
by electing him sheriff. Sheriff Fitzgerald is not only one of the most
active incumbents of the office that the county has known, but he has
also accomplished some difficult detective work. He is the kind of an
officer who has always been depended upon to take hold of any especially
knotty business with determination, enthusiasm and bravery. A Demo-
crat in politics, he is considered one of the strong party men of his sec-
tion, but his activities have always been carried on in such a straight-
forward and honorable manner that he has friends among men of all
political creeds. Fraternally, he is connected with the Knights of Colum-
bus, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of the
Maccabees and the Loyal Order of Moose. He was reared in the faith
of the Roman Catholic church, and has ever endeavored to live accord-
ing to its teachings.
On July 20, 1893, Mr. Fitzgerald was united in marriage at Bay
City to INIiss Sadie Fennelly, a native of Michigan and a daughter of
James Fennelly. Three children have been born to this union: Margaret,
James and Daniel. Sheriff Fitzgerald has a comfortable home, located
not far from the County Jail.
Harvey Gilbert. IM. D. The dean of the medical profession in
Bay City is Dr. Harvey Gilbert, who began practice there forty years ago
and who is one of the men of ability and splendid professional and in-
tellectual attainments in this profession in Michigan.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 733
Dr. Harvey Gilbert was born in Simcoe, Ontario, January 28, 1846.
His parents were John W. and Christine (Smith) Gilbert. On the
mother's side, the family were among the early pioneers, settling on
Long Island in 1643, and the paternal grandmother was a WykofT, of
Dutch stock, while most of the paternal ancestors were Norman French.
The old homestead of the original settler still remains at Little Clam
Neck on Long Island. John W. Gilbert was a prosperous farmer, and
died at Simcoe, Ontario, in 1892, while his wife died about 1900. In 1888
they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary, and length of life
in this family has been accompanied by good citizenship and independ-
ent and vigorous ability as workers in the world. There were five sons
and one daughter reared by the parents and all are living, the doctor
being third in order of birth. The other children are mentioned as fol-
lows: Isaac A., an attorney at law in Bay City; Albert, who lives on
the old homestead in Ontario ; Frank O., who is a dentist by profession,
but at the present time is grand lecturer for the Masonic Order in
Michigan; Samanatha, is the widow of William Culver, and lives in
Bay City; Hon. Peter Gilbert, of Sterling, Michigan, recently retired
from service in the state senate and has been very prominent in pub-
lic affairs. The family for a number of years were Methodists in
religion but are now Episcopalians.
Dr. Gilbert was educated in the public schools of Simcoe, and since
seventeen years of age has been on his own resources. About that time
he entered the New York Homeopathic College, supported himself while
a student of medicine, and was graduated with his degree in 1874. The
doctor is also a graduate of the Ophthalmological Hospital of New
York. Dr. Gilbert was chairman of Bay City Board of Health and
served as health officer thirteen years. To him was given the task of
revising the city charter so far as health matters and sanitary regulations
were concerned, and he wrote the clauses which still govern the city's
health department. At the present time Dr. Gilbert is holding the
office of county coroner of Bay County, and still tends to his practice
which grew up in the early years of his residence in Bay City, and which
has always kept him in the front rank of local successful physicians.
During the small pox epidemic some years ago. Dr. Gilbert made a
reputation not only in Bay City, but in the state as an expert in stamp-
ing out that disease, and was employed by the state as one of the chief
workers during the ravages of the disease. During that time he treated
personallv over two thousand patients. Dr. Gilbert belongs to the Bay
County and the State Medical Societies and the American Medical Asso-
ciation. \'ery prominent in Masonry, he was one of the leaders in con-
structing the Alasonic Temple in Bay City, and has been active in other
lines of Masonic work.
On May 26, 1875, Dr. Gilbert married Ida Beamer, a daughter of
William Beamer of Simcoe, Ontario. Of their two children Leta
is the wife of Rev. M. L. Marshall. Rev. Marshall is a minister of the
Presbyterian church at Ionia, Michigan : Van Gilbert, a graduate of the
University of Michigan, is a leading engineer at Bay City, and has been
connected with various industrial enterprises. He married Miss Edith
Booth. Dr. Gilbert's home at 605 Grant Street is the only residence he
has ever occupied in Bay City, and is both an old and beautiful home.
In politics the doctor is a progressive Democrat, and so far as the de-
mands of his profession have permitted, has for many years been in-
terested in political and the broader affairs of good citizenship.
Henry J. Kinney. One of the leading and responsible factors in
the politicallife of Bay City for a number of years has been Mr. Kinney,
734 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
who recently retired from a long service in the office of sheriff. His
record as sheriff was one of capable efficiency, not excelled by any in-
cumbent of that office since Bay county elected its first citizen for that
post. Mr. Kinney is a native of Bay county, has lived in that vicinity
all his life, has been a merchant and public official, and has well earned
the various distinctions which have come to him.
Henry J. Kinney was born in Bay county, February 9, 1863. His
father, Thomas Kinney, a native of Ireland, on emigrating to America
first settled in Buff'alo, New York, later in Ohio, and during the fifties
established his home in Bay county, where he lived until his death in the
fall of 1904, when ninety years old. A shoemaker by trade he was most
actively connected with farming during the years of his residence in
Bay county. The maiden name of his wife was Mary Griffin, also born
in Ireland, and who came to America alone and met her husband at
Buff'alo, New York. To their marriage were born five children, one of
whom died in infancy, and the others are: Alichael of Flint, Michigan;
Thomas Kinney of Seattle, Washington ; Henry J. ; and Ann Jane, wife
of Morris Walsh, of St. Albans, \'ermont.
Reared in the country, and educated in the district schools of Bay
county, Flenry J. Kinney at the age of fifteen began to be self supporting
by contributing his services to the management of the home place. After
some years spent on the farm, and having in the meantime acquired some
prominence in public affairs, when twenty-three he started on his own
account, and opened a stock of hardware in Bay City. The six years of
merchandising in Bay City were entirely successful, but at the end of
that time he gave up a close supervision of his business in order to
enter politics. For four years he served as under-sheriff, and .then was
chosen to the office of sheriff of Bay county, and by reelection served con-
tinuously for eight years his lifeterm coming to an end on January i,
1913. In May, 191 1, INIr. Kinney bought the E. J. O'Neill Livery and
Boarding Stable, and that has been his chief business activity ever since.
The business headquarters are 716 Adams Street. Besides the major
political activities already mentioned, Mr. Kinney was for some years
township treasurer and highway commissioner of Merritt township in
Bay county. His politics is Democratic and he has been one of the work-
ers for party good and one of the most influential advisers in the Demo-
cratic councils.
Well known in social circles, he belongs to the Knights of Colum-
bus, the Catholic ^Mutual Benefit Association, the Modern Woodmen of
America, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the New Era,
and the ^lodern Brotherhood. His religious affiliation is with the
Catholic church. Though he started in life a poor boy he has won pros-
perity and a high position in his civic community.
In June, 1889, Mr. Kinney married Miss Marie Mooney. who was
born in Bay City, and her father William Mooney was one of the old
settlers of the county. Five children have blessed their marriage : Mor-
ris H., who is employed in the Capitol at Lansing: Marie, who. is a book-
keeper in her father's office ; Florence : Harry ; and Dolores. The Kinney
home is an attractive residence at 608 ^Monroe Street.
Joseph Kinnell. In the material development and the business and
civic affairs of the Delray district of Detroit no one citizen has taken a
more active and useful part in the past thirty years than Joseph Kinnell.
His business for a number of years has been as a home builder and real
estate dealer, but for many years previous to that he was the principal
carpenter contractor and builder of that suburban community.
t^-l^-T^^^-^-^-^
m SEW t«tt
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 735
Joseph Kinnell was born in Ontario, Canada, in tlie village of Orillia,
in Simcoe county, June 7, 1S62. His grandfather, Jasent Kinnell, was born
in the city of Paris, France. The father was Zib Kinnell, who was born
in New York state, at Clayton, in 1838, when a young man moved to
Canada, settling in the vicinity of Orillia, and was a farmer for many years
there, and later, in 1882, came to Michigan, living for a time at Caro, and
later at Gagetown, where the remaining years of his life were spent in
quiet and reasonable prosperity on a farm. His death occurred there in
August, 1910. The maiden name of his wife was Elizabeth R. Annis, who
was born at Lockport, New York, in 1836, and is now living at a venerable
age with her son Joseph.
The latter spent the first twenty years of his life in his native town, and
in the meantime profited by attending the common schools. After locating
at Caro, Michigan, in 1882, he learned the carpenter trade and also became
proficient in drafting. Nearly all his independent business experience has
been in Detroit, and in 1885 he located as a general building contractor in
the village of Delray, which is now a part of the larger city. His work as
contractor continued until 1906, when he modified his business and con-
centrated on the buying of land and the building of homes for sale. He
has also handled a large amount of real estate as a broker in Delray. At
least a hundred homes have been constructed in the Delray district by Mr.
Kinnell, and he has also lieen instrumental in the platting of several new
additions.
Mr. Kinnell is affiliated with Detroit Lodge No.,2,„ A,F., & A. M., and
he has taken the Consistory degrees and also has nXerhber^iip iff.,the Mos-
lem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. His inferest in^-fratermf matters
extends to the Knights of Pythias, with melnbership in Delray Lodge
No. 177, and in Delray Temple No. 52 of the Pythian Sisters. He is
also a member of Samson Chapter No. 254 .of.- the Eastern .Star. > His
church is the Methodist. In 1883 occurred his marriagg'to Lillie Jane
Havens, of Caro, who was born in Rochester, New.. York, daughter of
the late William J. Havens, who was one of the early settlers of Caro,
Michigan, and by trade a carpenter. ]\Ir. Kinnell and wife have three
children : Reina May, who married Clarence V. Gesley, of Detroit ; Lester
J., a carpenter by trade and associated with his father ; and Tola W.,
living at home, also a carpenter.
During his long career as a building contractor Mr. Kinnell con-
structed schools, churches, residences and factory buildings. A long list
might be compiled of his works in the Delray district. One of the most
conspicuous examples of his work is the Morley school in the Delray
district, one of the finest in the city ; also the factory in Delray of the
Chicago Equipment Company ; the Lady of Lourdes Catholic church at
River Rouge ; the People's State Bank Building in Delray ; and the old
■McMillan school of Delray.
In addition to his activities as a business man Mr. Kinnell has given
much time to affairs in his part of the city. For several years he was a
member of the Delray school board until that village was incorporated in
Detroit. His service also includes two terms as treasurer of Spring-
wells township, the organization of the village of Delray, and two terms
as president of the village. In politics he is a Republican.
Edward R. Monroe. A mechanical engineer with offices in the
Phoenix Block at Bay City, Mr. Monroe is one of the best in his pro-
fession in the state. A young man of thirty-five he was only partly
college-trained, and his attainments really represent long continued and
persistent application under the stimulus of his own ambftion. The
services of Mr. Monroe have been engaged in a large amount of pro-
736 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
fessional work, and in every case he has demonstrated his abihty to cope
with the problems involved.
Edward R. Monroe was born at Lawrence, Michigan. November 12,
1878, a son of Isaac and Carrie (Cook) Monroe. The pubhc schools
of Lawrence furnished him the basis of his education, after which he
entered Purdue University at Lafayette. Indiana, spent two years at the
University, where he specialized in mechanical and shop studies. Illness
finally compelled him to discontinue his University career, and he later
taught mathematics and drawing in the Business College at Bay City. In
1902 Mr. Monroe began the practice of his profession as mechanical en-
gineer at Grand Rapids, and in 1910 formed a partnership with Frank
C. Learman, and they established offices as mechanical engineers in the
Phoeni.x Block in Bay City, under the name of Monroe iS: Learman.
This firm has since been not only the chief one in its line in Bay City,
but has a state wide reputation for expert service.
Mr. Monroe though engaged in one of the active professions is a
student by nature, and not only was his preparation for mechanical en-
gineering largely self-acquired, but he has allowed his alert mind to
venture out into new fields, and has contributed at least one useful serv-
ice to the profession in general. He is the designer and publisher of the
structural card index system, a tabulation of weights for the estimating
of bills of material and now in quite general use among foundries all
over the country. Some of the large foundries, structural iron works,
bridge companies, and other concerns have introduced the Monroe Card
Index System as one of the permanent and valuable features of their
offices. This system is the product of five years of application and study
on the part of Mr. Monroe. In recent years Mr. Monroe has taken
up the study of patent law, and at this writing expects in a short time
to pass his examinations for that profession. All his work along this
line has been done after business hours, and his knowledge of patent
law will prove of the greatest value in the practice of his profession.
Politically Mr. Monroe is Independent, is affiliated with the Masonic
Lodge, belongs to the Board of Commerce and his church is the Baptist.
At Grand Rapids in 1904, he married Harriet Cole, who was born on
Long Island, New York, a daughter of Alfred Cole. Mr. and Mrs. Mon-
roe reside at 252 Jefferson Street.
Henry Sheldon Wickw.are. In business relations and in public
affairs none stands higher in Tuscola county than Henry .S. \\ickware,
the present county treasurer of Tuscola county. For a long number of
years he was identified with the city as a contractor and manufacturer,
and his success in business has also been equalled by his public enterprise
and spirit.
Henry Sheldon Wickware was born in Leeds county, Ontario, June
23, 1849, a son of Lebeus Philip and Matilda ( Mallory ) \Mckware. his
father a native of Leeds county and his mother of Germany. The Wick-
wares are of English ancestry. In the spring of 1870 the family moved
to Tuscola county. Michigan, settling in Ellington township, where the
father followed farming and died seven years later at the age of sixty-
nine. The mother passed away in 1885. Both parents are laid to rest
in Elkland cemetery in Cass City. They were highly respected in theit
community, were church goers and active ^lethodists. Of their nine
children those now living are as follows : Mercy, the widow of Samuel
Elliott, of Ellington township ; Mary, wife of Sheldon T. Kinyon. of Cass
City ; Henry S. ; Charles Wickware, of Ellington township : and Lebeus
Wickware, of Cincinnati, Ohio.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 737
Henry S. Wickware, though now one of the foremost citizens of
Tuscola county, had only a meager schooling when a boy, and very early
in life began to make his own way and assist his family. Learning the
trade of carpenter and wagonmaker, he made that the basis of a long and
successful career, and was actively identified with that line in Cass
City for twenty-five years. During the busy seasons of the year he
employed a staff of workmen numbering between twelve and sixteen
men and was the largest contractor in Tuscola county. He put up nearly
all the larger business blocks in Cass City, including the town hall and
the banks. In 1875 ^^^- Wickware engaged in the manufacture of
wagons, and increased his shop and manufacturing facilities from year
to year, including blacksmithing and general carpentering, and in 1873
built and began the operation of the first planing mill in Cass City.
For many years Mr. Wickware has taken a prominent part in politi-
cal affairs, and his success as a business man has given him a strong
position in the regard of his fellow citizens so that, had he been an office
seeker, he might have had any honor within the gift of the community.
Republican in belief, he has done much for his party in a quiet way,
although never an orator and seldom in the conspicuous places of pub-
lic affairs. He served as the first village and township clerk for six
years, was a member of the council six years, for ten years was treasurer
and one of the active workers in the Tuscola, Huron and Sanilac Fair
Association, and by appointment from President McKinley served twelve
years as postmaster of Cass City. In the fall of 1912 Mr. Wickware
was elected county treasurer, and though his home is still at Cass City,
as it has been for many years, he perfomis his official duties in the court
house at Caro. The only office for which he was a candidate unsuccess-
fully was that of county register during the fall of 1891. In that cam-
paign the Republican ticket was opposed by a coalition of the people's
party and the Democrats, and in spite of that handicap ^Ir. \\'ickware
ran three hundred votes ahead of his own ticket. It has always been at
the urging of his many friends that he has consented to accept office,
and his services performed in a quiet way for the upbuilding of Cass
City have been as important as his official record.
In Cass City on September 15, 1874, Mr. Wickware married Miss
Vania E. Alvers. She was born in Canada, but when nine years of age
was brought to Michigan by her parents. Her father, Francis Alvers,
was a soldier of the Civil war on the Union side. Mr. Wickware and
wife have two children: Ora is the wife of Dr. Richard Lionel King, a
prominent physician at Prince Albert in Saskatchewan. Mark S. Wick-
ware, who is now cashier of the Exchange Bank of Cass City, the second
strongest bank in Tuscola county, graduated from the Cass City high
school, and in 1903 left home for Seattle, Washington, where he at-
tended college and completed a business education, and then started his
commercial career with an insurance company. During the two years
of his connection with that company, from a start at a modest salary
and in a minor capacity, he rose to the position of manager over an office
of thirty-five clerks. Through a serious illness of his father he then
returned home in order to look after the many business interests of the
elder Wickware in Cass City and Tuscola county, and after his father's
recoverv decided to remain in Michigan, and soon afterwards accepted
the position of cashier in the bank. Like his father, Mark Wickware
is a progressive and energetic business man and citizen, and has some
important relations with the civic and business community at Cass City.
Mr. H. S. Wickware is one of the most popular men of Tuscola
county, and is a gentleman of pleasing address, has always been a hard
worker and a straight and vigorous thinker, and his attainments have
738 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
not been thrust upon him but have been manufactured in the laboratory
of his own energy- and talent. He possesses extensive interests, includ-
ing valuable real estate in Cass City.
David Kxox Hakxa. The executive power of justice in Tuscola
county is in the hands of D. Knox Hanna as the present sheriff of that
county. Mr. Hanna was elected sheriff in 1910, going into office on the
Republican ticket, and has been active in the affairs of that party in
Tuscola county since coming here. He had previously ser\-ed as super-
visor, and his "official record has well justified the confidence manifested
by the electorate.
Of an old Michigan family. David Knox Hanna was born in Royal
Oak township in Oakland county, Michigan, October 12, 1873, a son of
David H. and Agnes (Arthur) Hanna. David H. Hanna was nine years
of age. when his parents, Robert and Elizabeth Hanna, emigrated from
Belfast. Ireland, in 1850 and located on a farm in Oakland county, among
the early settlers of that section. The Hannas in the early generations
were strict members of the Reformed Presbyterian church, and Pres-
byterianism is still the doctrine to which most of the members adhere.
Grandfather Robert Hanna died when he was eighty-four years of age,
while his wife lived to the extreme limit of ninety-eight years. Sheriff'
Hanna's mother, Agnes Arthur, was born in Oakland county, ^Michigan,
and the Arthurs were likewise early settlers in the state.
David H. Hanna, who is now living retired at Caro, was reared on
a farm, lived with his parents until he was twenty-seven years of age, and
then he and two brothers bought a farm in Royal Oak township and car-
ried on a partnership venture for three years. David H. then bought forty
acres of his own in Southfield township, married and after spending sev-
eral years on his farm, sold it and bought a larger place adjoining the town
of Birmingham where for twenty years he prospered in his labors and
became known for his substantial character and influence in that com-
munitv. At the end of the twenty years, having sold out, he moved
his family into Birmingham, spent three years retired, and then becoming
dissatisfied with the easy routine of life again took up farming, but this
time in Tuscola county, 'where he bought a farm in Fairgrove township.
For three years he actively pursued his vocation on the farm, and in the
spring of 1911 retired permanently and has since had his home in a
pleasant residence at Caro. He is a "Republican in politics, and religiously
was a steady member of the Reformed Presbyterian church until 1908,
when he and his wife joined the regular Presbyterian organization. He
has lived a life of quiet industry, is a man of retiring disposition, has
never mixed in politics, but throughout a long career has maintained the
respect due true worth everywhere. There were nine children, and the
four now living are as follows: Jennie, the wife of William Kraft, a
farmer at Fenton, Michigan: David K. : Elizabeth, wife of Robert D.
Kirk, a former merchant of Acron in Tuscola township, but now re-
tired'; and Claude S. Hanna, for many years a merchant in Fairgrove
township. .... , ,
The early training of David Knox Hanna was acquired in the schools
of Birmingham until he reached the age of sixteen. His father's poor
health then led him to take active management of the farm, and after an
interval of three and a half years his schooling was finished with another
term at Binningham, and he left school at the age of twenty. Then in
partnership with his uncle. John Hanna, he engaged in the retail meat
business at Birmingham, sokl his interest to his uncle three years, later,
and with his accumulations invested in a farm near Birmingham and fol-
lowed the active life of an agriculturist for another three years. This
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 739
farm was sold and another larger and better one was bought in Tuscola
county, and Mr. Hanna was a hard-working and steadily prospering
farmer in that section until the fall of 1910, when his election to the office
of sheriiT obliged him to move to Caro, but he continues the management
of his farm. His previous official experience comprised three years as
supervisor.
Mr. Hanna is a director in the People's Savings Bank of Caro. Since
he was twenty-one years of age he has taken an active part in Republican
campaigns, and has not only the faculty of winning material prosperity
but of making friends wherever he goes, and men trust him absolutely.
Another characteristic of the present sheriff is that he is a type of man
who apparently never grows old, and while still a young man in years will
probably retain his youthful vigor and manner when he really becomes
an old man. Fraternally his affiliations are with the Knights of Pythias
and with the Masonic Lodge No. 96. Reared a Presbyterian and still
a believer in that denomination, he attends worship with his wife in the
Methodist church. Mr. Hanna was married April 10, 1894, at Bir-
mingham to Miss Sarah Purdy, who was born in Oakland county, Michi-
gan, a daughter of John and Anna Purdy, a family of pioneer estab-
lishment in Oakland county. Air. and Mrs. Hanna have become the par-
ents of eight children, two of whom died in infancy, and those now living
are: Iva, born in Birmingham October 29, 1895, and a student in the
Caro high school; Delia, born at Birmingham December 27, 1901 ; Ruth,
born on a farm in Tuscola county February 2, 1903 ; Dorris, also born
on a Tuscola fami, October 28, 1906; David John, whose birth oc-
curred on the Tuscola county farm January 29, 1909; and Maxine, born
in Caro June 7, 191 1. It is in his home that Mr. Hanna finds his chief
joys and he joins in the pleasures of his children, and it is for the sake
of his family that he has followed his ambition for accomplishment be-
yond the average. For a man who had little schooling after he was twelve
years of age, Mr. Hanna is well informed and a thoroughly practical man
and citizen, and believes in education and gives his support to schools
and every movement for social improvement and betterment.
Colin G. Robertson, M. D. The training and general characteristics
that make for distinctive success in the medical profession are clearly
manifest in the personality of Dr. Robertson, who is engaged in the prac-
tice of his profession at Sandusky, Sanilac county.
Dr. Robertson was born at Hawkesbury, Prescott county, province
of Ontario, Canada, on the 15th of May, 1875, and is a son of William
and Alarian (Fraser) Robertson, both of whom likewise were born in
the Dominion of Canada and the lineage of both being traced back to
sterling Scotch origin. The son was a student of the famous McGill
University, in the city of Montreal, in which he was graduated in 1901
and from' which he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine. After his
graduation he gained valuable clinical experience by serving one-half
year as an interne in the Royal Victoria hospital in the city of Montreal,
and during the ensuing two years he was engaged in the general prac-
tice of his profession at \'an Kleek Hill, a village in his native county.
The year 1904 marked the arrival of Dr. Robertson in the thriving
village of Sandusky, Sanilac county, Michigan, where he has continued
in active general practice during the intervening decade. He is actively
identified with the Sanilac County Medical Society, the :\Iichigan State
Medical Society and the American Medical Association. In public affairs
he has closely identified himself with the interests of the state and is
an advocate and supporter of the principles of the Republican party. He
is affiliated with the blue lodge and chapter of the Masonic fraternity
740 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
and also with the local lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
and the Knights of Pythias.
In December, 1913, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Robertson
to Miss Florence Detweiler, who was born in Middlesex county, province
of Ontario, Canada, but who had lived at Brown City, Sanilac county,
Michigan, where her parents, A. S. and Martha (Simpson) Detweiler still
maintain their home.
Fred A. F.\rr. In noting the representative members of the bar of
the middle eastern section of Michigan, there is all of consistency in
according special recognition to Fred Arad Farr, who was born and
reared in this section of the state, who is a scion of an honored pioneer
family of Michigan, and whose ability and achievement have given him
assured vantage-ground as one of the leading attorneys of Sanilac county.
He is engaged in the successful practice of his profession at Sandusky,
the county seat, has been concerned with much of the important litiga-
tion in his chosen field of endeavor, and is also one of the influential
representatives of the Republican party in eastern Michigan.
Mr. Farr was born in Greenwood township, St. Clair county, Michi-
gan, on the I2th of January, 1867, and is a son of Charles P. and ^lary
(Conlon) Farr, the former of whom was born in the state of New
York, and the latter of whom was torn in St. Clair county, Michigan,
a member of a family that was there founded in the pioneer days.
Charles P. Farr was reared to manhood in his native state and there
he learned the trade of blacksmith, in which he became a specially skill-
ful artisan. As a young man he came to Michigan and established his
residence at Forester, Sanilac county, where he engaged in the work of
his trade and where he built up a large and profitable business, as his
services were much in demand in connection with the operations of the
lumber companies that were then operating upon an extensive scale in
this part of the state. He there married and his work and his home
continued to represent his paramount interests until he responded to
the call of higher duty and went forth in defense of the integrity of the
Union. At the inception of the Civil war he enlisted in the Tenth Michi-
gan Volunteer Infantry, with which command he proceeded to the front.
He was severely wounded in the battle of .\ntietam, and he was sent
home on furlough. After recovering from his injuries he rejoined his
command, with which he served until the close of the war. his record
being that of a valiant and faithful soldier.
.\fter the close of his military career Charles P. Farr returned to St.
Clair county, where he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits.
He became one of the most prominent and successful farmers of the
county, was influential in public affairs of a local order as a steadfast
supporter of the cause of the Republican party, and he was called upon
to serve in virtually every official position of importance in his township.
He was a man of impregnable integrity and positive character, and he
held at all times the unequivocal confidence and esteem of his fellow-
men. He was a devoted husband and father, and he gave to his sons
and daughters the best possible advantages, fitting them for lives of use-
fulness and honor. He lived retired for a number of years prior to his
death, continuing to take a lively interest in community aflFairs and in
the Grand Army of the Republic, with which he was closely affiliated.
He died in 1891, at the age of sixty-six years, and his wife met a tragic
death several vears before, having been killed in an accident resulting
from the running away of a team of horses. Of the large family of
children, one died in infancy and of the number Fred A., of this review,
was the ninth in order of birth. Ellen is the wife of Dr. E. I. Persinger,
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 741
of Mansfield, Louisiana ; Emma died, unmarried, in 1907, at the age
of thirty years ; James was a representative farmer of St. Clair county
at the time of his death, in 1908; Mary is the wife of James Moore, of
Fremont, Sanilac county ; Charles is a successful farmer of Shiawassee
county, this state, his homestead being near the village of Burton ; Sarah
is the wife of William Routley, of Port Huron; John died in young
manhood ; Frank is a resident of Arenac county ; Sherman W. has been
for the past twenty-five years manager for the Western Union Tele-
graph Company at Cheboygan, this state; and Ada is the wife of Jesse
F. Holden, engaged in the drug business at Bad Axe, Huron county.
Fred A. Farr is indebted to the public schools of his native county
for his early educational training, which included the curriculum of the
high school. When he was still a mere boy his ambition became clearly
defined in its trend, for, at the age of fifteen years he was found as a
law student in the office of Seward L. Merriam, of Port Huron, who
was then recognized as one of the foremost members of the bar of St.
Clair county. After continuing his studies several years under such
eflr'ective private preceptorship, Mr. Farr continued his professional read-
ing for three or more years under other equally effective direction, and
in the meanwhile his active duties in this connection began to assume
the proportions and responsibility of actual practice as an attorney and
counselor. In 1895 Judge \'ance, presiding on the circuit court bench
in St. Clair county, admitted Mr. Farr to practice, and soon after gaining
this official recognition of his eligibility he located at Brown City, Sanilac
county, where he soon assumed a position of leadership as an able and
versatile trial lawyer and as a counselor well fortified in the science of
jurisprudence. He built up a large and representative general practice
and in 1900 he was elected prosecuting attorney of the county as candi-
date on the Republican ticket. Few men in Michigan have made so note-
worthy a record as public prosecutor as did Mr. Farr, for, through suc-
cessive re-elections, he retained the office of prosecuting attorney for the
period of ten years, this implying that he was five times elected and
given emphatic and significant assurance not only of popular confidence
and esteem, but also objective recognition of his admirable powers as a
]iublic prosecutor. Upon assuming office Mr. Farr removed from Brown
City to Sandusky, the judicial center of the county, and here he has
continuously resided since 1900, his retirement from the office of prose-
cuting attorney having taken place in January, 191 1. His high reputa-
tion and many victories insured to him a large and important clientage
when he resumed the private practice of his profession, and his success
in his professional work has been distinctly exceptional, giving him secure
prestige as one of the strong and representative members of the bar of
his native state. He maintains a fine suite of offices, with the best of
appointments and with one of the largest and most select law libraries
in this part of the state, his private library of general works likewise
ijeing a comprehensive, well ordered collection.
As an unswerving advocate of the principles of the Republican party,
Mr. Farr is known as a forceful and convincing campaign speaker and
he has given active service in this line. He is at the present time attorney
for a number of the most important local corporations and also for the
Pere Marquette Railroad. In the York Rite of the Masonic fraternity
he has advanced through the degrees of all four bodies e.xcept the
Knights Templar, and aside from this he is affiliated with the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, the Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the
Independent Order of Foresters and the Woodmen of the World. He
was reared in the faith of the Alethodist Episcopal church, but in San-
duskv he attends and gives more special support to the Presbyterian
742 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
church, of which his wife is a most zealous member. The chief recreation
found by Mr. Farr in his vacations is that of hunting and fishing in the
woods of northern Michigan. He and his wife also find pleasure in
their various automobile excursions, Mrs. Farr being a leader in the best
social activities of her home city, where she holds membership in the
leading literary and social clubs for women and where her gracious per-
sonality has gained to her the staunchest of friends.
On the 26th of December, 1912, was solemnized the marriage of
Mr. Farr to Aliss Ethel Sommerville, the marriage ceremony having been
performed in the city of Chicago. ]\Irs. Farr was born in Sanilac county
and is a daughter of John and Jeanette (Maxwell) Sommerville, who
are also residents of Sanilac county.
Mrs. Ann Strong Holmes. Since the early '20s no Detroit family
has been more conspicuous in public and business afifairs nor has borne the
responsibilities of citizenship with greater dignity than has the Strongs,
of which Mrs. Ann Strong Holmes is now the oldest living representative.
The founder of the name was her father, the late John Strong, who
was a Detroit pioneer, a successful business man and a broad-minded
vigorous citizen. Establishing his home, in Greenfield township, four
miles from Detroit, in 1826, he was both a witness and an actor in the
changing developments which transformed Detroit from a frontier set-
tlement to a modern metropolis. While a large degree of wealth followed
his efforts, the honor paid to his memory is more especially due to his
fine independence of character, his active influence in the social and polit-
ical movements of the country and the stability which he gave to his
fortune and influence in this section of the state.
Mrs. Ann Strong Holmes was born December i, 1832, in Wayne
county, Michigan, a daughter of John and Isabella (.Campbell) Strong.
John Strong, who was born in Roxton, England, November 26, 1798,
and who died in Greenfield township of Wayne county February 23, 1881,
first studied for the ministry of the Episcopal church, found that vocation
not to his taste, and after his father's death came to America and at the
age of twenty-five began his long residence in Wayne county. In Green-
field county he bought much land directly from the government, and his
subsequent business career swelled his property until he became one of the
large owners of country and city real estate. For some of his land he
paid ten shillings an acre, and Mrs. Holmes a few years ago sold some of
that original land at twenty-five hundred dollars an acre. It has been
said of the late John Strong that he gave of his best to every undertaking,
was a liberal promoter of industrial growth and development, and served
with credit and distinction in various official posts. He was one of the
leading Democrats of Wayne county, held various local offices, and was
a member of the first Michigan legislature after the territory was made
a state.
During the early years of his residence in Greenfield township, it is
said he was one of the few well educated men in the vicinity, and per-
formed a great deal of business and legal service for the Indians and
French settlers, especially in making out deeds and other documents,
and at a later date he assisted in the development of the country by selling
small tracts of ten to forty acres to German colonists, whom he assisted in
many ways in getting their start in the new country.
Isabella Campbell, the wife of John Strong, was born in Scotland
January 25, 1810, and died in Wayne county, October 29, 1840. Her
father, George Campbell, was born in Tain, Scotland, and married Elinor
Monroe. Elinor Monroe was the daughter of John Monroe, and was
born in Tain, Scotland, in 1792. The mother's name was Catherine Suther-
Ct/t^-TK tl^tma jOo^i
fnxA
TMI M5^' TQW
r.- •i A».» I
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 743
land. Her grandfather was Daniel Sutherland and her maternal grand-
father was Hugh Ross. George and Elinor Campbell had two children,
born during their residence in Scotland and they came to the United
States in 1812. Elinor Alonroe Campbell died in Greenfield township
near Detroit January 6, 1885.
John Strong and wife were the parents of six children. The late John
Strong, Jr., who died April 6, 1913, was a resident of South Rockwood,
Michigan, a prominent land owner and business man, and stood high in
political ati'airs, having served as lieutenant governor of the state and in
the state legislature. The second child and now the oldest of those living
is Airs. Holmes. George Strong, the third child, died at the age of
eighteen; Isabella married Alonzo Goodman, deceased; Elizabeth, now
deceased, was the wife of Lorenzo B. Hagerty; and Sarah is Mrs. John
Wilkins of Bay City.
Ann Strong married Marquis L. Holmes, who was born in Oakland
county, Michigan, December 3, 1830, and died February 16, 1907. Mrs.
Holmes has lived in Detroit for sixty-four years, and the greater part
of this time has occupied the beautiful residence at 166 West High street,
one of the notable landmarks in the residence district, and she drew the
plans for the house herself. She is a keen business woman, and though
now past eighty years of age, has handled her attairs with a success that
would be creditable to any Detroit business man. Mi;?..; Holmes is the
mother of three children: Walter J., who married JoSephiwe McDonald;
Frank B., who married relabel Womier; and Euretta 'Tj^i-^who married
C. K. Blackwood. Mrs. Holmes is a charter member of St. John's Epis-
copal church, with which she united at th€ time of its organization.
Ch.arles M. Swantek, M. D. The B'ay'"Ci?y''Me-91cfll. Fraternity has
no abler or more proficient member than Dr. -Swaiitek. .who began prac-
tice there about twenty years ago, and has established himself securely
in the confidence and esteem of the people. He represents the alert,
scholarly, but business-like type of the modern doctor, and in many ways
has shown his value as a factor in the social community of which he is
a part.
Though born in Europe Dr. Swantek has since his infancy lived in
America, and is a thorough American. His birth occurred at Tremesen,
in the Province of Posen, Prussia, May 28, 1873, the oldest of five
children born to Peter J. and Theophila (Gotzkowski) Swantek, both
natives of Prussia, and the mother now a resident of Grand Rapids.
The father, who came to America, the same year in which his son Charles
was born, settled at Grand Rapids, was a meat dealer, and died in J\Iay,
191 3, at the age of sixty-seven years. He was successful in business,
followed the Democratic party as to politics and was a Catholic in
religion.
Dr. Swantek grew up in Grand Rapids, was educated in the gram-
mar and high schools of that city, and during 1885-89, was a student in
St. Francis Seminary, at St. Francis, Wisconsin, where he took the class-
ical course. Entering the University of ^Michigan, after two years he
transferred his studies to the Rush Medical College of Chicago, and
from that institution was graduated M. D. injhe class of 189-I. On Sep-
tember 3, 1894, Dr. Swantek located in Bay City, began his practice, rely-
ing only on his ability and his thorough training and his patronage has
grown steadily ever since. The doctor belongs to the Bay County and
the State ]\Iedical Society, and the American Medical Association, served
one year as health officer of Bay City, but outside of this official serv-
ice in behalf of the community has no part in political affairs, though a
Democratic voter. Dr. Swantek is affiliated with the Knights of Colum-
bus, and belongs to the Catholic church.
744 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
At Bay City, on November 26, 1901, Dr. Swantek married Aliss
Agnes Louise AlacDonnell, who was born at Bay City, a daughter of
Archibald MacDonnell, now deceased. Dr. Swantek is a home man, has
no outside interests except his profession, and he and his wife reside in
a pleasant home at 240 \Vashington Street.
Frederick Peter Bender. One of the leading physicians and sur-
geons of Tuscola county, and an earnest and public spirited as a citizen,
Dr. F. P. Bender has been an important factor in the professional, busi-
ness and social life of Caro and vicinity for a number of years. A man
of energetic nature, he has identified himself with the best interests of his
home town, and it was in recognition of his capacity both as a physician
and as a citizen that led to his choice by the citizens as mayor of the
community, an office which he now fills.
Frederick Peter Bender was born in Ceresco, Calhoun county, Michi-
gan, August 9, 1874, a son of William and Susan (Loehr) Bender. His
parents were natives of Bradford county, Pennsylvania, and settled in
Calhoun county, ^Michigan, in 1868, where the father became a success-
ful farmer and a large land owner. Both parents were active in the
Evangelical church. The father died in Calhoun county in 1880 at the
age of fifty-two years, and the mother lived until 1912, and was seventy-
eight years old when she died. Their nine children are briefly enumerated
as follows : Frank Bender, the oldest son, was a farmer and died at the
age of forty-eight in Calhoun county; Elizabeth, the wife of William D.
Miller, lives in Marshall, Alichigan; Joseph Bender is a successful rancher
in Frazer, Montana ; Jacob Bender is a traveling salesman with head-
quarters in Tacoma, Washington ; Emma is the wife of Silas E. Decker,
of Marshall, Michigan; John I. Bender is a salesman with home in To-
ledo, Ohio ; Alice Bender lives in Marshall, Michigan ; and William L.
Bender is engaged in the meat business at Tacoma, Washington.
Dr. F. P. Bender grew up in Calhoun county, from early youth has
earned his own way and has depended upon his own exertions to fulfill
his ambitions for a career. With a public school education at Ceresco,
he entered the Northwestern College at Naperville, Illinois, was a student
in the literary department there for three years, and then earned his way
by teaching for two years at Garden City, Missouri. Returning to Michi-
gan, he entered .Albion College and finished the first two years of the col-
lege course. In the fall of 1898 entering the medical department of the
University of Michigan, he continued a student there imtil graduating
M. D. with the class of 1902. Dr. Bender's first practice was at Caro,
and in the dozen years that has since elapsed he has made a success
trom a material point of view and has extended his reputation as a
scholar and broad-minded and capable physician and surgeon. He served
in 191 3 as president of the Tuscola County Medical Society, has mem-
bership in the State Society and in the American Medical Association.
In ^lay, 1913, Dr. Bender was elected mayor of Caro and in his
handling of municipal affairs has shown an independence and a deep-
seated interest in the public welfare that has meant a great deal to this
community. Dr. Bender is also a director and the active vice-president
of the People's Bank of Caro. He has fraternal affiliations with Mt.
Maria Lodge No. 231. A. F. & A. M., and with the Royal Arch Chap-
ter; with the Knights of Pythias; is a trustee of the Methodist Episcopal
church ; and in politics is one of the local leaders in the Republican
party. Among other interests he has extensive farm properties and city
real estate, including his present home.
On September 14. 1899. at Bellevue, Michigan, Dr. Bender married
Miss Nellie M. Adams of Eaton county, Michigan. Her parents were
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 745
Dr. William and Nancy (Cesson) Adams, and her father, now retired,
was one of the pioneer physicians in Eaton county. To the marriage
of the doctor and wife have been born three children, as follows: Char-
lotte D., born March ii, 1903, at Caro ; William F., born May 6, 1906;
and Alice Elizabeth, born January 26, 1909. Mrs. Bender is one of the
prominent workers in society and philanthropic activities at Caro, and
is president of the Caro Literary Club and a member of the Ladies Aid
Society.
Joseph Fremont. The able incumbent of the ofifice of postmaster
at Bad Axe, the little city that is the judicial center of Huron county,
is Joseph Fremont, whose career has shown a mastering of expedients,
the overcoming of obstacles and the determined advancement toward the
goal of worthy success. He has been one of the world's workers and
has so ordered his course in all of the relations of life as to merit and
receive the unqualified respect and confidence of his fellow men. He
is one of the public-spirited and progressive citizens of Huron county,
considerate and generous, democratic in bearing, and ever ready to help
a good cause. Such are the men who specially merit recognition in a
publication of this order, for their influence is beneficent in a general
way and they prove useful to themselves and to the community at large.
Joseph Fremont finds greater satisfaction in his status as one of the
representative citizens of Huron county by reason of the fact that he
can claim this as his "native heath," and that he is a member of a
sterling pioneer family of this section of the state. ' He was born at
Port Austin, Huron county, Michigan, on the 15th of August, 1861, and
is a son of Maguire and Elizabeth (Smeader) Fremont, the former of
whom was born in the city of Montreal, Canada, and the latter of whom
was born in Germany, whence she came with her parents to Michigan
when she was seven years of age, the family home being established
in Huron county in 1855, when this part of the state was little more
than a wilderness, save that lumbering operations were being carried
forward extensively. Peter Sneader, maternal grandfather of the post-
master of Bad Axe, worked for many years in the sawmills and lumber
woods and finally purchased a tract of wild land, which he reclaimed
from the forest into a productive farm. This homestead was located
near Port Austin and there he remained until his death, his name merit-
ing high place on the roll of the honored pioneers of Huron county.
Maguire Fremont traced his lineage back to French origin and the family
was early founded in one of the French colonies near the city of Montreal,
Canada, in which vicinity he was reared and educated. At the age of
nineteen years Maguire Fremont came to Port Austin, Michigan, and
lie became a representative figure in lumbering and farming operations
in Huron county, where he continued to reside on his well-improved farm,
near Port Austin, until his death, on the i8th of April, 1913, at the age
of seventy-two years. His cherished and devoted wife still resides with
her youngest son, on the home farm near Port Austin, and she is now
one of the venerable pioneer women of Huron county, her home having
been on the present farm, four and one-half miles south of Port Austin,
since the time the place was purchased by her husband in 1886. She is
a devout communicant of the Catholic church, as was also her husband,
and their twelve children all are likewise communicants of this great
mother church of Christendom, the political allegiance of the father
having been given to the Democratic party.
Of the twelve children the eldest is Joseph, who figures as the im-
mediate subject of this review: Charles is 'now a resident of the city
of Detroit; Mary is the wife of George Bruce, of Port Huron ; Anna
746 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
is the wife of Patrick INIaguire, of Nashua, Minnesota; Peter and
IMichael reside in the Michigan nietropohs ; Susan is the wife of Fehx
Bleicher, a farmer near Port Austin ; William maintains his home in
the city of Duluth, Minnesota; ^largaret is the wife of James R. 2klc-
Donald, of ]\Iarquette, ^lichigan ; Elizabeth is the wife of Jacob Neph,
of Kinde, Huron county: Richard resides in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma;
and Edward remains with his widowed mother on the old homestead
farm.
The early home environment of Joseph Fremont was one of peculiar
order. In their early married life his parents were able to converse with
each other only with distinct difficulty, as the father originally spoke
the French language only and the mother was confined to the use of
her native tongue, the German. The financial resources of the family
were very limited during the early life of Joseph, the eldest of the chil-
dren, and he naturally found that productive toil fell to his portion when
he was a boy rather than amplified educational opportunities, his
scholastic discipline having thus been confined to a very desultory attend-
ance in the primitive district school near his home. At the age of twelve
years he began work in the sawmills, and after two years of application
he was given employment and a real home with Charles G. Learned, a
prominent and wealthy lumberman mill owner and farmer, who gave
to the ambitious youth a wage of five dollars a month, the incidental
home privileges, however, being of far greater value. Mr. Fremont
remained with his friend and benefactor for fifteen years, and Mr.
Learned assisted him most generously in obtaining an education. Young
Fremont was paid liberally for his services during the later years of this
pleasing association and had practical charge of much of the business
of his employer.
The first public service rendered by Mr. Fremont was in the capacity
of township clerk of Port Austin township, and after holding this
position one year he was elected township supervisor, he having been
the youngest man elected to this office in the entire history of Huron
county. He served two years, with marked acceptability, and in the
autumn of 1888 he made a house to house canvass of Huron county in
the furtherance of his candidacy for the office of county clerk. He was
made the nominee on the Democratic ticket and he so far overcame the
large Republican majority in the county as to win victory by a majority
of forty-five votes, this being only one of the many evidences that have
been accorded to him of popular esteem granted him in his native county.
By two re-elections he served as county clerk for six years, and his
administration of the office was in every sense admirable, the while he
had much influence in bringing the norma! political complexion of Huron
county to the Democratic texture.
While serving as county clerk, I\Ir. Fremont gave as much time as
possible to the study of law, and in 1894 he was admitted to the bar,
to which he came specially well qualified. After retirement from office
he was for a time engaged in the practice of law at Bad Axe, but he
finally decided to turn his attention to mercantile pursuits. He pur-
chased a half interest in the well-established and prominent dry goods
and clothing business of James Nugent, and he continued to be actively
identified with the enterprise for the long period of fourteen years,
within which he did much to further the pronounced success of the
business as an able coadjutor of his business associate. Within these
years Mr. Fremont was elected president of the village of Bad Axe,
and after its incorporation as a city he had the distinction of being
chosen first mayor of the' thriving town in the advancement of which
along civic and business lines he has been an influential force. He has
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 747
given also excellent and loyal service as a member of the city council
and is at the present time president of the Bad Axe board of education.
In June, 1913, Mr. Fremont was appointed postmaster of Bad Axe
by President Wilson, and he assumed the discharge of his official duties
on the 1st of the following September, his appointment having met with
the strongest popular commendation and support in the community.
He is one of the leaders in the local ranks of the Democratic party and
he and his family are zealous communicants of the Catholic church.
On the 4th of May, 1885, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Fre-
mont to Miss Mary Stone, the ceremony being performed at Port Austin.
Mrs. Fremont was born at St. Clair, this state, and is a daughter of
George and Mary (Inkster) Stone, but the mother is deceased. Mr.
and Mrs. Fremont have six children: Raymond, Elmer G., Bernice,
Justin M., Courtney and Perry.
Aaron Cornell, D. V. S. A busy, varied and productive career has
been that of Dr. Cornell, who is now serving his first term as probate
judge of Huron county and who has been an influential figure in public
afifairs, in business activities and in the general progressive movements
which have contributed to the development and upbuilding of this section
of the state. He long maintained his home at Elkton, Huron county,
where he served many years as postmaster, where he practiced his pro-
fession of veterinary surgery and where he was engaged in mercantile
business of varied orders, besides owning and operating farms and being
an extensive buyer and shipper of horses. He is genial and whole-souled,
direct and democratic in his demeanor, and he has a host of warm
friends in the county that has been his home for more than thirty years.
Judge Cornell was born in Lambton county, Ontario, Canada, sep-
arated from Michigan by the St. Clair river, and the date of his nativity
was November 25, 1855. He is a son of David S. and Mary (Briggs)
Cornell, the former of whom was born in the state of New York, and
the latter in the county of Waterloo, Ontario, where both were reared
and educated and where their marriage was solemnized. Aaron Cornell,
father of David S., was a gallant soldier in the war of 181 2. and received
a medal in recognition of his brave and meritorious service in this con-
flict. He was an influential figure in the political activities of the state
of New York for a number of years, but finally became so dissatisfied with
the condition of public affairs in his native commonwealth that he left
the state in disgust and made his way on foot to Waterloo, Ontario, where
he settled and passed the residue of his life. David S. Cornell was prom-
inently concerned with farming and lumbering operations in his native
province, as was he later in Michigan and Wisconsin, his settlement at
Ashland, in the latter state, having taken place in 1879, and the closing
years of his life having been passed in Ashland, where he died at the
age of eighty-six years. He was a member of the Reform party in Can-
ada and after coming to the United States he espoused the cause of the
Republican party, which ever afterward held his allegiance. His widow,
who is eighty-two years of age at the time of this writing, in 1914, re-
sides at Bad Axe, Huron county, and is one of the loved and revered
pioneer women of this part of the state. Of the six children all are liv-
ing except Margaret, who died at the age of thirteen years : Chester is a
successful business man in the city of Chicago ; Morris is engaged in the
banking business at Ashland, Wisconsin ; Aaron, of this review, was the
next in order of birth ; Edgar is a contractor and builder at Duluth, Min-
nesota ; and Minnie is the wife of Hammil Lamb, of Spokane,
Washington.
748 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Judge Aaron Cornell passed the days of his childhood and early youth
in Lambton county, Ontario, where he was afforded the advantages of the
public schools. In 1882 he came to Huron county, Michigan, and set-
tled in Chandler township, where he engaged in farming, the land which
he purchased having been but little improved when it came into his pos-
session. For four years he was also identified with lumbering operations,
at Bay City, and finally he located in the village of Elkton, Huron county,
where he began to buy grain for J. Jenks & Company, of Harbor Beach,
at the same time engaging in an independent mercantile business in the
village. After four years in the general merchandise business he sold
out the stock and business and purchased a drug store, of which he is
still the proprietor. He was appointed postmaster of Elkton under the
administration of President Harrison, and continued to serve under the
regimes of Presidents McKinley, Cleveland. Roosevelt and Taft, his ten-
ure of office having continued twenty years and having not been inter-
rupted even by Democratic administration of national affairs. His record
in the office of postmaster is probably without a parallel in Michigan, in
point of consecutive service, and he retired, by resignation, in 1913, after
his election to the office of which he is now the honored and efficient in-
cumbent, that of judge of probate of Huron county. He also served as
president of the village council of Elkton and there held likewise the posi-
tion of township clerk for some time. In 1895 Judge Cornell was grad-
uated in the Ontario College of \'eterinary Surgery, and he continued
m the active practice of the profession for nineteen years, his success
being unequivocal and his services being much in demand throughout
Huron and adjoining counties. The Judge has ever been a lover of the
horse and is looked upon as an authoritative judge of equine values. This
ability has inured to his benefit in his active operations as a buyer and
shipper of horses in car-load lots, and he still continues his activities
along this line of enterprise, besides which he is the owner of a well
improved farm of 160 acres, near Elkton. He was elected probate judge
in November. 1912, and received at the polls a majority that amply tes-
tified to the high regard in which he is held in the county, his assump-
tion of official duties, in January, 1913, being attended, of course, by his
removal from Elkton to Bad Axe. the judicial center of the county. He
is a zealous advocate of the cause of the Republican party, is a Knights
Templar Alason, is affiliated also with the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, and he attends and gives liberal support to the Presbyterian
church, of which Mrs. Cornell is an active member.
In February, 1879, Judge Cornell wedded at Strathroy, Ontario, Miss
Isabelle Riddle, who was born in Lambton county, that province, but who
was reared and educated near Waterloo, Ontario. Concerning the chil-
dren of this union brief record is here offered : Margaret is the wife of
Dr. David Winer, of Vanderbilt, Michigan; Ethel is the wife of John
Rowe, of Flint, this state ; Estelle, who was for many years her father's
efficient assistant in the Elkton postoffice, now resides with her parents
in their attractive home in Bad Axe ; Louise is the wife of Oscar Rogers,
engaged in the banking business at Elkton ; Mabel is the wife of James
McKibben, of Vanderbilt; Austin, who wedded Miss Marian Foster,
of Pigeon, Huron county, resides at Elkton, Michigan, a veterinary sur-
geon, succeeding his father; \\"arner is a student in the Michigan Agri-
cultural College; and Bernice is attending the public .schools of Bad .Axe.
Mrs. Cornell is of staunch Scotch lineage. Judge Cornell's great-grand-
father on the maternal side was the founder of Cornell University, at
Ithaca. New York, he having immigrated from Wales to America in
company with two of his brothers.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 749
Frederick J. Benedict. Eight years of effective and widely com-
mended service as register of deeds of Sanilac county stands to the last-
ing credit of Air. Benedict, and in this county his circle of friends is
coincident with that of his acquaintances. At Sandusky, the judicial cen-
ter of the county, he is now engaged in the abstract business, as a mem-
ber of the firm of Dawson & Benedict, and the interposition of the firm
is in constant demand in the examining of titles and the incidental abstract
service, which is maintained at the highest standard of efficiency. He is
one of the broad-minded and progressive citizens of this section of the
state and is fully entitled to specific recognition in this comprehensive
history of Michigan.
Frederick James Benedict was born in Worth township, Sanilac
county, Michigan, on the 25th of September, 1856, and this date indi-
cates beyond peradventure that he is a representative of a pioneer family
of the county. He is a son of Peter H. and Janet (Smith) Benedict,
the former of whom was born in Otsego county, New York, and the
latter of whom was born in the fine old seaport city of St. Andrews, in
Fifeshire, Scotland. Peter H. Benedict settled in Sanilac county, Mich-
igan, in 1843, and he became one of the substantial pioneer farmers
and representative citizens of the county. He was a stalwart Democrat
and was the first representative of the first district of Sanilac county in
the lower house of the state legislature, besides which he served for a
long term of years as township supervisor. From a dense forest of
beach and maple he reclaimed a productive farm of 120 acres, and he also
found demand for his services at his trade, that of millwright. He as-
sited in the building and equipping of the first saw mills along the Mich-
igan shores of Lake Huron, and for many years before his death he lived
virtually a retired life, honored by all who knew him. He was born on
the 25th of November, 181 1, and thus was eighty-two years of age at the
time of his death, which occurred on the 19th of February, 1894. His
cherished and devoted wife, who had been a true helpmate, died on the
19th of May of the same year, at the age of seventy-three years. She
was born January 26, 182 1, and in 1835 accompanied her parents, William
and Janet (Luke) Smith, on their immigration from Scotland to the
United States. Of the si.x children of Peter H. and Janet (Smith)
Benedict four are still living, — George F., a merchant in the city of St.
Paul, Minnesota: John A., a resident of Croswell, Sanilac county, Mich-
igan : Frederick J.", of this review ; and James L., a successful banker at
Brown City, Sanilac county.
Frederick J. Benedict passed the days of his childhood and early
youth on the old homestead farm which was the place of his birth, and
his memory recalls many of the conditions and incidents of the pioneer
era in Sanilac county. He availed himself duly of the advantages of
the district schools of the period, and at the age of seventeen years he
entered upon an apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade. _ During the
winter months at this time he found employment as clerk in mercantile
establishments at Amadore, Sanilac county. In 1880 he initiated, in a
modest way, his independent career as a merchant, his financial rein-
forcement for this venture being represented in the amount he had been
able to save from his earnings. For four years he conducted a general
store at Minden, and then, in the autumn of 1884, he was elected regis-
ter of deeds of his native county, the judicial headquarters of which were
then at Sanilac Center and now in the city of Sandusky. In assuming this
important office Mr. Benedict disposed of his mercantile business, and
he continued his service as register of deeds for eight years, or four suc-
cessive terms. His administration brought about a thorough systematizing
of the records of the register's office and its results have been of en-
during value.
750 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
In 1892 Mr. Benedict purchased an interest in the abstract busi-
ness now conducted by the firm of Dawson & Benedict, and in this con-
nection he has since given the major part of his time and attention
to the business, which necessarily has important bearing on all real-estate
transfers in Sanilac county, the abstracts of the firm being looked upon
as invariably authoritative. Mr. Benedict served fourteen years as vil-
lage clerk of Sandusky, and for an equal term of years he has been
a member of the local board of education.
Interested in all that pertains to the welfare and progress of his
home town and native county, Mr. Benedict has wielded much influ-
ence in public afifairs of a local nature and his political allegiance was
given to the Democratic party until 1908, since which time he has sup-
ported the cause of the Republican party. At the present time he is serv-
ing as deputy county treasurer, so that it may be seen that he has ample
demands upon his attention in connection with official duties and busi-
ness afifairs. Mr. Benedict is affiliated with the local lodge, chapter and
council of the Masonic fraternity and with the Independent Order of
Foresters, and he and his family are zealous communicants of St. John's
church, Protestant Episcopal.
At Amadore, Sanilac county, in the year 1880, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. Benedict to Miss Caroline Reynolds, who. like himself,
was born in Worth township, this county. She is a daughter of Josiah
and Eliza (Defoe) Reynolds, and her father was a pioneer merchant at
Amadore, as well as a substantial farmer of Sanilac county. He was
a gallant soldier of the Union in the Civil war, and in the battle of
Antietam received a wound that necessitated the amputation of one of his
legs. He passed the closing years of his life at Amadore, where his
venerable widow still resides. Mr. and Mrs. Benedict have four chil-
dren, each of whom received the advantages of the public schools, in-
cluding the high school : Xina M. is the widow of Dr. Walter M. Mann
and resides at Sandusky, as does also her sister Geneva, who is the
widow of Addison Care Orr, the latter having been a prominent hard-
ware merchant of Sandusky : Beryl, died April 10, 1914, and Roland
A., who remains at the parental home.
Benjamin F. Comfort. Now principal of the Cass Technical High
School of Detroit, and to a large degree responsible for the founding of
this institution of vocational training, Mr. Comfort has for upwards of a
quarter of a centurv been closely identified with educational affairs in
Michigan and in Detroit. .Mr. Comfort was fortunate in entering the
field of education at the beginning of the great modern uplift movement
in his department of human affairs, and having the spirit of service char-
acteristic of the best of modern teachers, working constantly for pro-
gressive measures, he has won a worthy place in his profession and his
beneficent relations with hundreds and thousands of the younger genera-
tion, cannot easily be overestimated.
While much is due to the personal ability of Mr. Comfort in his career
as a successful educator, he also owes much to his splendid ancestry.
Benjamin F. Comfort was born in the city of Detroit, on December 22,
1863, a son of B. Newell and Lucretia Goodwin Collins Comfort. On the
maternal side the ancestry of Professor Comfort has been identified
with Michigan since 1813, having been introduced to this section of the
northwest, through the hostilities between the Americans and the British
during the war of 1812. His maternal grandfather. Lieutenant John
Collins, of the Kentucky Mounted Riflemen, came from Kentucky along
with Col. Richard I\I. Johnson, and fought through the campaign in Michi-
gan after Perry's victory on Lake Erie. As a member of Col. Johnson's
staff, he was at the side of that officer during the battle of the Thames,
c
TS! f(iW TCNK
.' • Til
HISTORY OF AIICHIGAN 751
when Tecumseh, the noted Indian chieftain was slain. An interesting story
of the death of that chief, and varying considerably from the usual
accounts is a part of the Colhns family annals. The story runs that five
of the mounted riflemen under Col. Johnson all shot at Tecumseh as he
skulked through the timber, half hidden by the smoke of battle. The horse
on which Col. Johnson was riding had been shot, and while the Colonel was
being extricated from under his steed, the wily Tecumseh was seen rush-
ing upon the scene with uplifted tomahawk, preparing to dispatch the
intrepid Kentuckian. His act was detected in time, and five of the Ken-
tuckians met his advance with balls from their double-barreled flint-lock
pistols, and three of the bullets took effect in the body of the Indian. John
Collins was one of the five who shot^at Tecumseh. As Col. Johnson also
fired a shot, and as he was the commander, history gives him the credit
for killing the Indian.
Lieutenant John Collins located at Detroit after the war, and was
otherwise distinguished as a citizen in addition to his military record.
Friend Palmer, in his "Annals of Detroit," gives credit to Collins for
bringing his cousin, Judge Daniel Goodwin to Detroit, in 1820. Daniel
Goodwin was subsequently president of the Constitutional Convention of
Michigan in 1850. Another citizen of Detroit, whom Palmer gives Collins
credit for bringing to Michigan, was Cha'uiacey, fli^rfbiit, father of the
city's present water work system, and a couwi oT'CoJins'- John Collins
on locating at Detroit engaged in merchaiidisittg,' and*S\'!ns long one of the
leading men of the city.
The Collins family' which was otherw^ise noted in colonial and early
American history, descended from John Collins, who, crossed the Atlantic
and settled in Boston in 1638. The family ihterftlarried with many other
notable stocks of Connecticut and Massachusetts,. notably with the family
of Governor William Leete, second governor of Connecticut (1666), with
the Trowbridges, the Buells, the Hydes, the Hurlbuts, and the Goodwins.
Rev. Timothy Collins, M. A., born at Guilford, Connecticut, in 1699,
graduate of Yale college in 1718, was one of the founders and the first
pastor of the town of Litchfield, Connecticut. During the French and
Indian war, he served as surgeon and participated in the storming of
Ticonderoga, and Crown Point in 1762.
The mother of Benjamin F. Comfort was Lucretia Goodwm Colhns,
who was born in Detroit in 1830, at the corner of Bates and Woodbridge
Streets. That location, then in the fashionable quarter of Detroit, is now
in the very heart of the wholesale district. She married in 1847, B.
Newell Comfort, and two sons survived them — John Collins Comfort,
cashier of the Alpena National Bank of Michigan, and Benjamin F.
Comfort. r, . T-, • ^,
The Comfort familv came to Michigan in 1832 from Elmira, Chemung
county. New York. They were originally Knickerbocker stock, who set-
tled in the Mohawk Valley about 1690. the Indian massacre at Schenec-
tady in 1692 drove them back to Long Island. The first of the Comfort
name was Geraldus Cambefort, as the name was then spelled. He mar-
ried Anntjie Raal, and their issue was one son, Geraldus (II) born May
II. i6qo. Geraldus (II) married Catherine Burger in New York, March
24" 1713 Three of their children are thus recorded: Anettie, born Sep-
tember 28, 1714; Catherine, born August 18, 1717, and married June 4,
1737 Nicholas Roosevelt: Jacob Comfort, born in 1736. Jacob Comfort
was a soldier in the French and Indian wars in the year 1759. He had
four sons, Benjamin, John, Samuel and Richard, all of whom served as
soldiers in the Revolutionary war, going out from Ulster county, New
York, in the militia in 1775. Richard, son of Jacob Comfort, was born
Aujrust IS 1745, and married Qiarity Shaw, who was born November 17,
1747 Thev became the parents of Thomas Comfort, who was born Aprfl
752 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
30, 1794, married Abigail Davids, who was born April 18, 1790. A son
of the last marriage was B. Newell Comfort, father of Benjamin F. Com-
fort. The birth of Benjamin F. Comfort's father occurred at Elmira,
New York, September ii, 1818, and he died in Detroit, Michigan, July
5, 1883.
Throughout most of the years of his life, Benjamin F. Comfort has
had his home and center of activities in Detroit. Educated in the public
schools, graduating from the Detroit high school in 1882, he taught for
a time in the Episcopal Academy of Michigan, and studied law under
Honorable William C. Maybury, from 1882 to 1885. Entering Trinity
College at Hartford, Connecticut, he remained there two years and left
college to become principal of the Tappan School at Detroit. Resigning
this position in 1890, he left educational work to become secretary and
treasurer of the Calhoun Printing Company of Hartford, Connecticut.
Two years were spent at Hartford in business, and six years in the Cypress
lumber business in St. Mary's Parish in Louisiana, with E. P. & S. A.
Swenson of New York City. His experience in the lumber business
proved disastrous financially, and in 1898 the yellow fever in the south
drove him away, and completed the ruin of his business prospects in that
quarter. Returning to JMichigan, in 1898, he resumed his career as an
educator, and became teacher of Latin and Alathematics in the Central
high school of Detroit. A few years later he was made principal of the
Webster School, where he remained three years. In 1904 Mr. Comfort
was appointed principal of the Cass Union School and in 1907 was given
the management as principal of the Cass Technical high school, an insti-
tution which owes much to Mr. Comfort's energy and foresight for the
position it now enjoys in the estimation of citizens of Detroit. For
twenty-three years in the aggregate, Mr. Comfort has been one of the
leading teachers and educators of Detroit, and hundreds of the young
men and women of the city and state owe him debts of gratitude for his
self-sacrificing interest in their behalf and in the cause of general
education.
Besides his work as a teacher, Air. Comfort has earned creditable dis-
tinction in the field of letters. He is author of "Arnold's Tempter," a
work on the Revolutionary war which has enjoyed a well merited recog-
nition in the field of historical fiction. Will Levington Comfort, another
American writer of prominence, is a cousin to Professor Comfort.
Mr. Comfort has membership in the Society of Colonial Wars, the
Sons of the American Revolution, Delta Psi College fraternity, the
Masonic Order, the .Michigan Schoolmasters' Club, the Association for the
promotion of Lidustrial Education, the National Educational Association,
the National Geographical Society, the Alichigan Authors' Association,
and St. Paul's Episcopal church.
On July 17, 1888, at Hartford, Connecticut, he married Annie Eliza-
beth Calhoun, daughter of Alexander and Rebecca Knox Calhoun. Mr.
Calhoun founded the large and prosperous Calhoun Printing Company of
Hartford. To their marriage were born the following children : Benjamin
Calhoun Comfort, Dorothea Calhoun Comfort, Alice Calhoun Comfort,
and Newel! Calhoun Comfort.
JoHX B. Laixg. The state of Michigan is known throughout the
country for her fine school system, and this is in a large measure due
to the work of the united efforts of the county commissioners and superin-
tendents. John B. Laing, of Bay City, is one of the most efficient and
successful county commissioners in the state. Being a man of long
experience in teaching, thus being fully cognizant of the difficulties to
be overcome, and being, in addition, a man of great tact and personal
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 753
charm his years as county commissioner have been of inestimable bene-
fit to the county.
John I). Laing was born in Norfolk county, Ontario, Canada, on the
22ncl of June, 1855. His father, John Laing, was a native of Aberdeen,
Scotland. The latter came to Canada in 1832 and lived here until 187S.
He was a farmer and a successful one, but he was one of those men who
can never see anyone needing help without offering it so he was never
able to save very much. In 1878 he removed to the United States, set-
tling in Bay City, Michigan. Here he lived until 1893 when he removed
to Chicago where he lived until his death. He lived to be over one hun-
dred years of age and now lies buried in Bay City. He was a member
of the Presbyterian church and in politics belonged to the Republican
party. Being a man of fine intellectual attainments, although largely self
educated, his example was a great inspiration to his sons to seek and ob-
tain an education. John Laing married Miss Sarah Elizabeth Youmans,
who was born in New Brunswick. She died in Bay Cit}' at the age of
seventy-two. Thirteen children were born- of this marriage, eight of
whom are living. Four died when they were quite young and of those
left five are sons and five are daughters.
John B. Laing passed his childhood and youth in Canada, receiving
his education in the public schools. He was graduated from the high
school in 1883 and soon after this came to Michigan where he took his
first school. This school was located in Bay county and from this
time until the ist of July, 1903, he followed tlie profession of a teacb.er.
It was upon the latter date that he became county commissioner of schools
of Bay county. He has filled this ofiice continuously ever since and has
done much for the schools of the county. Before taking this office Mr.
Laing served for nine years as a member of the Board of County
Examiners.
In addition to his educational work Mr. Laing is a director of the
State Bank of Linwood and is a member of the Board of Commerce of
Bay City. In politics he is a member of the Republican party and is a
very active worker for his party. In the fraternal world he is also
greatly interested, being a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows, of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and of the JMasons.
Mr. Laing was married in Bay City, in 1891, to Miss Jessie Sprague.
Mrs. Laing was born in New York, being a daughter of O. K. Sprague.
One son, John H. Laing, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Laing.
Joseph H. Beckton. A resident of Caro for more than twenty
years, Joseph H. Beckton has a place gained through long activity in Inisi-
ness affairs. He is head of the People's State Bank of Caro, and is a
business man of progressive ideas and of great public spirit, and during
his residence in Caro has done much to build up that community, and
has never been selfish in any of his relations with the city.
Joseph H. Beckton is a native of Scotland,' born in Dumfriesshire,
October 28, 1865. His parents, George and Mary (Stoddard) Beckton
were also born in Dumfries, but a few years after the birth of their son
loseph emigrated to America and settled in Aliddlesex county, Ontario.
The father was a working man, possessed only modest means, but did his
best to provide for his children. He died at the age of sixty-si.x years,
and the mother passed away in March. 191 1, at the age of seventy-two.
By hard work they had reared and carefully trained a family of eight
children. Both the father and mother now rest side by side in the
cemeterv at Strathroy, Ontai"io. Their eight children are named as fol-
lows : John Beckton, who is a farmer near Mason, Michigan : George
Beckton, a merchant in Middlesex county, Ontario ; William Beckton, a
754 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
railroad man who lives at Sarnia, Ontario ; James Beckton, connected with
the Richelieu Boat Company at Hamilton, Ontario; Joseph H. ; Mary, wife
of Charles Pole of Sarnia, Ontario ; Isabelle, wife of John Large of Port
Huron, Michigan ; Jane, wife of John McMahon of Middlesex, Ontario.
The sixth in this family of children, Joseph H. Beckton, acquired an
education by attending the public schools and the Strathroy Collegiate
Institute, and at the age of seventeen obtained a license and began earn-
ing his way as a teacher in Middlesex county. That calling was con-
tinued for three years, and in 1886 he moved to Port Huron, Michigan.
The following six years were spent as a clerk in the drug store of R.
G. Burwell, and gave him a thorough knowledge in pharmacy in all its
details and in the practical management of drug merchandising. In the
closing period of his employment by Mr. Burwell he had entire charge
of the business. In 1892 Mr. Beckton came to Caro and bought the
drug stock of Jesse McEntyre. That was an old established business
but had in its later years been sadly neglected and neither' the stock nor
the good will were of great value when Mr. Beckton took charge. His
energy and enterprise as a merchant enabled him to build up business
rapidly from modest beginnings, and in time he had established his store
as the leading drug house in the county. Mr. Beckton retired from the
drug business in 1913, having sold out his stock in order to engage in
banking.
In 1912 Mr. Beckton had been one of the leading men in the organiza-
tion of the Peoples' Savings Bank at Caro, with a capital stock of forty
thousand dollars fully paid up. Mr. Beckton is one of the largest stock-
holders of this institution. Always a man of progressive spirit, he felt
that the bank should have appropriate quarters, consistent with its busi-
ness, and also for the advantage of the community, and therefore took
the lead in the erection of the new stone front modern banking house,
which cost about twenty-five thousand dollars, and which as a distinctive
ornament to the city, was occupied by the bank about the middle of
March, 1914. For the organization of the bank and the erection of its
handsome quarters Mr. Beckton and Dr. F. P. Bender, vice president of
the bank, deserve the chief credit. Mr. Beckton is cashier of the bank,
and is the active executive in charge of its business.
A Republican in politics, Mr. Beckton has had an important part in
local public affairs, having served as mayor of Caro two years, as super-
visor of its township six years, and for many years as a member of the
school board and justice of the peace. In Masonry he has been promi-
ment, and has served years as master of Mt. Moriah Lodge, A. F. & A.
M., has taken the Knights Templar degree, belongs to the Mystic Shrine,
and has taken thirty-two degrees of the Scottish Rite. He is also affiliated
with the Knights of Pythias and has been through all the chairs of the
Odd Fellows Lodge.
On November 8, 1899, at Yale, Michigan, Mr. Beckton married Miss
Jennie Palmer. Mrs. Beckton was born in St. Clair county, Michigan,
a daughter of William Palmer. To their marriage have been born three
children as follows: Jack Palmer Beckton, born at Caro, December 21,
1901, and now a student in the local schools; Frederick Joseph Beckton,
born at Caro, June 11, 1903 ; and Ina Jean Beckton, born in Caro, Novem-
ber 29, 1908. !Mr. Beckton for all his success and standing owes his at-
tainments to individual powers and industry and is a man of pleasing per-
sonality, well educated, and bears his honors with a dignity which makes
him one of the most highly respected citizens of Tuscola county.
Lewis J. We.xdock was born in Bay City, on the nth of January.
1882, the son of Thomas A. E. Weadock. The latter was born in Ireland,
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 755
being a babe in arms when his parents removed to this country. His
father was Lewis Weadock, and his mother was a Aliss CuUen before her
marriage. They settled in Ohio, at St. Mary's. Here, on a farm,
Thomas A. E. Weadock, was reared. He received his editcation in the
country schools of that section of the state. He entered the University
of Michigan, taking a course leading to an LL. B. degree, which he
received in 1873. After his graduation he located in Bay City and be-
gan the practice of law. He remained in this place until 1896, building
up a splendid practice and taking an active part in many phases of the
life of the city. In 1896 Mr. Weadock removed to Detroit where he
continued to practice law. He is now one of the best known lawyers
of that city and is looked upon as a leader among his fellow meml^ers of
the bar.
During his residence in Bay City, Thomas A. E. Weadock, took an
active part in public life. He served as assistant prosecuting attorney
and as prosecuting attorney for several terms and was also mayor of
Bay City from 1882 until 1884. In 1892 he was sent to Congress as rep-
resentative from this district, serving until 1896. In the business world
he was also prominent, being one of the organizers of the Commercial
Bank of Bay City and a director of this institution for a number of years.
In politics Mr. Weadock is a member of the Democratic party, and
has always been one of the leaders of this party in the state. He is a
member of the Roman Catholic church and in the fraternal world is a
member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and of the Catholic Mutual
Benefit Association.
Thomas A. E. Weadock married Miss Mary E. Tarsney, of Hills-
dale county, Michigan. Mrs. Weadock died in 1889, while she was
visiting in Toledo, Ohio. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs.
Weadock, six of whom are living. Of these the eldest is Lewis Weadock,
the others being Mary Isabel, Frances Clare, Paul, who is an attorney in
Detroit, Monica and George, who is still attending school.
Lewis J. Weadock was brought up in Bay City and educated in his
home state. His early education was received in the parochial school of
St. James, in Bay City. He later attended the high school of St. James,
from which he was graduated in 1899. He entered the University of
Alichigan in 1902, receiving his LL. B. degree in 1905. He located in
Bay City after his graduation and has been in continuous practice here
since that time. He is in partnership with James E. Dufify, the firm
being known as Weadock and Duffy, and his practice is an enviable one.
In politics M. Weadock is a member of the Republican party, but
he has never sought or accepted public office. He is a member of the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and in his own profession
belongs to the county, state and American Bar Associations. In religious
matters he is a communicant of the Roman Catholic church.
Mr. Weadock was married in Bay City on the nth of June, 1910,
to Miss Gertrude Greening, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Josephine Green-
ing. Mrs. Weadock is a native of the state of Michigan.
Charles B. Morden, M. D. Technical ability and proper concen-
tration of energies have given to Dr. Morden a secure vantage-place
as one of the representative physicians and surgeons who are upholding
the dignity and honors of the profession in Huron county. He is en-
gaged in the successful practice of medicine at Bad Axe, the county
seat, and the character and extent of his professional business indicate
alike his talent and his intrinsic attributes that have inured to his un-
equivocal personal popularity. He finds his present field of endeavor
altogether to his liking and he is the valued coadjutor of Dr. Willet
756 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
J. Herrington in the order of the affairs of the Hubbard Memorial
Hospital, an institution that is a credit to Bad Axe and to the state.
Dr. Charles Bowman Morden was born at Belleville, Prince Edward
county, province of Ontario, Canada, on the 15th of April, 1879, ^"d
is a son of John Benson Morden and Hattie M. (Young-) ]\Iorden, who
likewise were born in Ontario and who came to Michigan in 1883, to
establish their home in the city of Adrian, where they still reside and
where the father is now living virtually retired, after having been one
of the representative merchants of that place, as he had been at Belle-
ville, Canada. He is affiliated actively with the Republican party, has
served several terms as a member of the Adrian board of aldermen.
He was a gallant soldier and enlisted officer during the celebrated
Fenian raids in Canada, and he received medals for his bravery and
effective service in this connection. Both he and his wife are earnest
communicants of the established church of England, as represented in
the Protestant Episcopal church in the United States. Of their five
children, one died in infancy ; Dr. Charles B., of this review, having
been the second in order of birth. Mary, who was graduated in Adrian
College, is now a successful and popular teacher in that institution :
Maude is the wife of Richard A. Bury, of Detroit, this state ; and Walter
L. remains with his parents in Adrian.
Dr. Morden was about four years of age at the time of the family
removal from Ontario to Alichigan, and he was reared to adult age in
the city of Adrian, where he duly profited by the advantages aft'orded
in the public schools, -including the high school. After formulating
definite plans for his future career he was matriculated in the medical
department of the University of Michigan, in which he was graduated
as a member of the class of 1903, and with the degree of Doctor of Medi-
cine. His initial work in the practice of his profession was achieved
in Huron county, and for the first four years he maintained his resi-
dence and headquarters in the village of Pigeon. He then, in 1907,
removed to Had Axe, the county seat, where he has made an enviable
advancement and gained place as one of the able and representative
phvsicians and surgeons of this part of the state. He has the suavity
and fitness of gentle breeding and abiding human tolerance and sympathy,
so that he has made of every acquaintance a friend and is one of the
popular men of his community. He holds membership in the American
Medical Association, the Michigan State Medical Society and the Huron
County Medical Society, and he continues a close and avidious student
of his profession, his constant desire I:)eing to keep in touch with the
advances made in medical and surgical science. He is associated with
Dr. Herrington in the Hubbard Memorial Hospital, as previously stated,
and he is a member of the Masonic fraternity.
The Doctor was formerly a Republican in his political proclivities,
l)ut he united with the Progressive party at the time of its organization,
incidental to the national campaign of 1912, and now has the distinction
of being chairman of its general or central committee in Huron county.
He is an enthusiastic admirer of Colonel Roosevelt and takes pleasure
in supporting the principles and policies advocated by that great leader
of the Progressive party. He is identified with the Bad .\xe Social
Club and ]NIrs. ]\Iorden is an active member of the Ladies' Aid Society
of her church, as well as the Bad Axe Literary Society, besides being
a member of the board of trustees of the public library. The Doctor
is thoroughlv en rapport with sports afield and afloat, and his principal
source of recreation is in hunting and fishing, though he is also fond
of travel, in which he gives himself and Mrs. Morden as much in-
dulgence as possible. They have an attractive residence in Bad .\xe
and a summer home at Crescent Beach, on the shore of Lake Huron.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 757
In 1905 was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Morden to Miss Jessie
Strong, who was born and reared at Adrian, this state, as were also
her parents, Earl T. and Marie (Clegg) Strong, still residents of that
city. The only child of this union is Earl Benson Morden, who was born
at Bad Axe, on the 2d of April, 191 3.
Martin and Daniel Cummins have been so identified in their busi-
ness careers in Caro that the history of one is the history of the other.
Partners in planing mill operations, as they were formerly in the mer-
cantile business, they have attained position and success by the honoral)le
manner in which they have conducted their operations, and the city and
county can produce no citizens of whom it can be more justly proud.
The family was founded in Michigan in 1869, when Daniel and I.ucinda
(Kinney) Cummins moved from Newstead, Erie county. New York to
Chessing, Saginaw county, Michigan. While a resident of Newstead,
Daniel Cummins, the father of the brothers, had endeavored on sev-
eral occasions to enlist for service in the Union army, during the Civil
war, but had been rejected on account of physical disability. On his
arrival in Michigan he became active in the manufacture of hoops, and
subsequently took up mercantile pursuits, which he followed at Chessing
for ten years. When the family came to Caro he continued in the
same line, and was thus engaged until his death March 5, 1899, when he
was seventy-three years of age. the mother passing away in 1901, when
she was seventy-seven years old. Both Mr. and Mrs. Cummins were
widely and favorably known in Caro, and had the respect and esteem of
all by reason of their many sterling qualities of mind and heart. Of
their ten children, four are deceased, the others being as follows : Jean-
nette, who is the wife of William Topping, of Ten Strike, Wisconsin:
Katherine, who became the wife of Peter Bush : Adelbert, who for thirty
years has been associated with the Bay City Railroad Company : Martin,
of this review ; Roxie, who is the wife of Perry W. Dick, of Grand Rap-
ids, Michigan ; and Daniel, of this review.
Martin" Cummins, the elder of the brothers, was born July 30, 1859,
at Newstead, Erie county. New York, and there received his early edu-
cational training. He was ten years of age when he accompanied his
parents to Michigan, and for a time attended the public schools of
Chessing, but at the age of eighteen years laid aside his books and turned
his attention to learning the trade of carpenter, to which he devoted some
years. Developing into a contractor, he associated with his brother,
Daniel, and the partners built up an excellent business through in-
dustry, energv and thorough reliability in their every engagement. After
the family moved to Caro the brothers opened a grocery and shoe busi-
ness, which they also made a profitable venture by the exercise of hon-
orable methods,' but in 1910 disposed of their interest therein and turned
their attention to the lumber and planing mill business. At this time
they have a substantial mill and modern sheds of their own construction,
where thev carry a complete line of the finest lumber to be secured on
the market, and have over 6,500 square feet of ground in use, with the
most modern machinery and equipment of every kind. They are fully
prepared to furnish building material of all kinds, and in connection
with this enterprise accept contracts to build all kinds of structures, for
which they have been eminently fitted by their past experience. Martin
Cummins is a Repubhcan and a stalwart supporter of his party's prin-
ciples and candidates, but has never cared for public office, preferring
to give all of his time to his business operations, although he has al-
ways displayed a commendable willingness to assist in the forwarding of
758 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
movements for the public welfare. He and his wife are consistent mem-
bers of the Methodist church, and have a comfortable home where their
numerous friends are always made welcome. Mrs. Cummins takes an
active interest in church work and in the activities of the Ladies' Aid
Society.
Martin Cummins was married at Caro, in November, 1898, to Miss
Flora C. Leisher, who was born at this place, a daughter of Frank Leisher,
and to this union there have been born two children, namely: Bessie
M., who is a student in the Caro High school, and Winifred Louise, who
is still attending the graded schools.
Daniel Cummins, the younger of the partners, was born March 22,
1864, at Newstead, Erie county. New York, and was a lad of five years
when brought to Michigan. The public schools of Chessing furnished him
with his education, and when he was sixteen years of age he displayed
his industry and ambition by beginning to assist his father in the manu-
facture of hoops. He likewise learned the trade of carpenter, and in
this latter connection first entered into partnership with his brother, their
subsequent careers having already been reviewed. Like his brother Mr.
Cummins is a Republican, but also like him, the struggles and doubtful
emoluments of the political arena have held out no attractions for him,
and he is satisfied to remain a good and public-spirited citizen. He has
a nice home, where he finds his greatest pleasure, and dispenses hospital-
ity to his numerous friends. Mrs. Cummins is a member of the Pres-
byterian church, and is active in religious and charitable work.
Daniel Cummins was married first in 1889 at Caro to Levina Craw,
who was born at Caro, daughter of Farley Craw, a pioneer farmer
of Caro. now deceased, who was for many years postmaster at this
point. Mrs. Cummins died in 1893, and was laid to rest at Caro, having
been the mother of two children : Essie D., of Caro ; and Percy J., now
a resident of Detroit. Mr. Cummins married for his second wife Miss
Lily Clark, a native of Tuscola county, and a daughter of William Clark,
who was a native of Metamora, Michigan. Four children have been born
to this union: Thurber, Hallie, Dora and Alice.
The Cummins brothers are men of untiring energy, vigorous and
active in their business pursuits, and in all respects useful and honored
citizens. In whatever venture they have found themselves, they have
unsparingly given of their best efi^orts. and their activities have done much
to contribute to the material commercial and industrial importance of the
place of their adoption.
Hugh Woolman. Not only the mark of distinctive personal accom-
plishment as one of the world's productive workers stands to the credit
of Hon. Hugh Woolman. who has marked the passing years with worthy
achievement, but he is also able to claim an ancestral history of special
interest, both as touching the history of Michigan and that of the nation
in a generic way. IMr. Woolman is one of the most honored and in-
fluential citizens of Sandusky, the judicial center of Sanilac county: he
is a native of Michigan and a scion of one of the sterling pioneer families
of this commonwealth ; he was the organizer of the Woolman Construc-
tion Company, which has completed important dredging contracts in
various states of the LInion : he has shown distinctive administrative abil-
ity as a man of affairs ; and he has exemplified the loyalty and progressive-
ness which best represents the true type of the American citizen. He has
served as mayor of Sandusky and in many other ways has he aided in
the furtherance of civic and material advancement, his genial and demo-
cratic ways and impregnable integrity of purpose having gained and re-
tained to him the implicit confidence and esteem of those with whom
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 759
he has come in contact in the various relations of Hfe. By his character
and achievement he has honored the state of his nativity and it is most
consonant that he be given recognition in this histor}' of Michigan.
Mr. Woolman was born in Ross township, Kalamazoo county, Mich-
igan, on the 9th of August, 1858, and is a son of Marvin J. and Sarah
Ann (Orr) Woolman, the former of whom was born in the state of
New York and the latter in Ohio. In an ancestral way special interest
attaches to the life of Mrs. Lydia Woolman, grandmother of the sub-
ject of this review. This noble and venerable woman, who died in
1907, at the remarkable age of 104 years, was a daughter of Albert and
Lydia Finch. She was the youngest in a family of nine children and was
born in Dutchess county. New York, on the loth of April, 1796. Her
father likewise was a native of America, where the family was founded
in the early colonial era, and he served in the war of the Revolution, as
a minuteman in the command of General Washington, two of his sons
likewise having been patriot soldiers of the Continental line, one of the
Revolutionary battles having been fought at a point so near the Finch
home that the mother and younger children, including Mrs. Woolman,
could plainly note the details of the contest. The mother of Mrs. Lydia
Woolman was a representative of one of the fine old Knickerbocker fam-
ilies of New York, the first of the line having come from Amsterdam,
Holland, to become founders of New Amsterdam, New York, the nucleus
from which was evolved our great national metropolis. In 1824 was
solemnized the marriage of Miss Lydia Finch to Herman Woolman, and
they liecame the parents of seven children, of whom ]\Iarvin J-, father
of Hugh Woolman of this review, was born in 1S26. In the same vear
the parents left the old Fmpire state and came to the wilds of the Ter-
ritory of Michigan, settlement being made in Macomb county, which
was then very sparsely settled, the Indians being far more in evidence
than white settlers. Civilization as yet held most precarious foothold
in the Territory, and the Woolman family lived up to the full tension
of the early pioneer days, in which were laid, amidst dangers, privations
and hardships, the foundations for the great Woolverine commonwealth
of the present day. Marvin J. was the only one of the children born
before the removal to Michigan, where were born the others — Morgan
J., Martin ]., Aliles ]., Madison J., and one who died in infancy. Mr.
and Mrs. Herman Woolman were thus numbered among the earliest set-
tlers of Macomb county, and the devoted wife and mother survived her
husband by many years. Shortly after the removal of the family to what
is now Armada, Macomb county, upon coming from the state of New
York, one of the sons, not named in the foregoing list, was captured by
the Indians, and though vigorous search was instituted, no trace of him
was ever found thereafter by his kinsfolk. Mrs. Lydia Woolman had
the unique distinction of living in three dififerent centuries and under
the administration of every LTnited States president from Washington
to Roosevelt. In her venerable years she retained tO' a wonderful ex-
tent her mental and physical faculties, and her memories concerning the
early days of Michigan history were graphic, as shown by her many
reminiscences of conversational order. She was undoubtedly the oldest
woman in iMichigan at the time of her demise and was one of the few
who had been for many years previously able personally to revert to the
conditions and incidents of the territorial .epoch in the history of the
state. Here her name and memory should be held in lasting reverence.
Aside from the loss of her little son into the hands of the Indians, Mrs.
Woolman lived to see other tragedy stalk into the family circle, to her
enduring sorrow. Two of her sons, Marvin and Morgan, the former the
father of him to whom this sketch is dedicated, had gone to California
760 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
at tlie time of the gold excitement and upon their return trip both were
murdered and robbed, at Shell Creek, Nevada, in -June, 1865. The
brothers had thirty head of horses and several thousand dollars at the
time when they set forth from Sonoma, California, on their return trip
across the plains. They were murdered by two men whom they had
hired to assist in driving the horses across the desert to Salt Lake City,
and a fifth member of the party was likewise murdered by the desperadoes,
John Webb and Ransom Young, who were apprehended, made full con-
fession and were then hanged, in accordance with the provisions of the
vigilantes' law. The third murdered man had been a partner of the
Woolman brothers in their venture from California homeward, and thus
three brave and worthy men sacrificed their lives at the hands of cow-
ardly assassins. Mrs. Marvin J. Woolman survived her husband and
passed the closing period of her life in Michigan, where she died at a
venerable age.
Hugh Woolman passed the days of his boyhood in Kalamazoo county,
where he was reared to the discipline of the farm and was a lad of
about seven years at the time of the tragic death of his father, as noted
in the preceding paragraph. His educational advantages were limited
to the district schools of the pioneer days, but his alert mentality has en-
abled him to make good this handicap and to become a man of broad
information and mature judgment. He worked as a farm hand, for small
wages, until he had attained to the age of twenty-four years, but he so
carefully conserved his meager earnings during the passing years that
in 1882 he efl:'ected the purchase gf eighty acres of land in Watertown
township, Sanilac county. From the veritable wilderness he reclaimed
this land into a productive farm, and he had during the five years of his
residence on this place full fellowship with arduous toil, with many in-
cidental hardships and privations. .He exemplified, however, the en-
durance, vitality and determination of -the staunch pioneer stock of which
he is a scion, and he never flinched at any ordeal or responsibility that
confronted him. He has related that in those days of his early endeav-
ors as an independent farmer he frequently hauled corn stalks a dis-
tance of forty miles, thus to provide fodder for his horses while utiliz-
ing them in the clearing and cultivating of his land. During the later
j)eriod of his residence on his farm ^Ir. Woolman manifested a lively
interest in public afl:'airs of a local order, and his loyalty and liberality
led to his being called to local offices of trust, including those of town-
ship treasurer and township supervisor, of which latter he was the in-
cumbent for three terms. He then resigned, to accept the office of drain
commissioner, a position which he retained four years and in which he
gained experience that eventually led him into the field of industrial
enterprise. Within his regime as drain commissioner of Sanilac county,
Mr. Woolman superintended the dredging of Cass river for a distance
of twenty-three miles, and in 1903 he organized the Woolman Construc-
tion Company, which is incorporated under the laws of Michigan and
in which his associates were James Smalldon, Henry BalhofT and Gilbert
.Smalldon. The company was incorporated with a capital stock of $41,000,
and Mr. Woolman assumed the general management of the business, in
connection with which he has superintended the making of hundreds of
miles of efifective dredging. The efifective service and honorable policies
of this companv gained to it marked prestige and definite success, em-
ployment being given to a force of fifty or more men, and large and
important contracts have been handled by the company, in the most di-
verse sections of the United States, as well as in Canada. The com-
panv operates ten dredging machines of the best modern type, and to the
various details of the business Mr. Woolman continued to give his at-
"^ff.
t'Ufi'ii*
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 761
tention until the opening of the year 1914, when lie retired from mem-
bership in the corporation, believing that his protracted and indefatigable
activities in the field of business enterprise justified him in seeking to
give to himself more of leisure and surcease of responsibilities. He is
in the very prime of life, but has accomplished a man's work in the world
and is entitled to the enjoyment of the fruits of his years of earnest ap-
plication. He has the spirit of perennial youth, and his genial and
buoyant nature makes him a prime favorite with young folks, the society
of whom he greatly enjoys, the while he finds special satisfaction in mak-
ing his beautiful home a center of generous hospitality and good cheer.
In addition to his own residence property he is the owner of other well
improved real-estate in Sandusky, and he is a member of the directorate
of the State Bank of Sandusky.
In politics Mr. Woolman has ever been an ardent supporter of the
cause of the Republican party, and as a liberal and progressive citizen
he has done much to place Sandusky in the front rank among the vari-
ous cities of the attractive "Thumb" district of Michigan. He has twice
served as mayor of Sandusky, but in a generic way he has had no desire
for the honors of political office. Mr. Woolman is affiliated with the
lodge, chapter and council bodies of the Masonic fraternity, as is he
also with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Glean-
■ers. The religious faith of this representative citizen of Sandusky is that
of the Methodist Episcopal church.
In 1S82, when initiating his independent career as a farmer, Mr.
Woolman wedded Miss Nettie Lester, who was born in Macomb county,
this state, a daughter of Mordecai and Sarah (Forshee) Lester, and
she remained a devoted and loved companion and helpmeet to him dur-
ing twenty years, at the expiration of which the gracious bonds were
severed by her death, at the age of forty-three years. She was a devout
member of the Methodist Episcopal church and was a woman whose
gentle and noble character gained to her the love of all who came within
the sphere of her influence. She is survived by one daughter, Mrs.
Jessie Woolman Allin. In 1907 Mr. Woolman contracted a second mar-
riage, Mrs. Susan (Teets) Doane, of Denver, Colorado, becoming his
wife. She passed to the life eternal in 1912.
Bela Cogshall, M. D. Perhaps no other member of the medical pro-
fession in Michigan has done more to advance the bounds of both knowl-
edge and practice than Dr. Bela Cogshall of Flint. Dr. Cogshall is one
of the eminent authorities in sanitary science, and has long been a leader
in the public health movement. Dr. Cogshall has practiced medicine since
the years immediately following the Civil war, and it is given to few men
to look back upon so long and valuable a career as his has been.
Dr. Bela Cogshall was born at Groveland, Oakland county, Michigan,
March 31, 1842. His ancestry is traced back to John Cogshall, the date
of whose arrival and settlement in the American colonies was 1632. His
father, Hon. Bela Cogshall, was born in Schenectady, New York, in 1816.
His occupation was that of farming, but he filled a large place in public
affairs, and later entered the law. He was one of the early settlers of
Oakland county, Michigan, where he arrived in 1836. He married Susan
J. Hunt, also a native of Schenectady county. Soon after he settled in
Michigan, he took up the study of law, and was admitted to the Ijar and
began practice at HoUv. During his residence there, he served as president
of the school board, filled the oflice of justice of the peace, and spent one
term in the state legislature. He was very prominent in the Masonic
Order. He took the Knight Templar degrees, March 21, 1854, and held
the highest offices at the gift of the various branches to which he belongs.
762 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
From 1854 to 1856 the senior Cogshall was an instructor of the Bhie
Lodge in Michigan and visited every lodge then in the state excepting one.
His death occurred October 21, 1881, while his wife passed away in
i860.
Dr. Cogshall has spent most of the years of his life in Flint since i860.
He attended the public schools of that city, and was also a student in the
Academy at Clarkston. After his literary education was finished, he
entered the office of Dr. William E. Fenwick at Davisburg, in Oakland
county, and spent two or three years in reading under the direction of that
able practitioner. He was next a student under Dr. M. L. Green of Pon-
tiac, and in 1864 entered the medical department of the University of
Michigan. In March, 1866, Dr. Cogshall graduated from the Jeflferson
Medical College of I'hiladelphia. After his graduation he located in the
village of Gaines, where he practiced for eight years, and since then his
home has been in Flint continuously except during the years from 1904
to 1909. That period of time was spent in a large range of activities,
first at Baltimore, Maryland, where he remained for two years, and con-
ducted a Sanitarium. He was at Galveston, Texas, one year, removing
then to Dallas, where he held the chair of professor of electro-therapeutics
in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Dallas, Texas. From Dallas
he moved to Washington, D. C, and had a sanitarium there for one year.
Dr. Cogshall has long been recognized as a special authority on disease^
of the eye, and has few equals in the country as an oculist.
His accomplishments and distinctions in the medical world are numer-
ous, and it would be difficult for a layman to describe them with appropri-
ate justice to the doctor. Dr. Collins Johnson of Grand Rapids is now pre-
paring an article for a medical journal, concerning Dr. Cogshall's work in
the profession especially with regard to his notable connections with the
great fight on the white plague. In 1881, a year before the tubercular
germ had been discovered, Dr. X'ictor C. \'aughan of Ann Arbor, dean
of the University of Michigan, credited Dr. Cogshall with the distinction
of having been the first to advocate the theory of the germ of consumption,
and though others profited by more extensive exploitation as discoverers
of that germ, the consensus of opinion is gradually shifting in favor of
Dr. Cogshall, as the pioneer of this theory. Dr. Cogshall has subsequently
written many articles in medical journals and for the press on the sub-
ject of consumption, and in later years has had the satisfaction of seeing
much of his early descriptions and also his theories as to prevention and
cure of the disease become adopted as common practice by the profession
generally.
Dr. Cogshall since 1909 has conducted a fine sanitarium known as the
Cogshall Sanitarium at Flint, and this is one of the finest institutions of
the city. The accommodations in the sanitarium are for thirty patients.
All the equipment is modern, and the service is as good as is furnished
in any similar institution in the state. For many years the doctor has
been sanitary editor for the Flint Democrat, and later for the Globe. He
formerly served as a member of the American Health Association and
did much work along lines of public health and sanitation, a broad sphere
of the medical profession which in recent years has become more directly
recognized by the medical fraternity, but Dr. Cogshall's work in that line
was somewhat as a pioneer. He served for several terms as president of
the Flint Academy of Medicine, and is a member of the State ^ledical
Society and the American Medical Association. He has served as health
officer of Flint, and was county physician for many years. Also he held
the position of secretary and is a member of the United States Examining
Board of Surgeons for the third term.
A Alason of thirty-two degrees, Dr. Cogshall has filled all the offices
in the subordinate lodges, and branches. Locally and also among the
HISTORY OF AIICIIIGAN 763
Methodists of the state, Dr. Cogshall has long been prominent for his
work in connection with the Garland Street Methodist Churcli. He was
one of the organizers of this society, was long a president of its board of
trustees and for twenty-five years is leader of the church choir. Previous
to 1890 he was editor and publisher of "The Methodist," but after his
removal to Baltimore, the publication was discontinued. Much has been
said in the press concerning the doctor's interesting labors in behalf of
the Garland Street Methodist Church. During his many years as choir
leader, he never accepted pay, and was always among the first to assist
financially, and in other ways for the continued prosperity and broaden-
ing activities of his home church.
Dr. Cogshall has been twice married. On October 17, 1866, Miss
Martha E. Pepper became his wife. Her home was in Davisburg of
Oakland county, and her parents were Robert and Lydia Pepper. The
three sons born of this union all died in infancy. On July 3, 1881, at
Flint, Michigan, Dr. Cogshall married Miss Eflie Kenny, a native of this
state and a daughter of Timothy and Charlotte Kenny. The doctor has
no children. For such advantages as are comprehended in a common
schooling, and the gift of a horse and saddle. Dr. Cogshall is indebted
to his father. Otherwise his career has been one of self-attainment, and
few men have gone further in the chosen line of life than this splendid
physician of Flint.
Richard Pearson. Personal advancement and distinctive success
have characterized the career of Judge Pearson, of Sandusky, who is
now serving his second term as judge of probate for Sanilac county, but
greater than this has been his service to the community in general and to
the aiding and uplifting of his fellow men. His has been in a prac-
tical way the faith that makes faithful, and he is today one of the best
known and most highly honored citizens of Sanilac county. He has served
as a member of the Michigan legislature and has held many minor offices
of public trust, and his administration in the probate court has been
maintained on the same high plane that has characterized his labors in all
other official positions. He is instant in good works and kindly deeds
and in this publication is to find due recognition as one of the leading
citizens of Sanilac county.
Judge Pearson was born on a farm in Whitby township, Huron coimty,
province of Ontario, Canada, October 6, 1853, and is a son of Bartholo-
mew and Emily Jane (Hudson) Pearson, the latter of whom was born
in county Wexford, Ireland, and the former in Yorkshire, England. As
a young man, Bartholomew Pearson immigrated to the United States
and in the spring of 1849, when twenty-six years of age, he became a
resident of Huron county, Ontario. The mother of Judge Pearson emi-
grated to Ontario the same year locating at the same place, and there the
young people soon afterward met. Mr. Pearson turned his attention to
farming and after his marriage he continued his residence in Huron
county until December, i860, when he came with his family to Mich-
igan and settled in Sanilac county. In Sanilac township he obtained
eighty acres of wild land, and here he reclaimed and improved a pro-
ductive farm. He was one of the sterling pioneers of the county and he
continued to reside on his homestead farm until his death, at the age
of seventy-nine years, his widow survived him and was eighty-two years
of age when she was summoned to the life eternal. Both were devout
members of the United Brethren church and their lives constituted a
distinct tribute to those things that are good and true. Their names
merit enduring place on the roster of the honored pioneers of Sanilac
county. Of their eleven children Judge Richard Pearson, of this re-
764 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
view, was the firstborn, and concerning the others the following brief
data are consistently entered : ^lary is the wife of George Derby, of
Detroit; Francis died at the age of four years; Alatilda is the wife of
William Kirk, of Applegate, Sanilac county : Rev. John is a clergyman
of the Baptist church and holds a pastoral charge at Onaway, Presque
Isle county, ^Michigan ; Lavinia is the wife of Hugh Caldwell, of Ubly,
Huron county ; Thomas is a successful mine owner and operator in the
Fairbanks district of Alaska, where he was a pioneer, having gone to
that far northland in 1879 ; Matthew is a contractor in the city of De-
troit; Aaron B. is a merchant at Yakima. Washington: William is a resi-
dent of Nome, Alaska ; and Ernest remains on the old homestead place,
as one of the representative farmers of Sanilac county.
Judge Pearson was a boy at the time of the family removal to the
pioneer farm in Sanilac county. ?\Iichigan. and there he earlv began to
assist in the work of the farm, his educational advantages being those
afforded in the district school, of district Xo. 2. When hut eighteen
years of age he began working in the lumber woods and saw mills of
this part of the state, and to this sturdy and invigorating vocation he
gave his attention for a period of seven years, during which he did not,
■like many other similarly engaged, dissipate his earnings, but by econ-
omy and frugality he made appreciable savings in a financial wav. At
the expiration of the period mentioned he purchased 120 acres of un-
improved land, in Moore township, Sanilac county, and here he reclaimed
a farm from the veritable wilderness, his days being given to arduous
toil and many hardships being endured in an incidental way. He took
unto himself a wife in the year, 1876. and thus he had a devoted and
capable helpmeet when he settled on his pioneer fann, in 1878. He added
to the area of his landed estate as success attended his labors, and he
remained on his farm for the period of thirty years, the place todav giv-
ing splendid example of what may be accomplished by energA% ability and
tenacity of purpose.
Judge Pearson soon became one of the most popular and influential
citizens of Moore township, and there he was. at various intervals, called
upon to sen^e in virtually every township office. In i88r he was elected
justice of the peace, and of this position he continued the honored and
valued incumbent for twelve years. During two years of this period he
also served as highway commissioner, in which capacitv he did effective
work in the construction of good roads in his township. He sen-ed two
terms as township treasurer and one term as school director of his dis-
trict. As a representative of Sanilac county in the lower house of the
state legislature Judge Pearson accomplished much and made a record
that shall ever redound to his credit and honor. He has been H stalwart
of stalwarts in the camp of the Republican partv and was a member of
the Republican district committee at the time of his first election to the
legislature, his entire service in which comprised three terms. He was
first elected in 1894, was re-elected in 1896, and his third election took
place in 1898. He was a most active and influential worker in the
deliberations of the house and its committee rooms, especially during the
administration of Governor Pingree and the latter"s agitation of various
matters of great importance to the state. The Judge thus labored
?ealously for the bringing about of equitable taxation policies and in
the dissolution of the long existing Michigan Central Railroad franchise.
In the session of 1897 he was made chairman of the drainage committee
of the house of representatives, and as such he was most influential in
procuring the enactment of the new drainage law of the state, with the
incidental repealing of the old law. In the session of 1899 Judge Pearson
introduced and most ably championed the present inheritance-tax law
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 765
of Alichigan, the law having been declared unconstitutional in 1893, by
decision of the Alichigan supreme court. The Judge ably challenged the
points of the court decision and the eventual result was the enactment of
the wise and equitable inheritance-tax law that is now on the statute
books of the state.
In the spring of 1900 Judge Pearson was again demanded for local
official sen-ice in his home community, as he was then elected township
supervisor of Moore township, which he ably represented as a progressive
and liberal member of the county board of supervisors during the en-
suing seven vears. Still further honors then came to him, as the autumn
of 1908 recorded his election to the responsible office of judge of probate,
to which he was re-elected in the autumn of 1912, at the expiration of
his first term. His administration in this important county office is
giving unqualified satisfaction and his present term will expire in 19 if).
During the celebrated "free-silver" campaign that attended the nomina-
tion of \\'illiam Jennings Bryan as Democratic candidate for president,
judge Pearson effectually "stumped" his congressional district and de-
livered forceful speeches in opposition to the financial heresy proposed.
He has held every township office in Aloore township, and in his first
election to his present position, in igo8, he received all but twelve of
the votes cast in his township, leading his ticket by more than 2,900 ma-
jority in the county. In the election of 1912, notwithstanding the split
in the Republican party, he received 2,700 majority, only 200 less th:ui at
his first election to the oflice of judge of probate.
judge Pearson is affiliated with the lodge, chapter and council bodies
of York Rite Masonry, as well as with the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He was reared
in the faith of the Brethren church but now affiliates with and supports
the Protestant Episcopal church at Sandusky, of which his wife is a
zealous communicant. He is an earnest supporter of civic movements
that make for general morality and uplift, and this is significantly shown
bv the fact that he is now not only president of the Sandusky Young Alen's
Christian Association but also chairman of the Sanilac county organization
of this noble body. He is an ardent worker in this cause and gives to it
liberal contributions of lioth time and money. Mrs. Pearson is equally
zealous in church and charitable work, is an active member of the Ladies'
Guild of the parish of her church.
In 1876 was solemnized the marriage of Judge Pearson to Miss Addie
M. Pope, of AuSable, Iosco county. She was born in Oceana county,
this state, and is a daughter of Captain Alfred Pope and Nancy J.
(Brown) Pope, both of whom continued residents of Michigan until
their death, Captain Pope having served many years as captain on ves-
sels plying the Great Lakes. Judge and Mrs. Pearson have two children :
Lillian j., who is the wife of Edward E. W'iemann, of Armada, Macomb
countv ;" and Leroy, who is successfully engaged in the real-estate busi-
ness at Port Huron and also captain of the National Guards, Company
C, Third Regiment. He was graduated in the Sandusky high school and
also in the Port Huron Business College.
JOSEPH j. Leszczyxski. A representative capitalist and business man
of Harbor Beach, Huron county, Mr. Leszczynski has marked the pass-
ing vears with large and worthy achievement, as he has been in the most
significant sense the architect of his own fortunes, and above this he
has ordered his course upon a high plane of integrity and honor, so that
he has never been denied the objective confidence and respect that are
eminently his due. Though he has now relegated to others the detailed
exactions of business he finds ample demands upon his time and atten-
766 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
tion in the supervision of his varied business interests, so that he can
hardly be said to have retired, in the specific significance of the term. He
is one of the large property owners of his home city, has been one of its
foremost merchants, and has made noteworthy contribution to the de-
velopment and upbuilding of Harbor Beach, both in a civic and a ma-
terial sense. Upright and honorable in all the relations of life, kindly
and considerate, tolerant and unostentatious, he represents the best type
of the American self-made man, and he is one of the well known and
influential citizens of Huron county and of his native state, his parents
having established a home in ^Michigan fully sixty years ago.
Joseph James Leszczynski was born in Wayne county, ^lichigan, on
the i6th of Februar}-, 1861, and is a son of Anthony and Anna (Skiba)
Leszczynski, both of whom were born and reared in Poland. In the city
of Constantinople. Turkey, was solemnized the marriage of the par-
ents, and shortly afterward they set forth for the United States, where
they were assured of better opportunities for advancement through
personal effort. They landed in Xew York city in 1850, and there An-
thony Leszczynski earned a livelihood through honest and arduous man-
ual labor. After passing four years in the national metropolis he came
to Michigan, and he numbered himself among the pioneer settlers of
Springwells township, ^Vayne county, the greater part of this township
being now within the corporate limits of the city of Detroit. He pur-
chased a tract of heavily timbered land, and he endured many hard-
ships and privations, as his financial resources were merely nominal, but
he was fortunate in having as his coadjutor his devoted wife, who proved
a veritable helpmeet. His farm now comprises to a large extent the at-
tractive village of Oakwood, a suburb of Detroit, and, as a matter of
course, the property is of great value. After devoting eleven years
to agricultural pursuits this sturdy pioneer began to consult ways and
means by which to provide better educational facilities for his children
than were oft'ered in the schools of his township. He accordingly sold
his farm, the major part of which he had reclaimed to cultivation, and
he then removed to Wyandotte, Michigan, where he engaged in the
grocery business and where, in 1876, he sacrificed his life in a fire that
destroyed his store. He was forty-five years of age at the time of his
death and his wife long survived him, having passed the closing period
of her life at Harbor Beach, where she died at the venerable age of
eighty- four years. Both she and her husband were devout communi-
cants of the Catholic church, in the faith of which they reared their six
children who attained to years of maturity, two children having died in
infancy. Concerning the other children the following brief data are
given: Sabina. became the wife of Anthony Wieruszwski, who was long
a valued member of the city detective force of Detroit, and she died at
Harbor Beach, in 1890 ; Alexander S., who was closely associated with
his brother Joseph J., of this review, in the early years of their busi-
ness careers, was a resident of Chicago at the time of his death, in 1905,
his life having been marked by worthy achievement; Joseph J. was the
next in order of birth : John ^I. is a successful shoe merchant in the city
of Detroit ; Peter J. is a representative clothing merchant in the same
city: and Edward A. is an orange-grower at Fort ileyers, Florida.
Joseph J. Leszczynski was afforded the advantage of the public
schools of V\'yandotte, \\'ayne county, until the death of his father, when
circumstances compelled him to become largely dependent upon his own
resources and to assist in providing for other members of the family,
though he was but fifteen years of age at the time. He went to the city
of Detroit, where he became clerk in a grocery store, having previously
gained considerable experience in his father's store. He remained in
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 767
the ^Michigan metropolis until 1879, when he removed to Harbor Beach,
Huron county, a place then known as Sand Beach, where he assumed
a clerical position in the mercantile establishment of J. Jenks & Com-
pany, with which fimi he remained six and one-half years, during the
latter part of which period he was the active manager of the business.
In the meanwhile he had carefully saved his earnings, and he then in-
stituted his independent business career by associating himself with his
brothers, Alexander S. and John M., and opening a modest general store.
This new enterprise in Harbor Beach was successful from the beginning
and rapidly expanded in scope and importance, owing to excellent service
and fair and honorable dealings. With the passing of the years the
business grew to be one of the most important of its kind in the thriving
little city, and in 191 1 Mr. Leszczynski, who had in the meanwhile be-
come sole owner, incorporated the business and erected for its accom-
modation a modern brick building, at a cost of $25,000. This is a fine
structure of two stories and basement, and the entire building is utilized
by the company, each story of the same having an aggregate floor space
of 4,000 square feet, and the original establishment, on the opposite side
of Main street, being used for general storage purposes. In many in-
stances Mr. Leszczynski has found it expedient to purchase goods in
car-load lots, and thus it may be seen that a merchandise warehouse is an
absolute requisite, besides which indication is incidentally given of the
great volume of the company's trade. The first floor of the new build-
ing has the dry-goods, shoe, men's furnishing and notion departments,
as well as the equally well equipped grocery department. The entire
basement is devoted to the crockery, glass and house furnishing depart-
ments ; the second floor is given over to men's and women's clothing and
wall paper. A balcony or mezzanine floor, above the first floor, furnishes
office accommodations and an attractive rest room for ladies, with a
floor space of 800 square feet. The appointments and facilities of the
establishment are in every respect of the best modern order, and the fine
store stands as a monument to the splendid business ability and creative
talent of ]\Ir. Leszczynski, besides which the establishment is a source of
civic pride to the attractive little city in which it is established. Mr.
Lezczynski owns in Harbor Beach nearly an entire city block, improved
with excellent buildings, and he erected also his present residence, which
is one of the most modern and attractive in the city. The mercantile
business is now conducted under the title of Leszczynski and Company.
Incorporation was effected on the ist of February, 1914, and Mr.
Leszczynski is president of the company, his son, F. Carroll, being sec-
retary and treasurer. He who figures as the subject of this sketch is
a director and vice-president of the State Bank of Harbor Beach, is a
silent partner in the well known clothing house of M. J. Moloney & Com-
pany, of Detroit ; and is senior member of the Leszczynski-Clark Com-
pany, conducting a prosperous mercantile business at Palms, Sanilac
countv.
Mr. Leszczynski has ever held secure place in the confidence and high
regard of the people of Huron county, and has been emphatically liberal
and public-spirited in his civic attitude. He is a staunch supporter of
the principles of the Democratic party, served ten years as supervisor of
San Beach township, and has been for twelve years a trustee of the local
school district, an office of which he is the valued incumbent at the pres-
ent time, and for over twenty years a member of the city council. He
and his family are earnest communicants of the Catholic church, and he
is very actively identified with the Polish National Alliance, which now
claims a membership of 150,000 persons in the United States. He is
an official of Bad Axe Council of the Knights of Columbus and is af-
voi. n- 9
768 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
filiated also with the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association and the Inde-
pendent Order of Foresters.
Generous and considerate in all the relations of life, Mr. Leszczynski
finds his greatest pleasure and satisfaction in the associations of his fam-
ily circle, every relation of which has been ideal. He has been unflagging
in his devotion to his wife and children and it is most grateful to him
that he has been able to give to the latter excellent educational advantages
and many other opportunities that were denied to him in his youth. He
has been a valiant soldier in the world's noble army of productive
workers, and his career ofifers specific lesson and incentive. As before
stated, he has virtually retired to a large extent from the active direction
of his business interests, and as a lover of nature he finds special pleas-
ure in floriculture and in the beautifying of his own properties and his
home city in general. He has wide acquaintanceship in leading business
circles of Detroit, Chicago and eastern cities, and his high reputation
makes his commercial credit virtually unlimited though his policy has
been never to extend the same beyond most conservative bounds.
On the loth of February, 1886, in the city of Port Huron, St. Clair
county, St. Stephen's church was the scene of the marriage of Mr.
Leszczynski to Miss Margaret E. Carroll, who was born in the province
of Ontario, Canada, and who is the gracious and popular chatelaine of
her beautiful home. In conclusion is given brief record concerning the
children of Mr. and Mrs. Leszczynski.
F. Carrol, the eldest of the children, is secretary and treasurer of the
company of which his father is president. He was born at Harbor
Beach, on the 3rd of December, 1886. He wedded Miss Anna Belle
Weir, daughter of Thomas Weir, who is a prominent merchant in the
village of Helena, this county. The two children of this union are:
Joseph L, who was born May 23, 1901, and who was named in honor of
"his paternal grandfather, and Anna Marie, born May 23, 1914.
Joseph S., the second son, was born at Harbor Beach, June 14, 1890,
and is now a student in the medical department of the University of
Michigan, as a member of the class of 1917. George A., the third son,
was born June 5, 1892, and is a member of the class of 1916 in the en-
gineering department of the University of Michigan ; Mary Sabina, who
is bookkeeper and cashier in the mercantile establishment of her father,
was born April 24, 1894, and is a graduate of St. Mary's Academy, at
Monroe, this state. Marguerite Alice, who was born October 16, 1896,
is now a student in the same academy ; and Agnes Leonora, who was born
April 21, 1898, is attending St. Mary's Academy, at Monroe.
WiLLi.^M W. Potter, of Hastings, Michigan, was born in the town-
ship of Maple Grove, in the county where he still resides, on August i,
1869. His earlv life was spent on the farm. He attended district school
in that township and afterward graduated from the Nashville high school,
attended the Michigan State Normal School and graduated from the law
department of the L'niversity of Michigan, by way of completing his col-
lege training in preparation for life. Prior to his graduation he had
taught in the rural schools of Barry county, and for three years he was
superintendent of the schools at Harrison, Michigan.
In 1894 Mr. Potter was admitted to the bar, and he commenced the
practice of his profession in Hastings in Atigust, 1895. In November
of the same year he formed a partnership with the late J. Edmund Bar-
rell under the firm name of Barrell & Potter, and in August, 1896, be-
came associated with Philip T. Colgrove under the name of Colgrove &
Potter, and this association still continues.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 769
Mr. Potter has been a member of the T-ioard of Education of Hast-
ings, Chainnan of the Library Commission, City Attorney for several
terms, Prosecuting Attorney of Barry County two terms and State Sena-
tor representing the Fifteenth Senatorial District of Michigan.
Politically Mr. Potter has always been a Republican and he has been
Chairman of the Republican City Committee and Chairman of the
Republican County Committee. During political campaigns since 1892
he has been in the employ of the County Committee, the State Central
Committee, or of the National Republican Committee as a member of
the speaking force.
He wrote the Historical Sketch of Barry County published in the
Standard Atlas of Barry County, A History of Barry County and the
Law of Interest in Michigan, besides a number of pamphelts on various
subjects. At the present time he is president of the Barry County Pio-
neer and Historical Society.
He is president of the local Canoe Club, and for many years was a
director of the A'lichigan Field Trial Association.
During his residence in Hastings he has been closely identified with
the industrial growth of the city. He is a member of the Knights of
Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the Masons,
with Knight Templar affiliations. While he has been active in social,
political, official and business circles, it is to the practice of law that he
has devoted the best energies of the past two decades. He has partici-
pated in many important civil and criminal trials ; has been president of
the local Bar Association, and is at present one of the trustees of the
State Bar Association.
In 1894 Mr. Potter married Margaret D., daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Charles f. Richardson, of Harrison. They have six children, all at-
tending the public schools of Hastings, or the University of Michigan.
James A. DeVore, M. D. One of the admirable institutions of the
city of Grand Rapids is the DeVore Hospital & Sanitarium, which is
owned and conducted by Dr. DeVore, and which is essentially modem
and metropolitan in its accommodations and facilities, its advantages
being such that its capacity is taxed the greater part of the time, the
while the proprietor finds that the demands of his general professional
work and those of his private hospital and sanitarium necessitate the
subordination of all other interests and matters with which he has to
do. Dr. DeVore is one of the representative physicians and surgeons
of Michigan, and he has been self-abnegating and indefatigable in the
work of his humane profession, the while special honor is due him for
the enterprise and broad humanitarian spirit which have prompted him
to establish and worthily maintain the fine private institution of which
he is the head and which has proved a most valuable acquisition to the
city in which it is located. The Doctor is a man of specially fine profes-
sional attainments, but is free from all that smacks of intellectual intol-
erance, so that he has the good will and confidence of his professional con-
freres and of the general public. His character, his achievement and his
services are such as to make most consistent his recognition in this his-
tory as one of the influential and honored members of the medical fra-
ternity in Michigan.
Dr. Tames A. DeVore was born in New York, on the 21st of May,
i8s3, and is a son of William and Lucy (Pressey) DeVore, the former
of\vhom was born in the state of New York, in 1821, and the latter of
whom was a native of Connecticut, where she was born in the year 1819,
their marriage having been solemnized in the old Empire state and both
having passed the closing years of their lives in Michigan, where the
770 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
mother died in 1885 and the father in 189S. W'ilHam De\"ore devoted
virtually his entire active life to the great basic industry of agriculture,
and through the same he achieved definite and worthy success. He
came to Michigan in the pioneer days but later returned to the state of
New York. The attractions of Alichigan appealed to him, however,
with such force that he came again to this state, where he purchased a
farm, becoming one of the successful agriculturists and influential citi-
zens of his community. He was a staunch Republican, having united
with the party at the time of its organization, and he was affiliated with
the Masonic fraternity, both he and his wife having been consistent and
zealous members of the Baptist church. Of their six children only two
are now living, — Dr. James A., of this sketch, and Lorenzo D., who is a
prosperous farmer of Muskegon county. Another son. Dr. Ransom P.,
was engaged in the active practice of medicine at Lyons, Ionia county,
Michigan, at the time of his death.
Dr. James A. De\'ore passed his boyhood days on the homestead farm
of his parents and after duly availing himself of the advantages of the
district schools he continued his studies for a short time in the high
school. He continued to be actively concerned with farm work until
he had attained to the age of sixteen years, and thereafter he gained no
insignificant pedagogic success, through his labors as a teacher in the
public schools. In consonance with a well matured ambition, he entered,
in 1874, the Cincinnati College of Medicine & Surgery, and in this well
ordered Ohio institution he was graduated in 1877, with the degree of
Doctor of Medicine. During the long intervening years he has con-
tinued to give close study to the best literature of his profession, both
standard and periodical, and few have a broader and more practical
knowledge of modem methods and agencies employed in the practice
of medicine and surgery. The Doctor served his professional novitiate
at Freeport, Barry county, Michigan, where he soon demonstrated his
power and succeeded in building up a substantial practice. There he
continued his earnest and fruitful labors for a period of ten years, and
his practice grew to be so large as to tax to the utmost his time and his
personal powers of endurance.
In 1887 Dr. De\'ore established his residence in the city of Grand
Rapids, and in this broader field he achieved success of unequivocal or-
der, his general practice becoming one of extensive and representative
order. To provide more adequately for the care of his many patients
Dr. DeVore determined to establish a private hospital and sanitarium,
and the outcome of this worthy desire was the founding of the fine in-
stitution which bears his name. His initial venture was made in a
modest way, but the institution has grown to be one of the best of its
kind in the' state. In IQ04 he established in connection with his hospital
a training school for nurses, and this has proved a valuable adjunct, as
it has sent forth able professional nurses to assist in the alleviation of
human suttering and distress. In the DeVore Hospital and Sanitarium
are given treatment to all classes of ailments except those of contagious
type or those that are otherwise objectionable from a sanitary stand-
point. The hospital is provided with thirty beds and the institution re-
tains constantly the services of two graduate nurses besides nine or
more who are in training. The institution has the best of facilities for
treatment of surgical cases, and Dr. DeVore himself is known as a
.speciallv skillful surgeon, with many delicate and successful minor and
major operations to his credit. He has taken several post-graduate
courses and spares neither time nor effort in keeping abreast of the best
modern thought and methods in the domain of his profession. The
Doctor is identified with the Kent County Medical Society, the Michigan
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 771
State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. His re-
ligious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mrs. DeVore
and her children are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church.
The Doctor is aiifiliated Grand River Lodge, No. 34, Free & Accepted
Masons, and with Columbian Chapter, No. 132, Royal Arch Masons. In
politics he is independent and gives support to the men and measures
meeting the approval of his judgment, his civic attitude being that of a
broad-minded and public-spirited citizen. He owns the property in
which his hospital is established and also has a well improved farm of
eighty acres, a few miles distant from Grand Rapids.
Of the first marriage of Dr. De\'ore the two children are Elwin A.
and Ethelyn A. In 1900 the Doctor wedded Airs. Frances Sanborn, of
the province of Ontario, Canada, her two children by her first mar-
riage being Hazel L. and Jean E. The two daughters, as well as the
mother, have special musical talent, Mrs. DeVore and Miss Hazel being
fine vocalists and the latter having also definite skill as a violinist; Miss
Jean E. .is now (1914) pursuing a course in vocal music in a leading
conservatory at Cleveland, Ohio. The family enjoys marked popularity
in the social circles of Grand Rapids, and the attractive home is known
for its generous hospitality.
BvRON Albert Litchfield. In naming the men whose activities
in business circles give Pontiac its high standing among the manufactur-
ing cities of the country it is found that but few owe their high posi-
tions to any adventitious circumstance. It has been the rule, rather than
the exception, that their rise has come about as a result of innate ability,
directed along well-chosen channels, and developed to the highest degree
through constant application and presevering endeavor. At any rate, it
would be incorrect to accredit the success of Byron Albert Litchfield,
president of the Hess-Pontiac Spring and Axle Company and of the
Blomfield Hills Land Company, to any happy chance. Self-supporting
since he reached the age of seventeen years, he has made his own career,
has grasped opportunities when they have appeared, and when they have
been slow in appearing has created them. His has been a career of con-
stant advancement, and a cursory review of its salient points shows that
it is representative of the highest type of American vim and energy.
Mr. Litchfield was born in the little town of Turin, New York, Oc-
tober 15, 1862, the fifth in order of birth of the six children born to
Chauncey B. and Martha (Coates) Litchfield. His parents were_ also
born in New York, where they spent their lives, the father attaining a
measure of success as a shoemaker. Byron A. Litchfield attended the
public schools of his native place until he was seventeen years of age.
He was of an ambitious nature, and decided that the place of his birth
did not offer any great opportunities for advancement, so finally, acting
on the advice of a cousin, who urged him to "come to a real live coun-
try," he left the parental roof and journeyed to Humboldt, Iowa, where
he took up the trade of painter. It required but a few years, however-
to convince him that no future awaited him in that line, so that he re-
moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and there, at the age of twenty-one years,
entered upon an apprenticeship at the works of the Cincinnati Spring
Company, an occupation which proved to be a congenial one. Here he
served as an apprentice for five years, thus becoming a skilled workman,
and it was not long before his employers, noting his skill and steady
habits, gave him an advancement. His promotions continued from time
to time until he became general superintendent of the plant, and he con-
tinued in that capacity at Cincinnati and later in Carthage, Ohio, until
1905. In that year the company then known as the Hess Spring and
772 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Axle Compan_y (having changed its name when moving to Carthage,
Ohio), purchased the \'ehicle and Implement Spring Company and the
Pontiac Axle Company, separate concerns of Pontiac, and sent j\Ir.
Litchfield to this city as general manager, the new firm being incorporated
at $140,000. Since Mr. Litchfield's advent, the plant has been enlarged
to three times its original size, and now employs between 300 and 400
skilled employes. This branch of the parent company is known as the
Hess-Pontiac Spring and Axle Company, and is one of nine branches in
various parts of the United States, of The Western Spring and Axle
Company, the others being: Cleveland Axle Alanufacturing Company,
Canton, Ohio ; The Cleveland-Canton Spring Company, Canton, Ohio ;
The Hess Spring and Axle Company, Carthage, Ohio ; The Cincinnati
& Hammond Spring Company, Cincinnati, Ohio; Ansted Spring and
Axle Company, Connersville, Indiana ; Spears Axle Company, Wheeling,
West Virginia ; Champ Spring Company, St. Louis, Missouri ; and The
J. B. Armstrong Alanufacturing Company, Flint, ^Michigan. In the be-
ginning of its career the firm manufactured springs and axles for horse-
drawn vehicles, but gradually has worked out of this line, and now con-
centrates its output entirely upon automobile springs, using high class
alloy steel, known as "Chrome-Vanadium'' steel, a metal of special
alloy. In his management of this great enterprise he has shown excel-
lent executive ability, and his associates have every confidence in his
judgment, foresight and acumen. He is extensively interested in realties,
being president of the Bloomfield Hills Land Company, which was in-
corporated at $20,000, December 31, 1900. J. N. Obrecht is vice-presi-
dent of this concern, and F. F. Grimmelman treasurer, and offices are
located in the Crofoot Building, Pontiac.
Mr. Litchfield was married in 1890, at Cincinnati, Ohio, to Miss
Sarah Louise Hess, daughter of the late Sanford Hess, who was a
prominent agriculturist and business man of Oswego, New York. Dur-
ing the year 1912 he built for himself and family a modern home on
Franklin Boulevard. He belongs to the Elks, and various other civic
and fraternal organizations, and his acquaintance in social and club life
of Pontiac is extensive. An enthusiastic automobilist, he holds mem-
bership in the Wolverine Automobile Club, and frequently takes ex-
tended motoring trips to points of interest with Miss Litchfield, having
on several occasions visited his old home in New York. His political
belief is that of the Republican party, although his extensive business
interests have precluded any idea of his entering actively into public life.
George H. Gordon. The ability to build up a business of large pro-
portions, and to compete with the strenuous rivalry existing in the modern
commercial world has been the distinguishing characteristic of George H.
Gordon, proprietor of the American Laundry at Flint. Mr. Gordon is
at the head of a business which is the largest concern of its kind in Genesee
county, and extends its service to a large number of towns and villages in
the surrounding territory. Mr. Gordon has long been identified with
business in Flint, where he has had his home since childhood. Born in
Searsburg, New York, October 5, 1861, George H. Gordon was the only
son of Jonathan and Mary H. (Stadge) Gordon. Both parents were born
in New" York, came from there to Flint in 1865. and are still living in that
city, the father being retired from business. He was during his active
career well known as a contractor and builder. During the Civil war he
enlisted in Company K, ist New York \'eteran Cavalry, seeing a long and
active service, principallv in scout duty, and was wounded in one of the
battles in which he participated. The mother is now sixty-eight years of
age, and she was reared and educated and married in New York State.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 773
George H. Gordon was four years old when the family came to Flint,
grew up in this city, had a common school education, and his first experi-
ence in preparation for a business career was in a printing shop. Mr.
Gordon worked on one of the first newspapers published in Flint, and
was with that paper for several years. The name of the paper was the
Globe, its editor was A. L. Aldrich, one of the early newspaper men ofi
Flint. After that he was in the job printing business for iiimself several
years, but finally sold out to Weller and Austin, the present proprietors.
He has since given his attention to other lines of business. In 1892 Mr.
Gordon established what is known as the Home Laundrv Companv. The
Home Laundry under his management grew to be more than a local enter-
prise, and after being made a prosperous establishment, was sold by Mr.
Gordon in 1902. He retired from the laundry business temporarily on
account of ill health, but in 1908 returned to the field, and established the
American Laundry. This, like his first venture, was started in a small
way, but with long experience and with high ideals of service. The
American Laundry is now one of the largest plants of its kind in this part
of the state. It has branches in several smaller villages and cities, and
it collects and distributes its work over all the lines of transportation,
leading in and out of Flint. The equipment is of the most modern type,
and Mr. Gordon is a man who never neglects to install new and progressive
features. There are forty employes, and the business represents a large
investment of capital. For one year in his-earlier business career, Mr.
Gordon was engaged in the drug business at Flmf.
While he has made a success in business, not all his time has been given
to private affairs, and he has worked for the community. He served as
supervisor from the second ward for a number of years, and was in the
city council four years. In politics he is a Republican. Fraternally Mr.
Gordon affiliates with the Masonic Order, having taken the Knight Tem-
plar degree in the Genessee Valley Commandery No. 15, belongs to the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the subordinate and the Fenton
Canton No. 27 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
At Flint, on October 15, 1884, occurred his marriage with Miss Ida E.
Skinner. Her parents were John and Minerva Skinner.
Richard J. Loree. The claims of the counties of the "Thumb" dis-
trict of eastern Michigan have had no exploiter more enthusiastic and
well fortified than is this well known and highly honored citizen of San-
dusky, the judicial center of Sanilac county. By individual ability and
effort he has won material success worthy of the name, and his sterling
character and broad views have caused him to place true valuations upon
men and things, so that he stands exponent of most loyal and progressive
citizenship, the while his abiding human sympathy and appreciation have
made him resourceful in aiding others to make their way to the goal of
success.
Mr. Loree was born at Eramosa. Wellington county, province of On-
tario, Canada, on the 27th of October. 1858. and is a son of James and
Lucy (Johnson) Loree. His maternal grandfather was the first white
man to be wedded in Guelph township, Wellington county, and was one
of the pioneers of that section of Ontario, where he established his
residence upon his immigration from England. He became a prosperous
farmer of Wellington county, where he passed the remainder of his life.
The genealogy of the Loree family is traced back to patrician French
Fluguenot origin, and the founders of the American line first settled in
New Jersey. The French ancestors were driven from their native land
to escape the persecutions incidental to the revocation of the Edict of
Nantes, in the first half of the seventeenth century, and all readers of his-
774 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
tory will recall the great French religious persecution which found its
culmination in the bloody orgies of the famous St. Bartholomew's Day,
in 1635. From Xew Jersey representatives of the Loree family finally
went into Canada, where the name has long stood for all that is worthy
in human thought and endeavor. Both the father and paternal grand
father of Richard J. Loree, of this review, were farmers, and their
residence on the old homestead farm in Wellington county, Ontario, cov-
ered a total of seventy-three years. James Loree, father of the subject
of this sketch, died in September, 1908, at the venerable age of eighty-
four years, and his wife passed to the life eternal in February, 1910, at
the age of eighty-two years, so that "in death they were not long divided."
Of their ten children two are deceased : Jonathan continues to represent
the family as a representative farmer of Eramosa township, Wellington
county, as does also his brother, James ; Nancy is the wife of Luke Stout,
a retired farmer of Guelph, Ontario; Anna is the wife of Roy Van Wie,
of Buffalo, New York ; Mary is the wife of Albert L. Stevens, of De-
troit, Michigan ; Bessie is the wife of Henry Long, of Crystal City, Texas;
George C. is a resident of the city of Toronto, Canada ; and Richard J.,
of this review, was the fourth in order of birth. The parents were de-
vout communicants of the Church of England, and their faith was shown
forth in their daily lives, which were replete with kindly thoughts and
kindly deeds.
Richard J. Loree passed his boyhood days under the invigorating dis-
cipline of the old home farm on which he was ushered into the world,
and in his native county he duly availed himself of the advantages of
the well ordered public schools. At the age of eighteen years he initiated
his independent career as a representative of the pedagogic profession.
For nearly three years he was a successful and popular teacher in the
schools of Guelph township, Wellington county, Ontario, and at the
expiration of this service, in 1879, he came to Michigan and numbered
himself among the virtual pioneers of Sanilac county. Here he became
a teacher in the public schools, and he continued as one of the popular
and able exponents of pedagogy for a full quarter of a century, nearly
all of his labor in this capacity having been in Sanilac county. He taught
in Greenleaf township ten years : was thereafter a teacher at Sheridan,
Huron county, for three years; the next four years found him similarly
engaged in Elk township, Sanilac county, and his further service as a
teacher was entirely confined to various schools in Sanilac county.
In 1902 Mr. Loree retired from this line of professional endeavor to
accept the position of acting county treasurer of Sanilac county, as proxy
for the regular incumbent. James Foster, a resident of the village of
Peck. His high reputation as a man of inflexible integrity and honor
was so well known that when he inquired the amount of bond he would
be required to furnish in assuming this responsible fiscal office, Mr.
Foster informed him that he would have to give no bond, as he, Foster,
had personally furnished this surety. He gave so careful and effective
an administration that in 1906 he was made the regular nominee of the
Republican party for the office of county treasurer. He was elected by
a flattering majority, as was he also at the expiration of his term, in
190S, and his administration thus covered a period of practically eight
consecutive years. In the campaigns incidental to the elections in the
county both in 1902 and 1904 'Sir. Loree did not make a single speech or
offer other overture of any kind to further his success at the polls. His
election thus afforded the fullest testimony alike to his personal popular-
ity and the unqualified confidence reposed in him by the people of Sanilac
county. After the expiration of his second term Mr. Loree was requested
by his successor, James L. Benedict, of Brown City, to continue as the
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 775
virtual executive head of the office of county treasurer, and this he con-
sented to do during the years from 1910 to 1914 inclusive. He has shown
special administrative alaility and has done much to conserve the prosper-
ity of the county, as well as to further its civic and material advancement
through zealous personal effort.
From the time when he became a naturalized citizen of the United
States Air. Loree has been an uncompromising and effective advocate of
tlie principles of the Republican party, and he has contributed nuich to
its success in his home county. He has gained a specially wide acquJiin-
tanceship throughout Sanilac, Huron, Tucola and Lapeer counties, and
has many personal friends in the city of Detroit. As a teacher he was
earnest in the imparting of knowledge to his pupils and also encouraging
them to prepare for lives of honor and usefulness. Many of the suc-
cessful and representative citizens of the younger generation in Sanilac
and Huron counties owe to him a lasting gratitude for the kindly admoni-
tion and encouragement which he gave to them in the formative period
of their careers. Mr. Loree is a man of fine intellectual attainments and
has the culture resulting from persistent study and the reading of the
best in literature. His private library is exceptionally large and well
selected, and he finds his maximum pleasure in passing his leisure hours
with his family and in the companionship of his books. He is affiliated
with the Alasonic fraternity, in which he has received the Knights Tem-
plar degrees ; he is also identified with the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows ; and in the Sandusky lodge of the Knights of Pythias he is now
in tenure of the office of keeper of records and seal. Both he and his
wife are earnest communicants of the St. Johns Episcopal church, and
they take active part in the various departments of church activity. Mr.
Loree has ever had implicit faith in the prosperous future of his home
county, and here he is the owner of valuable farm land, as well as of
his attractive residence property in Sandusky. He is a stockholder
in the Sandusky Brick & Tile Works, and as a citizen he is always ready
to give co-operation to measures and objects advanced for the general
good of the community.
On the loth of September, 1902, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Loree to Miss Nellie A. Coon, who was born and reared in Sanilac
countv, her father, John H. Coon, a native of Pennsylvania, having been
a pioneer farmer in Fremont township, this county, where he continued
to reside until his death ; his widow, whose maiden name was Clara Wix-
son, now resides in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Loree, whose three chil-
dren complete the attractive family circle. All of the children were born
at Sandusky, and their names, with respective dates of birth, are here
noted: Richard James, Jr., April 29, 1906; Clara, June 8, 1908; and
John H., March 27, 1910.
t
Lewis Hexry Jones. The recent retirement from the presidency of
the Michigan State Normal College at Ypsilanti of Lewis H. Jones
marked the close of an active career of a distinguished educator, whose
work for more than ten years as executive head of the Ypsilanti school
is deserving of more than passing mention in a history of the state.
Lewis Henry Jones was born at Noblesville, Indiana, July 3, 1844,
a son of William and Huldah (Swain) Jones. It was not the custom of
parents in the days of his youth to furnish their children with advantages
as liberal as are enjoyed by the present generation, and so far as the
means necessary for schooling were concerned Mr. Jones supplied most
of them through his own efforts. His early education was attained in
the Spiceland Academy of Indiana, and he completed two courses, one
in 1868 and one in 1870, at the Oswego Normal School. He was a per-
776 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
sonal pupil of Professor Agassiz at Harvard during 1870-71. In later
years a number of scholastic honors have been awarded him. DePauw
University gave him the degree of .Master of Arts in 1SS8, and Wabash
College similarly honored him in 1889. In 191 1 Miami University con-
ferred upon him the degree of D. Pd.
His career as an educator continued for more than forty years, be-
ginning as a teacher in the Indiana State Normal School during 1871-74.
In 1875 he was an instructor in the Indianapolis high school, and in
the following year became principal of the Indianapolis Normal School,
on affice he held until 1884. From 1884 to 1894 Air. Jones was superin-
tendent of the Indianapolis public schools, and on leaving Indianapolis
became superintendent of the public school system of Cleveland, CJhio.
From that high position in public school work, he was called in 1902
' to become president of the Michigan State Normal College at Ypsilanti,
and his duties continued from September, 1902, until the summer of 191 2,
when ill health compelled his resignation.
Dr. Jones held a membership in the National Council of Education,
in 1896 was president of the department of superintendence in the
National Educational Association, and in 1909 was honored as presi-
dent of the Michigan Schoolmasters' Club. He has also contributed to
text book and educational literature, being author of the Jones Readers,
first published in 1903, and of "Education as Growth"' in 191 1. On March
21, 1872, Mr. Jones married Sarah Ellen Good of Indianapolis. Mrs.
Jones died October 5, iQoi. Mr. Jones now li\es retired at 115 N.
Adams street, Ypsilanti.
Andrew J. Sawyer, Sr. The bench and bar of Michigan had one
of its ablest and most influential members in the late Andrew J. Sawyer
of Ann Arbor. His practice covered a period of half a century. His
home throughout this time was in Washtenaw county, but his reputation
as a brilliant and forceful advocate extended all over the state, and his
services were employed in some of the most important litigation in state
and federal courts and occasionally he was called as a counsel in trials
outside of Alichigan.
Andrew- Jackson Sawyer was born at Mottville, Onondaga county.
New York, November iS. 1834. He was nearly seventy-seven years of
age at the time of his death in Ann Arbor, August 18, 191 1. His parents,
Abraham and Polly (Phillips) Sawyer, were natives of New York state
and of old families in that commonwealth. One of the English ancestors
of the late Mr. Sawyer was Sir Thomas Sawyer, at one time attorney
general in England. John Sawyer, grandfather of the late Mr. Sawver,
was a Baptist clergyman who lost his sight at the age of thirty years
and won a great reputation in New York city and in western New York
state as the "blind preacher." Horace Greeley once paid a fine tribute
to this consecrated minister. Abraham Sawyer, the father, was a black-
smith and wagon maker in New York, also a merchant, held different
local offices, and late in life came with his wife to Michigan and spent
his declining years in the home of their son, Andrew J. Abraham died
in \\'ashtenaw county at the age of sevenr\--two. and his wife at the age
of ninety-two. Their bodies were interred in the cemeterv at Chelsea.
Of their seven children three sons besides Andrew J. were residents of
Michigan at the time of death.
Andrew J. Sawyer was thrown upon his own resources at the age
of fourteen and won his enviable success through his own efforts. In
his native locality he attended school, and was eleven years of age when
his parents moved to Caton in Steuben county. New York. \Mien seven-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 777
teen he began teaching, and divided his time between that work and at-
tendance at school. At the age of twenty-two he was graduated from
Starkey Seminary in Eddytown, New York, and in 1857 came to Alich-
igan and continued teaching until i860. His last work as an educator
was as principal of the Union school at Mason. While there he took
up the study of law under the preceptorship of Orlando ]\I. Barnes and
H. L. Henderson, who were at that time prominent members of the bar
of Ingham county, Mr. Barnes later becoming one of the wealthiest and
most influential citizens of Lansing.
On being admitted to the bar in i860 Mr. Sawyer formed a partner-
ship W'ith J. T. Honey and opened a law office at Chelsea in Washtenaw
county. In 1861 Mr. Honey removed to Dexter, while Mr. Sawyer
continued in practice at Chelsea until 1873, when he sought a broader
field in the city of Ann Arbor and for one year was associated with the
late Judge Lawrence. In 1879 Jerome C. Knowlton joined him in prac-
tice under the firm name of Sawyer & Knowlton, a firm which con-
tinued for eleven years until Mr. Knowlton accepted a chair in the law
department of the LIniversity of Michigan. During that time the court
records show that Messrs. Sawyer & Knowlton were associated with the
leading law cases tried in the courts of the district. In 1899. when Mr.
Sawyer's youngest son, Andrew J., Jr., was graduated from the law de-
partment of the university, the father and son became associated in prac-
tice, and the firm existed until the death of the senior member.
It was as a trial lawyer that the late Mr. Sawyer achieved his best
distinction. Some of his efforts before a jury were regarded as in-
comparable, and such was his reputation that he was called into every
judicial district in the state and also to adjoining states. Some years
ago he was one of the counsel in the celebrated electric-sugar case, tried
in New York city, and involving several millions of dollars. Mr. Sawyer's
chief opponent in that trial was William Travers Jerome, former dis-
trict attorney of New York. A professional tribute to Mr. Sawyer's
ability as a lawyer was in the following words : "He was one of the
learned lawyers of the Michigan bar, having an exact and comprehensive
knowledge of the science of jurisprudence in its various departments
and great facility in the application of this knowledge. His devotion to
his clients' interests was proverbial, yet he never forgot that he owed
higher allegiance to the majesty of the law and to the true ethics of his
chosen calling. In his practice he gave careful preparation to his every
case and showed painstaking care in the presentation of his cause, giv-
ing due prominence to every point, yet never losing sight of that upon
which the decision of the case finally turned."
The late Mr. Sawyer was always active in politics, casting his first
vote for John C. Fremont and remaining a Republican until his death.
He was a member of the Republican committee of Washtenaw county
from 1862 to 1874 and chairman of that committee from 1S74 to 1880.
In 1876 he was elected a member of the Michigan house of representa-
tives, was re-elected in 1878, and in 1896 was again elected to that office.
He was chairman of the judiciary committee for two terms, and made the
nominating speech for Thomas W. Ferry for United States senator in
1877, and for Zachariah H. Chandler in 1879. He was specially inter-
ested in constructive legislation, and introduced the bill for the estab-
lishment of a home for wayward girls at Adrian. He was author of the
law at present governing the draw'ing of jurors in Michigan and of the
law permitting congenitally deformed children to be sent to the clinics
of the LIniversity of Michigan for operation without expense to par-
ents. Another law^ with which he was influentially connected was that
permitting water to be sent to the University for analysis from any dis-
778 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
trict where a contagious disease had broken out. He introduced the
measure which provides for the sending to the university the bodies of
those who have died without friends in evidence and the burial of whom
entails an expense to the public. One point of praise concerning his
legislative record is that during his incumbency of the judiciary commit-
tee chairmanship no statute was approved by that committee which after- '
wards was declared unconstitutional.
It is said that during his many years of practice at Ann Arbor more
students were prepared in his office than in any other law office in the
state. During his active work as a lawyer he commanded the largest prac-
tice in his section of the state. Of his work both as a lawyer and citizen
it has been said of him : "He kept abreast with modern thought and
was interested in the great social, economic and political problems of
the day, while in his profession he displayed that concentration and
ready adaptibility without which there is no assured success in the prac-
tice of law."' He had succeeded in making his ability and reputation im-
pressive over a large part of the state, and his death brought tributes
of admiration and respect from the leading men of Michigan and also
from men of national prominence.
Mr. Sawyer took his first degrees in ]\Iasonry in 1S50, and was one
of the organizers of the lodge at Chelsea, serving as its master. He sub-
sequently took his memership to Ann Arbor, but never held office in that
lodge. He was also a member, of the ijcnevolent and Protective Order
of Elks. His church was the ^lethodist, of which Airs. Sawyer, his
widow, is a devoted member. In 1858, during the period of his early
manhood, Air. Sawyer married Aliss Lucy Skinner, who was born and
reared in New York state, a- .daughter of the late Samuel C. and Hulda
(Howell) Skinner. Alr^. Sawyer and three of their five children sur-
vive, the latter named: Frederick, Lorenzo and Andrew J., Jr.
Andrew J. S--\wver, Jr. The part taken by .\ndrew J. Sawyer, Jr.,
in the affairs of Ann Arbor and W'ashtenaw county has been that of an
able and conscientious lawyer, whose affiliations have always been straight-
forward and honorable and in a public way came into special prominence
a few years ago as prosecuting attorney of the county. While his father,
the late Andrew J. Sawyer, Sr., was one of the distinguished members
of the Michigan bar, whose career as a lawyer for more than half a
century in Washtenaw county has been sketched elsewhere, the junior Mr.
Sawyer has won his success entirely on his own merits and by down-
right ability and exceptional powers of initiative and accomplishment.
Andrew Jackson Sawyer, Jr., was born at Ann Arbor, January 18,
1876. His education was acquired in the public schools, graduating
from the high school in 1895, and as Bachelor of Arts from the Univer-
sity of Michigan in 1898. His law studies had been continued along with
literary courses in the university, and in 1899 he was awarded the degree
LL. B. and was president of his class the senior year. On admission to
the bar Air. Sawyer became associated with his father, and together
they handled a large and important business until the death of the latter,
in 1911.
In the fall of 1904, Air. Sawyer was elected prosecuting attorney of
Washtenaw county by a majority of 1,745, and two years later his elec-
tion came by an increased majority. The second election was a special
tribute to his professional ability and personal popularity irt the county.
The county was strongly Democratic, and his opponent was one of the
best known Democrats and lawyers of the county, General John P. Kirk.
The following brief comments on his official work deserves repetition:
"He proved a capable officer and is regarded as one of the leading at-
iim^
#^
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 779
torneys of the Washtepaw county bar. Before a jury he is a power,
and recently obtained the largest judgment against the Michigan Central
Railroad Company ever secured in a negligence case in the history of
Washtenaw county. Judge Kinne once said to a client of Mr. Sawyer
after the conviction in a murder trial that said client had been defended
'by one of the best attorneys who ever stood before this bar.' "
Mention should also be made of Mr. Sawyer's work as a champion
of the cause of popular education, since it was largely through his in-
fluence and efforts that the present compulsory school law was placed
on the statute books of Michigan. Politically his relations have always
been in harmony with the Republican party. In his native county and
home city he has friends in all classes, and fraternally is^ identified with
Masonrv, in the Lodge and Chapter and Ann Arbor Commandery of
Knights' Templar, and also the Order of the Eastern Star. Other social
relations are with the Loyal Order of Moose, the lienevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks, the Royal Arcanum, the Knights of the Macca-
bees, the Knights of Pythias and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Mr.
Sawyer grew up in a ^lethodist family and is a member of the First
Methodist Episcopal church of Ann Arbor. He was united in marriage
to j\Iiss Marie M. Schmid, daughter of the present postmaster of Man-
chester. Mr. Sawyer has two children: Irene, born in 1902; and Rich-
ard \\'atkins, born in 1905.
William Sparks. In the mind of every Jacksonian the name of
William Sparks at once suggests the proud position which the city has
attained in the field of pressed metal work, radiator fans and electric
signals, alike with the inception and the development of this important
department of manufactures and commerce in Michigan. As secretary,
treasurer and general manager of the Sparks-Withington Company, of
Jackson, he is the directing head of an industry which contributes mate-
rially to the importance of this city as a manufacturing center, and in
the capacity of president of the Chamber of Commerce he is actively en-
gaged in fostering the community's various business interests, yet not-
withstanding the many calls made upon him he has found time and thought
and energv for the public welfare, as well as leisure for the social
amenities of life.
Mr. Sparks was born in Devonshire. England, May 9, 1873, and at
the age of twelve years came to the United States with his parents.
George E. and Elizabeth (Way) Sparks, who now live at Jackson. Upon
coming to this country the family located on a farm three miles south of
Jackson, then known as the Theodore Bennett farm, but now as the
Probert Dairy Farm. George E. Sparks, being a practical farmer, lived
on and managed this property for nineteen years, and at the present
time it is one of the finest tracts in this section of the state. William
Sparks spent his youth much the same as other farmers' sons of his com-
munity, and after completing the eighth grade of the country school en-
tered the Jackson High school, which he attended until the senior year,
following this by a course in Devlin's Business College. He was gradu-
ated from this institution at the age of eighteen years, and for about
one and one-half years thereafter clerked in a grocery store. When
twenty years old he embarked in the retail grocery business for himself,
but after five years disposed of his interests and spent two years in the
employ of the Jackson Bridge Company. In the fall of 1900 he became
one of the organizers and founders of the Sparks-Withington Company,
which is today one of Jackson's leading industrial plants, capitalized at
$300,000. Since 1902 he has been secretary, treasurer and general man-
780 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
ager of the firm, P. H. Withington, of Cleveland, Ohio, being president,
and Winthrop Withington, of Jackson, vice president. The company
manufactures pressed metal products of every variety and for all purposes
and specializes in the manufacture of radiator fans for automobiles, aero-
])lanes, etc. It builds fans for all sorts of motor cars, from the lightest
pleasure car to the heaviest of motor trucks, and its products find a ready
market all over the United States and in foreign countries. Another
specialty is the manufacture of electric signals for both motor cars and
motor boats, and the ''Sparton Signal" has been adopted by many of
the standard cars as standard equipment. From the date of its founding
Mr. Sparks has been the directing force of the company, and to him is
due in the greatest degree the credit for the firm's marvelous success.
Mr. Sparks was one of the founders of the Chamber of Commerce, and
in 1914 was elected its president, at which time a local newspaper said
editorially: "The election of William Sparks to the presidency of the
Chamber of Commerce is one which ensures that body an energetic of-
ficial, and promises to gain that expansion in membership which is one
of the plans for 1914. Mr. Sparks is one of the young manufacturers of
the city whose career proves his possession of traits to which the Cham-
ber of Commerce is dedicated. .Froiw> his early association with the in-
stitution of which he is nt)\i' the managing head there has been a steady
progression in its actifities. It is a long step from pressing ferrules for
agricultural tools to the line of automobile accessories now featuring
the products of the Sparks-Withington Company, and it is all the more
credit to his initiative that this advance has been regular, and not by the
accidental success of any Srie irhproved process. Through the evolution
of the automobile there has been manifested the helpful efforts of men
in hundreds of individual plants, all giving the benefit of their experience,
gained perhaps in other lines of manufacture, to the production of the
parts which are assembled in that wonderful conveyance. It is from this
interest, coujiled with the thoroughness with which he has thrown around
all the goods made by his plant, that his entrance into the automobile in-
dustry has been so unqualifiedly successful. From the beginning of his
manufacturing experience he has had visions. The light of one success
has been used to discover other avenues, and as opportunities have arisen
they have been grasped and developed. In all his activities he has been
aggressive as well as thorough, and with all his concerns he has shown
good judgment and a level head. Under his direction the Chamber of
Commerce should continue, even surpass, its past record, nurturing pres-
ent institutions and securing new ones. He has zeal, energy and abil-
ity, clean in all respects, is fearless and impetuous when a decision is
reached, and his elevation comes at a time when the city can gain much
from a utilization of his personal and business attributes."
Mr. Sparks is a thirty-second degree Mason, a Knight Templar and
a Shriner. He is well known to club life, and holds membership in the
Wolf Lake Boat Club, of which he is commodore, the Meadow Heights
Country Club, the Jackson City Club, the Wolverine Automobile Club of
Detroit, the Fellowcraft Club of that city, and the Society of Automo-
bile Fngineers of New York City. The Withington Zouaves, of which
he has been captain and commander since its organization, is one of the
best-drilled military organizations in the United States, and at numerous
national functions and celebrations has received most favorable press com-
ments for its excellent appearance and its finely executed movements. It
is purely one of Mr. Sparks' creations, as it was he who first conceived
and organized it, and as its commander he has drilled it to the high state
of efficiency which it maintains. He gracefully gave it its name in honor
Til KEl T«1X I
¥AiAl* ■Wm** >»••»»
■v^.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 781
of Mr. P. H. Withington, the president of the Sparks-Withington Com-
pany. The U'ithiiigton Zouaves hold the world's record for wall scaling,
the time being fourteen seconds. At the Hudson-Fulton celebration, the
Jamestown Exposition and other national functions the company has
won distinction and attracted widespread attention.
On August 24, 1894, Mr. Sparks was married to Miss Tillie J. Peters,
and they have two sons : Harry G.. born August 28, 1895. now a student
in the engineering department of the University of Michigan ; and Clifford
M., born in October, 1897.
George Northrope Kennedy. In many different sections of Michi-
gan, Mr. Kennedy is best known as a minister of the .Methodist Episcopal
church. From about 1886 until recently he was in the active work of that
denomination and was pastor and member of the larger and more impor-
tant congregations. His voice finally proved incapable of the strain of
continued ministerial efforts, and since then Mr. Kennedy has built up
a large insurance agency at Flint, where he had previously served as
pastor of the local Alethodist church.
George N. Kennedy was born in Newark, New Jersey, March 25, 1863.
His family has a prominent record. George T. Kennedy, his father, was
born m Ireland, and came to America with two uncles, Samuel and Thomas
Kemiedy. Thomas Kennedy later became secretary of state under Presi-
dent Millard Fillmore, while Samuel Kennedy was a Presbyterian min-
ister. Rev. T. Kennedy, after coming to America, spent all his years in
New Jersey, where he was a successful banker and real estate broker. He
married Elizabeth Xorthrope Camp, who was of Norman French descent,
and was born in New Jersey, at Newark. Her family at one time had a
grant of land where the present city of Newark stands. The original
name was "De Camp," and before emigrating to America, its members
possessed titles, and were among the people of distinction and prominence
in Normandy. In America her ancestors took the English side of the
controversy with the colony, and held official rank in the British army.
It W'as for this reason that their land estates situated in New Jersey were
confiscated by the American government. Mrs. Elizabeth Kennedy died
at Newark, the mother of three children : Caroline, who is unmarried and
lives in the old homestead in Newark ; A. E. Kennedy, an attorney at law
at Dayton, Ohio; and George N., who was second in order of birth.
Very liberal advantages were afforded him in his youth, and he is a
graduate with the degree of B. A. from McGill University of Montreal,
Canada, and in 1886 was graduated LL. B. from the law department of
Toronto University. Although qualified for the law he never practiced,
but entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church, and soon
became prominent. He came to ^Michigan in 1886, and his first charge
was at Gaylord, where he remained three years. After that he served
churches at Mt. Clemens, Flint, Alpena, Hudson, Tecumseh. A failure
of his vocal powers finally compelled him to give up the ministry, and in
October, 1912, Mr. Kennedy organized his present business which is
known as the Cooper Agency, general insurance, commercial reporting,
and real estate. The firm in the brief time since its establishment has
become one of the most prosperous in this section of Michigan. At the
present writing articles of incorporation have been filed, with.IMr. Kennedy
as president, R. C. Willson as vice president, and E. Cooper Baldwin,
secretary and treasurer. The company's offices are in the Flint P. Smith
Building.
Though a loyal Republican, Mr. Kennedy has never taken much interest
in party aft'airs. He has gone through the Lodge, Chapter, and has
recently taken the Commandery degrees of York Rite Masonry. He is a
782 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
teacher and so far as possible, an active worker in the Methodist church
and Sunday school, and has allied himself with the progressive citizen-
ship of Flint, in the Chamber of Commerce.
At Alpena, Alichigan, June 25, 1905, Mr. Kennedy married Miss
Edith May Tackabury, who was born at Bay City, a daughter of John B.
and Ada Tackabury, old residents of Michigan. They are the parents of
one daughter, Kathryn Northrope Kennedy, who was born at Hudson,
Michigan, May 2, 1907. Mrs. Kennedy is a member of the Eastern Star,
and very active in religious afifairs. Their home is at 918 Detroit Street.
Joseph Adrian* Graley. There are many ways in which to express
the prominent relationship of Joseph A. Graley to Pontiac and Oakland
count)'. He is vice president of the Oakland County Savings Bank, is
one of the leading farmers of the county, owns a large amount of prop-
erty and real estate, has been idetified as a stockholder and directing
officer with half a dozen or more of the important corporations which
have given vitality to the business of this section of Michigan. In point
of success he stands among the leaders in Pontiac, and it is noteworthy
that all his prosperity has been won through a career of self-achievements,
since he began with fewer advantages on the whole than those possessed
by the average young men of his day.
Joseph Adrian Graley was born in Switzerland, January 9, 1845.
His parents were Joseph and Agatha Graley. The family came to Mich-
igan and settled in Detroit in 1850, when Joseph A. was five years of
age. The father was a man in humble circumstances, and had to ac-
cept any honorable employment in order to support his family. After
one year at Detroit, they moved to Plymouth, which remained the place
of residence for the family until the close of the Civil war. The father
then came to Waterford township, in Oakland county, where he was
engaged in farming, with his son, Joseph, as an active assistant. The
father became an invalid and for several years was incapacitated for
work on the farm. In 1871 the parents moved to Bloomfield township
in Oakland county, where the father died at the age of eighty-two years.
His wife died in 1882. There were three children in the family: Al-
bertine, wife of John McCauley, died suddenly in Pontiac, some years
ago ; Mary is the wife of Leonard Gabel, of Pontiac.
Joseph A. Graley received his education in the district schools of Oak-
land county, was reared on a farm, and has made a substantial success
as a manager of the resources of the soil. He still claims residence in
the country, and would probably prefer to have his vocation stated as
that of farmer rather than as banker, or as an official in the larger busi-
ness undertakings of his community. He owns and operates a fine farm
in Bloomfield township.
For many years, however, Mr. Graley has evinced a steadfast con-
fidence in the growth and development of the city of Pontiac, and has
done his full share in the work of upbuilding in that locality. Many
projects have had his support and have been successful largely through
his enthusiasm and leadership. He was one of the organizers of the
Oakland County Telephone Company, held a large amount of stock, and
served as president and a director for five years. The Oakland County
Savings Bank recognizes him as one of its organizers, and he is now its
active vice president. ^Ir. Graley organized the first creamery established
in the city of Pontiac, and was its first director. One of the well known
industrial concerns in former years at Pontiac was the Standard \'e-
hicle Company, of which he was a director. In character Mr. Gralev is
liberal and broadminded and has a sterling integritv which in all the
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 783
years has never been questioned, and his word anywhere in Oakland
county would pass current as a bond. In religious matters he has given
his support without discrimination to all churches and philantrophies,
and has been ever ready to assist in his financial contribution. He has
had membership in the Grange since 1874, and has been a member of
the Masonic Order since twenty-one years of age.
Mr. Graley was married to Miss Mattie Cole, a native of Oakland
county and a daughter of Grant and Mary (Keepler) Cole. The Cole
family settled in this part of Michigan in 1832, and its record is that
of the pioneers. The old Cole farm was purchased by Grant Cole dur-
ing the early years, he and his wife lived on it until their death, and it is
now owned among his descendants who possess the original parchment
document conveying from the government title to this land. There were
three children born to Mr. Graley and wife : Norton Graley, who lives
in Texarkana, Texas, is engaged in the lumber business; Lewis Graley
is at home with his parents; and Walter J. Graley is a hotel proprietor in
Toledo, Ohio. Mr. Graley has taken pains to give his sons the best
possible training for their career and furnished them liberal educational
advantages.
James R. Bennett. One of Detroit's best known and most popular
railway men was the late James R. Bennett, who for nearly a quarter of
a century was identified with the Grand Trunk Railway, beginning as
a call boy, he won promotion through his fidelity and his proficiency in
the mechanical department, and for a number of years was engineer and
piloted the limited fast Montreal Express on the Grand Trunk, running
between Detroit and Port Huron. Many will recall the terrible acci-
dent two days after Christmas in 1907, in which he met his death and
though like many brave railway men he was summoned while on duty,
his loss was keenly felt not only by the company but among his many
friends in railway circles.
James R. Bennett was born on his father's farm near Woodstock in
Oxford county, Ontario, January 19, 1865, and he was still in the prime
of life at the time of his death. His parents were Thomas and Hannah
(Hutchinson) Bennett, both natives of New York state, where they mar-
ried, and subsequently moved to Ontario, locating near Niagara Falls,
and finally to a farm in Oxford county. The father died there in 1895,
and his mother is still living.
While growing up on his father's farm in Ontario, James R. Bennett
attended the grade schools, and in 1883, at the age of eighteen, came to
Detroit to seek his fortune. In the same year he found a place with the
Grand Trunk railway as call boy. A little later he was promoted to
fireman, and finally to locomotive engineer, and eventually his service
won him a place as one of the most trusted engineers in the employ of
the company. In the memorable wreck on December 2-, 1907, he stuck
to his post, applied the air to his engine, but could not stop the train in
time to avert disaster. His death was instantaneous.
Mr. Bennett was a natural mechanic, and in engineer's examinations
always had high rank, and was especially proficient in his knowledge and
handling of the air equipment, having an average rating in that depart-
ment at 98 per cent. Personally he was a sunny, even-tempered man,
optimistic, dependable in his wo'rk, and never avoided a responsibility.
He enjoyed a large friendship, especially among railway men, and had
many associations with the city of Detroit, which was his home for
about twenty-five years.
Mr. Bennett was happily married, had a daughter and son, and was
devoted to his family and' home. He was a member of the Baptist
Vol. n— 10
784
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
church, and of the Star Coiuicil of the Royal Arcanum and also belonged
to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. He was married March
I4> 1893, to Catherine MacPhail, who was born in Bruce county, On-
tario. April 12, 1874, daughter of Donald and Isabella (AlacFadyn ) Mac-
Phail. Her father was born on the Island of Tyree, Scotland', and her
mother in \'ictoria county. Ontario. Her mother died in 1893 ^t the age
of forty-seven, while her father passed away September 13, 1909. Mrs.
Bennett came to Detroit when a girl of fifteen years to make her home
with an aunt. She was married in this city, with which she has many
happy associations. She is a member of the Baptist church. The two
children are : Violet G., who is in the Solvay Hospital training as a pro-
fessional nurse ; and Alfred J., a student in the Cass high school.
Edward D. Kinne. Seldom does an individual career compass such
varied and important activities as that of Judge Edward D. Kinne of
Ann Arbor. His sen-ices have given dignity and value to the annals of
the bench and bar of r^Iichigan through a period of nearly half a century.
More than forty years ago he became active in city and county affairs,
and has been honored with nearly all the offices in the gift of his home
community. The service by which he has been most distinguished is as
judge of the circuit court, and his seat on the circuit bench has been
continuous for twenty-seven years. Judge Kinne is also regarded as one
of the most substantial business men of Ann Arbor, has long been presi-
dent of the First National Bank and is active head of the Washtenaw
Gas Company.
Judge Kinne. who was graduated from the University of Michigan
fifty years ago and has practiced law at Ann Arbor since 1867, was born
at DeWitt Center near the city of Syracuse, Onondaga county. New York,
February 9, 1842, the youngest in a family of two sons and one daughter.
His parents were Julius C. and Rachel C. (Wetherby) Kinne, who spent
their lives in New York state and were of English origin. Julius C.
Kinne, a substantial Onondaga county farmer, was influential in civic
affairs, and represented his county in the state legislature several times.
His death occurred in 1855, and he was survived a number of years by
his wife.
Judge Kinne attended district schools until fifteen years of age, was
prepared for college at Cazenovia Academy, and in i860, having come to
Michigan, entered the literarj- department of the University of Michigan
and was graduated bachelor of arts in the class of 1864. An opportune
appointment to a clerkship in the treasury department at Washington en-
abled him during the next three years to earn a living and at the same
time attend the law department of Columbian University, now the George
Washington University. His life and experience there also brought him
a close knowledge of national affairs at one of the most critical and in-
teresting periods of the history of the United States.
Having been graduated in law and admitted to the bar of the District
of Columbia, Judge Kinne soon returned to Michigan and took up prac-
tice at Ann Arbor. His subsequent years have been distinguished both by
success as a lawyer and prominence in affairs. His only partnership
during all those years was with the late Hon. Olney Hawkins, but was
dissolved in 1869. In that year Judge Kinne was elected city recorder for
Ann Arbor, and after two terms in 1871 was elected citv attornev. filling
that office three consecutive terms, and in 1876 was chosen mayor, and
subsequently re-elected to that office. In 1879 -^^''- Kinne became a candi-
date and was elected to represent Washtenaw county in the state legisla-
ture. For many years his influence has carried great weight in politics
not only locally but throughout the state, and even his political opponents
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 785
have admired the' determination which causes him to fight to the last ditch
for a principle or for what he thinks is right.
After this varied service in local atifairs and twenty years of active
practice in the law, Judge Kinne in 1887 was nominated by the Repub-
licans for the otSce of circuit judge, and was chosen by a majority of more
than two thousand votes, although the counties of Washtenaw and Mon-
roe were at the time decidedly I)emocratic. When his first term expired
it was largely formality in his re-election, and the people of the district
have again and again confirmed his judicial administration so that he is
now in his fifth consecutive term. The legal attainments of Judge Kinne
were admirable when first elected to the bench. His record as a judge has
been such as to command the admiration of the bar, the confidence of
litigants and the approval of the public. Judge Kinne has always been a
student, not only of the law but of the sciences and of politics and his-
tory, and along with scholarship possesses breadth of vision and depth of
thought. On the bench he has never manifested the slightest tincture of
partisanship. His treatment of the bar, his rulings, his jury charges, all
attest the possession of a judicial temperament. Judge Kinne has not be-
trayed anv narrowness or any disposition to regard mere technicalities as
being of prime importance, and his quick and accurate comprehension of
legal principles has enabled him to formulate with impartiality and sound-
ness all points of equity and justice. Such has been the impression formed
of him by his associates, and of his manner and method it has also been
said : "There is no exhibition of haste or impatience, no appearance of a
desire to be autocratic or to exercise judicial authority as a prerogative and
to a degree that savors of oppression. He is earnest, thoughtful, con-
scientious, impressed with the dignity and responsibilities of judicial func-
tions, and conveys on the bench the definite impression that he is con-
vinced that justice is the one object of courts of law."
Judge Kinne is one of the prominent bankers of central Michigan,
and for the past sixteen years has been president of the First National
Bank of Ann Arbor. For twenty-five years he was president of the
Ann Arbor Gas Company, and when that company was re-organized in
T913 under the title of the Washtenaw Gas Company he was made presi-
dent of the new corporation, and still holds that office. He is also the
owner of valuable real estate in Ann Arbor. Judge Kinne is identified
with various social and fraternal organizations, was made a ^Nlason in
Washington, D. C, before coming to Ann Arbor, and is a Knight Tem-
plar in that fraternity. He supports the cause of religion and education,
being a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal church, and for many years
a vestryman. Mr. Kinne contributes liberally to the churches in general,
and his generosity and effective leadership have been counted upon in
practically every enterprise aiifecting the welfare of his community. He
is among'the first to give in any worthy cause and the quality of his pub-
lic spirit is as noteworthy as his ability on the bench or in the direction
of large business affairs.
In 1867 Tudge Kinne married Miss Man.- C. Haw^kins, daughter of
the late Hon. Olney Hawkins, who for many years was a leader of the
Ann Arbor bar. Mrs. Kinne died in 1882, survived by two children:
Samuel D. and Mary W. Kinne. The son, who was graduated in both
the literarv and law departments of the University of Michigan, is now
deceased. ' The daughter, Mary, was educated in the Packard Institute in
New York Citv, and is now the wife of LeClair Martin, of Cedar Falls,
Iowa. Judge Kinne's second wife was Winifred L. Morse, a graduate of
the Michigan University.
Charles P. Ramoth, M. D. Holding prestige in the ranks of his
jirofession by reason of superior natural ability, aided by a thorough
786 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
training, wide experience, an acute comprehension of human nature and
broad s3-mpathy, Dr. Charles P. Ramoth is firmly established in the con-
fidence of the people of Flint. Although engaged in practice here only
since 1910, he has shown himself such a thorough master of his calling
that he has been able to build up an excellent professional business, while
as a citizen he has demonstrated that he is ever ready to do more than his
share in advancing the public welfare. Doctor Ramoth is a Canadian,
born at Samia, Ontario, August 8, 1873, and is a son of Carl and Thecla
(Prooencher) Ramoth.
Carl Ramoth was born in Germany, a member of one of the old and
honored families of the Fatherland, and was there reared to manhood.
On coming to America, he first located in Quebec, Canada, subsequently
came to Michigan, and finally returned to Ontario, where he continued
to be engaged as a tailor during the remaining active years of his life.
He married Thecla Prooencher, also a native of Germany, and they be-
came the parents of three children, of whom Charles P. is the youngest.
Doctor Ramoth received good educational advantages in his youth, first
attending the public schools of Windsor, Ontario, subsequently takmg
the course in Assumption College, Sandwich, Ontario, and later becom-
ing a student in St. ^lichael's College, Toronto. With this preparation,
he took up the study of medicine in the Detroit College of Medicine, and
in 1900 was graduated with his degree. He began practice at Saginaw,
Michigan, where he continued successfully, for ten years, and in 1910 came
to Flint which city has sincfe been his field of endeavor. He maintains of-
fices in his residence at No. 415 South Saginaw street. Doctor Ramath's
success is not the result of any happy chance ; luck has played no part in
his advancement. At the beginning of his career he was compelled to
meet and overcome the same obstacles which arise in the path of every
young practitioner. These, however, succumbed to his constant study,
his indomitable perseverance and the force of his ability, well applied,
and he may today take a pardonable degree of pride in the fact that he
owes his present position and prosperity solely to his own industry and
effort. He keeps fully abreast of the rapid strides being made in the
science of medicine by his attendance at clinics and lectures, his perusal
of the leading medical journals and his membership in the various or-
ganizations of the profession, and his devotion to his calling is such that
he finds but little leisure to take vacations. However, being of a genial
and sociable disposition, he enjoys the companionship of his fellows, and
is ver\- popular with the members of the Knights of Pythias and the
Knights of Coliunbus. Reared in the faith of the Catholic church he has
ahvavs been a member thereof. The duties of his practice have precluded
any idea of his entering the field of politics. Doctor Ramoth is unmarried.
Howard Graves ^Meredith. Present \'ice Consul for His Britannic
Majesty at Detroit, Howard Graves Meredith is one of the best known
members of the Canadian colony in Detroit, and for a number of years
has been prominent in business afl:'airs. In spite of the responsibilities
of an active business career, ]Mr. Meredith has found time for social and
civic life, and his public duties are performed in the same efficient man-
ner that has been his characteristic in business.
A native of Ontario, where his boyhood was spent and his early edu-
cation acquired, Howard Graves Meredith entered the railroad service in
Canada during manhood. It was through the discipline of railroading,
both in Canada and in Detroit, that ^Ir. Meredith graduated into inde-
pendent leadership of affairs. In 1905 he entered the wholesale coal
business as Vice President of the New York Coal Company with entire
charge of the company's business in Detroit and Michigan. That was his
^^^d.,^!^>C!(>^
/^
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 787
chief business connection until 1908, when he retired from its active man-
agement, but has retained his financial interests. Mr. Meredith is re-
garded as one of the most successful coal operators in Michigan. The
company with which he has been identified owns a group of mines in the
Hocking Valley of Ohio, and they were opened and developed largely
through Mr. Meredith's business ability and foresight. Mr. Meredith is
still Vice President of the company.
In 1909 the British government appointed him \'ice Consul at Detroit
and this honorary position he has made one of efifective service to both
countries. Mr. Meredith has a prominent part in social and club life, with
membership in a number of the best known clubs, including the Detroit,
the Yondotega, the Country and the Racquette Clubs. He also is a mem-
ber of the Toronto Shooting Club of Ontario and the Scugog Marsh Shoot-
ing Club of Ontario. By his marriage to Miss Helen Newland, of one
of Detroit's prominent families, ]Mr. Meredith has one son, Newland
Meredith.
Colonel Osc.\r Francis Lochhe.\d. One of the most distinguished
surviving soldiers and officers of the Civil war in Michigan is Col. Oscar F.
Lochhead of Flint, a city in which he has lived for forty-five years, and
where he occupies a position of peculiar esteem and affection among all
classes of people. Born in Wayne county, Michigan, in Plymouth town-
ship, November 28, 1838, Colonel Lochhead is almost as old as the state
of Michigan, and represents one of the pioneer families in the south eastern
section of the state. His parents were Mathew and Miranda (Lyon)
Lochhead. His father was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and his mother in
Lima, New York state, near Avon. Mathew Lochhead when a young
single man in the early twenties came to Plymouth, Michigan. A miller by
trade, he worked at farming during his first five years in Michigan, and
then found a place as miller at Plymouth with the Hardenburg Milling
Company. He was with that firm until his death in 1864 at the age of sixty
years. In politics he devoted himself actively to the Whig principles, and
later became an equally staunch Republican. He was a Unitarian in
religious faith, and a man of moral probity and of fine character. His wife
was a devout Christian lady, and they reared only two children to ma-
turity. The daughter, Mary, became the wife of Willard Roe, of Ply-
mouth, and she died some years ago.
Colonel Oscar Francis Lochhead was reared at Plymouth, educated in
the village schools, and for a time attended an old red school house situated
about a inile distant from his father's farm. When a boy of sixteen he
left home to go to Detroit, in which city he found employment as clerk
in the wholesale grocery house of W. H. & J. Craig. After several years
experience there he became clerk in the hardware store of C. P. Woodruff
and Company. His progress towards business success was interrupted by
the outbreak of the war. He was among the early volunteers from the
state of Michigan, and enlisted in the three months service April 21, 1861,
and on May 10, 1861, in Company H, Second Michigan Infantry for three
years service. He went in as a private, and his first enlistment closed in
1863. On December 31, 1863, he re-enlisted and fought with his command
until the close of the war. He was mustered out and given an honorable
discharge at the Delaney House in Washington on July 28, 1865. His
service "had lasted for four years and three months, and going in as a
private he came out as First Lieutenant of Company E, Second Infantry.
At Blain's Cross Roads in Tennessee he was made corporal, in July, 1862,
and was commissioned first lieutenant of Company E on October 12, 1864.
He was commissioned regimental quartermaster on September 30, 1864.
He participated in nearly all the battles in which the Second Infantry was
788 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
engaged, and his service was both in the great seat of the war in Virginia
and also in the South. His first fight was at Blackburn's Ford in Virginia,
just three days before the first battle of Bull Run. He was at the siege
of Yorktown, at Williamsburg, at Fair Oaks, Glendall, Malvern Hill, at
the second battle of Bull Run, at Chantilly, at Fredricksburg, the siege of
Vicksburg, Jackson, Mississippi, Blue Springs, Tennessee, Loudon, Lenoir
Station, Campbell Station, and at the siege of Knoxville he and his com-
rades lived for nineteen days on three days' rations. He was quarter-
master in the battle of the VVilderness, at Spottsylvania, at Cold Harbor,
at Petersburg, at Pegram Farm, at Hatchers Run. Fort Steadman. His
was the first quartermaster's wagon to enter Petersburg after the fall of
that city.
After this long and honorable record as a soldier. Colonel Lochhead
returned to Detroit. One year was spent as a traveling salesman, and in
1867 he came to Flint. For eight years he served as assistant postmaster
under Washington O'Donoughue, and then for ten years was a bookkeeper
in the Citizens National Bank of Flint. For four years Colonel Lochhead
was in the Secretary of State's office at Lansing, and since 1897 'I'ls been
in practice as a pension attorney at Flint.
In politics he has been a Republican since casting his first vote in the
gloomy days of the Federal war, and has done much to keep up and main-
tain the strength of this great political organization. Colonel Lochhead
organized and was ist lieutenant of the Flint Union Blues, and was the
first officer who ever drilled the company. He became first lieutenant,
then for four years was captain and was finally promoted to major of the
Third Regiment, Michigan State Troops, and finally was colonel of the
regiment until he resigned in 1S82. He has long been prominent in Grand
Army circles, and for two years was commander of Governor Crapo's
Post, G. A. R., and was twice assistant adjutant general for the department
of ■Michigan, Grand Army of the Republic. Fraternally he is affiliated
with the Knights of Pythias, and the uniform rank of that order, and
attends the Episcopal church, of which his wife is a member.
On January 8, 1867, Colonel Lochhead married Mary Reynolds, who
was born in Flint, a daughter of Almon and Betsey (MacCumber) Rey-
nolds. The first child of that union was Dr. Harry B. Lochhead, who
graduated in medicine from the Jefterson Medical College at Philadelphia,
and had already began a promising career as a surgeon when death called
him at Pittston, Pennsylvania, October 24, igio. The second child was
Grace E. Lochhead, who was liberally educated and performed successful
service in the world as a teacher in the Deaf and Dumb Institution of
Jacksonville, Illinois. She died August 23, 1905, at Flint. Colonel Loch-
head was devoted to his children, never spared expense in educating them
for their careers, and had the severe misfortune of losing both when just
started in their professions. Both children now rest in Glenwood cemetery
at Flint. For more than forty years Colonel Lochhead has lived in the
third ward of Flint, with his present home at 511 West Second street.
No man in the citv has more sincere friends in all the walks of life, and he
has done much to deserve the esteem in which his declining years are
passed. He is cheerful at all times, is a man who never worries, and is
a true and tried gentleman of the old school.
Frank L. Doty, a member of the Pontiac bar since 1909, is promi-
nent in afi'airs of his profession and in the office of prosecuting attorney
of Oakland countv is proving himself one of the most efficient and ener-
getic officials the citizens of this section have known. Mr. Doty is a
native son of Oakland county, having been born on his father's farm in
Rose township, February 10, 1880, his parents being Pardon H. and
Lora L. (Pratt) Doty.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 789
The Doty family is accounted one of tlie oldest and most highly
honored families in Oakland, where both of JMr. Doty's parents have
spent their entire lives. The father, who is the owner of 320 acres of
fine land, all accumulated through his own efforts, has spent his life in
agricultural pursuits, and is now living retired, enjoying the fruits of his
years of strenuous and well-directed labor. He has a pleasant home in
Pontiac. Mrs. Doty takes an active part in church, charitable work and
women's clubs. They are the parents of two children: Nina E., who is a
teacher in the public schools of Pontiac ; and Frank L. The father has
always been a Republican in his political views, nd takes a keen and
intelligent interest in all things pertaining to the welfare of his community.
Frank L. Doty received his early educational training in the district
school in the vicinity of his father's farm in Rose township, following
which he became a student in the Pontiac High school, where he was
graduated with the class of 1901. Pursuing his studies, he entered the
University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and was graduated from the
literary department of that institution with the degree of Bachelor of
Arts, in 1905. Having decided upon a professional career, he ne.xt be-
came a student in the law department of the same university, and grad-
uated in 1907, almost immediately thereafter being admitted to the bar.
Mr. Doty began his law practice at Durand, where he was associated
with Hon. Byron P. Hicks, and for one and one-half years served as
assistant prosecutor of Shiawassee county, but in March, 1909, seeking
a broader field for the display of his abilities, came to Pontiac. In this
city he has since built up an excellent professional business, and has risen
to a high place in his vocation. He belongs to the Michigan State and
Oakland County Bar Associations. His connection with a number of
complicated cases of jurisprudence, in which he gave evidence of superior
attainments, placed him favorably before the public, and in the fall of
1912 he was chosen by the people as prosecuting attorney of Oakland
county. In this capacity he has labored earnestly and conscientiously,
and the citizens of this section have had no reason to regret of their
choice. As a prosecutor he has shown himself fearless in his attack of
criminals, and his deep and thorough knowledge of the law make him an
opponent to be feared. His political belief is that of the Republican
party, and he is known as one of the wheel-horses of Republicanism in
the county. Fraternally, Mr. Doty is a thirty-second degree Mason and
a Shriner, and a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks. He also holds membership in the Pontiac
Club, and is well-known in military circles as a second lieutenant in the
Michigan National Guard.
Daniel E. Murray. The average business man, be he energetic and
industrious, is loath to step aside from the path of labor to let pass the
younger generation of workers with their clear-cut hopes and unrealized
ambitions, and to whom life is still a vast and unexplored territory. In
1913, after an honorable business career, in which he met with unquali-
fied success, Daniel E. Murray decided to retire from activities, but soon
found the call of the busy marts too strong to be denied, and is now
again found among Detroit's busiest citizens, a builder of prominence
and connected with various prosperous enterprises. Mr. Murray is a
native of Kenockee, St. Clair county. Michigan, born April 23, 1868, a
son of George T. and Bridget (Kelly') Murray, the former a native of
Tonawanda, New York, and the latter of Ireland.
Thomas Murray, the paternal grandfather of Daniel E., was born on
Erin's Isle, and was a young man when he emigrated to America, be-
coming connected with the construction of the Erie Canal. For a time
790 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
he resided at Lockport, Tonawanda and other canal towns, but in 1837
came to Michigan and located in St. Clair county, where he was a pio-
neer in the lumber business of the Black River section and operated a
large farm. He became successful in both ventures, and throughout his
life was known as a man of the highest integrity and honorable purpose.
George T. Murray was born at Tonawanda, New York, in 1S32, and
came to Michigan with his parents in 1837. He followed farming on
the old Murray homestead in St. Clair county, and after retiring from
active life removed to Detroit, where his death occurred in 1898. The
mother of Mr. Murray died in November, 1892, at the age of forty-eight
years, having had the following children : Thomas, who is a resident of
Detroit; Daniel E., of this review; Michael; Patrick J., of Cleveland,
Ohio; and William Joseph, who is deceased.
Daniel E. Murray was reared on the home farm in St. Clair county,
and attended the common schools. He was twenty years of age when
the quiet life of the farm began to pall upon him, and leaving home, he
joined the United States Regular Army. Eight months later his parents
secured his discharge, as he had been a minor, and he then came to De-
troit, apprenticed himself to the trade of brick mason, and after com-
pleting his apprenticeship began to work at that occupation as a journey-
man. For about eight years he was a contracting mason, and then em-
barked in the general building business and in dealing in real estate, and
in 1902, with James H. Holden, formed the firm of Holden & Murray,
real estate and' building, which continued in business until April i, 19 13.
At that time the partnership was mutually dissolved, Mr. Murray leaving
the firm with the idea of retiring from business life, but during the same
year recognized opportunities that were too enhancing to be dismissed
and accordingly reentered the activities of trade and commerce and began
building again, his initial enterprise being the erection of an eighteen-
family apartment house. At this time he is again in full swing in the
building line, erecting structures only for sale and not doing any con-
tracting work. He now has a number of fine properties under way, and
in addition has been otherwise active, being a member of the board of di-
rectors of the Candler Radiator Company of Detroit, and also connected
with Demon*' & Company, whose department store is located at the cor-
ner of Woodward and Milwaukee avenues. He is a prominent member
of the Detroit Real Estate Board and of the Board of Commerce. In-
tegrity and fair dealing have been pillars in his business life, and these
same qualities have drawn to him the enduring esteem and confidence
of the people of the community in which he has resided for so many
years. With his family, Mr. Murray attends the Catholic church, and
holds membership in the Catholic Benevolent Society.
Mr. Murray was married to Miss Alice Crawley, who was born in the
city of Detroit^ daughter of Thomas Crawley, and she died in 1908, leav-
ing six children, as "follows: Harold Thomas, George Edwin, Alice Irene,
Marie Elizabeth, Helen Dorothy and Daniel E, Jr., the last-named de-
ceased. Mr. ^Murray's second marriage was to Miss Clara Lichtenfield, of
Detroit, daughter of Andrew Lichtenfield.
BvRON P.-xRDON Hicks. Actively identified with his profession as a
lawyer at Durand for fifteen years'! and now engaged in banking, iSIr.
Hicks is a lawyer of unusual attainments and education, and established
one of the largest clienteles in Shiawassee County. His law and private
library is regarded as the finest in Durand. For a number of years he
has been closely identified with Republican politics, has served in official
capacitv and has done much campaign work. It is not uncommon for
lawvers to have large interests in business affairs, and in October, 1013.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 7t)l
Mr. Hicks gave up his practice to devote all his energies to the Shiawas-
see County Bank, of which he is a director and assistant cashier.
Representing one of the oldest families in the state of Michigan,
Bvron P. Hicks was born in Tyrone township in Livingston county, No-
vember 27, 1873. His parents were Reuben Mason and Jane S. (Feez-
lear) Hicks. Reuben Hicks, a native of White Lake in Oakland county,
where he was born in 1838, was the son of Pardon Hicks, who came to
Michigan in the early twenties, and for many years did a successful busi-
ness as a blacksmith and wagon maker along the old Grand River road.
He acquired a large tract of land amounting to a full section in Oakland
county, and on his estate erected a stone schoolhouse. In that school his
son Reuben was educated, and the Durand lawyer in his early career
taught school for one year in that building. The old structure is still
standing and doing service as a country schoolhouse. Pardon Hicks
married Desire Jayne, of one of the oldest of American families. The
family name was originally Dejayne of French origin, and during the
Reformation found refuge in England, and later a branch settled on Long
Island in 1640. In England the name was changed to the form Jayne.
[otham Jayne, one of the ancestors of B. P. Hicks, fought in the Second
"Regiment of the Continental line during the American Revolution,
[otham married Desire Young, and was given a patent to lands in
Cayuga county. New York, for his services as a soldier in the Revolu-
tion. Jotham Jayne was born at Cornwall, England, 1754, and his son,
Benjamin Jones Jayne, was born in New York state and married Anna
Roaks. and of their large family a number are buried at Fenton in
Genesee county, Michigan. Reuben M. Hicks, father of the Durand
lawyer, was a prominent farmer in Livingston county, where his pos-
sessions aggregated several hundred acres of land. His wife died in
1880 at the age of forty-two, and both are interred in the family burial
ground at Fenton. There were seven children, mentioned as follows:
Delbert Jerome Hicks is deceased. Frank Elmer Hicks lives at Mance-
lona, Michigan. Libbie Lodema is the wife of Frank L. Becker of
Plymouth, Michigan. Fred B. Hicks is manager of the old home farm,
owned by his blind sister, Theda J. Hicks, the old homestead having been
given to'her owing to her affliction. Mina D., married Bert M. Stroud,
both of whom are deceased.
Mr. B. P. Hicks was reared in a cultured home and with the environ-
ment and advantages which liberally prepared him for a useful career.
On graduating from the Fenton high school he spent five years as a
teacher. One of these years was. spent in the old stone schoolhouse built
by his grandfather while the rest of the time was spent in district schools
in Livingston and Oakland counties. In the fall of 1894 Mr. Hicks en-
tered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated
LL.B. with the class of 1898. He earned his own way through the Uni-
versity, and earlv learned the lessons of independence and self-reliance.
In September, 1898, Mr. Hicks located at Durand, and began what has
been a very successful practice as a lawyer. For one year he was asso-
ciated with Hon. Selden Miner, now circuit judge, under the firm name
of ]\Iiner & Hicks, with offices both in Owosso and Durand. For four
vears, from 1907 to 191 1, Mr. Hicks was prosecuting attorney of Shiawas-
see county, and was city attorney of Durand for several terms. He is
local attorney for the Grand Trunk Railroad.
Since casting his first vote his activity has been in behalf of the Re-
publican interests, and in 1912, he stumped the eighth congressional dis-
trict in behalf of the candidacy of Joseph W. Fordney. Mr. Hicks is
well known in Masonic circles, his affiliations being v^fith North Newburg
792 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Lodge No. i6i, A. F. & A. M. ; Durand Chapter No. 139, R. A. M. ;
Corunna Commandery No. 21, K. T. ; the Durand Chapter No. 244, O.
E. S., and with the Ivlystic Shrine at Saginaw. He is a past master of his
lodge, has served as high priest of the chapter, and as past worthy patron
of the Eastern Star. Mr. Hicks is a warden in the Durand Episcopal
church.
On December 24, 1902, he married ]\Iiss Lillie M. Rowley, who was
born in Burns township of Shiawassee county, a daughter of Albert and
Franke (Whipple) Rowley. They have no children of their own, but
their home and its advantages have been extended to the rearing and
educating of two adopted children. Mr. Hicks has his residence in
Durand, and he and his wife enjoy their summer outings in a cottage at
Linden on Day's Lake. Mr. Hicks is a man of liberal education and out-
side of business his chief hobby is histor)'.
Jay Alvah Campbell. The progress, development and advancement
of any community is largely dependent upon the exertions of those men
who devote their energies to the exploitation of real estate. Without
their energy, enthusiasm, vim and progressive ideas, no locality can hope
to move out of the rut of mediocrity; outside capital will not be attracted
to it, and property values will increase but little year by year. With the
advent of an enterprising, experienced man, well versed in the realty busi-
ness, comes a growth at times remarkable. Many years have passed since
the initial work along this line was done in the older sections of Jack-
son, Michigan, but the needs of this growing municipality have made nec-
essary a constant expansion of the outlying territory, while a main-
tenance of the value of property already built is correspondingly im-
portant. Thus it is that the work of the realty dealer is accounted one
of the most important factors in the busy life of the city, and one of
the men whose name has for years been associated with development m
this direction is Jay Alvah Campbell, whose offices are located at No.
308 Carter Building.
Mr. Campbell was born on a farm in Parma township, Jack.son county,
Michigan, February 8, 1853. His father, Alvah Campbell, a farmer by
occupation, was born in Monroe county, New York, came to Alichigan
in young manhood, settled on a farm in Parma township, Jackson county,
and here passed the remaining years of his life, dying in 1867 at the age
of fifty-five years. He was a prominent and devoted member of the
Methodist church, and the North Parma church of that faith was erected
on a portion of his farm, he donating the land for the site, and, with an-
other man of the neighborhood, furnishing the money with which it
was built. The building, a frame structure, still stands as a monument
to his generosity, and is in constant use. He labored faithfully and in-
dustriously and became a prosperous farmer, and finally retired from
active life, passing the last years of his long and useful life in the
village of Parma. After locating in that village, he founded and fathered
the movement which led to the erection of the First Methodist Episcopal
Church of Parma. He was a hospitable man, his home being headquar-
ters for the Methodist clerg\'men, and it is probable that more ministers
were entertained at his home than at any other in Jackson county. His
farm of 240 acres is still owned by members of the family, although it
has since been divided so that it now fonns a part of three separate
farms. Mr. Campbell married ]\Iiss Hannah Hemmingway, who was
born in New York and there married, and she survived her husband until
i88r, when she passed away at the age of sixty-seven years. There were
three sons bom to them : \\'illiam and Frank, who became well-to-do
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 793
farmers and are now deceased ; and Jay Alvah. It may be said in passing
that no descendant of Alvah Campbell has ever been known to use tobacco
or intoxicants in any form.
Jay Alvah Campbell was reared on the farm of his birthplace, and
spent his boyhood much in the same manner as other farmers' sons of
his day and locality, attending the district schools in the winter months
and assisting his father on the home place during the balance of the
year. Siibseciuently, he attended Devlin's Business College, of Jackson,
one year, and Albion College two years, thus securing an excellent edu-
cation that has since been supplemented by much reading, experience and
close observation of men and affairs. Mr. Campbell has resided in
Jackson since reaching the age of twenty-one years, and during this
entire period has been identified with the real estate business. He has
been very successful in his ventures, and of late years has operated
largely in his own holdings, 'it being his custom to build new homes and
dispose of them. He owns much valuable real estate, both improved
and unimproved in Jackson and Jackson county at the present time, and
ni all has built fully fifty substantial and attractive homes in this city,
the greater number of which he has sold. He was instrumental in
organizing the Jackson Real Estate Board, was its first president, and
served in that capacity during the first two years of its existence. He
was also one of the eight Jackson men who organized the Jackson Cor-
set Company, in 1883. Mr. Campbell has been a member and liberal sup-
porter of the First Methodist Episcopal church of Jackson since his
arrival in this city, and for many years has been a member of the board
of trustees, a capacity in which he is acting at the present time. During
the forty years in which he has lived in this city he has assisted in the
building of every church of the Methodist Episcopal faith erected here.
On September 23, 1874, Mr. Campbell was married to Miss Clara
Sidney Cummings, who died Jmie 4, 1898, leaving an only daughter,
Cleora, who is now the wife of Reginald F. Fennell. of Jackson. Mr.
Campbell's second marriage occurred June 12, igoi, when he was united
with Miss Minnie Simmons, of Kansas City, Missouri, the daughter of
Milton F. Simmons, one of that city's leading business citizens and a
prominent member of the Methodist church. Two children have been
born to Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, namely: Gladys, born May 24, 1906;
and Jay Alvah, Jr., born February 22, 1913.
William J. Kay, M. D. Since 1904 a physician and surgeon at
Lapeer, Dr. VVilliam J. Kay is a native of Canada, born in Belmore,
Ontario, April 5, 1867. He comes of an old Scotch family, and inherits
his profession, since both his father and grandfather were capable phy-
sicians. His parents were Dr. John Patterson and Margaret Qlon-
teith) Kay. Grandfather Dr. John Kay was a graduate of Glasgow
University in Scotland, was a pioneer physician and one of the first
settlers at Farquhar, Ontario. Dr. John Patterson Kay graduated from
the Eclectic School at Philadelphia and for a time attended Jefferson
Medical College of the same city, and from there served as assistant
surgeon in the Union army during the Civil War with the rank of cap-
tain. Subsequently he became a physician at Belmore, Ontario, and
practiced until his untimely death, caused by exposure incident to faith-
ful devotion to his professional duties. He died in 1882 at the age of
forty-five, and his brief life was filled with unselfish and unremitting
toil in behalf of his fellowmen. His widow moved to Lapeer, and had
her home with her daughter Mrs. Fame Crampton, wife of Congress-
man L. C. Crampton, until her death in 191 1 at the age of seventy-three.
Of the eight children of Dr. John P. and Margaret Kay four are now
794 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
living: George A. Kay, a manufacturing pharmacist at Baltimore, Mary-
land ; Dr. William J. ; Fred B., a merchant at Lapeer ; and Fame, wife
of Congressman L. C. Crampton.
William J. Kay, who was about fifteen years old when his father
died, had to win his education largely through his own efforts. He grad-
uated in the literary department of Harrison Collegiate Institute in
Ontario, and later entered the Detroit College of Medicine, graduating
M. D. in 1897. His first seven years were spent at Attica in Lapeer
county, and to secure a more central location and a broader field he
moved to Lapeer in 1904. His associate for six years was Dr. H. E.
Randall, now a leading physician of Flint. Dr. Kay has a large practice
both as a physician and surgeon and also in consultation work, having
an excellent reputation both in diagnosis and treatment.
Dr. Kay is a member of the Lapeer County and State Medical So-
cieties and the American Medical Association, has served as councilor
for the seventh district of the State Medical Society a number of years,
and is active in the public health movement, being now health officer for
Lapeer. He is a member of the State Board of Asylums for the Eastern
IMichigan district and a member of the board of trustees for the Pontiac
Hospital at Pontiac. For a number of years he has been resident sur-
geon for the Grand Trunk Railroad. Fraternally he affiliates with
Lapeer Lodge No. 54, A. F. and A. M., and with Flint Lodge No. 222,
of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and with the Knights
of Pythias. He and his familv belong to the Presbyterian church.
In November, 1889. at Clinton, Ontario, Dr. Kay married Miss Caro-
line Gibbings, who was born at Clinton, where her father. John Gibbings,
was a merchant. Both the daughters of Dr. and Mrs. Kay were born at
Clinton : E. Bernice Kay, born in September, 1893, graduated from the
Ypsilanti Normal School, is a talented musician, and a teacher in the
Lapeer public schools; Elaine Kay, born in April, 1897, has also received
excellent educational advantages. Dr. Kay is a Republican in politics,
and a member of the Lapeer school board. Mrs. Kay takes an active
interest in woman's club work and in the Ladies Aid Society of her
church.
John H. D.^ly. The city of Jackson expressed in unmistakable terms
its appreciation of the life and works of John H. Daly, when death claimed
him on August 14. 191 1, and his name stands forth in the community
where he long maintained his home as one that is worthy of the most
respectful consideration from its citizenship. He was a man among his
fellow men at all times and on all occasions, and his life was one in all
its phases that entitled him to the high regard of those who came withm
the circle of his influence. He was a business man, and as such he had
the confidence and good will of his associates. He was a man who was
always to be found active m public life, and in that character he was the
faithful friend of the people. Best of all, he was a family man, and
regardless of what the public has lost in his passing, his death deprived
his familv of its head and heart at the same time.
John H. Daly was born in Stratford, Ontario, on June 12, 1852. and
he was the son of Hugh and Mary ( Guilgan ) Daly, both natives of Ireland,
who took up their residence in Ontario in young life, and there continued
to spend their remaining days. In 1870 John H. Daly came to Jackson.
He associated himself with the Michigan Central Railroad for a time and
in October, 1878, engaged in a business venture with James Barrett. The
two continued until the death of Mr. Barrett on March 10, 1908, dissolved
the partnership of years. Some few months later, on December 31st, to
state the case with precision, Mr. Daly sold his interest in the business to
HISTORY OF }*IICHIGAN 795
his son, Frank Daly, and since that time it has been conducted under the
firm name of Daly & Rutherford. The nature of the enterprise founded
by Mr. Daly was that of a tin shop and galvanized iron works, and in the
thirty years in which he was active in it the plant reached out in many
directions, each year seeing an appreciable increase in its activities, so
that when he retired the business was at the height of its prosperity. It
has since been ably handled by his son and his business associate, the son
having been well trained under the tutelage of his father, who was
acknowledged to be one of the most careful and conservative business
men of the city, combining with his conservatism a degree of progressive-
ness that made for safe and certain progress.
In other lines, too, was Mr. Daly a man who could not well be spared
to the public. A local paper, in speaking of the passing of Mr. Daly, has to
say of him : "The death of John H. Daly removes from the business
circles of Jackson one of the city's most conscientious, progressive and
able citizens. During his earlier connection with the city he aided in build-
ing up a prosperous business, and since retiring from active connection
with the firm now known as Daly & Rutherford, he had continued to
identify himself with other business enterprises.
"But it has been as a city official that the late Mr. Daly has been of
invaluable service to the city of Jackson.- Althoiigh serving in other posi-
tions of trust, it was as a member of the boa!rd of> ptjiblic works that he
did most for Jackson. During his many years of service on that important
board the city has undergone a great change in its methods of doing busi-
ness. The system of handling the st.reet work, the ward work, the con-
struction of sidewalks, the handling of the water department, the engineer-
ing department — and, in fact, all the business of the city coming under
the control of the board of public works — was thoroughly revolutionized
during his service on that board, and in a large measure due to his ability
and untiring devotion to the city's interests.
"Few men there are in Jackson whose departure would prove a
greater loss to the community than has been that of the popular, loyal,
able and whole-souled John H. Daly."
In a business way, though Mr. Daly had practically retired with his
withdrawal from the plant with wdiich he had so long been connected, he
was still identified with the American Oil Company as its president. He
was something of a fraternalist, having membership in the Jackson Lodge
of Elks, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Catholic Mutual Benefit
Association and the Royal Arcanum.
On October 19, 1S75, ^^^- E>aly was married in Jackson to Miss Mary
Ann Houlihan, then a resident of Jackson, but a native of the village
of Newmanstown, Pennsylvania, where she was born on January 19, 1856.
She came to Jackson, Michigan, when a babe of fifteen months, in com-
panv with her father and mother. She was the daughter of James and
Johanna (Hanley) Houlihan, both natives of Ireland, who were married
in the state of Connecticut. Mrs. Daly still survives and occupies the
family residence at 702 East Ganson street, where in a commodious and
conservative dwelling the family took up its abode in the year 18SS.
Besides his widow, eight children survived Mr. Daly. They are
Leo, George, Frank, Harold, ]\Iary, Josie, Elsie and Catherine. One
other son, Arthur, who was the eldest of the family, died at the
age of twenty-four. Mary is now Sister Mary Rosanna, and is sta-
tioned at St. Mary's Convent at Monroe, Michigan, while another daugh-
ter, Catherine, is a pupil in the same convent. Since the death of Mr.
Daly two of the sons, Leo and George, have passed away. Leo was
thirty-four years of age when he died, and George was thirty-two. Leo,
it should be stated was a twin, his brother Arthur having died at the age
of twenty-four, prior to the death of the father. Of these children,
796 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Frank, as has already been stated, is carrying on the business enterprise
founded by his father more than thirty years ago, and he is reckoned
among the able young business men of the city.
Andrew L. Moore. One of the best known and most successful
lawyers of Pontiac is Andrew L. Moore. Nineteen years of active prac-
tice in that city have brought him many successes and triumphs from
many hard-fought legal battle grounds, and he is not only an able lawyer
but has important relations with business affairs and has been active in
civic and religious work. He is the type of citizen who began life with
no special advantages, except such as he secured by his own efforts, and
rose from a place among the multitude to the front rank in his learned
profession. While his friends say that Mr. Moore has been the archi-
tect of his own fortune, his own modesty is content to say that the world
has been kind to him.
Andrew L. Moore was born in the township of West Bloomfield,
Oakland county, Michigan. October 28, 1870. His parents are Hiram
E. and Ellen E. Moore, his father for many years recognized as one ot
the leading stock farmers in that section of Michigan. On both sides of
the house Mr. Moore's ancestry goes back to early colonial days in
America. On one side his ancestors included General Nathaniel Greene,
one of the ablest military leaders in the Revolutionary war, while in an-
other branch are found some of the Puritans of New England.
Andrew L. Moore spent his early years on a farm, left home at the
age of eighteen, and having qualified for the work of teacher used that
vocation as a steppii;ig stone to his professional career. On the earnings
of his work in the schoolroom he paid his way through college, and in
1894 was graduated from the law department of the Northern Indiana
College at \'alparaiso. Mr. Moore on April 15, 1895, began the prac-
tice of law at Pontiac, and for a number of years was a member of the
strong and successful firm of attorneys, Baldwin, Jacokes & Moore.
Both Judge Augustus C. Baldwin and Judge James A. Jacokes are now
deceased, and their business has been taken over by the sur\^iving mem-
ber of the firm. Almost from the beginning Mr. Moore has enjoyed a
practice hardlv second to none in Pontiac, and is regarded as one of the
most successful lawyers and business men in that section. He has in-
terests in two local banks, the Oakland County Savings Bank and the
Pontiac Savings Bank, owns a large amount of real estate in the city
and has connections with several commercial companies. He is a di-
rector and president of the Pontiac Turning Company, a director of the
Grand View Land Company, and holds the place of director and vice
president in the Pontiac Commercial Association.
A Republican in politics, Mr. Moore has done valuable work as a
speaker in a number of campaigns, but his only important public office
was as a delegate in ^lichigan's Constitutional Convention in 1907. An
energetic factor in local affairs, he was a member and chairman of the
Charter Commission recently elected by the city of Pontiac to formulate
a new charter, and the adoption of that charter inaugurated in Pontiac
the commission form of government for the municipality. Mr. Moore
is a prominent layman of the Alethodist Episcopal church, and in 1912
served as a delegate to the General Conference at Minneapolis. His fra-
ternal relations are with the Knights of Pythias and the Odd Fellows.
At Orchard Lake, ^Michigan. October 9, 1895, 'Sir. Moore married
Emma M. Hinkley, daughter of Milton and Ada C. Hinkley. Her par-
ents were farming people and among the early settlers in ^klichigan. Mr.
Moore's interests e.xtend beyond the rigid routine of his profession or
of his community, and he has preserved a love of literature, of travel,
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 797
and the pursuit of wholesome pastimes. With his wife he recently re-
turned from several months' tour through Europe and the countries
bordering the Mediterranean.
Dr. John G. McGuffin, of Hastings, ]Michigan, is a native son of
Canada, born in London, Ontario, on April 7, 1874, and he is the fourth
son of Joseph and Catherine (Donaldson) McGuffin, both born in Can-
ada. The mother's people were natives of Scotland, but his father's
people were born in Ireland. The father was a farmer by occupation,
and he still lives, while the mother died a few years ago.
John G. McGuffin had his earliest educational training in the com-
mon schools of London, Ontario, and when he had finished the high
school he took up the study of veterinary surgery in the Ontario \'et-
erinary College, and graduated in 1894. Afterward he continued studies
in the Detroit College of Medicine, from which he was graduated in
1900, after which he opened an office for general practice in Carlton
Center, Barry county, Michigan. Dr. McGuffin spent his first three years
of medical activity in practice there, when he removed to Hastings, and
he has since continued here, with a pleasing degree of success in his
chosen profession.
In 1901 Dr. McGuffin married Miss Anna C. Carruthers, of St.
Thomas, Canada, where she had been reared to young womanhood and
to them one son has been born, — Carroll C. McGuffin.
Dr. McGuffin is a member of the Hastings Academy of Medicine, of
which he is secretary and treasurer, and his fraternal associations are
with Hastings Lodge No. 52, A. F. and A. M. ; the Hastings Knights
of Pythias ; and the I. O. O. F. No. 58, of Hastings.
The doctor has added something to the community in his citizenship,
which is of a praiseworthy order, as well as in his professional attain-
ments, and he and his family are held in the highest esteem in the city.
Edwin D. Cowles is widely known throughout the state of Michi-
gan, for he is a newspaper man by profession. For fifty years of his
life he has been interested in the newspaper business, first as reporter
and then as editor. His many years association with men and affairs,
his analytical mind and close observation, have combined to make him
a power in the editorial circles of the state. Mr. Cowles is now editor
and president of the Bay City Tribune.
The father of Edwin D. Cowles, Horace Cowles was a native of
the state of Connecticut. The ancestral line of the family is traced
to two brothers who came to America from England, in 1632, settling
in New York. Horace Cowles was a successful farmer and removed
to New York in his early life, remaining there until his death. He
married Miss Lydia Cowles, his cousin.
Edwin D. Cowles was born in Wayne county, New York, on the
6th of December, 1843. His father died when he was six months old,
and his mother only lived until he was nine years of age. He was
reared by his grandfather and was early forced into the world to earn
his own living. He was fifteen years of age when he began to support
himself. Having received a fair education in the district schools of
New York State, he had also acquired a taste for knowledge and the
printed page, so he entered a printing office. This was in 1859, and two
years later he enlisted in the Union army for service in the war with
the Confederacy. He enlisted in the Tenth Regiment of Michigan
Infantry and sen'ed four years, becoming Sergeant-Major of the regi-
ment. He served under Grant and Halleck in the Corinth campaign,
and later under Rosecrans and Palmer in the Fourteenth Army Corps.
798 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
He was also with General Sherman in the famous march to the sea
through the Carolinas and Georgia.
After the close of the war Mr. Cowles returned to his newspaper
work. He settled in Lapeer, Michigan, and became connected with
the Lapeer Clarion. Later he removed to Flint, Michigan, and became
an employe of the the Wolverine Citizen. He remained here until 1870,
when he removed to Bay City. Here he was engaged in newspaper
work until 1873, going during this year to Saginaw, Michigan, as city
editor of the Daily Enterprise. In Llarch, 1874, he left the Enterprise
to become editor of the Sagimnv Daily Courier. He was very success-
ful in his work and did much to raise the standards of journalism in
the state. He was with the Daily Courier until 1889, when it was
merged with the Herald. He became part owner and president of this
consolidation and the paper was under his management imtil 1903 when
he sold his share. In April, 1904, he purchased a half interest in the
Bay City Tribune, becoming editor and president. He has made the
Tribune a powerful influence in Bay City and the surrounding country,
and is everywhere respected for courage and fidelity with which he
stands for high public ideals.
Mr. Cowles has no business interests outside of his paper, but he
has always taken an active part in politics. He is a member of the
Republican party and is one of the active workers during all cam-
paigns, although he has never sought or filled public office. In the
fraternal world he is a member of the Benevolent, Protective Order
of Elks, and of the Maccabees. He is a member of the Grand Army
of the Republic and has never lost his regard for those men in blue
with whom he fought for the honor of the Stars and Stripes. He is a
member of no church but gives of his money and time to all denomina-
tions.
Mr. Cowles has been twice married. His first marriage took place
in Oakland county, ^lichigan, in 1865. His wife was Aliss Lucy Ran-
dall, a daughter of John Randall, of Oakland county. Her father
was one of the old settlers of that region. Mrs. Cowles died in February,
1909, at the age of sixty-four. Three children were born of this mar-
riage. Fred G. Cowles, the eldest, is the publisher of the La Crosse
Leader-Press, of La Crosse, Wisconsin. Clarence L. Cowles is an
architect in Saginaw, Michigan, and Charles H. Cowles lives in Ala-
bama, near St. Elmo, where he is engaged in farming. Mr. Cowles'
second marriage took place in 1909, on May 30. His wife was IVIiss
Hattie Kraemer, a daughter of Martin Kraemer, who was one of Mr.
Cowles' comrades during the Civil war. He was of German birth, as
was also Mrs. Cowles' mother, and like Mr. Cowles, he served through
the war. No children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cowles. Their
home is at 415 Tenth street, and Mr. Cowles may be found in his
office, 715 North Adams street.
George A. Marston. One of the prominent members of the bar
in Bay City, Michigan, is George A. Marston. Mr. Marston not only
has had splendid educational advantages, but he is also blessed with a
goodly inheritance, for his father was one of the most brilliant and
successful lawyers in the state. Mr. Marston has not yet reached his
prime, yet he has already accomplished much in his profession. Like
his father, he devotes all his time and energ}' to his work.
Isaac Marston, the father of George A. Marston, was born in Ire-
land in 1840. His courage and self reliance were early shown by his
determination to come to America, when he was a lad of twelve years.
It was in 1852 that he came to this country, all alone and utterly ignor-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 799
ant of the conditions he would have to face. He first settled in Michigan,
near Detroit. The ambition of most boys, taken thus from the life of
the Old World and plunged into the rushing life of the new, takes the
form of a business career, with money as a goal, but not so with this
young Irish lad. He had his heart set on studying law, and by his
unaided efforts, succeeded in obtaining a grammar school and college
education. He was graduated from the University of Michigan in
1862 and immediately entered upon the practice of his profession. In
1875 he was appointed by Governor Bagley, Judge of the Supreme
Court of the State of Michigan, thus becoming the youngest supreme
judge in the state. He succeeded Judge Christiancy and served in the
otTfice for seven years, being a powerful factor in founding the bar of
the state, and in giving to it the high ideal of service which was his own.
He removed to Detroit upon retiring from the bench and took up the
practice of law in this city. He was one of the most prominent men,
not only in Detroit, but also in the state and for several years served
as Attorney General of the State of Michigan. In politics he was a
member of the Republican party and in religious affairs he belonged
to the Presbyterian church. Although one of the leaders in the state
he never entered into commercial or industrial affairs, devoting himself
exclusively to his profession. He died in Bay City in 1891, at the
age of fifty-one. ]\Ir. ^Marston married Miss Emily Sullivan, the daugh-
ter of Adam Sullivan. The Sullivan family had lived in ^lichigan
for several generations, coming to Michigan from New York state, but
they were originally among the first of the Dutch settlers in New Am-
sterdam. Mrs. Marston was born twelve miles from Detroit and is now
living, making her home in Bay City. Four children were born to Isaac
Marston and his wife, three sons and one daughter.
George A. Marston was the third of his parents' children, having
been born at Bay City, Michigan, on the loth of January, 1873. He was
educated in the public schools of Detroit and Bay City, being a graduate
of the high school of the latter city. He next attended the University
of Michigan, taking the literary course for two years, and then entering
the law school, from which he was graduated in 1896, with the degree
of LL. B.
Mr. Marston began his practice in Detroit where he lived until
1906. At this time he returned to Bay City where he opened an office
and has proved one of the most successful lawyers in the city. He
served one year under Fred 'SI. Warner, as Circuit Court Commissioner,
and for the past three years, or rather, since 1910, he has been Referee
in Bankruptcy for the Eastern District, Xorthern Division, of Michigan.
Mr. Marston is steadily gaining prominence because of his work and
his friends look to see him attain the same high position in the state
which was held by his father.
In politics Mr. ]\Iarston is a member of the Republican party and he
has always taken an active interest in the affairs of the party in the
state. He is a member of the county and state bar associations, and in
religious matters is a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal church.
He is unmarried.
Ch.\rles W'right Hitchcock. The profession of pedagog}' has had
to surrender many of her best members to her sister profession, the law,
and a lawyer could find no better preparation than in the schoolroom
This has Ijeen the case with Charles Wright Hitchcock, of Bay City,
Michigan. He was well known as an educator before he entered the
legal profession, and the patience, fairness and ability to impart ideas
to others which distinguished his work as a teacher have also given
him an enviable name as a lawyer.
800 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Charles W. Hitchcock was born on the 24th of September, 1866,
in Perry' county, Ohio. His father, Dr. S. A. Hitchcock, although he
has reached the age of seventy-two years, is in active practice of his
profession. He is a prominent obstetrician of Elida, Ohio, having been
a leading physician in this place for many years. He is a veteran of
the Civil war, having served in the Sixty-second Ohio Regiment, Com-
pany "C." He was taken prisoner at Appomatox Court House, in
April, 1865, and remained in the hands of the Confederates until Gen-
eral Lee surrendered. He served in many of the most important en-
gagements of the war, the siege of Petersburg being especially vivid in
his memory. He has always been a member of the Grand Army of the
Republic and is still an active and prominent member of the Ohio or-
ganization. For the past eighteen years Dr. Hitchcock has been Pensions
Examiner. He is a member of the Republican party and has always
been very active in politics, having been mayor of Elida, Ohio, for a
number of years. In the fraternal world he is a member of the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows and in religious matters he belongs
to the Methodist church. Dr. Hitchcock married in Ohio, Miss Ellen
Beck, who was also a native of the state. Mrs. Hitchcock died at
the age of thirty-one years, leaving five children.
Charles W. Hitchcock received his education in the public schools
of Ohio, attending school until he was sixteen years of age. He then
left home and came to Bay City, ^lichigan, this being in 1888. His
first position in his new home was as a bus driver. But being am-
bitious, such work could not content him long. Seeing that one could
do little without an educatipn'',.he i^t out to acquire one, and succeeded
by his own efforts. His struggles for an education caused him to take
a great interest in the subject, and so active did he become in educational
affairs, that he was appointed a member of the Board of School Exam-
iners in 1890. He served in> this position for four years and then was
elected County Superintendeilt of Schools. After one term in the latter
office he took up the study of law.. .With this purpose in view he went
to the law school at Valparaiso, Indiana, where he studied for some
time. Upon his return to Bay City, he was re-elected to the office of
County Superintendent.
After serving two terms in the above office he entered upon the
practice of law. It was in 1900 that he hung out his shingle, and in
1906 he was elected prosecuting attorney. His ser\-ices as attorney were
highlv acceptable to the people as was evidenced by the fact that he
completed his third consecutive term in January, 1913. Following his
retirement from this office he entered upon a general law practice and
has been very successful. In politics he is a member of the Democratic
party, and has been an active member of this party.
\Ir. Hitchcock has always taken an ardent interest in the world of
secret societies. He is a member of the Alasons, the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent. Protective Order of Elks, the Order
of Moose, the Foresters, the National League, and he also belongs to
the patriotic society, the Sons of \'eterans. In addition to his educa-
tional work and his legal practice, ]\Ir. Hitchcock served as secretary
of Bacon, Weiss and Weggell Company for a number of years, and he
was a school teacher for eight years. He is a member of the county
and state bar associations.
Mr. Hitchcock has been twice married. By his first marriage there
were three children, Wright A., Dale and June. Mr. Hitchcock's
second marriage was to Miss Abbie Loeffert. a daughter of Louis
Loeffert, who was one of the old settlers of Bay City. No children
have been born to Mr. and ]\Irs. Hitchcock.
Wi WW T-eu
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 801
Elmer Kirkey. In point of years of continuous practice, Elmer
Kirkby is one of the older members of the Jackson county bar. Along
with his number of years have come the rewards of success in his pro-
fession and many public honors and responsibilities. Mr. Kirkby has
practiced law for a quarter of a century, and is still in the prime of his
strength and resources.
His birth occurred on a farm in Wayne county, Michigan, July 4, 1S66.
He is a son of William Kirkby, who was born in England, and late in the
fifties crossed the ocean and settled in Michigan, in which state his remain-
ing years were passed. He died in the city of Jackson in 1888 at the age
of sixty-seven. All his active career was devoted to farming, and he was
a man of substantial prosperity, provided well for his family, and lived
honorably in all his relations with the community. He was married in
England to Miss Mary Brown and their two oldest children were born in
that country. Mrs. Kirkby is still living, her home being in Jackson. Of
the children, three sons and one daughter are still living. The brothers of
the attorney are Walter and John D., the former of Jackson and the latter
of California. The daughter is Mrs. Alta M. Sickles, of Jackson.
Elmer Kirkby was reared on a farm, and most of his boyhood was
spent in Grass Lake township in Jackson county. With the usual associa-
tions and environments of a country boy while in public school he aspired
to a professional career, and all his subsequent etforts were bent in that
direction. After attending the Grass Lake high school, he entered the
law department of the University of Michigan, and took his degree of
LL. B. in 1888. Immediately on getting his certificate of admission to
the bar he started practice in Jackson, and has been there ever since.
Mr. Kirkby has long been a leader in the Democratic party in Jackson
county. He was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention in
Chicago in 1896, where he helped to nominate William J. Bryan the first
time and was also a delegate to the National Convention at Denver,
Colorado, in 1908. For four years he served as chairman of the Jackson
County Democratic Committee. His career of public service began in
1889, when he became assistant prosecuting attorney of Jackson county,
and in 1893 assumed full charge of the office of prosecuting attorney,
serving as such from the first of January in that year to January, 1895.
He was again elected and served as prosecuting attorney from January,
1897, to January, 1899. ^r. Kirkby represented the fifth ward in the
board of aldermen for one term. He has membership in the Jackson
County and Michigan State Bar Association, is affiliated with the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, and the Benevo-
lent and Protective Order of Elks, and is a member of the Michigan
Center Country Club.
On October 10, 1889, Mr. Kirkby married Miss Minnie Schenk. Their
three sons are Ray E., Eugene D., and Walter A.
John H. Patterson. Senior member of the firm of Patterson &
Patterson, lawyers of Pontiac, John H. Patterson is a son of Thomas L.
Patterson, and a nephew of the late James K. Patterson, who were the
first constitutent members of the firm of Patterson & Patterson at Pon-
tiac. As lawyers, the Pattersons have been among the leaders of the
Oakland county bar for many years, and John H. Patterson well upholds
the traditions of the family, and has done much to advance the repu-
tation of the name in the legal profession.
John H. Patterson was born at Holly, Oakland county, Michigan,
in 1865. His father, Thomas L. Patterson, was born at Clarkston, Mon-
roe county, New York, March 22, 1833, and was of Scotch-Irish stock.
Grandfather James Patterson was a native of Pennsylvania, and a son
of James Patterson, Sr., who is said to have served as a soldier in the
802 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Revolutionary war. James Patterson, Jr., came to Michigan in 1836,
and in 1839 settled on a farm in Oakland county. He sen-ed as a mem-
ber of the first state legislature that convened in Lansing, for many
years was justice of the peace, and very prominent in business and local
affairs at Holly. James Patterson married Elizabeth Patton, and Thomas
L. was the last survivor of their nine children. The latter at the age
of ten years, came to the home of his parents in Michigan, attended one
of the early district schools of Oakland county, and in 1855 graduated
from the Brockport Collegiate Institute of New York. He began read-
ing law in New York State, and in 1863 was admitted to the Michigan
bar. In 1884 he was elected judge of Probate for Oakland county, a
position which he honored for sixteen years. Early in his practice he
became associated with the late James K. Patterson, a relationship which
was continued until the death of the latter. Thomas L. Patterson in
1865 married Eunice A. Hadley, a native of Oakland county, and a
daughter of John and Eunice Hadley. Her death occurred August 5,
1902. Thomas L. Patterson had three sons : John H., William F. and
Stuart D.
John H. Patterson, from the public schools of Holly entered the high
school at Ann Arbor, and began his studies in the University of Michigan
in 1883, taking both literary and law courses for two years. In 1885 he
became clerk in the probate court at Pontiac, his father being then pro-
bate judge. At the same time he continued his law studies under his
father, and Thomas J. Davis, and was admitted on examination before
the circuit court in 1887. He later was admitted to practice before the
federal courts. In 1901 was formed the partnership with his cousin,
Samuel T. Patterson, and for more than twenty-five years Mr. John H.
Patterson has been one of the prominent men in the Oakland Bar. His
early experience under his father in probate matters gave him much suc-
cess in the handling of estates, and in that class of practice he has prob-
ably had as much if not more than any other lawyer in Oakland county.
The firm represents many of the important industrial and business in-
terests of Pontiac, and ^'ir. Patterson is general counsel for the Pon-
tiac, Oxford and Northern Railroad Company, succeeding Judge A. C.
Baldwin, in that position in 1901.
In 1889 Mr. Patterson married Miss Ella Stanton, daughter of L. \V.
Stanton, a former sheriff of Oakland county. Mrs. Patterson was born
in Oxford, Oakland county. They are the parents of three children:
Donald S., Clarence K., and Marion. Mr. Patterson is a Democrat, and
is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, and the Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks, and the Masonic Order.
Dewitt C. Brawx, the present deputy clerk of customs at Bay City,
Michigan, mav be accounted one of the successful men of Bay City, not
that he has made a few millions or succeeded in buying more votes
than his opponent and thus seating himself in some one of our law making
bodies, but because, beginning life with practically nothing but a strong
body and clear mind, he has won his present post and kept at the same
time the honor and esteem of all with whom he has come in contact.
Dewitt C. Brawn was born at Port Rowan, Ontario, on the i8th of
December, 1850. He is a son of Peter Brawn, who was a native of
the state of Maine. The latter moved west and during the last ten years
of his life served as a lighthouse keeper for the United States. He died
in 1873 at the age of sixty-three. Peter Brawn married Julia K. Tobin,
who was also a native of Maine. She died in 1889 at the age of seventy-
three. After her husband's death she took up his work and for ten
years served as keeper of the lighthouse at the mouth of the North
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 803
Saginaw river. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Brawn, Dewitt
C. Brawn being the youngest. The only other living members are Mrs.
George Durfee and Mrs. Cooper.
Dewitt C. Brawn received his education in the public schools of Bay
City, being graduated from the same at the age of eighteen. He re-
mained at home until he reached the age of twenty-one, assisting his
mother in the care of the lighthouse. He next engaged in the River
Service and was for eight years thus engaged. He looked after the first
range lights entering the mouth of Saginaw River, receiving his com-
pensation from the boats entering the river. During this time he was
also engaged in doing clerical work in the tug boat office of W. H.
Sharp. He worked in this office for ten years and then entered the
United States service as deputy clerk of customs. He began his service
with the government on the ist of October, 1897, and has filled the post
ever since.
In the fraternal world Mr. Brawn is a member of the Knights of
Pythias, but he does not care greatly for clubs and societies, preferring
to find his recreation in his own home or on an occasional fishing trip.
Mr. Brawn was married to Miss Ida E. Sharp, on the 30th of Novem-
ber, 1S76. jVIrs. Brawn is a sister of W. H. Sharp, and to this marriage
have been born two children. William D. Brawn lives in Bay City and
is a mechanic by trade. Alaude E. Brawn married R. H. Powers and
lives in Bay City, her husband being a commission merchant.
Philander L. Carter. One of the prosperous manufacturing en-
terprises of Jackson, Michigan, is the Jackson Fence Company, of which
Philander L. Carter is president. This concern manufactures galvan-
ized woven wire fencing, and in that line it has made a name and
reputation for itself that extends to every- part of the country. The
success of the enterprise is generally acknowledged to be to a great
extent due to the excellent management of Mr. Carter as president,
who is ably seconded in the work by those associated with him.
Philander L. Carter was born in Jackson, Michigan, on December
29, 1S76, being the elder of two sons of George W. Carter, a sketch
of whom will be found elsewhere in this work. Mr. Carter has lived
in Jackson all his life. He had his education in the Jackson public
schools and the Michigan Military Academy at Orchard Lake, and
when he was eighteen years of age he went to Tennessee, where his
father had extensive lumber and saw mill interests. Young Carter
spent between three and four years in that state, while there applying
himself to the varied tasks that attend the converting of timber into
finished lumber, and his experience there proved a most valuable one
to him. This work was carried on between the ages of eighteen and
twenty-two, after which he spent one year in the state of Washington.
Returning then to his Jackson home, he was for a short time thereafter
engaged with a partner in the electrical business, but in the year 1905
he became one of the founders and originators of the Jackson Fence
Company. He has given all his time and attention to the work ever
since, and for the past four years has served as president of the com-
panv. The product of this concern is admitted to be among the best
produced in America and it is shipped to the remotest points in the
United States.
Mr. Carter is a member of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce and
of the Jackson City and the Aleadow Heights Country clubs. He was
married on February 8, 1905, to Miss Nellie C. Collins, of Jackson, a
daughter of the late Samuel B. Collins, formerly of Jackson. Two
children have been born to them, Collins, born January 30, 1906, and
804 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
\'irginia, born December 24, 1910. The Carters are socially prominent
and have many friends in the city that has so long been their home.
Erastus L. Dunbar. A long and faithful service in connection
with one department of municipal activity has been the chief feature in
the record of Mr. Dunbar of Bay City. Mr. Dunbar is an engineer by
profession, has lived in Bay City since 1865, and after supenntending
the construction of the Bay City Water Works, was made superintend-
ent of operation of that plant, and has directed this important public
utility for forty years.
Erastus L. Dunbar was born August 13, 1846, in Ellsworth, Con-
necticut, and is of staunch Scotch ancestry, many Dunbars being found
in different parts of the country from Maine to California, and all of
them descended from one original Scottish branch. His parents were
Horace and Ann Jeannette Dunbar, who were likewise natives of Con-
necticut. His father was a Connecticut farmer and a man of consider-
able prominence, having served two terms in the state legislature. Both
father and mother died in 1891. There were two sons and three daugh-
ters in their family and only two are now living. The only living
daughter is Mrs. Jane Everett, wife of Charles W. Everett, who is liv-
ing retired from active life at Washington, D. C. Another son, Everett
S. Dunbar, who died in 1892 in Connecticut, went through the Civil War
as a Union soldier and held the rank of first liesutenant in a company of
the Thirteenth Connecticut Regiment.
Erastus L. Dunbar grew up in his Connecticut home, and besides his
education in the public schools was tutored liy a minister of the Congre-
gational church at Ellsworth. At the age of eighteen in 1865 he came
to Bay City, then a village, and soon took a position as assistant to the
City Engineer, a Mr. Mercer. .Vfter a year they opened an office as
engineers and land surveyors under the firm name of Mercer & Dunbar.
In 1870, Mr. Dunbar was appointed city engineer of Bay City, and ad-
ministered the duties of that position for two years. In 1872 he was
placed in charge of the construction of the city water works, and since
then has held the position of superintendent of this plant without inter-
ruption. Also for seventeen years he served as assistant chief engineer
of the fire department.
Until 1912 Mr. Dunbar's politics was Republican, but he is now a
Progressive, believing that the midway position between the high tariff
of the old Republican party and the free trade tendencies of the Demo-
cratic side is the safest policy for the masses of the people. His affilia-
tions with the Masonic Order include several of the different branches,
and his church is the Presbyterian.
On October 11, 1870, at Walsingham, Ontario, Mr. Dunbar married
Miss Jennie ^McKay. Her father was a Canadian farmer, and origin-
ally came from Scotland. The three children of this marriage are men-
tioned as follows: Jessie, the wife of Dr. George B. Little, a dentist at
Palo Alto, California; James H., who is a graduate of the University
of Michigan, and is now mechanical engineer for the Grasselli Chemical
Company of Cleveland, Ohio; Everett S., who is a graduate of the
Leland Stanford University of California, and is now practicing his
profession as civil engineer at Almeda, California.
Mr. Dunbar very seldom takes a vacation from his official responsi-
bilitiesi and has alwavs led a busy life. His spare time is devoted to the
interests of his home, and he and his wife have an attractive residence
at 1200 Fourth Avenue in Bay Citv. Mr. Dun'bar, during nearly fifty
years of residence, has seen Bay City grow from a small village to a
city of over fifty thousand people, and his name was signed to the peti-
tion to the State Legislature for the first city charter.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 805
Fred O. Leever. The firm of Leever & Sons, dealers in lumber,
sash, doors, and extensive operators in the wholesale and retail lumber
business at Jackson, is an excellent illustration of the old adage, that
"great oaks from little aconis grow." This business, now one of the
largest of its kind in south Michigan, has been evolved from a little
acorn of business enterprise contained within the character and the
industry of Fred O. Leever some thirty years ago while he was serving
a hard apprenticeship in the practical side of lumbering in northeastern
Michigan.
Fred O. Leever was born at Carleton, Monroe county, Michigan,
September 13, 1866. His father, Christian Leever, was born in Germany,
and was married there to Mary Hougt. Christian Leever died at the
home of his son Fred in Jackson, August 9, 1912. Born May 18, 1822,
he was ninety years and three months of age when the final call came.
The mother, who was born March 25, 1824, now lives with her son
Fred and at this writing is nearly ninety years of age. The first eight
children of the parents, all born in Germany, died in childhood. The
parents then emigrated to the United States a few years before the
Civil War, settling on a farm in Monroe county, Michigan, where two
more children were born to them, both now living. These are Gustave A.
Leever and Fred O. Leever, both of Jackson.
Fred O. Leever spent his early years on his father's farm in Monroe
county. Five years of his early manhood were spent in the employment
of M. B. Bradley & Sons, at one time a leading organization in the lum-
ber field at Bay City. He began with that company when seventeen,
and left at the age of twenty-two. His first job was as tally,' and when
he left he was a lumber inspector. This experience gave him a thor-
ough knowledge of lumbering in all its details, and was in the nature of
a practical apprenticeship to the business in which he has subsequently
made his most marked success.
Air. Leever has been a resident of Jackson since 1889. A number
of years ago he engaged in the lumber business independently, and is now
at the head of firm of Leever & Sons. This firm not only handles a
large retail lumber trade in Jackson, but also acts as a jobbing concern,
and supplies outside dealers with all grades of lumber supplies, but par-
ticularly hard woods, and operates a large planing mill for the perfec-
tion of all kinds of finishing. An important branch of the enterprise
is the buying of vacant lots in Jackson, improving them with residences,
and then selling them on the installment plan. In this way the firm
has done a great deal to build up Jackson and supply people in moderate
circumstances with good homes of their own. At this time the record
of the firm in this branch of business is three hundred and eighty-four
houses in the city of Jackson, all of which have been sold on a monthly
payment plan. The company has also bought large tracts of hardwood
timber throughout southern Michigan and elsewhere, and manufactures
it with their own saw mill.
During his experience with the Bradley firm at Bay City, Mr. Leever
learned the carpenter's trade, and his thorough knowledge of building,
has been an important element in his subsequent success. When he first
came to Jackson he established a contracting business, and carried that
on until he got into the lumber trade. His operations have extended
beyond the limits of the one concern above mentioned. He has been
very successful in the development of different lumber yards, and as an
energizer of run-down businesses has proved very efficient. He has
bought several lumber yards which at the time could hardly be called
prosperous, has put them on a paying basis, and then sold out at a hand-
some profit. In one instance he bought a yard for twenty-five hundred
dollars. It was then selling about thirty-five dollars worth of lumber
806
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
and supplies each day. In two years Mr. Leaver liad built up its busi-
ness until it aggregated seven hundred dollars a day, and he sold the
entire plant for si.xteen thousand dollars. That business is now the
Corwin Lumber Company. At one time Mr. Leever owned the yards
of the present Central City Lumber Company of Jackson, and the sheds
and buildings, all of first class construction, were erected during his
ownership.
The firm of Leever & Sons comprises Mr. Leever, as the chief execu-
tive, and his two oldest sons, Ray and Adrian J. On April 23, 1888,
Mr. Leever was married in Toledo, Ohio, where he lived for a year
before coming to Jackson, to Miss Flora Mclntyre. She was born in
Tuscola county, ]\Iichigan, and before her marriage was a popular
teacher. To their union has been born ' four sons and one daughter,
as follows : Adrian J., Ray F., Lawrence C, Flora A. and Fred O., Jr.
Three of the sons are magnificent specimens of physical manhood, stand-
ing six feet or more in height, Adrian being six feet one and Lawrence
six feet two. Both Adrian and Ray are graduates of the Jackson high
school and Ray is a graduate of the University of Michigan. Mr. Leever
has been a busy man all his life, but believes in social organizations, is
a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and his support
can always be counted upon to further any movement undertaken for
the general welfare of his city.
Hon. TnoM.\s H. \\'illi.\ms. The career of Thomas H. Williams,
who died at Jackson April 23, 191 1, was notable in more than one field
of activity. In the first place, he was a successful business man, was
president of one of Jackson's leading industries, and identified with a
number of commercial affairs. In the order of Masonry he attained to the
highest honors and responsibilities in the State of Michigan, and was
honored with many offices and recei\ed the thirty-third degree of the
Scottish Rite. The late Mr. Williams also had a record of a gallant and
faithful soldier, and was held in high esteem in Grand Army circles.
Many tributes were paid to his fine character and life of service, and the
public announcement from the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons
of the state, contains the following brief estimate of him as a Mason and a
man : "He was a true and courteous friend, a valiant and magnanimous
Knight and a generous and noble Companion. He enjoyed the fullest
confidence and respect of the community in which he lived. He always
found time to befriend the unfortunate and to relieve the distress of the
needv, and many there are who will rise up and call him 'blessed' for
services rendered them in his good, fatherly way, giving money, counsel
and helpful assistance."
Thomas H. Williams was born at Kirtland, Ohio, May 27, 1844, and
was nearly sixty-seven years of age when he died. While in his indi-
vidual career he accomplished much, it is also noteworthy that he sprang
from some of the oldest and stanchest American stock. The Williams
family was started in New England during the Colonial days, and a
volume of between four hundred and five hundred pages has recently
been published devoted to its genealogy. One of its earliest and most
famous members is the noted Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island
and Providence plantations. In England the family belonged to the gentry
and had connections with the nobility, and enjoyed the honor of a coat
of arms. The late Thomas H. Williams was in the eighth generation
from the first American emigrant and founder of the family. Thomas
Williams, grandfather of the late Jackson citizen, was born in Massa-
chusetts May 24, 1787, and was the son of a physician, Dr. William S.
Williams. In the various generations appeared a number of professional
men, doctors, lawyers and clergymen. Thomas Williams married Nancy
*3-lTf>, l.r-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 807
Hawks, who belonged to one of the early families of Deerfield, Massa-
cluisetts. Alexander Williams, father of Thomas H., was a native of
Massachusetts, followed farming as his vocation, and married Martha
Cummings. She died when her son Thomas was only thirteen years old,
and Alexander Williams subsequently married Mrs. Charles S. Williams,
whose first husband, Charles S., was first cousin to Alexander Williams.
The late Thomas H. Williams was reared on an Ohio farm, had the
advantages of a country school, and on August 8, 1862, when eighteen
years old, enlisted as a private soldier in Company A of the One Hundred
and Third Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry. With that regiment he
participated in all its campaigns, and though he remained in the ranks, he
was more than an average soldier both in efficiency and in the spirit and
example which he showed before his comrades. In the summer of 1866
Mr. Williams located at Pontiac, Michigan, where he furthered his educa-
tion by attending a local school for one year, and then learned the trade
of carpenter and joiner. Mr. Williams was a resident of Jackson from
1867 until his death. Until November, 1871, he was engaged in work at
his trade, and then found a place in the Michigan Central shops, at Jackson
Junction. While with the railroad company he was promoted to the posi-
tion of assistant manager of the car repair department, and continued in
that office until March 20, 1892. He -then bfecamfe identified with the
Jackson Corset Company, as assistant manager, and'o'n November i, 1893,
became active manager of the concern. For some years prior to his death
he was president of the company.
His active business life gave him but little time to devote to matters of
a political nature, but he held the offise. of >aldefman in 1883-84, and in
1887 was elected to represent the first district of .Jackson county in the
legislature. He was one of the charter members of Edward Pomeroy
Post, G. A. R., at Jackson, and in December, 1885, was elected commander,
an office he held two years.
An editorial estimate copied from the Jackson Patriot, published at the
time of his death, will afford some pertinent comment upon his career :
"His life was one of continued activity and one of progress in all that he
interested himself. In Masonry he passed the chairs in the chapter,
council and commandery, both local and grand bodies, and in the Scottish
Rite branch of Masonry attained the thirty-third degree, an honor only
reached by friendship and diligence. He was a power in the Grand Com-
mandery, where he was called upon to settle many delicate questions of
Masonic law which were acceptably adjusted through his fairness and
good judgment. In a similar way he was interested in all that related to
the experiences of 1861-65, the G. A. R. receiving from him the same devo-
tion that was accorded the fraternal spirit of Masonry. He was a charter
member of Edward Pomeroy Post No. 48, and was its Commander for two
terms. He was also a member of the Soldiers and Sailors Relief Com-
mission from its creation, and in this connection there can be related an
incident which illustrates perfectly the nature of the man. A case of
destitution was reported to him the day before Christmas, and investiga-
tion disclosed the presence of several children of tender years. An order
was placed at a grocery store that was made up of staple foods, but no
knick-knacks. After they had been placed in the wagon, along with some
coal for the family, he sa'id, 'Wait a minute ; I want to find something for
the children.' All the things in the wagon were charged to the funds of
the Relief Commission, but he brought out a package containing candy,
oranges and other fruits as his present to the little ones, paid for by him-
self. To have bought them with public money would have been violent
to his sense of honor, and to have known those children had no Christmas
would have been equal violence to his sense of affection.
808 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
"He was president of the American Building and Loan Association
and a director of the New Michigan Building and Loan Association. He
induced many young men and girls to start saving through these agencies,
and many of them would leave their books with him to present to the
secretary, they bringing the money to him at different times. This is
mentioned only to show the natural traits of the man and his great sym-
pathy with all who would strive to help themselves, and this particular
trait in his character was evidenced in many other ways. In public ways
he served a term on the board of aldermen and a term in the state legisla-
ture. He developed through his own energy a respectable fire insurance
business, bringing it to dimensions that were thought remarkable in the
time in which it was done.
"He was a strong man ; strong in his aft'ections and strong in his dis-
likes. He created enthusiasm among his associates, even in his army days,
and around the comrades of his army experience cast unbreakable ties of
enduring regard. In his development with which nature endowed him
Mr. Williams made a distinctive success. With a limited education he
became a good business man. With slight training he became an effective
talker, and at times, when relating known events, he became eloquent, and
in debate was able to present his views in a manner that usually won him
his point. In social, business, fraternal and co-operative circles his death
on April 23, 191 1, left a gap which will be hard to till."
Another quotation may be made from the official records. of the Royal
Arch Grand Chapter: "His funeral was held in the Masonic Temple,
which was his pride, and a vast assemblage of his friends and admirers
filled the auditorium. The services were conducted by the Grand Com-
mandery, K. T., of Michigan, followed by the ring service of the Scottish
Rite. The Grand Chapter, R. A. M., the Grand Army and the Eastern
Star were in attendance. Jackson Commandery No. 9 and Ann Arbor
Commandery No. 13, K. T., officiated as escort." His Masonic record
is thus given: "He has been active in Masonry ever since he was twenty-
three years of age, being initiated into Pontiac Lodge, No. 21, January 25,
1867, and raised February 11 of the same year. On removing to Jackson
he joined Michigan Lodge No. 50, and retained his membership there
until his death. He was made a Royal Arch Mason in Jackson Chapter
No. 3, November 17, 1870, and a Royal and Select Master in Jackson
Council No. 32, on the 28th of October, 1871. He received the orders
of Knighthood in Jackson Commandery No. 9, on December 14, 1870.
He was High Priest of Jackson Chapter, 1877-78; Eminent Commander
of Jackson Commander)-, 18S0-81 ; Thrice Illustrious Master of Jackson
Council, 1882. He was elected Grand Commander of the Knights Tem-
plar in Michigan in 1887 and served one year with ability and zeal. At
the annual Convocation of the Grand Chapter Royal Arch Masons in
1897 he was elected Grand Master of the First Veil and his well known
skill and ability and the high esteem in which he was held by his Com-
panions in Michigan promoted him step by step until he attained the high-
est office in the gift'of the Grand Chapter, and presided over the Royal
Craft in this state in 1905. He was a member of the ^Michigan Sovereign
Consistory of Detroit, and in September, 1898, received the thirty-third
and last degree at Cincinnati. Ohio. He was a member of the Shrine of
Moslem Temple of Detroit."
Mr. Williams was married October 2, 1867. to Miss Frances M. Mar-
tin, the only daughter of John R. Martin. She was born in Cleveland,
Ohio, April 9. 1843. Her father was twice deputy warden of Jackson
State Prison, first from 1858 to i860 and again from 1866 to 1872. He
died at Tackson in 1882. aged sixty-eight. His daughter, Mrs. Williams,
still occupies the old family home at 535 North State street. This home.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 809
which is one of commodious and ample comforts, was built by her father,
John R. Martin, and was his home up to the time of his death when it
became the property of Mrs. Williams, his only child. Mrs. Williams
has two living children : Fred M. Williams, of Jackson ; and May Frances,
the wife of Clare A. Kingsley of Detroit.
Edward L. Parmeter, M. D. Prominent and honored among those
who are maintaining the high prestige of the medical profession in Cal-
houn county is Dr. Parmeter, wdio is engaged in successful practice in
the city of Albion and who has long maintained a place of distinctive
priority as a physician and surgeon of high attainments and as a citi-
zen of fine ideals and utmost loyalty. He is a scion of a sterling pioneer
family of Michigan, within whose gracious borders his life has been
thus far passed, and there are many elements that render most conso-
nant his recognition in this history. The Doctor is today the dean of
his profession in Albion, as he has here been engaged in active practice
for a longer consecutive period than any of his present confreres, and
he has inviolable vantage-ground in the confidence and esteem of all who
know him.
Dr. Edward L. Parmeter was bom in the village of Concord, Jack-
son county, Michigan, on the 9th of November, 1851, and is a son of
Tames R. and Caroline (Worth) Parmeter. James R. Parmeter had the
"distinction of being one of the earliest settlers of Jackson county and. he
left a strong and beneficent impress upon the pages of its history. He
was born in Warren township, Addison county, Vermont, on the ist of
October, 1802, and throughout his entire life he exemplified the best tra-
ditions and characteristics of the New England stock from which he
was sprung, the Parmeter family having been founded in America in
the early colonial era. James R. Parmeter made good use of the educa-
tional advantages which were accorded him in his youth, and the passing
years brought to him broad knowledge and mature judgment. In his
young manhood he assisted in the construction of the Erie canal, in the
state of New York, and the early years of his married life were passed
in Allegheny county, that state. In 1831 he came with his family to
Michigan Territory and numbered himself among the early pioneers of
Jackson county, which was then little more than an untrammeled wilder-
ness. The journey to the new home was made by one of the primitive
vessels plying Lake Erie and, passing up the Detroit river, the family
landed in the future metropolis of the state of i\Iichigan. From Detroit
Mr. Parmeter drove an ox team through to Jacksonburg, a little hamlet
that was the nucleus of the present city of Jackson and that then boasted
of but three houses. The overland journey was a difficult proposition,
as roads were noticeable principally for their absence, or their roughness,
and all streams en route had to be forded by the ox team. In the wagon
Mr. Parmeter gave somewhat precarious transportation facilities to his
devoted wife and their three children, and in the same sturdy vehicle
was conveyed the small stock of household supplies needed for the new-
home in the wilderness. Upon arriving at Jacksonburg j\Ir. Parmeter
found his cash capital represented in the sum of fifty cents, but he was
well supplied with courage and ambition, — well equipped for the respon-
sibilities and burdens of the pioneer. He entered claim to a tract of
eighty acres of government land, two miles west of the present village
of Concord, and on this old homestead he continued to reside until his
death, in 1872, at the age of seventy years. He was the first and original
settler of Concord township, and there he changed his land from primi-
tive forest to cultivated fields. The old homestead is now one of the
fine farms of that township and county and it was the abiding place of
810 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
this sterling pioneer for the long period of forty-one years. Mr. Par-
meter was a man of strong individuality and this fact, as coupled with his
impregnable integrity and civic loyalty, made him an influential figure
in public affairs in the community that so long represented his home and
in which his memory is held in lasting honor. His cherished wife was
summoned to the life eternal in iS66, at the age of fifty-nine years, and
she was loved by all who came within the sphere of her gentle and
gracious influence. Mr. and Mrs. Parmeter became the parents of five
sons and si.x daughters, of whom Dr. Edward L., of this review, is the
youngest. The only other surviving child is Mrs. Matilda M. Mann,
who maintains her home in Albion and who was eighty-three years of age,
in 1914. With all of self-abnegation and devotion Mrs. Caroline
(Worth) Parmeter reared her eleven children, and manifold were the
duties and labors devolving upon her in the pioneer days. She presided
with ability over the home and there spun the flax and wool from which
she wove the cloth used in making clothes for her family. The clothing
itself was made by her, and her two surviving children can recall how
the gentle mother found occupation at odd moments in knitting the
mittens and stockings for them and all the other members of her family.
At the present day Dr. Parmeter sleeps beneath an old-fashioned cover-
lid that was made by his mother more than half a century ago, and it
may well be imagined that the ancient and homely cjuilt recalls to him
many gracious memories and associations.
Dr. Parmeter was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm
and early began to contribute his cjuota to its development and cultiva-
tion. During the winter terms he studiously availed himself of the
privileges of the district school, and that he made good use of his oppor-
tunities is evidenced by the fact that he proved himself eligible finally
for pedagogic honors. At the age of twenty-one vears he taught one
term of school in the same school-house that he had attended as a recep-
tive and ambitious pupil. Prior to this, however, he had been enabled
to attend Albion College for three years, and through this means he
acquired a liberal academic education, — an adequate basis for that of
professional or technical order.
In the autumn of 1874, in consonance with well formulated plans
and ambitious purpose Dr. Parmeter was matriculated in Bennett Med-
ical College, in the city of Chicago, and in this institution he was
graduated as a member of the class of 1876. duly receiving his well
earned degree of Doctor of ^Medicine. His professional novitiate was
served as a practitioner in the village of Concord and he then, in 1877,
removed to the city of Albion, where he has continued his professional
labors during the long intervening years and where he has long retained
a very large and essentially representative practice. It is equally worthy
of note that during this period of nearly forty years he has consecutively
maintained his professional headquarters in the same office that he as-
■sumed upon his removal to Albion. His practice has been of a general
order and he is a loved and honored friend in the many families to
whom he has ministered with zeal and fidelity and with a full apprecia-
tion of the dignity and responsibility of his chosen calling. He has con-
tinued a close student of medical and surgical science and keeps in
touch with advances made in both departments of his profession. The
Doctor is a valued member of the Calhoun County Medical Society and
is its vice president at the time of this writing, in 1914. He holds mem-
bership also in the Michigan State Medical Society and the American
Medical Association, besides which he is a director and member of the
medical staff of the city hospital of Albion.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 811
In politics Dr. Parmeter pays allegiance to no party, and he is known
as a liberal and public-spirited citizen. He is at the present time a mem-
ber of the board of park commissioners of his home city, and he has vari-
ous important capitalistic interests. He is president of the Union Steel
Screen Company, which gives employment to i6o men and represents one
of the important and flourishing industrial enterprises of Albion. He is
also a stockholder in the Albion Malleable Iron Company. The Doctor
is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, in which he has received the
degrees of the blue lodge and chapter, and he is likewise identified with
the Knights of Pythias.
On the 4th of' September, 1882, was solemnized the marriage of Dr.
Parmeter to Miss Sarah E. Graves, who was born at Albion, and who is
a daughter of the late Colonel Phineas Graves. Colonel Graves was
a prominent and honored citizen of Albion and served with distinction
in the Civil war, as colonel of the Twelfth Michigan Volunteer Infantry.
Mrs. Parmeter is closely identified with the best social activities of her
native citv and is also active in religious and charitable work. Dr. and
Mrs. Parmeter have but one child, Dr. Roland L. Parmeter, who is senior
surgeon of the celebrated Harper hospital in the city of Detroit.
Reverting to the lineage of Dr. Parmeter, it may be stated that he is
of staunch French-Huguenot descent in both the paternal and maternal
lines. His father was a son of Jesse Parmeter, who was a valiant soldier
in the War of 1812. While Jesse Parmeter was on his way to join his
command and take part in the battle at Plattsburg, New York, his wife
set forth with her children for a mountain top from which she hoped
to witness the battle. She approached sufficiently near to hear the guns
and other noises of the conflict, but the engagement was not within her
range of vision. On this momentous occasion her son, James R., father
of the Doctor, accompanied his mother, and he was at the time a lad
of about twelve years,
MoNFORT D. Weeks. For nearly forty years has Mr. Weeks been
actively engaged in the practice of his profession in the city of Albion,
Calhoun county, and he has long held unequivocal prestige as one of
the representative members of the bar of this section of his native state.
He is a scion of a family that was founded in Michigan in the territorial
epoch of its history and in this state he has passed the major jjart of his
life, though a considerable portion of his boyhood and youth were spent
outside the limits of the state which he claims as that of his nativity. Mr.
Weeks is known as a broad-minded and progressive citizen, has control
of a substantial and representative law business, and has served in vari-
ous positions of public trust. In all his activities as a lawyer he has ex-
emplified the highest ethics of his profession, of whose dignity and re-
sponsibility he is fully appreciative.
In the village of Flowerfield, St. Joseph county, Michigan, Monfort D.
Weeks was born on the 14th of February, 1849, and he is a son of
Lorenzo D. and Betsy Ann (Monfort) Weeks. His father, Lorenzo Dow
Weeks, named in honor of the distinguished clergyman of the pioneer
days, was born in the state of New York and came with his mother and
stepfather to Michigan when he was a youth, the family having arrived
here several years prior to the admission of the state to the Union.
Lorenzo D. Weeks learned the trade of carpenter, to which he gave
more or less attention for a number of years, but his principal vocation
was that of farming. After his marriage he continued to reside in St.
Joseph county, Michigan, until the year 1S49, when he removed with his
family to IMonroe county, New York, his son, Monfort D., of this review,
having at the time been a mere infant. In 1866 the familv removed to
Kent countv, Delaware, and there the death of Lorenzo D. Weeks oc-
a
812 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
curred in the year 1873. His devoted wife survived him by more than
a decade and passed the closing years of her hfe in Albion, Michigan,
where she was summoned to eternal rest in 1885. She was of Holland
Dutch lineage— a descendant of Peter Monfort, who immigrated from
Holland to America in the early part of the eighteenth century, long
prior to the war of the Revolution, and who was a representative of a
patrician Holland family, as indicated by the coat-of-anns held by those
of the name in Holland. David C. Monfort, maternal grandfather of
him whose name initiates this review, served as a fifer in the War of
1812, and was with his regiment in much active service. Lorenzo D.
and Betsy Ann (Monfort) Weeks became the parents of two chil-
dren, of whom two are now living — Monfort D. and Bruce M., the lat-
ter being a resident of Detroit, Michigan.
Monfort D. Weeks, as previously intimated, was an infant in arms
at the time of his parents' removal from Michigan to New York, in which
latter state he was reared to the age of seventeen years, in Monroe county.
From 1866 to 1870 the family home was maintained in Kent county, Dela-
ware. He received excellent educational advantages of a preliminary
order and from 1869 to 1873 he pursued higher academic studies in Cor-
nell University, at Ithaca, New York. Prior to entering this fine old in-
stitution he had taught one term of school in Delaware, and after leav-
ing the university he continued his pedagogic service in Delaware for
three additional terms. In 1876 he returned to Michigan, his native
state, and for two terms he was engaged in teaching in the schools of
Calhoun county. In the meanwhile he had been giving close and ap-
preciative attention to the study of law, and he so thoroughly fortified
himself in the science of jurisprudence that in 1878 he was admitted to
the Michigan bar. He forthwith engaged in the practice of his profession
at Albion and his technical ability, close application and integrity of pur-
pose made his professional novitiate one of practically brief duration.
He has continued in the active general practice of law at Albion during
the long intervening period of thirty-six years, and his success has been
on a parity with his recognized ability. He has been concerned with a
large amount of important litigation in the courts of this part of the state,
and has presented numerous causes also before the state supreme court
and the federal courts of Michigan. In point of years of consecutive
practice there are very few lawyers in Calhoun county who can claim
precedence in comparison with Mr. Weeks, and he has ever maintained the
confidence and high regard of his professional confreres.
In connection with his effective work as a member of the bar of his
native state Mr. Weeks served six years as circuit-court commissioner
for Calhoun county and for eleven years as city attorney of Albion. Mr.
Weeks is at all times staunchly fortified in his political convictions and
has been an efifective advocate of the principles and policies of the Re-
publican party. He has never been ambitious for political office but has
shown himself at all times liberal and public-spirited as a citizen. He is
identified with the Calhoun County Bar Association and the Michigan
State Bar Association, and in a fraternal way he is affiliated with the
Knights of Pythias. For a third of a century Mr. Weeks has served as
a trustee of the First Baptist church of Albion, and he has been one of
the earnest and influential members of this religious body, as was also his
wife, a woman of gracious personality and one who was zealous in
church and charitable work, as well as a loved and prominent factor in
the social activities of her home city.
On the 7th of June, 1882, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Weeks
to Miss Louisa Foster, and she was called to the life eternal on the i8th
of December, 1910, secure in the affectionate regard of all who knew
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 813
her. The only child to survive the devoted wife and mother is Harold
B. Weeks, who was graduated in the Michigan Agricultural College as
a member of the class of 1907 and who is now a chemist and bacteriologist
in the service of the board of health of the city of Detroit. In 1909 he
married Miss Cornelia Bolles, and they have three children — Monfort
Foster, John Myron, and Margaret Louise.
Gen. William Herbert Withington. With an honorable career
as soldier, legislator, business genius and financier, a man of many at-
tainments and widely diversified talents, the late Gen. William Herbert
Withington was for a period of forty-six years one of the foremost
figures in the life of Jackson, Michigan. A gentleman of the old school,
modest, dignified, kind and courteous, and a delightful social companion
among his friends, he was an ideal citizen, broad, intelligent and patri-
otic, a noble example of upright, conscientious manhood. General With-
ington was born at Dorchester, Massachusetts, February i, 1835, and
belonged to a family descended from Henry Withington, a native of
England who came to the American Colonies in 1635, with the Rev.
Richard Mather, the first minister of Dorchester, in whose church Henry
Withington was ruling elder. In common with others of the best fam-
ilies of New England, the Withingtons placed a high valuation upon
liberal educational advantages, and as a result many of the name have
been prominent in the learned professions. That the family were vig-
orous and sturdy in body, as well as in intellect and character, is shown
by the fact that Rev. William Withington died as the result of an acci-
dent at his son's home in this city at the age of ninety-four years, his
sister reached the age of one hundred years, while his brother, Dr.
Leonard Withington, a Congregational minister, of Newburyport, Mas-
sachusetts, who was a graduate of Yale, died at the age of ninety-six
years. The parents of General Withington were Rev. William and
Elizabeth W. (Ford) Withington, of Dorchester, ^Massachusetts, and
he was the eighth in direct descent from the progenitor. His father was
an Episcopal clergyman, and a graduate of Harvard in the same class
with Ralph W^aldo Emerson.
General W'ithington received good educational advantages in the
Boston public schools and at Phillips Andover Academy. His father
was a scholar, retiring and unworldly in character, and the home re-
sponsibilities were thrust to a large extent upon the young man, turning
him towards business channels. When he left the academy he gave his
attention to practical aff^airs, first entering a leather store in Boston as
a salesman. He soon became bookkeeper for the North Wayne Scythe
Company, and in a short time was given full charge of the details of
their extensive business. Some idea of his capacity, even at this early
age, may be inferred from the fact that when but nineteen years old his
employers entrusted him with important missions to New York, Balti-
more, Philadelphia, and other points at which they had large patronage.
When in this connection the young man came into contact with the large
agricultural implement manufacturing company of Pinney & Lamson,
who had a contract for prison labor at Jackson, and who engaged him
to come to Jackson and take a position as bookkeeper in its factory here.
The death of Mr. Lamson had left the whole control in the hands of
Mr. Pinney, who resided in Columbus, Ohio, and was not in Jackson
upon the arrival of Mr. Withington, and the business had no head and
no management. The former bookkeeper had left some months before,
and the office was in charge of a traveling man. There was full scope
for the energy, enterprise and new life that had been sent to the rescue.
It was not long before the effect was seen and felt all through the con-
cern, although the business was new to the young bookkeeper from the
814 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
East, and there was no one on hand to give him direction or even initia-
tion into his duties. His first effort was to bring the books up from their
arrears entanglement. The correspondence, the oversight of sales, the
purchase of material for manufacture and shop supplies, the control of
foremen, the collections and payments, in short, all the office work of a
manufacturing business employing 125 workmen and si.x traveling sales-
men, dropped at once on his young and inexperienced shoulders, but he
met the work courageously and performed it thoroughly.
The financial panic of October, 1857, came on in its full force, and, un-
able to stand before the storm, Mr. Pinney committed suicide, and the
burden that he refused longer to bear had to be taken up by another.
The labors that fell upon Mr. Withington were greater than ever. It
was directed in Mr. Pinney's will that the business should be continued
until the termination of the contracts with the state then in force. An
administrator was appointed, an official from Connecticut, unfamiliar
with the business, and the chief labor, therefore, remained where it had
been previously laid. A year after the death of Mr. Pinney the business
was oft'ered for sale, and was promptly purchased by Mr. Withington
and another employe by the name of Harold Sprague, and others. The
newly-organized firm of Sprague, Withington & Company, was composed
of men already in the employ of the old company. In the early days of
his career as a manufacturer Mr. Withington was aided by the late
Elihu Cooley, a man of admirable organizing power and a splendid
business man. The company soon took a higher place in the manufac-
turing world, and has continued to the present day, the firm name for
many years past having been Withington, Cooley & Company. Their
trade is not only co-extensive with this country, but extends to .\us-
tralia and South America and throughout Europe.
General Withington's energies, however, were not entirely devoted
to the management of this business, extensive as it was. The extent of
his operations, and the estimate placed by his business associates upon
his administrative ability, were shown by the fact that he was chosen
president of the following organizations, in addition to the one already
mentioned : The Union Bank. Grand River \'alley Railroad and Jackson
Vehicle Company, all of Jackson ; the Withington Handle Company, of
Fort Wayne and Huntington, Indiana : the Geneva Tool Company, of
Geneva, Ohio; the Oneida Farm Tool Company, of Utica, New York;
the National Snath Company, of Erie, Pennsylvania ; and the Steel
Goods Association, of New York, New York. Since 1875 he had also
been an owner and director in the Iowa Farming Tool Company, of
Fort Madison, Iowa. A year prior to his death when nearly all the
manufacturers of agricultural implements merged, he was chosen presi-
dent, and a large part of his time from then on was spent in Cleveland,
Ohio, attending to the onerous duties of the position.
The outbreak of the Civil War broke into General \\'ithington's
business career. A pure patriot and a natural soldier, with a deep love
of country, he was willing to risk life and fortune in the defense of the
flag he loved. He had previously aided in the organization of the Jack-
son Greys, a military company, and the day before Governor Blair's
call for volunteers was issued, April 16, i86r. Captain Withington had
called a special meeting of the Greys for this important crisis. The
enlistments made included a large portion of the company, which became
Company B. First Regiment, Alichigan Volunteer Infantry, with Mr.
Withington as captain. He tendered the services of the company to the
governor at the great meeing held at Jackson Hall, and it was accepted.
It was in the first battle of Bull Run, where Captain A\'ithington was
taken prisoner, but not until he had performed a service for which he
was given one of the congressional medals of honor. This in its terms
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 815
was for "most distinguished gallantry in voluntarily remaining on the
lield, under heavy fire, to aid and succor your superior officer in the
battle of Bull Run, \'irginia, July 21, 1861." It was some time after
the battle before Captain Withington's whereabouts became known, and
he was given up for dead until three weeks afterward, when his wife
was informed by a dispatch that he was alive and unhurt, but was a
prisoner in Richmond. He was exchanged January 30, 1862, came
home, and received a hearty welcome from his towiismen. Still desiring
to serve the Union, he was made colonel of the Seventeenth Infantry,
August II, 1862, and continued in the service until March 21, 1863. On
March 13, 1865, he was breveted brigadier general United States Volun-
teers, "for conspicuous gallantry at the battle of South Mountain, Mary-
land, September 14, 1862," where his command won the title of the
"Stonewall Regiment." He and his regiment also won laurels at An-
tietam. He was a good soldier and a fine commander, and in spite of
his stern discipline, had the aiTectionate regard of all who served under
him.
In his political views, General Withington became a Republican with
the organization of that party, and cast his first presidential vote for
President Lincoln. In addition to local positions of trust, serving as
alderman of the First Ward, he was a member of the house in the state
legislature in the session of 1873 and the special session of 1S74, and
state senator in the session of 1S91. The most important single piece
of legislation with which he was intimately associated was the law passed
by the legislature of 1873, under which the state troops, now the Na-
tional Guard, were organized. He drafted this bill, and it was largely
through his intelligent and persistent advocacy that it was passed. To
all matters of general legislation he gave careful attention, and in the
discussion of many of them he took part, both in the regular sessions
of 1873 and 1 89 1, and the constitutional revision session of 1874. Gen-
eral Withington often attended state conventions as a delegate, and went
in this capacity also to the national conventions of 1876 and 1892. He
did his share of political committee work in Jackson city and county,
and was four years a member of the state central committee. He also
served the state as a member of the board of trustees of the Alichigan
Asylum for the Insane, at Kalamazoo, and of the board of managers of
the Soldiers' Home, at Grand Rapids.
In the civic affairs of Jackson, General Withington ever took a deep
and helpful interest and labored steadfastly for the city's advancement.
He was active in securing many railways for Jackson, helped to organ-
ize the Young Men's Library Association, of which he was president for
many years, and under his supervision this association formed a fine
lil^ra'ry, which was subsequently presented to the Public Library. He
was also president of the Jackson Board of Trade, as long as that body
was in existence. General" Withington's society affiliations had generally
been of a military or political character. He was a member of the Mili-
tary Order of the Loyal Legion, of which he had been department com-
mander for a long period ; the Grand Armv of the Repulilic, Society of
the Army of the Potomac, Michigan Club, Detroit Club, and others.
For fifty' years he was one of the prominent laymen in the Episcopal
church of' Michigan, and served as delegate to the general convention
of the United States on two occasions: was vestryman of St. Paul's
parish for forty-two years, and for twenty-two years served as w-arden.
On June 6, 1859, General Withington was married to Miss Julia
C. Reeoe, daughter of Hon. Joseph E. Beebe, deceased, and to this
union there were born six children, of whom three are now living: Kate
W., Philip H. and Winthrop.
Vol. n— 1 2
816 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
The high regard in which General Withington was generally held, is
evidenced in an article printed in a local newspaper at the time of his
death, which, in appreciation, said in part: "General Withington exem-
plified the best citizenship ; he was a patriot, a lover of his country, and
as a soldier won honor for himself and the nation. He was a manly
man, sturdy of character, honest, stanch and upright. Men walk among
us and we know them not until death breaks the reserve and brings its
revelations. Now wq learn of the sweetness of life, the integrity, use-
fulness and honor of our dead fellow-citizen. Charitable without osten-
tation, he never turned a deaf ear to sorrow's cry. He was a successful
man in the affairs of life. He won that success which is indeed success-
ful when built on the foundation of intelligence, zeal, loyalty, integrity
and comradeship. His life will be an inspiration to others, for he has
shown that labor, lofty purpose and perseverance will win ; his was a
life well wrought, and all think of his honorable career with his high
abilities, his devotion, manliness, sense of duty and courage : his achieve-
ments were won by labor — labor so exacting that it brought his life to
a close before his time, at the age of sixty-eight years, crowned with fine
results for good for his fellowmen. He found leisure amid his exacting
duties as the head of large enterprises for study, and was always a
student. A Christian gentleman, he had advanced the cause of Christian-
ity by his earnestness, love of truth and liberal views. Thus passed away
an exemplary Christian, a loyal citizen, a kindly neighbor, a devoted hus-
band and aiiectionate father, an honest man ; in every relationship he
bore 'the white flower of a blameless life.' Jackson and its people will
mourn the going away of this useful citizen, who abided here forty-six
years, participating in the activities of trade — the city in which he took
so much interest, in whose welfare he rejoiced, and whose progress he
did so much to perpetuate — will ever cherish a sweet remembrance of
his good deeds and useful life. With his death a beautiful and Ijenefi-
cent star has set."
General Withington's widow, Mrs. Julia C. Withington, still resides
at the palatial Withington home located at Xo. 228 \\'ildwood avenue,
Jackson, and is held in affectionate esteem and regard by the city's
entire populace. Both of the sons are prominent in the manufacturing
world, and both are men of large aft'airs, the elder, Philip H., being a
resident of Cleveland. Ohio, while Winthrcp, the younger, resides in
Tackson. The only daughter, Kate Winifred, is now the wife of Dr.
Flemming Carrow, a prominent and well known oculist of Detroit.
Hon. Adri.\n F. Cooper. One of the leading members of the Cal-
houn county bar. and a resident of Albion since 1891, when he came as
a student of Albion College, Adrian F. Cooper was at one time a farm
boy. Some years of his earlier career were spent in the school room
as a teacher, and he fitted himself for law by paying his way, and for
nearly fifteen years has been active in official affairs and in his profession.
Adrian F. Cooper was born on a small farm near the village of
Harrietsville, Ontario, January 27. 1873, a son of Joseph and Elizabeth
(Amoss) Cooper. His father, Joseph Cooper, was a native Canadian
of Irish descent, and his mother a native Canadian of English descent
and a daughter of Thomas Amoss, a merchant and manufacturer, who
for manv years preceding his death lived on his farm at Mossley, On-
tario. Joseph Cooper began life as a carpenter and builder, but abandoned
his trade to become a farmer on a small farm which he purchased near
the village of Harrietsville, Ontario, and his three sons spent their boy-
hood in that vicinity. In 1883 he moved his family to what was then the
territory of Dakota, and began farming on a larger scale near where the
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 817
village of Park River sprang up. The family lived at Park River until
the fall of 1890. when the father brought his family to Michigan, taking
up his residence temporarily at Alarlette, where he secured employment
for his teams, and the following SeiHembcr Ijrought his family to Albion,
which continued his home until his death on April 4, 1904. His wife
survived him six years, or until February 7, 1910, and both are buried
in Riverside cemetery at Albion. Among their children are two other
sons, Wilfred A., engaged in farming in Jackson county, and Oscar H.
Cooper, a member of the cartage firm of "Wiltinger, Cooper & Pettibone
of Albion.
With a farm training during his early youth Adrian F. Cooper was
educated in the public school at Park River. North Dakota, spent one
year in the high school at Marlette, Michigan, and from there entered
the preparatory department of Albion College, from which institution
he was graduated in 1896. Before entering college he taught district
school for one term at the age of seventeen, and after graduation from
college again resumed teaching, and spent four years in that occupation
in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Houghton county, at Dollar Bay
and Chassell. While teaching he devoted his spare time to the study -of
law and during vacations read law in the office of M. D. Weeks at Al-
bion. In 1900 he quit teaching and entered the law^ office of Kramer &
Greenfield of Chicago as a law clerk, but returned to Michigan in 1901
and took the bar examination and was admitted to practice May loth of
that year. With the exception of a brief time spent in Jackson, his legal
career has been identified with Albion since January i, 1902. In that
city he formed a co-partnership with his former tutor, and the firm of
Weeks & Cooper has been one of the strongest in Calhoun county. In
addition to his law business Mr. Cooper has built a number of substantial
modern tenant houses from the proceeds of his law practice.
Mr. Cooper has for a number of years been one of the leading Repub-
licans in the southern part of the state, and is now serving his fourth
year as Republican coimty chairman. The first office to which he was
elected was that of circuit court commissioner, which he held for two
terms. In 1903 he was elected city clerk of Albion and was re-elected the
following year, and in 1909 was elected mayor of the city, and suc-
ceeded himself for a second term in that office. He has served seven
terms as citv attorney of Albion. He also served as secretary and treas-
urer of the Albion Business Men's Association, has been president and
secretary of the Alumni Association of Albion College, and for four years
he was a member of the board of directors of the Association, and a
member of the board of Athletic Control of Albion College. His fra-
ternal affiliations are chiefly with the Masonic Order and include mem-
bership in ^lurat Lodge No. 14. A. F. & A. M., Albion Chapter No. 32,
R. A. M., Albion Council No. 57, R. & S. M.. and he is a past Worthy
Patron of the Eastern Star. His church is the Methodist Episcopal.
On October 31, 1906, he was united in marriage with Miss Emma L.
Worden, of Reading. Michigan, whose acquaintance he had made while
she was a student in the Albion College conservatory of music. Mrs.
Cooper's father. George \\'. Worden, was a prominent merchant of Read-
ing, where he w-as engaged in the hardware and implement business, and
formerlv was an extensive buyer of grain and other farm produce. Her
mother, Whose maiden name was Ella L. Chester, was a daughter of Eeson
T. Chester, one of the early settlers of Hillsdale county, a prominent and
ardent Democrat, and a man of large business interests, owner of a bank
at the village of Camden, and of the flour mills and saw mills of that
place, was also government land agent for many years, and was the largest
individual land owner in the township of Camden. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper
818 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
have two children living: Helen Marie, born May 23, 191 1, and Donald
W., bom September 16, 1912. Their first child, Elva L., born April 22,
1909, died at the age of seven months.
Leverett a. Pratt. The best examples of Bay City architecture,
both in public and business structures is a credit to the splendid pro-
fessional skill and ability of Leverett A. Pratt, whose reputation as an
architect is pre-eminent in the city, and his name is well known in various
parts of the state.
Leverett A. Pratt was born December 16, 1849, '" Scio, Allegheny
County, New York, a son of N. C. and Eliza (Bushnell) Pratt. His
father was a lumber merchant and shipper, later moved to Pennsylvania,
where he engaged in coal mining, and later in mercantile lines, and
from Pennsylvania moved to Ohio, and about 1870 to Bay City, Mich-
igan, where he again resumed the lumber trade and continued it until his
death about 1903. The mother died about 1901. Of the five children
in the family, four of whom are now living, Air. L. A. Pratt was the
fourth.
- His early education was very limited and was acquired in the public
schools in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. It is by reliance upon
his native talents and by thorough experience and a studious attention
to the business in hand that he has risen to his present successful posi-
tion. Having learned the trade of carpenter in early life, he began busi-
ness as a master carpenter in Bay City in 1869, and since 1870 has been
practicing the profession of architecture, and for many years has devoted
all his time to that work. He was associated for more than thirty years
with Walter Koeppe, a noted architect, who retired about three years
ago and returned to his old home in (Jermany, where he died in 1912.
Mr. Pratt is now head of the firm of Pratt, Bickel & Campbell, whose
offices are in the Crapo Block. It would require a long list to indicate
even the more important results of Mr. Pratt's skill as an architect.
They include the Bay City City Hall, the Presbyterian church, the Ma-
sonic Temple, the Crapo Block, and all the Catholic churches and insti-
tutions of that city.
In politics Mr. Pratt has been a staunch Republican since he reached
his majority, but has had little time for politics either as a vocation or as
an avocation. He is affiliated with the Masonic Order through the Blue
Lodge, Chapter, Commandery, and Consistory, is a past commander of
the Bay City Knights Templars, and is also affiliated with the Elks.
On December 27, 1874, Mr. Pratt was married in Waterloo, New
York, to Miss Ida Towsley, a daughter of Alonzo and Lora (Lee)
Towsley. Her father was in the stone business in that state, and operated
large quaries there until his death in 1898. Mr. and Mrs. Pratt are the
parents of a son and a daughter: Lora Lee is the wife of Fisher A. B.
Wenk, of BuiTalo, New York, where her husband is cashier in the Buf-
falo Branch of the John Hancock Life Insurance Company. The son
is Jesse F. Pratt, now about thirty-four years of age and who is a me-
chanical engineer.
Mr. Pratt is of English descent. He has for years been very attentive
to his business and seldom takes a vacation, almost the only exception
to that rule being an occasional visit to his daughter in Buflfalo.
Michael Tinnev. It is in the field of plastering contracting that
Michael Tinney has been chiefly identified with the business interests of
Detroit for the past twenty years, and in that time he has established a
reputation not only as a successful business man but as a broad-minded,
public-spirited citizen, whose name is entitled to respect wherever spoken.
tAo-t/ \/..{^-i.n^n^njBy
TIE NSW T8M
PUaJlC LIBRARY
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 819
Michael Tinney was born at Norwich. Oxford county, Ontario, May
13, 1856, a son of John and Honora (Hanely) Tinney. John Tinney,
who was born in the north of Ireland, was descended from a family which
emigrated from Scotland to the north of Ireland many years ago, and were
of Scotch Presbyterian stock. The father of John was a travelling min-
ister for the Presbyterian church in different sections of north Ireland.
Honora Hanely was born in the south of Ireland, and both she and her
husband came to America early in life and were married in Hamilton,
Ontario, subsec|uently locating and spending their lives in Oxford county.
The birthplace of Michael Tinney was a farm situated two miles from
Norwich, and his early years were spent in the atmosphere of the country
and under the educational and community influences of the village of
Norwich. His career has been one of more than ordinary experience,
and his success has been self won. At the age of sixteen he began an
apprenticeship of the cabinet making trade under James Mclntyre, an
old Scotchman who for many years conducted a shop at Ingersoll in Ox-
ford county. His proficiency in this business afforded him a comfortable
living for seven years and four months, when his employer suddenly failed
in business, and let him out at a time, when industrial conditions every-
where were hard and all work scarce.- There wag no opportunity for
work at his trade, and one summer was spent in building culverts for the
Canadian Pacific Railroad. The following two summers he worked as a
painter. His next-door neighbor was a plasterer, and as the painting trade
was by no means to his liking, he foiuid work carrying a hod for his neigh-
bor, and this, curiously enough, was his introduction to a line of business
which has been continued ever since and which has enabled him to secure
a substantial position in the business world.
During 1888 and 1889 Mr. Tinney did contracting in a small way at
Ingersoll, Canada, and in February, 1890, came into Michigan. His first
work was on a large building then in course of construction at Ishpeming,
but in September of the same year he came to Detroit and began work
on the Hammond building, which was then being erected. The first two
years in Detroit were spent as a journeyman, but since then he has been
an independent contractor. Mr. Tinney is a member of the Detroit
Employers' Association and for 1914 is vice-president of the Master
Plasterers' Association. Fraternally his affiliations are with Zion Lodge
No. I, A. F. & A. M., with Michigan Consistory of the thirty-second de-
gree Scottish Rite, with Moslem Temple of the Mystic Shrine, and with
Diamond Lodge, I. O. O. F.
Mr. Tinney was married in Ontario to Mary Melissa Kelsey, who was
born at Syracuse, New York, daughter of Rufus M. Kelsey, who took
his family from Syracuse to Ontario. Mr. and Mrs. Tinney are the
parents of the following children : Eva Louise, who married James Benzie
of Detroit, and has a daughter named Elsie; Ernest LeRoy, who married
Carrie Smith of Detroit ; William H. ; Lucy May, who married Cecil
Burse of Detroit, and has a daughter, Helen ; and John Calvin, by whose
marriage to Ethel Hayes of Detroit there is one son, Edwin.
The B.\y City Time.s was founded January 3, 1899 — the most unpro-
pitious time of the year in which to launch a business enterprise, es-
pecially when the field is already occupied. Bay City was then served
by the Morniiuj Tribune and the Evening Press, both owned by one
management, but neither at that time was on a prosperous basis. Twenty-
four years have since come and gone, and the Times is now supreme in
the evening field at Bay City, and is one of the ablest managed and most
prosperous newspaper enterprises of the state.
It was with much trepidation that Wilbert H. Gustin and Leonard
820 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
L. Cline surrendered their positions of city editor and advertising man-
ager respectively on the Tribune, to join hands with Fred. AI. Van
Campen, owner of a job printing office, to start a new newspaper, in a
field that was paved with wrecks of journalistic efforts. However, they
united their limited means in an enterprise that eventually was brought to
success.
The promoters were all young men and well acquainted in the city.
They had canvassed the field and had received encouragement. They
recruited their force mainly from the other daily papers of the city.
These employees, confident of the success of the new paper, gave up a
certainty for an uncertainty.
^^'ith a force of men trained in newspaper work, the promoters began
the pul)licatiou of the Bay City Times. It was then a four-page paper,
seven columns to the page. The type was all set by hand, it was printed
on a flat-bed, two-revolution press, capable of turning out eight hundred
papers per hour. The office was located in a tw'o-story building on Fifth
avenue between Washington and Saginaw streets, which Mr. Gustin
had purchased for the purpose. So interested was he in the success of
the enterprise that he charged no rent while the company occupied the
building.
The success of The Times the first year was of a doubtful character,
It depended upon a plate service, supplemented by "grape-vine," for
some of its telegraph news. It also had a wire running into the office
over which a special service was supposed to come from Detroit, but this
was so often interrupted by wires being broken because "they were mov-
ing a house across the tracks down at Drayton Plains," that the service
was discontinued as inadequate and unsatisfactory. It is said that there
has not been a "house moved across the track at Drayton Plains" since
the special service was given up.
The principal telegraphic news sers'ice of that day was supplied by
the Associated Press, the evening franchise of which was held by the
Evening Press. The Times wanted it but could not get it. The Evening
Press would not dispose of it, therefore, the publishers of The Times
decided to bend their energies in getting out a much better local news-
paper and with timely local editorial comment such as would tell in its
race against the competitor. This course had its effect. The Times
grew and prospered. Archibald McMillan, one of the publishers of the
Evening Press, saw the inevitable. He disposed of his interest in 1890
and became a member of the Times Company and staff. With addi-
tional strength and growing favor. The Times went ahead. It became
recognized as the leading paper of the city, even though it had no accred-
ited press association from which to secure its telegraphic news.
Early in 1891, The Times, having outgrown its Fifth avenue quarters,
moved to the Birney block on Water street. In this location it remained
upwards of ten years when it purchased the Cottrell building. When
the people of Bay City voted to buy Water street property to establish
Wenonah Park, The Times building was one of those that were within
the Park zone. The Times, in preparing to vacate, bought the north-
west corner of .\dams street and Fifth avenue, where it erected its pres-
ent modern building and installed within it the latest improved printing
machiner}-. The new building was occupied in September, 1909.
In May, 1891, Mr. \'an Campen retired from the company and de-
voted himself exclusively to the job printing department. At about this
time the publishers reorganized as a corporation known as The Bay City
Times Company. In June of that year The Times purchased and ab-
sorbed the Ezrning Press, securing thereby the much coveted Associated
Press privileges and at the same time relieving the business men of \\ hat
they had regarded for some time as a burden — a third daily newspaper.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 821
The Evening Press was established in 1879 and had up to that time
absorbed or forced to surrender the field, the Advocate, the Daily Star,
the Daily World, the Evening Neivs, the Morning Call, and a few others
of minor importance. Whatever prestige and business these papers ac-
uired came to The Times when it bought the Press. From that time
The Times has been the sole occupant of the evening field.
Since 1889 The Times has outgrown six presses. The last move was
the enlargement of the present perfecting press so that its capacity has
been doubled. The type-setting capacity of the office has been increased
twenty-fold, and there are five times as many compositors in the "ad"
allev as there were in 1889. Of the original force in the mechanical
department, only one remains — Fred J. Wharton, foreman of the "'ad"
department.
Tlie Times was started as an independent newspaper and it has main-
tained this position. Its aim has been to serve the people honestly, to
gain their confidence by dealing fairly with them in all things and at all
times, and thus acquire a prestige that cannot be shaken. Its circulation
and advertising patronage have consequently enjoyed a steady growth
from its inception to this day.
Of the founders of The Times, Mr. Gustin is the only one remaining
with the paper. Mr. Cline disposed of his interest in 1892 to take the
business management of the Grand Rapids Democrat. He later went to
Detroit and engaged in the advertising business, and died in the harness.
Mr. \'anCampen became interested in photography and is now engaged
in that line in Grand Rapids. Mr. Gustin disposed of his interest in 1903
at the time the present company acquired possession of the paper. He
has been acting in the capacity of managing editor since.
The present officers of the Bay City Times Company are Ralph H.
Booth, president : and B. M. \\'ynkoop, secretary-treasurer and general
manager.
Hon. S.^muel Dickie. ]\Iany of the well known Michigan citizens
whose names and careers are recorded in these pages give credit for
their finishing education and preparation for life to Albion College, an
institution with a history of more than seventy years, and one of the
strongest denominational' schools in the state. Its possibilities for use-
ful service are now greater than ever, owing largely to the aggressive
work of its president. Dr. Dickie, who graduated from .Mbion more than
forty years ago, was connected with the institution in various capacities
as instructor and business and official capacity, and since 1901 has 'been
president.
Dr. Dickie was made acting president of Albion College in February,
1 90 1, and was elected to the permanent presidency in June, 1901. The
important features of his work as president were described by Prof.
DeLos Fall in a history of Albion College written in 191 2, and two para-
graphs from that article are herewith quoted :
"He has served most acceptably and successfully in that office from
that time to the present writing. He was thoroughly conversant with
the college in all phases of its life, having been intimately and officially
connected with it for a long series of years — as student, member of the
faculty, member of the iboard of trustees, and chairman of the endow-
ment fund committee. The first important task which confronted him
was the clearing away of the great debt which had been incurred through
the previous administrations. Although no part of the endowment fund
had been used for current expenses, it still remained that to care for the
interest on a debt which now had grown to be one hundred thousand
dollars, required the earning of a like amount of the permanent endow-
822 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
ment fund. \\'ith great energy and tact, President Dickie aroused the
interest of the friends of the institution, who responded promptly and
liberally, with the result that on December 31, 1902, there was secured
in cash and good securities the sum of $103,400, and the school was free
from debt.
"The financial problem is one ever present in the management of any
live, growing, and expanding institution of learning, and so it will ever
be with Albion. Recognizing this fact, President Dickie has taken a sec-
ond notable step in the present year of 1912. Air. Andrew Carnegie
had promised to give twenty thousand dollars when the college, through
its friends, should show him eighty thousand additional, the entire sum
to be placed in the permanent endowment fund. This has been most
successfully accomplished, thus placing the school upon a much better
financial foundation."
One of Michigan's most distinguished educators, and also a leader
in the work of state and national temperance, Samuel Dickie was born
in Canada June 6, 185 1. a son of William and Jane (McNabb) Dickie,
both natives of Scotland. The father was born at the home of the poet,
Robert Burns, in Mauchlin, Scotland, while the mother was a native
of Glasgow. In early life the family emigrated to Canada, and in 185S
to Lansing, Michigan, where the parents spent the rest of their lives.
Dr. Dickie was educated in the public schools of Lansing, and in
1868, at the age of seventeen, entered Albion College and remained until
graduating in 1872. His career as an educator began as superintendent
of schools at Hastings, where he remained four years, and from 1877
to 1888 held the Chair of Astronomy and Physics at .\lbion College. He
was one of the most popular instructors in the faculty, and from the
year 1888 until taking the position of president in 1901 continued to
be identified with his Alma Mater by loyal interest and also various
official services.
In 1872, at the age of twenty-one. Dr. Dickie refused allegiance to
the party which he favored for its economic principles on account of
its stand on the temperance question, and has ever since vbeen one of the
strongest and ablest members of the Prohibition party in. Michigan. In
1884 he was chairman of the National Prohibition convention, and in
1886 was Prohibition candidate for governor, receiving a vole one-third
larger than was given to St. John, the presidential candidate in 1884.
He was the leader of the campaign in 1887 for the amendment of the
state constitution to prohibit the manufacture and sale of liquor in the
state, and his work at that time gained him recognition in his party
councils in the nation at large, and in the Chicago convention of Novem-
ber, 1887, he was made chairman of the national committee. The follow-
ing four years were spent in New York City, where he maintained his
headquarters as executive head of the party. Returning to Albion in
1893, Dr. Dickie has had his home in that city ever since.
On December 22, 1872, Dr. Dickie married Alary Brockway, daugh-
ter of Rev. William H. Brockway of Albion. Their four children are :
Clarissa, Ada, Mary, and Brockway.
John M. Phel.\x. The spirit of twentieth century enterprise which
has stimulated and produced in such an important degree the develop-
ment of Jackson and vicinity as one of the chief industrial centers of
Alichigan. has no better representative than John M. Phelan, who has
lived in that city since he was ten years of age, and whose invention of a
special process for the manufacture of reinforced concrete pipe has added
to the world's mechanical facilities. Mr. Phelan is superintendent of the
Reinforced Concrete Pipe Company, a corporation specially organized
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 823
to manufacture his invention. He also holds an honored place in the civic
community as alderman from the Seventh Ward.
John M. Phelan was bom in Washtenaw county, Michigan, on a farm
December 12, 1866. His father was Michael Phelan, a native of county
Waterford-. Ireland, who came to the United States in 1848. Throughout
his active career until his death in 1885, he combined farming and busi-
ness pursuits, engaging first in one and then in the other. The mother,
whose maiden name was Sarah Guinon was born in Queen's County, Ire-
land, and was a direct descendant of Guy the Earl of Warwick. She
died in 1897.
When John M. Phelan was ten years of age, his parents located at
Jackson, and that city has ever since been his home. Here he attended
St. John's parochial school, but left off his studies at the age of fourteen
in order to learn a practical vocation. His first work was as a cigar
maker, and at the age of eighteen, he began an apprenticeship at the
machinist's trade, which was more in keeping with his natural inclinations
and early manifested genius for mechanical contrivance. For two years
he was an apprentice in the old Bennett Machine Shops of Jackson, and
thoroughly mastered his trade and became an expert, so that at this time
there is probably no better mechanic in the city of Jackson than Mr.
Phelan. In following his trade he was employed in several different ma-
chine shops, and also in the shops of the Alichigan Central Railway at
the Junction. Still later, he was for ten years in the shops of the Nov-
elty 'Manufacturing Company. In 1903, ^Ir. Phelan perfected and se-
cured a patent upon a reinforced concrete pipe. He himself foresaw great
commercial possibilities in its manufacture, and it was not difficult to in-
duce capital to back the invention. Accordingly there was organized
the Reinforced Concrete Pipe Company, and subsequently it was incor-
porated. Mr. Phelan has been one of the large stockholders of the con-
cern, and has been superintendent of the manufacturing since the be-
ginning. Today this is one of Jackson's best industries. It is capitalized
at six hundred thousand dollars, and the products are shipped all over the
world. To comparatively few men comes such a distinction as an in-
ventor and manufacturer as to Mr. Phelan and he may well take pride
in the fact that he has added to the world's commercial resources. While
the reinforced concrete pipe is most conspicuous and valuable invention,
Mr. Phelan has a mechanical genius which has been manifested in other
original ways, and at least twenty patents have been granted by the gov-
ernment for the government.
A Democrat in politics, Mr. Phelan has long been active in local af-
fairs, and for the past fourteen years has represented the Seventh Ward
in the City Council, of which he is one of the most valuable working mem-
bers. He belongs to the Catholic Church, and is affiliated with the
Knights of Columbus, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
On October 16, 1891, Mr. Phelan married Mary McGuin. They have
three children, two sons and a daughter, Marguerite, Harold and Roy.
Henry R. Wochholz. The position which he has gained as one of
the representative business men and progressive, public-spirited citizens
of the city of Albion well entitles Mr. \Vochholz to specific recognition
in this publication. He is senior member of the enterprising firm of
Wochholz & Gress, which conducts a finely appointed department store in
the city of Albion and which has gained high reputation and substantial
business through fair and honorable dealings and marked circumspec-
tion in meeting the demands of an appreciative and representative patron-
age. Further interest attaches to the career of Mr. Wochholz by reason
824 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
of the fact that he is a scion of a steriing pioneer family of [Michigan
and a native of the county which is now his home.
Henry R. Wochholz was born on a farm in Albion township, Cal-
houn county, Michigan, on the 26th of May, 1862, the exact place of his
nativity being situated four miles southeast of the city of Albion. He is
a son of John Ludwig Wochholz and Henrietta (Frederick) Wochholz,
both of whom were born and reared in Germany, where their marriage
was solemnized, and where the father served six years in the German
army, in which he attained official preferment. The subject of this re-
view is one of a family of nine children and was the first of the num-
ber born in Calhoun county, four having been born in Germany. In 1861
John L. Wochholz severed the ties that bound him to home and native
land and immigrated with his family to the United States, the voyage hav-
ing been made in a primitive sailing vessel, the "Washington," and this
having been the final trans-.\tlantic trip of the boat. Six weeks were
consumed in making the voyage, and soon after landing in New York
city the Wochholz family set forth for Michigan, making Calhoun county
their destination. John L. Wochholz acquired land in Sheridan township,
and eventually became one of the prosperous agriculturists of the county,
where both he and his devoted wife passed the remainder of their lives
and where both retained inviolable place in the confidence and esteem of
all who knew them, their names meriting enduring place on the roll of
the sterling pioneers of this favored section of the state. Mrs. Wochholz
was summoned to the life eternal on the 13th of October, 1898, at the
age of seventy-four years, and her husband passed away June 8, 1906, at
the age of seventy-nine years. Of the nine children all save one survive
the honored parents: Lena is the wife of August Waldvogle ; Charles is
a resident of Albion, Michigan ; Henrietta is the wife of Philo D. Wright ;
Henry R. is the immediate subject of this sketch ; John F. maintains his
home at Albion, Michigan ; Mary is the wife of William Beilfuss : Ida is
the wife of Robert Glascofi^: and Frank A. is engaged in the clothing
business in Albion, where all of the children reside. Hannah, the one
child deceased, was the first wife of Robert Glascoff. who after her
death married her younger sister, Ida.
Henry R. Wochholz has been a resident of Calhoun county from the
time of his birth, and. like his brothers and sisters, has shown by this
condition his lively appreciation of the manifold advantages and attrac-
tions of the county. His initial experiences were those gained in con-
nection with the home farm, in the work of which he assisted during the
days of his boyhood and youth, the while he continued to attend the
district school during the winter terms until he had attained to the age
of eighteen years. This discipline was supplemented by his attending for
one year a German Lutheran parochial school in Albion, his parents hav-
ing been zealous adherents of the religious denomination mentioned. He
had gained more or less familiarity with the German langi:age through
the associations of his home, but in the parochial school he perfected him-
self in the correct usage of the language, which he speaks, reads and
writes with marked facility. Mr. Wochholz continued to lend his aid in
the work and management of his father's farm until he attained his legal
majority. He then set forth into a new field of endeavor, and the results
that he has since achieved fully justify the course which he thus followed.
He established his residence in Albion after leaving the farm and here he
was emploved for two years as a clerk in the hardware store of the late
A. P. Gardiner. It mav be mentioned incidentally that Mr. Wochholz
now owns and occupies the attractive residence that was at that time the
nome of Mr. Gardiner. After the experience gained in the hardware
establishment Mr. Wochholz entered upon an apprenticeship at the mould-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 825
er's trade, in the plant of the Gale Manufacturing Company, long one of
the foreiTiost representatives of the plow manufacturing industry in the
country, and with this Albion company he continued for thirteen years
after the completion of his apprenticeship of three years. His steadfast-
ness, determination and good judgment were significantly shown in this
connection, for during the long period of sixteen years in the service of
the Gale Company, Air. Wochholz lost but one day's time, this being the
momentous occasion of his marriage.
In i8g8 Mr. Wochholz resigned his position as one of the skilled
workmen and valued employes of the Gale Manufacturing Company, and
he then initiated his independent career as a merchant in Albion. From
that time to the present he has been known as one of the reliable pro-
gressive and representative business men of the second city of Calhoun
county, and his record has been one of consecutive advancement along
the line of prosperous enterprise and that of tenure of popular confidence
and esteem. At the initiation of his mercantile career he formed a part-
nership with Edgar C. Deyoe, under the firm name of Wochholz & Deyoe,
and this alliance continued seven years, the enterprise being that of gen-
eral merchandise, including the handling of coal and wood. In 1905 Mr.
Wochholz purchased his partner's interest in the now well-developed busi-
ness, and at the same time he sold a half interest in the enterprise to his
brother-in-law, Frederick W. Cress, who has since been his able and valued
coadjutor, under the firm title of Wochholz & Gress. The large double
store of the firm is situated at the corner of Cass and Superior streets,
and the same is metropolitan in its facilities, stock and service in the
various departments. The firm also owns and operates the principal coal
elevator of Albion and deals extensively in grain, feed, lime, cement, etc.
Mr. Gress has charge of the coal elevator and its allied enterprises and
Mr. Wochholz gives his personal supervision to the large and well ap-
pointed mercantile establishment.
Distinctive public spirit has characterized Mr. Wochholz as a citizen
and man of affairs. He has been aligned from early manhood as a staunch
supporter of the cause of the Republican party, but he has refused to be-
come a candidate for any public office save that of member of the Albion
board of education, a position which he has held for the past nine years
and in which he has done effective work in behalf of the city schools.
He was for two years president of the Albion Business Men's Association,
having been the first to hold this office and having been prominently con-
cerned in the founding of the progressive organization. In the Masonic
fraternity he has attained to the Knights Templar degree, besides being
affiliated with the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine.
Mr. Wochholz has important capitalistic interests aside from those
already mentioned. He is a member of the directorate of the National
Spring & Wire Company, of Albion and Windsor, Ontario, and is a stock-
holder in both the Albion Chemical Works and the Albion Commercial
& Savings Bank.
On May 26, 1889, there was recorded the marriage of Mr. Wochholz
to Miss Emma Gress, who was bom at Parma, Jackson covuity, Michigan,
and they have two sons, — Louis F., who was born June 18, 1892, and
Harold F., who was born June 26, 1896. The elder son was graduated in
the University of Michigan on his twenty-first birthday, June 18, 1913,
and completed in this great institution a five years' course in four years.
The younger son was graduated in the Albion high school as a member
of the class of 1914, the date of graduation having been June nth. Both
sons are sterling and popular young men of Albion, and their circle of
friends is coincident with that of their acquaintances.
826 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Frederick W. Gress. The ability to succeed in the strongly competi-
tive walks of mercantile life is possessed by Frederick W. Gress, one of
Albion's best known merchants, and of the well known mercantile firm
of Wochholz & Gress.
Of stanch German stock which has been conspicuous in the develop-
ment and enterprise of many sections of America, Frederick W. Gress
was born at Albion, Michigan. May 17, 1864. His father, John Gress,
was a native of Germany, a blacksmith by trade, and died when his son
Frederick was three years of age. The mother, whose maiden name was
Wilhelmina Steinkrass was also born in the German fatherland, and
after the death of her first husband married August Stecher. Mr. Steelier
is also now deceased, and his widow lives at a good old age in Albion. Of
the three children born to John Gress and wife, two are now living, Fred-
erick W. and Mrs. Henry R. Wochholz. both of Albion. To the second
marriage were born six children, of whom five are living as follows:
George F. ; Louis ; Otto ; Eva and Ella, twins, who are now respectively
Mrs. John Dean and Mrs. Henry Penzotti.
Frederick W. Gress has spent practically all his life in Albion, was
educated in the common schools, turned his attention to a trade, and for
many years was one of the city's industrial workers. As junior member
of the firm of Wochholz & Gress he is a leading business man, this being
one of the most prosperous merchandise houses of the city. They con-
duct a large general store, supply the community with all kinds of mer-
chandise, and also are extensive dealers, in coal. wood, grain and feed.
The partners are brothers-in-law, and fliey began business together in
1906. Previous to his mercantile-career ^IK Gress put in twenty-one years
in the employ of the Gale Manufacturing Company at Albion. For many
years before he resigned from that establishment he was foreman in the
malleable iron department. . .: • .■
Mr. Gress has other ^not€WOrthy•relatlOh•s with the community, is a
member of the German Lutheran church, has taken the Knight Templar
degree in the Alasonic order with membership in Marshall Commandery
No. 17, and also belongs to the uniform rank of the Knights of Pythias,
Apollo Company, Xo. 23, of Albion. In his civic relations he served four
years as a member of the city council from the First ward, and is Repub-
lican in his political principles. Besides his interest in the store, he is a
stockholder in the Commercial and Savings Bank of Albion. On April
17, i8go, Mr. Gress married Amelia Reather. They have one daughter.
Miss Margaret Ida Gress, who is a well educated young lady living at
home, and a helpful assistant to her father as bookkeeper with the firm
of \\'ochholz & Gress.
Julius J. Best. Within the past year Julius J. Best embarked in the
real estate and insurance business in Jackson, and the indications are that
his career on that line will be a successful and creditable one. Mr. Best
came to this country from his native land, Poland, in May, 1898, and since
that time he has been a resident of this city. He was born on July 19,
1881, and it is more or less interesting to follow the upward steps of his
career thus far in America.
When Mr. Best first came to Jackson from Poland he entered the em-
ploy af the Lewis Spring & Axle Company, and for four years he was
thus occupied, acting in the capacity of shipping clerk. For three years
thereafter he was variously employed, and in 1905 he entered the service
of W. W. \\'right in the real estate and insurance business as a solicitor,
and he continued with Mr. Wright until February i, 1914, when he es-
tablished a real estate and insurance agency on his own account. Prior
to this however, and while still in the employ of Mr. Wright, Mr. Best had
Til n^im
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 827
conducted a steamship agency at Jackson on his own account and also a
foreign money order office, and he still conduts both the steamship agency
and money order office in conjunction with the real estate and insurance
business. His offices are located at No. 213 Carter Brothers Building.
Mr. Best is the son of John and Lucy Best, both now deceased, who
spent their entire lives in their native land. One brother, Frank Best,
followed him to America. He is now a prosperous grocer of Toledo,
Ohio.
Mr. Best occupies a position of considerable importance in Jackson,
not alone by reason of his business enterprises, but in some degree be-
cause of his standing with his brother Poles. The city has a Polish popu-
lation of something like five thousand, many of them having come to
America in very recent years and having but little knowledge of the man-
ners and customs of their new land. These people find in Mr. Best a
sympathetic friend and adviser, and they are always free to come to him
with their problems. Mr. Best has studied hard since he established
himself on American soil and he is comparatively familiar with the Eng-
lish language and with the methods of legal procedure of our courts, so
that he is well equipped td act as a sort of "big brother" to his country-
men. A large proportion of the Jackson Polish Colony depend implicitly
upon him and his word, and he directs them in the manner of the disposi-
tion of their savings as well as in other matters of vital interest to them.
If they wish to send their savings back to their native land to those they
left behind them, Mr. Best attends to the matter for them with the facili-
ties at his command in his foreign money order department. On the other
hand, if they wish to invest in Jackson property, Mr. Best is never chary
of the best advice of which he is capable in regard to a satisfactory in-
vestment. And it is a source of much pride and pleasure to him that he
is able to act as a friend to his fellow countrymen in their adopted country.
Mr. Best has, himself, made some judicious and profitable investments
in Jackson realty, and he is rapidly gaining in financial standing in the
city. He has most thoroughly demonstrated to the people of Jackson
that a young man of foreign birth, with little or no educational advan-
tages, may, by the application of a fair measure of energy and the pos-
session of good habits, win a solid success in an American city, and the
people of Jackson have a measure of pride in his achievements, and re-
gard him as a valuable acquisition to the citizenship of the community.
Henry Sciiust. The president of the Schust Baking Company has
for thirty years been one of Saginaw's leading business men. He estab-
lished and developed a bread bakery, which in its time was notable for
the high standard of its product, and since transferring his resources to
the baking branch of the industry has made a business hardly second to
anv of its kind in the state, and the Schust crackers are now eaten by
thousands of consumers who never visited Saginaw, where the big factory
is located. Mr. Schust's character and reputation has given him a high
place in his community, he is a man of honor and of high ideals and while
always interested and a liberal contributor to the upbuilding of his city, has
at the same time provided well for his immediate family, and all his chil-
dren are a credit to him. Mr. Schust in spite of his long and active busi-
ness career, and the large establishment of which he is at the head, is sure
to impress a stranger as one man who has no cares or worries, and is
happy and contented with every fortune that state has brought him.
Henry Schust is a native of Wurttemberg, Germany, born May 24,
1850, a son of John H. V. and Alargaret (Schmidt) Schust. His
education acquired in the schools of his native province was of a
substantial character, and early in youth he began learning the
828 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
baker's trade as an apprentice in his native city. With his accumu-
lation of savings, he finally went to Basel, Switzerland, being ac-
companied by his wife, whom he had married in Stuttgart, Ger-
many. In Basel he engaged in the baking business for himself, and
remained there from 1875 until April, 1882. In the meantime in
spite of a fair prosperity, he had become soundly impressed with the great
resources and opportunities offered in the United States, and this finally
led to his selling out his business in Switzerland, and with a considerable
amount of capital he arrived in Michigan and located at Cass City. A
business career there of eighteen months proved somewhat disastrous,
since he lost nearly all of his investments, and left Cass City, with a some-
what poor opinion of that locality. In the fall of 1883, he arrived in Sagi-
naw, and with what remained of his capital bought a small bake shop on
LaPeer Street. Being an expert baker, he applied himself with all the
characteristic earnestness and industry of his nature to his undertaking,
and in a short time was making goods which were very popular through-
out the city. After his first success he bought a block on the corner of
Sixth and LaPeer Streets, ground measuring eighty-five by one hundred
and forty feet, and there erected a large and modern steam bakery. His
business increased with rapid strides, and in time became the most im-
portant of its kind in Saginaw. In 1902, his success with bread having
stimulated his enterprise in other directions, he started in a small way the
manufacture of crackers and cakes. The Schust Baking establishment at
that time gave employment to some twelve to fifteen people. The cracker
business soon outdistanced the larger department entirely, and in a short
time Mr. Schust erected additional factory room, and in 1907 sold out the
bread bakeries altogether. At that time was organized the Schust Baking
Company, whose plant covers nearly thirty-six thousand feet of floor space,
employs upwards of one hundred hands, and the goods are shipped and
sold on the markets of Chicago, Detroit, Cincinnati, and all the intermedi-
ate territory. There are two branch houses, one in Bay City, and one in
Flint. Mr. Schust owns the majority of the stock, and has been president
of the company since organization in the present corporate form.
A new plant will be erected on the west side, at the foot of Congress
Street and Michigan Central tracks. Mr. Schust is building a new plant,
and will be known as the Schust Baking Company. It will be erected at a
cost of $100,000, with be five stories in height besides the basement, and it
will be a concrete building.
Besides giving Saginaw one of its employing industries, Mr. Schust has
done much for the upbuilding of his home city, in other ways. He has
built and owned eight fine residence properties, besides business blocks, and
has been public-spirited in every movement he has made. During recent
years he has turned over the active management of the business to his
sons, who are all capable young men. and rapidly advancing the bu^^iness
to still larger success. Their father took each of them into the factory at
an early age. and thus they are familiar with practically every detail. At
the present time, Mr. Schust takes little part in business aftairs and en-
joys a rest which is well earned after his long and busy career.
He and his wife are inveterate travelers. Mrs. Schust has made three
European trips, and also spent several months in Yellowstone park and
elsewhere in America. Mr. Schust has gone to Europe twice, once in 1905,
and once in 1910. He and his wife have visited all the well known Euro-
pean centers, including Rome, and its historical vicinity, Switzerland, Al-
giers, Spain and elsewhere.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Schust were born ten children, four
of whom are deceased. Those living are Fred, Emanuel Schust, who is
vice president and manager of the Baking Company ; Edward Schust, who
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 829
is general manager of the plant ; Gustav Adolph, manager of the shipping
department ; Eugene, one of the traveling salesmen representing the
Schust Baking Company ; Margaret, wife of Gustav C. Heineman, of
Saginaw ; Sophia, widow of Charles Housner, of Saginaw. Mr. Schust
is a Republican in politics, but has never manifested any desire for public
office, and has several times declined such honor. He believes in and sup-
ports several church denominations, but is very liberal in religious matters.
He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Foresters, and is an hon-
orary member of the Germania Society.
AIoRTON Gall.^gher, M.D. a native of Canada, but since 1894
a resident of Bay City, Dr. Gallagher by his skill in practice and his high
character and sterling qualities of citizenship, reflects great credit both
on the land of his nativity, and the city of his adoption. He is one of
the leading physicians of Bay City, enjoys a large private practice, and
is well known in social and fraternal circles.
Morton Gallagher was born at Portland, Ontario, May 19, 1863.
His parents were William and Jane Hanna Gallagher, his father a '
native of Ireland and his mother of Canada. The father came to
Canada when nineteen years old, and spent his entire active career as a
farmer until his death in 1897. He was born in 181 1. The mother, who
was born in 1820 and died in December, 1895, was reared and lived all
her life in Ontario. The eighth in order of birth of a family of nine chil-
dren, Dr. Gallagher at an early age had to rely on his efforts to earn his
living and prepare for a career of usefulness both to himself and his
fellowmen. After completing his high school work at Athens, On-
tario, he spent two years as a teacher, and then entered Queen's College,
where he was graduated in medicine in April, 1887. For seven years
Dr. Gallagher was engaged in practice at Campbellford, Ontario, and
then after six months of post-graduate study in the New York Poly-
clinic came to Bay City in 1894. His success here has been distinctive
and has given him a practice which is equal to the best. For six years
he has been honored by his fellow workers, with the presidency of the
Bay County ]\Iedical Society, and his membership is also in the State
Society and the American Aledical Association. In Masonry the doctor
has taken thirty-two degrees of the Scottish Rite and belongs to the
Shrine, and is also affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order
of Elks. He is a member of the Bay City Club and the Bay City
Country Clul), and gives his services to the city as a member of the
board of education.
On Christmas Day of 1889, Dr. Gallagher married ]\Iiss Emily
Tecker, of Centerton, Ontario, her father. Rev. William Tecker, having
long been a well known minister in Canada, and now living in Toronto.
Dr. Gallagher and wife have eight children as follows: Sherman G.,
born at Campbellport, Ontario, and now in the United States Army;
Florence, born at Campbellford, ]March 17, 1892, and a graduate of the
Ypsilanti Normal School; William H., born at Bay City, September 16,
1894, and a graduate in the high school; Fletcher T., born at Bay City,
in March, 1896, and also a graduate of high school; Helen, born at Bay
City in September. 1897, and in the high school; Marion N., born at
Bay City, in April, 1899; Pauline, born in Bay City, in 1901 ; and
Blanche M., born in December, 1906, at Bay City.
Rev. Casper M. B. Schenkelberg, pastor of St. John's Roman
Catholic church, of Jackson, has now served about twenty years in his
present capacity. His service has been a valued one to the church and
the community, and the work of the church has prospered under his
wise administration.
830 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
The St. John's church property, comprising a number of substantial
and handsome brick Ijuildings, will aggregate approximately $150,000,
and is one of the most valuable and well kept parcels of property in
the ownership of the church in Michigan. Besides the church, itself a
handsome structure, there are St. John's Academy, a four-story brick
building; the rectory and a home for the Sisters, and also a perfectly
equipped heating plant.
The history of the church is a most interesting one, and unfortunately,
lack of space forbids more than a brief mention of its experience here.
It may be said, however, that it is the oldest Roman Catholic church in
Jackson, founded by missionaries in 1841. The first resident pastor of
the church was Father Carl Moutard, who assumed the duties of pastor
in 1855. The corner stone of the first church edifice was laid in that
year, since which time the church has been several times rebuilt. The
present church was complete in 1896, one year after Father Schenkelberg
took charge. The second pastor of the church was Rev. P. Dudley
O'Brien, who served in the years 1870 and 1871. He was followed by
Rev. Theophilus Buyse, who served a continuous pastorate from then
until 1895, when he was relieved by the present pastor, who has since
been in charge. The present church edifice was finished in the year that
Rev. Schenkelberg assumed the duties of pastor, and in the nineteen
years of his service since then he has brought the property up to its
present valuable state, adding the Academy, the parsonage and the home
for the sisters. Improvement has been sure and steady in the property,
and scarce a year has passed that has not noted some needed addition to
the well being of the church property as a whole. St. John's Academy
was completed in 1901, and has been a tremendous impetus to the work
of the church in the community.
Father Schenkelberg was born in Detroit on January 20, 1857, and re-
ceived his early education in St. Francis Seminary of Milwaukee, where
he spent twelve years. He was ordained priest in Detroit, on June 9,
1883, and for ten years thereafter, or until 1893 h^ was pastor of St.
Mary's church at St. Clair, Alichigan. His next pastorate was the Holy
Cross church at Alarine City, where he spent two and a half years, and
since 1895 his service has been confinecl to his present pastorale.
William T. BorE. It is with distinctive satisfaction that in this work
may be given a brief review of the career of William Thomas Bope, who
may well be termed the dean of the bar of Bad Axe, judicial center of
Huron county, for he has here been engaged in the successful practice of
law for nearly forty years, and in point of years of consecutive practice
within its borders he now takes precedence of all other members of the
present bar of Huron county. He is not only a man of high professional
and general intellectual attainments but he has ever shown a deep appre-
ciation of the best ethics of his profession and has striven with much of
ability and distinction to uphold its dignity. He has long controlled a
large and representative practice, has commanded the unqualified confi-
dence and respect of his colleagues at the bar, as well as of the general
public, and in the meanwhile he has exerted potent influence in further-
ing the civic and material prosperity and progress of his home city and
county, where he has a coterie of friends that is limited only by that of
his acquaintances.
Mr. Bope finds marked satisfaction in reverting to the fact that the
Wolverine state is the place of his nativity and that he is a representa-
tive of one of its pioneer families. He was born on a farm in Lapeer
county, Michigan, on the 3d of January, 1853, and is a son of Dr. Phile-
mon Jefiferson Bope and Ellen M. (Sloss) Bope, descendants of sturdy
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 831
German ancestors who settled in the north of Ireland in the days of
William of Orange. Dr. Philemon Bope was born at Lancaster, Ohio,
and was a schoolmate and friend of Hon. John Sherman, who achieved
national reputation. The wife of Dr. Bope was born on a vessel in mid-
ocean, while her parents were en route from their old home in the north
of Ireland to the United States. She was a daughter of Joseph Sloss, who
settled in Michigan in the early '50s and became one of the honored pio-
neers of this commonwealth, where he lived for the remainder of his long
and useful life. The paternal grandfather of him whose name introduces
this review was a general of the southern division of the Ohio state
militia in the pioneer era of the history of the old Buckeye state, and his
son Philemon served as his aide-de-camp. Dr. Bope was graduated in
Starling Medical College, at Columbus, Ohio, and he began the practice
of his profession at Dearborn, Wayne county, Michigan, where his mar-
riage was solemnized and where he continued his residence four years.
His health had become much impaired and to recuperate his powers he,
in company with his wife, passed a year at New Orleans, Louisiana. On
his return to Michigan he located at Lapeer, where he continued in active
and successful practice until his death. He died in 1866, at the age of
forty-two years, and it was the irony of fate that his devoted wife met
her death in a runaway accident, in 1861. Her husband also had a simi-
lar accident and was seriously injured and probably died later as a result
of this accident. Also their eldest child, Charles M., was kicked in the
head by a horse when he was a young man of nineteen years but lived
several' years after and taught school, but died suddenly from the effects
of the accident. Frances E., the eldest of the four children, is now Mrs.
George W. Carpenter, of Bad Axe, Michigan; and Elizabeth E. is the
widow of Dr. Thomas B. McNabb, a pioneer physician of Fremont, Indi-
ana. She now resides in Bad Axe.
William T. Bope was doubly orphaned when but thirteen years of age,
but he was favored in the circumstances that permitted him to continue
his educational work, his preliminary discipline having been received in
the common schools at Lapeer. At the age of fourteen years he entered
the Northeastern Indiana Seminary, at Orland, where he gained effective
training in higher academic branches of study, and upon attaining to his
legal majority he began reading law in the office and under the precep-
torship of the firm of McBride"& Morlan, of Waterloo, Indiana. At the
age of twenty-three, to fortify himself fully for the work of his chosen
calling, he returned to Michigan and was matriculated in the law depart-
ment of the LIniversity of Michigan, in which grand old institution he was
graduated as a member of the class of 1876, with the degree of Bachelor
of Laws. He was forthwith admitted to the bar of his native state and
his professional novitiate was served at Butler, Indiana. There he re-
mained one year, at the expiration of which he removed to Manchester,
that state, which place continued to be the stage of his professional en-
deavors for a period of equal duration. He then, in 1879, established his
home in the little village of Bad Axe, Michigan, where he soon forged
to the front as one of the strong and resourceful members of the Huron
county bar and where his practice has kept pace with the development and
upbuilding of the town and surrounding country. He has been identified
with much of the important litigation brought forth in this county, his
practice extending into the federal and supreme courts of Michigan, and
his undeviating determination to make his work justify the name of his
profession has made him an honored exponent of the law, with its su-
preme functions of consen-ing justice and equity. His character and his
achievement have made him a man altogether of the unqualified esteem
in which he is held, and his advice and counsel are frequently sought by
832 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
the younger members of his profession, his courtesy to them and ah other
confreres being marked by invariable consideration and a desire to prove
helpful, as well as to inculcate appreciation of the dignity and sanctity
of the law.
Mr. Bope long continued to be aligned under the banner of the Demo-
cratic party, and for sixteen years he sened as a member of the Demo-
cratic state central committee of ^Michigan, besides being a delegate to
nearly all of the state conventions of his party in Michigan. Though not
ambitious for personal preferment he has been a zealous political worker
and a specially effective campaign orator. His only definite service in
public ofifice has been confined to the line of his chosen profession, and
he made an admirable record during his four years' incumbency of the
office of prosecuting attorney of Huron county. In earlier years Mr.
Bope did active campaign work as a stump speaker for the Democratic
party, but he has never lacked the courage of his convictions, as shown
by the fact that in the national campaign of 1912 he transferred his alle-
giance to the newly organized Progressive party and had the distinction
of being made a member of its Michigan state central committee. He
has been for twenty years an appreciative and honored member of the
Michigan State Bar Association and since 191 1 he has been the honored
president of the Huron County Bar Association. He is a royal arch
Mason, and is also affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
in which he is a charter member of tBe lodge at Waterloo, Indiana. He
is the owner of an attractive home,''Desides income realty, in Bad Axe
and also owns in Huron county 300 acres of excellent land, his farms
being for the most part thoroughly improved and yielding due returns.
He is a director and vice president of the Sebewaing State Bank, at Sebe-
waing, Huron county, a^nd he ha^ been liberal and progressive in his
civic attitude, ever ready to lend his influence and co-operation in the
furtherance of measures put forward for the best interests of his home
city and county. Mr. Bope gives support to and attends the Methodist
Episcopal church, of which his wife is a zealous member, her activities
being potent in the various women's societies of her church, she being
treasurer of the Ladies Aid of Bad Axe, as well as a popular factor in
the best social life of the community.
At Butler, Indiana, in the year 1882, was solemnized the marriage of
Mr. Bope to Miss Binnie E. Plowe, who was there born and reared and
whose father, the late John Plowe, was a native of Ohio, where his
parents were pioneer settlers. Mr. and Mrs. Bope have no children.
Melroy Andrew Corey. That wanting to do a thing real hard
brings it around is a truth often overlooked. This Bay City business
man, while between the plow-handles, wanted first of all an education,
and went to work to get it. He wanted a business career and putting
himself at the bottom learned a trade and made success come to him.
The senior member of this firm was born near Argo, Indiana, on a
farm. May 17, 1861, a son of William Douglas and Cynthia (Alleman)
Corey, both of whom were born in New York State. William D. Corey,
when a child was brought by his parents, thrifty farming people to
Marshall county, Indiana, and spent most of his life on a farm in that
section. He was always an active factor in county politics, and towards
the close of the Civil war went in as a Union soldier, and served until
the end of the struggle. His death occurred in 1908 in Alabama, where
his home had been for the past two years. The mother now resides
in Rochester, Indiana. Of the four children, Melroy A. was the oldest,
and the others are : W'illiam D. Corey, a farmer in Marshall county,
Indiana; Molly, wife of George Harer, of Milford Junction, Indiana;
and Ivy, wife of a Mr. Leland.
iclu«a.r.y'
-t«v.
*»^ A ».■ a
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 833
Melroy A. Corey had his education in the country schools of Mar-
shall county, Indiana, his early training in this way only aggregating
about eighteen months. His ambition to get a further education was
attended with difficulties, but he succeeded in taking courses in night
schools, and also took a correspondence business course. At the same
time he lived at home and helped his father on the farm until he was
twenty-one years of age, and then returned to Warsaw, Indiana, and
found a job as clerk in a hardware store and tinshop. After mastering
the tinning trade, he went to work as a journeyman, and following his
trade worked in various cities of the country. In 1902 Mr. Corey came to
Bay City, and entered the employ of the Sullivan Plumbing & Heating
Company, which had been established in 1S74. Mr. Corey with proper
faith in his own ability and judgment, bought the stock and fixtures,
and in 1909, sold an interest in the concern to Claude Nichols, thus
making the firm of Corey & Nichols under the able management of
these partners. When they started they had only three men to do the
work in addition to their own performance, and at the present time
ten expert workmen are constantly in their employ. Their establish-
ment is at 709 Washington Street.
Mr. Corey is affiliated with the Masonic Order, having taken the
Consistory degrees in the Scottish Rite, and with the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks. In politics he is a Republican. In March,
1887, Mr. Corey married Miss Carrie E. Robinson, who was born in
New York State, a daughter of Jasper Robinson, now deceased. To
their union has been born one daughter, Diana Corey, who is a gradu-
ate of the Bay City High school.
W. Scott Hobbs, one of the largest contractors in the United States
in the line of structural slate and blackboards, is prominently connected
with an enterprise which has a direct bearing upon the commercial pros-
perity and industrial activity of Detroit, in which connection he has kept
thoroughly in touch with the trend of modern thought and progress in
the business world and manifested an aptitude for successful manage-
ment that has made the concern of which he is the directing head an ex-
ceedingly profitable enterprise. He is widely known in the line of his call-
ing, and on frequent occasions has been honored by appointment and elec-
tion to positions in which his executive ability has served to promote the
general welfare. Mr. Hobbs was bom at Brownville, Maine, April 24,
1861, and is a son of Henry Wilson and Hannah ( Wilkins) Hobbs.
William Hobbs, the grandfather of W. Scott Hobbs, was born at
Frankfort, Maine, of English ancestors, and met his death by being thrown
from his horse on the muster-field in his native state. He married Eliza-
beth Dickie, also a native of Maine and of English descent, and after his
death she married Elijah Daw, of Maine. Henry Wilson Hobbs was born
in 1828, in Maine, and there for many years was engaged in contracting.
In 1880, with his son, W. Scott, he went to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where
he followed contracting until 1895, but in that year returned toward the
East, and after residing about six months in Detroit, went to Attleboro,
Massachusetts, where he lived a retired life until his death in 1906 He
married Hannah Wilkins, who was born March 17. 1834, at Brownville,
Maine, and she is still living, a resident of Attleboro, Massachusetts, aged
eighty years. She is the daughter of Harry and Mary (Varney) Wilkins,
and a member of the old Wilkins family, well known and highly honored
in Maine.
W. Scott Hobbs was reared at Brownville, Maine, and there educated
in the public schools. He early adopted the calling of his father, whom he
joined in business as a young man, and when but nineteen years of age
834 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
accompanied him to jMiimeapolis, where they remained until 1895. In
that year Mr. Hobbs estabhshed himself in his present line, his first work
here being the placing of blackboards in the Central High school. From
that time on until 1912 he had the blackboard contracts for every school
built in Detroit with the exception of three, also fitted out many of the
city's parochial schools, and did work in fifteen different states, although
he now limits his contracting to the state of Michigan. He is numbered
among those who in recent years have contributed to the business devel-
opment and progress that have made Detroit one of the leading industrial
centers of Michigan, and is well qualified for the successful conduct of the
enterprise which he is carrying on. having wrought along modern lines and
utilized the means at hand toward the acquirement of desirable success.
Few of Detroit's citizens are better known in business circles of the city
and in business organizations. He is a leading member of the Detroit
Builders' and Traders' Exchange, of which he was treasurer in 1912 and
1913, and in the latter year became a member of the board of directors, a
position which he still retains. He is a member of and very preminent in
Star Council No. 89, Royal Arcanum, of which he is past regent ; is presi-
dent of Banner Council No. 170, National Union, and is state sec-
retary of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, and secretary
of Lincoln Council of the same order. He has represented that same order
as representative in the meetings of the national body every year since
1899, attending conventions in different cities, among them San Francisco,
Minneapolis, Bufi^alo and Philadelphia.
Mr. Hobbs was married October 26, 1902, to Miss Castara Lucretia
Brooks, who was born at Londonderry, Vermont, daughter of Elmer and
Ellen (Timm) Brooks. The father was born at Londonderry, Vermont,
in 1847, the son of Washington and Lucretia (Woods) Brooks, natives of
Vermont, while the mother of Mrs. Hobbs was born at Norwich, Ohio.
To Mr. and Mrs. Hobbs there have come a son and a daughter: \^irginia
Ella, born July 29, 1905 ; and Wendell Wilson, born June 8, 1908.
John G. Cl.\rk. Who is familiar with the various counties of Mich-
igan will recall that those in its "Thumb" district, so designated became
of its relative contour as an integral part of a state whose outlines are
comparable to those of a mittened hand, constitute one of the most at-
tractive divisions of this commonwealth, with cities and towns recog-
nized for progressiveness and general beauty. This section of the state
claims as one of its thoroughly representative men of affairs the sterling
citizen whose name initiates this paragraph and who is one of the fore-
most figures in the commercial and civic activities of Bad Axe, the thriv-
ing metropolis and judicial center of Huron county. Here his capital-
istic interests are many and varied, and none has been more enthusiastic
and liberal in promoting the advancement and material prosperity of the
city and county, so that consistency is observed when he is given specific
mention in this history of his native state.
John Galbraith Clark was born on a pioneer farmstead in .Speaker
township, Sanilac county, Michigan, on the 22d of April, 1877, and is
a son of George C. and Mary (Galbraith) Clark, both of sterling Scotch
descent. George C. Clark and his wife were both born in Canada shortly
after the immigration of the respective families to America, settlement
being made on farms near the city of London, Ontario, Canada. The
paternal grandfather of John G. Clark was born and reared near the
city of Edinburgh, and the Galbraiths had their home near Glasgow.
George C. and ^lary (Galbraith) Clark were reared and educated at
London, Ontario, where their marriage was solemnized and whence they
came to Sanilac county, ^lichigan, in the Centennial year, 1876. Mr.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 835
Clark, a man of exceptional ability in the directing of business and in-
dustrial enterprises became one of the extensive land-owners of Sanilac
and Huron counties, and he did much to further the development of
this section of the state. In addition to reclaiming to cultivation a
number of excellent farms he also made judicious investments in town
realty and was specially prominent in connection with the upbuilding
of Bad Axe. He suffered severe financial losses in the panic of
1893, but his versatility of expedient was equal to his courage, and he
went to Alaska, where he largely recouped his fortune through his
identification with extensive timber and fishing enterprises. Definite
success attended his efforts and he finally settled in the city of Seattle,
Washington, where he is now known as one of the largest timber opera-
tors in the state. A man of positive character and inflexible integrity,
he has not only made his life a productive one but also seems to have
imbued his sons with the intrinsic qualities that augur for success. The
parents now have their home in the city of Seattle, but their names are
held in high honor in that section of Michigan wliere they ever made their
influence felt in a beneficent way. Of the five sons the eldest is George
McMillan Clark, who was born on the nth of November, 1875, near
London, Ontario, and who was about one year old at the time of his
parents' removal to Sanilac county, Michigan, where he acquired his
early education. In 1893 he was graduated in the high school at Bad
Axe, and thereafter he taught two years in the school in Colfax, Huron
county. While thus engaged he was elected county clerk, in which office
he served six years. He also began the study of law, and in 1906 he was
admitted to the bar, upon examination before the Michigan supreme
court. He is engaged in the practice of his profession at Bad Axe and
is recognized as one of the versatile and most successful lawyers of
this part of the state, besides which he has achieved high reputation as
a campaign orator, through his services in support of the principles of
tJie Republican party. He wedded Miss Eva Scott, and they have four
children — June, Millicent, Man,' and John. John G. Clark, whose name
initiates this article, was the second of the five sons, each of whom lias
accounted well for himself. Donald, the third son, was born in Sanilac
county and is now a prominent capitalist of Huntington, West \'irginia,
in which state he is largely interested in timber and mineral lands, though
lie went there after leaving the parental home with a capital of only five
dollars. Archibald James Clark, the fourth son, has likewise depended
upon his own resources in achieving success and is a prosperous banker
at Brimley, Chippewa county, Michigan. Oliver Clark, the youngest of
the sons, is successfully identified with banking operations at Reed City,
Osceola county. Thus, though the parents are no longer residents of
this state, the family has still representatives who are held fully up-
holding the prestige of the name.
John G. Clark is indebted to the public schools for the educational
privileges of his youth, and he made good use of these advantages, as
shown by the fact that after his graduation in the Bad Axe high school
he was a successful and popular teacher for three years at Grassmere,
Huron county, his career in the pedagogic profession having been ini-
tiated when he was seventeen years of age. At the age of twenty Mr.
Clark assumed the position of clerk in the modest grocery store of Ezra
H. Crosby, of Bad Axe, and two years later he not only was given the
management of the business but had in meantime also won the heart
and hand of his employer's daughter. Thus doubly spurred to ambitious
effort, he put forth his best energies, with the result that he built up a
large and prosperous enterprise, the most extensive of the kind in this
836 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
section of the state. In association with his father-in-law he expanded
the functions of the business to include other lines of merchandise in
addition to groceries, so that the business is a retail enterprise of gen-
eral order, with a large and appreciative trade controlled. At the age of
thirty years, while still largely interested in the Crosby Company, Mr.
Clark became one of the organizers and incorporators of the Clark & Mc-
Caren Company, the first to engage in the wholesale grocery trade with
headquarters at Bad Axe. He has been a dominating force in con-
nection with the upbuilding of the substantial and constantly expanding
trade of this important corporation, especially its operations through its
outside territory, and is at the present time in charge of its general sales
force and its traveling representatives. Further details concerning this
business are given in the sketch of the career of James McCaren, on
other pages of this work. Mr. Clark is interested in other local enter-
prises of important order, is the owner of three excellent farms in Huron
county, and holds valuable realty in his home city, including his own at-
tractive residence property.
yir. Clark is a stalwart in the camp of the Republican party and
has given effective service in the cause of the same. He served six
years as secretary of the Bad Axe board of education and six years as
a member of the board of trustees of the Eastern Michigan Hospital for
the Insane, at Pontiac, a position to which he was appointed in 1907.
He is affiliated with the Bad Axe lodge and chapter of the Masonic fra-
ternity and both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal
church. Mr. Clark began his business career in the capacity of driver
of the delivery wagon for the Crosby grocery, and he reverts with earn-
est appreciation to the aid and encouragement given him by Mr. Crosby,
w'ho was long one of the most honored and influential citizens of Bad
Axe, where he died in 1913, at the age of seventy years.
On the loth of November, 1897, Mr. Clark wedded Miss Ida Crosby,
daughter of his employer, the late Ezra H. Crosby, of whom mention
has just been made : Mrs. Crosby, w^hose maiden name was Ellen Stuart,
still resides at Bad Axe, and she was born in Wayne county, this state,
a representative of a prominent pioneer family. Mr. and yirs. Clark have
a fine son, David Crosby Clark, who was born at Bad Axe on the 5th of
March, 1901.
George L. Whitney, An enterprising and public-spirited citizen
and wide-aw-ake business man of Bad Axe, the county seat of Huron
county, is George Lewis Whitney, who is mayor of the city and presi-
dent of the Whitney & Chatfield Company, which conducts an extensive
hardware and lumber business, based upon fair and honorable policies
and also upon the personal popularity of the interested principals in the
corporation. Mr. Whitney has won large and worthy success as a busi-
ness man of stability and aggressiveness and has proved a most valuable
acquisition in both business and civic activities at Bad Axe, where he
has maintained his residence since 1891. Further interest attaches to
his career by reason of the fact that he is a native son of Michigan and
a member of a family whose name has been identified with the annals of
this commonwealth since early pioneer days.
Mr. Whitney was born on a farm in Shelby township, IMacomb county,
Michigan, and the date of his nativity was February 14, 1865. He is a
son of Horace Isaac and Mary Elizabeth (Jackson) Whitney, the former
cf whom was born in Chesterfield township, Macomb county, about
eight miles northwest of the present city of IMount Clemens, and the lat-
ter of whom is likewise a native of the Wolverine state. The genealogy of
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 837
the Whitney family is authentically traced back to the time of the great
Norman, William the Conqueror, who was a direct kinsman of Sir Turs-
tin the Fleming, also known as Sir Turstin de Wigmore. As a reward
for assistance in the wars of the period, William the Conqueror gave to
Sir Turstin the Fleming, among otlier lands, that part situated on the Wye
river in England and known as Whitney. At some time within the
twelfth or thirteenth century a grandson of Sir Turstin the Fleming
took up his residence at Whitney on the Wye, and thus, in consonance
with the custom of the times, he acquired the surname of De Whitney,
implving "of Whitney." The prepositional prefix was eventually elim-
inated and the family became known by the name of Whitney alone. John
Whitney, a descendant of the family in England, came with his family
to America, presumably on the ship "Truelove," and he settled at
\\'atertown, Massachusetts, in June, 1635. Jason Whitney, a great-
grandson of this progenitor of the .American branch, was the great-great-
grandfather of George L. Whitney of this review, and served in Cap-
tain Samuel Bullard's command in the Lexington alarm incidental to the
war of the Revolution. Authentic data also show that Jason Whitney
was a gallant soldier in the French and Indian wars, and that he re-
ceived a wound that made him permanently lame. His son, Isaac, re-
moved from New England to Middlesex, Ontario county. New York, and
there became an extensive farmer. He was twice wedded, his second
marriage having been with Airs. Susanna Hall, who had five children by
her previous marriage. Of the second union were born eight children,
and after the death of her second husband Mrs. Whitney wedded a man
named Dodge, one son, Lewis, being born of this marriage. Five of the
Whitney children came to Michigan in the early pioneer days and they
settled in Macomb county, where they became closely concerned with
the development and upbuilding of that now opulent section of the state.
From the college of heraldry in England has been obtained the follow-
ing description of the Whitney coat of arms, which is retained by the
American branch : "Arms-Azure, a cross chequeyor and sable upon a
canton, gules ; a lion rampant argent. Crest — a bull's head couped sable :
horned argent ; horns tipped with red. Motto — Mortis sed non ferox."
Jesse Whitney, grandfather of him whose name initiates this article,
reclaimed from the sylvan wilds of Macomb county a productive farm,
and he became one of the influential citizens of his communitv. Horace
Isaac \Miitney served with marked valor as a soldier of the Union in
the Civil war, as a member of what was known as the "Bloody Thirtieth,"
and two of his sons sacrificed their lives in defense of the Union, as did
also three uncles of the wife of the subject of this sketch. Mr. Whitney
was reared to maturity in Macomb county, became a civil engineer but
during the latter years of his life he was a prosperous farmer, having
resumed his allegiance to the great basic industry under the influence of
which he had been reared. He was an uncompromising advocate of the
principles of the Republican party and was a man of positive convictions
and mature judgment. He continued his residence in ]\Iacomb county
until his death and his widow still resides at Wa'shington, that county.
Of the children of Horace I. and Mary E. (Jackson) Whitney the eldest
is George L., to whom this sketch is dedicated : William Henry, who was
a farmer in Washington township, Macomb county, died in igio; Jesse
Luther is a merchant in the village of Washington, Macomb countv : John
Jackson, the next in order of nativity, holds a position, under the civil
service regulations, at Mount Clemens, this state : Helen is the wife of
Julius Knapp and they reside at \\'ashington, Macomb county : James
Thomas is identified with the automobile business in the city of Detroit;
838 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
and Horace Frank is a farmer of Shelby township, IMacomb county.
These brief data show that the family still has many representatives in
the county in which it was founded so long ago. By the father's first
marriage there were two children, Herbert A., Mrs. Minnie Payne, of
North Branch, Lapeer county. The mother of these two children was
Marion Preston, of Shelby township.
George L. Whitney duly availed himself of the advantages of the
public schools, including the high school at New Baltimore, Macomb
county, and as a youth he learned the trade of carpenter, as well as that
of builder of fanning mills. In 1891, at the age of twenty-six years, he
established his residence at Bad Axe, Huron county, and after follow-
ing the work of the carpenter's trade for three months he became identified
with the planing mill and lumber business. In 1902 he here purchased
the hardware and lumber business of F. W. Hubbard (^ Company, and
for the continuing of the enterprise he formed a partnership with Rob-
ert Grandy. One year later Air. R. Grandy sold his interest to Reinhart
Kleinpell, and the firm of Whitney & Kleinpell thereafter continued the
business until the 1st of March, 1912, when Mr. Kleinpell retired, his
interest passing to Ray P. Chatfield. The business was forthwith in-
corporated under its present title of the Whitney & Chatfield Company,
with Air. Whitney as president and Mr. Chatfield as vice-president and
secretarv. Mr. \Vhitney has been the potent force in the upbuilding of
the large and important business enterprise of which he is still the
executive head and which is the most extensive of its kind in Huron
county. He has proved a man of excellent initiative and administrative
ability and his success has been on a parity with his recognized integrity
and progressiveness. The company of which he is president has a large
and well equipped hardware establishment and in its lumbering opera-
tions it utilizes several acres of land, the yards lying contiguous to the
railroad and thus having the best of transportation facilities.
Bad Axe has no citizen wdio has shown more loyalty and liberality
than Mr. W'hitney, and the year 1914 finds him ser\'ing his fourth con-
secutive term as mayor of the thriving little city, besides which he is
vice-president of the Bad Axe Board of Trade. As a master Alason he
is affiliated with Bad Axe Lodge, No. 365, Free & Accepted Masons : his
political allegiance is given to the Republican party ; and he is a trustee of
the local Presbyterian church, of which his wife and daughter are
zealous members.
In October, 1890. was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Whitney to
Miss Elizabeth M. Curry, of Port Austin, Michigan. .She was born in
the city of Montreal, Canada, but was reared at Port Austin, Michigan,
where her father, Robert Curry, established his home when she was a
child. Air. and Mrs. Whitney have one child, Jessie Alargaret, who was
born at Bad Axe, on the 22d of Alay, 1891, who was graduated in the
local high school and who also graduated from the Alichigan Agricultural
College, at Lansing, 1914. The family is prominent in the best social
life of Bad Axe and the Whitney home is known as a center of gracious
and refined hospitality.
P.\UL WooDWORTH. In the profession that was honored and dig-
nified by the services of his father, long numbered among the distinguished
members of the Alichigan bar, Paul Woodworth has achieved high pres-
tige and success, and he stands today as one of the leading members
of the bar of Huron county, being engaged in the successful practice of
his profession at Bad Axe, the judicial center of his native county. He
is a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of this county
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 839
and is one of the influential citizens of this section of the state, where he
has fully upheld the high standing of the family name and proved him-
self loyal and liberal in all that pertains to the duties and responsibilities
of citizenship.
I\Ir. Woodworth was bora in the village of Caseville, Huron county,
Michigan, on the 3d of September, 1869, and a son of Hon. Thomas B.
and Mary Gertrude (Smith J Woodworth, the former of whom was born
at Jamestown, New York, and the latter at Auburn, that state, where the
respective families were founded in an early day. The original progeni-
tors of the Woodworth family in America settled at Scituate, ^Nlassa-
chusetts, in 1638, upon immigration from England, and the name has
been closely and worthily linked with the annals of our national his-
tory during the long intervening years. Stephen Woodworth, grandfather
of him whose name introduces this review, established his home in Alich-
igan in 1866 and his son, Thomas Bell Woodworth, came to this state in
the following year. The family record gives authoritative data to the
service of its representatives as valiant officers and private soldiers in
the war of the Revolution, as well as in the early Indian wars of the
colonial era. It is most pleasing to record in this connection that Sam-
uel Woodworth, a kinsman of the jMichigan representatives of the fam-
ily, was the author of that loved and classical song, "The Old Oaken
Bucket," and that this same ancient bucket that gave title to the gentle
ode is still hanging in the historic old well of the Woodworth homestead
in New England.
Thomas Bell Woodworth was a graduate of the Cazenovia Seminary,
in the state of New York, and in 1867 he came with his wife and their
two children to Michigan, the other four children having been born in
this state. He maintained his home at Caseville, Huron comity, for
many years and was one of the leading members of the bar of this sec-
tion of the state, besides which he represented Huron county in the
state legislature for two terms. He continued in the active work of his
profession, at Caseville, until his death, which occurred on the i6th of
January, 1904, his age at the time of his demise having been sixty-two
years. He was a man of fine attainments and sterling character, and
his name and memory are held in enduring honor in the county that
so long represented his home. He w-as a valued member of the Huron
County Bar Association and, as an efifective exponent of the principles
of the Republican party, he was specially active in campaign work in his
county and district, being of his party's strong campaign speakers in
Michigan. He was affiliated with the lodge and chapter bodies of York
Rite Masonry. His widow still maintains her home at Caseville and
is held in affectionate regard by all who have come within the compass
of her gracious influence. Of the six children the eldest is Professor
Philip Bell Woodworth, who was born at Auburn, New York, on the
17th of November, 1866. He was graduated in the Michigan Agricul-
tural College, as a member of the class of 1886, and in the engineering
department of Cornell University, at Ithaca, New York, in 18S8. There-
after he completed a two years' post-graduate course in the University
of Berlin, Germany, and upon his return to the United States he became
professor of physics in the Michigan Agricultural College, an incum-
bency which he retained twelve years. He is now holding the professor-
ship of electrical engineering in the Lewis Institute, one of the admirable
educational institutions of the city of Chicago. He is a member also of
the firm of Rumler, Woodworth & Rumler, representative electrical pat-
ent attorneys in the great western metropolis, and as a lecturer on scien-
tific subjects his services are in much demand in all parts of the Union.
840 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
[n 1893 he wedded Miss Lucy Clute, daughter of the president of the
Michigan Agricultural College, and they have four children — Paul Mer-
rilee, Robert, Marian Clute and Gertrude Elizabeth, the daughters being
twins. Robert S. Woodworth, the fourth of the children of Thomas B.
and Mary G. (Smith) Woodworth, was graduated in the Michigan Agri-
cultural College in 1S94 and his promising career was terminated by his
death on the 17th of July of the following year. Paul Woodworth, of
this review, was the third son. Frederick L. Woodworth, the fifth son,
was born at Caseville, Michigan, January 18, 1877, was graduated in the
Michigan Agricultural College as a member of the class of 1893 and he
is now one of the most successful and thoroughly scientific representa-
tives of the agricultural industry in Huron county, his fine homestead be-
ing situated in Chandler township. He gives special attention to the rais-
ing of Jersey cattle and thorough-bred horses and blooded swine of reg-
istered type, his farm being the show place of its kind in Huron county.
He married Miss Gertrude Lowe, who was born in the city of Jackson,
this state, and who was his college classmate. They have four children —
Clara G., Elizabeth, Thomas Bell, and Mary Lowe. Frederick L. Wood-
worth served two terms in the lower house of the state legislature and
is, in 1914, serving his first term as a member of the state senate, in
which he has recognized leadership, as did he also have while in the
house. He is deeply interested in the work of farmers" clubs and in fur-
thering the advancement of agriculture and stock-growing in his native
state. John Woodworth, the next of the sons, died in boyhood. Ger-
trude Elizabeth, the only daughter, received special courses of instruc-
tion in the Michigan Agricultural College and the Lewis Institute, and
she resides with her widowed mother at Caseville.
Paul Woodworth, the immediate subject of this sketch, gained his
preliminary education in the public schools of Caseville and thereafter
attended the Michigan Agricultural College for three years. In con-
sonance with well defined ambition he then entered the law department
of the Cniversity of Michigan, in which he was graduated as a member
of the class of 1893 and from which he received his well earned degree
of Bachelor of Laws. After his graduation Mr. Woodworth became as-
sociated with his honored father in the practice of law at Caseville, and
liis success was vmequivocal. After this efl:ective alliance had been main-
tained four years he passed two years as a gold-seeker in Alaska, and it
is scarcely necessary to say that his experiences in this connection were
far different than those he had encountered in his professional work.
He made the trip to the famous Chilcott Pass with dog sleighs, and pro-
vender was transported to sustain life for eighteen months. He was meet-
ing with appreciable success in the gold fields but was attacked with
typhoid fever, which forced him to return to civilization. Thereafter Mr.
Woodworth continued to be associated with his father in practice until
January, 1900, when he was elected prosecuting attorney of his native
county and removed from Caseville to I3ad Axe, the county seat. He gave
an admirable administration as public prosecutor and the popular estimate
placed upon him was voiced in his successive re-elections to office, so that
he served four consecutive terms. Since his retirement from office Mr.
Woodworth has continued in practice at Bad Axe and he gives more spe-
cial attention to the trial department of law business, in which he has
won marked success and high repute. He has presented important causes
before the state and federal courts of Alichigan and also the supreme
court of the United States. One of his most celebrated cases was in the
defense of Dr. McGregor, and this attracted much attention. Mr. Wood-
worth now controls a large and representative law business, and he is
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 841
known also as an able advocate of the principles and policies for which
the Republican party stands sponsor, his work as a campaign speaker
having been given with all of loyalty and ardor. He is identified with
the Masonic fraternity, the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is active in the af-
fairs of the Huron County Bar Association and holds membership also
in the Michigan State Bar Association. He finds his principal diversion
and recreation through hunting, fishing and athletic sports, in which last
mentioned he made a splendid record during his student days in the agri-
cultural college and the university. Mr. Woodworth still permits his
name to be enrolled on the list of eligible bachelors in Huron county.
George E. English. The best ideals in non-metropolitan newspaper
work are exemplified in the career of George E. English, who is editor
and publisher of the Huron County Tribune, one of the representative
papers of the progressive "Thumb" district of Michigan and one that,
under his management and control, wields much influence throughout the
section in which it circulates. The Tribune is now, 1914, in the thirty-
ninth year of its existence, and few weekly journals in Michigan can
show a record of greater consecutive publication. Further than this, Mr.
English stands as an exponent of progressive ideas in his chosen field of
endeavor and the office of the Tribune is equipped with the best of fa-
cilities for modern printing and book-publishing, special attention being
given to the manufacturing of blank books for banking and general busi-
ness purposes, the trade in this line covering a wide territory through the
counties in the central eastern part of the state, the plant of the newspaper
and job offices being unexcelled by any save those in cities of the size like
Detroit and Saginaw. The office equipment represents an investment of
fullv $10,000 and includes Linotype machines, the most modern of press
facilities and all other accessories demanded in a high-grade newspaper
and book-manufacturing establishment. The building occupied was
erected expressly for the purpose to which it is applied and represents
an investment of $10,000, so that it may readily be imderstood that Mr.
English is the owner of a very valuable property, — one that in a generic
sense is the tangible evidence of his own ability and well ordered endeav-
ors. This fine office is in the thriving little city of Bad Axe, the judicial
center and metropolis of Huron county, and in addition to the publication
of the Journal recognized as one of the model weekly papers of the state,
the business has been expanded under the supervision of its present owner
to include the special features of manufacturing bank books and other
specialties in leather for business purposes, with a virtual control of bank-
book work throughout several counties. Mr. English is essentially a prog-
ressive and public-spirited citizen and is worthy of definite recognition in
this history of his native state.
George Ernest English was born in St. Clair county, Michigan, on
the 19th of February, 1S63, and is a son of William and Mary Ann
(Mills) English, the former of whom was born in the county of Guelph,
province of Ontario, Canada, and the latter in England, from whence she
accompanied her father to America when she was a child, the family
home having been established in the province of Ontario. William Eng-
lish and his wife were numbered among the sterling pioneers of St. Clair
county, Michigan, where they established their home in the early '50s and
where Mr. English reclaimed and developed a productive farm. He was
one of the representative pioneers of that and Sanilac counties and. nov.-
venerable in years, he is passing the declining period of his life in the
homes of his four sons, whom he visits in turn and each of whom accords
to him the utmost filial solicitude. His cherished and devoted wife died
842 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
at Sandusky, Sanilac county, Michigan, in 1903, at the age of seventy-
two years. She was a devout and consistent member of the Presbyterian
church, as is also her husband, and in this faith their children were care-
fully reared. In politics Mr. English is an unwavering advocate of the
principles of the Republican party and he has been an effective exponent
of its cause. Of the nine children only four are now living : Sarah, who
was the wife of William Cummings, of Port Huron, Michigan, died in
1913 ; James is a prosperous farmer of Sanilac county, as is also John;
George E., of this review, was the next in order of birth ; Dr. William F.
is a representative physician in the city of Saginaw; and the other four
children died in infancy.
After duly availing himself of the advantages of the public schools of
his native county and teaching country schools for four years, George E.
English continued his studies along higher academic lines in the Michigan
State Normal School at Ypsilanti and in the Ohio Normal University, at
Lebanon, in which latter institution he was graduated as a member of the
class of 1888. Thereafter ]\Ir. English devoted one year to
teaching in the public schools of Deckerville, Sanilac county, jNIichigan
and at the expiration of this period he purchased the plant and business
of the Sanilac County Republican at Sandusky, of which paper he con-
tinued the editor and publisher for twelve years. Under the administra-
tion of President ]\IcKinley he was appointed postmaster at Sandusky,
Sanilac county, a position of which he continued the incumbent for seven
years. In the meanwhile he had become active and influential in local
politics and both in a personal way and through the columns of his paper
he had effectively advocated the principles and policies of the Republican
party. For four years he was chairman of the Republican county com-
mittee. In addition to publishing the Republican he became also the
editor and publisher of the Croswell Jeffersonian and the Minden Herald,
both in Sanilac county.
In 1902 Mr. English disposed of all of his interests in Sanilac county
and removed to the city of Saginaw, where he assumed the position of
assistant city and telegraph editor of the Saginaw Courier-Herald. One
year later he resigned this place and went to Pontiac, Oakland county,
where he purchased the Pontiac Gazette, which was at that time the oldest
newspaper in the state. He changed the publication from a weekly to a
daily paper and for the expanded business he organized a stock company,
in which former Governor Warner and Hon. S. W. Smith, member of
Congress, were associated with him. In 1906 Mr. English sold his inter-
ests at Pontiac and removed to Bad Axe, where he purchased the Huron
County Tribune, of which he has since continued editor and publisher
of the plant which he has developed into one of the best in this part
of the state. The paper had much influence in the forming and directing
of public sentiment in the territory through which it circulates, and is
widely know-n for its high civic ideals and able editorial utterances, and
it has proved a most effective exponent of the cause of the Republican
party. The job-printing and blank-book departments control a large and
substantial support, and the trade extends throughout several counties,
as has been previously noted in this context.
^Ir. English is a man of vital progressiveness and public spirit and
is at the present time secretary of the Bad Axe Board of Trade, besides
being also a member of the local board of education. He is a stalwart in
the Michigan camp of the Republican party and in this state he has been
a delegate to nearly every state convention of his party since the time of
the late Governor Pingree, for whose nomination he worked vigorously in
the convention. Mr. English is well known to the representative men of
Michigan, is a student and a man of fine intellectual attainments, and he
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 843
takes special interest in the history of his native state, as well as in fur-
thering popular appreciation and knowledge of the annals of the fine old
Wolverine commonwealth. In the Masonic fraternity he has completed
the circle of the York Rite bodies and his maximum affiliation is with the
Lexington Commandery of Knights Templars. He and his wife are zeal-
ous members of the Presbyterian church in Bad Axe and Mrs. English is
prominent in the social activities of the community, as well as in the sup-
port of charitable and benevolent work.
In June, 1891, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. English to Miss
Ethel Hathaway, daughter of David M. Hathaway, of Lebanon, Ohio.
Mrs. English was born in the same house as was her honored father and
also received the advantages of the same schools. She was graduated also
in a business college and for several years prior to her marriage she was a
successful teacher of shorthand. Mr. and Mrs. English have three child-
dren, concerning whom brief record is made in conclusion of this review,
all of the children having been born at Sandusky, Sanilac county: Irene,
who was born on the i6th of June, 1893, was graduated in the Bad Axe
high school and the Michigan State Normal School at Mount Pleasant,
and she is now a popular teacher in the public schools of Bad Axe ; David
Vaughn, who was born August 18, 1895, is a student in the engineering
department of the Michigan Agricultural College ; and Helen, who is at-
tending the Bad Axe schools, was born March 21, 1903.
While a resident of Sandusky Mr. English there had large real-estate
holdings, and upon disposing of the same he made judicious investments
in Bad Axe realty, where he has valuable property interests in this and
other lines. His success has been worthy and pronounced and stands as
the direct result of his own ability and earnest endeavors, the while he has
so ordered his course as to merit and receive the unequivocal esteem of
his fellowmen.
Hon. Albert Washington Atkins. \Mien Albert Washington At-
kins was elected mayor of Vassar, in 1913, the people of this thriving and
progressive community voiced their appreciation of the good and helpful
labors of one of its capable and energetic citizens. As a business man he
had always shown himself fully able to handle affairs of an important
nature and as president of the Tuscola County Agricultural Society he
had given evidence of his public spirit and general usefulness, and since
taking hold of the reins of municipal government he has demonstrated
that the people made no mistake in entrusting to him the management of
civic matters.
Mayor Atkins was named in honor of George Washington, having been
born February 22, 1882, at Vassar, and is a son of Daniel Charles Atkins,
one of the leading Uusiness men of this place, who through his own well-
directed efforts, energetic labor and untiring perseverance has brought
himself to the forefront among the men of this community. He came to
Vassar from Canada, where in early life he had worked as a day laborer
in sawmills. Believing that better opportunities awaited him in Michigan,
he came to Clare county and in a modest way began operations in the lum-
ber and sawmill business, his activities gradually building his enterprise
up to large proportions. He had become one of the prominent factors in
the business life of Oare county when the total destruction of his mills
by fire left him without a dollar in the world. It was here that Mr. At-
kins' indomitable courage and persistence asserted themselves, for he did
not allow himself to become disheartened, but started again at the bottom
of the ladder, accepting a postion with a friend, Mr. Clyne. who persuaded
him to come to Vassar and enter his pump manufacturing works. Here
he steadily rose in position as the years passed, and finally purchased Mr.
Clyne's interests in the Clyne Pump Manufacturing Company, and for a
844 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
quarter of a century manufactured what was known as the Blue Force
pump. In 1894 Mr. Atkins turned his attention to the implement busi-
ness, and four years later established in connection therewith what has
since become the largest hardware and furniture business in Tuscola
county. He has always taken an active interest in the affairs of Vassar,
and has been accorded all the honors in a public way that he has been will-
ing to accept. In politics he is a Progressive Republican, his fraternal
connection is with the Masons, in which he is past Master of the Blue
Lodge, and his religious affiliation is with the Alethodist Episcopal church,
where he acts in the capacity of deacon. His acquaintance throughout
the country is wide, and his friends are legion. Mr. Atkins was married
in Canada to Miss Jennie Graham. They have been the parents of eight
children, as follows : Agnes, who is the wife of Frank Oakes, of Saginaw,
Michigan; George, who is engaged in the undertaking business at Vassar;
Mayme, who is the wife of Dr. Earl W. Sanford, of Marlette, Michigan;
William E., a prominent clothing merchant of Vassar ; Albert Washington,
of this review ; Thomas and Daniel, twins, the former of whom is asso-
ciated with his father in business and in charge of the hardware and fur-
niture department, which employs six persons, and the latter of whom is
cashier of the JMichigan Savings Bank of Vassar; and Josephine, who re-
sides at home. All of the children were given good educational advantages.
Albert Washington Atkins was educated in the public schools of Vas-
sar, but at the age of fifteen years began his business career in his father's
hardware store, where he learned the business thoroughly from the bot-
tom to the top, working industriously and continuously night and day in
order that he might gain a foothold in the business world. In 1910 he
bought the implement department of his father's business, and to this he
has since devoted his attention, his ability, earnest labors and modern
ideas having been instrumental in making this the large business enter-
prises of its kind in Tuscola county. As a member of the Board of Trade
he has been able to advance the commercial and industrial interests of his
community, and his abilities have been exercised in behalf of the public
schools as a member of the Board of Education. In 1912 he was elected
president of the Tuscola County Agricultural Society, and his fraternal
connections are with \'assar Lodge, No. 163, F. & A. M., and the K. O.
T. !M., of which latter he has been commander for the past three years.
He is also an Odd Fellow, treasurer of his lodge, a Past Grand, and a
member of the Grand lodge for thirteen terms, and also a member of the
Knights of Pythias and other secret societies. He has always taken an
active part in politics, and in 191 1 was elected township clerk on the Re-
publican ticket. When the Progressive party was born in 1912 he was at
once chosen leader of the Progressive forces in Tuscola county and subse-
quently stumped the county in behalf of the so-called "Bull Moose" party
with much success. In 191 3 he became the candidate of that organization
for the office of mayor of \"assar and his general popularity and worth
is evidenced by the fact that he was elected by a good majority over a
mayor who had been in office for six terms. As chief executive of his
city he has displayed good judgment, foresight and an appreciation of the
needs of the community and the people, and is giving the municipality a
clean, sane and business-like administration, living up in every particular
to the promises made in his speech of acceptance.
Mayor Atkins was married December 25, 1903, at Vassar, to Miss
Ella Sutherland, a native of Watrousville, Tuscola county, and daughter
of Joseph Sutherland. To this union there has been born three children,
of whom two are deceased, the other being : Carson, born at Vassar, March
30, 1905, and now attending the public schools.
Mayor Atkins is possessed of no mean literary ability, and from the
following address, entitled "Vassar of My Dreams," which was delivered
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 845
before the congregation of the Presbyterian church, some idea of his ideals
of citizenship and public service may be gained: "At one time where our
village now stands was a vast forest, with a small stream running through
it, now called the beautiful Cass, which derived its name from General
Cass, then a public officer, who surveyed the river. Saginaw was first to
be started, then coming up to the Cass to Tuscola, Vassar, and so on up.
Saginaw is only a few years older than Vassar, but there is no comparison
in size at the present. I have been advised that our village was named
after a man by the name of "Vassar,'' who loaned and furnished the
money to carry on the great lumbering business being done here at that
time. This lasted for a period of years, carried on by Townsend North
and Edmonds Bros., who were great benefactors to Vassar.
"By these men furnishing lots and homes to live in, our village began
to grow. Many of course, whose names are forgotten, have contributed
good service — their rewards are in our blessings; they labored and we
have entered into their labors. The first school held in Vassar was in a
small board shanty where the Preston residence now stands. The first
public school was held on South j\Iain street opposite the old tannery.
Years later the present high school was built, also the McKinley and
Townsend North schools have been added. Among the men at that time
who lived and worked here and did something toward helping to bring
about the present hopeful conditions were Townsend North, Harvey Har-
rington, John Johnson, Fred Bourns, Aaron Pennell, E. J. Hovey, B. W.
Huston, Chancy Furman and Chancy Irons and others. By the way, I
have been informed that William Furman was the first white child born
in Vassar. Mrs. Elliott and Mrs. Bellows settled here in the early sixties
and a number of others came at the same time.
"Vassar suflfered many great losses during the early days. The war
called many men away from their homes. A disastrous fire swept over
our village and it was some time before it was revived. At one time Vas-
sar was the county seat, and when that was removed it was a great draw-
back to Vassar. The building of cities figures largely in Bible history.
The Biblical City was Jerusalem. The model of that was conceived to be
the Heavenly Jerusalem. The writer of the Book of Revelations speaks
of the city of God coming down from Heaven. The old teaching of which
is, 'we have to build the cities to the model thus supplied.' When Moses
was going to build the Tabernacle which was to be the center of the city
life until they should filially settle in the land of Promise, God called Moses
up to the mountain and showed him a vision and Moses saw all that was
to be shown him. God gave him this final instruction : 'See that thou make
all things according to the pattern that I have showed thee on the mount.'
"What has Vassar to be proud of today? Three fine churches; three
live and wide-awake ministers who can get together and talk over things
to help out the cause for which they are seeking. If, on the other hand,
we, men and women as citizens of our town, could do likewise, we could
see a vast improvement in the town and surrounding community. We
cannot expect something from nothing, and if we expect to get anything
we must first do or give something for it. We have today in our town
things to be proud of, and also have things that are of no credit to us in
the least, but most of this could be remedied if we could lay aside some
of the things that now exist, and all pull together for the one thing, the
building and uplifting of our town, which would lead to a better Vassar
and a happier community. We have everything here with a few excep-
tions that any town of this size could ask for. We have our own munici-
pal electric light plant and water works, which makes a savings of several
thousand dollars a year to our citizens. For example, other towns nearby
pay $50.00 per hydrant a year for fire protection, $2500.00 per year for
lighting, which makes in these two items a saving of about $5000.00 per
846 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
year. The lights and water have been extended to the end of nearly every
street within the village limits. Every main street and part of the cross
streets in our village have been graveled at a very large expense to the
town. Vassar today has a very small indebtedness compared with other
towns of this size. Tax rates are low ; water and light rates are low. We
have an electric light plant and water works with its extensions which
are worth twice our whole city indebtedness.
"It is on my heart that \'assar should be progressive ; that we should
make it useful for business and desirable as a place of residence. Desir-
able as a place where men and women would care to bring up their chil-
dren — where there are features of beauty and educational advantages.
The best we can attain, both as to the interior and exterior of the build-
ings and the instruction within the walls. To attain these best things, we
must learn to work together. ^Ve wish well to our nation and to our state
and are willing to work and sacritke for the best results. But Vassar is
our miniature state and nation — here we must live, here many of us will
die, here we shall leave our record for good or ill. Republican, Democrat
and Progressive are all right — so far ; but, if they so divide us as a com-
munity that our own little state suffers, it is time to think whether we
cannot leave the larger out of the question when we are considering the
welfare of our own town and people.
"We cannot rule the world any more than we can live all over it at
the same time. But this we can do. We can tend to our own vineyard
and make it yield us all the profit we need for our temporal well being,
and also the beauty that is equally needed if one's character and the char-
acter of our children are to be useful to men and pleasing to God."
GusTOF A. Persson, M. D. It is scarcely possible, in these modern
days, for a man to be a successful physician without also being a man of
learning and of solid, scientific acquirements. Often the youth who feels
the inspiration that ultimately leads him to the medical profession, finds
his progress one of difficulty from lack of encouragement, opportunity or
capital, and when all these drawbacks are overcome, through personal
effort, battles have been won that make firm the foundations of character.
In the medical profession of Mount Clemens, Dr. Gustof A. Persson is
holding prominent position not alone because of his high attainments in
the line of his calling, but because of his general talents in all important
fields, and his success is all the more commendable in that it has been self
gained. He is a native of Sweden, born at Helsingborg, July 23, 1875,
and is a son of P. A. and Maria Augusta (Von Nordenfeldt) Persson,
both natives of that country, where the father is engaged in the grain
business. He has made several trips to the United States, but will prob-
ably spend the remainder of his life in his native land, as he has reached
the age of sixty-eight years, while the mother is sixty-five. They have
been the parents of five children, of whom Gustaf A. is the oldest.
The early education of Doctor Persson was secured in the private
schools of his native country, following which he became a student in the
University of Lund, Sweden, and after graduation, in 1891, came to the
United States. Here he entered the University of Buffalo, New York,
where he studied medicine for three years, and took a post-graduate course
in the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor. Succeeding this, he en-
tered Rock Island University, there taking a post-graduate course in the
science department for two years, and this was followed by one year in
Loyola University, from which he was graduated in 1898. With this
thorough preparation, the Doctor began practice as house surgeon at Lex-
ington Heights Hospital, but after two years went to Loomis Sanitarium,
in the mountains of Pennsylvania, where he remained one year, his next
field being Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, from whence he came to Mount
Til KIW TCltf
A., ,■<■?. I.f,-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 847
Clemens three years later. Here he has continued in general practice to
the present time. Doctor Persson has never ceased being a student, having
taken post-graduate courses in New York and at McGill College, Montreal,
Canada. He belongs to the Michigan State and Macomb County JMedi':al
Societies, American ^Medical Association, and is an honorary member of
the American Public Health Association. It is the Doctor's laudable am-
bition to keep fully abreast of the times in all modern discoveries, and
he himself has done much research work, although he is conservative
enough to adhere to the old and tried methods in the greater number of
his cases. Socially, he is deservedly popular, and has numerous friends
in business, professional and fraternal life, especially among his fellow-
members in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Masons.
He uses his right of franchise in supporting the nominees and principles
of the Democratic party.
On May 7, 1902. Doctor Persson was married at Ottawa, Canada, to
Miss Jessie Fisher Shaw, daughter of Charles S. Shaw, of that place, and
two children have been born to this union: Christina Lucille, born in
1903, at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and now attending school in Mount
Clemens; and Gustof A., Jr., born October 12, 1912, in this city.
WiLLi.JiM Davies. In the person of William Davies. the thriving vil-
lage of Vassar, Michigan, has a citizen whose aim it has ever been to ad-
vance the best interests of his community and to so conduct his own opera-
tions that they redound to the greatesf "ptiblrt gdb'd: As president of the
State Savings Bank he is the directing jie.ad of aii- institution that has an
important position among the financial houses of Tuscola county, in stock
circles he is known as a large and progressive operator, and his high char-
acter as a man and a citizen is shown by the universal confidence and es-
teem in which he is held.
Mr. Davies is a native of Wales and was born June 20, 1844, the
seventh in order of birth of the nine children of James and Ellen (Cruse)
Davies, honest. God-fearing agricultural people of Wales, who never left
their native land. William Davies attended the public schools of his na-
tive community until he was eleven years of age, at which time he began
to contribute to the family support. He was an ambitious and industrious
lad, and managed to further his education through his own exertions.
Feeling that America offered better opportunities than he could secure in
Wales, he left his home at the age of twenty-three years and came to this
country, locating at Grand Blanc, Michigan, where he secured employ-
ment as a farm" hand. He was without influential friends, and had no
capital, but thriftily saved his earnings and at the end of a year came to
Tuscola county and for four months worked on a farm. His first venture
in a business way was as a farmer on shares on a small tract of land, and
thus he laid the foundation of his present large fortune. Mr. Davies was a
persistent and energetic workman, and, believing confidently in the future
growth and development of his community, invested his earnings from
time to time in land, so that at one period in his career he was cultivating
640 acres. He also began trading in livestock, and for forty years did a
large and successful business in this direction, his reputation for honesty
and integrity being so well known in the county that he had no trouble
in carrying through enormous transactions. He is still the owner of the
first property that he purchased, adjoining Vassar, to which he added
until it contained 100 acres, and in addition to this had 535 acres in Vas-
sar township, all of which he cultivated until recent years. In 1870 Mr.
Davies came to Vassar and erected a pleasant home, and this village has
since been his place of residence. He became a director of the Exchange
Bank of Vassar at the time of its organization, and this was reorganized
and named the State Savings Bank of Vassar, Mr. Davies being elected
president in 1909, a position which he still retains. A Republican in poli-
848 HISTORY OF AIICHIGAN
tics, Air. Davies has served for many years as a member of the school
board and has been instrumental in securing the present system of schools
of which the citizens of \ assar are so justly proud. Aside from this serv-
ice he has never held an office, although urged frequently by his friends to
accept honors from his party. He has steadfastly declined because of per-
sonal interests, believing that he could better serve his community and its
people by promoting material prosperity. His management of financial
afifairs stamps him as one of the able bankers of Tuscola county, and the
confidence placed in his judgment, foresight and acumen by the people of
this section has done much to popularize the institution's interests. His
career has been one of constant industry and consecutive advancement,
and his success in life should be all the more gratifying in that it has
been entirely self secured. Mr. Davies is an active member of the Meth-
odist church and has taken an active and helpful interest in its work.
In 1870 Mr. Davies was married to Miss Adelaine Sturgis, whose
death occurred within one after her marriage. Mr. Davies has been three
times married. His only child was by his present wife, Ida E. Lovejoy.
This daughter is Emily Ida, who is a popular teacher of music residing at
Vassar.
M.\x AND Otto Zemke. In business circles of Caro there are few
names better known or more highly esteemed than that of Zemke, rep-
resentatives of which have always stood for honorable dealing and good
citizenship. Max and Otto Zemke, brothers, are prominent dry goods
and general merchants here, and their operations have been carried on
in such a straightforward and honest manner as to win the confidence
and esteem of their fellow-men, while as citizens they have at all times
shown themselves ready to contribute to the welfare of the community in
any manner that lies in their power.
The Zemke brothers are sons of Herman and Fredricka (Peters)
Zemke, who emigrated to the United States from Old Stetten, Germany,
in 1891, and settled at Vermontville, Michigan, wdiere the father contin-
ued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits during the remainder of his
life, and passed away in 1900. at the age of seventy-four years. Through
honest effort and untiring labor he was successful in his ventures, and
at the time of his death was known as one of his community's substan-
tial citizens. The mother passed away in 1905, when sixty-nine years
old. They reared a family of ten children to habits of thrift and in-
dustry, and educated them in a manner that fitted them well for the posi-
tions in life which they have since been called upon to fill. The children
were as follows : Herminia, w'ho is the wife of .Albert Seiman, a teacher
with a life tenure in office, at Klein Carzenburg. Germany : Theodore,
who returned to Germany after residing in the United States for one
year and is now a prominent and successful wholesale commission mer-
chant of Berlin : Bertha, who is employed in the store of her brothers at
Caro : Reinholdt, who is successfully engaged in farming on the old
homestead at Vermontville, Eaton county ; Richard and Herman, who
are also farmers on the homestead : Frieda, who is the wife of Howard
Cooper, engaged in the automobile business at Sumter, South Carolina;
Erwin, who is employed in the store of his brothers at Caro.
Max Zemke was born at Klein Carzenburg, Germany, June 13, 1877,
and there received his early education in the public schools. He was four-
teen years of age when he accompanied the family to the United States,
and here completed his schooling, attending the district institutions of
Vermontville and the Ferris School at Big Rapids, where he took a com-
plete business course and was graduated. Mr. Zemke began his business
career with Lyon Brothers of Chicago, Illinois, as an office employe, and
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 849
after one year decided to go to tlie West, and accordingly removed to
Cass Lake, Minnesota, where he secured a position as bookkeeper and
clerk for the C. 2\I. Taylor Company, merchants. Four years later he
resigned his position and went to Deckerville, Michigan, and there in
1903 was joined by his brother, Otto, they forming a partnership and
engaging in a general merchandising business. This venture proving
very successful, they remained in business there for seven years, at the
end' of which period they sold out, being desirous of finding a larger
field for their abilities. Accordingly, in 1910, they came to Caro and
purchased one of the best corners on the Main street, where they erected
a modern department store, on a lot 40x100 feet. Here they now occupy
the entire three stories, with a floor space of 12.000 square feet, and carry
a full line of dry goods and general merchandise, employing eleven people.
Max Zemke is a Democrat in his political views, but has not been par-
ticularly active in public matters, having preferred to give his entire
time and attention to his business interests. Movements of a beneficial
nature, however, have always received his stanch support, and he may at
all times be relied upon to contribute to the best interests of his com-
munity. He is well known in Masonic circles, having joined the Blue
Lodge of that order at Deckerville, in 1904, and has many warm friends
therein. He has long taken an active interest in the work of the Pres-
byterian church, and is at this time serving as elder. Mrs. Zemke is active
in the work of the Ladies' Aid Society, is a valued member of the Twen-
tieth Century Club, and holds membership also in the Order of the
Eastern Star. They reside in their pleasant home, a center of social
culture and refinement.
Mr. Zemke was married October 5, 1904, at Deckerville, Michigan,
to Miss Edith Clement, who was born at Carsonville, Michigan, daugh-
ter of Charles H. Clement, an early settler of Deckerville, where he has
for some years been engaged in the hardware business. Two children
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Zemke: Marjory, born at Deckerville,
January 12, 1909, and Louise, born at Caro, January 16, 1912.
Otto Zemke was born at the same place in Germany as his brother.
Max, March 13, 1876, and was fifteen years of age when he came with
his parents to the United States. He was given his early education in
the public schools of the Fatherland, and after coming to this country
attended the district schools and then took the business course at the
Ferris School, Big Rapids, Michigan. After his graduation from that
institution he adopted farming as his vocation, but after some experience
in that line turned his attention to mercantile pursuits, and for five years
acted in the capacity of clerk for Neaudeau Brothers, of Neaudeau, Mich-
igan. In 1903 he joined his brother at Deckerville, and from that place
came to Caro, where, as above related, the brothers have been very suc-
cessful in their business ventures. Like his brother. Otto Zemke is a
Democrat. He has joined other public-spirited citizens in promoting
movements for the general welfare, and has withheld his support from
no movement which promises the advancement of Caro's educational,
commercial or moral prosperity. Fraternally, he is connected with the
Masons and the Modern \Voodmen of America, and in both of these or-
ders has made and retained numerous friendships. Both he and his wife
are active members of the Presbyterian church, and Mrs. Zemke is widely
known in social and religious circles, being an untiring worker in the
Ladies' Aid Society, a member of the Wixson Club and president of the
Federation of Ladies' Clubs.
On September 17, 1903, Otto Zemke w-as married at Big Rapids,
Michigan, to Miss Anna Oleson, a native of that place.
850 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Carl Sieland. Since the year 1747, when Marggraf, in Germany,
discovered tiiat sugar could be extracted from the common beet, that
country had led all others in the beet sugar industry. However, during
the past several decades the United States has been rapidly forging to the
forefront in this enterprise, but this country is largely indebted to Ger-
many for its prestige, for the Fatherland has furnished a number of the
men who have made it possible for the American output to grow to such
large proportions. One of the men who has devoted his entire life to
this line of activity, and who claims Germany as his birthplace, is
Carl Sieland, superintendent of the technical and mechanical departments
of the American Beet Sugar plant at Caro, the largest works in the state
of Michigan. He is a self-made man, and has won his way to his pres-
ent high position through earnest efifort and honest labor.
Mr. Sieland was born October 2, 1865, at Diedorf, Province of
Saxony, Germany, the second eldest of the nine children of Henry and
Marie (Mehler) Sieland. The father, who was a merchant and farmer
all of his life, became a prominent man in his native town of Diedorf,
and there passed away in igo8 at the age of seventy-two years, while the
mother still survives at the old home in Germany. Beside Carl, one son
is a resident of the United States, Albert Sieland, who is engaged in the
manufacture of beet sugar at Santa Anna, California.
Carl Sieland was given a good education in the public schools of his
native land, but at the age of fifteen years laid aside his books to work
in the beet sugar factories of his native place. He began at the bottom,
and gradually and thoroughly familiarized himself with each and every
detail of the business, becoming known as an expert in every phase of
beet sugar manufacture. After being employed in various factories of
Germany, he joined six other sugar men, in 1890, and set out for Cali-
fornia, where the beet sugar industry was just in its infancy. He had
at this time no knowledge of English, but was able to secure a foreman-
ship in a plant at Cheno, California, where he remained for five years,
during which time this grew to be one of the important factories of the
state and at the finish of Mr. Sieland's emjjloyment there was employing
some 400 men. He was subsequently transferred by his company to
Oxnard, California, where he took charge and started the sugar plant
of that place, acting there as superintendent for some time. His next
location was Leavitt, Nebraska, where another new factory was created
by him. and for three months had charge, or until it was in good working
order. He was then returned to Oxnard and in the following season
was sent to Rockyford. Colorado, where he superintended the construc-
tion of the sugar factory, and in igoo came to Caro, Michigan, which
has since been his location. Here he took charge of the complete re-
modeling of the plant, becoming assistant superintendent, and in the
early part of 1902 was given entire charge of the technical and mechan-
ical workings of this, the largest beet sugar works in the state, where in
the busy season from 450 to 500 persons are employed. In addition to
the beet sugar all by-products are manufactured here, and the goods from
vhe plant are shipped all over this and adjoining states. Mr. Sieland has
devoted his entire career to his present business, and there are few men
in the country who are better known in this line or who are considered
more expert therein. He is thoroughly a home man, and is wrapped- up
in his family, finding his greatest pleasure when surrounded by his chil-
dren in his pleasant home in Caro. He is a firm believer in the bene-
fits of education, and it is his wish and intention to give his children the
best of advantages in this connection. He also desires to take up life on
a ranch, for, as he expresses it, "I have nine reasons therefor — my nine
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 851
children." He has been successful in a business way, and at present is a
member of the directing board of the People's Savings Bank. Politically,
a Republican, he has not cared greatly for public life, but has shouldered
his shares of the duties of citizenship, and is serving very acceptably and
conscientiously as a trustee of the city. With his family he attends the
Roman Catholic church. During the fourteen years in which Mr. Sieland
has resided in Caro he has formed a wide acquaintance, in which he num-
bers many v/arm friends.
Mr. Sieland was married first at Anaheim, Orange county, Cali-
fornia, to Miss Theresa Knapka, who died in 1901 and was laid to rest
in the 'cemetery at Bav City, Michigan. Two children were born to this
union, both in California, Theresa and Rose. Air. Sieland's second mar-
riage occurred in Leopold, Missouri, when he was united with Miss
Marie Vandeven, of that place, and they have had seven children, namely :
Carl, Jr., and Clara, who were born at Croswell, Michigan; and Joseph,
Edmond, Harold, Adolph and Bernard, all born at Caro.
Eugene Orlando Spauldixg. Holding prestige as the pioneer dry
floods merchant of Tuscola county and the leading department store
proprietor of Caro, few men are better or more favorably known in this
part of Michigan than is Eugene Orlando Spaulding. For thirty-six
vears a resident of this place, he has watched its growth and development
and through his own helpful and well-directed activities has done much
to stimulate business and add to his community's welfare. Mr. Spauld-
ing was born in Monroe county. New York, September 7, 1849, and is a
son of Charles W. and Ordelia (Osborn) Spaulding.
Charles W. Spaulding was given a thorough education, and in his
youth learned the trade of machinist. This he followed until the outbreak
of the Civil War, when he became a member of the famous New York
regiment known as Gray's Sharpshooters, and continued to serve with
that organization for thirty-four months, or until the close of the war,
during which period he participated in some of the most hotly-contested
battles of the great struggle between the states. When his military serv-
ice was closed, with an excellent record, he removed to Iowa and set-
tled on a farm, remaining there until 1870, wdien he came to Jackson,
Michigan, and worked as a machinist for some time. He soon, how-
ever, returned to farming, in Barry county, and remained there until
entering the employ of his son, Eugene O., at Caro, with whom he con-
tinued as cashier until the time of his death at the age of eighty-one
years. Mr. Spaulding was widely known to the citizens of Caro and
had their esteem and respect because of his many sterling qualities. He
was married in Monroe county. New York, to Ardelia Osborn, also a
native of the Empire state, who died at Caro at the age of seventy-five
years. Mr. and Mrs. Spaulding were consistent members of the Meth-
odist church, and were buried side by side in the Caro Cemetery. Two
children were born to them : Edward A., who enlisted during the Civil
War as a member of the New York Heavy Artillery and was terribly
wounded at the battle of Cold Harbor, losing one arm, being injured in
the other, and receiving a shot in the head, and who is now successfully
engaged in the real estate business at Tacoma, Washington ; and Eugene
Orlando.
Eugene O. Spaulding is indebted to the public schools of New York
for his educational advantages, and his business career began w'hen he
was sixteen years of age, at which time he became a clerk in the stores
of Rochester, there remaining three years. When he was nineteen years
old, realizing the need for further preparation, he took a course in the
Rochester Business College, upon leaving which he came to Jackson,
852 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Michigan, and first worked as clerk for the firm of Sabin &: Mason, the
leading dry goods merchants here. He rose rapidly in their service, owing
to his ability, fidelity and energ}-, and during the latter part of the eight
years that he remained in their employ acted as confidential man and de-
partment manager. During this time Mr. Spaulding, being thrifty and
ambitious, had carefully saved his earnings, and having built up a good
credit decided it was time that he enter business on his own account. Ac-
cordingly, in 1878. he came to Caro and formed a partnership with a Mr.
Burnham, under the firm style of E. O. Spaulding & Company. They
began in a prosperous manner and after two years of business were en-
couraged to open a branch house at Saginaw, also known under the same
name, but two yea-rs later Mr. Spaulding purchased his partner's interest
in the Caro establishment and sold his holdings in the Saginaw store, and
since that time has continued to concentrate his interests on the business
of which he is now the proprietor. As the years have passed, Mr. Spauld-
ing has added constantly to his holdings, and is now at the head of a
business that is distinctly a credit to a city the size of Caro. Five de-
partments are now maintained, one each for groceries, shoes and dry
goods, millinery and carpets, and on the two floors there are utilized
13,000 square feet of floor space, wdiile twelve or more clerks are neces-
sary to handle the trade. This is the oldest established business in Caro
and the largest in Tuscola county, and is a monument to Mr. Spaulding's
enterprise, energy and honorable dealing. In addition to this business,
he is interested in the manufacture of gas engines, the factory being
located at Lansing.
While Mr. Spaulding has amassed a goodly competence, he has not
gained a princely fortune, for his energies have not been devoted entirely
to that purpose. On the contrary, he has divided his time between his
business aiifairs and those interests which aiifect local improvement and
progress, which strive to ameliorate the hard conditions of life for the
unfortunate, and which affect man in his fraternal and social relations.
Although methodical in his business methods, he has been generous in
his charities, the extent of which are probably not known even to him-
self. He has ever been an advocate of a fair wage for a fair service, is
broad-minded, liberal in his views, and tolerant of the views of others,
and has the friendship and esteem of all men. Mr. Spaulding believes
in getting all the pleasure out of life possible, and is verv fond of travel.
He takes frequent fishing and hunting expeditions, and goes on numer-
ous automobile trips with Mrs. Spaulding, who, like her husband, is fond
of nature and the woods. They have made twelve trips to the western
roast, in addition to many journeys to the lakes of ^Michigan, and are
contemplating an extended trip in 1915, when they will go to Panama
by way of New York. Formerly a Democrat, ^tr. Spaulding is now
more or less independent in his views, and takes only a good citizen's in-
terest in public matters. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, in
which he has many friends. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, where he served as delegate to the Conference held at Minne-
apolis, Minnesota, in 191 2, and has ever taken an active interest in its
work, being at present a member of the board of trustees. Mrs. Spauld-
ing is also a consistent worker in this church, and belongs to the Ladies'
Aid Society.
Mr. Spaulding was married at Sodus Point, Wayne county. New
York February 2, 1875, to Miss Emma Doxtater, a native of Rochester,
New York, and a daughter of George W. and Clarissa (Baker) Doxtater.
Two children have been born to this union. Clara O. married Henry
Llewellyn Smith, a well-known banker of Portland, Oregon, and son
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 853
of Hon. John M. Smith, for some years probate judge of Tuscola county,
and who now has two children — Nathalie, born in Chicago, Illinois ; and
Francis B., born at Freeland, Michigan. Charles W. is a graduate of
Caro High school, and cashier of E. O. Spaulding & Son. He is the
father of three children — Calvin, Elise and Amy.
Henry Binkle. When it is stated that Mr. Dinkle is mayor of his
native city it becomes evident that in this connection there can be no con-
sistent application of the scriptural aphorism that "a prophet is not with-
out honor save in his own country." He is chief executive of the munic-
ipal government of the beautiful little city of Harbor Beach, Huron
county, and his administration is being distinctively liberal and progress-
ive, though marked by wise conservatism and by circumspection in direct-
ing the various departments of the city government. The mayor holds
prestige as one of the most prominent and influential business men of the
younger generation in Huron county, and here his circle of friends is
coincident with that of his acquaintances. He has been closely identified
with banking interests in Harbor Beach from the initiation of his busi-
ness career, and was the organizer of the State Bank of Harbor Beach,
of which he is cashier, besides which he is a member of the directorate of
the Commercial Bank of Beckerville, Sanilac county.
Henry Binckle was born at Harbor Beach, then known as Sand Beach,
on the /th of February, 1880, and is a son of Philip and Lena (Whip-
pier) Binkle, who still reside in this thriving little city, which has been
their home for more than thirty years. The parents are natives of the
province of Ontario, Canada, Philip Binkle having been born at Clif-
ford, Wellington county, and his wife at Listowel, P.erth county. In
his native town Philip Binkle learned the trade of harnessmaking, and
soon after his marriage he came to Michigan, in T879, first settling at
Whiterock, Huron county, but removing thence to Harbor Beach before
the close of the same year. He is the pioneer in the harness business in
this city, where he now has a well equipped establishment and controls
a substantial and representative trade. He has given active assistance in
the development and upbuilding of the city and county, and no citizen
has more secure place in popular confidence and esteem, as he has been
generous to a fault and is ever loyal and considerate as a friend, as will
be readily assured by many who have been aided by him in time of need.
In addition to his continued allegiance to the trade which he learned in
his youth he also conducts the largest farm-implement establishment in
Harbor Beach. He has applied himself with all of vigor and earnestness
for many years and his success has been worthily achieved. He has
manifested much judgment and ability as a dealer in real estate, and has
handled a large amount of town and farm property. He served as treas-
urer of Sand Beach township, and was for several terms president and
mayor of Harbor Beach, the designation of the office having been changed
upon the obtaining of a city charter. He is a staunch Demcorat and has
been an active party worker in Huron county. He was born April 21,
1858, and his wife was bom January 13, i860. Of their children, Henry,
the present mayor of Harbor Beach, is the eldest ; Anna is the wife of
Albert W. Cowan, of Deckerville, Sanilac county ; Edward is a clerical
assistant in the State Bank of Harbor Beach ; Carl is cashier of the Com-
mercial Bank of Deckerville : Albert has active charge of his father's
implement business ; Clara and Lena remain at the parental home : and
one son, William, died at the age of thirteen years.
Henry Binkle attended the public schools of Harbor Beach until he
had completed the curriculum of the high school, and soon after his
graduation he became a clerk and general assistant in the Huron County
854 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Savings Bank. By faithful and efficient service he won advancement
and he remained with this institution twelve years, during the last five
of which he was cashier. In November, 1908, after his resignation, he
efifected the organization and incorporation of the State Bank of Harbor
Beach, which bases its operations on a capital stock of $25,000, and of
which he has been cashier from the time of incorporation, his ability and
personal popularity both having come into effective play in the develop-
ment of the substantial and representative business of the institution.
He is likewise a director of the Commercial Bank of Deckerville, as previ-
ously stated, and he is secretary of the Harbor Beach Board of Trade, of
the progressive civic ideals and policies of which he is a staunch supporter.
In politics !Mayor Binkle is found aligned as an uncompromising ad-
vocate of the principles and policies of the Democratic party and he has
given active sen'ice in behalf of its cause. He has served as treasurer
of Sand Beach township, as city treasurer, and as a member of the city
council. In 191 1 he was elected mayor, and the best voucher for the
efficiency and acceptability of his efforts in this capacity is that afforded
by the fact that he was re-elected in 1912 and again in 1913, his record
as chief executive standing specially creditable to the family name, even
as had that of his father in a similar capacity.
In 1904 was solemnized the marriage of ^Nlr. Binkle to Miss Daisy
Cunningham, who was born and reared at Harbor Beach, a member of
one of the representative families of Huron county, and she is a popular
figure in the leading social activities of her native city, ^layor and Mrs,
Binkle have two children — Keith, born September 2, 1907 ; and Harriet,
born November 11, 19 10,
Charles H, Maxn. It is doubtful -if there has been a more forceful
or helpful figure in the upbuilding and development of Flint than Charles
H. Mann, who since 1899 has been identified with the city's interests in
the field of real estate and loans. Mr. Mann is a Canadian, having been
born near Port Dover, April 14. 1865, and is a son of Nathan W. and'
Elizabeth (Knapp) Mann.
Nathan W. Mann was born in Canada, and came to Michigan in 1866,
settling at Mount Morris, Genesee county, where he established himself
in a mercantile business. Later he moved to Clio, where he still carries
on a successful venture, and is known as one of his community's thoroughly
progressive men. He married Elizabeth Knapp, a daughter of Orson J.
and Jane P. Knapp, who came to Genesee county from New York state
about 1850 and engaged in farming. The father died in 1900 and the
mother is still living, aged ninety-one years. Mrs. Mann was a native of
New York. She died about the year 1866, leaving but one child. Mr.
Mann has a half-brother, William H. ^lann, of Detroit, who is engaged in
the real estate business. Charles H. Mann was an infant when his mother
died, and he was reared by his grandparents. William H. and Laura J.
Mann, who settled in Genesee county about 1852, coming from Port Dover,
Canada, and engaged in the mercantile business at Mount Morris. Mr.
Mann received only ordinary educational advantages, attending the public
schools of Mount 3iIorris until reaching the age of twelve years, and find-
ing his first employment as a clerk for H. G. Mann, of Mount Morris, an
uncle in the general nierchandise business. He continued to follow clerk-
ing for upwards of eight years, in the meantime thoroughly familiarizing
himself with every detail of the business, and when he was but twenty
years became the proprietor of a hardware establishment of his own at
Clio. This was entirely a self-secured advancement, for the money with
which he purchased his first modest stock had been saved from his earn-
ings as a clerk. Air, Alann continued in the hardware trade for some
^^c^e^''t.'<-^<^
Til SI^'"
!»ijgl (CI li^MW'
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 855
fifteen years, his business gradually expanding and widening its scope until
it became one of the largest of its kind in that part of the state. For some
years, however, Mr. Mann had had his eye on the real estate and loan
business, and had carefully studied realty values, so that he eventually
came to the conclusion that this field offered excellent opportunities for
the man of energy, brain and foresight. Accordingly, in 1895, he disposed
of his mercantile interests at Clio and for the following four years carried
on a thriving real estate and loan business at that point. In 1899, desir-
ing a more extensive field, he came to Flint, and here he has since con-
tinued. Mr. Mann has been one of the most important factors in build-
ing lines in the city. He has erected in the neighborhood of 200 buildings
since coming to the city, and probably 125 residences alone were built by
him in 1909 and 1910. He devotes his time principally to real estate and
real estate loans. His transactions have ever been of a strictly reliable
nature, and his presence among Flint's men of business adds to the city's
prestige in commercial lines. Politically a Republican, he has found little
time to devote to public aftairs, his varied interests in other lines demand-
ing his exclusive attention. He belongs to the Loyal Guards, the Benevo-
lent and Protective Order of Elks and the Board of Commerce, although
he finds his greatest pleasure in his home, located at No. 821 Detroit street.
He maintains well-appointed oftices at Nos. 5 and 6 Fenton Block.
On August 6, 1889, Mr. Mann was united in marriage with Miss Mary
E. Hughes, a native of Genesee county, Michigan, and daughter of Stephen
and Rose Hughes, an old family of JFlint. To this union there has come
one son: Charles li., Jr., born at Clid, 'Michigan, September 5, 1893.
Robert M. Jenks. As secretary of the Huron Mi,lling Company and
of the ]\Iihlenthaler Company, Ltd., of Harbor Beach, where he has other
large and important capitalistic iiit.erests, IMr. Jenks is known and honored
as one of the most aggressive and influential business men and liberal
citizens of Huron county, and he is a popular membei- of a family whose
name has been conspicuously identified with the development and up-
building up the Lake Huron coast counties of Michigan. Further de-
tails concerning the family achievement in Michigan may be found on
other pages of 'this work — in the sketch dedicated to Bela W. Jenks,
brother of him whose name initiates this paragraph, and in the memoir
dedicated to their uncle, the late Jeremiah Jenks.
Robert Aliner jenks was born at Crown Point, Essex county. New
York, on the i8th of August, 1859, and is a son of Jesse L. and Mary
{Martin) Jenks, concerning whom adequate mention is made in the ar-
ticle descriptive of the career of their elder son, Bela W., on other pages
of this history. Robert M. Jenks was about one year old when, in i860,
his parents came to Michigan and established their home at St. Clair,'
where he passed the days of his boyhood and early youth and in whose
public schools he acquired his preliminary educational discipline. He
made such advancement in his studies that as a lad of fifteen years he
found himself prepared to take up a business course. He accordingly
went to Mount Morris, Illinois, where he completed a thorough course '
in a well ordered commercial college. His active business career was
initiated in the position of agent for the J. Jenks Steamboat Company, of
which his uncle Jeremiah Jenks was the head and which had in commis-
sion a number of vessels on the Great Lakes. The corporation of J.
Jenks & Company has been one that has, since incorporation and for
many years prior thereto, stood forward as the exponent and medium of
progressive enterprise in eastern Michigan, and with the same Robert
M. Jenks has been identified from his youth to the present time, being
now its secretar)', as noted in the opening paragraph of this article. Un-
856 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
der this original title was produced the nucleus from which has been
evolved the splendid industrial enterprise now represented by the Huron
Milling Company, which is the pioneer in the field of manufacturing en-
terprise in this part of eastern Alichigan and which gives employment to
a corps of aljout 250 men, including man-skilled operatives and a num-
ber of persons of high scientific attainments. The products of the fine
and essentially modern plant, which is one of the largest of its kind in
the middle west, include corn starch, wheat starch, flour, macaroni, etc.,
with such important bi-products as the Jenks gluten food, doughnut flour,
flue and several other valuable products. The corporation sells most of
its extensive output in the eastern markets, and the concern figures as
the largest dealers in wheat, oats, corn, beans, peas, etc., in eastern Mich-
igan, if not in the entire state. The capacity of the company's wheat
elevator at Harbor Beach is 1 10.000 bushels; of the coarse-grain elevator,
25,000 bushels; of the corn elevator, 35,000 bushels. It mav well be un-
derstood that the operations of this corporation have had great influ-
ence in furthering the prestige of Harbor Beach as a manufacturing and
commercial center, the while contributing materially to the general de-
velopment and upbuilding of the beautiful little city and the country
tributary thereto. The officers of the Huron Milling Company are as
here noted: George J. Jenks. president; Lewis R. Speare, of Boston,
Massachusetts! vice president; Bela W. Jenks, treasurer: Robert M.
Jenks, secretary ; and Gilmore G. Scranton. general manager.
In February. 1902, the ]\Iihlenthaler Company, Ltd., of Harbor Beach,
was organized with a paid up capital of $80,000, and the company was
incorporated under the laws of the state, for the retailing of merchandise.
For the use of the company were erected large and modern business and
office buildings, and here has been developed a department store that would
be a credit to a metropolitan center, the establishment being the largest
engaged in the retail mercantile business in Huron county and the same
affording employment to a large corps of clerical and office assistants.
The company has as its official board of managers the following per-
sonnel : Darius Mihlenthaler. George J. Jenks, Bela W. Jenks and Oscar
H. Kuchenbecker. Robert M. Jenks, subject of this sketch, is one of the
principal stockholders of the company. Mr. Jenks is a member of the
directorate of the Huron County Savings Bank, in his home city, and con-
cerning him it may be said with all of consistency that as a man of affairs,
as a broad-gauged and progressive citizen and as a genial and considerate
gentleman he has gained and retained a circle of friends that is limited
only by that of his acquaintances. He has supported those undertakings
of generic order that have conserved the best interests of his home city
and county, is a staunch Republican in his political proclivities, and he
and his family are most prominent and popular factors in the best social
activities of Harbor Beach. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity
and the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, and Mrs. Jenks is a zeal-
ous member of Harbor Beach Presbyterian church, in which she is treas-
urer of the Ladies' Aid Society, a position she has held for several years,
besides which she is actively identified with the leading social, literary,
musical and lienevolent organizations maintained by the ladies of her
home community.
September 4. 1889. bore record of the marriage, at Harbor Beach, of
Mr. Jenks and ^liss Susie E. Chamberlain, the latter having been born
at Almond. Allegany county, New York, and having been a child at the
time of her parents' removal to Harbor Beach. Michigan, in 1871. She is
a daughter of the late Almond W. and Matilda CLockhart) Chamberlain,
who continued to maintain their home at Harbor Beach until their death.
Mr. and ]\Irs. Tenks have one son. Tesse Chamberlain Jenks, who was
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 857
born at Harbor Beach, on the 4th of August, 1890, and who was graduated
in the local high school. He thereafter completed a thorough course in
the engineering department of the Michigan Agricultural College, where
he likewise studied chemistry, being graduated in the institution.
Oscar George Cowlev, M. D. The numerous friends of this prom-
inent physician of Vassar have been vindicated in their early predictions
of success for him in his chosen calling. Energy, perseverance in what-
ever he undertakes, and many other strong traits of character are notice-
able qualities in his nature, and these combined with his inherent ability
and symjiathy give him distinct prestige in the line of his calling. Die
same will power and determination which he manifested in gaining an
education and a foothold have brought him to the front ranks, and al-
though he has been engaged in practice for but ten years he has already
achievements to his credit that many members of the profession would
envy even after the better part of a lifetime of effort.
Dr. Oscar George Cowley wa^ born January 23. 1881, at Peck. Sanilac
countv, Michigan, and is a son of Maurice and Sarah A. (Cash) Cowley.
His father, a native of London, England, was educated in that city, and
came to America in young manhood, settling in Sanilac county, Mich-
igan, where he has spent his career as an agriculturist. A man of in-
dustry, perseverance and ability, he has succeeded in his business ven-
tures, and at this time is the owner of a handsome property of 160 acres,
on which he still carries on operations. He is a Republican in politics,
and has been active in the ranks of his party for sorhe years. Mr. Cowley
was married at Cash City, Michigan, to Sarah A. Cash, who was born
at that place, a daughter of Edward Cash, a native of England who was
the founder of the family in America. He early settled in Sanilac county,
engaged in lumbering on a large scale, and l)ecame the leading citizen of
his" community. Cash City being named in his honor. Four children were
born to Maurice and Sarah A. Cowley, namely: Oscar George, of this
review ; Martha, who is the wife of William Cook, of Yale, ?ilichigan ;
Jessie, who is the wife of Lee Cook, a brother of William, of Metamora,
"Lapeer county, Michigan ; and Arthur, who resides with his parents
on the old homestead.
Doctor Cowley received his preliminary training in the public schools
of his home district in Sanilac county, and later pursued the curriculum
of studies comprised in the course at the Ferris Institute. Having fully
made up his mind as to his future vocation, he took up the study of his
profession in the medical department of the University of ^Michigan, and
after three years entered the Detroit College of Aledicine and Surgery,
where he remained one year, being graduated therefrom with his degree
in the class of 1904. In the fall of that year he came to ^"assar and es-
tablished an office in a convenient part of the business district where he
has since continued to successfully practice, and at this time his profes-
sional business comes from all parts of Tuscola county. He is a
great student and passes much of his time in the perusal of the various
journals devoted to medicine, it being his laudable ambition to keep fully
abreast of the various changes and advancements which have marked the
calling. He belongs to the Michigan State Medical Society, the Tuscola
County Medical Society and the American Medical Association, and has
served for some time as health officer, as well as a member of the school
board. A man of pleasing personality, one cannot be long in his presence
without realizing that he is a scholar and a man of gentlemanly attain-
ments, and as a result he numbers many warm personal friends in his ex-
tensive acquaintance. Fraternally he is prominent in Masonry, being
a Shriner and having attained to the thirty-second degree, and also holds
858 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
membership in the Order of the Eastern Star. In pohtical matters he is
a Repul)hcan, but he has* never cared for nor sought office. His cliief
recreation is found among the books of his large and valuable library,
but he is also fond of out-of-door life and the woods, finds much pleas-
ure in hunting and fishing, and is an enthusiastic automobilist.
Doctor Cowley was married in Saginaw. Michigan, in 1903, to Miss
Gertrude B. Smith, daughter of Earl K. Smith, a pioneer farmer of
Sanilac county. One son has come to this union, Don. M., born at \"assar,
in April, 1906. Doctor Cowley is president of the ^'assar Rifle Gub, and
Mrs. Cowley is also well known in literary and social circles, being sec-
retary of the Ladies' Literary Club, an active and helpful member of the
Order of the Eastern Star and an enthusiastic worker in the Ladies' Aid
Society.
Charles H. Frame. He whose name initiates this review is one of
the progressive and successful business men of Harbor Beach. Huron
county, vi'here his interests are varied and important and of an order
touching the general well being of the community. He here conducts an
extensive lumljer business, with well equipped yards, and he is vice-presi-
dent of the Harbor EFectric Company and president of the Croswell Tele-
phone Company, tjie service of which extends through Sanilac county.
Mr. Frame early became a sailor on the Great Lakes, and he was prom-
inently identified with navigation interests for more than a score of years.
He is well known ^long the Huron coast and has a host of friends in the
state that has Iqyg represented his home.
Charles Henry Frame was born in the beautiful Georgian Bay district
of the Provice of Ontario, Canada, the place of his nativity being the vil-
lage of W'iarton, Bruce county, about twenty miles northwest of Owen
Sound and at the head of Colpoy's Bay. the harbor of the village being one
of the best on Georgian Bay. In this little maritime village he was
born on the 20th of November, 1863. and his memory recalls the scenes of
his early childhood in the town, where, perhaps, he gained his inspiration
for the career of a sailor, though he was about five years of age at the
time of the family removal to [Michigan. He is a son of John and Sarah
Elizabeth (Kribs) PVame, both of whom were born near Guelph, Ontario,
and botli of whom were reared and educated in their native province,
where their marriage was solemnized and where the father followed the
life of a sailor until 1868, when he came with his family to ^Michigan, his
first location Ijeing at Chesaning, Saginaw county, and the fanfih- home
thereafter having been maintained in turn at Ovid, Clinton copnty ; Ionia,
the judicial center of the county of the same name ; Whitehall, Aluskegon
county, and Traverse City, Grand Traverse county. In 1880 permanent
settlement was made by the parents at Harbor Beach, Huron county, and
here the death of the honored father occurred in January, 1912, at which
time he was seventy-six years of age. His widow still resides in the old
homestead at Harbor Beach, and was seventy years of age at the time of
this writing, in 1914. After coming to Michigan John Frame followed
the life of a sailor on Lake Huron for many years, the major part of the
time as owner and master of his own vessel, but during the later years
of his life he had supervision of the lumber business of his son Charles H.,
of this review. Of the five children two died in infancy and Herman was
twenty-five years of age at the time of his death. The younger of the two
now living is Burton William Frame, who is employed by his brother
Charles, in the capacity of foreman of the latter's corps of carpenters,
retained in connection with the contracting department of the lumber
business.
Charles H. Frame accjuired his early education in the public schools
^^./cSr^
'•a-T.
••»^?
ROWLAND CONNOR
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 859
of the various towns in which the family lived during his childhood and
early youth,, but he was only tifteen years of age when he began to earn
his own livelihood, his attention being given to any kind of honest work
that came within his powers. Finally he responded to the lure of the sea-
faring life, and for twenty years he continued to be a sailor on the Great
Lakes. In time he became a master navigator and the owner of a num-
ber of sailing vessels, his long experience and genial nature gaining to
him a wide circle of friends in navigation circles. In 1880, long before
his retirement from the lakes, he began contracting along various lines,
and in 1902 he engaged in the lumber business at Harbor Beach, initiating
this enterprise primarily for the purpose of giving congenial occupation
to his father, who assumed active charge of the business. The new ven-
ture proved successful from the start, and finally the business attained to
such large proportions that Mr. Frame found it e.xpedient to abandon en-
tirely his association with the lake-marine service and give his entire at-
tention to his lumber trade. In that year he amplified the enterprise by
purchasing the lumber yards and planing mills of George W. Monroe,
and the consolidated business has since been successfully continued under
his direct management and control. Mr. Frame has done a successful
contracting and building business in connection with his lumber and plan-
ing mill and has improved much real estate in his home city, where he is
the owner of valuable business and residence properties. In association
with four other representative business men of Harbor Beach, Mr. Frame
effected the purchase of the property and business of the Fremont Farm-
ers' Telephone Company, and brought about the reorganization and incor-
poration of the business, under its present title of the Croswell Telephone
Company. He is president of the company and in this executive office has
done much to extend and improve the service.
Mr. Frame is a Republican, and while he has not been a seeker of of-
ficial preferment he has served as a member of the city council of Harbor
Beach, as a matter of civic duty. He is a Knights Templar Mason and
is affiliated also with the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, the
Knights of Pythias and the Concatenated Order of Hoo Hoos, the last
mentioned being the national fraternal organization of those identified
with the lumber business.
At Bad Axe, the county seat of Huron county, on the 24th of October,
1892, Mr. Frame wedded Miss Linnie Jane Wade, daughter of Frederick
and Sarah (Williams) Wade, natives of the Province of Ontario, Canada,
and now residents of West Branch, Ogemaw county, Michigan. Mr. and
Mrs. Frame became the parents of three children, of whom one is de-
ceased : Lloyd Stanley, who was born October 14, 1894, was graduated in
the Harbor' Beach high school and is now his father's assistant in the
office of the lumber business ; Lawrence, who was born February 23, 1897,
died on the 7th of July, 1904; and Ruth Evelyn was born September 7,
1905.
Rowland Connor. Coming to Saginaw as a minister of the gospel,
and for several years having charge of a church in that city, Mr. Connor
was soon drawn into the field of practical secular life, was elected to the
legislature, was admitted to the bar, and for more than twenty years has
been one of the leading lawyers of Saginaw. Mr. Connor is a man of
broad experience, of liberal education, and for half a century has been
identified with newspaper and literary work, with the church and the law.
Rowland Connor was born in New York City, June 16, 1842, and
was the oldest of three children born to John Henry and Catherine M.
(Reiner) Connor, both of whom were natives of New York City, and
spent their lives there. His father was active as a hardware merchant.
He was born in 1809 and died at Brooklyn, in 1854. The mother was a
860 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
remarkable woman, and at her death in Boston, Massachusetts, in Janu-
ary, 1913, had attained the great age of ninety-eight years. The two other
children in the family were : Addison Connor, who died in 1891 ; and Mrs.
Emma Connor, a resident of Saginaw.
Rowland Connor is a graduate of the College of New York, taking his
degrees of A. B. and A. M. in that institltion in 1863 and celebrated his
fiftieth anniversary as an alumnus in 1913. In early life Mr. Connor be-
came connected with newspaper work, and in 1870 bought an mterest in
the New York Nation, that being subsequently consolidated with the New
York Evening Neivs. During his newspaper career and also in connection
with his other professions, he was a more or less regular contributor of
news and special articles to the New York Tribune , the New York World,
and many magazines. Soon after his graduation Mr. Connor entered the
active ministry, and had charge of various churches, including some at
Boston, North Hampton, Alassachusetts, at Milwaukee, and in Saginaw.
His work as a minister was concluded in 1889, when he was elected a
member of the Michigan legislature, this entrance into politics causing
him to leave the ministry. In 1890 he was admitted to the Michigan bar,
and on retiring from the legislature took up the active practice of law at
Saginaw.
Mr. Connor served as a member of the State Legislature two terms,
was a member of the State Board of Pardons under Governor Warner,
has served his home city on the board of education, and has been a worker,
and in many ways directed his influence for the cause of education, re-
ligion, and general morality. He is Independent in politics, but cast his
first vote for Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Connor has membership in the Sag-
inaw County and the Michigan State Bar Associations, is affiliated with
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias, and
is Grand Commander of the Knights of the Maccabees for Michigan.
At Boston, Massachusetts, in 1869, Mr. Connor married Miss Emma
Llilton, who died in 1902 af Detroit. Her father Andrew J. Hilton was
of a well known family of New'Hampshire and of Boston. The two chil-
dren born to the marriage of Mr. Connor and wife are: Miss Mildred,
born in Boston in 1870; and Rowland M., born in Boston in 1871, and
now a practicing attorney at Detroit.
Henrv Tiff.wv Coi.e, It would be difiicult to give too much credit
to a man who during his active life in any community directs his strength
;.nd capabilities towards the upbuilding of those enterprises which add
prestige to the locality and provide employment for many of its workers.
To be at the head of such an industry recjuires more than ordinary ability
and strength of purpose, purpose which is not easily deflected from a
certain course. Among the men of Detroit, who have brought fame to
their city in its commercial circles and have demonstrated their ability
to cope with the keen comj)etition of modern trade and commerce in such
a manner as to make them leaders in their various lines, is found Henry
Tift'any Cole, vice president and treasurer of the Cnited States Radiator
Corporation.
Mr. Cole is a native of Ohio, born in the city of Cleveland, June 29.
1870, and is a son of the late Deles O. and Isabella (Tilifany) Cole. The
father was a native of New York state, born at Utica in 1834, and died
in Detroit, in 1903, and was the son of Henrv Stever Cole, who was of
Holland Dutch stock, born at Schaghticoke, Rensselaer county, the Hol-
land Dutch settlement on the upper Hudson river. Delos Cole moved
from New York to Ohio and to Detroit in 1877. His wife was a native
of Buffalo, New York, born in 1840, and is still residing in Detroit. She
is the daughter of the late Lucius F. Tiffany, a banker of Buffalo, who
_-*3Tr.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 861
was a cousin of Charles Tiffany, the noted Xew York jeweler. The Tif-
fany family was founded in America by Sir Humphrey Tiffany, a titled
Englishman. Dr. Benjamin Tiffany, a direct ancestor of the Detroit Tif-
fanys, fought under General Starke of Revolutionary fame, and Mrs.
Del'os (Tiffany) Cole is a member of the Society of the Daughters of the
American Revolution and of the IMount Vernon Society.
Henry Tift'any Cole came to Detroit with his parents when he was
seven years of age. He received his education in the Detroit public
schools, and in 1887 became a clerk in the wholesale carriage and hard-
ware house of H. Scherer Company, of Detroit, continuing with that firm
for a period of six years. In 1893 he became identified with the Capitol
Heater Company, of this city, as treasurer, a company which became the
Cnited States Heater Company in 1895, and of w^hich he was made sec-
retary two years later. He was made vice president and general manager
thereof in 1902, continuing as such until 1910, when the United States
Heater Company merged with four other boiler and radiator concerns
and formed the United States Radiator Corporation, of which Mr. Cole
continues to be vice president and treasurer. Mr. Cole's activities in the
business world of Detroit have done much to forward the city's interests,
and while he has not been active in politics he has ever displayed a com-
mendable willingness to aid in those movements in which men enlist for
the public weal. He belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, the Detroit
Gub. the Detroit Athletic Club, the Country Club, the Grosse Point
Hunt Club, and the Detroit Racquet and Curling Clubs,
Mr. Cole was married at Catskill, New York, in 1900, to Miss Alice
Jerome Day, who was born at Catskill, the daughter of Jeremiah Day,
a banker of that place, and a great-granddaughter of Jeremiah Day, who
was president of Yale College in 1834. Since 1756 every generation of
the Day family has graduated from Yale. Jeremiah Day, the father of
Mrs. Cole was of the class of 1873, and was a noted Yale oarsman, and
for his four college years was a member of 'varsity crew. ]Mr. and Mrs.
Cole have two daughters : Eunice Tift'any and Ruth Spencer.
Thomas Munroe — William Munroe. In the story of the transfor-
mation of Michigan from a wilderness of forest and tangled vinery into
a great commonwealth with nearly three millions of population, there is
no episode more vital and absorbing than the meteoric rise of Muskegon
from a mere trading post to the Queen of the lumber world. Her story is
in epitome the story of Michigan — the story of the sturdy race of pioneers
who in little more than a generation drove back the Indian, conquered his
fastnesses of towering pines and hemlocks, and l:)lazed the way for the
farmer and the manufacturer.
Indissolubly linked with the tale of Muskegon's marvelous rise to the
proud position of the world's greatest lumber producing center is the name
of Munroe. In the forefront of Muskegon's builders they stand — Thomas
Munroe, the elder brother, who for nearly thirty years devoted his brain
and energy toward the ujilnulding of the Thayer Lumber Company, one
of Michigan's leading lumbering industries; and William Munroe, the
younger brother, who assumed the l)urden at his brother's death and com-
pleted winding up the affairs of the great company. During the tragic
days of reconstruction, when the lumber industry began to wane, mill after
mill was torn down or burned, and the city's future looked darkest, it was
Thomas Munroe whose sage counsel and keen business acumen kept the
Thayer Lumber Company's mill in operation for years after his fellow-
townsmen thought it had cut its last stick of timber. And since his death,
his policies have been perpetuated by his brother and successor, William
Munroe, whose name is synonymous wnth the development of Muskegon
in recent years as a city of diversified industries.
862 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Thomas Alunroe was born at Rushville, Schuyler count}-, Ilhnois, Oc-
tober 26, 1844. On both the paternal and maternal side he came of true
American stock. One branch of his ancestors came to this county in 1650:
their descendants being afterward found in Connecticut, New York, Vir-
ginia and Maryland. Thomas Munroe, Senior, his father, a member of
the Maryland branch, born January 4th, 1807, at Annapolis, Maryland,
was educated at St. Johns College and Baltimore IMedical College, prac-
ticed medicine for a few years at Baltimore, ^Maryland, and removed in
1834 to Jacksonville, Illinois, and later, in 1843, to Rushville, Illinois. He
was a Christian gentleman of broad culture and a student of deep learning.
During the war he was a surgeon in the Union army. He died April 23,
1901. Mrs. Annis (Hinmanj Munroe, his mother, born at Utica, Xew
York, December 10, 1815, was the only daughter of Major Benjamin
Hinman, who served in the \\'ar of the Revolution tmder General Nathan-
iel Greene. She was thus a true Daughter of the American Revolution,
and became a member of the order of that name April 26, 1898. In 1824
her brother was mayor of Utica, and she had the honor at that time of
meeting the jMarquis de La Fayette, defender of American and French
liberties, on his .Vmerican tour. Her death occurred at Rushville, Illinois,
February 6, 1905.
There were seven children in the family, Thomas Alunroe being the
eldest, save one, who died in infancy. As a boy he attended the district
school and the Illinois Wesleyan College at Bloomington, where he was a
student for two years. His practical education began with six years of
employment as a clerk in a general store at Rushville.
It was in 1870 that ^Ir. Munroe came to Aluskegon and began the
splendid career which made him so prominent among the builders of the
city. Entering the office of L. G. Mason and Company, lumber manu-
facturers, as a book-keeper, his assiduous attention to his duties, keen
judgment, and energy soon won him the confidence and esteem of his em-
ployers, and he was promoted to have charge of the office, and later made
manager of outside work.
In February, 1878, when Nathaniel Thayer of Boston acquired owner-
ship of L. G. Mason and Company's manufacturing plant and property,
he recognized Mr. Munroe's superior talents, and placed him in charge of
the business as superintendent. In 1881 the Thayer Lumber Company,
successor corporation to the L. G. Mason and Company, was formed by
^Ir. Thayer and Mr. Munroe was made its superintendent. The story of
the Thayer Lumber Company under Mr. Munroe's management is one of
the inspirational chapters of western Michigan history. The company
rapidly leaped to the front as one of the foremost of Michigan lumbering
enterprises. It operated a mill built by L. G. Mason and Company in 1864,
and in 1887 increased its capacity by the purchase of the Bigelow and
Company mill, which it rebuilt. It owned large tracts of timber land in
Newavgo and ^Missaukee counties, and for years was recognized as one
of the city's most stable industries.
In 1896 the Company's supply of timber became exhausted. It ap-
peared to evervone as if the mill must close. Finally the day came when
the mill's whistle blew what all thought was its final blast. Employes of
the company — many of them workmen who had given nearly a lifetime of
service to it, others who were making payments on their homes — looked
into the future with apprehension.
It was then that Mr. Munroe conceived the idea that has won him the
everlasting gratitude of his fellow-citizens. Learning that the famous
Canfield timber tract in Kalkaska county could 'oe purchased, he made a
trip to Boston in an attempt to persuade the members of the company to
buy it. The country was just recovering from the panic of 1893, and
Mr. Munroe's associates were apprehensive of business conditions and de-
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 863
clined to buy. He continued his solicitations, and in January, 1897, the
purchase was made. The consideration was $1,250,000. In 1900 the com-
pany acquired of Charles F. Ruggles of Manistee an adjoining tract for a
consideration of $450,000. The two deals form the largest transaction in
the history of Michigan timber tract sales to that time.
Mr. Munroe's counsel did not only keep the mill in operation for a
long period, but also resulted well for the members of his company. The
profits were far in excess of his conservative estimate, and the excellence
of his judgment was never more truly demonstrated.
Despite the close attention which he gave to the aft'airs of the Thayer
Lumber Company, Mr. Munroe was actively engaged in many other enter-
prises. He was for many years a stockholder and director of the Muske-
gon Booming Company ; its treasurer for four years, and in 1888 was
elected its secretary. In 1880 he was one of the incorporators of the Mun-
roe Manufacturing Company, which he served as president and general
manager. This company operated for over twenty years a planing mill
which was recognized, when at the height of its activity, as one of the
foremost in the country. He was one of the members of the firm of
Munroe and Brinen, manufacturers and wholesalers of lumber, of which
his brother, William Munroe, was manager. Other business institutions
in which he was interested were the Hackley National Bank, of which he
was president for some time : the Grand Rapids-Muskegon Power (Com-
pany, of which he was vice-president ; the Newcastle Bo.x Company, which
he served as president ; the Indiana Box Company, which he served as
vice-president ; the Muskegon Washing Machine Company, which he
served as president ; and the Muskegon \'alley Furniture Company, Sar-
gent Manufacturing Company, Grand Rapids Desk Company, Quinn Sup-
ply Company, Muskegon Traction and Lighting Company, and Citizens
Telephone Company, all of which he served as director.
His well rounded life was not without its measure of public service.
Always interested in the cause of education, he served for eight years as
a member of the Board of Education of the Muskegon Public Schools.
For most of this period he was secretary of the board.
In politics, there was never any question of Mr. Munroe's position.
He was a faithful, energetic, uncompromising Republican, and held party
loyalty as highly as he held loyalty to his friends. The esteem in which
Mr. Munroe was held by Republicans of Western Michigan was evidenced
when he was chosen as one of the representatives of the Ninth Congres-
sional District to the National Republican Convention held at Chicago, in
1904, when Theodore Roosevelt was renominated for the Presidency of
the United States.
Mr. Munroe was prominent in Masonic activities, and at the time of
his death had received the thirty-third degree and was an honorary mem-
ber of the Supreme Council at Cincinnati, Ohio. He joined the Masonic
order in the city of his birth, becoming a member of Rushville Lodge,
No. 9, May 29, 1869. Upon his removal to Muskegon, he changed his
affiliation and became a member of Lovell Moore Lodge No. 182, Febru-
ary 21, 1877. He held the office of Senior \Varden for two years, 1880
and 1881, and in 18S2 was elected Worshipful Master, an ofince which he
filled for the ensuing three years, and again in 1888. He became a member
of Muskegon Chapter, No. 47, Royal Arch Masons, and was its Excellent
High Priest from 1892 to 1895, inclusive. A further affiliation was with
Muskegon Council, No. 54, Royal and Select Masters. In 1878 he be-
came a member of Muskegon Commandery, No. 22, Knights Templar,
and in 1889 and 1891 was Eminent Commander of this body. He received
all the various degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and
was Illustrious Commander-in-Chief of De \\'itt Clinton Consistory in
1903, 1904 and 1905.
Vol. n— 15
864 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
His private life was beautiful. He was married June 19, 1872, to
Miss Kathrine A. Jones, daughter of John R. Jones, of Remsen, Oneida
County, New York. Xo children were born to this union. His nearer
relatives were a sister, Miss Mary A. Munroe, of Rushville, Illinois; and
four brothers, James E. Munroe, of Chicago, Illinois ; Hinman Munroe
and Charles G. Munroe, of Rushville, Illinois; and William Munroe, of
Muskegon, Michigan.
The popular appreciation of Mr. Munroe as a citizen and a man was
probably best expressed by the press of his home city at the time of his
death, October 17, 1906, when it was declared of him:
"It is said that no friend in real need ever appealed to him in vain."
Thus brief!}- is his character epitomized : unswerving loyalty to his
friends; zealous in the performance of his duties; living to the highest
ideal of citizenship and contributing always his best to the city he called
"Home."
William Munroe, the younger of the two brothers whose enterprise
has done so much for the upbuilding of Muskegon, was born at Rushville,
Schuyler County, Illinois, April 29, i860. He was educated at Illinois
College, Jacksonville, Illinois, graduating in 1882. His early choice of
profession was the law, but liis practical mind soon inclined toward more
active pursuits. On April 17th, 1885, he came to Muskegon, joining his
elder brother, Thomas ^lunroc. When the Thayer Lumber Company pur-
chased the Swan, White and Smith timber tracts and sawmill property at
a cost of $425,000, Mr. Munroe was placed in charge, and ran the mill
for one year, when it was sold to Torrent and McLaughlin.
Thomas Munroe and William Brinen organized the firm of Munroe
and Brinen, and William Munroe was made manager of the business. The
firm did a general lumbering business, buying logs and converting them
into lumber. On January I, 1905, \\'illiam Munroe was elected assistant
treasurer of the Thayer Lumber Company, and made assistant to his
brother, whose health was declining. Upon the latter's death, October
17, 1906, he succeeded him as superintendent and secretary and treasurer
of the company. It remained for him to complete his brother's work in
winding up the affairs of the company, which was finally dissolved in
March, 191 1, when its charter expired. Its vital successor is the W. J.
Brinen Lumber Company, dealers in lumber both wholesale and retail,
which Mr. Mturroe helped organize among the old employes of the Thayer
Lumber Company, and of which he is manager. The mill property of the
Thaver Lumber Company was sold to Mr. Munroe, William Brinen and
\\"illiam J. Brinen.
In recent years Mr. Munroe"s chief interests have been in box manu-
facturing concerns. He is vice-president of the Indiana Box Company of
Elwood, Indiana, president of the Newcastle Box Company of Newcastle,
Pennsylvania ; and president of the La Belle Box Company of Martins
Ferry, Ohio; the \'andergrift Box Company of Vandergrift, Pennsyl-
vania, and the Elkins Box Company of Elkins, West Virginia. He is a
leading stockholder and vice-president of the Hackley National Bank of
Muskegon, and a director and stockholder in several leading Muskegon
corporations.
Mr. ^lunroe married Miss Nellie B. McMillan, a daughter of William
and Barbara (Reid) McMillan of Muskegon, April 3, 1889. Her parents
were of Scotch nativity, and her father was for years prominently con-
nected with the lumber industry of Muskegon. Four children have blessed
the union ; namely, Kathrine, a graduate of the Muskegon High School
in the class of 1908. and a former student at Wellesley College; Helen, a
graduate of Rogers Hall Academy, Class of 191 1, and at present a student
at Wellesley College ; Thomas, a graduate of the Culver Military School
of Culver. Indiana, class of 1912, and now a student in the Wharton
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 865
School of Commerce and Finance at the University of Pennsylvania ; and
William R. (nine years of age) a student in the public schools of Mus-
kegon.
Mr. Munroe, like his brother, is a firm believer in Republican princi-
ples and has always been a staunch supporter of the party. Although dis-
inclined toward politics, he served his home city for one year as alder-
man. He is a trustee of the First Congregational Church of Muskegon,
of which Mrs. Munroe is a member.
Mr. Munroe's manv public services are too numerous to recite, but he
has always contributed generously of his time and best eliforts towards
the upbuilding of his home city, the many industrial enterprises in which
he is interested form the backbone of the city, and much of Muskegon's
prosperity is due to his wise direction. It is citizens of Mr. Munroe's
type, who remained in Muskegon when the lumber industry waned and
helped lay the foundations for a new industrial growth, whom the people
of Muskegon recognize as the real builders of their city.
John Ferguson Seeley. Banking has been the field to which Mr.
Seeley has devoted the energies of his active career for thirty-six years,
and it is not only as a practical executive and as president of the Com-
mercial Savings 'Bank of Caro that he has prominent relations with his
community, but is also a recognized authority on financial and currency
matters, and was one of the prominent men who in recent months con-
tributed to the discussions relative to the reform of banking systems,
and his suggestions were approved by the Treasury department as to
the form ofcurrency issues under the direction of the national govern-
ment.
John Ferguson Seeley was born in Ovid, Seneca county. New York,
June 27, 1844. a son ofNathanie! and Elizabeth (Kinne) Seeley. His
mother's father was Captain Kinne, a veteran of the war of 1812. Mr.
Seeley's father was born in Saratoga, New York, and his mother in
Ovid of the same state. A special talent in manufacturing, financial and
business affairs have been characteristic of the Seeley family for several
generations. His father was an expert in the manufacture of steel, and
became prominent as the inventor of a peculiarly shaped axe, with a
characteristic bulge that made it known and popular all over the timber
countries of the United States. It was called the Seeley axe. The father
manufactured this axe at a shop in Ovid for many years. His expert
knowledge in the tempering of steel and the form of the axe blade,
which niade it especially useful for wood chopping, gave his output a
prestige which continued all his life. Had he obtained a patent on his
axe, the invention would have been worth a fortune, but as it was he
contented himself with a fair degree of prosperity and contributed gratis
an important improvement to the world of mechanics. He and his wife
were active members of the ]\Iethodist church and prominent people in
their community in New York. The father died in 1888 at the good old
age of eighty-seven, and the mother passed away in 1869 when sixty-
seven years of age. On both sides the family is of English origin.
The only survivor of the nine children of his parents, John F. Seeley
acquired his early training in the grade and high schools of Ovid and in
th.e Seneca Collegiate Institute. Leaving home at the age of seventeen,
he has from that time to the present been engaged in a varied experience
which has led him from one stage of successful accomplishment to
another, until he is one of the leading bankers of the state of Michigan.
His first work was as cashier in the Erie Railroad Company's office at
Dunkirk, New York, and three years later he went to New York City
and was made a clerk in the correspondence department of A. T. Stewart
866 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Dry Goods Company. He remained with that great commercial enter-
prise for a year and a half, and for a similar period was identified with
other mercantile establishments of New York City. Returning home,
he organized the co-partnership known as Seeley & Company, dealing
in dry goods and similar wares, and for eleven years the company did a
very prosperous business at Ovid. In the meantime Mr. Seeley had been
seized with the western fever, and in response to the urgings of his de-
sires in this line he sold out his interests in New York State, and 1878
moved to Caro, Michigan.
The beginning of his present extended and important relations with
Tuscola county was the opening of a private bank, employing his own
savings as the chief resources of the institution, which was known as
the Tuscola County Bank. For nearly twenty-six years Mr. Seeley con-
ducted a successful banking and real estate business, and in 1904 organ-
ized the Commercial .Savings Bank, of which he has since been the active
head. He is also a stockholder in other banks in Tuscola county, owns
extensive real estate holdings and is one of the leading farmers of Tus-
cola county. He has taken an interest in fruit growing, and during the
past few years he has put out fourteen hundred fruit trees of various
kinds on a well situated farm near Caro. His contributions to the wel-
fare and improvement of Tuscola county has taken the form of land
development. In the course of a period of years Mr. Seeley has in-
vested more than twenty-five thousand dollars in raw lands in Tuscola
county, and has cleared up and improved nearly all of his property to
first class productive farms, which are now highly valuable, and which
mcrease the permanent wealth and resources of Tuscola county. .Since
locating here it has been Mr. Seeley's firm conviction that Tuscola
county is a section whose prosperity will continue to increase as long as
it remains the home of civilized men, and his judgment in that way has
always been backed up b\' his varied investments. He is one of the
largest dealers in real estate in the county.
In 1898 a gentleman from Germany called on Mr. Seeley and inter-
ested him in the beet sugar industry as carried on in Germany, and calling
his attention to the fact that the United States was im])orting nearly
$ioo.ooo,cxx) worth of brown sugar made from beets grown in Germany
and France each year, and refining same here. He convinced Mr. Seeley,
after several audiences, that beets rich in sugar could be grown in north-
ern Michigan and around Caro. Tuscola county. Mr. Seeley became so
deeply interested in the subject that he caused a few other citizens of
Caro to join him in endeavoring to persuade farmers in the vicinity
to grow beets, and after months of hard work and endeavor about 3.000
acres were contracted for as a beginning, conditioned upon a sugar plant
being built at Caro. The enthusiasm of Mr. Seeley knew no bounds, and
as a result a large sugar refining company was located at Caro in 1899,
the second plant in the state to produce granulated sugar from beets
grown in the locality. This sugar plant has been enlarged several times
until now it requires over 10.000 acres of beets to supply it and produces
25,000.000 pounds of granulated sugar each year. All this was prac-
tically brought about by the untiring efforts of Mr. Seelev.
It has already been noted that Mr. Seeley has not confined his atten-
tion entirely to practical banking, but is a student of banking laws and
currency problems. He is one of the original members of the Michigan
State Bankers Association, of which he was an organizer, and has taken
an active part in its affairs. On the subject of bank note currency, he
addressed the American Bankers Association in 1912, and his plan of
issuing paper money, if adapted, would save the government nine hun-
dred thousand dollars in paper bills, and the life of currency would be
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 867
a third longer than that now in use. His address, with this and \arions
other suggestions, met the hearty approval of Mr. Mc\'eagh, then secre-
tary of the treasury, who thanked Air. Seeley for his valuable sugges-
.tions and expressed the hope that they might be adapted in any plan
of currency legislation which should pass through congress. Mr. Seeley
was appointed by Governor Ferris as commissioner to assist in the pas-
sage of bills for the prohibition of the shipment of liquor into dry terri-
tory, and on this commission served as a delegate during December, 1912,
at Washington, D. C. His ideas on currency problems received wide
publicity in the metropolitan papers of the country, and a number of
editorial paragraphs were written in approval of his plan. While an
active Republican, Mr. Seeley has always preferred to exert his influ-
ence on public aiifairs through the medium of his private business and
through bankers and other semi-public bodies, and has refused nom-
ination from his party for the legislature, an honor which was equivalent
to election. He is an elder in the Presbyterian church, of which his
family are members. Naturally Mr. Seeley is a business man whose
name is not only known and spoken with respect in his home county,
but enjoys a wide acquaintance among men of prominence and influence
throughout the United States.
In 1867 at Hamilton, Ontario, Mr. Seeley married ]\Iiss Alattie P.
Grover, who was born in New York state, and graduated from the Wes-
leyan Female College of Hamilton, Ontario. Her death occurred in Feb-
ruary, 1894, suddenly while visiting a daughter in Ann Arbor. She be-
came the mother of fotir children, and the two now living are: Lewis
G. Seeley, who graduated from the local high school and the University
of Michigan and is now cashier in his father's bank ; Laura, who is the
wife of Sabin Hooper, a banker at Boyne City, Michigan. In August,
1895 ^Ir. Seeley was married at Midland, Michigan, to Miss Emily
Fuller, who was born in Saginaw. Her father, Rev. O. E. Fuller, was
one of the first graduates from the University of Michigan, for many
years served as a pastor of the Episcopal church, and is now deceased.
His daughter, Mrs. Seeley, graduated from the Ypsilanti Normal school
and became a teacher and for eight years taught in the public schools of
Caro, later was advanced to the office of jjrincipal and then of superin-
tendent, and concluded her term of service as an educator as a teacher
in the girl's high school of Brooklyn, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Seeley are
the parents of three children: Clinton Fuller Seeley, Alice Seeley, and
Barrett K. Seeley, students in the Caro high school.
Harry B. Hittchins, LL. D. The successor of Dr. James B. Angell
as president of the University of Michigan, Dr. Hutchins, though a New
Englander by birth and early training, is a graduate of the Department
of Literature, Science and the Arts of the institution of which he is now
the head, and has had a long and distinguished career in the law, in
original scholarship, and as a teacher and educational administrator. Dr.
Hutchins was acting president of the university during the vear 1897-98,
and again from October i, 1909. until June 29, 1910; at the latter date
he was formally chosen president.
Of New England colonial stock, a son of Carlton B. and Nancy
Walker (Merrill) Hutchins, Harry Burns Hutchins was born at Lisbon,
Grafton county. New Hampshire, April 8, 1847. Educated in the com-
mon schools, in the New Hampshire Conference Seminary at Tilton,
and Vermont Conference Seminary at Newbury, at the age of nineteen
he entered Wesleyan University at Aliddletown, Connecticut, but impaired
health compelled him to withdraw during the same year. After his
868 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
recovery he studied for a time anatomy, physiology and surgery at the
University of \'emiont and at Dartmouth College, his intention at that
time being to rjiake medicine his career. About that time his parents moved
to Michigan, and in 1867 he entered the University of Michigan, and was.
graduated Bachelor of Philosophy in the class of 1871. During his
undergraduate career Dr. Hutchins was editor of the Chronicle, the
official student paper of the university, was class orator in his senior
year, and one of the speakers at his commencement. The year following
his graduation was spent as superintendent of public schools at Owosso
in Shiawassee county, but in 1872 he returned to Ann Arbor as instructor
in history and rhetoric at the university. During the following year
Dr. Hutchins was advanced to the grade of assistant professor. For
four years he instructed classes in the subjects named, and at the same
time studied law. His admission to the bar was followed by resignation
from the university faculty, and the beginning of active practice in
partnership with his father-in-law, Thomas M. Crocker. The firm of
Crocker & Hutchins maintained offices both in Mount Clemens and De-
troit, and for* eight years represented a large and important clientage
in all the courts of the state.
Dr. Hutchins in 1883 was an unsuccessful candidate on the Republican
ticket for the office of regent of the university, and in the following
year was recalled to the university as Jay professor of law. His legal
scholarship and administrative ability caused him in 1887 to be chosen
by the trustees of Cornell University to organize the law department of
that institution. The eight years spent at Ithaca were exceedingly fruit-
ful and securely established his own reputation as an educational
organizer and director, and the Cornell University Law School was
placed on a sound basis and had grown to be one of the leading law
schools of the United States.
Since 1895 ^r. Hutchins has been permanently identified with the
University of Michigan, having been made Dean of the law department
in that year. In 1897-98, during the absence of President Angell as
United States Minister to Turkey, Dr. Hutchins served as acting presi-
dent of the university, a service, taken in connection with other
qualifications, which undoubtedly made him the first choice ten years
later when the ruling body had to select a successor to the venerable
Doctor Angell.
His various official honors as an educator indicate his qualifications
in that field. Dr. Hutchins is also a profound lawyer and original
scholar. He is a member of the New York and Michigan Bar Asso-
ciation, the American Historical x\ssociation and the Michigan Political
Science Association. Several volumes of the Michigan supreme court
reports were revised and annotated by him. In 1894 Dr. Hutchins pub-
lished an American edition of the English work, "Williams on Real
Property," having revised and adapted that familiar authority to the
requirements of American usage. Other evidences of his scholarship
are: "Hutchins's Equity Cases," published in igoo; the biography of
the late Judge Thomas M. Cooley, in the general work entitled "Great
American Lawyer"; consulting editor of the "American and English
Encyclopedia of Law and Procedure" ; and numerous contributions as
a member of the advisory board to the "Alichigan Law Review." Dr.
Hutchins has also been the recipient of many scholastic honors, and
received the degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Wiscon-
sin in 1897. Dr. Hutchins is a Republican in politics. On December
26, 1872, he married Miss Mary Louise Crocker, daughter of his former
law partner, the late Thomas M. Crocker, of Mount Clemens.
HISTORY OF AIICHIGAN 869
William K. Clute. A member of the Michigan bar for twenty-
five years, William K. Clute has become recognized not only in the state,
but in the nation as an authority on the question of water rights, and
in that highly important and extremely technical branch of law few men
have had more successful experience. He was recently one of the gov-
ernment prosecutors in a big suit involving the power rights along the
course of the Sault Ste. Marie Canal, and has acted as special counsel
for the City of Grand Rapids in its matters relative to acquiring the
power rights in Grand River for city purposes.
William K. Clute, whose father was a prominent lawyer before
him, was born at Ionia, Michigan, September 6, 1865. His parents
were Lemuel and Ellen (McPherson) Clute, his mother being of Scotch
parentage, while his father was born in New York State of a Holland
family. His father began practice at Ionia, Michigan, in 1864, and
spent all his active career in that city.
William K. Clute received his education in the public schools at
Ionia, and is a graduate of the Michigan Agricultural College. He
studied law in his father's office, and was admitted to the bar in June,
1888. His practice was begun in association with his father, and so
continued until the fall of 1900. In that year he was elected prosecuting
attorney of Ionia county, serving two terms from 1901 until 1905.
His ability as a lawyer was accorded special recognition in 1906 when he
was appointed assistant United States Attorney for the western division
of Michigan. His service in that capacity continued until December
I, 1910. From that date until October i, 1912, came his work as
special assistant United States attorney in the suit of the United States
Government for the condemnation of all the land and water power right
at Sault Ste. Marie north of the line of the then existing canal, and as
far as the international boundary. This litigation involved damages or
claims for damages ranging from nothing to more than six millions of
dollars. These claims were preferred by the owners of property along
the canal for the alleged water-power rights, pertaining and inherent
in the land. The government claimed that it was not liable for damages
for such rights, since the movement was one undertaken under an Act
of Congress in the interest of navigation. The United States Supreme
Court finally upheld the case of the government's counsel, and decided
that the United States be not held for damages for water-power taken
and the power companies against whom the condemnation suit was
brought were allowed nothing, since the property taken was primarily
for navigation, and since the navigable waterways of the United States
are the property of the nation, and it was unnecessary to pay damages
to the riparian owners for water power rights in case the improvement
of navigation took over the power possibilities.
Mr. Clute's residence for over eight years has been established at
Grand Rapids, his law offices being in the Michigan Trust Building.
Mr. Clute has membership in the Michigan State Bar Association,
the Grand Rapids Bar Association, and fraternally he is affiliated with
York Lodge of the Masonic Order and with the Columbian Chapter
of the Royal Arch Masons. He belongs to the Highland Golf Club.
Mr. Clute married August 6, 1890, Miss Lillie E. Sears, daughter of
Lucien E. Sears, of Lansing, ]\Iichigan. They are the parents of one
son, Donald S. Clute. The residence is at 571 Madison Avenue.
Rev. Francis H. Gres, pastor of St. Joseph's Church, Bay City,
Michigan, was born December 4, 1853, in the south of France. During
his fifty-eight years as student and faithful laborer in the spiritual
field, he has won the approbation of the church and the love of the
870 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
people on both sides of the Atlantic, and few priests have been more
earnest and zealous in their holy work.
Father Gres in his boyhood attended the schools of Rodez, his native
city, but his theological education was pursued in Brittany, where
he graduated in 1877, and in the same year was ordained to the priest-
hood, taking his vows in 1878 in the Society of the Holy Ghost. His
scholarship and zeal made him eligible to a responsible position and he
was sent to be a professor in the seminary college at St. Pierre, in the
Island of Martinique, West Indies, which city was, only a few years ago,
destroyed by the terrible eruption of Mount Pelee. After six years
of educational work here. Father Gres returned to France and served
eight years as a missionary priest. In 1892 he came to America and
located at Detroit, Michigan, where he was assigned as assistant pastor
of St. Joachim's Church, and remained there until June, 1894, when he
came to Bay City as assistant to Father Roth. In 1900 he was appointed
pastor of St. Joseph's parish, and is now on his 21st year here. His
pastorate has been marked with large accessions to the church and a
great increase in the church school and enthusiasm among the people.
The academy in connection with St. Joseph's church is managed by
the Dominican Sisters, a body of holy women whose reputation for piety
and scholarshp extends all over the world. Nearly all the grades are
represented here and careful and thorough instruction is afforded in all
ordinary branches, in the classics and in music. Accommodations are
provided in the classroom for 350 pupils.
St. Joseph's Church (French) from 1869, when Father Girard took
charge of the parish, until 1900. when Father Gres, the present pastor,
was appointed, has had a rapid succession of pastors. Father Girard
remained until January i, 1872. Father Delbar succeeded him. iiut
remained only until the last of December of the same year, and Father
Cantor, the latter 's successor, continued here until August 31, 1873.
Father Grilli, an Italian priest, supplied for a few months, or until
November 23, 1873. and was succeeded by Father Van Strallen, a Hol-
lander, who remained until March I, 1875. Father Grilli then again
took charge and remained until June, 1875, when Father Kemper, a
German, took charge and remained until October 19, 1879. The priest
who followed him died in 1880, and the next pastor was Father Ebert,
who remained but a short time. The latter was succeeded by Father
Thibeaudau, who continued here six years and died in 1886, and was
succeeded by Father \'itali, an Italian, who remained until August 21,
1887. Following this. Father Guerin remained seven years. In 1888
the parish fell into sore straits, due to unsettled financial conditions in
the country. Father Thibeaudau had built the new church in 1880,
and a debt of $6,000 burdened the congregation. The parish was there-
fore placed under the charge of the Holy Ghost Fathers Society, which
relieved the diocese of the burden, while the parish still remained under
the jurisdiction of the bishop. Rev. F. J. Roth. C. S. Sp., was accord-
ingly sent here in 1888, and on June 20, 1894, Father Gres, the present
pastor, was appointed assistant. When Father Roth left, in March,
1895, the debt of $6,000 had been cleared. He was succeeded by Father
Danglezer, and the good work of the Holy Ghost Fathers was still
further evidenced by the erection of a fine and commodious parsonage
at Third and Grant streets on property adjoining the church lot. In
1900 Father Danglezer returned to France, and Father Gres assumed
charge of the parish, which now includes about 500 families and is one
of the largest in the valley.
Frank Dyke Jenks was born at St. Clair, Michigan, on March 11,
1864, and is a son of Bela Whipple and Sarah (Carleton) Jenks, both
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 871
of whose ancestors were among the earliest settlers of New England,
and occupied many positions of trust and prominence in Colonial and
Revolutionary times.
He attended the public schools of St. Clair and graduated f ropi the
high school in 1879, and after working about one year in the office of
the Wyandotte Rolling Mills Company, at Wyandotte, Michigan, and
about two years for his father in lumbering near Allegan, Michigan, he
returned to St. Clair and attended Somerville school as a special student
for one term, going from there to Ann Arbor high school from which
he graduated in 1883. After attending literary department of the Uni-
versity of Michigan for one year, class of 1887, he returned to Port
Huron where he has since resided.
Mr. Jenks bought out one of the largest lumber yards in this section
in 1889, and has been prominently identified with this industry since
that date. Among his other business activities has been the building
of several large grain elevators in this country and Canada and also
one in Scotland, which was the first modern grain elevator in the history
of that country.
He early became connected with the vessel business on the Great
Lakes, and in 1901 formed the Port Huron and Duluth Steamship
Company, which now has three large modern passenger and package
freight steamers, operating between Port Huron, Michigan and Duluth,
Minnesota, and is its president and active head.
He is also president of the South Park Lumlaer Company, vice-presi-
dent of the American Machinery Company, chairman of the Factory
Land Company, and connected with other industries in Port Huron, and
his energy and judgment have been of great value to the various indus-
tries with which he has been identified.
Politically Mr. Jenks has been allied with the Republican party
and while not taking an active part in politics he has been honored by
his fellow townsmen with several local offices, having been alderman of
the Second Ward for two terms, from 1890 to 1894; a member of the
Board of Water Commissioners, 1895 to 1899; City Comptroller in 1896;
and City Assessor from 1896 to 1899.
Mr. Jenks is a member of the Masonic Order including the Blue
Lodge Chapter, Knights Templar and Mystic Shrine, and is also a mem-
ber of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He has been
Master of Port Huron Lodge No. 58, F. and A. M., and was for some
years a member of the Board of Control of the Michigan Masonic Home,
and has acted on various committees of the Grand Lodge of Michigan.
On October 12, 1887, he married Kate Sanborn, daughter and only
child of General William Sanborn and Nancy (Howard) Sanborn. Her
mother's family, the Howards, were large lumber operators from an
early day and the Sanborns were also important factors in the lumber
industry of this section. Her father served with distinction in the Civil
War. and was wounded while in command of his regiment at the battle
of Chickamauga.
Mr. and Mrs. Jenks have three children. William Sanborn, born Oc-
tober 23, 1888, a graduate of the literary department of the LTniversity
of Michigan, Class of 19 10. and is now the General Freight and Pas-
senger Agent of the Port Huron and Duluth Steamship Company, and
who married Miss Elizabeth Sukey at Minneapolis, December 21, 1912,
Carleton Howard, born July 24, 1893, now a student in the literary de-
partment of the University of Michigan, Class of 191 5, and Edward
Whipple, born August 30, 1900, now attending the public schools of
Port Huron.
872 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Lee E. Joslyn. For more than a quarter of a century Mr. Joslyn
has been a member of the bar of Michigan, his home having been in the
state since boyhood, and both at Bay City and at Detroit his official career
has been one of usefuhiess and prominence, especially as referee in bank-
ruptcy first in the Bay City district and since 1910 his home has been at
Detroit, where he is now referee in bankruptcy for the Detroit district.
Lee E. Joslyn, who was born at Darien, Genesee county. New York,
July 2^1, 1864, a son of Willis B. and Amy R. (Alasonj Joslyn, represents
an old French- English family and one that has been identified with Ameri-
can history since the early colonial days. The Joslyn name was taken
from France to England about 1090, soon after the close of the reign of
William the Conqueror. The American branch was founded in 1635 •'^
Massachusetts, and many of the name were locally prominent in that
colony. Jabez Joslyn, great-grandfather of Lee, was a soldier on the
American side during the war of the Revolution, and in icSoo founded the
family in the state of New York. Jabez, son of this revolutionary sol-
dier, moved from New York to ^Michigan about 1861, and his death oc-
curred at Bay City, Michigan, in i86y. He was the father of Willis
B. Joslyn. On the maternal side the Mason family was also of colonial
settlement in New England, gave several members to the American army
during the Revolution, and Mr. Joslyn's mother was a cousin to Hon.
William E. Mason, a former United States senator from Illinois. Willis
B. Joslyn, the father, had his home in the state of New York until 1871,
lived in Pennsylvania from 1871 to 1873, and on coming to Michigan
located at Dryden in Lapeer county, and in 1889 moved from that locality
to Bay City, where the remainder of his years were spent and where he
died at the age of seventy. His widow died in 1902 at the age of seventy-
five.
Lee E. Joslyn attended public school in his native town in New York,
was about ten years old when the family moved to Michigan, in 1881 was
graduated from the Union school at Dryden, Lapeer county, and soon
after took up the study of law under Judge William W. Stickney of La-
peer. Later his law studies were pursued under Judge George H. Durand,
at Flint. In the meantime it was necessary that he provide for his own
livelihood, and his way was paid chiefly by teaching in the district schools
during the winter seasons. In 1883-84 ilr. Joslyn was principal of the
graded school at Otisville in Genesee county, and later for one year was
principal of the First ward school in Bay City. With his admission to
the bar at Bay City in 1886, his active practice of the profession began in
that locality, and while his practice as a lawyer has been of a substantial
character much of his time during the past twenty-five years has been de-
voted to public affairs. In 1888 Mr. Joslyn was elected circuit court com-
missioner of Bay county, and that office was followed in 1892 by his elec-
tion as prosecuting attorney of the same county. His retirement from
the latter office was followed by some years of active private practice,
but in April, 1904, came his appointment as referee in bankruptcy at Bay
City. On the death of Harlow P. Davock, who held a similar office in
Detroit, Judge Swan of the United States circuit court for the Detroit
district appointed Mr. Joslyn to fill the vacancy. The duties of both offices
in Bay City and Detroit were administered by Mr. Joslyn until November
21, 1910, when he resigned from the Bay City district and received the
regular appointment as referee in bankruptcy for the Detroit district.
Since then his home has been in Detroit.
Mr. Joslyn has been prominent in the affirs of the Independent Order
of Foresters in Michigan, a fraternal organization with which his affilia-
tion began in 1887. In 1892 the order elected him high counselor and in
the following year high-chief ranger for the state, and in 1894 high-chief
ranger, besides which he represented the high court of Michigan as dele-
<s^£^
T«
TPMR
/«VUCLU«^^^
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 873
gate to the supreme council of the world at Chicago in 1893, and in the
city of London, England, in 1S95. His relations with the Masonic order
include thirty-two degrees of the Scottish Rite, and other fraternities hold-
ing his membership are the Knights of the Modern Maccabees, the Knights
of Pythias, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Joslyn
belongs to the Detroit Board of Commerce, the Detroit Club, the Detroit
Golf Club, the Bay City Country Club, to the Detroit Young Men's Chris-
tian ^Association, and with his wife has membership in the North Wood-
ward Presbyterian church. He manifests a keen interest in all affairs
relating to the civic and material prosperity of his city and state. In 1893
Mr. Joslyn married Miss Alice L. Wilson, daughter of F. L. Wilson, of
Bay City. Their four children are : Lee E., Jr., a student in the Michigan
University; and Alan W., Laura Alice and Mary Anne.
Isaac B. Auten. In giving record concerning the representative
men of affairs in Tuscola county it is imperative that special mention be
made of the honored and influential citizen whose name introduces this
review and who has played an important part in furthering the civic
and material development of the county and particularly of Cass City,
his place of residence. Mr. Auten has been prominently identified with
the banking business in Tuscola county for many years and in the mat-
ter of continuous service he is now one of the oldest representatives of '
this important line of enterprise in this part of the state. He was organ-
izer of the Cass City Bank, of which Jhe^s still the executive head, and
he has also wielded large and beneficent in|Uigrtce'tltrough his extensive
and well directed real-estate operations. He alsovcontrols a large and
substantial business as an insurance underwriter, and is essentially one
of the positive forces in furthering the continued advancement and the
well-being of the county in which he Jias" maintained his home for the
past thirty years, and in which he commands unqualified popular confi-
dence and esteem.
Isaac Bodine Auten was born in Ovid township, Seneca county, New
York, on the 6th of October, 1854, and he is a representative of families
whose names have been worthily linked with American history for many
generations. He is a son of Thomas and Johanna ( Bodine ) Auten. both
of whom were likewise natives of Seneca county, in the idyllic lake dis-
trict of the Empire state. The father was born in 1815, and his death
occurred in 1878. His wife, who likewise was born in 1815, survived
him by about fifteen years and was summoned to eternal rest on the 15th
of June, 1893, at the venerable age of seventy-eight years. The Auten
family was early founded in the state of New York, and there its repre-
sentatives stood exemplar of honest worth and productive industry as one
generation followed another on to the stage of life's activities. The
maternal ancestral line of the subject of this sketch is traced back to a
valiant soldier of the Revolution, Cornelius Bodine, who became a
pioneer settler in the fine lake district of central New York. In 1802 he
established his home in Ovid township, Seneca county, where he devoted
the remainder of his life to agricultural pursuits. He was a descendant
of Jean Bodine. a sterling French Huguenot, who was born in the village
of Medis, France, in 1645, and who was one of the many French Hugue-
nots who fled their native land to escape the persecutions incidental to
the revocation of the famous Edict of Nantes. He found refuge in Lon-
don, England, where he was naturalized on the 14th of October, 1681.
In the following year he came to America and established his home on
Long Island. New York, where his death occurred in 1695. He was one
of the strong political figures in France in the seventeenth century and
was a man of fine character and mentality. Certain of his descendants in
874 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
America crossed over from Long Island to the mainland and from
Perth Amboy, New Jersey, made their way from the mouth of the Rari-
tan river to its source, this expedition leading to the establishment of
members of the family in New Jersey. Francis Bodine was a resident
of Cranbury, Middlesex county, New Jersey, in 1745, and waS the
founder of the branch that became prominent in southern New fersey
and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. John Bodine, a son of Francis, served
seven years as a gallant soldier in the Continental line during the war of
the Revolution, and during this long period of patriotic devotion he was
able to visit his family only once. He participated in many engagements,
including the battle of Monmouth, and he was captain of his company
at the time of receiving his honorable discharge. He died in the year
1826. Abraham Bodine. ancestor of him whose name initiates this arti-
cle, married Adrientje Janse, of an old Holland Dutch family in New
York, and of their nine children one was Cornelius, who likewise was a
Revolutionary soldier and patriot and took part in the battle of IMon-
mouth. Peter Bodine, maternal grandfather of Isaac B. Auten, died
in Seneca county. New York, in 1843, and of his seven children the
youngest was Johanna, mother of Mr. Auten.
Thomas and Johanna ( Bodine ) Auten became the parents of eight
children, and of the number only three are now living: Martha Cecelia,
who is the widow of \\'illiam Seeley and resides at Elmira, New York ;
Isaac B., who is the immediate subject of this review; and Dewitt B.,
who owns and resides upon the fine old homestead farm of his parents,
in Seneca county. New York.
Isaac B. Auten has been in the most significant sense the architect
of his own fortune, for he initiated his independent career when a mere
boy and has pressed steadily forward to the goal of large and worthy
.success, the while his character has been moulded, and made symmetrical
bv the discipline. In his native county he received a grammar-school
education but he was only thirteen years of age when he signified his
intense desire to begin work for himself. Flis parents consented to his
leaving home and working out his own salvation. At Havanna. New
York, he found employment in a grocery, and eight months later he went
to the village of Ovid, in his native county, where he became clerk in a
grocery store. There he later obtained a clerkship in the dry-
goods store of John F. Seeley, and here he received in compensation
for his services the stipend of twelve dollars a week. He continued in
the employ of Mr. Seeley three years and his desire for broader experi-
ence then led him to remove to the city of Rochester. New York,
where he entered the employ of a representative wholesale dry-goods
firm, his salary at the start having been but one-half that which he had
received while in the employ of Mr. Seeley. Remaining with the Roch-
ester wholesale house for four years, he there gained special advance-
ment in the department to which he was assigned, and he became an ex-
pert in all matters pertaining to laces. Upon leaving Rochester Mr.
Auten went to Springfield. Massachusetts, to assume charge of one of
the largest lace stocks in the Eastern market. His superior knowledge
of lace values and other details of the business gained to him the tender
of a responsible and remunerative position in Manchester. England, but
he refused this overture. He remained at Springfield until 1884, when
his old friend and former employer, John F. Seeley, decided to come to
^lichigan to engage in business and solicited the co-operation of Mr.
Auten. At Caro, the judicial center of Tuscola county. ^Ir. Seeley estab-
lished a bank, and of this new institution Mr. Auten became cashier, a
position which he retained for twelve years, within which he did much
to develop the enterprise to substantial proportions. In the autumn of
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 875
1895 Mr. Auten reinoved to Cass City, where he became an interested
principal in the organization of the private banking tirm of Auten,
Seeley & Blair, his associates being John F. Seeley and Capt. Leniuel C.
Blair. Upon the death of Captain Blair, Mr. Auten purchased his inter-
est in the business, and later purchased the interest of John F. Seeley,
and he has since continued as the executive head of the strong and popu-
lar banking institution, which is one of the oldest in Tuscola county and
which has long retained a large and representative patronage, the bank
being still conducted as a private institution and under the name of the
Cass Citv Bank of I. B. Auten.
Mr. Auten has proved an executive and financier of mature judg-
ment and great circumspection, has ordered his course along the un-
deviating line of integrity and honor and has retained at all times the
confidence of everyone with whom he has had dealings. Through his
business operations he has met and gained the friendship of many of the
prominent capitalists and representative men of Michigan, and has had
charge of important investments for them. He has made a specialty of
real-estate loans, largely upon farm properties, and has been specially
successful in the handling of realty in his section of the state. He has
been essentially optimistic in regard to the future to his home city and
county, and has shown his faith through his public spirit, his progressive
policies and the investment of his capital. He is the owner of three fine
farms near Cass City and also much valuable real-estate in the village.
Mr. Auten is liberal and independent in his political proclivities and
gives his support to men and measures meeting the approval of his judg-
ment, without reference to partisan lines. He has shown special inter-
est in educational matters and in the furtherance of those things which
promote high civic ideals along general lines. Both he and his wife are
zealous members of the Presbyterian church in their home city, and he
IS a memlier of its board of trustees.
In the autumn of 1884 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Auten
to Miss Elizabeth H. Libby, daughter of the late Dr. Abial Libby, of
Richmond, Maine. Mr. Auten is a leader in church, literary and social
activities in Cass City and is a gracious and popular chatelaine of the
attractive family home. Mr. and Mrs. Auten have two children : ATad-
elaine, who was born at Caro, Tuscola county, on the 20th of July, i88g,
was graduated in Denison University at Granville, Ohio, and in the
Domestic Science department of Columbia University, New York City ;
Meredith Bodine Auten was born at Caro on the i8th of April, 1891,
and was graduated in historic old Bowdoin College, at Brunswick,
Maine, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He is now cashier of his
father's bank at Cass City.
John C. C0RKIN.S. The present efficient postmaster of Cass City is
also known as one of the prominent members of the bar of Tuscola
cotmty, where his success and precedence afford the best voucher for
his professional ability. He is junior member of the representative law
firm of Broaker & Corkins, in which his associate is James D. Broaker,
of whom individual mention is made on other pages of this work.
Mr. Corkins is a native of Michigan and finds a due measure of
pride and satisfaction in this fact, the while his unfaltering loyalty to
his native state is shown by his continuous residence within its borders
and by his here proving the possibilities of attaining success and honors
in a personal way. John Calvin Corkins was born on a farm in Van
Buren township, Wayne coimty, Michigan, on the 4th of May, 1873,
and is a son of Calvin and Melissa (Leonard) Corkins, who were like
wise born in Van Buren township, where the respective families were
876 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
founded in the pioneer epoch of Michigan history. This is further
assured when it is stated that in Wayne county, in which is situate the
beautiful city of Detroit, Anson Corkins, an uncle of the subject of this
review, was the first white child born in Van Buren township, September
22, 1827. Calvin Corkins, who was born in the year 1831, has continu-
ously retained his residence in Wayne county during the long intervening
years and was long and actively identified with agricultural pursuits, in
connection with which he accuniulated a valuable landed estate. At the
venerable age of eighty-three years (1914) he maintains his home on
one of his farms in Wayne county, and he is one of the honored and
influential pioneer citizens of that section of the state. His cherished
and devoted wife was summoned to the life eternal in 1901, at the age
of sixty-two years, and of the four children surviving her, John C, of
this review, was the second in order of birth. The eldest of the children
is George A., who is a prosperous farmer of Wayne county; Wilmer H.
resides upon and has supervision of one of his father's farms, in Washte-
naw county; and Mary A. remains with her father, having charge of the
home since the death of her mother.
In the public schools of Wayne and Washtenaw counties John C.
Corkins gained his preliminary education, and this discipline was sup-
plemented by higher academic study in the Michigan State Normal
School at Ypsilanti. After devoting two years to teaching in the schools
of Washtenaw county Mr. Corkins was matriculated in the Detroit
College of Law, he having been twenty-four years of age at the time
of entering this admirable institution, in 1897. He completed the pre-
scribed curriculum and was graduated as a member of the class of 1900,
duly receiving his degree of Bachelor of Laws and being forthwith ad-
mitted to the bar of his native state. Mr. Corkins had a desire to visit
the western part of our great national domain and felt assured that in
that section of the country he would find opportunities for successful
work in his chosen profession. Soon after his graduation, therefore,
he established his residence in the city of Butte, Montana, where he
entered into a professional partnership with Edwin Fisher, with whom
he was there associated in active practice for three years, under the
firm name of Corkins & Fisher. Though the firm built up a successful
law business Mr. Corkins eventually felt the superior claims made upon
him by the state of his nativity, and he has had Jio cause to regret the
decision made bv him when he severed his professional alliance at Butte
and returned to Michigan, at the expiration of the period noted above.
Soon after his return Mr. Corkins assumed connubial responsibilities,
and he then located at Caro, the judicial center of Tuscola county, where
he continued in the practice of his profession for eight months. He
then, in the autumn of 1903, removed to Cass City, in the same county,
and in this thriving village he has since continued in active and successful
practice, as a member of the leading law firm of Broaker & Corkins, the
business of which extends into the various courts of the state and has
been of important order, implying the retention of a representative
clientage.
Mr. Corkins has shown special progressiveness and public spirit and
has been an influential figure in local affairs and as a representative of
the Republican party in this section of the state. He most effectively
administered the matters pertaining to the municipal government of
Cass City, of which he was mayor for five years, and he now finds
the great part of his time and attention demanded by his duties in the
ofiice of postmaster, to which he was appointed in 1910, by President
Taft. He is one of the wheelhorses of the Republican party in Tuscola
county, and has been a valued and effective campaign speaker, besides
having served as a delegate to virtually every county convention held
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 877
by the Republicans of Tuscola county within the period of his residence
here. Mr. Corkins gives his support tO' enterprises and undertakings
that in a generic or specific way tend to advance the best interests of his
home city and county, and in 1907 he was one of the organizers of the
Cass City Telephone Company, of which he is secretary and general
manager. He did most aggressive and effective work in enlisting local
capital for this enterprise, and the company has provided facilities and
service of great benefit to the community. Mr. Corkins attends and
gives liberal support to the Evangelical church of Cass City, of which
his wife is a zealous member.
Mr. Corkins has been twice married. On the 14th of October, 1903,
he wedded, at Brookville, Pennsylvania, Miss Minnie Fell, who was
born in Washtenaw county, Michigan, and who was a daughter of
William Fell, who is a prominent manufacturer of woolen goods at
Brookville, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Corkins passed to the life eternal in
191 1, and her remains rest in the beautiful village cemetery of Cass City.
She is survived by three children, and it is a singular fact that all were
born in the year 1905 : Helen and Ivan, twins, were born January 2, of
that year, in Cass City, and here the daughter Lucille was born on the
i6th'of December of the same year. On the 22d of March, 1912, was
solemnized the marriage of Mr. Corkins to Miss Lena Muck, who was
born and reared in Cass City and who is a daughter of Adam Muck,
who still resides in this place and who is one of the sterling pioneer
citizens of Tuscola county.
Theeon Wilson Atwood was born at White Oak, Ingham county,
Michigan, January 3, 1854, and is a son of Henry P. and Emily (Wilson)
Atwood. The family was founded in Michigan in 1835, when Zenas
and Hulda (Perrington) Atwood, the grandparents of the subject of
this review, came to Ingham county. They were natives of the Empire
state, and sturdy, reliable pioneers, taking up their homes in the midst
of the wilderness and aiding in paving the way for future generations.
Zenas Atwood died in 1854, while the grandmother survived him for a
time and was about eighty years of age at the time of her demise. ITenry
P. Atwood was born in New York, and, with the intention of entering
the ministry, had attended Oberlin (Ohio) College. He was about four-
teen years of age when he accompanied his parents to Michigan, and
here decided upon a legal career, and from the time of his admission to
the bar until his retirement about ten years before his death he was
one of the successful practitioners of Caro. He passed away in 1897,
at the age of seventy-five years. He served as county clerk of Ingham
county, on the Democratic ticket, an office in which he served one term,
and later, during a part of the Civil war, he served as prosecuting attor-
ney of Tuscola county. The issues of the great War of the Rebellion,
however, had changed his political views, and he resigned the office
of prosecutor before the expiration of his term, in 1865, on account of
ill health. In 1872 and 1874 he was re-elected to that office on the Repub-
lican ticket, having transferred his allegiance to that party. The mother,
also a native of New York, passed away in .1889. Mr. and Mrs. Atwood
were the parents of six children, as follows : Lydia, Theron Wilson,
Martha, Almira, Mabel and Antoine'tte.
Theron W. Atwood was given excellent educational advantages in his
youth, attending the public and high schools of Caro and subsequently
the law department of the I'niversity of Michigan, from which institu-
tion he was graduated in 1875 with his degree. For a time thereafter
he was associated in practice with his father, but at the time of the elder
man's retirement succeeded to the business, which he has continued to
carry on until 1904.
878 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
One of the leaders of the RepubHcan party in his county, Mr. At-
vvood is a strong party man, and has been honored on various occasions
by election to public office. He capably served Tuscola county for eight
years in the capacity of prosecutor, was state senator from his district
from 1892 until 1896, a member of the railroad commission for four
years and a member of the constitutional convention. He has been
identified closely with enterprises that have had a direct bearing upon
the material growth and development of his section, in the promotion
and management of which he has displayed marked executive and or-
ganizing ability.
A man unspoiled by wealth and position, his democratic spirit has won
him the regard of all with whom he has come into contact, and it may
be truly said that he has friends in all walks and conditions of life.
In September, 1875, Mr. Atwood was married at Caro, to ]\Iiss Clara
E. Gibbs, who was born in this city, daughter of Alelvin Gibbs. Their
children, all born at this place, are as follows: Newton B., who is presi-
dent of the Caro Electric Light Company ; Alice ; Merrill G., who is
president of the Caro Water Works Company; Adeline; Florence;
Theron Wilson, Jr., who is a student at the University of DePauw ;
Helen, who is attending Alma College ; and Frank Ellet, who is a public
school student.
Baxter Leroy C.vrltox. Mention of any of the well known business
men of Jackson, Michigan, must of necessity include something specific
with regard to Baxter Leroy Carlton, founder and former owner and
editor of the Jackson Daily Patriot, but now retired from his connection
with the paper, and from all business activity. The Detroit Xews of June
26, 1887, published an article so interesting in its general subject matter
and affording so many details in the career of this veteran journalist that
it is properly incorporated in this sketch of his life. The article is
quoted verbatim, due credit being given to the News as its source :
"B. L. Carlton, the managing head of the Patriot, is the veteran
editor of the newspaper fraternity of Jackson, and he has the good will
and respect of his contemporaries to an unusual degree. He is of Eng-
lish and German ancestry, and was born in West Middlebury, New York,
June 3, 1839. After a few years in the common schools, he, at the age
of thirteen entered upon newspaper work in LeRoy in his native state,
and has followed the business closely ever since.
"His first trip west was made on the Western ll'orld, one of the three
magnificent steamers then connected with the Michigan Central, and
plying between Buffalo and Detroit. He first located at Niles, ^Michigan,
in 1855, working two years on the Inquirer, a Republican journal es-
tablished by his brother, Monroe Guy Carlton. In 1857 he settled in
Jackson, and was at first employed on the Patriot, and afterward on
the Citiseii as a compositor.
"His initiatory knowledge of the exacting duties of daily journalism
was acquired in i860 in the Citizen office under C. V. DeLand, who
became Colonel of the First Michigan Sharpshooters and who thought
the exciting times warranted a daily issue. The enterprise was for a
while enthusiastically prosecuted. The only telegraph station in the
city was then located in the old Michigan Central Passenger station, and
to this point Mr. Carlton, who was detailed to secure the report, used
to wend his way in the early twilight of the morning, after working at
the case up to nine o'clock the previous night. Here some of the most
interesting events of that historical period were taken down with pencil
as they were rapidly read to him from the printed strips which passed
through the hands of the operator. The work required intense appli-
cation and a memory that would retain and bring accurately forward
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 879
whole sentences. The reports were sent through with hardly a break
and the young writer frequently arose from his cramped position with
stiffened fingers, and strong in the impression that daily newspaper
work was anything but pastime.
"In March, 1862, he first entered upon the publishing business on his
own behalf, establishing the Jackson Eagle, an independent weekly,
which ultimately became a warm supporter of General George B. Mc-
Clellan, and for that capable and accomplished soldier he cast his first
presidential vote. After four years of successful publication the Eagle
was merged in the Weekly Patriot, established in 1844, and the firm of
Carlton & Van Antwerp formed, which has now lasted twenty years.
The junior partner, Major W. W. Van Antwerp, still retains his interests,
although since his appointment as postmaster two years ago he has been
entirely disassociated with the editorial and business management.
"At the age of twenty-three Mr. Carlton accepted the nomination from
the Democrats of Jackson for city recorder, and after one of the hotly
contested campaigns of those days, he, with a portion of the ticket, was
defeated, the adverse majority in his case being but fifteen. This was
his first and last experience with public ofifice, and to this timely political
check and narrow escape he attributes much of his business prosperity
and practical enjoyment of life.
"Few newspapers have been more carefully and intelligently man-
aged than the Patriot, and it runs with even regularity in all its details.
Its editor thoroughly enjoys his work, and nothing affords him more
pleasure than to note the remarkable progress made by the interior press.
To one who has watched its growth for the past quarter of a century
its present elevated standing in his own state is a matter of pride and
gratification."
It must be remembered that this article is copied from an issue of
the year 1887, so that there are additional details to be appended to the
above sketch. Among them is the death, in 1887, of his business partner,
Major Van Antwerp, a brave soldier and excellent citizen. The firm
of Carlton and Van Antwerp founded the Daily Morning Patriot in 1870
and continued the publication of both daily and weekly until the sale
of the property in 1889, Mr. Carlton acting as editor and sole manager
from the time Major Van Antwerp assumed his duties of postmaster
under the appointment of President Cleveland until the paper passed
into other hands. The old employees with Dr. Carlton, before his with-
drawal, were retained by the new proprietors, and three of them have
since become part owners, managing the paper with marked success ;
indeed, the Patriot from the year of its inception down to the present
time has been an important and influential factor in the public welfare
of Jackson.
Since 1889 Mr. Carlton has lived a life of retirement, enjoying his
friends and his books, and with his virile pen influencing the local public
mind to betterment of civic conditions.
Mr. Carlton was married October 22, i860, to Miss Margaret Graham,
daughter of Robert Graham, one of the pioneer merchants of Jackson,
and prominently identified with its early history. Mrs. Carlton died
September 19. 1895. Five children were born to them, four daughters
and a son.
Mr. Carlton is a Mason with Ivnights Templar affiliations, and is the
oldest living member of Jackson Lodge No. 50, F. & A. M. He became a
member of the order in i860 and in 1862 was given the degrees in Jackson
Commandery, No. 9, K. T. He is an ardent lover of the altruistic prin-
ciples and precepts of this noble and far-reaching organization.
A Democrat all his life, Mr. Carlton has had much to do with shaping
anrl promoting the local interests of his party during his long service
Vol. n— 18
880 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
as a journalist. For more than a quarter of a century he was a vestry-
man of St. Paul's Episcopal church.
By selection of the city council he served as a member of the Carnegie
Commission which had charge of the building of Jackson's beautiful and
stately public library. He acted as secretary of the commission for two
years while the details of its construction were being perfected. For
several years previous to the erection of the new edifice he was president
of the board of directors of the old public library, and his resignation
of the office because of impaired health was received with regret by the
community.
The West Main street home of Mr. Carlton was built by him thirty-
six years ago. At that time it was accounted one of the choice residences
of Jackson, and at present, notwithstanding the erection of numerous
costlier and more modern types of dwellings, its architecture and sur-
roundings are dignified and pleasing. The house was built entirely of
clear white pine, a grade of lumber whose scarcity and price now make
it practically prohibitive for building purposes. The magnificent elms
and maples which surround his home and attract the attention of passers-
by were planted by him and are a monument to a kindly, public-spirited
gentleman of fine tastes and literary attainments.
Frank Lee jMillis. This is a name which has been borne success-
ively by three generations in Oaldand county. As farmers, as lumbermen,
as merchants, and as sterling, upright citizens, the men of the Millis
name have impressed themselves '»upon their community and state, and
have always been successful, have accepted greater burdens and obliga-
tions than the majority of men, and have acquitted themselves honorably
in all their activities.
Frank Lee Millis is now 'ftfe- pioneer luiilber dealer in Pontiac, having
a business which has a consecutive history since it was established by his
father many years ago. He was bom September i, 1853, in Bloomfield,
Oakland county, Michigan, a son of John D. and Fannie Frances Fuller
(Fuller) Millis. The grandfather, Samuel Millis, was the founder of the
family in Michigan, having located in Oakland county and was one of
the pioneer farmers in this vicinity. He and his family were devout
members of the Congregational church, and both grandparents are now
at rest in the Oakhill cemetery at Pontiac. John D. Millis was reared
to manhood on the Oakland comity farm, and entered upon a career as
a merchant and business man in Pontiac. Among his activities was pork
packing and grain. He owned a saw mill and operated extensively in the
lumber regions of Lapeer county. He owned and operated one saw and
shingle mill and was one of the men who did logging and lumbering on
a large scale. Among the farmers in Lapeer and Oakland counties, his
name was one of the best known. In character he possessed the old-
style honesty and hardihood and integrity of the true pioneer stock. He
had a firm belief in the future growth of Pontiac, and nearly all his
surplus wealth was invested in such a way as to demonstrate this faith.
A Democrat, he steadily refused to accept any political honors, and did
his best public service through his quiet and efficient citizenship and
business accomplishment. He and his wife now rest in the family plot
in Oakhill cemetery in Pontiac.
There were four children, two of whom are deceased : Hattie A.,
now deceased, was the wife of Henry Mead, of Sault Ste. Marie, Michi-
gan ; Elmer P. Millis, who was a prominent farmer in Lapeer county,
and also a sawmill owner and lumber operator with his father. He was
terribly mangled in a farm implement machine and died from the injuries
in 1910. Fred M. Millis, the youngest of the family has taken a promi-
nent part in the upbuilding and business affairs of Pontiac, was for many
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 881
years associated with his brother, Frank L., in the lumber and coal trade,
and now lives retired in Poniac.
Frank Lee Millis grew up in his home city, attended the public
schools, and at the age of nineteen began his active career when he went
to Lapeer county and found employment in the lumber camps of his
father. His experience there continued until he was an expert in all
the phases of lumber operation, and was his father's assistant for ten
years, overseeing the work in the woods during the winter, and in the
saw and shingle mills during the other seasons. In 1875, going to Sag-
inaw, he was employed one year by the firm of Hill & Cuskey. From
there he went to Bay City, and for a time was with Switzer and East-
wood. Returning to Pontiac, he was married and for two years was
with his father-in-law on a farm. He then engaged with his brother
Fred as a partner in the lumber and coal business, conducting the estab-
lishment formerly controlled and operated by his father, and enjoyed
a large and successful business as partners until 1910. At that date
Fred retired, and Mr. Frank L. Millis has since continued the lumber
and coal yard, maintaining the same high standards in the business wiiich
were set by his father many years ago. In fact, Mr. Millis is only a
more modern type of the same sturdy nature as was possessed by his
father. He is of the straightforward character of an old-school gentle-
man, and enjoys the highest esteem of his friends and associates in
Oakland county. Since attaining his majority he has cast his vote with
the Democratic party, and for seven years represented the first ward as
alderman. In 1885 Mr. Millis married Miss Ella M. Benjamin, a native
of West Bloomfield, and a daughter of George W. Benjamin, a pioneer
farmer who lived on the farm where he was born until the close of his
life. Mr. and Mrs. Millis have one daughter. Hazel Florence, now the
wife of Cash W. Bowers of Pontiac. Mr. Millis resides in and owns
the homestead which his father built in 1861. It is in its original part
one of the land marks in the residence district of Pontiac. However,
he has remodeled and enlarged the old home, until it now contains
twenty-seven rooms, and is modern in all its appointments and comforts,
being regarded as one of the finest and most liomelike residences in the
city. It is located at 34 Bagley street. His wife and daughter are
members of the Congregational church, and to that denomination he gives
his support.
Verne W. B.\dgley. Though still a comparatively young man much
distinction and many worthy accomplishments have fallen within the
lifetime of Verne W. Badgley. Mr. Badgley is the present register of
deeds of Jackson county, has practiced law with success at Jackson for a
number of years, is a lover of country life, and a prosperous farmer, and
probably no citizen in his section of the state is better known.
Verne W. Badgley was born on a farm six miles from Jackson, No-
vember 25, 1876. His parents were Dennis and Sarah (Christopher)
Badgley, his father now deceased, and the mother living in Jackson City.
Educated in the public schools and reared on a farm, Mr. Badgley has
always retained his affection and interest in farming and despite the re-
quirements of professional and official life he still has his home in the
country. His law studies were pursued chiefly in the University of
Michigan, where he graduated with the class of 1899 and with the de-
gree of LL. B. For ten years he was in active practice as an associate
of his brother, Forrest C, under the name of Badgley & Badgley. In
the fall of 1912 Mr. Badgley was elected on the Democratic ticket, to the
office of register of deeds, and has had charge of the office since January
7, 1913. Though the year 1912 was Democratic throughout the country,
and all normal political conditions were changed, it was in the nature of a
882 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
personal tribute to Air. Badgley that he should be elected, since Jackson
County had for years held a considerable Republican majority.
Mr. Badgley belongs to the Jackson County Bar Association, is affili-
ated with the Masons, the Elks, and the Maccabees, belongs to the Jack-
son City Club and the Chamber of Commerce, and can be found ready
to support any worthy measure for the advancement of his community.
Three miles south of Jackson, Mr. Badgley owns a fine farm and that is
his home, an automobile taking him back and forth between the fields and
his office daily. He has never been able to break away from the country
in favor of city life, and though he has long enjoyed a large professional
practice, and has the duties of a county office besides, he follows his long
established custom of early rising, and" every morning milks several cows
before breakfast, and in busy seasons helps out with the general farm
work. On June 27, 1906, Mr. Badgley married Miss Mabel C. Pinegar
of Jackson.
During his campaign for the office of register of deeds the Jackson
Morning Patriot said editorially of Mr. Badgley, concerning his qualifica-
tions and personal character, statements which may be reproduced in this
connection: "Born in the country, raised in the country, educated in the
country schools, with the advantages which come from a final course at
Ann Arbor, Verne W. Badgley, the Democratic nominee for register of
deeds, combines all the qualities which guarantee the satisfactory per-
formance of the duties of this office. His knowledge of the importance
of the correctness of all details referring to property and its transfer, his
training in methodical observance of all these essentials, his reputation
for faithfulness and integrity, his acquaintance with the real estate and
personality of the county, his age and his energy in business matters, all
appeal to the general public, who generally are inclined to encourage and
extend aid to those who possess and use their gifts so unobtrusively. His
training and natural inclination make the office suited to him, and the
county is fortunate that he is so well equipped for the position. The name
of Badgley and the members of the family of Badgley have been favor-
ably known for three generations to the people of the county, and in the
nomination of \'erne the Democratic party placed before the people one
who will in all ways be found to be efficient, and who will make a record
for himself in the conduct of the affairs of the real estate of the county."
J.\MES D. Broaker. In the county that has been his home from early
childhood, Mr. Broaker has attained to marked prestige in his chosen
profession and is known as one of the representative members of the bar
of Tuscola county, even as he has the distinction of being a scion of an
honored pioneer family of this favored section of the state. He is en-
gaged in the active practice of his profession at Cass City, as senior
member of the firm of Broaker & Corkins, in which his coadjutor is
John C. Corkins, the present postmaster of Cass City and a representative
citizen of whom specific mention is made on other pages of this publica-
tion. He whose name initiates this paragraph has served as circuit-court
commissioner of Tuscola county and also as prosecuting attorney of the
county, his special familiarity with the work of each of which important
offices has led to his retention at the present time, 1914, as deputy in
each of these positions.
James Densmore Broaker was born on a farm in Escott township,
Leeds county, province of Ontario. Canada, and the date of his nativity
was March 18, 1863. He is a son of James B. and Lois (Thompson)
Broaker, the former of w-hom was born in Scotland and the latter in
England, and his parents are now numbered among the venerable citi-
zens and honored pioneers of Tuscola county, Michigan ; their marriage
was solemnized in Leeds county, Ontario, and in 1865, when their son,
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 883
James D., of this review, was about two years of age, they came to Michi-
gan and numbered themselves among the pioneer settlers of Tuscola
county, where the father became interested in lumbering operations,
farming and merchandising, his residence being maintained for many
years at Ellington. He became the owner of valuable farm property and
had much influence in the material and civic development of the county,
where he served for half a century as justice of the peace. He is now
living retired in Cass City, at the venerable age of eighty-three years
(1914), and his wife has attained to the age of seventy-two years. Of
their eight children, all are living except one: Addie, who is deceased,
was the wife of Thomas P. Zanders, a well known attorney of Union-
ville, Tuscola county ; Nina is the wife of Charles W. Stacy, who is
engaged in the banking business at Akron, this county ; Alfenia is the
wife of Rev. Richard Cleaver, pastor of the P'resbyterian church at Big
Rapids, Michigan ; Lotta is the wife of Charles Campbell, a representa-
tive merchant of Caro, Tuscola county ; Lois M. resides in the city of
Saginaw ; M)'rtle is the wife of George Galmitzer, of St. Paul, Minne-
sota ; Mary T. is a popular teacher in the public schools of Lansing,
Michigan ; and James D., of this review.
James D. Broaker completed the curriculum of the high school at
Caro, judicial center of Tuscola county, and thereafter he continued his
studies in the Michigan State Normal School at Ypsilanti, in which con-
nection he gave his attention specially to the study of law, which he
prosecuted also under effective private preceptorship. He was admitted
to the bar in 1886 and forthwith put forth his professional "shingle" in
Cass City, where he has since continued in the active practice of his
profession, and where he has assured precedence as one of the repre-
sentative members of the bar of this part of the state. The firm of
which he is a member controls a large and representative practice, ex-
tending into the state and federal courts, and he has been identified
with maJiy important causes presented in litigation, his ability as a trial
lawyer being clearly proved through the work which he has achieved
and his power as a counselor being based upon thorough knowledge of
the science of jurisprudence.
Reared by his father in the faith of the Republican party, ]\Ir. Broaker
has not deviated in his allegiance and he has given yeoman service in
behalf of the party cause. He has been active as a campaign speaker,
but has had no ambition for public office save that in line with the pro-
fession of law. He served four years, 1904-08, as prosecuting attorney
of Tuscola county, and is now assistant prosecutor of the county, as
is he also assistant circuit-court commissioner, the full office of which
he retained for the long period of sixteen years. Mr. Broaker is afifliated
with the Alasonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
and is one of the popular and public-spirited citizens of the cownty in
which he has lived from childhood. He was one of the organizers of
the Cass City Telephone Company, is one of its largest stockholders
and holds the office of president of this prosperous corporation. Mr.
Broaker has made judicious investments in real estate in Tuscola county,
where he is the owner of a fine landed estate of four hundred acres, and
in addition to general farming he devotes special attention to the raising
of high-grade live stock, including Ayrshire cattle and standard-bred
horses.
On the 1 2th of November, 1889, Mr. Broaker was united in marriage
to Miss Mamie E. Bader, of Cass City. She was born at Bridgeport,
Ontario, Canada, but was reared and educated in Michigan, to which
state her parents removed when she was a child. She is a daughter of
John and Eleanora (Fisher) Bader, who were born in Germany and
who passed the closing years of their lives in Michigan. Mr. and Mrs.
884 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Breaker have two children, both of whom were born in Cass City. Flor-
ence Marie, who was born October 13, 1894, was graduated in the Cass
City high school and is a student in the University of Michigan; and
James Kent, who was born August 12, 1903, is attending the public
school of Cass City.
James McCaren. There is all of propriety in according in this pub-
lication special recognition to Judge McCaren, who is one of the well
known and most highly honored citizens of Huron county. He served
with marked ability as judge of the probate court of Sanilac county, and
has been a prominent factor in connection with business activities of im-
portance. He is a native of the state in which he still maintains his
home and is a scion of one of its sterling pioneer families. Through
personal ability and effort he has won definite success and prestige, and
no citizen of the "Thumb" district of Michigan has more inviolable
place in popular confidence and esteem. Judge McCaren resides in the
thriving little city of Bad Axe, the judicial center of Huron county, and
is known as one of the most loyal and progressive citizens of the place.
James McCaren was born in Bridgehampton township, Sanilac coun-
ty, Michigan, on the 12th of December, 1857, and is a son of Andrew
and Martha (Smith) McCaren. Andrew j\'IcCaren was born in Ireland
on the nth of June, 1820, and his death occurred December 15. 1910, at
which time he was ninety years of age, — one of the veritable patriarchs
and pioneer citizens of Jilichigan. He was reared and educated in his
native land and in the autumn of 1847, "i company with a companion
named Kearns, he embarked at Glasgow, Scotland, and set forth to seek
his fortunes in the United States. The voyage was made on a sailing
vessel, and the young Scotsman landed in the port of New York city in
December of the year mentioned. Mr. McCaren's surplus cash, which
was very limited, was stolen from him on shipboard, and on arrival in
New York the two young men pawned their watches, to secure monev
to pay their fare to Boston. In the latter city Mr. McCaren obtained
employment in cutting ice and he remained in Boston eight years. There,
on the 25th of November, 1855, he wedded Miss Martha Smith, who
was born in his own country and who had come to .'\merica in 184S, about
a year after his arrival. Shortly after his marriage Andrew McCaren
determined to remove to the west, in search of better opportunities. He
went to Mahoning county, Ohio, where he remained one year, and he
and his wife then decided to seek a home in the pioneer wilds of Michi-
gan. They made their way to Detroit, which was then little more than
a village, the trip from Cleveland having been made by one of the Lake
Erie vessels, and after remaining a few days in the future metropolis
of the»state they continued their voyage up into Lake Huron, making
Lexington. Sanilac county, their destination. In pursuance of their in-
vcstigatior. of the countrv' in this district of the state they soon took a
stage passage to what is now Cherry Creek, where Mr. McCaren ob-
tained employment in the Mason lumber camp. He was thus engaged
during the first winter and in the following spring he purchased forty
acres of land, this proving the nucleus of the fine farm which he event-
ually reclaimed in Sanilac county. He endured his full quota of the
trials and hardships of the pioneer days, was one of the early settlers of
Sanilac county, and became one of its honored and influential citizens.
He continued to reside on his old homestead farm until his death, his
devoted wife having preceded him to eternal rest by a number of years.
From the rude log cabin of the pioneer days ]\Ir. McCaren made ad-
vancement till he was the owner of a well improved landed estate of
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 885
two hundred acres, equipped with excellent buildings and bearing every
evidence of thrift and prosperity. He was active in the organizing of
Bridgeton township and was one of the influential forces in the regula-
tion of public affairs in the township and county. He continued his
active labors until his advanced age compelled his retirement, and he
attained to the patriarchal age of ninety years, as has been previously
stated. His wife passed away in 1907, at the age of seventy-eight years.
Their names merit enduring place on the roll of the sterling pioneers
who did well their part in the development and upbuilding of that sec-
tion of the fine old Wolverine state. Of the five children the firstborn
was James, to whom this review is dedicated, and another son, Andrew,
Jr., died in boyhood. Nancy is the wife of Hugh McNair, of Brown
City, Sanilac county; William J. is president of the Exchange Bank at
Carsonville, that county; and Robert J. is engaged in the mercantile
business at Carsonville.
Tudge James McCaren passed the days of his childhood and youth
under the conditions and influences of the pioneer days and he continued
to give his father effective assistance in the development and other work
of the home farm until he had attained to the age of twenty-three years.
In the meanwhile he had laid the foundation for his ultimately well
rounded education by attending the country schools whenever oppor-
tunity afforded. At the age noted he went to Carsonville, where he was
employed four years as clerk in various mercantile establishments. He
then initiated his independent business career by investing his savings
in a stock of general merchandise, in the purchase of which he became
associated with his brother William J., under the firm name of McCaren
Brothers. They built up a substantial and prosperous business at Car-
sonville, and William J. McCaren still remains one of the representative
merchants of that place. At the expiration of eight years Judge Mc-
Caren sold his interest in the enterprise and assumed the position of
cashier of the private bank conducted by Frank W. Hubbard and John
Ryan at Sandusky, Sanilac county, and he continued as a valued execu-
tive of this institution for a period of ten years, when he retired to as-
sume the office of probate judge of the county, a position to which he was
elected in 1890, and of which he continued the efficient and valued incum-
bent for a long period of eight years, at the expiration of which he re-
signed, after an administration that had gained to him the highest of
popular approval and that had given him secure vantage ground in the
esteem of the people of Huron county. The Judge has ever been a stal-
wart and effective advocate of the principles of the Democratic party,
but his supporters and friends have known no partisan lines in com-
mending his work as a public official. At the time of his retirement
from the probate court a local newspaper gave the following statements :
"The voluntary withdrawal from the political arena by Judge James
McCaren takes one of the most prominent and influential Democrats in
the 'Thumb' of Michigan out of politics. There is not another Demo-
crat in this section of the state who could have accomplished what Judge
IMcCaren has in the past eight years in overcoming a Republican ma-
jority of ,3,500 in this county and stepping gracefully into the office of
judge of probate for two terms, while the remainder of his ticket was
overwhelmingly defeated. As a citizen Judge McCaren is quiet and
unassuming, always willing to put his shoulder to the wheel to advance
any interest which he believes to be for the betterment of Sanilac county.
* * * As judge of probate he has made one of the best, if not the
best, presiding officers that ever graced the chair of that court. Fair,
just, upright and honorable in the handling of the large number of es-
886 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
tates that have come before him, with very few appeals, has made him
an ideal judge. Many a widow and orphan to whom he has given
friendly and sound advice have made themselves his life-long friends.
Many an estate has been kept intact and not been depleted by unneces-
sary legislation, and this result has been accomplished by the gracious
counsel given by Judge J^IcCaren to the contestants. We believe that in
the whole history of the county no public servant has ever stepped down
and out and carried with him more kindly words of commendation than
the Hon. James ^McCaren."
Judge McCaren is a member of the directorate of the State Bank of
Snover, Sanilac county, and is a stockholder in the Bank of McGregor,
that county. In the autumn of 1909 he assisted in the organization of
the wholesale grocery house of Sleeper, IVIcCaren & Clark, of Bad Axe,
Huron county, to which thriving little city he removed with his family.
The business is incorporated under the laws of the state and the Judge
has been secretary and treasurer of the company from the time of its
organization. The business has had a wonderful development and the
house is now one of the largest of its kind in the "Thumb" of Michigan,
throughout which territon,- it controls a substantial and profitable trade,
based on honorable dealings and effective service. The well equipped
establishment carries adequate stock in each of its departments and it is
represented through its trade territory by five traveling salesmen. Judge
McCaren has proved a most careful and progressive executive and it is
largely due to his efforts that this wholesale business has been built up
lo its present substantial and constantly expanding proportions.
In the Masonic fraternity Judge ^McCaren has received the chivalric
degrees, being affiliated with the Bad Axe commander}- of Knights Tem-
plar, and he attends and supports the Presbyterian church, of which
his wife and children are members.
At Carsonville. Sanilac county, in the year 1881, was solemnized the
marriage of Judge McCaren to ]\Iiss Helen Graham, who was born at
Harbor Beach, Huron county, where her father, Robert Graham, was
a w-ell known miller and representative citizen. Judge and Mrs. Mc-
Caren became the parents of five children : Mary is the wife of Harry E.
Howe, who is a chemist by profession, and they reside in Rochester,
New York; Grace is the wife of Richard Sullivan, of Bad Axe, who is
a traveling salesman for the w'holesale grocery house of Sleeper, Mc-
Caren & Clark : W'inifred is the wife of Dr. Robert J. Quinn, who is
engaged in the practice of his profession at Burke, South Dakota ; and
Gertrude and Sandford remain at the parental home.
Daxiei. p. Deming. M. D. Large of mind and large of heart was
the distinguished physician and noble citizen to whom this memoir is dedi-
cated. For forty years he devoted himself to the practice of his profes-
sion at Cass City, Tuscola county, and his life was one of significant
consecration to the humane vocation of which he was one of the leading
representatives in this section of the state and which he honored and
dignified by his exalted character and great services. As a mere youth
Dr. Deming gave evidence of his intrinsic patriotism by entering the
Cnion senice as a soldier in the Civil \\'ar, and in all the relations of
Ijfe he ever afterward exemplified the same quality of loyalty that made
him a faithful and gallant soldier of the republic. His life history offers
both inspiration and incentive, and even the brief record possible of
incorporation in this publication cannot fail to bear its lesson. He was
the founder of the Pleasant Home hospital in Cass City and made this
a model institution for the alleviation of human suffering and distress.
HISTORY OF :\IICHIGAX 887
His was the deep and abiding sympathy that transcended mere emotion
to become an actuating power for helpfuhiess, and in his profession as
well as in his attitude as a citizen he stood for all that is best in human
thought and action.
Dr. Daniel P. Deming died at his home, on Seeger street. Cass City,
on Monday. December 22, 1913, aged 6g years, and the entire community
mourned liis loss with a sense of deep personal bereavement. His death
was the direct result of septic poisoning contracted only a few davs
previously, while in the discharge of his professional duties, and his
rine physical powers were indicated by the fact that prior to this time he
had not known a day's serious illness within a period of thirty-five years.
Dr. Deming was a scion of one of the fine old pioneer families of
Michigan and was born on a farm near Clarkston, Oakland county, this
state, on the i8th of December, 1844, so that he was sixty-five years of
age at the time when he was summoned from the stage of his mortal
endeavors, secure in the affectionate regard of all who knew him. His
parents were natives of the state of Xew York, which gave a very large
quota to the settlement of ^lichigan in the pioneer epoch of its history.
The lineage of the Doctor on tx)th the paternal and maternal sides is
traced back to staunch English origin and the respective families were
founded in America in the colonial days. The father, who was born near
the head of beautiful Seneca lake, New York, was a scion of about the
sixth generation of the Deming family in America, and in his native
state he learned the trade of carpenter and joiner. He came to ]\Iichigan
within a short period after the admission of the state to the Union and
became one of the prosperous pioneer farmers of Oakland county, where
he also followed the work of his trade. Both he and his wife passed the
residue of their lives in that county, and their names find place on the
roll of its sterling pioneers.
Dr. Deming was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm
which was the place of his nativity, and his early educational advantages
were those afforded in the common schools of the locality and period.
In the autumn of 1861, as a youth of sixteen years, he subordinated all
other ambitions to tender his services as a soldier in the Civil War. and
enlisted in Company I, Tenth Michigan \'olunteer Infantry. Concern-
ing his service the following data are available: "The regiment was or-
dered to report to General Halleck, at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, and
after taking part in the conflict at that point it became a part of the Army
of the Cumberland, first under General Rosecrans and later in the com-
mand of General Sherman. Dr. Deming served three years and nine
months and was one of those who took part in the march from Atlanta
to the sea. He was wounded in the battle of Resaca, Georgia, and re-
mained in the service until June, 1865, when, at the close of the war.
he returned home." The Doctor participated in many sanguinary en-
gagements marking the progress of the great internecine conflict and his
record as a vouthful soldier was marked Ijy utmost fidelity and patriotic
valor. In later years he perpetuated the more gracious memories and
associations of his soldier days by retaining membership in the Cass City
post of the Grand Army of the Republic, of which he was one of the
most appreciative and honored comrades.
After his return to Oakland county, at the age of twenty-one years.
Dr. Deming entered the high school at Clarkston, and in 1869 he was
graduated in this instittition. He thereafter devoted three terms to
teaching in the schools of Ottawa county, and his preliminary study of
medicine was carried forward under the preceptorship of Dr. O. C.
Joslyn, of St. Johns, Clinton county. In 1871 he was matriculated in
888 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
the medical department of the University of Michigan, and after taking
a two years' course he returned to St. Johns, where for one year he was
associated in practice with his former preceptor, Dr. Joslyn. He then
fortified himself further for his chosen calling by the completion of an
effective supplementarj' course at the Long Island Medical College in
Brooklyn, New York, his work at this institution being finished in 1883.
In the autumn of 1873 Dr. Deming established his residence at Cass
City, Tuscola county, and he called this place his home during the re-
mainder of his long and useful life. Here he rose to eminence in his
profession, to which his devotion was on a parity with his recognized
ability, and he was ever known as a most liberal and public-spirited
citizen. During the earlier years of his residence in Cass City he con-
ducted a drug store in connection with his professional activities, and
for several years he served as postmaster of the town. The Doctor
made judicious investments in local real estate, and in 1904 he remodeled
his business block on Seeger street converting the same into an ad-
mirably equipped private hospital, to which he gave the consistent name
of Pleasant Home hospital. He made this one of the noble institutions
of this part of the state and since his death it has been successfully con-
ducted by his widow, who is a trained nurse and who had long been his
able and valued coadjutor in much of his professional work. The hos-
pital privileges are extended to all physicians and its appointments in
every respect of the most modern type, with the best of sanitary pro-
visions and with facilities not usually found in towns of the population of
Cass City. Doctor Deming took special pride and interest in his hos-
pital, and made it a power for good in the community. Concerning the'
honored subject of this memoir the following estimate has been given:
"Dr. Deming had always been an active and energetic man, both men-
tallv and physically. Outspoken in his views, he was never afraid to
state his position on any public question, and his public spirit induced
him to give liberally of his time and labor to any movement which tended
for the betterment of the town and community. Several times his fellow
citizens honored him by election to positions of trust. He served as
village trustee, as a member of the board of education, as health officer
of both village and township, and as the incumbent of other offices. At
his funeral members of the Tuscola County Medical Society acted as
pallbearers and members of the Grand Army of the Republic as hon-
orary pallbearers. The remains were laid in the family \ault in Elk-
land cemetery."
Dr. Deming was a man of high intellectual attainments and of broad
and well defined opinions. He was humanity's friend and labored with
all of zeal and devotion for the aiding and uplifting of his fellowmen.
He was an appreciative student of histon,' and science and his private
library, general and professional, remains one of the most comprehen-
sive and select in Tuscola county. The Doctor had no love for money
for its own sake but duly valued it for the good uses to which it could
be applied. He won distinct success as one of the world's workers, and
his life was guided and governed by the highest principles. He had a
deep reverence for the spiritual verities, but was not bound by dogma or
creed, showing his independence of thought by acknowledging himself
an agnostic and ever standing ready to defend his convictions, though
giving to others the right to think as they would. There was naught of
bigotry or intellectual intolerance in his makeup, and he made his life
count for good in its every relation. He was a Republican in his politi-
cal allegiance and was identified with the Tuscola County Medical So-
ciety, the Michigan State ^Medical Society and the American Medical
Association.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 889
On the i8th of October, 1877, was solemnized the marriage of Dr.
Deniing to I^Iiss Clara A. Armstrong, daughter of James and Ordell
Armstrong, who came to Michigan from Indiana. Dr. and Mrs. Dem-
ing became the parents of tive children, — Harriet C, Irene H., Charles
Orrin, Margaret A., and William C. Three of the children survive the
honored father, Irene having died in infancy and Margaret having passed
awav in February, 1908. Besides his wife and the three children Dr.
Deming is survived by four brothers,— Henry, of Missouri; EHsha, of
Silverwood, Alichigan ; Egbert, of Everett, this state ; and Orrin, of Oak-
land county. A number of years prior to his demise Dr. Deming erected
a fine residence of eighteen rooms, in which his family still mahitain
their home, and this beautiful residence is one of the tnost attractive in
Cass City. Mrs. Deming gives close attention to the Pleasant Home
hospital, which is a consistent monument to her honored husband.
Edw.\rd Goodsell Kay and E. E.^RL Kay. As bankers and business
men the Kay brothers are among the most active leaders in the little city
of Bancroft, where the older is cashier and the younger brother is assist-
ant cashier of the State Exchange Bank. They belong to one of the
oldest families in Shiawassee county, the Kays having located here during
the decade of the forties when all the country was new, and when the
services and labors of the first generation were largely devoted to pioneer
tasks. The Kay brothers belong to the third generation in this part
of the state, and their enterprise and progressiveness are as valuable
to the modern community as the work and activities of their father and
grandfather were to their respective times.
Edward Goodsell Kay was born February 21, 1886. Though of an
old family of Shiawassee county, his birthplace was Brown county in
Dakota territory. His parents, Fred M. and Jessie (Goodsell) Kay are
now living at Corunna, the county seat of Shiawassee county. The father
was born in Shiawassee county, while the mother is a native of the state
of Pennsylvania. Grandfather Edward F. Kay came to Michigan during
the early forties, locating in Shiawassee county, where his time was
alternatelv given to farming and to preaching the gospel in the Presby-
terian church. He was one of the old-time circuit riders, traveling about
from place to place, and preaching the gospel to scattered communities
in what was then an almost wilderness country. He was a man of ex-
ceptional education and an expert accountant, being employed for ten
vears by the Union Trust Company and the James Knoll Dry Goods
Company, of Detroit. The last ten years of his life were spent in asso-
ciation with the Hutton Real Estate Company of Detroit. Mr.^ Fred M.
Kay, the father, after finishing his education, became a victim to the
western fever, and went out to Dakota territory, where he rnet Jessie
Goodsell, whom he afterwards married, and he took up a claim in Brown
county, and there his son Edward was born. Three years were spent
on that claim, at the end of which time he sold out and engaged in the
hotel business at Hecla, where he was known both as a landlord and as
the local postmaster. His residence in Dakota territory continued alto-
gether for five years, at the end of which time he returned to the old
home in Shiawassee county, bought and operated a farm for ten years,
and in 1901 began the grocery business in Corunna. There his establish-
ment has been one of the prosperous stores in the retail district for more
than ten years. Public honors have also come to Fred M. Kay, in the
shape of township offices, and twelve years of service on the school
board. His politics is Republican, and fraternally his associations are
with the Knights Templar Masons, and the family worship in the Bap-
tist church. There were just two sons in the family, Edward G. and E.
Earl.
890 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Edward G. Kay was a child when the family returned to Shiawassee
county, and most of his education was attained in the Corunna public
schools, in addition to which he had business training in the Owosso
Business College. Early in his youth his ambition was definitely directed
to a career as a banker, and what he has accomplished at a very early
age has been due to the direction and concentration of his progress along
one line. In the vacations while he was attending school, he learned the
trade of machinist, and also of packer. His first regular work was as
a stenographer for Hon. John T. McCurdy, a prominent attorney at
Corunna. His work with Mr. McCurdy was in 1906, after wdiich he
spent eight months in apprenticeship and without pay as stenographer
and assistant bookkeeper for the Old Corunna State Bank. That was
his introduction to the business which he had chosen for his life's occu-
pation. At the end of the eight months, his abilities had been demon-
strated so that he was made regular bookkeeper. Two and a half years
later in 1909, he took a place as assistant cashier for the State Exchange
Bank of Bancroft, and in January, 191 1, was made cashier of this im-
portant local institution. Since that time -\Ir. Kay has had entire charge
of the management of the bank.
While all his time is devoted to business afifairs, his recreation is af-
forded by automobiling. and he is one of the vigorous and public spirited
young citizens of the town. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Masons,
the Knights of Pythias, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks. Financially his interests also include investments in a mercantile
establishment in Corunna. Mr. Kay has membership in the Baptist
church, is a Republican in politics, and at the present time a member of
the town council of Bancroft.
E. Earl Kay, the younger brother of Edward G., was born in Brown
County, Dakota, in 1888, had a public school education at Corunna, Michi-
gan, and his business career likewise started in the Old Corunna State
Bank. Later he was bookkeeper with the State Bank of Perry, Michigan,
and in February, igii, succeeded his brother as assistant cashier and book-
keeper for the State Exchange Bank of Bancroft.
Mr. E. E. Kay was married March 18, 1913, to Miss Kathrine Marie
Jillson, a native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and a daughter of Calvin E. Jill-
son. Mrs. Kay is a graduate in music from Ypsilanti Normal College,
and is an active member of the Congregational Church choir. Mr. Kay,
like his father and brother, is affiliated with the Masonic Order and the
Knights of Pythias. He has one of the pleasant homes to be found in
the thriving little town of Bancroft.
John Hir.\m DeH.vrt. Fr.-\nk K. DeH.vrt. The largest mercan-
tile enterprise in the city of Vernon in Shiawassee county is conducted
by the DeHart Brothers. Their enterprise in this locality has been con-
tinuous for more than thirty years. With a broad experience and abil-
ity in business they have united the basic principles of square dealing and
strictest integrity, and year after year have served the community both
in the capacity of merchants, and as public spirited citizens.
John Hiram DeHart was born October 13, 1847, in Wilcox county.
Alabama, a son of Jacob and Frances Jane (Taylor) DeHart. Both
parents were born on Staten Island, New York, and after their marriage
settled in Wilcox county, Alabama. His father, a carriage maker by
trade followed that vocation thirteen years in Alabama, and then early
after the discovery of gold on the Pacific Coast, \vent out to California,
and returned after two years, with more than the average profit made
by such ventures. His little fortune as a gold seeker was invested in a
fine farm in Washtenaw county, ^lichigan, near Salem. It was con-
HISTORY OF MICI-IIGAN 891
ducted successfully, and was increased in acreage, and the senior DeHart
continued as one of the prosperous farmers and leading citizens of
Washtenaw county, until his death in 1879. His wife followed him m
death in 1880. Their remains rest in Rose township in Oakland county.
There were seven children, and the only survivors are the two brothers
now engaged in business at Vernon.
John H. DeHart was a small child when the family moved to Mich-
gan, and his early education was received in the Union schools of Fen-
ton,' and Genesee county. At the age of nineteen, having qualified him-
self for teaching, he followed that vocation nine winter terms at Grand
Blanc in Genesee county. The summer months were spent in work on
the farm, and finally with his savings he opened a small stock of drugs
in Holly, with a partner, under the firm name of DeHart and Salisbury.
Six months later the partnership was dissolved, and Mr. DeHart opened
a combination drug and grocery store in North Newburg, in Shiawassee
county. That was his location three years. In 1879 his stock was re-
moved to \'ernon. There he engaged 'in business on a larger scale, with
George Cooper as partner under the name of Cooper and DeHart. In
1881, Mr. Cooper sold his interests to Frank DeHart, and the firm of
DeHart Brothers was continued with excellent success ever since. Theirs
is the largest grocery and drug business in \'ernon, and their stock is
housed in their own brick block. They also own a fine farm in \'ernon
township, and pleasant homes in the city.
John H. DeHart has always interested himself in community afifairs,
served twelve years as superintendent of the county poor house, and has
held the offices of township clerk and treasurer. In earlier years his
political support was given to the Democratic party, but he is now an
e(|ually ardent Prohibitionist. For thirty-three years his official jiiem-
bershi'p in the Methodist Episcopal church lias kept him in the office of
steward.
Mr. John H. DeHart has been three times married. In 1873 he
became the husband of Louisa H. Chappel, who died in i893,_ leaving
one daughter, Clara Belle, wife of Guy A. Norton, of Detroit. The
second wife was ]\Iiss Carrie H. Person, who died in September, 1904.
The present Mrs. DeHart was formerly Miss Emma R. Strong, a native
of Vernon, and a daughter of Dr. Harrington and Sarah W. (Clark)
Harrington, the Harrington family ha\ing laeen among the pioneers of
Shiawassee county, and having owned and resided on one farm for half
a century. Mr. DeHart during his long career has been very active in
the upbuilding of his home town, and his name in that community is a
synonym for energetic enterprise and good citizenship.
Frank DeHart, the younger of the two brothers was born June 26,
1853, at Salem, Washtenaw county, Michigan, and was educated in the
schools at Fenton. From the age of seventeen until twenty-eight he
lived with his parents and was associated with his father on the farm.
Then in 1881 he left the farm and bought the Cooper interests and be-
came a partner with his brother. He is owner of a half interest in both
the farm and the store at Vernon.
On June 27, 1881, occurred the marriage of Frank DeHart with Miss
Alary Mead. She was born in Genesee county, and her parents, Ezra
and Elizabeth (Davis) Alead, were among the early settlers of Genesee
county, her father long a prominent farmer and now deceased.- Airs.
Alead lives at Grand Blanc. Two children have been born to Air. and
Mrs. DeHart, Edith and Ruth. In politics his support is given to the
Democratic party, his church is the Alethodist, and he is a member of
the Independent Order of Foresters, and for two years served as town-
ship treasurer.
892 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Captain Frederick Dana Standish. Long prominent in business,
athletic and general social affairs of Detroit, Captain Standish belongs to
one of the pioneer Michigan families and is secretary and treasurer of
the Kurtz Paper Box Company, a large and important local industry of
which he was one of the organizers more than twenty years ago. His
name has long been prominent in Michigan on account of his splendid
record as an official with the Michigan Naval Reserves from the incep-
tion of that organization until a few years ago, and also on account of
his record in amateur water sports, having for years stood as one of the
crack oarsmen in the country.
Frederick Dana Standish was born at Romeo, Macomb county, Michi-
gan, November 15, 1852. He is in the seventh generation from tlie Cap-
tain Miles Standish, of the "courtship" fame, and is a great-grandson of
Samuel Standish. who made an interesting record as a Revolutionary
soldier. His father, the late John D. Standish, who was born in New
York state October i, 1818, and died at Detroit December 2, 1884, be-
came a pioneer settler in Oakland county of the territory of Michigan in
1836. was a teacher for several years, later became a merchant at Pontiac
and at Romeo, moved to Detroit about 1859, was in the commission trade,
also a pork packer, and invested the proceeds of a successful business
career in pine lands, becoming an extensive lumber operator and estab-
lishing the first saw mill in Otsego county. The town of Standish in
Saranac county was founded by him and named in his honor. From 1880
tmtil his death he served first as city assessor and then as a member of
the board of assessors of Detroit, and at the time of his death was presi-
dent of the old Detroit Market Bank and a director in the Detroit Fire
and Marine Insurance Company. He was married at Pontiac in 1841 to
Miss Emma L. Darrow. of Connecticut, who died July 25, 1884.
When the family moved to Detroit Frederick D. Standish was about
si.x years old. His education was ac<iuired in the public schools, includ-
ing attendance at the old Capitol high school, which occupied the building
formerly utilized as the Capitol of the state when Detroit was the seat
of government. He also attended the Mount Pleasant Military Academy
in Sing Sing, New York. After a varied experience in business at De-
troit, in 1892 Mr. Standish was one of the organizers of the Kurtz Paper
Box Com]>any, and has been treasurer from the time of incorporation, and
for a number of years has been secretary and treasurer of the company.
Flis success as a business man is not the only fact which gives him a
high place in Detroit citizenship. As one of the crack amateur oarsmen
in the United States, he made a reputation that was national in this form
of athletics, and has always been vitally interested in both land and aquatic
sports. In 1868, when about sixteen years old, he first showed special
skill with the oars, and made his first public appearance in 1871. His
regular participation in regattas and other aquatic sports continued up
to 1896, and during that time in all the more important amateur events
held from Duluth to Xew Orleans and from Canada to the city of Wash-
ington he pulled an oar either as an individual or as member of a crew,
and helped to win many trophies for his home organization.
When in the full tide of his honors in this branch of sports, the follow-
ing editorial appeared in the Spirit of the Times of New York, on August
23, 1890:
"Mr. F. D. Standish of Detroit (Mich.) Boat Club, the latest addition
to the executive committee of the National Association of Amateur Oars-
men, though still a young man, is a veteran oarsman and his record has
never been beaten. After several minor club races he made his first really
public appearance as an oarsman at Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, July 12,
187 1, in the third annual regatta of the Northwestern Amateur Rowing
Association, where his six-oared crew finished fourth for the association
TBI HXW laVL
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 893
championship. His first successful efforts were in the fifth annual regatta
of the N. W. A. R. Association at Toledo July 23rd and 24th, 1873, where
he won the junior fours and sixes and was second in the senior sixes.
Since then he has rowed and won races every season and now in 1890, in
the twentieth consecutive year of his racing career, he wins the senior
pairs of the Mississippi Valley A. R. A. regatta at Duluth, Minnesota,
July 23rd, the senior pairs and fours at the Xorthwestern regatta at De-
troit, Mich., August 5th and 6tli, the senior pairs at Canadian Association
regatta at Montreal, Canada, August nth, and the senior championship
pairs at the National regatta on Lake Quinsigamond, at Worcester, Mass.,
August nth. Did any other amateur ever row for twoscore years and
celebrate his twentieth successive season by winning five senior races in
open amateur regattas, including one national championship ?"
The records wdiich Mr. Standish established and the medals won by
him made his name well known among all followers of this branch of sport,
and he continued to serve for a number of years as a member of the execu-
tive board of the National Association of American Oarsmen. It might
also be added he began his forty-sixth consecutive season January i, 1914,
by rowing a racing shell two miles over the course on Detroit river. Dur-
ing the World's Fair at Chicago in 1893 he won, with Mr. Frank Lyon,
the pair oared championship in tiie world's regatta.
It was apparently only following out the bent of these earlier activities
and associations which led Mr. Standish to his interest and prominent
participation in the Michigan Naval Reserve.. In February, 1894, he
became one of the organizers and charter members of the' Michigan Naval
Reserve, which had been authorized by Congress some years previously
with the object of stimulating interest in the navy. Up to that time
the states of Massachusetts and New York had been the only ones where
such reserves had been organized. Mr. Standish was elected ensign upon
the completion of organization, and then advanced to lieutenant, junior
grade. The government turned over to the reserve the old sloop of war
Michigan, in which the cruises were made, and the general course of
instruction and training conducted. So much enthusiasm was aroused
that Theodore Roosevelt, then assistant secretary of the navy, came out
and made a cruise with the Michigan reserve, and, realizing how inade-
qtiate the Michigan was, used his influence so that in 1897 the U. S. S.
Yantic was turned over as a more appropriate training ship for the
reservists. Upon the declaration of war with Spain the Michigan Naval
Reserve offered to man a ship, and, upon the acceptance of their ofl^er by
the Navy Department, were the first to start from the west for active
service.
At the enlistment of the reserve into the regular service, the officers
were set back to subordinate positions and regular naval officers given
command, Mr. Standish being commissioned an ensign in the regular
service. The Michigan reserve, with its eleven officers and two hundred
and seventy men, were detailed for service on the auxiliary cruiser
Yosemite, and were on duty about Havana, Santiago, and also in Porto
Rican waters. In January, 1902, Congress granted a bounty of fifty
thousand dollars to the crew of the Yosemite for the sinking of the Spanish
vessel Antonio Lopez off San Juan, Porto Rico. Mr. Standish was with
the reserve through all its service, and after his return from the war was
promoted to executive officer of the Yantic with the title of lieutenant
commander, and in 1900 succeeded Commander Strathearn Hendrie in
the command of the Michigan Naval Brigade. Under his direction the
naval reserve gradually outgrew its quarters, and in 1908 he went to
Washington to make application for a larger and more modem ship. As
a result of his mission. Secretary of the Navy Newberry assigned one of
Admiral Dewey's captures, the Don Juan de Austria, which at the time
894 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
was undergoing thorough repairs and overhauhng at the Portsmouth
navy yard, for the use of the Michigan reserves. Mr. Standish was put
in command on the ship on its voyage through the St. Lawrence and the
Great Lakes to Detroit, and the safe conduct of the Don Juan from
Atlantic waters to the docks in Detroit was an exploit which has an
important place in the annals of the Michigan Reserve and reflected great
credit upon the skill of its commander. For the purpose Mr. Standish
took twenty men to Portsmouth, where he fitted out the ship for the trip,
and after all the details were perfected Executive Officer Duftield came
on with the balance of the crew, numbering over one hundred men. It
required exactly two weeks to get the Don Juan from Portsmouth to
Detroit, and it was a delicate and difficult undertaking, taxing the skill of
the commanding officer many times. In passing through the locks it was
necessary to ligliten the ship, since its draft was fifteen and a half feet,
while some of the locks had only fourteen feet of water above their sills.
Much praise was given to Mr. Standish for the able manner in which he
handled the ship.
With the arrival of the Don Juan a second battalion of the reserves
was formed, and Mr. Standish w^s then advanced to the rank of Captain,
an office which has since been abolished by action of the legislature.
Captain Standish retired from the reserve in lyio, after having served
with distinction and varied usefulness for seventeen years. He is now
commander of the ^lichigan Division of the Naval and Military of the
Spanish-American war and Senior \'ice Commander in Chief of the
National Commandery. Captain Standish also served on the staff of
Governor Bliss, and on that of Governor Warner for the entire three
terms of the latter's administration, and during this time made many trips
throughout the country with these governors. He was for ten years a
memjjer of the State Military Board.
On December 17, 1878, Captain Standish married Miss Carrie Hub-
bard, daughter of the late J. S. Hubbard of Detroit, for many years super-
intendent of the Michigan division of the American Express Company.
Mr. Standish and wife have two sons : William Colburn Standish, now
manager of the Detroit branch of the United States Tire Company,
married Miss Marion Eddy, daughter of Frank VV. Eddy of Detroit, and
has one son, Frank Eddy Standish ; Sherwood Hubbard Standish, secre-
tary of a steel castings company in Wisconsin, by his marriage to Miss
Mary Boyd Bransford, daughter of C. W. Bransford of Owensboro, Ken-
tucky, has one daughter, N'irginia Caroline.
NoLTON BiGELOw. For more than a quarter of a century has Mr.
Bigelow been numbered among the progressive and representative mer-
chants of Cass City, Tuscola county, where he conducts a substantial
and extensive business as a dealer in hardware, stoves, ranges, farm
implements, etc. His two sons are now associated with him in the en-
terprise and are well upholding the high prestige of the family name,
which has been most prominently and worthily linked with the civic and
business interests of Cass City and which stands exponent of the best
ideals of business activity.
Nolton Bigelow claims the old Empire state as the place of his
nativity, but he has been a resident of Michigan since infancy, his par-
ents having been numbered among the honored pioneers of Oakland
county, where they established their home within ten years after the
admission of the state to the Union. He whose name initiates this ar-
ticle was born in Dutchess county, New York, on the 31st of March,
1848, and is a son of Edmund James Bigelow and Eleanor (Ikitler)
Bigelow, the former of whom was born in the state of New ^'ork and
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 895
the latter in England. Edmund J. Bigelow was reared and educated in
Dutchess county, New York, where his marriage was solemnized and
where he was employed in cotton mills. In 1847 he came to Michigan
and purchased a tract of land in Oakland county. After erecting a
pioneer log house he returned to New York for his family, who forth-
with came with him to the new home. The family endured the vicissi-
tudes of pioneer life and the father reclaimed his land to cultivation,
becoming one of the substantial farmers and representative citizens of
Oakland county, where he reared his children to lives of usefulness and
honor and gave to them the best possible advantages. Edmund J. Bige-
low was the owner of one of the fine farms of Oakland county at the
time of his death and was seventy-five years of age when he was sum-
moned to eternal rest. His first wife, mother of the subject of this re-
view, died in 1856, and his second wife survived him by a number of
years. Of his six children only two are now living, Nolton, of this
review, and Mrs. Marietta Chafee, who is the_ widow of John Chafee
and who resides in the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
To the pioneer schools of Oakland county Nolton Bigelow is in-
debted for his early educational privileges, and this discipline was sup-
plemented by his attending the public schools in the city of Detroit_ for
two and one-half years. His first independent earnings were obtained
through his labors as a farm hand in Oakland county, and his work in
this way was instituted when he was eighteen years of age. Prior to that
he had assisted in the work and management of his father's farm., and
he had waxed strong of mind and body through the invigorating dis-
cipline involved. Finally he engaged in farming on his own account,
and he was a successful representative of the great basic industry of
agriculture, in Oakland county, until 1888, when he sold his interests
there to turn his attention to merchandising. In the year mentioned Mr.
Bigelow left his farm and removed to Cass City, Tuscola county. He
had purchased a stock of hardware and upon coming to Cass City he
consolidated this with that of James P. Howe, with whom he became
associated under the firm name of Howe & Bigelow. Under such con-
ditions was laid the foundation for the large and prosperous business
which he now controls and which places him among the leading mer-
chants of Tuscola county, where his reputation for fair and honorable
dealing has never been assailed and constitutes his best commercial asset.
At the expiration of seven years Mr. Howe retired from the firm, his
interest in the business being purchased by his partner, Mr. Bigelow.
who thereafter conducted the enterprise in an individual way until he
gave an interest in the enterprise to each of his two sons, who have
proved able coadjutors and are known as energetic and popular young
business men. Mr. Howe, the former partner of Mr. Bigelow, is now
a resident of California.
Mr. Bigelow erected the substantial and commodious brick building,
of two stories, in which his hardware business is conducted, and he is
the owner also of other valuuable realty in liis home city, including his
attractive residence. He has not hedged himself in with the mere afl'airs
of personal advancement but has stood exponent of utmost civic loy-
alty and public spirit, — a citizen always ready to lend his aid in the
furtherance of measures for the general good of the community. In
politics he was arrayed as a supporter of the Republican party until the
organization of the Progressive party, in 1912, when he transferred his
allegiance to the latter in consonance with his convictions and his ad-
miration for the party's distinguished leader, Colonel Theodore Roose-
velt. He and his family hold membership in the First Methodist Epis-
896 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
copal church of Cass City, and he is a valued member of its board of
trustees.
The year 1871 bore record of the marriage of Mr. Bigelow to Miss
Sarah A. Foster, daughter of Samuel Foster, who was a pioneer farmer,
as well as a representative contractor and builder of Oakland county.
Mr. and Mrs. Bigelow became the parents of three children, — Samuel
F., Frederick A. and Eleanor.
Samuel F. Bigelow, the elder of the two sons, was afforded the ad-
vantages of the Cass City public schools, including the high school, and
he was reared in the business conducted by his father, so that he is
familiar with all details of the same. He became associated with the
conduct of the hardware store upon leaving school and finally was ad-
mitted to partnership, as was also his brother, the firm name having
since been N. Bigelow & Sons. Samuel F. wedded Miss Jennie Walms-
ley, who was born and reared in Tuscola county, a daughter of Andrew
Walmsley. The five children of this union are Florence, Laura, Alice,
Andrew and Charles.
Frederick A. Bigelow likewise completed the curriculum of the Cass
City high school and his business career has been in every sense similar
to that of his brother. He married Miss Caroline Fenn, who was born
at Shelburne Falls, Franklin county, Massachusetts, and who is a
daughter of Rev. James W. and Elizabeth (Hawley) Fenn, now resi-
dents of Cass City, and the father being a retired clergyman of the
Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. and Mrs. Frederick A. Bigelow have
a winsome little daughter, Eleanor, who was born February 2, igii. Mrs.
Bigelow is a musician of much talent, devotes considerable attention to
teaching the "divine art" and is at the present time chorister of the
Methodist Episcopal church of Cass City. The representatives of the
Bigelow family are popular and valued factors in the best social life of
the community, and he whose name introduces this article has played
an important ])art in the progressive movements that have brought ad-
vancement and prosperity to Cass City.
Charles T. P.arris. Georc;e Willi.\m P.\rris. The Vernon Mill-
ing Company is now a valuable local industry in Shiawassee county.
When it was bought by the older of the two Parris brothers, about seven
years ago, the property was in a run-down condition, and was no longer
considered a "going concern." It requires special enterprise to build
up a decadent industry. Charles T. Parris was a practical mill man, had
a thorough experience in all branches of the business, and on taking
charge soon discovered and eliminated the sources of waste and in a year
or so had the mill on a paying basis. About three years ago his brother
George W. joined him and they have since expanded their enterprise,
dealing in grain, coal, and various other products, and now do a flourish-
ing trade in all the cotuitry about Vernon.
Charles T. Parris was born in Gratiot county, Michigan, August 16,
1859, a son of George William and Eliza (Murdon) Parris, natives of
England, who came to Michigan in 1849. George Parris who died in
Gratiot county in 1859 was an honored and thrifty laboring man, but
died too soon to provide for his family as he would have desired. His
widow passed away in 1898. There were five children. Joseph C,
the oldest, is now a merchant and real estate man at Grand Rapids ;
the next is George William ; Emma, died at the age of twenty-one
months ; Elizabeth died at thirteen years ; and the youngest is Charles
T. Parris.
Charles T. Parris was educated in the public schools of Genesee
county, and in the Flint schools. Owing to his father's early death, it
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 897
became necessary that all members of the family become self-supporting
as soon as possible, and when thirteen years old Charles T. Parris began
making his own way. His first employment was as a farm hand, at seven
dollars a month. There were some years of interruption to his school-
ing, and he entered the school of Flint at the age of nineteen, and was
a student there for one year. He then began his mercantile experience,
and for three years he was employed at small pay as a clerk for William
McD. Edwards. His next work, lasting one year, was a second clerk in
the shoe department for the Smith, Bridgman & Company, and follow-
ing that he got his first practical experience in the milling business when
he took charge of the books and shipments and other details for the
Thread Flour Milling Company of Flint. At the end of three years,
the firm sent him to Bay City to take charge of a wholesale fruit and
produce business. At the end of three years he returned to Flint, and
became junior partner in the firm of Kendrick, Leadbetter & Company,
dealers in produce, eggs and poultry. His interest as partner was sold
out at the end of one year, and in March, 1890, Mr. Parris rented a
grain elevator at Durand. He continued the grain business at Durand
for eleven years, and later he bought a clothing store at Durand, in com-
pany with Air. A. B. Freeman, that firm conducting business as Free-
man & Parris for five years.
In 1906 Mr. Parris traded his interest in the clothing business for a
half interest in the Vernon Flour Mills. In 1910 his brother George
joined him as equal partner, and under their combined management the
mills have been rehabilitated, and are now a modern one hundred barrel
capacity mill, with a standard product that has the deserved high repu-
tation and ready sales throughout this section of Michigan. In addition
to the milling business, the brothers have added a stock of coal, tile, salt,
and cement, have built in the vicinity of the brick mill warehouses and
sheds, and introduced many improvements that marked the progressive
character of their enterprise.
Mr. Charles T. Parris served as township treasurer, two years, is
now village trustee, and a member of the school board. Politically his
allegiance is given to the Prohibition party. He is a trustee of the
Methodist church at Vernon, is affiliated with the Knights of the Mac-
cabees, and is county chairman of the Prohibition party. Mr. Parris was
married in 1888 to Miss Hattie A. Freeman, who was born in Muskegon
county, a daughter of DeWitt Freeman. Mrs. Parris died in 1896, and
on August 16, 1898, Mr. Parris married a sister, Clara M. Freeman.
There are two children by the second marriage. Susan Alice Gwendolen,
and Charles Llewellyan DeWitt Parris.
George William Parris, the partner of Charles T. in the large business
conducted under their joint name in Vernon was born on the Chipman
farm in a little red cottage in Oakland county, January 31. 1853. His
early schooling was in Ionia county, in the Maple Rapids District, and
at the age of seven he started to work on the farm of Albert G. Russell,
with whom he lived. After one year of farm labor, he spent two vears
as clerk for Chatterton Brothers, at Hubhardston. Jewett Chatterton
then put him in charge of his store at Muir, and Mr. Parris remained
one year with Chatterton's successor, John W. Cowman. Failing health
then caused him to give up the confining duties of a store, and through
one year in the pine woods of northern Michigan, where he followed
the rugged work of a lumber camp, his health w-as restored, and he re-
turned with one hundred dollars in savings, this being put out at inter-
est. Jewett Chatterton again employed him in his store at Muir, and
at the age of twenty-five Mr. Parris bought a half interest with his
brother Joseph, in Belltown. Two years later the stock was moved to
898 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Kent City, where the brothers did a successful business. On May 12,
1885, Mr. Parris sold his interests to his brother Joseph, and then
bought a small place in Kent City, and during the summer season, oper-
ated a tubular well boring outfit, and the winter months were spent in
buying furs. That was his chief line of enterprise for several years, and
was conducted as a profitable business. In 1890 Mr. Parris traded his
home in Kent City for a farm in Muskegon coimty, and continued as a
farmer for eighteen years. Sellng out in Muskegon county in 1910,
he has since had a half interest in the mill and general supply business
at Vernon. On November 2, 1882, at the home of the bride in Muskegon
county, Mr. Parris married Addie Stinson, a daughter of Thomas C. and
Katherine (All) Stinson, a prominent pioneer family. Thomas C. .Stin-
son, who served as a body guard for General Thomas during the Civil
War, was killed in a railway accident and died October 18, 1900, at the
age of seventy-seven. His wife died November 26, 1895, at the age of
seventy-two. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Parris, namely:
Winnie I., wife of Aliller L. Hurst of Battle Creek; Thomas G., a miller
employed at the Parris Mills in \'ernon ; Faye F., a bookkeeper in Battle
Creek : and Bessie E., at home. All the children were given excellent
educational advantages, and the family are members of the IMethodist
church.
Joseph Frutchev. The attributes that make for worthy and un-
equivocal success have been significantly manifested in the career of
Mr. Frutchey, who has been dependent upon his own powers and re-
sources in winning advancement and who is now numbered among the
essentially representative and influential business men of Tuscola county,
where he is secretary and general manager of the Cass City Grain Com-
pany. His character and achievement will entitle him to specific rec-
ognition in this history.
Mr. Frutchey was born near Easton, Northampton county, Penn-
sylvania, on the 27th of September, 1872, and is a son of Amuel and
Lydia S. (Ettinger) Frutchey, both of whom were born and reared
in the old Keystone state, where the respective families were identified
with agricultural pursuits. In 1878 Amuel Frutchey came with his fam-
ily to Michigan and established his residence on a farm of 120 acres,
in Oakland county. He rented this property and his energy and busi-
ness acumen eventually enabled him to gain distinctive success, though
he had his full share of hardships and vicissitudes. After working
the rented farm two years he purchased 40 acres of land, one mile
north of the village of Big Beaver, Oakland county, but this property
he sold one j^ear later, then returning to the place which he had pre-
viously rented and which he gave his supervision for another year. With
his savings he then engaged in the buying and shipping of cattle, the
most of his stock being bought in the "Thumb" counties of Michigan
and the cattle being driven through to Detroit for final shipment or for
sale in that market. By his indefatigable industry and good manage-
ment Mr. Frutchey began to accumulate an appreciable capital, and
after about one year in the cattle business he removed to Deford, Tus-
cola county. About three miles southeast of this village he finally
purchased 240 acres of fine land, and in addition to giving careful atten-
tion to the cultivation and improvement of his farm he also continued
successful work as a buyer and shipper of cattle. Three years after
he had established his residence in Tuscola county he purchased the stock
and business of a general merchandise store in the village of Deford,
and he conducted there a successful trade for the ensuing three years,
at the expiration of which he sold his store, having in the meanwhile
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 899
continued the operation of his farm and also buying and shipping of
cattle. Upon disposing of his mercantile business Mr. Frutchey removed
to Cass City, where he engaged in the wholesale butter and egg business.
He purchased these products in large quantities and shipped by carload
lots to the Eastern markets. In 1895 he formed a partnership with Elmer
A. McGeorge and Alonzo H. Ale, both of Cass City, and they engaged
in the buying and shipping of grain and the maintenance of a well
equipped elevator in Cass City. The operations including the buying
and shipping of hay, wool and beans, as well as grain, and after the
lapse of a few years Mr. Frutchey purchased the interest of Mr. Ale
in the elevator and the business. The enterprise has since developed
into one of broad scope and much importance, and it has contributed
much to the civic and business prestige of Cass City. The firm have
erected elevators also at Gagetown, Kingston, Deford and Decker, and
in the latter two places the business of the concern includes also the
conducting of a successful lumber business, with well equipped yards.
The progressiveness of Amuel Frutchey has been on a parity with his
business sagacity and his dominating self-reliance, and he has been known
and honored as one of the most valued of the business men of Tuscola
county. In Deford he established the private bank of A. Frutchey &
Sons, and he is associated with his sons in the ownership of the Alpena
Ranch Co., Inc., which comprises 6,000 acres of land in Alpena and Al-
cona counties, and which is given largely to the breeding of high-grade
Hereford cattle. At Swartz Creek, Genesee county, the father and sons
are interested and operate a grain elevator, and the incidental business
is conducted under the title of the Swartz Creek Grain Company. Mr.
Frutchey and his sons, who are his enterprising and effective associates,
give employment to a corps of fifteen to twenty-five persons, in connec-
tion with their various business enterprises, and the senior member of
the firm is now living virtually retired, after long years of earnest and
productive endeavor, his large business interests being now in the prac-
tical charge of his sons, Joseph and Herbert, and he and his devoted
wife find pleasure and happiness in their beautiful home in Cass City,
where their circle of friends is coincident with that of their acquaint-
ances. Both are earnest member of the Lutheran church and in politics
Mr. Frutchey is a staunch advocate of the principles of the Democratic
party. Of the three children the eldest is Emma, who is the wife of
Frank Nettleton, of Cass City ; Joseph, of this review, was the next in
order of birth ; and Herbert has direct supervision of the elevator and
business of the firm at Swartz Creek.
Joseph Frutchey gained his early educational training in the district
schools of Oakland and Tuscola counties and when eighteen years of
age he entered the Cleary Business College, in the city of Ypsilanti,
where he completed a thorough course. At the age of 15 years he became
associated with the mercantile business conducted by his father at Deford,
and several years later he went to the city of Detroit, where he formed
a partnership with Herbert G. Harris and engaged in the wholesale
butter and egg business. Mr. Frutchey here showed that he had in-
herited much of the business ability of his father, and he matured his
powers through his association with an enterprise of important order.
After conducting a successful commission business for eight years he
sold his interest to Walter Throop, and the firm of Harris & Throop
is today one of the leading factors in the produce commission trade in
the Michigan metropolis.
After disposing of his business interests in Detroit Mr. Frutchey
removed to Brown City, Sanilac county, where he purchased the grain
elevator, the operation of which he continued one year, at the expiration
of which he made an advantageous sale of the property and business.
900 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
He then established his home at Cass City, where he has since been asso-
ciated with his father and brother in their various business operations,
which are of broad scope and wliich give him precedence as one of the
alert and representative business men of this section of the state.
In politics Air. Frutchey gives unfaltering allegiance to the Demo-
cratic party and he is liberal and progressive as a citizen. He has served
as a member of the village council of Cass City, but is essentially a
business man and has had no ambition for public office.
In the city of Detroit, on the i8th of January, 1899, Mr. Frutchey
was united in marriage to Miss Luella Atwell, who was born in Tuscola
county and who is a daughter of Ogden and Mary (Spencer) Atwell,
sterling pioneers of this part of the state. Mr. Atwell now resides at
Cass City and his wife is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Frutchey became
the parents of two children, one of whom died in infancy. Lydia Irene
was born in Detroit, in the year 1900, and is now attending the public
schools of Cass City.
John A. McLaughlin was born in Muskegon, Michigan, March iS,
1869; was educated at the High School in Muskegon, the Michigan Uni-
versity, and tlie Xew York Law .School. Admitted to the jiractice of law in
1893 ; has been City Attorney for the City of Muskegon for four consecu-
tive terms, and is at present City Attorney for the City of Muskegon
Heights. In politics a Democrat, he has been a member of the State
Democratic Committee, and was alternate delegate at large to the Na-
tional Democratic .Convention at Denver. He is a member of various
social and fratemaL-elubs, arid has' been active in movements for the
general welfare of tlife -commivuity.
\\'i-:llington Hexrv Holtzm.\n, M. D. For three decades. Dr. Holtz-
man has practiced medicine at \'ernon in Shiawassee county. In that
and adjoining townships, his character and name are known and hon-
ored by nearly every resident. His has been a typical country practice.
With a thorough skill and experience in the art of healing, he has taken
more than technical knowledge to the bedside of his patients and his
kindly personality and sound judgment and sympathetic counsel has
been the factors which have endeared him to so large a patronage in his
home vicinity.
Dr. Holtzman comes of one of the oldest American families, founded
in the province of Pennsylvania, during the colonial epoch. John Holtz-
man, founder of the American branch of the name, hailed from near
Strassburg, Germany, on the good ship Mary, in the year 1766. Well-
ington Henry Holtzman was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, at
Rehrensburg, August 21, 1849, ^ son of Jonathan and Luzette (Allen-
bach) Holtzman, both natives of Pennsylvania. The parents on both
sides traced their ancestry back eleven generations. In the Holtzman
line, John Holtzman, founder of the family, was born near Strassburg,
Germany, early in 1700. and after coming to America took a leading
part in the colonial life and enterprise of Pennsylvania. Alembers of
both families bore arms in the American cause during the Revolution,
and John Allenbach was taken prisoner by the Hessians, placed in an old
stone church, where he was so badly frozen that both legs were amputated
and brought about his death. Jonathan and Luzetta Holtzman came
west and settled at Brookston, Indiana, in 1869, when Dr. Holtzman
was twenty years of age. There the father continued his industry as
a stock buyer, and was an influential factor in the community. His
death occurred in 1880 at the age of sixty-seven, while his wife survived
a number of years, and died at the age of eighty-four. Both are buried
I riL
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 901
at Brookston. There were five children as follows: Sarah Holtzman,
who still lives on the old homestead at Brookston ; Isabella, wife of Alvin
Stout, of Brookston ; Dr. Holtzman ; Morris J., of Brookston ; and Emma
]., of Brookston.
The early education of Dr. Holtzman was obtained in Pennsylvania,
in the public schools, and in Freeland Seminary. His early experience
was in various occupations, and after reaching manhood he began the
study of medicine at Brookston and at the Ohio Medical College, where
he was graduated M. D. in 1878. The first five years of his practice
were at Brookston, at the end of which time failing health caused him
to spend one year in Florida. In 1883, Dr. Holtzman located at Vernon,
Michigan, and his residence has been continuous in that locality ever
since. Especially in his earlier years of practice, he was almost con-
stantly driving over the roads, about Vernon, and his practice is still
drawn from an extended country district in and about Vernon. The
doctor has membership in the county and state medical societies, and for
many years was affiliated with the Masonic Order. At his home and of-
fice he possesses a splendid private and professional library, one of the
best in Shiawassee county, and in spite of his business career he has
alway been a scholar and thinker, and has enjoyed the rich resources of
books as well as extended intercourse and knowledge of men and afl^airs.
Politically Dr. Holtzman is a Democrat in national matters, and takes
an independent stand with regard to county and state politics.
Dr. Holtzman in 1883 married Miss Clara Ellen Pettit, who was
born in Marion county, Ohio, a daughter of Ben and Patsy (Morris)
Pettit. The doctor has one daughter, Vida Lucetta. an accomplished
young woman whose record as an educator has made her known in sev-
eral states. A graduate of the University of Michigan, with the degree
of Bachelor of Arts, she has for six years been a teacher of languages,
teaching Gennan, Latin, English and French, in high schools and other
institutions in Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, and Indiana. She is also an
accomplished musician.
Rev. Joseph Reis. Thirty-seven years pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic
church at Saginaw, Father Reis has followed a life of service and benefit
to his church and the various communities in which his career has been
spent. There are few priests in Michigan whose active career has been
of longer duration, and in Saginaw the Sacred Heart Church, prosperous
in both its material and spiritual estaljlishment, is to a large degree a monu-
ment to the patient, hard-working and kindly endeavors of this consecrated
priest.
Father Reis was born April i, 1846, in the Kingdom of Wuerttemberg,
Germany, a son of Joseph and Theda (Bender) Reis. Both parents died
in Wuerttemberg, die father at the age of sixty-five and the mother at
sixty-three. The vocation of the elder Joseph Reis was that of stone
cutter, and for a number of years he was a contractor. Five of the eleven
children are now deceased, and those living are : George, who follows his
father's calling in the old home city and was a soldier in the war between
Prussia and Austria ; Crescence, the deceased wife of Andrew Vass of
Wuerttemberg; Mary, who came to America and for many years served
as housekeeper to her reverend brother, but before the death of her parents
returned to Germany, where she now lives ; Dominick, who for many years
has served the town of Eglingen as schuldheiss, or city mayor ; Lena, wife
of Alois Beuter, of Tannhausen, Wuerttemberg.
Father Joseph Reis as a boy was trained in the parochial schools at
Ellwangen and finished his literary education at the age of nineteen. After
that he served his king as a private soldier for one year, then returned to
902 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
college to refresh his studies in order to pass the examination for entrance
at the University of Tuebingen. At that time the Franco-Prussian war
broke out, and in order to avoid the troubles which afflicted the country,
he came to America in 1870 and located at Westmoreland, Pennsylvania,
where he studied with the community of the Benedictine Fathers. Later
he was called by Bishop Borges, of Detroit, and sent to Cincinnati, where
he completed his studies for the priesthood in 1872. After his ordination
in Detroit, at St. Mary's church, by Bishop Borges, his first position was
as assistant to Rev. Charles Bolte of Ionia. Fourteen months later he went
to Kalamazoo to become assistant to Rev. Father Turney, and seven weeks
later was assigned the pastorage of St. Joseph's church at Wyandotte,
Michigan. After three years at Wyandotte, Father Reis came to Saginaw
in 1876. Since then thirty-seven years have been devoted to the upbuild-
ing of Sacred Heart parish and to the complicated religious and benevo-
lent causes which center in that old and prominent church.
When he took charge it was a small parish, both in numbers and
influence, and is now one of the strongest in northeastern Michigan. The
church is a noble structure, built during the pastorate and largely through
the energetic work of Father Reis, and there is an excellent parochial
school with one hundred and fifty scholars and three sisters in charge.
Father Reis is a popular man in Saginaw, and by no means known alto-
gether within the limits of his creed. Although nearly threescore and ten
years of age, he is almost as active as ever, enjoys good society; his
scholarly tastes have been satisfied by his splendid private library and by
his interest in music. He is instructor of the male choir, of fourteen mem-
bers, and recently the choir organization, as an evidence of their esteem
for their instructor, presented him with a splendid leather chair, of which
he feels very proud. During his long and active life as a pastor Father
Reis has taken only one vacation of three months to rest. That was in the
year 1904, and was spent abroad in a visit to Rome and elsewhere in
Europe. He traveled alone and visited all the places of interest to him on
foot. A cherished plan of his now is to visit the Panama Canal and the
Fair at Sai: Francisco in 1915.
Stephex a. Lockwood. Every commercial community has its lead-
ers, a chosen few who as a result of their exceptional enterprise, their
unflagging attention to work, and by a concentration and direction of all
their energies towards one end, that of business precedence, eventually
pass and surpass their competitors in the same field, and thenceforth
have the right of way. In the little city of Lapeer, Stephen A. Lockwood
has enjoyed this distinctive place among men of business affairs, and it
is said that since he first entered commercial life in that town he has
transacted business with probably more people than any other local
merchant. His beginning was in a modest fashion, and he has survived
all the fluctuations of a business career, and even the hardship of a de-
structive fire.
Stephen A. Lockwood was born August 8. 1863, in Macomb county,
Michigan, son of Ebenezer S. and Maria (Crowell) Lockwood. The
parents, both natives of New York state, settled in Michigan in early
life, his father having come to Macomb county in 1853. A mechanic by
trade, he followed his calling in Macomb county until 1872, and then
moved to Lapeer which was his home until 1899. His first wife died
in 1876, and in 1878 he married Margaret Furgeson. From Michigan
the father and his wife moved out to North Dakota, and from that
state in 1889 went to Topeka. Kansas, where his death occurred Feb-
ruary 2, 1912. His body and that of his first wife now rest in the Mt.
Vernon cemetery in Macomb county. He was seventy-eight years old
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 903
at the time of his death. Fraternally he was affiliated with the Independ-
ent Order of Odd Fellows. The three children by the first marriage are :
Ella Lockwood, who died at Lapeer at the age of nineteen and is in-
terred at J\It. \'ernon; Frank Lockwood, who is in the clothing busi-
ness at Detroit ; and Stephen A.
The leading dry goods and general merchant of Lapeer received his
early education in the public schools of that city, and his practical
career as a wage earner and a worker in the vocations of life began when
he was thirteen years old. Joseph Armstrong, a dry goods merchant, was
his first employer, and with whom he remained for twelve years. Then
at the age of twenty-five he formed a partnership with George Mahon
in dry goods and general merchandise, and though they started with a
small stock they soon had a good trade. Three years later Mr. Lock-
wood retired from that partnership and bought the stock of George W.
Durkee, who up to that time had been one of Lapeer's leading merchants.
With this introduction into independent merchandising Mr. Lockwood
built a fine business block in the west end of town, and customers began
finding their way to that store in increasing numbers so that the -sec-
ond year it was necessary to enlarge his quarters. After remodeling his
store he had about six thousand square feet of space devoted to his gen-
eral lines of merchandise, and everything went smoothly and with steadily
enlarging prosperity and more substantial business credit for fifteen years.
Then a fire destroyed his stock and -badly damaged the building. This
was in igio. As soon as the insurance companies had made their set-
tlement, Mr. Lockwood sold what remained of his damaged stock — and
al once made arrangements to occupy the new building then under con-
struction by the Lapeer Saving Bank leasing the same for a number of
years. This block is known as the Lapeer Savings Bank building, and
cost about thirty-five thousand dollars to construct. It is partly used by
the Lapeer Savings Bank, and all of the upper floors are occupied by the
■Masonic Lodge, but all the rest, comprising a total floor space of about
six thousand square feet, is devoted to the great bargain center store of
Mr. Lockwood. Some eight or more clerks and assistants are employed
in the dift'erent departments of the business, and the entire enterprise is
a monument to his commercial ability and long continued work in one
field. Mr. Lockwood has one of the pleasant home of Lapeer.
His attention to business has not prevented him from serving his com-
munity efficiently whenever possible, and while always ready with his
influence to make Lapeer a better and greater city, he has also filled the
office of city treasurer two years. In politics he is Republican. Mr.
Lockwood for the past twenty years has been a trustee of the Baptist
church, is affiliated with Lapeer Lodge No. 54, A. F. & A. M., with the
Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His
reputation as a business man is not confined to I.apeer, and he counts
among his personal friends many of Detroit's leading financiers and mer-
chants, and his reputation for honesty, business acumen and judgment
is secure among all his associates and patrons.
On October 30, 1889, Mr. Lockwood married Miss Annie Perkins,
of Lapeer, daughter of Judge Benjamin F. and Clara B. (Hough) Per-
kins. Her father was a justice of Lapeer for thirty-five years. Mrs.
Lockwood was born in Bay City, August 8, 1865. They are the par-
ents of two children, Carl Hough Lockwood and Ralph D. Lockwood.
Carl H. Lockwood. who was born August 5, i8qi, has for the past two
years conducted a successful garage in Lapeer, and is now his father's
assistant in the store. He married Edna Thrasher, daughter of Rev. O.
M. Thrasher of Detroit, and they have two children : Richard, bom in
904 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
1911, and Jane, born in 1913. Ralph D. Lockwood was born in Lapeer,
May 25, 1900, and is still a student.
Monroe V. Simonson. Among the old families of Shiawassee
county, the Simonsons have had a permanent place from the time when
this county was still on the Michigan frontier. Throughout the county
the name stands for all that is honest and of good report, for successful
thrift and business integrity, and for a position in the community which
all must respect. The late John L. Simonson was the pioneer merchant
of the town of Bancroft, and likewise one of the largest land owners in
this section. The careers of the different members of the family have
been led along the paths of quiet industry and prosperity, and as farmers,
merchants and good citizens they have done their full share for the en-
richment of community life.
John L. and Rosina (Van Valkenburg) Simonson, the father and
mother of Monroe \'. Simonson, were both born in Delaware county,
New York. John L. Simonson came west and founded a home in Shia-
wassee county. He then returned to his home in Xew York and married,
bringing his bride here. Though without capital he was full of ambition
and energy, and few residents of the county have made a larger and
better deserved success than John L. Simonson. With the small means
at his command, he started his career as a peddler of goods sold from
a wagon drawn by a single horse throughout Shiawassee county. From
this humble start he gradually prospered, and finally in 1877 opened a
small store at North Newburg. Soon afterwards the village of Bancroft
was established, and his was the first stock of merchandise opened in
that place. Energy and enterprise enabled him to keep abreast of all
improvements, and increases in population, and practically from that
time forward he was the leading citizen in the vicinity of Bancroft.
From merchandising his interests gradually extended to the ownership
of a large amount of land, and during his later years he owned and
had under cultivation one thousand acres of the finest farm land in
Shiawassee county. .\11 his success was due entirely to his energy and
perseverance and the most scrupulous business methods. The flourish-
ing town of Bancroft will always owe much to his effective public spirit
during its early years, since his co-operation was readily enlisted in be-
half of any movement for the community welfare. The death of John L.
Simonson occurred in October, 1883, when he was si.xty-three years of
age. His wife also died at the age of eighty-three, in 1909. The bodies
of both now rest in the Fremont cemetery. There were two children :
Charles Bradford and Monroe \'an \'alkenburg Simonson.
Charles Bradford Simonson was born at North Newberg, in Shia-
wassee county, September 12, 1862. His education was received in the
public schools of Newburg and Bancroft, and at the age of nineteen
he entered his father's store, and continued to be associated with the
elder Simonson until the latter's death. .-Kt that time the mercantile
interests were sold. His attention since then has been chiefly directed
to farming, and probably no citizen of Shiawassee county conducts farm-
ing operations on a more modern and progressive scale than Charles
Simonson. For ten years his activities were extensively employed in the
buying and shipping of stock, but for several years now he has devoted
his entire time to the cultivation of two hundred and twenty acres of as
fine farm land as is to be seen in any part of Michigan. These lands
adjoin the town of Bancroft on the south, the main street leading up to
and opposite the old homestead built by his father. That old home has
been remodeled since first built, and is now considered one of the three
finest residences in Shiawassee county.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 905
In politics Mr. Charles Simonson is a Republican, and is affiliated
with the Masonic Order and the Knights of Pythias. In May, 1901,
he was united in marriage with Miss Eva Harrington, a native of Durand,
and a daughter of Marvin and Mary (Kitson) Harrington. The Har-
ringtons have a place among the pioneer farmers of Shiawassee county.
Mrs. Simonson's mother is now deceased. Mrs. Simonson takes an
active part in the Ladies' Aid Society at Bancroft, and she and her hus-
band derive much pleasure and recreation from travel.
Monroe Van Valkenburg Simonson, whose name has been placed at
the beginning of this article, was born at North Newburg, in Shiawassee
county, November 3, 1859. His career has been an essentially busy
one, and marked with varied experiences, although chiefly devoted to
farming. With a public school education, completed at the high school
of Holly, he early became associated in business with his father and
brother. In 1894, having a desire to see and perhaps locate in the West,
an extended trip took him throughout California, but after a thorough
investigation his decision was that his own county and state were better
suited for his purposes. A year later he was again drawn to the west,
this time to South Dakota, but after an extended survey of that country,
he returned well satisfied that nothing better could be had than the four
hundred acres of farm land owned by him in Shiawassee county. The
greater part of his land lies in close vicinity to the town of Bancroft,
while his beautiful residence fronts on a city street, and is handsome and
modern in all its appointments.
Mr, Simonson has served six years as a member of the Bancroft
Village Council. In politics he is a Republican. His family comprises
his wife and one child. Mrs. Simonson before her marrige was Miss
Cora Spencer, a native of Shiawassee county, and a daughter of Harry
Spencer, an old settler and prominent farmer in the county. The one
daughter born to their marriage is Selma.
Herbert Willi.\m Smith. The roster of prominent attorneys of
Lapeer county contains the names of a number of men who have achieved
eminence in their profession solely through the force of their own efforts,
and none is better or more favorably known than that of Herbert Wil-
liam Smith, who as practitioner and public official has established an ex-
cellent record. Mr. Smith is a native son of Lapeer county, having been
born in Imlay township, February 28, 1869, a son of Tilton E. and Phoebe
F. (Minard) Smith, natives of Canada but of American parentage.
The grandparents of Mr. Smith were natives of New York and Penn-
sylvania, and the family has an excellent military record. The great-
grandfather of Mr. Smith, John Smith, fought as a soldier during the
Revolutionary War, while Jonathan Smith, the grandfather, was a first
lieutenant in the American forces during the War of 1812, his commis-
.'iion being signed by Governor Hopkins of New York. Charles H. Smith,
an uncle of Herbert W. Smith, served in the Twenty-second Regiment,
Michigan \'olunteer Infantry, during the Civil War, and was wounded
and confined for some time as a prisoner in the famous Libby Prison.
Later he became one of the capitol police at Lansing, under Governor
Luce, and is now a resident of Forrest. Canada. During the Civil War.
Tilton F. .Smith, the father of Herbert W. Smith, was one of the first
to enlist under the Union colors, becoming a member of the Thirty-third
Regiment, New York \'olunteer Infantr\', and serving in the commands
of Generals McClellan and Hooker. He participated in numerous en-
gagements, including the battle of Antietam, and made an excellent rec-
ord as a soldier. In 1863 he came to Sanilac county, Michigan, and here
took up land and engaged in farming for several years, then moving to
906 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
Adrian, Alichigan, where he was engaged in working at his trade of
• cabinet maker for one year. Following this he went to Black's Corner,
where in connection with his trade he engaged in the furniture and un-
dertaking business, and after three years made removal to the then flour-
ishing sawmill town of Attica, where he followed the same business for
seven years. The sawmill industry dying out in that section, Mr. Smith
came to Lapeer and entered the ministry as pastor of the Free Methodist
Church, and continued as a preacher until his health failed and he was
an invalid five years prior to his death, which occurred in 1890, when he
was forty-eight years of age. The mother passed away at Imlay City in
iQio. aged seventy-four years. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs.
Smith, namely : Volney and Olney, twins, the former a farmer of Hope,
Arkansas, and the latter a resident of Detroit; Herbert William, of this
review; Albert O., with the Detroit Creamery Company, of Detroit;
Tilton F., who is the manager of the Cottage Creamery Company, of
Detroit ; and Ethel, who is the wife of Isaac McKillan, a well-known
banker of Imlay City.
Herbert William Smith received his early education in the public
schools of Lapeer, following which he was graduated from the Lapeer
High school in 1890. Having shown an early predilection for a pro-
fessional career, he entered the office of Hon. W. W. Stickney, of Lapeer,
under whose preceptorship he read law for two years and then entered
the Detroit College of Law. After devoting another vear to study at
college, he was admitted to the bar by the Circuit Court of Lapeer county,
January 10, 1893. ''"d at once began practice at Imlay City where he
formed a partnership with William F. Brow-n. This association was dis-
solved one year later and Mr. Smith contintied in practice alone until
January, 1909. During this time he served Lapeer county as circuit court
commissioner for four years and as city attorney of Imlay City, for a like
period, and in the fall of 1908 he was elected prosecuting attorney of
Lapeer county, an office in which he served two terms. An orator of
marked ability, he has done much campaign work for the Republican party,
and in his trips throughout this part of the state has formed a wide ac-
quaintance and gained the friendship, and esteem of men of all political
parties. He belongs to the Lapeer County Bar Association, and stands
high in the esteem of his fellow practitioners, being recognized as a man
who thoroughly respects the highest ethics of the profession. His prac-
tice is a large and representative one, and his connection with a num-
ber of important cases has made him a familiar figure in the courts of
the county. In his fraternal connections Mr. Smith is a thirty-second
degree Mason and a member of the Elf Khurafeh Temple, of the Mystic
Shrine. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and
the Knights of Pythias, and also holds membership in the Eastern Star.
With his family he attends the Presbyterian church. A virile, energetic
man, he is fond of all out-of-door sports, and is an enthusiastic automo-
bilist.
On March 18, 1896, Mr. Smith was married at Metamora, ^Michigan,
to Miss Cora L. Frasier, a native of Goodland township, Lapeer county,
and a daughter of Ronald and Lucinda (Harvey) Frasier. William
Harvey, Mrs. Smith's maternal grandfather, was the founder of the
Harvey family of Lapeer county, and a well-know-n pioneer. Two chil-
dren have been born to ]\Ir. and ]\Irs. Smith : Marion Irene and Ken-
neth. Mrs. Smith is widely known in club and social circles of Michigan,
and a leader in literary circles and in the work of the Eastern Star. In
1913 she served as delegate to the State Federation of Ladies' Clubs, held
at Muskegon, and like her husband has many friends here.
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 907
WiLLARD H. Freeland. One of the villages of Saginaw county is
named Freeland, in honor of a pioneer settler and business man. That
pioneer was the grandfather of Willard H. Freeland, who has had a long
and active career as a lumberman and logger, and for a number of years
has been in the milling business, being now proprietor of the flour mills
at Mt. Morris.
Born at Freeland, in Saginaw county, June 17, 1857, Willard H. Free-
land was the sixth in a family of seven children born to William and
Annise (Brace) Freeland. The mother was born in Cataraugus county,
New York on November 25, 1826, and died at Freeland, Michigan, in
1905. Grandfather Freeland came to Michigan at an early day, and set-
tled in Saginaw county, where a village grew up with himself as one of
the chief factors in the community, and it was named in his honor. Wil-
liam Freeland, the father, was born in New Jersey, and died in 1883.
He was for some years proprietor of a stage line, operating between
Pontiac, Flint and Saginaw. During the Civil war he went out with a
Michigan Regiment and saw a long and active service in that struggle.
After the war he took over the hotel business at Freeland, which his
father before him had established, and continued proprietor until his
death. Three of the children of the parents died in infancy. Besides
Willard the other two now living are Fayette Freeland and Aneliza, the
former living in Freeland and the sister at Otisville.
Willard H. Freeland attained his education in the country schools of
his birthplace, and at an early age entered the vigorous and rugged work
of the lumber woods and had a severe experience in logging along the
Saginaw and other streams of northern Michigan. That was his regular
business for some twenty years, and on coming out of the woods and the
logging business he engaged in milling at Midland for eight years. From
there he went to Chesaning, and then to Mt. Morris, where in 1907 he
bought the flour mills which he still conducts.
Mr. Freeland has never neglected opportunity to serve the community
and was president one term of the village of ^^It. Morris, and alderman
two terms. Each time he was elected on the citizens ticket, and in local
afifairs has always maintained an independent attitude. In 1881 Mr. Free-
land was married at Midland to -Miss Ida Martindale. She died in 1899,
and in 1900 he married Miss Agnes Breuning of Chesaning. There are
no children. Mr. Freeland is an example of the successful man in later
years, who started out without resources, and through hard struggles and
persistent industry has made his way to the top.
Edgar Judson Cox. The pioneer hardware establishment of Lapeer
is now owned and conducted by Edgar J. Cox, whose rise from a mer-
chant's clerk to independent business success gives him a place among
the leading citizens of Lapeer county, and he has many friends and ad-
mirers in various parts of the state.
Edgar Judson Cox was born in Judson township, in Blue Earth county,
Minnesota, January 4, 1873, a son of Charles W. and Mary Elizabeth
CStickney) Cox. His father was a native of England and his motlier
of Vermont, and the father was brought to America when three years
of age, obtained a country schooling in \^ermont, and during his early
career had to combat many obstacles and difficulties in the path of suc-
cess. He worked on a farm, as clerk in a store, and when a young man
found employment at Boston, ^Massachusetts, with the Adams Express
Company. Failing health finally compelled him to resign that vocation,
and he took advice to go west to Minnesota. The climate of the north-
west completely rebuilt him, and he lived in Blue Earth county until
1880. In that year he came to Lapeer, Michigan, and became identified
908 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
as a buyer with several of the leading lumber companies and continued
in the business for twenty years. In the meantime he had invested in a
farm in Lapeer county, and made that his home after retiring from the
lumber industry. He and his wife still reside at their rural home, and
both have passed the age of threescore and ten. The father was born in
1838 and the mother in 1840. During the Civil war the father served
with a Vermont regiment of infantry until getting his honorable dis-
charge. Of the nine children one is now deceased, and Edgar J. was
fifth in order of birth.
With an education in the district and high schools .of Lapeer, he had
gained considerable training for his business career before leaving school,
as clerk with a grocery house during vacations. At the age of nine-
teen his services as a clerk were accepted by B. F. Loder, the pioneer
hardware dealer of Lapeer, and during the following six years he ac-
quired a very thorough and practical knowledge of the hardware busi-
ness in all its details. Being economical and with a view to the future,
he finally left Lapeer and engaged in the hardware in Wayne county, start-
ing on a very modest scale in 1898, and remaining there for five years.
At the end of that time the opportunity to secure the business formerly
owned by B. F. Loder and in a city where he had been known from boy-
hood and where he enjoyed an established acquaintance, prompted him to
purchase the stock of A. H. Aimsworth, the successor of B. F. Loder.
Mr. Cox moved the stock from his store in \\'ayne county to Lapeer in
1903. His real success as a merchant began and has steadily increased
from that date. Naturally of a pleasant disposition, obliging and cour-
teous, and having a complete knowledge of hardware and the many
accessories, Mr. Cox has built up a large and substantial business re-
quiring more than nine thousand square feet of floor space, and his place
of business occupies a basement and three floors on the leading business
street of Lapeer, Nipissing street. His attention has been concentrated
along this line, and it is due not only to his competent knowledge Init
also to his industry that his success has been so pronounced.
Mr. Cox is a Republican in politics, and is a trustee of the Presby-
terian church. He has been twice married. His first wife was .Anna t).
A\'illiams. who was born in Attica, Lapeer coimty. daughter of Oscar
\\'illiams. She died in 1905, and her body now rests in Mt. Hope ceme-
tery at Lapeer. In August, 191 1, Mr. Cox married Bertha Hough, daugh-
ter of Hon. E. S. and Emily (Hart) Hough. Mr. Cox owns a pleasant
home and considerable other real estate in Lapeer, and his prosperity
has been so worthily won that it is not an object to be begrudged by
any of his numerous associates and friends.
George R. Perrv. Among the many successful and enterprising men
who make up the ranks of business operators in Grand Rapids it is doubt-
ful if many will be found who have advanced farther in commercial
prosperity and standing than has George R. Perry, and it is especially
fitting that some mention, however brief, should be made of him in these
columns. His family is one of the oldest established ones of the United
States, and while the habitat of the Perrys has chiefly been the east, the
family now under consideration have been residents of Michigan since
1852. in which year the father of George R. Perry located in Detroit and
engaged in business.
George R. Perry was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on January 30,
1849, and is a son of George H. and Hannah (Dobbs) Perry. The father
was born in Danbury, Connecticut, in 1819, and died in 1895. while the
mother's birth occurred in the state of New York in 1820, and she lived
^^.^^^2/2^
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 909
to the fine old age of ninety-two years, death claiming her on September 5,
1912. She was a schoolmate of Phineas T. Barnnm of the great Barnum
Shows and watched with much interest his unusual and altogether suc-
cessful career to the end of his days. The marriage of George H. and
Hannah (Dobbs) Perry took place in the year 1840 in Danbury, Connecti-
cut, and they continued there in residence for some years, their migration
to Michigan taking place in 1852.
The senior Perry was a hatter by trade, a term which in those days
carried with it a significance other than it now bears, for he was an expert
hatmaker, instead of merely a purveyor to the trade. Mr. Perry, in the
early fifties, opened up the first exclusive hat shop in the city of Detroit,
and for years he carried on a successful business in hats. Later in life he
became interested in furs and was a heavy dealer in hides and pelts for
some years, adding not a little to his accumulation of wealth in that enter-
prise, which was the basis of the wealth of the Astors and others. Though
Mr. Perry did not amass a great fortune, still he prospered, and he was
regarded as one of the successful men of his time. He was a stockholder
in a tobacco concern, and that connection netted him considerable in
profits, as well as his other ventures, so that when he died he was comfort-
ably well ofif and left a nice estate.
It should be mentioned in passing that the Perrys come of good old
English stock, certain of the name having settled in Massachusetts in the
sixteenth century. Commodore Perry, one of the immortals of American
history, comes of a branch of the family closely alUed with the family now
under consideration. The father of George H. JPerry aiid the grandfather
of George R. of this review, was one George Perry, a'lifdong resident of
Massachusetts. He was in early life a cattle dealer and, later devoted
himself to the business of trading in hides aijd furs, as did his son some
years later. The maternal grandfather of the subject was Hiram Dobbs,
who was born in New York state and there passed his life. He served
all through the War for Independence, and it is worthy of mention that
members of the family today, because of his service in that memorable
struggle, have memljership in the Society of the Daughters of the Ameri-
can Revolution.
George H. and Hannah (Dobbs) Perry became the parents of five chil-
dren, four of whom are yet living. George R. was the third born. Of
these children, Sarah is unmarried. Cordelia married a Mr. Crawford of
Detroit and Carrie is the wife of a Mr. Nicols, of Memphis, Tennessee,
where they now reside. The parents were members of St. Paul's Episcopal
church of Detroit to the end of their days, and Mr. Perry was a stanch
Whig and an influential and active man in the public life of his city and
district all his life. When he died Detroit lost one of her esteemed and
valuable citizens and one who had long been a faithful member of society.
George R. Perry had his education in the Detroit schools, and when he
was sixteen years old he began the serious business of life by entering a
drug store in his home city as a clerk. He continued there for four years,
and in 1868 came to Grand Rapids, which city has ever since been the
scene of his business activities and has represented his home as well.
Here again he became identified with the drug business as a clerk, and for
several years contmued to be so occupied. It was not, however, until the
year 1874 that he Ijecame connected with the grocery business, and in 1892
he became a broker to the wholesale trade. He has since continued in
that enterprise, which has grown to be one of the most extensive of its
kind in the city.
Though Mr. Perry began business without capital, he has come to be
the owner of considerable real estate in Grand Rapids, and is regarded as
being one of the financially responsible men of the city. Prosperity has
attended his efforts, and his position in business, political and social circles
910 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
is one of the best. He has found time to manifest an active interest in the
politics of his comnumit}-, and as a Democrat in a city and state which has
long been stanchly Republican he has made an excellent showing in a
number of spirited contests. Since 1876 he has been found actively
engaged in the political issues of the day and has filled a number of offices.
In 1898 he was elected mayor of the city and served in that office for two
consecutive terms, proving himself a proper and capable man for such an
office. He has also served two terms as city treasurer, and in 1898 he was
named for Congress by the Democrats of his district, and, though nomi-
nated, he was defeated at the polls. Considering the overwhelming Repub-
lican sentiment, his defeat carried with it no dishonor, nor anything to
regret.
Mr. Perry is a Mason of high degree, having affiliations with the Royal
Arch Masons, the Knights Templar, the Consistory and the Shrine. He
is also a member of the B. P. O. E. and has served as Exalted Ruler for
two terms. He was unanimously elected to the chair on a third occasion,
but he declined to serve. Other fraternal affiliations are with the Knights
of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen, and in all his fraternal relations
he has manifested the true spirit of brotherhood and fraternity.
In 1874 Mr. Perry married Miss Jennie Blake, a daughter of Alexander
Blake, a well known lumberman of Grand Rapids. Five children were
born to them, but only one is now living, Jeannette Perry, who is at home
with her parents. Miss Perry gained her early educational training in
the public schools of her native city, and when she had completed her
high school course entered \'assar college, at Poughkeepsie, New York,
where she was graduated with honors in 1904.
The familv are prominent in the leading social activities of the city.
Robert Turnbull. One of the thriving business industries of La-
peer, which has developed from a modest beginning to large proportions
is the grain elevator and mill of Robert Turnbull, now one of the largest
enterprises of its kind in Lapeer county. Mr. Turnbull has been pre-
eminently the architect of his own fortune, and his success has been
gained by persistent work, honorable dealings and concentration of effort.
He is a native of Gait, Canada, and was born April 21, 1839, ^ ^'^^ ^^
George and Isabel (Dalgliesh) Turnbull, natives of Scotland.
The father and mother of Mr. Turnbull emigrated with their parents
to Canada shortly after the terrible epidemic of cholera. George Turn-
bull was a man of superior education, and devoted his life to teaching,
while his wife was also a lady of culture, education and refinement. He
passed away in his sixty-third year, while she reached the age of eighty-
four and both were laid to rest at Gait. The second oldest of his parents'
eight children, Robert Turnbull attended the public schools of Gait until
he was nine years old. He was a somewhat precocious child, and in spite
of the fact that his parents wished him to continue his studies, he was
determined to enter upon a career of his own, and accordmgly began to
work at that tender age, accepting whatever honorable employment pre-
sented itself. At the age of eighteen years he left home and went to
County Elgin, where, in the vicinity of St. Thomas, he secured employ-
ment in a pail and pump factory, where he continued seven years and
learned a great deal about machinery. During this time he carefully saved
his earnings, and finally went to Orrwell, Canada, where he engaged in
business for himself, building a planing, saw and gristmill and doing a
money-making business for seven years at that point. While there he was
married, and on disposing of his interests brought his family to Ithaca,
where he established a gristmill and remained for eighteen months, but at
the end of that period sold out and went to St. Louis, IMichigan, where he
operated a sawmill for three years. Succeeding this, he operated a mill at
HISTORY OF MICHIGAN 911
Millville, Michigan, for two years, and then sold out and went to Oregon
Township, where several years were passed in the sawmiUing industry.
Mr. TurnbuU purchased his properties for what was then known as the
Pepper Mill, at Lapeer, where he began operations. On July 15, 1909,
the mills were destroyed by fire, and although he suffered a considerable
loss, Mr. TurnbuU at once began their reconstruction, and rebuilt them to
twice their former size, equipping them with the newest and finest ma-
chinery to be secured, this mill now having a capacity of seventy-five bar-
rels per day. In 191 1 Mr. TurnbuU built one of the largest elevators in
Lapeer county, which has also been equipped with the latest and most
highly improved appliances. He now employs twelve men, and has a busi-
ness that contributes materially to Lapeer's business importance. Always
a hard-working, industrious man, he is now enjoying the fruits of his
many years of honest toil, and occupies a high place in the respect and
esteem of his fellow-citizens. Among those who have had transactions
with him, he is known as a man of the strictest integrity, honorable and
above board in all his dealings, and his name is an honored one on com-
mercial paper throughout the county. In politics Mr. TurnbuU is a Re-
publican, but he has been too busy to ever have had political aspirations.
Fraternally, he is connected with Lapeer Lodge No. 54, of the ]\Iasonic
order, while his religious connection is with the Baptist church, of which
he is an elder, and to which his family also belongs.
Mr. TurnbuU was married in 1871 to Miss Permilla Simmons, of
County Elgin, Canada, daughter of Solomon Simmons, and five children
have been born to this union, namely : Frederick, who died at the age of
eight years ; Ida, who is a teacher in the public schools of Lapeer county ;
Elgin, who is associated with his father in the firm of TurnbuU & Son, the
largest dealers in grain, beans, etc., in Lapeer county, married Mary Hol-
land, a native of Lapeer county, and a daughter of D. E. Holland, a
prominent jeweler of Lapeer, and has three bright and interesting chil-
dren, — Ruth, Jean and Louise ; Grace, who is the wife of Herbert W.
Smith, and resides at St. Joseph, Missouri; and Lillian, who is the wife
of Ernest Huff, of Chicago, Illinois. Mr. TurnbuU is a friend of educa-
tion, and all of his children have been given good advantages, fitting them
admirably for the positions in life which they have been called upon to
fill. He has always shown himself ready to assume his full share of the
responsibilities of citizenship, and supports all movements which promise
to advance his community in any way. His career has been one of con-
sistent effort and consecutive advancement, and should prove encouraging
to the youth of today who are facing life on their own resources without
financial assistance or the help of influential friends.
Oscar W. Peck. The Peck family was one of the very first to locate
in that section of Michigan, now comprised within the boundaries of
Shiawassee county. A full account of the founding of the family and
their early experience would be a chapter out of pioneer history. George
D. and Mary (Young) Peck, came from New York State by canal, and
the great lakes as far as Buffalo, traveled north through the unbroken
wilderness through what is now Shiawassee county, where George D.
Peck with his ax cleared a space in the midst of the woods, and hewed the
timbers for his first home near the present site of Byron. On the com-
pletion of his rude cabin, he went to work and built another building, in
which he opened a stock of merchandise. That was the first store in
Gaines, Genesee county, and he conducted it for some years. He next
conducted a hotel there for some years and then went on a farm, where
he remained until his death on September S, 1S84. As the first merchant,
a pioneer settler, he always had an influential part in affairs of the county,
Vol. 11—18
912 HISTORY OF MICHIGAN
and was on the original board which organized that county. He built one
of the first log school buildings in the locality. Mary (Young) Peck was
born in Deleware county, Ohio, and died in Shiawassee county in 1854,
at the age of thirty-three. George D. Peck was married the second time,
and altogether fifteen children were born to his two wives, these being
named as follows : Marvin, Melvin, Delia, Hiram, William, Lydia, Oscar
W., Libbie, Flora, Ellabell, Clara, George, Nellie, Frederick and Erasmus.
Oscar W. Peck, who was the seventh among these children and the
youngest born to his mother, Mary (Young) Peck, was born at Byron in
Shiawassee county, May 30, 1854. His early schooling was received
partly in Genesee county, and in 1871 he graduated from the Detroit high
school. From the end of his school days his career has been one of active
application to mechanical pursuits and business. .\ thorough apprentice-
ship in the machine shop of the Pere Marquette Railroad was followed
by a long experience as a locomotive engineer on that road, for a time he
was a telegraph operator. His career as a railroader was finally aban-
doned, in order to engage in business at Gaines, in Genesee county. For
several years after selling out his stock at Gaines he worked as a station-
ary engineer, and then moved to Durand in Shiawassee county, where he
conducted a successful business for four years. This was followed by a
similar period in business in Battle Creek, and in 1897, on returning to
Durand, he established mercantile interests with which he has since been
connected. In November, 1912, his district elected him to the office of
Justice of the Peace, and he now serves the public in that capacity. In
politics Mr. Peck is a Republican, is affiliated with the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, and the Rebekahs, and is highly esteemed in all local
circles of business and society. He is the owner of a comfortable home,
and considerable other property in Durand.
At Gaines, Michigan, May 17, 1884, Mr. Peck married Miss Minnie
Harrington, who died May 12, 1888, the mother of two children, both of
whom died in infancy. On June 25, 1890, at Durand, Air. Peck married
Miss Emily J. Jewell, a daughter of Jacob Jewell.
Rev. Tiio.MlAS L. Lubv. The career of Father Luby as one of the
successful church builders and ministers of his faith in Michigan has been
identified chiefly with the St. Mary's Church at Mt. Morris, and that
religious community recognizes a great debt to the able pastor whose
labors have been perfonned there for the past thirteen years, and
who has succeeded in giving the parish one of the best small church
edifices in Genesee county.
St. Mary's Parish has an interesting history. While Michigan was
still a territory, dur 
